Who Can Be Buddhist? no one really

I don't know what to write about today. That's good.

There is really nothing to write about.

Buddhism is not really anything.

We make it some THING, we give it rules and call it a "religion". But is it that?

Who can be a Buddhist?

I have had conversations with other Buddhists who have rather strong convictions regarding exactly "who" and "what" is a Buddhist.

I've also known committed Buddhists who have never used the terms "Buddha", "Buddhism" etc..
Pretty good if you can pull it off I think.

Can a killer be a Buddhist?

Does a killer have a mind?

How fast can the mind change?

How soon does enlightenment arrive?

Some people define Buddhism by certain standards that are easily recognizable - but in fairly vague terms.

Terms like "non-violence".

If I kill out of protecting my daughter will I still be a Buddhist? What if I hate the man who is trying to harm her and I then let the anger rise and rise to the point where I kill him? Am I still a Buddhist?

I think this notion is influenced by the Christian idealism of reward and punishment. It goes something like, "if I am good I get the reward of..." "If I am bad I get the punishment of..." That is not Buddhism.

WHEN THIS ARISES THAT BECOMES

This is Buddhism.

There are no exclusions here, Buddhism is not a club that you join. The vows that you take are practices, the meat of Buddhism in action, the vows are not rules.

WHEN THIS ARISES THAT BECOMES

When you view the world as filled with independent instances and events of THING-NESS then the world becomes an experience that is in need of rules and classifications.

In reality, all of this passes away much too fast for that sort of thinking. THIS moment is too quick and too precious for rules.

If we can notice this moment, all the rules are fulfilled. I once had a zen teacher who called this "living in vow". There are vows that you make as a Buddhist but they are not rules.

Life is too short for rules.

When you relate to your experience in a realistic way - minus all the THINGS in this experience - then you realize that just this being here right now, right at this moment is enough. It is perfect. It is not obstructed by THING-NESS.

Rules are just things.

Anyone can be a Buddhist. Everyone has a mind.

WHEN THIS ARISES THAT BECOMES

Whether you know this or not, life is undefinable as anyTHING. This is really just experience. Buddhism is simply a language like math for example. The numbers themselves are meaningless, abstractions.

Can you see this?

You can't get away from your experience however.

Because "when this arises, that becomes."

These are famous Buddhist words. Some people consider them "sacred" words. Really though, they are just pointing you back to this experience.

That is what this is about.

No one can really be a Buddhist. Buddhism disappears when you look at it - that is if you are doing it right.

You disappear if you are doing it right. Compassion or "relationship" appears if you are doing it right - but not as a THING.

So when you want to indulge in your "Buddha-ness" you should be careful there. Don't make this precious life into any THING like Buddhism. A Buddha is your mind completely free of Buddha.

To those who wish to make Buddhism into an exclusive club I would just say be careful of how you harm your experience, because when this becomes, that arises.