In my sangha—Nalandabodhi—we offer a series of progressive courses on the study of Buddhism. The very first class in the very first course is called “The Buddha Was Not a Buddhist.” This makes me happy.
This makes me happy because I don’t want to be a Buddhist either. At one time I certainly did, but now I most certainly do not. I don’t mean that I am giving up on my practice, my sangha, or sentient beings or anything like that. I want to practice the dharma fully and authentically, as much as I can anyway. What I mean is I don’t really want to cultivate a mind that checks whether I am meeting my own or other people’s notions of what a “Buddhist” is or not. I want to let go of the paranoia of being a “good buddhist”. Instead, I want to occupy a state of mind that is simply present to what is and is curious about how to apply whatever dharma practice I can in that moment. How can I be caring? How can I find some freedom for myself and others? I am exhausted by my mind that keeps asking “yeah, but is it Buddhist enough?”.
Not being a Buddhist, for me, means being authentic in my own dharma practice. It means emphasizing the heart of dharma over the appearance of being a dharma practitioner, whatever that may look like to each person. It means dropping the attitude that thinks if I just join this group, follow this program, dress and talk like this, then I will be happy, valuable, or even enlightened. Not being a Buddhist is a call to my Buddha Nature that cuts through my own tendencies towards spiritual materialism. It means letting go of the mind that turns the spiritual journey into some kind of impersonal formula or checklist. “First I will take refuge, then bodhisattva vows, then I’ll learn to meditate, then do ngondro, Vajrayana, and so on until I finally achieve enlightenment.” There is no heart in that, no Buddha. I feel something very important is missing for me in that kind of journey.
I appreciate “The Buddha Was Not A Buddhist” as the starting place for the study of dharma in my community. I appreciate that, from the very beginning, we are invited connect with our Buddha Nature, not put on a Buddhist costume. There is something very wholesome and authentic in that for me.