☸ The Living Dharma and the Disappearance of Magical Traditions ☸

In a way, some Tibetan Lamas and Thai Venerables were the ultimate representatives of a living Buddhism, each fighting in their own way against a general trend toward conformism and mediocrity that has progressively transformed contemporary Dharma into a bland, colorless mush.

Today, in European Buddhism, there is a trend comparable to "Vatican II," which seeks to purify the Dharma of its magical aspect to make it supposedly more "adult."

Here too, in Brittany, since the 1960s, the Catholic Church wanted to make faith "adult." It then took away so many charming popular traditions, ceasing to recognize an immense number of extraordinary Celtic saints, abandoning processions to sacred fountains, blessed trees, and so many other popular practices. And they are surprised that the churches have emptied?

Today, they are doing exactly the same thing to us with Buddhism. Tibetan Dharma centers and some pagodas are now trying to force-feed us only abstruse texts, originally intended for a few scholars and not for laypeople to study.

Instead of transmitting to the faithful what they truly aspire to: a little beauty, mystery, and magic to sweeten their existence, as well as simple millennial traditions capable of inspiring their spiritual lives and truly bringing them closer to the Buddha.

Until the 1990s, one could still hear the distant echoes of the laughter of Guru Rinpoche, Drukpa Kunley, or Luang Phor Thuad through extraordinary human beings such as His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Kalu Rinpoche, Chogye Trichen Rinpoche, Chatral Rinpoche, Tenga Rinpoche, Drubwang Rinpoche, Nyoshul Khenpo, or Chögyam Trungpa.

But also, elsewhere in Asia, Venerables like Luang Phor Koon, Luang Phor Kassem, or Thích Nhất Hạnh, and so many others who have unfortunately passed on since then.

All these Masters were like multicolored flowers, stubbornly striving to survive again and again in an ocean of concrete gradually covering the world.

If I learned anything from them, it's that being authentic is infinitely more precious and rare than being perfect.

Even today, I have much more respect for little-known Masters, admittedly sometimes imperfect but deeply human, than for the army of clones mechanically reciting, without even believing it for a moment, their bland version of the Buddha's teachings.

To use an illustrative comparison: they would like to stuff us with plain white rice, without spices, without vegetables, without anything... and call that Thai cuisine.

The Dharma will always be more beautiful and inspiring when taught by Venerables who truly believe in it and practice it humbly day after day in a small hut surrounded by animals, rather than by a "salon venerable" with an interminable religious title, a gold Rolex on his wrist, reciting from a luxury hotel the same dusty texts deemed "compliant" and politically correct.

As for me, I am not a Venerable. I am not even sure I am a good disciple. But I absolutely refuse to bow my head and silently surrender to the ocean of grayness that Dharma has become in Europe.

Historically, wherever Dharma has taken root, it has kindly adapted to local beliefs and inspired an incredible number of fascinating magical traditions.

I refuse to see these magical traditions disappear. This is precisely the meaning of my site's name: The Magic of the Buddha.

The fact that this has become my livelihood is ultimately an unexpected consequence (perhaps also a manifestation of my Karma). A bit like some Lamas who, in the past, developed extraordinary gifts through their Dharma practice, even though the true goal of this path remains Enlightenment, and not flying in the sky, talking to animals, or becoming telepathic.

And even if, over the decades, I find myself alone in carrying this vision, it doesn't matter. I don't for a moment think of giving up.

Where they are now, my Masters smile, knowing that as long as I am present, there will still be a simple voice to defend and share the magical traditions of popular Dharma.

Of course, you must be thinking that there are other shops offering similar items... and you are right. After all, Thai amulets can now be found even on Amazon.

But at the risk of sounding like I want to promote myself, I sincerely believe I am one of the few who maintains a genuine approach of spiritual sharing through my activity.

Many other shops sell amulets as one would sell mobile phones. This is exactly how one of them described it to me one day. For them, all tricks are fair game as long as money comes in.

It is no coincidence that none of them ever show their face or any travel photos. And if you observe carefully, you will see that they all offer the same trendy items, mass-produced and easy to obtain in quantity, accompanied by long, soulless copy-pasted descriptions now automatically generated by artificial intelligence without proofreading.

I thank you from the bottom of my heart for supporting my little shop, The Magic of the Buddha, for 23 years already. 🙏