Hinduism, Buddism and Paganism?

Question

Is there anything wrong with putting them all in my spritual bleander and makeing my Beliefe system smoothy?

Ok real question......is there anything wrong with combining them in my spirtual pratice?

Serious answers please.

Answer 1

Namaste!

There are plenty of people who do this, and it's generally being labeled as IndoPaganism. In my references section you will see links to various articles and websites where you can find out more about how other people are approaching the practice of IndoPaganism. I myself practice a blend of universalist Shakta Hinduism and Wicca. I also utilize various aspects of methods from the Buddhist traditions and philosophies (I really enjoy Tibetan meditation techniques, and their methods for cultivating detachment). There's certainly nothing at all wrong with blended paths if you approach it from a standpoint of deep respect for the traditions you are using.

The key to successful eclecticism is education. Take the time to learn as much as you can about each system that you are drawn to *as an independant entity*. Read sources from within that tradition, not just from outsiders commenting on them (at least not at first) - that way you get the "inside" story.

Paganism, Hinduism and Buddhism are huge traditions, and so taking the time to really understand them before you start to combine various elements from them is very important. It shows your respect for each tradition, and also allows you to compare and contrast the key aspects of each in an intelligent manner, instead of just randomly picking things that seem "neat" or "cool" and mashing them together.

Syncretism is as old as humanity - it's only natural to borrow from ideas that appeal to you, in order to augment your current spiritual/cultural/etc environment. However, the new trend of just using various cultural deities and ideas willy-nilly with very little understanding of the deeper energetic processes involved with each system you are engaging yourself in is an unfortunate modern development. Syncretism usually evolves naturally when two systems live within very close proximity to each other, so elements from each end up in the others. With the growing Global Village mentality, thanks alot in part to the internet, people have access to alot of "foreign" information at the click of a mouse. But you have to remember that not everything on the internet is accurate, and so taking the time to really immerse yourself in the original cultural contexts of a tradition BEFORE blending it is very important if you want you eclecticism to be effective.

Libraries are your friends (especially large University ones as they tend to have larger stocks of less "popular" texts, and have many respected academic studies, as well as scriptures and scriptural commentaries), don't be afraid to go! See what local Hindu and Buddhist temples are in your area and start attending. You may have to make some phone-calls to see when the open services are and what ettiquette you may need to observe (for example, dressing conservatively, removing your shoes before entering, etc), and overcome your fears about being "new", but likely you will find very helpful people who can help inform you.

If you feel at a loss for where to begin when learning about Hinduism and Buddhism (there are so many different schools within each of them, and keeping them all straight can be overwelming), try starting with the "Buddhism for Dummies" or the "Complete Idiots Guide to Hinduism". These are actually GREAT places to start and are written by insiders to the traditions, and are created to inform someone new to the subject of all the major, important aspects of the traditions and its practices. Once you have this basic grasp on what schools and philosophies and practices resonate with you, then you can take that and move forward into more serious study.

If you're planning on performing some blended rituals, make sure that you understand the various form of worship and devotion that take place in each tradition - and get a really good grasp on WHY different things are performed. For instance in Hindu puja (ritual devotion) they wave a flame in front of the deity. Why? What does this symbolize? Why is it such a central practice? When you understand more about that, you can then make an informed decision as to whether you want to include that in your blended rituals. If you're practicing a blended form of Wicca, do you want to still include the cup and chalice Great Rite? Or will devotions to a Shiva Lingam (symbolic of the joined divine male and female aspects, resulting in creation-preservation-destruction of the universe) suffice? These answers will differ from person to person, but as long as you make your decisions based on knowledge and understanding - you will be fine.

Now, within all this academic pursuit of knowlede, there is certainly a place for you INTUITION. Don't ignore your gut feelings. If something doesn't feel "right" for you, try to dig deep and understand WHY, so that can inform your next step. Take some time every day to journal your feelings and reactions to the new information you are learning. Meditate on the various ideas and theories and philosophies and deities that you will be encountering in your studies. Make sure to write your insights down so you can refer back to them later. Combine this intuitive knowledge with your scholastic knowledge and you'll have a really great foundation to build upon.

