Rituals are very important for humans. Always have been, since before we knew how to write them down. They punctuate the year, they anchor cultures, they provide context within a lifetime to measure change, and the seasonal progression defines the agricultural cycle.
It’s interesting that Buddhism is also on a spectrum, like you say, where the Tibetan versions lean way into their original shamanic roots, and it goes from there down to the nearly secular Western versions. Zenju Earthlyn Manuel write a cool book about the shamanic origins of Soto Zen, and it really all tracks. It’s order overlayed on the ad hoc nature of animism. There’s a gap where intent and, to some degree, ego powers magic, but with Buddhism, it’s like a negative space where you kind of are affecting the world around you, but you’re not invested in outcomes.
To be honest I never really looked into Budhism, but my only experience with the practice is from the amazing Mind Illuminated book, which I think is loosely based on their practice as far as meditation goes, while providing a reasonable context and arguments about why it works. Learning to consciously control your subconsius feels kind of reasonable, and I highly recommend the book to anyone interrested in that.
Rituals are very important for humans. Always have been, since before we knew how to write them down. They punctuate the year, they anchor cultures, they provide context within a lifetime to measure change, and the seasonal progression defines the agricultural cycle.
It’s interesting that Buddhism is also on a spectrum, like you say, where the Tibetan versions lean way into their original shamanic roots, and it goes from there down to the nearly secular Western versions. Zenju Earthlyn Manuel write a cool book about the shamanic origins of Soto Zen, and it really all tracks. It’s order overlayed on the ad hoc nature of animism. There’s a gap where intent and, to some degree, ego powers magic, but with Buddhism, it’s like a negative space where you kind of are affecting the world around you, but you’re not invested in outcomes.
To be honest I never really looked into Budhism, but my only experience with the practice is from the amazing Mind Illuminated book, which I think is loosely based on their practice as far as meditation goes, while providing a reasonable context and arguments about why it works. Learning to consciously control your subconsius feels kind of reasonable, and I highly recommend the book to anyone interrested in that.
Thanks, I’ll check it out.