No Dogma, Just Drip: Brewing My Buddhist Confusion

I keep reading that Buddhism is not a religion. “No dogma! No deity! Just a way of life!” the books say.

And yet, every time I pick up another book on Buddhism—Why I Am Not a Buddhist, Why I Am a Buddhist, Why Buddhism Is True, Living Is Dying—I feel like I’m sitting in a coffee shop where everyone is arguing about whether coffee exists.

One person says, “There’s no coffee, only the experience of coffee.” Another says, “Oh, there’s definitely coffee, but don’t cling to it.” Meanwhile, someone else is chanting over a latte, insisting the beans have karma.

If this is dogma-free, then my morning coffee is caffeine-free.

The Non-Dogma That Acts a Lot Like Dogma

Buddhism claims to have no fixed beliefs. But then you meet people who insist:

• You really should meditate every day. (Sounds like a rule.)
• You should follow the precepts. (Rules again.)
• You shouldn’t get attached. (And if you do get attached, you feel guilty, which feels suspiciously like sin.)

And if you wander into some traditional Buddhist temples, you’ll find statues, incense, rituals, chanting, and bowing—it starts to feel like a religion. Even though no one calls it worship, you still find people lighting candles for blessings and praying for a better rebirth.

Where I live, that’s called going to church, just with different robes.

The Eightfold Path

Now I love many aspects of Buddhism. Impermanence? Yes, please! It’s freeing to think that nothing lasts forever—including bad moods, annoying neighbors, and the lifespan of political scandals. The Eightfold Path makes sense: live ethically, think, meditate, and cultivate kindness.

That’s the kind of Buddhism I can sip with my coffee.

But then someone tells me, “You’re not practicing Buddhism unless you accept rebirth and karma.”

Wait—does this mean I need to believe in invisible moral bookkeeping? I thought Buddhism didn’t have a higher power keeping track of things.

Secular Buddhism: Maybe My Escape Hatch

That’s why I’m curious about Secular Buddhism. It skips reincarnation and the supernatural, focusing instead on what the Buddha supposedly taught about suffering and how to lead a decent life. There are no assurances of achieving Nirvana. No chanting for a better rebirth. Just the “how to be less miserable” version of Buddhism.

I can get behind that.

Why Are There So Many Views?

So why is Buddhism the subject of so many books, debates, and “whys”? Perhaps it’s because Buddhism has always been a broad concept. During its journey from India to China, Japan, and the West, it acquired local customs, deities, and rituals as mementos of its travels.

Buddhism seems to be a buffet, with some people filling their plates with mindfulness and meditation, others with chanting and karma, and some of us simply enjoying the dessert table with a single scoop of impermanence.

My Zen Takeaway

Perhaps the practice is what’s confusing me. After all, Buddhism teaches us to let go of certainty. Maybe the most Buddhist thing I can do is to be confused about Buddhism.

I will therefore continue to drink coffee, read books with titles that contradict each other, and avoid becoming overly fixated on solving everything.

Or, in the words of a Zen master: 

“Dogma? No doctrine? Sip your tea.”