I'm a Buddhist ... And I Didn't Even Know It

"Daibatsu-2"

My daughter Kathryn has been right more than once on the big issues in my life. The first was when she explained that I ate too many carbs - I was vegetarian at the time - and that can't be good for you. I've written lots about that realization.

The other day the family was having a philosophical conversation about free will, cause and effect, natural universal laws and the like, and Kathryn said "Dad, you're a Buddhist and you don't even know it".

I didn't think much about that comment, but then she started saying it more and more often to me .. so I started to investigate.





The basic tenets of Buddism (There are several lists - but the basic ones are here) are:

1. Not killing
2. Not stealing
3. Not misusing sex
4. Not lying
5. Not abusing intoxicants
6. Not talking about others' errors and faults
7. Not elevating oneself and blaming others
8. Not being stingy
9. Not being angry

Notice how they say nothing of religion, belief in a higher power or spirituality? Buddhism at it's core is about the examination and introspection of ones own mind. This is often through meditation.

There are some precepts that go further and believe in some supernatural or metaphysical phenomenon. The great thing about Buddhism is that you can choose to ignore these.

I'll not call myself a Buddhist, but it's nice to know that people have been thinking like me for thousands of years.

BTW, if you're interested, Sam Harris (one of those vocal atheists) has an excellent article on all of this titled "Killing the Buddha".