What Does Being A Buddhist Mean to You? Fall 1998

“Bodhichitta.”

L. J.

Dedham, MA

“It’s the sum of all that is.”

John

Boulder, CO

“I don’t believe in a ‘Higher Power’ in the sense of someone or something separate from myself. The most important thing I learned about a power greater than myself early in sobriety was that what is happening in a meeting is the activity. Through the activity, it becomes obvious that there is a power greater than that. There better be, because if not I’m in big trouble.”

T.

Mt. Tremper, NY

“To answer that question is to become a prisoner of it. If I am hoping to be free of one addiction, the last thing I need is another prison.”

Robbie K.

Tucson, AZ

“In AA there’s lots of talk of God ‘as we understand him.’ That leaves a lot of room. Sure, the ‘g’ word carries with it lots of baggage, but it’s not mine.”

F.

Santa Cruz, CA

“I never think about a higher power. As long as I know it’s not me, I’m fine.”

B.

Urbana, IL

“You mean, in terms of God or Buddha? That is so not important.”

Alexis O.

Brooklyn, NY

“At first, I associated ‘Higher Power’ with God, and I couldn’t relate to it. But I came to understand it as “group” – and then I could use the concept with conviction.”

Sean M.

Ottawa, Canada

“Because of my resistance to the ‘G’ word, I kept imagining some kind of cosmic energy or force. But that turned out to be a cop out. Because it was too remote, too abstract. Now I understand that whatever ‘it’ is – is inside of me, and ‘process’ means letting it come forth. Everyone has seeds of enlightenment and seeds of ignorance. What part of the your garden do you want to tend?”

S.D.

Tacoma, WA

“I see ‘a power greater than myself’ as the mystery and perfection of being.”

P. M.

Woodstock, NY

“The less I try to figure out who my Higher Power is, the better off I am. My teacher has taught me the importance of the words ‘I don’t know.’ Saying ‘I don’t know’ has a powerful effect upon me – it opens up infinite possibilities. All I know for sure is that there is a power ‘out there’ greater than myself.

Bill K.

Santa Rosa, CA

“A power greater than myself is the power of things as they are. When I oppose that power, I suffer. When I try to be in accord with it, I am peaceful.”

Ryoyu

Knoxville, TN

“God and Buddhanature are the same thing.”

J.P.

Hackettstown, NJ

“As a practitioner my answer is: It’s gods, not god. So, progressively higher intelligences. Intelligence, light, and power are synonymous here. I believe the whole thing is founded in absence, just as alcohol is as powerful in it’s absence as in it’s presence.”

Ernest

London, England