Buddhism Is Magick on Steroids

[Gurublue]

After a year of working with magick and even being part of an order of ceremonial magicians I came to many conclusions as of late. To give background of my spiritual background, I come from studying metaphysics for 16 years studying hinduism for a year and studying tibetan buddhism under a lama for 3 years.



In my opinion, If you have no attachment to the AESTHETIC of Western Occultism, then I would highly recommend Buddhism. I found many people who are magicians or occultist, more so the younger ones, are caught in the look, title, or aesthetic of being a magician. All black attire, leather clothes, the idea demon summoning etc. I found that Buddhism is even more so great if you were someone who practiced Magick to do the Great Work, Cross the Abyss or spiritual enlightenment of some sort. Especially Tibetan buddhism if you like ceremonial and ritual and deity ideology, which is similar to ceremonial magick in the West. If you want something even more simplified, and ceremony and ritual isnt you thing, then zen buddhism. Buddhism honestly serves an unbroken lineage, Which is one of the central problems with Western Occultism. There is no true lineage or oral transmission of any magick techniques or history that has been passed down for centuries unbroken. Most of the work is gone, lots of grimoires and other texts missing pages. Hell we dont honestly even know if have been doing practices out our grimoires as initially intended tbh lol.



Overall, I still study Magick and talk to my magick brothers and sisters, and appreciate the bit of history we do have in this line of spiritual work. But I do realize that Buddhism is way more effective, in each and every way. The community also lacks the toxicity, and ego that the occult community has. I strongly believe if you guys are looking for a different spiritual system that feels complete, and also still has much similarities to magick traditions, then I say give it a shot. Love you guys. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

 

[jeefthefirst]

I had a bit of a visceral reaction when I saw your subject title and my first thought 'Isn't it the opposite?' That was coupled with a 'usually I say that magick is a high powered version of prayer' when discussing with Christians.

I don't mean any of this as a criticism, so please understand that. As someone who has studied Buddhism and Hinduism (although not for as long as you), I've found that each and every tradition has their ego monsters, Buddhism especially. As a religion that helps to dismantle the ego, or move past it, it attracts people who have ego problems, quite naturally. Just as I would say Christianity attracts those with love problems. Magick attracts those who feel they're lacking control. I digress.

With that said, I especially like the intersection of Buddhism and magick and would suggest that you don't need to pick between the two. Buddhism has a deep lineage in magickal practice, such as dharmapalas, dakinis, yidam deities, and lokapalas. You cna find analogues to many of the tools used in western systems as well (vajra, phurba, kapala).

I like to think that without words, it's all saying the same things.

 

[Swampdweller900]

I would recommend a book called "The Shamanic Bones of Zen" by Zenju Earthlyn Manuel.

Though, Buddhism isn't without its human delusions and ego. Sure, relative to Western occult communities, less, but it's not some idealized utopia. It's still a flawed human endeavor ran by flawed humans. Precepts and Noble Truths don't remove that, they're just about how to manage those aspects. Source: am shitty Buddhist that should sit more.