Freemasonry and Buddhism - a question

[Ant]

I have a friend who is interested in being initiated into Freemasonry. However, he is a Buddhist. My question is, what would a lodge use as the VSL for a Buddhist?

thanks for your help

[Vir Lucis Ex Deus]

Very interesting...I'm sure Editor will add something here soon as it is more his area of expertise than mine (although the topic kind of makes both of our fields collide really ). 

The first question I guess that needs to be answered is does your friend believe in a Supreme Being?  Many variations of Buddhism are essentially atheistic, so he would therefore not meet one of the major requirements within UGLE chartered lodges/grand lodges for membership.  However, if he did believe in a Supreme Being (and it is debatable whether a Creative Force counts as one too), then the question of which text would belong there becomes quite interesting...

I'll pass that one onto to Editor when he pokes his head around - can't wait to hear the answer actually

[Ant]

my friend does indeed believe in a supreme being, so that's that one solved - it's more what text should be used as the VSL that's the issue - thanks for the help, anyway

[Editor]

Greetings, Ant, and welcome (from me) to the boards.

It is certainly true that many Buddhists identify as atheist.  On the strength of their own words, such Buddhists would therefore fail the requirements for lodge membership. 

There is an interesting history to this, and in my opinion it has everything to do with the earliest contacts between Buddhism and Christianity (and very little to do with what Buddhists actually believe).  I will attempt a simplified version of it here.

When the earliest Christian missionaries encountered  Buddhism, they sometimes would have seen representations of the Buddha, and asked 'is that your deity?', and received the answer, 'no, Buddha was an awakened human, not a god'.  Some would have inferred atheism from this alone.  It is actually the case that all forms of Buddhism (prior to Western contact) admitted the existence of many gods - which could equally have led to the charge of 'polytheism'.  In classical Buddhism, however, gods and paradisacal heavens are considered impermanent, and the gods too honoured the Buddha in much the same way as angels honoured the Christ in the Bible.  But questions about a Creator God were not really addressed by Buddha, who focused exclusively on the path to salvation or nirvana. 

Naturally some of the first Europeans to embrace Buddhism were also atheists, as the missionaries had already judged Buddhism to be at least possibly atheist.       

Nevertheless, if the question of the origin of Creation is interpreted as a search for an underlying Reality, itself uncreated by anything - then such a concept does exist in classical Buddhism.  'Nirvana' is salvation from "the conditioned, the made, the compounded", and is in itself an awakening to the "unconditioned, unmade, uncompounded."  It is perfectly true to say that this idea is not the same as an individual personal being.  But it is the same as 'Supreme Being' in a sense that is beyond personal and (impersonal).  Later schools of Buddhism would indeed personify this idea in teachings relating to a  'transcendental Buddha', where the emphasis on the historical person of the Buddha and his sermons is decreased in favour of the eternal Truth to which he was said to have awoken.

So I suppose a lot depends on how either party, the Buddhist and the Freemason, interprets the notion of a Supreme Being - I have basically discussed some common Buddhist interpretations.  I would be interested to hear what you (and any other Freemasons reading this) think about this issue.

As for the VSL: if I undertand correctly, this is a text (eg. the Bible) used during one's initiation.  There are many versions of the Buddhist 'canon' depending on sectarian background, but these are really differenct collections of many 'scriptures' which, as compilations, range from very long to the absolutely, impractically long!  There is enough to fill a large bookcase, if not a whole warehouse.  What I can say is that, when Buddhists use scriptures as part of a ritual performance, it is normally enough to include just one 'scripture' from the canon, which usually equates to one of the Buddha's reputed sermons.  I would suggest your friend find the scripture which best represents their interpretation of Buddhism. 

While I was writing all this I remembered that Buddhism also has an initiation rite.  It involves declaring that one has decided to 'take refuge' in the Buddha, the Dharma (teaching) and the Sangha (religious order or community).  This allegedly began during Buddha's lifetime and continued after he had died, but the rite of refuge continued even though Buddha was no longer there, so it's more taking refuge in the knowledge that he came in the past and left his teaching and a community of monastic and lay believers.  ('Refuge' is such an important idea in Buddhism because the original monks and nuns had lived a life of homelessness - to the rest of us it is simply an acknowledgement that any worldly refuge is temporary.)  So, to turn the question around: given the requirements of Buddhist initiation, could a Freemason become a Buddhist?     

