The Buddhist Threat
Occultists and pagans are threatened by Buddhism or, more correctly, occultists and pagans view Buddhism as a threat.
This is what I can gather by watching exchanges on the topic of Buddhism by pagans and occultists that I know. and have posted a bit recently about it on LJ and on an e-mail list that we are all on for (along with many others). Of course, it isn’t simply them. I’ve seen this reaction a lot over the last few years when the topic of Buddhism has come up. I have aquaintances that have taken empowerments at various points in the pagan community. Hell, even my mother has for White Tara, as I recall. It has come up as a topic of conversation.
One reaction that I’ve seen is that some feel that Buddhism is some kind of viral disease that will infect wholesome pagan practices or people and slowly turn them into non-pagan Buddhists (as contradictory as that turn of phrase is). Slowly Buddhism will convert us until nothing but itself is left behind. Given Buddhism’s history of actually spreading actively, that isn’t an insane view but I don’t think it reflects the nature of what is happening or why people become involved with Buddhism, specifically Tantric Buddhism.
Alobar is concerned that taking refuge isn’t Thelemic and is perhaps copping out of the system or of reality with all it’s joy and sorrow. I don’t think so but I’m not articulate enough on this particular topic (think of it, me not articulate…) to really discuss the issues in an intelligent manner, especially when much more qualified people are available.
Tantric Buddhism is a magical path. It is about awareness and experienced knowledged. It is Gnosis of the nature of things, whether it be you, the universe as a whole or what’s going on in the world. Those can’t even be separated. While I haven’t really grasped things as well as I can eventually, it is because I haven’t had the time involved in both study and practice to do so, not because it isn’t comprehensible. It’s a completely different mode of thought than what I’ve been exposed to in studying Western magic but I don’t think it is necessarily as different as some would make it out to be.
The turning point for me, possibly, was when I thought about how many occultists and pagans I knew who really seem to be better people because of their magical work. I could not think of many. Perhaps most people simply don’t practice but it has often been offered to me as a truism by people that I considered adepts on the path that knowledge and conversation and the practice of the path of return does not, at least for a long while, guarantee that you are a nice person or someone that people would want to be around. Crowley was a shit and there’s no two ways about that. So were many other famous magicians. I’m lucky that I do know personal examples that are good. Now, I know of a number of questionable Buddhist teachers. They aren’t that hard to find if you sniff around. That being said, all of the lamas that I’ve interacted with personally have been incredible figures. You could feel the warmth and joy that came off of them. Sure, they are people and do petty things perhaps but it was quite a difference from what I’ve experienced in the occult community over the last 13 years of my involvement.
I blame this sense of realness and warmth on the emphasis, constant, on compassion for other beings, especially the people around you. I also blame it on the requirements for real practice and realization to be recognized as capable of teaching as a lama. I’m not completely informed on all of the work that is done but you constantly hear about the requirement for a three year retreat before one is ordained. That’s three years, people, not a week, not six months of Abramelin work. Now, this being the world, I’m sure there are people skating around this but it’s a lot more of a requirement than you see in the magical community and I think that it shows.
I don’t care about “currents” be they the “Thelemic Current” or the “Golden Dawn Current” or anything else. I don’t really care about the ongoing debate on many lists for many years about whether something is “Old Aeon” or “New Aeon.” Fuck it.
What do I care about? I care about RESULTS. I care about GNOSIS on a true and person level. I care about being AWARE at a true level beyond the superficiality around us. Additionally, I care about trying to be a better human being and being the fullest whatever-I-am that I can be. I don’t care about pedantic semantical arguments about which hebrew letter should be moved to where on the Tree of Life and why. I don’t care about group politics or bullshit primate group dynamics. Other people can play those games. I’m done with it.
So, this rambled a bit but I guess, in the end, that I covered about as much as I can say. I could discover something about Buddhism next week that would drive me apeshit. I dislike the level of orthodoxy and control that Buddhist institutions maintain. It reminds me of the Catholic Church but that isn’t the original context of the teachings and path as it came out of India and that isn’t necessarily the context in the future. It is a living path that produces real results which are readily visible when you meet a teacher who has some attainment. I’m going to remember that the next time I’m at a thelemic event with some blow-hard discussing how he can change the weather at will but still can’t seem to get a job.
