What is a Buddhist?

[RichardH]

..For me a "Buddhist" is someone who learns and practices the Buddha's innovative solution to our problem. The human predicament of perceived spiritual exile. The pervasive sense of incompleteness, of constantly trying to fill up, searching for lost wholeness. The haunted intuition of lost Grace in a perpetual struggle with doubt. Being fearful. Want. The Buddha looked at all this, looked at the solutions on offer, and did an about face. He suggested not chasing the ultimate mental productions of that want ...God, Brahman, Ain Soph, The Self, The Absolute, Truth, Reality, ....and instead looking directly into, and completely experiencing, the want itself. Experiencing it formlessly, dropping all conceptual qualification. He is, as far as I know, the only great teacher who took this direct route, and by doing so he removed the great religious trap of Absolutism, of grasping mental productions as absolute truth, and making more misery... like telling people they are going to Hell for not seeing the One True God.

IMHO

.. Gassho, kojip.

[disastermouse]

Being a Buddhist is really just a friendly tag to the world, so they can have some sort of idea how to begin to orient to you, should they want to do that. It's a favor to others, really. If we grasp to this identity or tag too hard as some sort of legitimate identity, it becomes a very dead thing. We might even try to be 'more' Buddhist or a 'good Buddhist', but I don't think that sort hide-and-seek works for very long. In fact, I think it's exactly this sort of behavior that disillusions many people on the Buddhist path. They look for something and, not finding it, they look elsewhere. But what they're looking for does not really exist the way they think it does. This moment DOES exist though, but how does it exist? Asking this question is 'to be a Buddhist', essentially.

Chet

[Rich]

If a Buddhist, how does someone answer questions in a predominantly Christian society such as why isn't your Dad/Mom going to church with you? Why does does your Mom/Dad spend all that time meditating? Aren't you worried that they are going to hell?

Humbly,

JC

I always went to church with my kids. also been to synagogue and mosque on occasion. Actually like churches, some are so beautiful.

Meditating is just the way chosen to live. Maybe that's why they call it the way.

You make heaven and hell. and I'm grateful for THIS because you don't have to worry about it.

[Daijo]

Most times I'm a Buddhist/Hindu/Other, because that's usually the closest option on the form. Outside of that there's not usually much reason to go around declaring what type of ism I'm practicing.

[Memo]

Who is a Buddhist?
Don't really know!
Going to heaven or hell?!
we're already here
going to church or mosque or synagogue?
"all of life is our temple"

[George]

This question bothered me for many years a while back. It doesn't worry me at all anymore because as Myoku states above, labels do not matter. The closest to an answer I can think of is:

Buddhists are fish.


By that I draw a comparison with the claim, reportly from Stephen Jay Gould, that in essence 'fish' as a group do not exist due to the lack of any common features that make a definition of "What is a fish?" possible.

"After a lifetime of studying fish, Stephen Jay Gould decided that there was no such thing as fish. The terminology of fish tells nothing about its biology. Biologically speaking, a salmon is more related to a camel than a hagfish. Just because they are sea-dwelling creatures, doesn't mean they are more or less related to each other."

- We do however instinctively know what fish are, would usually recognise one if we saw one and the label is useful to others.

I am sure the majority of Buddhists may be able to come up with definitions that include most Buddhists, but having been a part of a few Buddhist groups over the years I have seen great diversity and found accepted practices and views that are contrary to my personal understanding of what Buddhism is, yet we all accept each other for the most part as Buddhists even though we are very different. Some are more related to Taoists, some to Hindus and some to Shintoists. Some sit, some study koans, some prostrate themselves, some work for the enlightnement of all, some just for themselves, etc.

- We do however instinctively know what Buddhists are, would usually recognise one if we saw one and the label is useful to others.


Note: this is meant to be light hearted analogy not to be taken too literally and is probably the result of too much work on a tired brain.


And as for heaven and hell. They are the same place.

[Jishin]

Thank you all for your input.

If I had sat on the question longer the answer would have been apparent.