[Vir Lucis Ex Deus]

Great post as usual, I knew you could shed some light on this issue...

To quickly answer the Buddhist initiation as a Freemason question - Masonic lodges in amity with the UGLE (United Grand Lodge of England) allow you to take initiation from any body that is not deemed to be a 'clandestine' Masonic lodge.  That is to say, an 'unrecognised' or bastardised branch of Freemasonry.  Of course, it would probably be looked down upon if you took an oath that specifically mentioned atheism - but in practicality, as long as the body wasn't claiming Masonic authority of any kind I don't think anybody would really mind...

Having said that there are also plenty of Masons who take initiations from bodies that should be considered clandestine - the O.T.O. being one of them, as well as modern Memphis and Misraim rites.  The letter of the law and the practical application of it are usually quite different things, basically the issue boils down to a conflict of interest.  In my own circumstances, even though the O.T.O. is not technically on my Grand Lodge's radar because they are quite insignificant, I personally decided that as they were blatantly conveying Masonic authority to initiates in their higher degrees that my affiliation with them could be considered clandestine so I left.  If it were up to me they would be blacklisted completely, but as I mentioned earlier as they are small and in no way able to challenge regular Masonic authority they tend to just be ignored. 

You answer on the VSL is pretty much what I expected - pick one of the texts that you like and go with that!  You've got thousands to choose from   It does bring up an interesting point though.  Traditionally the VSL is supposed to be the text that you feel is divinely inspired - but because Buddhism does not neatly fit into European concepts of divinity as you have shown there is leeway there.  If your friend ever becomes a member Ant, do let us know what happened!

On the Supreme Being, Freemasonry has quite recently begun accepting the idea of the Creative Force (or energy) as acceptable.  I honestly don't really know how I feel about that yet, it certainly goes against a lot of the intent and message of the ritual - particularly if that force is not sentient in any way but just beyond human comprehension.  But I think that Freemasonry will adapt like any other organisation - after-all, the Orient Lodges accept atheists - the idea of a Creative Force is quite prevalent with the younger generation of Europeans and other 'Westerners'.  Because Freemasonry is, wrongly in my eyes, so concerned about younger membership I feel that they will be quite lax in regards to stringent definitions of belief in a 'Supreme Being'. 

Just make sure your friend says 'yes' when they ask the question at the beginning and it won't be asked again - at least within the Craft.  Which brings us also to the fact that many of the side-orders require one to profess a Judeo-Christian (usually Christian) belief...but that can be a conversation for later if it matters  

[Ant]

thank you for your thoughts, guys - that has certainly given me some food for thought, to coin a phrase.

If my friend does become a Freemason, I will let you know what happens - it will most likely be into the university lodge, if it gets up and running.

I will probably start another topic on Memphis and Misraim, as I feel that it is something worth discussing on its own. However, I do think that Vir Lucis Ex Deus did the right thing in resigning from O.T.O.

Obviously, as a Buddhist, my friend wouldn't be able to join things such as Rose Croix, Templars etc., but I think he's ok with that.. for now!

[Editor]

Ant, you know,  if I were to join the Freemasons, I'd really want to join the groups like Rose Croix, Templars etc! . . . can you tell me what the restrictions on these groups are?  Thanks.

Regarding replacing the idea of 'Supreme Being' with 'Creative Force'.  This would certainly open the door more readily to Daoists, but I think many Buddhists would feel uncomfortable about worshipping a Creative Force, though they might believe it exists.  An active force fashioning the cosmos sounds like something that exists in history, building a galaxy one day, ripping it apart the next (for example).  To the Buddhist, no great force in the history of the universe is ultimate, what is revered is instead something timeless.  I realise God is often said to be timeless too . . . he is both the Alpha and the Omega of history.  But the Buddhist Truth isn't so much that which giveth and taketh away but rather the underlying principle behind this coming and going of worldy things and that which lies beyond it. 

The sacred and the holy is more often characterised in Buddhism as Supreme, Ultimate, Perfect etc. (rather than Creative) so in this way Supreme Being is possibly better for Buddhists . . .

