How Do I Become A Buddhist?

[smiley]

Can anyone give me advice on where to start?

I have read some information online about the Buddhist principals and feel that they would suit me, and I am ready to come to the way of life on my own terms (rather than say, being given the religion by my parents), but I do not know how I should begin.

Any advice/ideas, books to read or people to see would be really helpful.

Thanks! :)
Smiley x

[TruthSeeker]

Well, first of all, are you interested about Buddhist philosophy or the religion?

Second, what have you read so far? Have you read the story of Sidarta? Have you read Zen-Buddhist stories?

And finally, what in Buddhism attracts you?

Welcome to TBV! :)

[TruthSeeker]

Ok man! You GOTTA read this book. It's REALLY good. It's the holy grail of philosophy. I read it when I was 14....
It will help you a lot in understanding buddhism...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/038547257...6875057?ie=UTF8 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385472579/ref=si3_rdr_bb_product/103-5344042-6875057?ie=UTF8)

http://images.china.cn/images1/200606/331877.gif

And about the author...
http://www.china.org.cn/english/culture/172336.htm
http://www.china.org.cn/english/NM-e/172275.htm

[TruthSeeker]

Oh, and of course....

http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/index.htm


That should keep you busy! :rofl:

[smiley]

Many thanks, Truthseeker! B)

I think the reading will indeed keep me busy!!

As for principals or religion, I don't really know the difference! And I have not read anything you mentioned... I only found some good websites with general info, and a bit about the four noble truths etc.

I guess I should start with reading and understanding... and then is it just a case of me putting everything into my day to day life as it comes, or is there a specific course of action?

Many thanks again, and any other advice very much appreciated! :thumbsup:

[vicente]

Siddhartha's message in a nutshell,...Suffering is a consequence of you desire for things to be other than they are. That's it,...it's that simple.

First though, you must dump all your indoctrinated morals.

For example:

Rajneesh Chandra Mohan accurately said "Morality can only be imposed from without when we are asleep. Morality is nothing but a deep suppression. We can not do anything while asleep,...we can only suppress. Through morality we become false,...we will not be a person, but simply a just a pseudo entity. That is to say, only a dishonest person clings to morality.

A moral person is concerned with ideals,...how we should be, what we should be, how to be convenient to society,...and thus inconvenient to ourself.

The preachers have convinced the whole world that "we are sinners". This is good for them, because unless we are convinced, their profession cannot continue. Religion is built on us being sinners, on our inferiority complex, thus creating an inferior humanity.

Love is not concerned with our so-called morals, our social formalities, etc. Love is neither concerned with immorality, it makes no difference between a thief and a saint. Immorality comes from the disturbed mind of morality. Love is amoral. Morality and concepts concerning moral behavior are irrelevant for love.

Morality is basically condemning. We are never the ideal so we are condemned. Every morality is guilt-creating. Love does not condemn.

Of necessity, every morality creates hypocracy. Hypocracy will remain with morality, for it is part of it, like a shadow. This will look paradoxical because moralists are the men who condemn hypocracy the most, and yet they are the creators of it.

Hypocracy cannot disappear from the earth unless morality disappears. They exist together as two sides of the same coin. Morality gives us the ideal and we are not the idea; that is why the ideal is given to us. Then we start feeling that we are wrong, and that this wrongness is natural, it is given to us, we are born with it, born with sin. We cannot transform it, only suppress it,...that is easy.

But what can we do. We can create a false face; we can pretend to be something we are not. This saves us; allows religion to save us. Then we can move more easily and conveniently in society. Inwardly we have to suppress the real because the unreal can only be imposed only if the real is suppressed. So our reality goes on moving downward into the unconscious and our unreality becomes our conscious. Our unreal part becomes more dominant and the real recedes back.

We condemn the real and we enforce the unreal, because the unreal is going to be helpful in an unreal society and the unreal is going to be convenient. Where everyone is false, the real is not going to be convenient. And thus, in the vicious cycle, we train our children to be false".

