>>762394Buddhist here.
The Buddha lived /out/ for 50+ years, the forces of nature and trees specifically played essential parts of his journey and then his teaching.
And I love that in Buddhism one can honour the local spirits or even gods healthily and still be Buddhist, my teacher told me that it would be better for us in the west to become healthy pagans first, as long as we don't absolutise or cling to those 'gods', it would encourage a more full appreciation of the forces of nature and a respect and awe that I feel that the psychological effect of scientific materialism has robbed us of.
I believe seeing and believing in gods is a healthy and good practice, as long as those beliefs are subject to the deeper reality of impermanence and the concept of a soul isn't involved.
