02. What is Practical Buddhism?

Chapter 2 of my Memoir (with current comments and updates)

Welcome to the serialized release of my memoir, ‘ZENish, The Updated Memoir’ (formerly ‘The Practical Buddhist ~ Buddhism without the Robes & Rituals’). I’ll be releasing new chapters each Friday. 🙏🏼

02. What is Practical Buddhism?

Short Answer

It’s Buddhism without the robes, rituals, and ceremonies.

Explanation

Buddhism is 2,600-ish years old. As you can imagine, any philosophy or religion that’s been around that long is bound to have developed nuances, rituals, and other trappings that may have been accepted as part of the process.

As Buddhism spread over the centuries, the different cultures often imparted their preferred manner of dress, ceremony, and ritual.  If repeated often enough, these additions can evolve into unstated assumptions that often become interpreted as requirements eventually incorporated into the canon of traditional thought and literature.

I often think of Buddhism as kind of like tofu. It absorbed the influences of its immediate environment.

New practitioners nat…