From time to time, I have a situation when I could easily say “I’m a Buddhist,” but I don’t. I resist announcing my identity with groups, especially a group that might be construed as a religion. I don’t think that any group characterizes who I am. I prefer to say “I live in Bryn Mawr” or “I am part of the Master Gardener program.” When it comes to saying whether I am a Buddhist or not, I mostly say that I follow The Path of Buddhism.
Actually, I would prefer to say that I follow The Way, but that is what the Mandalorian says. He clearly has first dibs. Also, Disney probably has the expression copyrighted. When the tradition of Buddhism offers the Middle Path, it is offering The Way out of suffering and to awareness. For me, this is The Path. It is what I follow.
I am aware that I am following The Path as I move from one room to another in my home. I just returned from a walk around my block, and my feet were attentive to moving along The Path. Yesterday, my reaction to finding an opossum in my squirrel trap was subdued surprise. Amused acceptance, not anxiety, is my way of following The Path.
Following The Path has an air of equanimity about it. There is no right or wrong, there are no excesses, there are no hard and fast rules. The Path takes me into a place of vacant emptiness at the same time as it conveys the feeling of thrilling abundance. When I follow The Path, I am both strangely disconnected and intimately joined. Because it is the middle way, The Path is free of both aversion and attachment. The Path goes nowhere; it is enough to be on The Path.
Staying on The Path is not always easy. The Path is buffeted by hindrances that make staying on The Path difficult. Distraction is the main hindrance that makes it difficult for me to stay on The Path. There are antidotes to neutralize the hindrances, and for me that means cultivating focus and concentration. There are practices that help me follow The Path.
I may not want to call myself a Buddhist, and I don’t think that I can claim to follow The Way of the Buddha. I do say that I follow The Path I have been shown by the Buddha and by the many individuals who found awareness on The Path. I follow The Path of Buddhism.