Just remember that ANY path changes and evolves over time. So don't become too attached to any one way of doing things. Let it be an open process.

OM Shani and Blessed Be!

Answer 2

As others have said, it's typically called eclecticism.

I know I might offend a few folks with this answer, but here goes. There's nothing wrong with it - *if* it's done intelligently and respectfully. There's a number of potential conflicts that could come up - you'll likely need to do some research and thinking to come up with a workable solution.

Likewise, simply taking certain parts and tossing out parts you don't agree with can come across to practitioners of those "source religions." There's been a lot of ill-will, for example, from the Native American community towards some Pagans due to what the Native Americans view as misuse of certain tools and ceremonies. So, if you're going to pick and choose, do your homework, find out the reason why certain things are part of the religion, and then make your decisions.

It adds a lot more work, but it helps make things better in the end, IMO.

Answer 3

Though I am an atheist, I haven't any objection to public college kids being taught approximately the quite a lot of international religions, adding paganism. Jesus, like Kant or Rawls, et al., can also be considered as a thinker, and philosophy is a correct area for research in public colleges. The truth is, many of the international practices one faith or a further, and the ones notion approaches tell the ones quite a lot of cultures' significance approaches and the way they interract with the relaxation of the arena. So to the level that faith is a phenomenon that's very truly to many individuals and cultures, I might do not forget it silly to prohibit it from the general public colleges' non-technological know-how curriculum. That stated, I have grave objections to public college kids being taught ANYTHING approximately faith as a side of a technological know-how curriculum. Evolution is technological know-how and can also be confirmed with the medical system; creationism is FAITH and, by way of definition, now not area to exam by way of medical approaches. Jesus does now not belong within the laboratory.

Answer 4

As many have said, you can certainly mix other traditions and philosophies together to form your own set of beliefs or paths.

However, to be respectful of these other belief systems, you owe it to them and to yourself to research each one thoroughly before you mix and match.

For example, let's say you discover a symbol from the Hindu faith that strikes a chord in you. If you simply take that symbol and apply it in a way that goes against it's traditional purpose, you are destroying that symbol's power and being disrespectful to the tradition you took it from.

You need to research that symbol using all the material available to you (books, people, experience, meditation) before you decide what you want to do with it.

An example of a symbol whose power has been circumvented and destroyed in the last 60 years is the swastika. It now represents evil and racial repression to many people, but at it's origin, it was used for something very positive and affirming (I'll leave you to discover what that was).

Blend away! But do your homework first and don't cut corners. If you do this, your spiritual path will be clear and strong.

Answer 5

I don't know much about Paganism but Buddhism is a part of Hinduism. Siddharth an Indian prince was the 9th incarnation of Vishnu, later to be known as Gautam Budh.

Answer 6

The first answer nailed it right on the head. I call myself an Eclectic becuase I did pretty much what you are asking their. I searched for a long time for a beleif-system that fit everything that I felt to be right. Never having found one, I took the bits and pieces of several different philosophies that made sense to me. Now I follow and do what I always have done, just what makes sense to me.

Answer 7

Budd ism is a philosophy not a religion, but you can apply those philosophies to religion.
Lots of people merge traditions. I merge Egyptian and Hinduism and it works for me. It's what makes sense to my soul. And in the end that's what matters. Besides religions borrow from each other all the time.

Answer 8

One for the best things I ever read in a book about Wicca was "Take what you want from this book, and discard the rest". I've been a practicing eclectic (religiously and socially) for several years, since I can't find one brand that fits. :)
Only you know yourself enough to know where you should be on any path, do what feels natural.

Answer 9

It's a problem because they conflict with each other BIG time, based on what is taught in their holy books, practices and traditions.
If you're uncertain... why make a claim to anything, why not explore more first?
Best wishes!

Answer 10

You can do what you want but there are some tenets of each faith/philosophy that are bound to contradict each other.

Eclecticism is not something I agree with much seeing as it is notorious for taking cherished traditions out of their proper contexts.

Answer 11

i'm pagan and i love your smoothie reference!!!!

no, i don't think there's anything wrong with it. in fact all religions are a blending. look at all of the paganism aspects of christianity for example!

do what feels right in your heart, as long as it's not hurting anyone