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So what is
Buddhism? Finding the Original Thread
With all the
various ritual, cultural, and politically-influenced
additions that were interlaced with the Buddhist
teachings over the years, it is important to keep in
mind that outward uniqueness or individual expressions
of the Teachings is ultimately beside the point. The
original thread of the Teachings that began with
Sakyamuni is to guide the practitioner to spiritual
wakefulness. Sometimes, people see a spiritual path with
elaborate costumes, foreign practices, and a long,
colorful history, and these very elements appeal to them
because they seem new and unusual. However, to become
hung-up in outward
expressions or to use Buddhism just to make one’s life
more interesting is to not understand the Teachings at
all.
Attaining enlightenment is
not about adhering to religious systems, even a Buddhist
religious system.
One cannot gain freedom
while being attached
to form.
Sakyamuni made a point of warning his
students against being blindly subservient to tradition
and common belief with the following statement:
“‘Do not believe in anything simply
because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything
simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not
believe in anything simply because it is found written
in your religious books. Do not believe in anything
merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do
not believe in traditions because they have been handed
down for many generations. But after observation and…[
penetration through direct perception], when you find
that anything agrees with…[ logic]and is conducive to
the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and
live up to it.’” (pg
388.
Awakening the Buddha Within)
 HÜMÜH: Weaving the
Dharma Threads
HÜMÜH Buddhism,
rooted in the Teachings of Sakyamuni, takes the original
threads of the Teachings spun into the fabric of the
three traditional Buddhist schools—Theravada , Mahayana,
and Vajrayana—and weaves them together to create a
unique picture of the Buddhist Path. As such, HÜMÜH is
considered a Rime or ‘unbiased,’ nontraditional school,
which, as articulated in the
Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism
and Zen, ‘…reviv[es]
transmissions of teachings that had been thought lost
and provid[es] them with fresh commentary,’ but which
also ‘…embrace[s] the traditions of the other schools.’
Continued...
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