It was one of those spontaneous things I did that are sometimes inspired, sometimes foolish. I was reporting to our Thursday night group about a Buddhist membership event we had attended.

      It seems that our friend Jeff (actually Sara's very good friend) invited Paul and Mary Pritchard (Sara's parents) to attend this special ceremony in Portland. Jean and I were also invited. I've studied a little Buddhism in world religion classes and other reading, but had never attended a Buddhist service.

      Actually, it wasn't all that different than other religious events we've attended. We found their meeting place in East Portland. We entered the building and were invited to remove our shoes. I've done that in mosques in Jerusalem and Cairo—and in some people's homes. We were greeting and oriented about what to expect.

      You could tell the Buddhists from the rest of us by the clothes and by the fact that they sat on cushions on the floor while we sat in chairs. (Put that under the category of "how to tell a Buddhist from a Christian.")

      Jeff and two others participated in the inclusion ceremony. Buddhists do a good deal of bowing. Paul and I decided that we could probably manage levels one and two of the bowing part, but after a time level three—the fully prone bow—would do us in. There was incense, chanting and sprinkling of water on the head (three times). Change the language slightly and you would have a Trinitarian baptism.

      In the end, Jeff came out a Buddhist and we all went to the social room for tea and cookies and celebration of commitment.

      There's a lot to like about Buddhism. It is more of a way of discipline and life than it is an attachment to dogma and belief. Jesus and the Gautama (the Buddha) would have been pretty good buddies, probably. At least they would have understood one another. Both were teachers and spirit-centered. (Read "Living Buddha, Living Christ" for much more.)

      And there's a lot to like about people making a commitment to live a disciplined life that has reverence for all of life, the world and all its creatures, and for human beings.
More of the world looks to the Buddha as spirit guide than looks to Jesus. People living in metropolitan areas are well aware of a growing presence of Buddhists. We saw three more added to those numbers.

      So, what is it to be a Buddhist? I guess you should ask a Buddhist. My observation is that they would tell you that Buddhism is not a destination, an arrival, a salvation. Rather, it is a choice of a path, and a commitment to follow that path.

      Christians commit to following Jesus. The focus is often lost and forgotten. That's the idea. It's a good thing to have an ideal to follow, a path.

      So, at the conclusion of our Thursday night gathering I had our group sing an old chorus: "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus." I would have been OK if I had stopped there. I said, "Why don't we sing—in a sign of support for Jeff—'I have decided to follow Buddha?'"

      My ever-obedient group followed my suggestion and Paul's leading, and we sang it. "I have decided to follow Buddha…no turning back, no turning back."

      That was our heresy for the night. It felt a bit strange, then OK (to me). What did it hurt? Most people would be greatly improved by following Buddha. It probably won't make any difference if we sing that we have decided to do so. It doesn't seem to make a whole lot of difference when we sing that we've decided to follow Jesus.

      What we sing and what we say doesn't matter as much as what we do. Generations to follow will see immediately the great gulf between the path of Jesus and the path of pleasure-seeking, comfort-laden, goods-accumulating people who claim to be his followers. When the Pope was speaking in Mexico about the shame of the difference between poverty and wealth on our continent, he was exposing the need for people who understand the spirit of Jesus to get with the program. Too much singing, "I have decided…," too little sign of having decided anything.