Variations: A Buddhist Pagan Speaks Out
I am a Buddhist. I am a Pagan. Both of these religions are important to me and I wholeheartedly practice them. Why? Because in either one of them I feel at home. And I feel at home practicing both of them. They don't give me all the answers, only more questions, more insights that lead to more questions. Some explanations of human behavior, motivations, and psychology. A connection to my living environment.
The definition of Buddhist does not exclude the possibility of also being Pagan. And most certainly the definition of Pagan can't exclude the possibility of also being Buddhist. I am not a purist in any sense of the word. But neither do I mix the two spiritual approaches into some amalgamation that waters down either one. Each one's appeal to me is precisely because somehow I can keep them distinctive and separate, despite the cross-references, associations and insights that they both create in my own life.
Specifically, I practice a form of Wicca, which is the most visible and influential traditions of Paganism in the world today. I also practice a Buddhism that, while heavily influenced and inspired by two forms - Tibetan Vajrayana and Theravada Buddhism - is specifically and distinctively American. Neither one of these religions excludes the other, and since I am a polytheist at heart, no adherence to any one religion or spirituality excludes me from being a part of another.
I could of course, simply adhere to one or the other and probably be just as happy as I am belonging to both of them simultaneously. It would certainly make explaining myself to others who aren't used to such multifaceted spirituality a lot easier. But why do that when I can and do adhere to and practice both successfully and in a way that has given me balance? I love the dharma, its lineage holders, its guardians, and its living insights. I also love the Lady and the Lord among many other Goddesses and Gods who I tend to commune with at times, along with Wiccan rituals both solitary and social and Wicca's living insights. So that's that.
If you think somehow that I cannot be both, that is only your unfounded prejudice. My life cannot be held up and neatly aligned and labeled. I have a choice after all in what I choose to practice and if my practices get to be more complex than what you can understand or then what you feel is supposed to be correct, that reflects on your lack of openness and insight, not mine.
November 29th, 2005
-Irreverend Hugh, KSC
Back to the Creative Life Index
Copyright ©2006. All Rights Reserved by Author.
Permission is necessary before reposting or publishing. Otherwise this document may be shared freely so long as the text is unchanged and this notice is included.