Can i be buddhist and wiccan

There is no place for the feminine aspects of spirituality in standard patriarchal monotheism. However Wicca celebrates the divine feminine with colorful ceremonies, symbolism and rituals. Many Wiccans are accomplished artists and designers. The non-macho nature of Wicca extends to welcoming gays and lesbians, who are still treated as abominations unto the Lord by some of the traditional patriarchal religions. Lack of dogma. The lack of any philosophical basis for Wicca is a double-edged sword.

On one side there's no coherent intellectual structure, but then again there's nothing to disagree with. You aren't expected to believe six impossible things before breakfast. In an age of fundamentalism and Biblical literalism this has obvious attractions. Buddhism and Wicca - the future. A Buddhist will probably find little to disagree with in Wicca, precisely because it is so content-free. The differences don't so much lie with disagreeing with what is there, as with being aware of what is missing.

For example there is - No path out of samsara. Though Buddhists do not attempt to push their beliefs down people's throats, it is probably worthwhile being aware of these limitations if one is ever in the position of trying to explain the dharma to Wiccans. It is also useful to remember that the Wiccans may have gathered their preconceptions about Buddhism from Christian sources.

From a Buddhist point of view, the Wiccan path doesn't seem to lead anywhere, though with skillful means it could perhaps be extended to lead to the dharma. A useful point of contact between the two belief systems could be the mutual veneration for the Lady Tara. In terms of content probably not much. In terms of presentation perhaps quite a lot.

Wicca's numinous qualities derive from its emphasis on seasonal festivals, which have deep and ancient resonances within Anglo-Celtic culture, and indeed most of the cultures of northern Europe. The long northern winters and their meagre hours of daylight, which are counteracted by festivals of fire and light, provide a powerful archetypal symbolism.

However, most varieties of Buddhism have come to the West from cultures which do not suffer such major seasonal variations in light and darkness. Perhaps Buddhists might consider as skillful means of acculturation rather than making any changes to the dharma whether Buddhist fire and light pujas and offerings might be adapted to work with the seasons of the year. After all, the church exploited the same techniques what's so Christian about Yule Logs or Christmas trees! Christian versus Buddhist worldviews.

Buddhism in Everyday Life. The Daily Meditation. The similarities seem to be mostly due to borrowing of eastern religion, especially the afterlife aspects.

Apart from that, I find much more in common with Christianity. But maybe that is just my background. Nevertheless, I am glad that there is much in common between us. Nearly all religions at least contain elements that are driven by the same desire for freedom from suffering as Buddhists. As for your question on supreme being - at least from a Theravada POV, any deities are subject to the laws of kamma and cannot have created the world.

Spiritual practices can include chanting, prayers, pilgrimage, puja worship , meditation, reverence to monks and Buddha-images, and much more. Ultimately, the answer is this: You can practice any traditions you like, in any combination that makes sense to you. At the end of the day, the journey is about discovering and clarifying your world view and your dedication, your bhakti, if you will. This takes different forms for different people. You read and you think, and you read some more.

And you speak words of love and gratitude, or show that love and gratitude in other ways, ritualized or not. And then you sit — in trance, in silent meditation or simply in a spirit of listening — and hear what They say back to you, whether in intellectual thought jnana , vision or simply the movement of leaves in the wind. Well done! You are commenting using your WordPress.

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Modern "fusion cooking" is simply carrying on this millenia-old process. We all do, whether we admit it or not. Most of us on this forum are practicing "fusion cooking" of various disparate traditions of Buddhism that have had no contact with one another until fairly recently: Soto Zen here, with Burmese Theravada there, or Thai Theravada here, mixed with Vajrayana there.

And, indeed, many of these various traditions wouldn't exist if they hadn't melded what was originally an Indian religion to their own preexisting cultures. Hell, even the very words we use are admixtures of various influences: English is a mongrel of Latin-by-way-of-the-Normans and German-by-way-of-the-Anglo-Saxons.

Just some "food for thought. I like you. Who knows how many words we've picked up since the Victorian era from sports or war or technology or whatnot. Music terminology is full of Italian. Fusion cuisine is delicious when done right. Buffalo chicken pizza is one of my favorites :thumbsup:. Buffalo chicken pizza is one of my favorites :thumbsup: Good point. I think Wicca and Buddhism is a great example of extremely poor fusion cooking.

Rather like Pidgin English, or a Jewish woman falling in love with a Muslim Bad mix Some fusion is good, but if there is no inherent advantage, I think it best to work on the individual components and not meld them for no reason Wuddhist in Chaos Seems apt. Simonthepilgrim Veteran.

I think that many people are attracted to Neo-Paganisms from the very best motives. They see a beautiful universe. That was to be much longer but it won't upload! They see a beautiful universe and, at the same time, transnational attacks on it: destruction of rain forests, reduction of eco-diversity, pollution, e tutti quanti. Additionally, the continuing patriarchy of those in power and in traditional religions moves them towards a sense of what can be distinguished as the "feminine" in nature.

WuddhistInChaos , you are right that the inclusion of the Goddess is of immense importance in the growth of these spiritualities. Of course, we, here, are so advanced that we can see that all dualities are empty. We live in a world of total unity. Don't we? Well, not by me we don't.

So much response here asserts or implies that "I am right and you are wrong. I would, however, question the image of the canoeist, one foot on the bank and the other in the boat, or that of riding two horses. It is more like a child on a scooter: we still need to propel ourselves along with one moving foot. We may be far behind some of our friends here, or we may be streaking on ahead of them.

I have no way of telling but I enjoy the ride and it certainly reduces my own stress. I feel like sipping hot chocolate next to a fireplace with you Simon. I do too, lol. That was a lovely post. Fede , some have found a resting place. Nope, I don't get your analogy. My point is that in trying to balance a foot in each canoe One being Buddhism, and the other being Wicca at one point or another, there will be a wobble, an imbalance, and it will eventually be impossible to maintain an equilibrium.

I am not the only one to state this, and I think, through my experience, that it is true. In order to call one's self Wiccan or Buddhist, that is what you have to be adhering to. To call yourself a Wuddhist actually doesn't mean you are both. It means you are neither. Jason God Emperor Arrakis Moderator. For what it's worth, I think both paths can be compatible depending on one's understanding of Wicca and what the God and Goddess represent.