[TruthSeeker]

Siddhartha's message in a nutshell,...Suffering is a consequence of you desire for things to be other than they are. That's it,...it's that simple.
Yes.... Zen Budhism and Taoism are all about acceptance. Wu wei is a good example of that...

[VossistArts]

Nice Deva,
Ill second that. Go out into the world or stay home and be considerate. Im not sure meditation alone is enough though. Look at Chogyam Trungpas literature.

[Mystic]

Being Humans its hard to stay away from needs and wants. Its easy to leave everything behind and attian enlightenment. But the main challenge is to live within the society and attain enlightenment.

I practice Nichiren Daishonin Buddhism. Its based on the basic philosophy of cause and effect. Part of the practice is chanting. We chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo ...which means devotion to the Mystic law of cause and effect through sound.
Unfullment of our desires leads to different emotions from indifference to as extreme as depression. Nichiren says that it is our desires that leads us to enlightment. Without desires there will no growth. Its the desire which lead us to seek more to achieve the same and its the process of getting our desires that leads to enlightment. The process being taking positive action. The way we take as practictioners of this buddhism is that we follow the path of study, faith and practice.
Nichiren strongly believed that the true aim of Buddhism is to enable people living in the real world and facing real problems to become empowered and change their lives and society for the better. Nichiren Buddhism is a philosophy that respects the fundamental dignity of all life and stresses the profound connection between one's own happiness and the happiness of others.

Based on his study of the sutra he established the invocation of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo as a universal practice for tapping and manifesting the life-condition of Buddhahood latent in one's own life. The members believe that exerting oneself in both faith and practice--including taking action in reality based on wisdom and compassion--is the means by which one is able to realize one's Buddhahood.


Hope this gave you some insight to Nichiren Daishonin buddhism

Thanks



[CODE]

[smiley]

Hi all

Just thought I'd let you know how I'm getting on...
I have been reading some more about Buddhism, and so now know at least what I am aiming for (lots to take in)!, I'm meditating every morning, and I am trying to be more aware.

I have also realised how some of my behaviours are making me unhappy, so I have the motivation to change them and to change my life and the way I look at life.

Think I have made a positive start! Thanks for everyone's replies. :)

smiley

[______]

Originally posted by @--
Hi all

Just thought I'd let you know how I'm getting on...
I have been reading some more about Buddhism, and so now know at least what I am aiming for (lots to take in)!, I'm meditating every morning, and I am trying to be more aware.

I have also realised how some of my behaviours are making me unhappy, so I have the motivation to change them and to change my life and the way I look at life.

Think I have made a positive start! Thanks for everyone's replies.

smiley
You should remember to treat every step on the Path as the first. Thus, you never lose your way!

[redraven]

Anybody have any tips on celebrating Buddhist holidays if you can't get to a Buddhist temple?

[VossistArts]

Ive always felt like holidays were more of a cultural thing. It would be strange for me to celebrate Buddhist holidays people celebrate in say Asia. Really, the whole concept of a holiday leaves me a little cold. My main focus has always been on Zen Buddhism though. The past doesnt exist. Celebrating concepts is exactly contrary to what Ive always practiced. In my opinion any Buddhist practice that has fashioned itself around the practice of the Buddha specifically or celebrates traditions born around the Buddha are contrary to what Buddha was teaching. Of course even Zen Buddhism practices traditionally. I guess I dont really understand how that works. I dont practice that way.

Otherwise, befriend a Chinese Buddhist family. Maybe you can get in on their celebrations :)

[namtso]

Can anyone give me advice on where to start?

I have read some information online about the Buddhist principals and feel that they would suit me, and I am ready to come to the way of life on my own terms (rather than say, being given the religion by my parents), but I do not know how I should begin.

Any advice/ideas, books to read or people to see would be really helpful.


