Buddhism

I come to Buddhism via Zhuangzi. I don't follow any particular path and jokingly refer to my self as a Zen Daoist, but only because I don't like labels. At any given time, I am a Buddhist, Daoist, Atheist, Gnostic, Heathen, Occultist or whatever. More formally, I am a Unitarian. I am currently participating in my UU congregation's Wellspring (http://www.uuwellspring.org/), which has two other Buddhists in the group. Obviously my spiritual practice, which is a requirement of Wellspring, is meditation. I do 20-30 minutes of breath meditation and occasional walking meditation, when I struggle settling my mind. I have ADHD, so quieting the constant barrage of thought can be a bit of a challenge. I find walking meditation to be the most intense and difficult mindfulness practice, that I find it useful when I need to overcome my hyper focus.

One concern I have about Buddhism and it's something that hopefully the members of this group can help me with, is my aversion to cultural misappropriation. In college, I took a course on Native American history, to fulfill my minority studies requirement. It had a profound impact on the way I view religious practice and its cultural meaning to indigenous peoples. I am horrified by the crass assimilation of of Native American spirituality in so called new age beliefs, and I am also aware of how Eastern religions are also stripped of their cultural heritage and reduced to pop psychology, usually in the form of cheap materialism. Buddhism, like Daoism, is a wonderful tradition and has universal value across all cultures, but I try to never forget that its rich cultural heritage is something I should honor and respect.

I am new to Buddhism and its practice. As I mentioned, I come to Buddhism from Zhuangzi. I am also fond of Nietzsche, whose Zarathustra is never far from me. I've read Nietzsche for twenty five years and Zhuangzi for ten. Their philosophical views are quite similar, and their writings are so rich and varied, that I continually find new ideas within them that challenge me to reconsider what is. With my introduction to Buddhism and mindfulness, I find it to be valuable in helping me to have a greater understanding of Nietzsche's and Zhuangzi's perspectivism.

Look forward to learning more on the Way