[Buddha-l] Bourgeous Buddhism: 'Buddhist' Identity

[Stefan Detrez]

Dear Sir Deegalle and the others

Should we be fanatical about our own practice against some others? Is it a
> Buddhist thing to do?
>
> We're not trying to establish a Buddhist 'core identity' with a Buddhist
heuristic, but with a scientific, or in Jo's words an anthropological one,
and why not a metaphysical one. The question remains: 'what makes one a
Buddhist'? Obviously, saying you are a Buddhist is insufficient, as there
should be more solid criteria, internal or external, to decide this issue.
Erik proposes a structuralistic definition, which stands a great chance of
become decisive in the discussion, just as Aryacitta's pragmatic approach is
Realpolitisch: what you do is who you are. However, what if we see people
exhibiting 'Buddhist traits', yet they don't call themselves as such, should
they too be regarded as Buddhists? That answer still remains unanswered and
it is a difficult one.

Stefan

Antwerp, Belgium