Are Buddhists Pagans?

Writing the first column for 'This Pagan Life' made me start thinking about what constitutes a 'Pagan'. A belief in a goddess/god who embodies all? Some Pagans have a pantheon of God aspects, some don't. Perhaps it is more along the lines of a belief in us all being a part of God, and the universe.

So, what about Buddhists? Are they Pagans? I asked Victoria Whitehand, a sculptor who discovered another calling as a Buddhist teacher. She told me, "Since I'm Buddhist rather than Jewish, Christian or Muslim, you could consider me to be pagan, yes. Interesting concept, since Buddhism honors all religions, and is not exactly a "religion".

What exactly does Victoria mean by that? Her path to Buddhism was through her art, which utilized deities and myths from all over the world, from a variety of religious sources...except the big three Patriarchal religions. But she did point out that there is a difference between Buddhism and other Pagan belief systems...

"Buddhism differs from Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Pagan religions in that it posits no powers external to mind. The meditational deities in Tibetan Buddhism are thought of as manifestations of particular aspects of enlightened awareness, not existing outside of mind. Demons and obstructors are likewise energies found within the mind. 'Looking at objects, the mind, devoid of objects, is seen; looking at mind, its nature, devoid of mind, is empty. Though it is empty, it may manifest anything, without ceasing.' from the 3rd Karmapa's Aspiration to Mahamudra Prayer."Well, I'm not a Neo-Pagan for nothing. The Buddhist way seems a little too 'accepting' of circumstance for me, and requires too much non-interference and 'downtime'. But as I said in my first column, I don't see everyone following the same path. And although Victoria felt panic at first about embracing Buddhism, she soon came to realize that this was what she had been waiting for.

"Buddhism found me through my art. A neighbor who collected my work employed a Buddhist gardener, and he asked her about my sculptures he saw at her home. She told him where I lived, and he came knocking at my door! He invited me to a local Buddhist study group, and although at the time I was firmly convinced that my path was Raja Yoga, I was open to trying this as well. "

For several months I attended the evening pujas (done in Tibetan) and though I didn't understand the language, it was intriguing and I could tell that the people there were on a serious and dedicated spiritual path. I heard that a Tibetan lama from San Francisco came to lead the group from time to time, but every time I went, he wasn't there, and whenever he came
up, I wasn't able to attend. One day I received a phone call from him. I'd never met him, and his English wasn't the best, heavily accented and difficult for me to understand. Yet something made me listen to him, even though I thought I had a madman on the line: I could tell that whatever he was saying was of importance to him and to me. I understood finally that he wanted me to drive down to Marin to take refuge and receive an empowerment from him...that very evening! As soon as I heard this, an immense wall of resistence and fear arose in me and I started protesting that I couldn't possibly come that evening.

When I ran out of words, he said, simply, "You have car?" And the resistence vanished like mist. I drove down to Marin, took refuge and received the empowerment of Chenrezik, Lord of Compassion. And yes, at that point I was sure that this
was my path. My feet did not touch the ground for a week, and in that week I sculpted my first Buddhist reliquary, an image of Chenrezik holding the wish-fulfilling jewel of mind in his hands and gazing into it.

I remember the same acceptance when I found my own path, but I don't recall one moment of revelation. For me it was more of an ongoing process of learning and small glimpses of a universal truth and soul. But the simple fact of my writing this column, something I would never have done if I wasn't an author in search of promotional opportunities for a novel, proves that my path is ever branching and my revelations are far from over.

When Victoria explained that Buddhism has no one path, no absolutes, I realized that this is what makes it a part of Paganism - the freedom to search, to learn, and to experiment. She explained it thusly,

"Buddhism is far closer to being a science than a religion. There is no dogma, no credo, no 'I believe'. In Buddhism one is always urged to test the teachings in the fire of one's own experience, to treat them as a metallurgist would treat gold ore. Only from putting the teachings to a test, by practicing them, can one determine if they contain any truth or worth for oneself. We accept nothing simply 'on faith'. You could also call Buddhism a 'way of life', in that it incorporates every aspect of our being."

And apparently Buddhists are the most accepting of people regarding other belief systems, even more than Neo-Pagans. In fact, they have no problem sharing their beliefs with other religious sects. As Victoria explains it,

"Although I feel that Buddhism does not contradict the "Big Three" religions in that a person can be a Buddhist and a Christian, a Buddhist and a Jew, and so on, we do have a different point of departure. Buddhism begins with original goodness, in that the essential nature of mind which is found in each and every sentient being is no different than the Buddha's essential nature of mind. They are identical. And so to attain Realization, there is nothing that has to be added or subtracted from our mind's nature. The work is simply to remove the veils that hide the nature of mind, the veils of duality and all that follows after the self is separated from other, and in so doing, we get back to our original wisdom."

So there you have it...everyone is welcome. And if you would like to discuss it with Victoria herself, visit her website at: www.goldridgesangha.org.Let's see - no dogma, no credo, no commands of belief. Testing the teachings by our own life experience. Accepting nothing on faith. Those tenets I can get behind.