The Hesitant Buddhist

[Shiju]

Re: The Hesitant Buddhist

I was engaged in the process of filling out a government census form and was moving along nicely until I reached the blank box marked religion.I hesitated at this point and the intention to insert the term Buddhist into the box was put aside as something seemed amiss.Was I a Buddhist because I thought I was, or said I was ,or wrote in a box that I was?
In a back room is a small shrine complete with a figure of Buddha and a bowl for incense and a few rows of books on Zen.On the floor is a zabuton and zafu.These items tend to lend support to the view that I am indeed a Buddhist of the Zen persuasion.But I had to admit that I sat alone with no contact with any Buddhist center in Australia and after twenty years of up and down Zen,still had not taken the precepts.So perhaps I was only part Buddhist or merely practiced as a hobby.I pondered on this for a week or so and some stuff seems clearer but it looks like a work in progress.I think the answers to the Buddhist or not question may hinge on how I have invited Buddhism,particularly the paramitas,to inform my life and in turn how I engage with the world.I would invite your thought if this topic interests you
Two Palms Together
Malcolm

Dear Malcolm,

Some years ago I heard the story of Thich Nhat Hanh being accosted by a stranger at a street corner. "Are you a Buddhist?" asked the stranger. "No," replied Thich Nhat Hanh.

That story may be apocryphal, but if true, it would be consistent with Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings and, I think, with Buddhist teachings generally. To call oneself a Buddhist is to construct an image of oneself. And to the extent that you become attached to that image, it may lead you to ignore or deny certain aspects of your experience, such as envy or anger. It may also put a kind of icon in your line of sight, blocking your perceptions of things as they are. I think that's why Linji advised us to "kill the Buddha," should we meet him on the road.

A while back, one of my colleagues, a sassy young dance instructor, introduced me to her students as a "Zen dude." To clarify matters, I explained that I was a "Buddhist practitioner." That seemed to help, insofar as it put attention where it belongs, which is on the practice itself and not on an alien faith or an arcane system of beliefs. When the question has come up on other occasions, I have found it useful to address it in that way.

Gassho,

Ben

[Jundo]

Just be Malcolm. And just be the Universe. That's not really two things, by the way. So, in the "name" space, please write "Universe". Address, "here and now"

Oh, a Zen guy could have real fun answering census questions. You could answer the questions with more questions!

Hope you got that form in on time while thinking about it. :-)

Gassho, J

[Ryumon]

Just regarding the form, my thought would be, what business is it of theirs? (Ok, I understand, yours is the country with 10,000 people who claim to be Jedi knights... :-)

I agree, though, with the basic point of your post. I don't call myself buddhist, even though I sit (more or less) regularly, life much of my life in a way that coincides with the buddhist precepts (but it's not because of the precepts that I live my life that way). I don't, however, have any Buddhas in my house - I've got rocks, though, and in this lineage, rocks are almost the same. :-)

Kirk

[malcolm]

I was engaged in the process of filling out a government census form and was moving along nicely until I reached the blank box marked religion.I hesitated at this point and the intention to insert the term Buddhist into the box was put aside as something seemed amiss.Was I a Buddhist because I thought I was, or said I was ,or wrote in a box that I was?
In a back room is a small shrine complete with a figure of Buddha and a bowl for incense and a few rows of books on Zen.On the floor is a zabuton and zafu.These items tend to lend support to the view that I am indeed a Buddhist of the Zen persuasion.But I had to admit that I sat alone with no contact with any Buddhist center in Australia and after twenty years of up and down Zen,still had not taken the precepts.So perhaps I was only part Buddhist or merely practiced as a hobby.I pondered on this for a week or so and some stuff seems clearer but it looks like a work in progress.I think the answers to the Buddhist or not question may hinge on how I have invited Buddhism,particularly the paramitas,to inform my life and in turn how I engage with the world.I would invite your thought if this topic interests you
Two Palms Together
Malcolm