FAQ: Buddhism for Pagans?

[sabrinamari]

"Why do (Neo) Pagans sometimes work with Buddhist teachers? I mean, doesn't that seem *weird* or something?"

I get this question in one form or another pretty regularly. Now you, too, can give your colleagues a coherent answer, looking really smart in the process.

The fast answer:

1. Lans the Meditator Man points out that Buddhism can more easily be defined as a philosophy (in the Western sense) than as a religion.

[He has a fifteen-minute podcast explaining this if you want to deconstruct the finer points of this analysis. You will find it on iTunes under "podcasts" and "religion". See "The Enlighten Up Podcast," "Is Buddhism a Religion?"]

2. Go here and read the page below. It will take you about 10 minutes to read the whole thing, but you will understand the point by minute 3, believe me.

(Shenpa: That Baaaad Feeling...)
http://www.shambhala.org/teachers/pema/shenpa3a.php

3. Here is a pragmatic example of how this works in real life. Reading it will take about 3 minutes.

http://sabrinamari.livejournal.com/34384.html

Now you can explain the utility of Buddhist concepts, too, complete with a concrete example. (Neo) Pagans love concrete examples.

Comments

Re: Wise Men *and Women*

[sabrinamari.livejournal.com]

Wow, how cool.