Buddhist-Manifesto

'Gotama was an unsurpassed scientist of the real' says Glenn Wallis in this inspiringly honest, unadorned look at what it means to be a Buddhist. And likewise Wallis is courageously real in this paper - he doesn't pull any punches although they are delivered compassionately and with good intention.

'The Buddha 'prescribed a no-nonsense, no-frills, clutter-free methodology that would allow us to ascertain reality for ourselves;...he warned against the insidious and ensnaring seductiveness of ritual, devotion, and religious artifice'. This resounds with my sense that the minute I start to adopt these 'articifices', I begin to identify with them (a very unhelpful tendency) - and that if I need them to be motivated to walk the path, then I'm manufacturing a feel-good screen to place in front of my real experience. Know the core teachings of the Buddha, and implement them with the help of sangha (community) - if we stick with this we're unlikely to stray too far from the path.

A wonderful paper - probably confronting for many Buddhists - a must read to keep us all honest!