Devotional activity

So there's a post that gets to me, and then I open up to celebrating the devotional. I really think it's a personality difference with these guys. 

There's a subreddit called r/goldenswastica. It's for the traditionalists who don't like the secular bent, and don't like dilettantes. Some of the people can be heritage Buddhist who are born in Buddhist countries and grew up in Buddhist families. They like posts like Why Secular Buddhism is Baloney. 

They asked: What Buddhist practices, mindsets, disciplines, etc. do you have in your life (and your temple/congregation) that are not found in modernized/westernized Buddhist communities? (post by NyingmaGuy5)

It's actually a good exercise and I love devotional activity and learning about other sects activities. 

I'm afraid the post proves the opposite of what they imagine they're proving. I worry that if I'm too afraid to provide this feedback, how are they going to get the feedback about what they are doing? They're trying to prove that they have the right distinct practices while simultaneous saying those are just examples from sects. Just that in general a secular western Buddhist isn't really a Buddhism, and suffer from the lack of their privileged expertise. We should venerate them more. So what are these practices?

Bathing the Buddha. OK, I don't do that. My main statue is a wooden rupa, I don't want to warp it. My metal and stone ones are small. I guess I could bathe them, but they are so small. But that gives me the idea to put a Hotai in the shower and another by the kitchen sink. Not a bad idea. Hotai isn't my favorite Bodhisattva but it is stone. 

Nuns give out literature? I've loaned and given people literature. They talk about nun culture, and to be honest there aren't a lot of nuns in the USA, but I have met nuns at a Taiwanese temple. They said Triratna has no lineage, and we have 2 lineages. I wrote a post about that. I wrote that in 2010 and I stand by that essay. I have read books about nuns, and one of my favorite parts of the Pali Canon is the Therigatha. I had a transcendent experience reading that book on retreat at Aryaloka. There are women order members in all the sanghas I participate in. I'm not sure if the traditionalist cultures are the most friendly and respectful to women, I've seen some fishy stuff from those cultures. 

Displaying mantras in print form. I do that. 

Praying to gods of wealth and health. I have a medicine Buddha icon, but yea, I don't pray for worldly gain to the gods of favor. That is true.

"Washing dishes, seeing how the food scraps drops and flows down the drainage, then thinks and wishes for the benefits of small animal sentient beings that would eat those scraps somewhere." I'm going to pass on by with that one. I do wish all well, at various times a day, but no, I don't imagine the food scraps will nourish other. I could think of that, I do like that. That is kind of sweet. I really wish I could compost, and I love composting on retreat, I always take out the compost when I'm on retreat. I do think along those lines, though.

"Use of effigies at the temple." I mean your temple is my temple, but forget that. I don't use effigies in my house. I have Buddha statues and images all over my house. But my sangha doesn't have a building, or even a dedicated room with effigies. They rotate people's houses and work spaces. The retreat center does have effigies. 

"Going to the sea, making offerings to the nagas." I haven't done that. That might be Hinduism, but whatever. I do have awe at the ocean, and I love the mythology of Buddhism. I think a million thoughts at the ocean, Hamlet taking arms against a sea of trouble, Moby Dick, and my fears about not seeing what's under the water, remembering peak experiences snorkeling. 

"Doing life release. Buying animals meant for slaughter. Rescuing them or releasing them back to their natural habitat." Got 2 rescue cats, which saved their lives. But not as a ceremony. 

"Collecting, using, or having some material, artifacts, ritual objects that are believed to be sacred and beneficial both for practice and mundane needs." Not true. 

These were all examples and not specific things to be scrutinized, but I'm sorry I look at them all.

Someone post "prostration". I've done a lot of prostrations in the style of Triratna and as explained in the book Teachers of Enlightenment by Kulananda, and as taught to me by order members. 

I don't collect amulets, but I do have one. 

I don't take merit literally but I do strive in my own way.

It also seems like my not coming from Thailand, I don't have all the holidays they celebrate, and yet I yearn for them. That's actually something I really struggle with. I wish I was embedded in a tradition. I am trying to build that in America. 

I make offerings. I have done confession. I do believe in devotional activity. I celebrate their activity. 

I don't have various sect practices like the Feeding of the Hungry Ghosts ceremony. I'm so curious about them, but I'm not sure if I should be a tourist in a sect to learn things. I do sometimes think about visiting pure land temples near my house, though I don't think they speak in English. "Feeding of pretas" Yea, I don't do that. I do give money to homeless people. I worked in a prison and worked to be compassionate. 

Maybe we'll never agree about the ontological status of miracle stories. Magic is used as a metaphor, and if you think it's more than that I celebrate your credulity and wish you well with that. 

They say, "Dharma talks can sometimes touch on concepts in Eastern medicine and geomancy, like yin and yang energy channels, the three dantians, the meridians, etc." I've actually heard those things, but I don't experience non-Dharma as Dharma. I experience culture as culture and hopefully and celebrate it. I really do like Taoism and other ideas from all over the world. 

They say, "even though Yantra tattoos are not a traditional Buddhist practice per se, there is a lot of intersection between them (and the work of the Ajarns) and the Buddhist Theravada religion." OK, okay, I don't have a Buddhist tattoo but you also seem to be saying it's not traditional. 

Being against superficiality is one thing, but to relish in name calling. NyingmaGuy5 likes "Pumpkin Spice Prajna". He's also someone who probably rails against Karens, woke culture and virtue signaling. What is the right way to make fun of superficiality? I think there is no right way. Don't do it. Point it out gently if you have a relationship with that person. 

Kathas are Thai sacred prayers. I have sacred prayers. I'm not Thai. 

"I approach: Phra Phrom (Lord Brahma), Phra In (Lord Indra) and Phra Pikanet (Lord Ganyapati)." I hope that practice is good for you. Buddhism does spring from a pre-Hindu culture. 

Being vegetarian means Buddhism is controversial, but I'm 99% vegan, so again not really talking about me. I guess this whole post, if it don't apply, let it fly. 

General statements feel untrue: "Convert communities don't have kitchens....?" (source) "That's Buddhist AF. Mad respect for nuns-dominated communities." is NyingmaGuy5's response. Later he says, "I got to get a Buddha's tooth for my altar". I wish him well. 

I think the worst practice he engages in is ill conceived posts like this one, setting up strawman, not being accurate. Why not just celebrate devotion, culture and mythology?

Pointing out others hubris maybe isn't polite or Buddhist or humble myself. But come on, someone says dana is something they don't practice and the bogey man superficial secular buddhist doesn't practice generosity?! Lots of othering going on. 

My pointing out how superficial calling out superficiality might be superficiality. Bottom line, I don't think this post helps my practice, so I'll look in other directions. But as a part of Buddhist culture I want highlight it as something that exists, and give my own personality take on it. I'm not sure how much I want to police other Buddhists, but then again I do have these types judgements, and I give them in this post so I don't really rise above it. Not sure mine are any better. I don't think I contain all the truths. I don't think any sangha contains all the truths. I don't think any religion contains all the truths. I have loyalty to my teachers, and gratitude.

Another thought is that if I do most of the devotional activity, and I feel a secular bent. I don't have to literally believe mythology. What do they do with that? Why am I so afraid to post this to the subreddit? My experience with Christianity in America makes me not want to be confrontational in the spiritual world with virtual strangers. Maybe if I met him face to face. 

I don't want to stir up dischord in the sangha. I don't feel like they are my sangha. They don't want to be part of my sangha. I don't want to be a part of their sangha. And yet I celebrate their devotion to the Buddha, so we are part of that sangha. And I take away reflection on devotional activity.