translating Buddhist to pagan
Jun. 27th, 2007 05:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snugglekittyI'm not done with my crazy reading up on women and Buddhism. However, I figured something out today.
While reading Sandy Boucher's Turning the Wheel: American Women Inventing the New Buddhism, I once again came across some familiar Buddhist ideas. The first is taking refuge. A Buddhist takes refuge in the Buddha (described also in this book as "the enlightened mind,"), in the Damma (described in this book as the Way) and the Sangha (said to traditionally refer to those who have attained enlightenment following the same path, but in this case, referring to the community of those who practice Buddhism).
The second idea is the Four Divine Abodes, which I understand as the four places that divine folks live in all the time. The first is LovingKindness, the second is Compassion, the third is Sympathetic Joy, and the fourth is Equanamity. The book does not give descriptions of them.
So, I started to try to understand this passage. I was walking along the street, and I said each of the concepts out loud, and then tried to paraphrase them in my own words. I got them one at a time, and will now share with you my translation of Buddhist concepts onto the sort of paganism I practice.
Disclaimer: this is what makes sense TO ME and how I understand these concepts. I would definitely invite those with more knowledge than myself to share their interpretations.
Other Disclaimer: Yes, I know this is public, and it may not be relevant or make sense to a lot of people, but it was such a Eureka! moment that I wanted to share with a wide audience.
Taking refuge in the Buddha is taking refuge in the Enlightened Mind. For a pagan, this would be taking refuge in the Goddess, more specifically, in the part of the Goddess that is in you, your Higher Self.
Taking refuge in the Damma is taking refuge in the Way, the teaching of the Buddha. For a pagan, this would be taking refuge in your path, whatever your path is. (Or possibly your tradition, if you have one. I don't, so I can't speak to that.)
Taking refuge in the Sangha is taking refuge in the community of the enlightened. This one doesn't translate as exactly, at least not for a solitary witch like me, but I'm choosing to understand it as taking refuge in the spirits - familiar animals, guides, etc.ETA: Actually, I think that "taking refuge in your spiritual ancestors," in the way that we call on them at Samhain, makes more sense here, now that I've had some more time to think it over.
The Four Divine Abodes also translate well. Lovingkindness could be seen, from a pagan perspective, as recognizing that the divine is in everyone. For a while, I thought there was no pagan equivalent to the doctrine of Compassion, and then I realized it was grokking. Sympathetic Joy (probably Mudita in the original) could be seen as Empathy. (You could also flip this pairing - in paganism we're not as focused on suffering as in a lot of other religions.) And Equanamity, or serenity, fits in well with my understanding of a pagan state of grace - you could also call it trusting the Goddess (in a more than an intellectual way).
Gosh, this stuff is neat. I wonder if there are any Buddhist pagans out there. I'm not looking to become one, but it would be fascinating to talk to some.
Now that I've achieved this understanding, time to take a break. No point in straining the brain, and I want a chance to integrate this, too.
While reading Sandy Boucher's Turning the Wheel: American Women Inventing the New Buddhism, I once again came across some familiar Buddhist ideas. The first is taking refuge. A Buddhist takes refuge in the Buddha (described also in this book as "the enlightened mind,"), in the Damma (described in this book as the Way) and the Sangha (said to traditionally refer to those who have attained enlightenment following the same path, but in this case, referring to the community of those who practice Buddhism).
The second idea is the Four Divine Abodes, which I understand as the four places that divine folks live in all the time. The first is LovingKindness, the second is Compassion, the third is Sympathetic Joy, and the fourth is Equanamity. The book does not give descriptions of them.
So, I started to try to understand this passage. I was walking along the street, and I said each of the concepts out loud, and then tried to paraphrase them in my own words. I got them one at a time, and will now share with you my translation of Buddhist concepts onto the sort of paganism I practice.
Disclaimer: this is what makes sense TO ME and how I understand these concepts. I would definitely invite those with more knowledge than myself to share their interpretations.
Other Disclaimer: Yes, I know this is public, and it may not be relevant or make sense to a lot of people, but it was such a Eureka! moment that I wanted to share with a wide audience.
Taking refuge in the Buddha is taking refuge in the Enlightened Mind. For a pagan, this would be taking refuge in the Goddess, more specifically, in the part of the Goddess that is in you, your Higher Self.
Taking refuge in the Damma is taking refuge in the Way, the teaching of the Buddha. For a pagan, this would be taking refuge in your path, whatever your path is. (Or possibly your tradition, if you have one. I don't, so I can't speak to that.)
Taking refuge in the Sangha is taking refuge in the community of the enlightened. This one doesn't translate as exactly, at least not for a solitary witch like me, but I'm choosing to understand it as taking refuge in the spirits - familiar animals, guides, etc.ETA: Actually, I think that "taking refuge in your spiritual ancestors," in the way that we call on them at Samhain, makes more sense here, now that I've had some more time to think it over.
The Four Divine Abodes also translate well. Lovingkindness could be seen, from a pagan perspective, as recognizing that the divine is in everyone. For a while, I thought there was no pagan equivalent to the doctrine of Compassion, and then I realized it was grokking. Sympathetic Joy (probably Mudita in the original) could be seen as Empathy. (You could also flip this pairing - in paganism we're not as focused on suffering as in a lot of other religions.) And Equanamity, or serenity, fits in well with my understanding of a pagan state of grace - you could also call it trusting the Goddess (in a more than an intellectual way).
Gosh, this stuff is neat. I wonder if there are any Buddhist pagans out there. I'm not looking to become one, but it would be fascinating to talk to some.
Now that I've achieved this understanding, time to take a break. No point in straining the brain, and I want a chance to integrate this, too.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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Date: 2007-06-28 01:06 am (UTC)Buddhism, the real deal, is stark and scary and beautiful and mind-blowing. It's damned hard to find, though.
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Date: 2007-06-28 12:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-28 05:16 am (UTC)BB Wolf
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Date: 2007-06-28 11:25 am (UTC)I noticed that you Friended me - do we know each other?
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Date: 2007-06-28 05:17 pm (UTC)Wolf
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Date: 2007-06-28 08:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-28 08:54 pm (UTC)