There is no question nor answer as the one inquiring and the one answering are one.

Humbly,

JC

[galen]

[QUOTE=John C.;89493]Is it someone who proclaims to be one? Or someone who reads about it, or sits on cushion from time to time, someone who has Buddha statues, someone who tries to do good, a combination of the above, etc?

>>It seems it could be all of the above and none of it, at once. The catch is not to have ideas of, proclaim, attach or cling to anything.

If a Buddhist, how does someone answer questions in a predominantly Christian society such as why isn't your Dad/Mom going to church with you? Why does does your Mom/Dad spend all that time meditating? Aren't you worried that they are going to hell?

>>Meditating can be the most comfortable church type setting. In that, sitting with an innumerable amount of every`thing. No where to go, no meeting to make, only convenience of now; nowhere to be, yet everywhere at once. Hell is for worriers, karma takes care of the rest.

Good questions, JC.



Gassho

[threethirty]

This question used to be very important to me. My Ego's interaction with my family, job, and community had to draw a very clear line because "I'm not one of them". This line is less important now. I have my practice if someone asks I tell them, if no one asks I do not. I try less to tell people about the dharma and work to be the dharma.

I often find the dharma in teachings from other faiths. I listen to a lot of Preaching Students and smile because it's all Zen.

[Kyonin]

... a Buddhist is someone who embraces the 4 noble truths, keeps the 5 basic precepts and has taken refuge to Buddha, Dharma, Sangha. However, I also agree that to be a Buddhist, some sort of practice has to be established, otherwise it's really just a nice label.

This is exactly what I think too.

Far from using labels, I think you are a practitioner when you sit daily, live by the dharma and put it to the test.

Gassho,

Kyonin

[Nengyo]

This is exactly what I think too.

Far from using labels, I think you are a practitioner when you sit daily, live by the dharma and put it to the test.

Gassho,

Kyonin

And use a french press for coffee!

[Kyonin]

And use a french press for coffee!

You, kind sir, just made my night.

Gassho,

Kyonin

[Jundo]

We have had a few threads on how to speak of one's beliefs and practices to family, spouses and friends who may not fully approve. My typical response is the following. But I would go further ... join in all the family holidays, sing the Christmas songs, have the baby Baptised ... just nod and say "maybe so" ... if it makes your poor mom or dad happy. Why not? Buddha is everywhere and, if there is a God, She's everywhere too.

I often say that we don't prosthelytize and rarely need to try to convince anyone of the worth of these things.

Rather, just be a good son/daughter/husband/wife/parent/friend ... perhaps let the peace and gentleness show itself in our ordinary behavior and interactions with others as the years pass ... and many folks will slowly come to understand, even if they do not fully understand.

http://www.treeleaf.org/forums/showthread.php?9852-Making-parents-understand-Buddhism&p=80019&viewfull=1#post80019

http://www.treeleaf.org/forums/showthread.php?8067-An-unzen-spouse&p=47526&viewfull=1#post47526

Gassho, J

[Cameron]

Sometimes I tell people that it's time for me to stare at the wall. I just get to the heart of it. If they want to know more, I'd tell them something.

Recently my 4-year old niece didn't understand and thought I was nuts. She reminded me of those stories of Zen masters beating their students with sticks. Thankfully she left me and wall to do our thing, eventually.

There's so much to buddhism I don't know. I think, lately, I just need to simplify. I take comfort in that. I think it's right. I don't want to complicate things by advertising what I don't understand; to call myself a "buddhist".


BTW - I'm back after a long time away. I recently started sitting again full-bore, not quite a month ago. So here I am again... for the first time. I'll look for a picture.

Cam

[Neika]

This question bothered me for many years a while back. It doesn't worry me at all anymore because as Myoku states above, labels do not matter. The closest to an answer I can think of is:

Buddhists are fish.

Which of course begs the question, what kind of fish would you be? My first thought is shark, but I have a nagging suspicion that might be decidedly un-Buddhist.

And yet, the shark has Buddha-nature...