Protestant Buddhism

[Frederick]

I wonder how this relates to GWV, personally, I identify this way:

    Everyone can potentially attain enlightenment

    Religious practice is your personal responsibility; no one can do it for you

    You don’t necessarily have to have help from monks to practice Buddhism effectively

    Non-monks can teach Buddhism; celibacy is not essential to religious leadership

    Ordinary people can and should meditate; meditation is the main Buddhist practice

    Careful observation of your own inner thoughts and feelings is the essence of meditation

    Ordinary people can, and should, read and interpret Buddhist texts, which should be available in translation

    Ritual is not necessary; it’s a late cultural accretion on the original, rational Buddhist teachings

    Magic, used to accomplish practical goals, is not part of Buddhism

    Buddhism doesn’t believe in gods or spirits or demons; or at any rate, they should be ignored
as unimportant

    Buddhism doesn’t believe in idols (statues inhabited by gods)

    Buddhist institutions can be useful, but not necessary; they tend to become corrupt, and we
should be suspicious of them

    Everyday life is sacred

https://vividness.live/2011/06/24/protestant-buddhism/

[Jhanananda]

I wonder how this relates to GWV, personally, I identify this way:

    Everyone can potentially attain enlightenment

    Religious practice is your personal responsibility; no one can do it for you

    You don’t necessarily have to have help from monks to practice Buddhism effectively

    Non-monks can teach Buddhism; celibacy is not essential to religious leadership

    Ordinary people can and should meditate; meditation is the main Buddhist practice

    Careful observation of your own inner thoughts and feelings is the essence of meditation

    Ordinary people can, and should, read and interpret Buddhist texts, which should be available in translation

    Ritual is not necessary; it’s a late cultural accretion on the original, rational Buddhist teachings

    Magic, used to accomplish practical goals, is not part of Buddhism

    Buddhism doesn’t believe in idols (statues inhabited by gods)

    Buddhist institutions can be useful, but not necessary; they tend to become corrupt, and we
should be suspicious of them

    Everyday life is sacred

https://vividness.live/2011/06/24/protestant-buddhism/

I agree with all of this, and it has been a central part of the GWV from the beginning, but thanks for articulating it so concisely.

    Buddhism doesn’t believe in gods or spirits or demons; or at any rate, they should be ignored
as unimportant

I do not agree with this one line, as my experience of traveling OOBE has brought me to many "gods," so I expect others will have similar experiences.

[Jauho1979]

    Ordinary people can and should meditate; meditation is the main Buddhist practice

Many interesting points mentioned here and I agree with most of them.

The only one where I would somewhat disagree is "meditation is the main Buddhist practice". Rather I would argue that the Noble Eightfold Path is the main Buddhsit practice.

[Jhanananda]

Many interesting points mentioned here and I agree with most of them.

The only one where I would somewhat disagree is "meditation is the main Buddhist practice". Rather I would argue that the Noble Eightfold Path is the main Buddhsit practice.

I agree, and argue that it includes the practice of meditation, as well as cultivating the deep meditation experience.