As Walpola Rahula, in What the Buddha Taught, pointed out, Buddhism has always maintained that spirituality is not the possession of any one tradition. In fact, particularly in the Mahayana [school of Buddhism], spirituality is not something that can in any way be separated from human life itself; in a very real sense, the spiritual journey and human existence are one and the same. In this sense, Buddhism – particularly in the Vajrayana form – may be preserving the ancient spirituality of our aboriginal ancestors and present-day hunters and gatherers for whom – in contrast to many of the “high religions” – to be human is to be spiritual; there is no separation between spirituality and life itself.
Reginald Ray
from Touching Enlightenment; Finding Realization in the Body
Chapter: The Ultimate Challenge of Buddhism