Dimensionally Barrett

Jesus and Buiddha by Xiron/Deviant Art For  Kelly Ann Morrow Recently, I was reminded of how notions of religious practice and/or dogma intersect with secular custom and why I really don’t like to identify as a Buddhist (although, yes, I am a card-carrying member thereof of the Tibetan variety.) I tend to keep my affiliation private and if someone knows my history, then fine, I’m happy to represent. I am not always certain that some Buddhists would want me to do so, perhaps for some reasons that we may encounter here.  Buddhism isn’t monolithic. This tends to rub some practitioners the wrong way, but it’s frankly obvious. Just as Christianity isn’t monolithic. Or any other group, tradition, or for that matter, individual. We - all of us - contain multitudes. That being said, the question surrounding how different practitioners encounter the world is likely to vary. An amusing - well, to me - example is, do or can Buddhists celebrate Halloween? Sure, I’ll bet there are some con...

Lord Jigten Sumgon/Jigten Gonpo ( ‘bri-gung-pa-‘jig-rten -gsum-gon/‘bri-gung-pa-‘jig-rten-mgon-po ); founder of the Drikung/Drigung Lineage As many (most? All?) of you know, I don’t “play favorites”, I don’t root for teams, when it comes to religious traditions that I’m affiliated with. Across the Buddhist spectrum, this is many more times the case, but it doesn’t prevent me from my enthusiasms. For many years, I’ve been and continue my affiliation with the Drikung Kagyu because, well, so many friends have been or are still monks in the lineage and because it really is the embodiment of a Tibetan practice lineage. Sure, I have my reservations about Buddhism in general and Tibetan Buddhism in particular; these have been articulated elsewhere. However, there’s much to commend the Drikung lineage in terms of application. I seem to recall Lama Sonam many years ago was asked about what texts students at the center (now in Arlington, Massachusetts) would be studying and h...