Dialectic Two-Step – What Is a True Buddhist?

Dialectic Two-Step  is an ongoing series of my thoughts on questions that come my way.

Wisdom lies neither in fixity nor in change, but in the dialectic between the two. - Octavio Paz  

What Is a True Buddhist (or Christian, Muslim, or Atheist)?

As I’m writing this, it’s early morning. I’m a sleepy guy who hasn’t had his coffee yet. In a half hour, I’ll be a different guy; awake, caffeinated, and sociable. All of these descriptors – awake, caffeinated, and sociable – are time bound and shouldn’t be mistaken for who I am. I think this tells you a great deal about how fleeting our identities are and how ridiculous the idea of being a true Buddhist, Muslim, Christian, or Atheist is.

When we assert that we are Buddhist, Muslim, Atheist, or Christian, we have to be careful about what we mean. They do not identify who we are. I’m Buddhist. But, in the future, it’s not impossible that I won’t be very “Buddhist” at all. I could steal a car, attack someone, or become a suicide bomber. If this were to happen, people who know me would be surprised and say “this was such a shock, that’s not the Andrew that I knew.”

There is no such thing as a true Christian, a true atheist, or a true Muslim. Anyone who claims to be or points to an example of such a beast is mistaken. This is especially true of the people around which these labels were created. Jesus was Jewish, Buddha was a Vedic practitioner, and Mohammed was Hanif (a form of Abrahamic monotheism).

I think this flaw in how we view the world is at the root of the vitriol in politics and religion that’s out there. Our egos build up a cocoon of identity – we’re a Buddhist, a hipster, a traditionalist, or an ascetic. We take pride in this identity. When someone criticizes some aspect of our identity, it sparks rage. “We” – meaning our identity – is being attacked. When we’re attacked, we defend ourselves.

But let’s try something. Let’s take a statement religious identity with modify it to one about caffeine level. Try this:

All Muslims are crazy.

Now replace the descriptor Muslim with caffeinated

All caffeinated people are crazy.

The first statement carries with it an attack on the fastest growing population in the world. We look at the term Muslim as identifying.

The second is an observation about how people act when they’ve had coffee. It also implies a hypothesis, that perhaps people should drink less coffee (yeah, crazy right). But it implies a temporary state – when we’re under the influence of caffeine.

Maybe we should look at religion in the same way. People do wonderful things AND crazy things under the influence of religion. People get crazy when they strongly identify with one. People tend to be reasonable when they hear a positive religious message and decide to incorporate a little of it in their lives. Let’s not be Buddhist, Muslim, Christian, or Atheist. Let’s act that way.

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