A Shamanic View

A Shamanic View: “But You Can’t be a Shaman, Because…”
A book I was reading earlier this week brought up a point I’ve been thinking about since. The author talked about people raising the argument, “how can you learn to be a shaman? Don’t you have to go to some remote tribe, apprentice to some elder for a long time and then have some horrific initiatory experience?”

Certainly, that’s probably the indigenous experience. The student might have been raised by the tribe shaman (who might have been known by one of many different titles). The student might have apprenticed for many years. The apprentice would probably have started by doing the ceremonial drumming for the shaman during healing and other work.

Along the way, the student would learn the social complexities of the tribe. He (or she) would learn how to counsel the tribe members. He would learn a wide range of roles within the tribe. Eventually, perhaps not until the shaman retired or died, the student might take the teacher’s place in the tribe.

In the book, the author’s counter point was that not all that long ago people in the West would have said, “how can  you become a Buddhist? Don’t you have to travel to the East, live in a monastery and become a monk for years and years?”

And yet, Buddhism has become relatively popular and common, all things considered. Teachers came from the East to share. Some Westerners traveled east, studied, and brought what they learned back.

People in our modern, Western society study Buddhism in a number of ways. Certainly, their experience is not the same as the experiences of Eastern monks. But one can be Christian without being a nun or monk. Sure, the experience is different. Does that make the lay Christian less Christian, or the lay Buddhist less Buddhist?

So, the modern or contemporary student of shamanism has a different path of learning. That path leads to a different role, as well. The modern student studies with a teacher or teacher. He starts by learning the basics, then practices those for a while before learning more advanced teachings little bits at a time. While practicing, the student learns from Spirit while developing the relationship with Spirit upon which shamanic work depends.

This modern student doesn’t wait for the teacher to retire or die, because our modern society is so much bigger than a tribe and has room for multiple practitioners. And that last word is another important part of the picture. For the most part, the modern student is learning how to use shamanic techniques, either for themselves or for others. The shamanic practitioner isn’t adopting the same role as the shaman. So it’s reasonable that the training process wouldn’t have to be identical.

These days, contemporary Western Buddhists aren’t criticized for not following a “traditional” path of learning. At some point people might start seeing contemporary shamanic practitioners similarly.