Hi there,

One of the first things I wanted to say is that Shakyamuni Buddha, who is supposed to
be the main Buddha of this Eon [ http://buddhism.kalachakranet.org/buddha.html ],
taught that every person who studies Buddhist principles should not accept them on
blind faith. A certain amount of trust in the process of exploration is necessary but
in the end you need to also approach each concept with a degree of critical thought.
I am giving you a whole bunch of info here, not in an attempt to influence you, but
really just out of my own personal enthusiasm for Buddhism. If you find this information
useful then I'm truly glad I could be of help. If you don't find it useful, then I'm fine with
that too. I have no personal intention to "convert" anyone to Buddhism. That's not
what Buddhism is about anyway. I've got the time this weekend and I'm perfectly
happy to share my thoughts and some info.

I enjoy learning about Buddhism very much. The main teachers/Buddhists
currently living that I'm interested in right now are His Holiness the Dalai
Lama, Tenzin (Prof.) Robert Thurman, Ven. Robina Courtin, Pema Chodron. I'll
give you a mess of web links at the end of this message. I think the first
book on Buddhism that really had an impact on me and inspired me to learn more
is the book "Ocean of Wisdom: Guidelines for Living" (http://www.amazon.com/Ocean-Wisdom-Dalai-Lama-XIV/dp/094066609X/sr=1-1/qid=1157357858/ref=sr_1_1/103-4460321-9530239?ie=UTF8&s=books) by the Dalai Lama,
ISBN 094066609X. It sells for $10.46 on Amazon.com right now and I think that it's
well worth it. I have gone to see the Dalai Lama twice and my opinion is that
he is the genuine article. He is believed by the Tibetan people to be the 14th
reincarnation of the Dalai Lama and also the reincarnation of Chenrezig
(Avalokiteshvara in Sanskrit), the Buddha of Compassion. He was recognized at
the age of 2 years old as being the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama. You
can check out his bio at http://www.tibet.com/DL/biography.html. But you don't
need to believe in reincarnation to get great value from Buddhism. I'm not
sure about reincarnation at all myself. But I still find Buddhism extremely
valuable in my life. Robina Courtin says that Buddhism is largely just
psychology. Basically understanding yourself, understanding reality, and
changing those things that are currently making you unhappy. Primarily your
own mind and how you perceive and react to things. I am by no means an expert,
just enthusiastic. Have a great one, best of luck in your journey. Below is a lot
of source material for learning more from some of the Buddhist teachers that
I find to be very valuable. We're lucky to have them.



His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet (http://www.dalailama.com) - There's a LOT of books out by HHDL,
quite a few recordings on CD and some on cassette. There is also a movie
by Martin Scorsese titled Kundun (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119485) that is extremely well done and tells the
story of Tibet and the Dalai Lama. A word of caution though, although it does
not show graphic violence in the movie, it does tell the true story of Tibet
and there are some sad parts in it. One of the most amazing things about the
Dalai Lama is that he truly does not feel hatred for the Chinese people (China
took over Tibet by force). This is in my opinion one of the greatest proofs
that the Dalai Lama may in fact be a true reincarnation of the Buddha of
Compassion. You can rent the DVD Kundun at most Blockbuster stores etc.
HHDL Bio - http://www.tibet.com/DL/biography.html


Lamrim.com (http://www.lamrim.com) has a lot of really excellent free MP3 recordings of some excellent
Buddhist teachers including the Dalai Lama, Robina Courtin -
http://www.lamrim.com


Prof. Robert Thurman (http://www.bobthurman.com/biography.shtml) (a.k.a. Tenzin Robert Thurman) was the first American to
be ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist Monk. He was first ordained by his first
Tibetan Buddhist teacher, Geshe Wangyal, and then a second time by His Holiness
the Dalai Lama. Prof. Thurman and the Dalai Lama are very close friends.
Here's Professor Thurman's personal web site with free essays of his on there.
and you can buy some of his books and his recordings from his web site too.
And a trivia fact, he is the Father of the actress Uma Thurman. Professor Thurman
is a great person with an excellent sense of humor.
http://www.bobthurman.com/biography.shtml
Some good recordings of his talks on cassette - http://www.dharmaware.com/dharma_books/index.htm


