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.

 

[FireBorn]

1 year of magick compared with 3 years of Buddhism under a lama is a goofy comparison. It makes sense that the system in which you had more time, structure, and direct instruction would feel more complete. No offense, but does the possibility that you were simply less skilled at magick ever enter the equation?

Lineage has value, but lineage does not automatically mean efficacy, purity, or superiority. Age proves that a tradition survived, thats all. It does not mean that it is universally better.

I agree that plenty of people are drawn to the aesthetic of Western occultism, but that is not inherently a problem either. People enter practices for different reasons, and ritual, symbolism, identity can all have real value.

If Buddhism is more effective for you, cool, go do that. But “Buddhism is magick on steroids” feels like comparing two different categories. Buddhism is a religion and spiritual system. Magick is an art or practice that can exist within many religions or apart from them.

To quote the Dude: “Well, that’s just, like, your opinion, man.”

 

[ImpulzResponz]

I agree on a lot of the crossover. I can't quite drop the appeal and style of Western occultism and struggle with the devotional prayers in Buddhism, but I see both as guiding me in my journey. I'm definitely more on the side of awakening/great work than I am practical magick.

 

[HoldAll]

By 'magic', do you mean chöd or deity yoga? Or are you also being taught bön sorcery?

I agree with you, you can reap major benefits from a thorough study of buddhism, esp. from the non-self doctrine. Viewing yourself as the provisional result of various simultaneously running processes instead of a constant, monolithic whole can be mind-blowing. Buddhist Abhidharma has mapped out exactly what those processes are long ago, and this is probably the first time the mere theoretical study of a subject has exerted any tangible transformative power on me. It's one revelation after the other.

One insight that hit me only yesterday was that the veneration of the ancient Delphian maxim of "Know thyself", championed by Socrates and others, had been cut short by the spreading of Abrahamic religions where introspection took the shape of a primitive blunt tool for identifying sinfulness instead of studying one's overall psychological makeup. That inquiry never went very deep - sinfuless was the result of Original Sin, possibly inspired by the devil, but that was it. It was only in the 19th century that William James, Sigmund Freud, and others went further down below the surface, something that Buddhism had been doing for millenia already, so you're right claiming an unbroken lineage compared to Western thought. I don't think we in the West have anything as intricate and sophisticated as the Abhidharma, esp. with its Mahayana innovations.

In my opinion, establishing a baseline is crucial in magic and practical spirituality - if you don't know who you are, you're flying blind. Anything and everybody can push your buttons if you don't have a clue where those buttons are (or whether you have them in the first place). What I like so much about the Buddhist way of inquiry is how dispassionately clinical it is - nobody is railing against vices and preaching fire and brimstone, the strongest adjective you'll find is 'unwholesome', no (counterproductive) breast-beating required. What's more, Western thinkers don't take our tendency towards of self-delusion enough into account and propose instead that reason can trump emotions at any time without recognising how inextricably linked both are.

Buddhism is tough to understand when you come from a Christian background. There are a few do's and don't's but apart from that, it's rather descriptive than prescriptive.

 

[rikz]

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.

Interesting thank you

 

[Lu_CiD]

ive studied and practiced Buddhism for years when I wasnt actively pursuing the occult however I have a major issues with Tibetan lamas and the way they structured and treated the ppl under thier control.
they operated a slave based theocracy. there the majority of ppl were not educated, housed, or fed just forced to work harsh physical labor for the majority of the day. if they tried to leave then the best they could hope for was flogging and it moved up from there often permanently disabling the victim. the removal of bones, eye plucking, and being locked in a small crate in your own faces and urine for months also very common.
The lamas were wealthy land owners who told the masses that it was thier karmic lot to be slaves and if anyone tried for a better life by escaping then they would be betraying that and have a worse place next life time plus all the physical torture they would receive.

I have a hard time follong the practices of any such brutal regime. I know there is a good an bad side to everything however there are forms of Buddhism not so steeped in the blood of innocents.

 

[MorganBlack]

Zen was my gateway drug as a teen. I love Zen but Zen on it's own is terrible for magic. Don't get me started on the Tibetan Buddhist Shambhala-center crowd of white suburbanites who will tell you, with their very serious adult face on, that only the lamas can do magic.

Zen is radically anti-imaginative. To be clear, I like it for being so, but Zen, whether Soto or Rinzai,is terrible for magic nee manifestation. Practices like shikantaza (just sitting) or koan introspection are designed to cut through mental rumination and over-thinking (prapanca),conceptual thought, and ego-driven desires.

Great stuff, highly recommended but also not magic. But it can help you prep for magic and sorcery, and is especially useful for left-brain dominant lawyer-accountant-scientist types who need to get past all the words clogging up their brain from accessing their more imaginative and mythic right-hemisphere.

Magic -as manifestation, and animst sorcery - requires you to make sublunar astral forms and engage with your body-soul emotional self to communicate with the spirit world (or trigger the World Soul or the Demiurge to shift you to a new quantum reality - take your mythic pick.)

Magic (as manifestation) relies heavily on using the imagination to empower your personal desires (wealth, status, specific outcomes) and these often reinforces the ego. Buddhism views egoic craving as the root of suffering and seeks to dismantle the illusion of a separate self. Using Zen to manifest things is like using a meat cleaver to paint a portrait, it is the wrong tool for an entirely different job.

Buddhism is very exoteric, and like the Church, frowns of sorcery (sublunar magic). In Thai culture there is a deep layer of folk animism and sorcery which sometimes involves cemetery rituals or necromantic practices, such as kuman thong. The temple priests do not like the sorcerers. (Same deal in Mexico, just in a different mythic context.) The mainstream Theravada Buddhist temple monks and the official monastic governance strictly forbid and look down upon these sorcerous practices. While forest monks do meditate in or near cremation grounds, they do so strictly for the contemplation of impermanence and death - the exact opposite of performing sorcery, bending reality for personal gain,

However, if we narrowly define magic as seeking self-knowledge and wisdom, and not just ganking your enemies or living large (sorcery) , I will agree with you.