Beginning Buddhism

FishFood

Hi, firstly i apologise if these questions are too obvious and have been answered on this forum already. I looked around but could not see it.

I am a baptised but non practising catholic that has become disillusioned with the teachings/beliefs of my religion. I have limited knowledge of Buddhism but i have been reading up on various aspects over the internet and i really identify with many of its teachings/aspects.

I have always struggled with the lack of tolerance in other religions, in my case christianity, and i respect and admire the Buddhist practices of respect for others beliefs.

My questions mostly revolve around how does someone a)become a buddhist and b) what does it involve. Again i am sorry if these sound silly but i am coming from a religion where its a ceremony to join and a weekly ceremony to practice, i do know that Buddhism is not at all similar but what does it involve? Also, is it a requirement to be a vegetarian?

I appreciate any advice, hints or points in the right direction. Thanks.

joe freethinker

Hi. I see from only 11 posts your new to boards like me. your also very interested in parting ways with the catholic church for buddhism like me also which is cool!!
I like buddhism because it is truely anti war unlike christianity which started plenty.
You DON'T have to be a veggie as long as you respect the animal was alive.Meaningless killing is and always will be wrong.I'm social liberal politicaly and this fits in with buddhism, christianity is very conservative.Buddhism has no hard rules like the catholic church and accepts many life-style choices.Buddhism asks people to forget desire as it causes suffering, this does not mean killing ambition and goal setting but not letting failure and what ifs? keep you living the here and now.
Buddhists accept change in their lives and the world around them and do not try to be one with the change, attachment is very like desire and it causes suffering.
Buddhists respect their bodies and wouldn't smoke, take drugs or drink heavily if they drink at all
Buddhism does not require a cermony to join or practice but look around your area there may be a buddhist or group of buddhists, if so your more fortunate than me.
Buddhists will always be learning and no ones an expert.
best of luck!

Asiaprod

Welcome Fishfood. Will answer to this post shortly, real life has me a little busy today.
Asia

odinreln

becoming a Buddhist is in my opinion, something that happens over time. just saying it, doesn't make it so. It's really a lifestyle choice. if you like reading books, there are lots out there that will help give you a taste for what a Buddhist lifestyle entails. most of which are personal choices on how you react and practice with thoughts, experiences, and other people.

meditation is a core aspect of Buddhism, and the teaching of the Buddha. so if you even take just 5 minutes of a day, to just sit, relax, and observe your mind, you might catch a glimpse of mindfullness. however, the real goal, would be to have this calm mindfullness in all your actions and thoughts, so sitting can only get you so far.

from my personal experience, i found that reading as much as i could, and then trying to practice meditation and the 8 fold path, led me to actually calling myself a Buddhist. i might not always have RIGHT SPEECH for example, but i will realise this and try my best to have RIGHT SPEECH as much as possible.

the vegetarian aspect is always up for discussion. the tibetans have very little vegetable growing happening in the himilayas, so would follow a meat diet. but the animals are respected. in other countries where it is not a nessessity to eat meat, many monks follow a vegetarian diet. I think the more you read, follow and meditate in Buddhist thought, you will find your own conscience on the matter, of what crosses the line; free rage, organic, animal had a happy non tortured life? battery, drug pumped mass produced, de-beaked life? or no animal interference altogether?

a book that i really like, is "What the Buddha Taught", for the simple reason that it avoids modern splits in the sangha, and sects. its just the core things he taught.


Odin

Dr_H_Lecter

alright fish, cant really say im an official buddhist myself, but i sometimes listen to one ajahn brahm on youtube and his podcast channel. i recommend.

bou

I agree with odinreln. Read books to get a general understanding. Best is to attend teachings given by an authentic teacher as they will give life to the meaning of the teachings in ways that a book never will.

Its not so much about joining as about learning what it means and then trying to practice it. Practice means both taking time for formal meditation and applying in your life. Then there is the problem of seeing yourself as not good enough or in some way incapable of putting into practice. As long as you keep the aspiration and keep trying to work on applying then there is no failing.

In Tibetan Buddhism, it is said that the Buddha, when asked to summarise his teaching, said:

Commit not a single unwholesome action
Cultivate a wealth of virtue
To tame (or train) this mind of ours
This is the teaching of all the buddhas

This means something like, avoid as much as possible harming others (and yourself); try as much as possible to be beneficial to others; understand the mind deeply as this is the basis of all our experience of happiness and suffering. You can see a more in depth explanation of this in an article called "Natural Great Peace".

So learn about and practice meditation and mindfulness and develop discernment in understanding the motivations underlying your actions.

Avoiding meat is good if you can manage it but if you can't then don't get hung up on that. Meditation and working with our mind and actions are probably more important to focus on.

gnu

I've no words of wisdom to offer but I wanted to say thanks to FishFood for posing the questions and to all those who replied - plenty of food for thought there.

Dagon

The best introduction to Buddha's teaching is, in my humble opinion, to take a 10-day Vipassana course! It covers all of the fundamentals of what Buddha taught and also teaches you the pure, non-sectarian dhamma very clearly and from the ground up Goenkaji also explains very clearly the philosophy behind Buddha's teaching, as well as the scientific aspects of Buddha's path.

Buddha's path is to experience reality, so gaining experiential wisdom is the most important thing, i.e. meditation. Books are not important at all, and a lot of the time they will only make proper sense after one has established some basic samadhi and panna in meditation. Trying to apply the principles of the eightfold path, as stated in books, without experiential wisdom is like putting the cart before the horse, and it can create conflicts.

gnu

Dagon wrote: »

The best introduction to Buddha's teaching is, in my humble opinion, to take a 10-day Vipassana course! It covers all of the fundamentals of what Buddha taught and also teaches you the pure, non-sectarian dhamma very clearly and from the ground up

I've been looking for the next step and this sounds as though it might be it. Do you have any contact details?

And is it very difficult or exhausting? 10 days sounds a lot for someone like me who is new to meditation.