Venerable Robina Courtin (http://www.fpmt.org/teachers/resident/robinacourtin.asp) is an extremely good speaker
and teacher. She is a Tibetan Buddhist Nun and she helps run
the Liberation Prison Project ( http://www.liberationprisonproject.org/robina.html ).
She has 8 of her talks on the Lamrim.com web site free for download.
I have them all burned to CD and some of them transferred to cassette
to listen to in my van. She also has a book out but I haven't bought
it yet. She can sound very strong or forceful and it might take a little
time to get used to but she's truly an excellent teacher and I think
an excellent person.
http://www.fpmt.org/teachers/resident/robi...binacourtin.asp (http://www.fpmt.org/teachers/resident/robinacourtin.asp)


Pema Chodron (http://www.shambhala.org/teachers/pema/biography.php) is a Tibetan Buddhist monk in the Vajrayana
tradition. I have two of her books, Comfortable With Uncertainty
which I'm about half way through and No Time to Lose which I
haven't started yet. I also just got her CD recording
Practicing Peace In Times Of War which is very good.
http://www.pemachodron.org
and http://www.shambhala.org/teachers/pema



Here's some good online book stores besides Amazon.com -

Namse Bangdzo Bookstore - http://www.namsebangdzo.com
Snow Lion Publications - http://www.snowlionpub.com
Wisdom Publications - http://www.wisdompubs.org
Amazon.com also has a very large selection of Buddhist books and you
can also get magazine subscriptions on Amazon. It might be a good idea
to search out books on Buddhism that you get recommendations on though.
I don't necessarily mean my recommendations specifically, just someone you
trust. It's just that there are so many that you could spend a fortune trying to
find a good one that you find useful. And some of the more popular ones
are probably available in libraries.


There are also some great Buddhist magazines out there. I don't
personally like Tricycle magazine so much but it's popular I guess.
The magazines I prefer are Shambhala Sun magazine and Buddhadharma
magazine. I've subscribed to both of them for over six months and I
find that they are excellent. They have very good articles that take
Buddhist principles and show how they apply to modern/contemporary
life. I highly recommend them. I don't know if you can
find them in a library but it's work a try if you are on a budget.

Buddhadharma mag - http://www.thebuddhadharma.com
Shambhala Sun mag - http://www.shambhalasun.com

[W[oIa]nderingMind]

Can anyone give me advice on where to start?

I have read some information online about the Buddhist principals and feel that they would suit me, and I am ready to come to the way of life on my own terms (rather than say, being given the religion by my parents), but I do not know how I should begin.

Any advice/ideas, books to read or people to see would be really helpful.

Thanks! smile.gif
Smiley x

Hi there,

The book I would recommend is the Four Nobel truths by the Dala Lama.
It gives you a clear understanding about the basic principles of Buddhism and is fairly easy to read and understand.

It got me hooked :)

Cheers

[namtso]

The book I would recommend is the Four Nobel truths by the Dala Lama.
It gives you a clear understanding about the basic principles of Buddhism and is fairly easy to read and understand.
W[oIa]nderingMind

Cool, I just ordered that book myself on Amazon. I'm surprised I don't already have it.

[smiley]

Thank you so much everyone for all your advice... I'm unwell at the moment so I don't feel able to pursue it, but when I am better I shall certainly start reading again...

Thanks for all the enthusiasm!

:)

[______]

Quick recovery, friend! :loveyou:

[namtso]

The book I would recommend is the Four Nobel truths by the Dala Lama.
It gives you a clear understanding about the basic principles of Buddhism and is fairly easy to read and understand.
W[oIa]nderingMind
Cool, I just ordered that book myself on Amazon. I'm surprised I don't already have it.

Great Book, glad you mentioned it.

Has anyone listened to a recording of a talk by His Holiness the Dalai Lama when he visit's the U.S.? When he's speaking Tibetan he talks for like something like 3 or 4 minutes straight then his interpreter, Thupten Jinpa translates. It's really pretty incredible. Jinpa must have an excellent memory. Of course he used to be a monk himself so he's also very familiar with the material.

If anyone's interested, there's Dalai Lama MP3 files free for download here - http://www.lamrim.com/index2.html