It has also been argued that Buddhism emphasises self-reliance rather than salvation through a higher power - another possible difference to theism.  I usually take issue with this characterisation!  The Buddhist teaching on self-reliance comes in various forms.  One says that we must not rely on the authority of priests and teachers but must instead analyse things for ourselves.  Even when a teacher does speak the truth, we do not gain salvation by worshipping them but rather by putting their teachings into practice: "Buddhas only show the way" and it is our responsibility to follow. 

Taken as referring to gods, the notion of self-reliance is related to the above - we cannot expect magical intervention from an outside source to replace personal effort on our parts.   I really don't see how this differs much from the Christian perspective actually.  I'm thinking of Jesus talking about offerings to God being useless if one has unresolved quarrel with one's brother (go and make friends with your brother and then bring your offering to the temple).  And, in fact, the Pure Land school of Buddhism focuses particularly on devotion to a transcendent-yet-personal being known as Amitabha.  This school emphasises the inadequacy of humans and the need for divine assistance - yet it has been argued that even this devotion can be characterised as a practical discipline undertaken voluntarily by individuals.  No school of Buddhism - or Christianity for that matter - would advocate not making an effort on the religious path, even if progress is only granted from on High.

All Buddhist traditions would also agree that salvation cannot be 'caused' by people - the human contribitution to the attainment of nirvana is likened to walking a path leading up the mountain.  The path does not cause the mountain or its summit.  Buddhism is - if anything - against the ego.  We do not rely on ourselves because the self is the problem.  The attitude of surrender, which I think is all important in the Christian context, is completely in line with the Buddhist exhortation to abandon the self.  Other-reliance is good to the extent that it involves surrender to a higher reality - but it is bad if we are selfishly clinging to an external source of security.  In other words: don't ask what God can do for you, but what you can do for God.  My feeling is that Buddhism and the Abrahamic traditions are fundamentally in agreement on this issue - but differences in language and religious history have caused misunderstandings.  I'm not saying their aren't real doctrinal differences here, but that the basic moral implications seems the same.

Sorry if this is not well explained - to be honest I am undecided on the best (or the simplest) way to approach this issue! 

VLED - I'd like to hear more about your understanding of the Divine as sentient.     Translations of Buddhism invariably translate as 'sentient being' something which is in a fallen state and needs saving (though there is no implication that inanimate objects are somehow more divine!).  However, the idea that there is a sort of Universal Mind is not at all alien to many Buddhist schools . . .  you just need to be careful about the distinction between the 'mind' of ignorance and delusion and 'Mind' of knolwedge and wisdom.   Do we mean consciousness as the halluinatory display we project onto the world or do we mean the awakening of insight and truthful awareness?    

[Vir Lucis Ex Deus]

In regards to side degrees of Freemasonry:

Mostly the requirements are that one is a Christian - this is primarily because the ritual and teachings of those degrees deal with things that surround Christian beliefs.  Also, this mostly came about because of historical circumstance and is often not so rigidly adhered to these days - as long as you don't make a big deal about how you don't believe in the Christian teachings completely.

Here are some of the side orders that require one to profess the Christian faith:

Ancient & Accepted Rite/Rose Croix (Trinitarian Christian - BUT, pretty sure you don't have to be a Christian in the U.S.A.)
Knights Templar
Order of the Red Cross of Constantine (in some jurisdictions one is required to be a Trinitarian Christian)
Royal Order of Scotland (seen as quite prestigious, invitation only, Trinitarian Christian in some areas but not others - one of the rarer orders to be in)

Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (Trinitarian Christian - although not a Masonic body it only accepts Masons as members) - One of the best orders in my opinion, for one thing it allows discussions on religion; in fact it encourages them and members give lectures during meetings.
Royal Order of Eri (invitation only order for members of the SRIA above 5th degree)

I think I've got them all there - probably missed a couple...

Here are some that do not require one to profess a particular faith:

Mark
Royal Ark Mariners
Holy Royal Arch
Royal and Select Masters (Cryptic degrees)
Order of the Secret Monitor
Allied Masonic Degrees
Operatives

So as you can see there are plenty of things to keep one occupied if you don't wish to profess the Christian faith.  In my mind all Freemasons should become members of both the Mark and Holy Royal Arch as they are the completion of the Craft degrees.  Just doing that and going through all the chairs will keep one busy for ten years Note also that I am only including those orders which are recognised as side orders by pretty much everyone.  There are dozens more orders that operate on a quite local basis around the world and might have their own requirements.

