Maybe Buddhism is a religion after all, and that's no compliment.

I never really planned to engage in the "official" Buddhist methods, which would mean seeking out a teacher and spending a lot of time at some location working through these things in a group. The concept is not that appealing to me as something to do on a regular basis. Nonethless, there are a lot of good and useful ideas that come out of Buddhism that could benefit the lives of the average person. As such, I have been reading more about them and trying to put more of them into practice each day. To put it simply, they all go along with the intention of trying to be more mindful through each day and live in the moment as much as possible. Toward that goal, I have several Buddhism related blogs that were added to my RSS reader. This is where some of the trouble begins to show up.

These blogs are obviously written by some people that are on the inside of this. They are fully committed to all of the traditions and rituals that apparently come along with it, many of which don't seem to really have anything to do with the core message (as I understand it) either. These appear to largely be the trappings that come with something that has been around for a very long time. Traditions die hard. Belief systems hold strong. The whole system, much like any other religious setup, is geared primarily around control by the elders. They determine who is allowed to teach. They determine what they are allowed to teach. They determine how it will be taught. You end up with people waxing on about how you are not able to separate the mythological (from ancient India) aspects from it, while others argue that you are supposed to separate those because we know better now. The age old situation where new reformers, wishing to keep it relevant and modern for new cultures, battle with people who wish to maintain the status quo. Still others are resistant to changing aspects of it without someone higher in the structure telling them to do so. They are unable, or unwilling, to think and reason for themselves. They go so far as to say that in Buddhism, it very much matters who challenges ideas and who decides that the challenge is successful. The message being that some new guy cannot just decide for himself that reincarnation isn't real, or that there aren't multiple levels of the spiritual world, or whatever the legend may be for this particular sect.

When it comes down to that, they are acting no differently than anybody on the inside of any other religious structure. People who derive power from their influence and control, as well as people who find comfort in having no control and not having to make their own decisions about it. It isn't really a surprise to me that it might turn out this way. I had pretty much made the decision, early on, that I would look into the philosophies and bring the useful concepts into my life and leave the others by the wayside. I am certain that reincarnation has nothing to do with me being mindful and finding balance within my life. There is no insight to be gained from praying before idols or offering them gifts. I see the full benefits from Buddhism to be found via the approach taken by people like Sam Harris and Stephen Batchelor. I can embrace accepting the message that can bring about a peaceful coexistence filled with compassion and acceptance. None of this requires adherence to strict rituals, per se. I do not need to master certain Tibetan chants to realise these benefits in my daily life.

At the end of it all, I would say that the principle benefits of Buddhism appear likely to come from the core philosophy within it. The religious aspects are all the other trappings that people surround it with. If that is the only way it works for them, then I can only wish the best for them. However, I cannot help but think they are missing the point when they are unable to think outside of that structure. I don't think the Buddha would've wanted all of these people to entrap themselves inside the rituals and scriptures of yet another dogmatic and controlling religious structure. That hardly seems like an efficient way to liberate individuals in a modern world.

The following saying is attributed to Buddha and I feel like it helps drive home my point:

“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.”