What does it mean to call yourself a Buddhist?

What does it mean to call yourself a Buddhist? Are there specific things you have to do or believe, or is it up to you?

Lion’ s Roar19 October 2016
Illustration by Nolan Pelletier.

Of course, anybody is free to draw on Buddhist principles and techniques they find helpful and to think of themselves as a Buddhist if they want. But it’s not a total free-for-all. Buddhists have lots of differing beliefs and practices, but there are a few shared principles that define them as Buddhists. These are the fundamental discoveries the Buddha made, and if you accept their truth, you’re a Buddhist.

Thich Nhat Hanh describes them this way: impermanence (everything is always changing), no self (nothing has a solid core or soul), and nirvana (peace is freedom from fixed concepts). In his great book What Makes You Not a Buddhist, Dzongsar Khyentse describes them as: All compounded things are impermanent, all emotions are pain, all things have no inherent existence, and nirvana is beyond concepts.

If you accept these principles, you can then make a formal commitment to Buddhism in a ceremony called “taking refuge.” Because nirvana means giving up ego’s futile search for refuge from impermanence and no self, the twist is that you’re taking refuge in not seeking a refuge. If you can do that, you’re really a Buddhist.

Lion s Roar Staff

Lion’ s Roar

Lion’s Roar is the website of Lion’s Roar magazine (formerly the Shambhala Sun) and Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Quarterly, with exclusive Buddhist news, teachings, art, and commentary. Sign up for the Lion’s Roar weekly newsletter and follow Lion’s Roar on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.