For the last couple of years, it would be fair to say that I’ve been ‘off the reservation’ as far as Buddhism is concerned. This is where life has taken me, and I need to follow the path I’m currently on. I’ve gained a great deal from the teachings of the Buddha, and it was tempting for me to just continue to use a buffet-approach to this philosophy. In the end though, I decided that Buddhism-lite was a complete waste of my time – it could teach me nothing more, and it would just reinforce my own bullshit.

What is Buddhism-Lite?

The term ‘Buddhism-lite’ is usually used to refer to a western approach to these teachings where we just cherry-pick the bits we like and ignore the rest. Buddhism has a reputation for being a very tolerant religion, and there is no real authority to say what people should and shouldn’t believe. It is probably for this reason that Buddhism is very appealing to westerners who have developed an aversion to very dogmatic forms of religion. It also fits in well with the modern idea that our individual freedom is of utmost importance.



What is Wrong with Buddhism Lite?

For me, the purpose of any spiritual path is to help me escape my current level of bullshit. I see all of these philosophies as being like kegs of dynamite that are designed to blow my world apart. The problem with Buddhism-lite is that it removes the gunpowder that would cause this explosion. If I just pick the parts of this philosophy that fit in with what I already believe – it just keeps me stuck where I am. In fact, it’s worse than that because weak-tea-Buddhism might not only mean I’m more entrenched in my worldview, but it can delude me into thinking that I’m making progress.

Buddhism as a Raft

The Buddha compared his teachings to a raft to get us to the other side of the river. He suggested that once we get to where we need to go, we should abandon this raft because it will just hold us back. The problem with Buddhism-lite is that we take all the functionality out of the raft, and we go nowhere. The tool that was designed to destroy our worldview is being used to keep us trapped in it. This sort of leads to the question – if we are so satisfied with what we have now, why do we need the Buddha at all?

I think it is a mistake to change Buddhism to suit our current beliefs – it should be the other way around. These days, the belief system that most of us have will be strongly influenced by is scientific-materialism. In fact, most of us are so entrenched in it that we don’t even realise that it is a belief system. This means that when we come to Buddhism, we want to remove all the yucky-woo-woo-stuff because it doesn’t fit in with what we want to believe. We can then cherry-pick away at this philosophy until we are left with a vehicle that is incapable of taking us anywhere other than where we already are.

Buddhism is a Tool

I now see Buddhism as an important tool that helped me to escape a ton of beliefs that were making my life miserable. The teachings worked because of what they contained and not what I put there. Buddhism gave me nothing – it took things away, and this is what I needed more than anything else. I believe all philosophies and paths have the same purpose. They take us further along the path until we reach our goal, or until we need to abandon them for something else.