So, I'm a Buddhist now.

[Despanan]

Or again I guess - though now I'm actually a practicing Buddhist who belongs to an actual Buddhist organization and does Buddhist-y things, as opposed to a kid who read some books by the Dalai Llama and used them to troll evangelical Christians.

[dexeron]

Wasn't someone else a Buddhist here? Like... Mentat, or Mercan, or someone?

[Rip]

it was Mercan. He came out as Buddhist, and eventually I made him admit that I'm an Enlightened Being, which was pretty zen of him.

I'm still Zoroastrian, if anyone was wonderin <3

[dexeron]

That's what I thought, but I couldn't remember for sure.

I just went to Mercan's wedding on Saturday. It was pretty badass.

[Zengus]

Was it a Buddhist wedding? I don't actually have any idea what those are like.

Desp, whatever floats your boat tranquilly through the cosmic rivers of enlightenment. We're all just looking for some peace of mind, at the end of the day.

[Despanan]

It's been a really interesting journey. I was on a Catskills retreat with my sect (Sokka Gakkai International which is a Nichrien Lay-Buddhist organization that originated in Japan in the 1930's). We did canoe races, capture the flag, and sumo wrestling, then did some chanting in the woods and at the end they did a song complete with choreography that was, I swear to god - straight out of an anime or something.

Also, I asked them if I'd joined a cult.

All in all, very positive. It's really interesting being part of a "new" religion - there are pretty much zero supernatural beliefs, and their whole approach to Buddhism is very practical and materialist. Their philosophy really jives with the anarchist in me (no priests, no temples, no one is spiritually better than anyone else, heavy anti-militaristic and anti-nuclear weapons etc.)

Which is good because it helps me to actually have faith without believing ridiculous stories about magic people.

There's a bit of a cult of personality around their current president Daisaku Ikeda, which is weird to me, but he seems like a decent guy who's honestly done some exceptional things, and also I think it may just be a Japanese thing.

Overall what I really like is the practice centers around transcendental meditation where you chant the title of the lotus sutra: Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo to the Gohonzon, which is a special Buddhist mandala created by Nichiren Diashonin in the 13th century. Can't entirely explain it, but it is amazing for handling depression, stress and anxiety.

Overall, really fucking cool to be a part of a religion that I actually believe in, rather than pretending (as I did for many years as a Catholic) where the primary religious practice is kinesthetic rather than dogmatic. Also really nice to go to a religious service where they embrace gay and trans people and celebrate differences rather than trying to make everyone conform.

[Nick]

Lotus sutra is a hack.

[Samurai]

[Despanan]

It wasn't that they said "no" but how they said "no" that gave me my answer.

[Rip]

yep, definitely cult