Also, if one were quite against the teachings in the Bible then I would suggest that you might not get too much out of a lot of the ritual seeing as how it is so strongly based on Biblical stories and morality.  Even in the non-Christian orders there are sections of the Bible read out during some of the ritual.

Trinitarian Christian is an interesting one, and I am quite happy to label myself as one even though the historical requirements for being one are quite stringent (more strict than most would realise I think!).  However, as I was baptised a Christian I have the latter part down; and my own teachings on Providence are actually quite heavily based on the idea of the Trinity - which was always one of the teachings that I took most to heart from my Christian upbringing and one that resonated quite strongly within me.  So, whilst I would not say that I am a traditional Trinitarian Christian (not too many people are) - my personal relationship with G-d is certainly along such lines.  For this reason I am happy to profess such a faith. 

Finally, in regards to the sentient question - I might get into that on my blog Bit too heavy to add to the end of this already long post!  Very valid point to bring up though and something that is a fine line to tread.  Although it might explain the whole idea that we are created in the image of G-d - i.e. G-d is the perfection of sentience whilst we are a corrupted form of it.

[Vir Lucis Ex Deus]

Oh and from what I know of you Editor - if you were a Freemason (I await the day that you may ask sometime in the future ) then I think you would get the most out of the Holy Royal Arch, OSM, and SRIA.  Surprise surprise that I am in those and feel that they hold pretty much everything that I wanted to get out of Freemasonry within them

[Editor]

I see I would need to profess Christian belief if I wanted to get the most out of Freemasonry!  That's fine by me, so long as there's no requirement to give up Buddhism. 

(I quite like Daoism as well.)   

[Ant]

From what I can tell, almost all of what VLED said is correct... I can only add the following things:

All "side degrees" in England have the requirement of being a Master Mason. The only exception to this is the Mark degree, which in some jurisdictions (not England/Wales, though), the requirement is to be a Fellow Craft.

the Royal Order of Eri is a funny one. The Order itself has no religious requirements, but since you must be a member of SRIA to join, that screens out any non-Trinitarian Christians.

At the moment, there are only three additional orders to which I intend to join - Holy Royal Arch, Mark and the Ancient & Accepted Rite. HRA will be the first one, hopefully in September or October.

As for the Buddhism question, I continue to read with interest what Editor posts

[Vir Lucis Ex Deus]

Nice to see you are doing the Mark/HRA the 'wrong' way around just like I did   Technically (that is to say according to the chronology of the 'story'), Mark should be done first - but I did my first HRA degree (EMM), then Mark, then the second HRA degree...now those were some awesome and crazy months!  All in a good way of course

[Ant]

well, the UGLE recommends that you go into HRA as soon after your raising as possible, so I figured that I'd go with their guidelines there! I imagine Mark will actually be the third side degree that I go into, after the Ancient and Accepted Rite...

[Ant]

Incidentally, I found out today that the Pro Grand Master of the UGLE, the Marquess of Northampton is a Buddhist... just to show that Buddhism and Freemasonry are compatible (not that anyone said that they're not!)

[MagicOPromotion]

Referring to the first question.
" Is Christianity the product of Judaism and Buddhism?"

I dont think it really matters.  What matters is what you believe in your heart to be true. To find peace within yourself. If I believe in JESUS TEACHINGs and MIRACLES then they become very real in my life.  IF I believe JESUS LIVES then he is alive and his spirit is with me always.  If I believe the opposite then that is what will surround my daily life.

Trying to prove this or that with signs is not going to solve anything because it all boils down to what we believe to be true in our heart and mind.  There is no way to prove something that has to be believed in order to be seen.

Different faiths all teach the same thing about love, they are all saying the same things with different words and names.  The same problems will emerge no matter what faith we follow or choose to believe in. Those problems are there to reflect the person who sees them, in order for him to heal himself/herself. 

WE have free will to seek out the face of GOD and HE will show himself in the end it doesnt matter where we start looking.

Love and Blessings,
Sirena
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