Traditions and cults

While messaging with the girl who deals with the applications I had to think about buddhism. I gave a link at Orkut where I found a little article explaining who Tara is, but unfortunatelly it wasn't a good choice. It was - of course - the first at google. :-) and I didn't doublecheck what that site was. The offical site of New Kadampa Tradition. And my Tibetan friend warned me with another link: http://www.newkadampa.com/That site says that this tradition is a sect which makes more harm than benefits. Once I contacted them in Gothenburg, without knowing anything about them. They were listed among the other buddhists groups in the city. They didn't have any warning sign on them. I even e-mailed with the woman who has meditation courses in this tradition and she invited me to Medicine Buddha retreat in Copenhagen. I couldn't go then.
I wanted to contact buddhists in Gothenburg but noone could give a satisfying answer where to turn to. I took my first vipassana-course (taught by Goenka) and that was recommended by the same Tibetan friend...Then I asked a Swedish friend here in Skee who is also buddhist, and lives a very secluded life if he knows any groups, and he said he only knows theravada buddhists in Stockholm, and he thinks many of the new "tibetan" buddhists groups are not serious (he might refer to the new kadampas). but talking about these things with some buddhists is almost impossible. They(and he, this friend in Skee) don't say that there are "good" and "bad" traditions, just they don't recommend me to have a contact with "those". So what about clear speech? What about labels? What about sects? For me it stinks. The 2 big traditions don't have contact, the many smaller traditions are pointing the others out with their finger, and when I come to the scene, they smilingly ask: which tradition do you belong to? And then I smilingly reply: none. And from that moment I'm not a real buddhist of course, a rootless one. Which I dont get. I wasn't born in a country with buddhism as the main religion, and my parents are "ordinary" Europeans. On the other hand I absolutely agree with what the Buddha said. So I might even be "more" buddhist then some who were born buddhists. Like once my Chinese (buddhist) friend told me: Judit, you are more buddhist than me who was born and raced in buddhist tradition. He didn't explained what he meant, but it was - I think - about drinking alcohol, and eating meat and some other small details. One thing for me is quite obvious form the Buddha's teachings: LABELS ARE NOT IMPORTANT; THEY ARE DANGEROUS. He didn't call himself buddhist, he didn't label anything he was teaching, he said I'm teaching the Law. The Law of Nature.

In this sense I am not buddhist, I am following the path of the law, my real nature. I let things happen as they are supposed to happen according to this law. And I think the Buddha was doing this too. And he got to the point when he realized his own real nature, aka he became enlightened. There are some basic qualities one need to have to start walking on the path of the law, and these are the wellknown basic points of his teachings (the four noble truths, the noble eightfold path) see wikipedia. But then comes the funny part (exactly like with christianism for example): the interpretations and all the tiny decorations around, mixed with some local ancient traditions and practices. :-)

May peace and happiness come to all beings, esp. the buddhists who are pointing to each other! :-D

Little funny confession here as well:
Branches