can you be both a pagan and a buddhist and can you practece both buddhism and magick? just something ive been thimking,of

Hmmm. I think it depends on what buddhist tradition you choose to follow. Tibetan Buddhism for example contains many elements of the native Bon tradition which is more shamanistic. It seems to me that Buddhism often blends itself with local beliefs anyway-hence the presence of a strong animistic belief in countries such as Thailand where they have 'spirit houses' near their homes.
Also, some would question whether Buddhism is a religion as such (it makes no statement regarding the existence of god/s) or more of a philosophy.

It seems to me that the aim in Buddhist practice is to transcend this world and become a buddha. Paganism, I would argue, is more about working with this world rather than trying to escape it.

Interesting question though as these are often the 2 religions people disillusioned with Christianity end up looking into.

I have a friend who claims to be a Buddhist Wiccan!

I think she's thinking about the reincarnation aspects of Buddhism and incorporating that into Wicca.

Not really, unless you want to practice your own brand of both. Buddhism is less versatile than paganism on that front as Buddhism is pure common sense, but it's a hard route to travel and you'll find, the further into it you get, the more difficult it will be to continue with modern pagan rituals and such like.

I cannot recommend enough, if you are contemplating this seriously, Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism by Chogyam Trungpa.

I'll write a review of it soon anyway, but if you're seriously tumbling these and many other spiritual questions it will give you a right good run for your money. Very, very enlightened blokey (sadly now departed).

Best wishes,

Marion.

I think more likely is incorperating Buddhist practices into a pagan path, rather than trying to follow both at the same time... Meditation for example can be very important/ useful to a pagan, and as was pointed out to me in an earlier thread, few do it better than the Buddhists! Some of their theories and thoughts are also very intresting, and can have direct relavence to Pagan beliefs and practices.

Oh sorry, missed the point. Yes, incorporation sure, but then we incorporate bits of everything into paganism - Wicca for example is a mish mash of every Eastern religion going, dash of Theosophy, bit of British folklore, this that and the other, so yet. I use stuff from all over, most people do because, let's face it, being honest here, what else we got?

But the above book still stands

Problem is, Buddhism tends to make paganism obsolete lol I find the two are at loggerheads in my soul. Why i'm not a Buddhist I s'pose But yes, an exchange of cultures and ideas is enriching most of the time.

Babble babble, babblebabblebabble....

Oh dear! The paths of Buddhism are as diverse as the countries they travelled. There is the Vajrayana (India) which is instructed by gurus and is heavily into occult and eroticism. There is Lamaism which is essentially dualistic in which the Dalai Lama holds the "worldly" rule an the Panchen Lama is the spiritual head of its scholars of the "bon tradition" (as Flaxen has pointed out). Then there are the Zen traditions of China and Japan, that through Confucianism and Shintoism are very disciplinary.

As for how to incorporate it into Paganism? Only the Spirits can tell you that one.

Personally, I can't see any point in attempting to graft the ideas/ideals of one belief onto/into another totally disparate system - certainly geographically speaking!

Like, being able to do amazing stuff with fresh coconuts and blowfish, but being reluctant to apply the same culinary know-how to more mundane local produce. Such as Mince. And potatoes. (And please, nobody jump in with the old "they aint truly British etc!!)

But feel free to shoot me down - I am but a mere Traditionalist when it comes to such matters...

Buddhism is nonthesist or mu! (without god) more of a philosophy than a religion. its main aim is to discover the true nature of reality, one might draw similarities between Budhism and existential philosophies, or you might not.

I have always considered Buddhism as a form of philosophy as evermorlong states, because it incorporates principles of self discovery, where as Paganism has always been associated with beliefs that eventually became more and more evolved. The more evolved it became, the more complex the belief developed. That is why the very first and original beliefs of human kind are considered naive and simplistic when compared to the complexity of Gardiner's modern Wicca.

Johanna

there's PLENTY of magick in some forms of buddhism..

look at Tibet..and their 'Bon Pa' tradition which was incorporated into buddhism.

the (excellent) film 'kundun' contains a sequence where the monks invoke a gaurdian entity into a priest to consult it !:)

LUMI