How would you explain your basic life philosophy?
I am a secular Buddhist. Buddhism is a large and varied tradition followed by half a billion people and encompassing half of the world. It has many traditions and if anything it is more diverse and fractured than Christianity or Islam. The main difference is that they did not try to convert each other at the point of a sword or the muzzle of a gun.
Nobody can follow all of the tenets of all the traditions because many of them are contradictory. The Buddha said that we must each question the teachings and reject those portions which we find objectionable. I am a bit of an apostate even within my own lineage. So, to answer your question, I feel it is necessary to state just what I do believe and what I reject.
I reject the idea of transmigration of individual souls.
I reject the idea of heavens, hells, pure lands, ghosts, gods or demons.
I reject the worship of Bodhisattvas.
I reject any attempt to worship the Buddha as a deity.
I reject any part of the teachings referencing the supernatural.
I reject any part of the teachings which contradict proven scientific fact.
I reject the idea of karma as a punishing force.
I believe that enlightenment is available to everybody and in this lifetime.
I reject the doctrine of personal transmission of enlightenment from master to student.
I accept without question theFour Noble Truths of the Buddha.
I accept without question that the Noble Eightfold Path as the means to ending suffering.
I accept without question the Five Ethical Precepts of Buddhismas my moral code.
I accept the principle of nonviolence.
I accept the principle of ahimsa.
I believe that living life in loving kindness and compassion is key to happiness.
Believe nothing merely because you have been told it. Do not believe what your teacher tells you merely out of respect for the teacher. But whatsoever, after due examination and analysis, you find to be kind, conducive to the good, the benefit, the welfare of all beings - that doctrine believe and cling to, and take it as your guide.
— Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha
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