Im grappling with this because Im a materialist athiest but I find alot of the axioms on how to live a life in buddhism to be extremely beneficial for me. mindfulness and the 8 fold path have always intrigued me and recently as I have gotten into guided mindfulness more (which often have many buddhist inspirations for obvious reasoms) I find myself trying to anchor myself and detach so to speak from things that bring me suffering etc.

my issues is the spiritual aspect which isn’t for me but i dont want to be rude or disrespectful. ive read alot online i cant just take a buffet style buddhism or whatever and i am stuck in this middle where i can’t help what I believe but i also want to share the peace the parts of buddhism have helped me.

idk if this is nonsense but i thought itd be nice to have a sounding board while I ponder this

  • SunnyDaze [they/them]
    ·
    4 years ago

    I'm in a similar boat, and have found Soto Zen Buddhism to be pretty good.

    Brad Warner's books are a good starting point. (Keep in mind that Brad Warner is a total pissboy who advocated for Trump and doesn't believe in masks.) You could probably just read Hardcore Zen and Sit Down and Shut Up and get all his good bits. Our sangha "teacher" also recommends Everyday Zen, though there is some BS in there.

    And Soto Zen Buddhism went in whole hog for Japanese Imperialism. Probably goes without saying, but a spiritual / ethical framework alone won't stop you from making mistakes / doing harm.

    But as far as religions / organizations go, it's pretty ok. Biggest thing is once you get started, find a sangha so you don't get too far in your own head.

    EDIT: Adding deets

    • ComradeMikey [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      holy shit you’re really selling it huh? haha ill look into it regardless of that baggage 😅😅

      glad you are adding deets because I am genuinely curious on what draws you to it in spite of that

      • SunnyDaze [they/them]
        ·
        4 years ago

        Oh, totally. I'm no teacher or anything, but the TL;DR is that it's fundamentalist - in the sense that it's "Just Sitting" zen. That's what keeps me coming back. No scripture / additional beliefs required. The attitude to the scriptures is largely that they're "often helpful additions".

        It's probably best if you find a teacher to talk it out with. FWIW, I'd recommend finding groups associated with the San Francisco Zen Center (SFZC), rather than the Soto Shu.

        Soto Shu is a recent organization that's trying to become like the Vatican for Soto Zen - not a great look.

    • MarxGuns [comrade/them]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Brad Warner was my introduction and I think his first book, at least is good. What's his explanation on being a Trumper and antimasker?