Should one call oneself a Buddhist? When people ask me about my religion, it always gets me thinking as how I should announce to another person that I practice Buddhism, should tell that I am:


A Buddhist
Follower of the Buddha
Practicing Buddhism


Or an alternative to these?
The way I was taught Buddhism: identifying oneself with anything is a fetter. Self-identification is a form of clinging, and as such it inherently leads to conflict between "this" and "that", hence suffering.

Ego is a box made of stuff we identify with. Ego is not just being selfish, it is what makes us tremendously vulnerable.

Externally, avoid defining yourself, except jokingly or if required by circumstances. Internally, have no idea who you really are.

Do not identify yourself as Theravada, Mahayana, Democrat, Republican, Russian, Ukrainian, Man, Woman, Buddhist, Programmer, Human, or Spontaneously
Self-Existing
Luminous
Unity
of Emptiness
and Form.


  Thus, to all dharmas not getting stuck, not getting caught into traps of abstractions (aniketacari), not clinging -- he attains Awakening of the Lucky Ones.