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Explaining Buddhism

MindGateMindGate United States Veteran
edited March 2011 in Buddhism Today
So, I've had a lot of people ask me lately, "So, Jarred, what is Buddhism? Whats it all about? Like, its main principles."

I end up just being a scrambled mess trying to tell them. "Well, theres the four noble truths and the eightfold path. Its like... well, its sort of... erm... well, its like a list of guidelines, and then theres emptiness too. Thats important, along with not-self. Emptiness is... Its sort of like everything is connected, a chain reaction, per se, but its hard to explain. Hmm... Ya know.. just... aaah......"

So, this has happened to me A LOT. I'm just thinking of saying, "THIS is Buddhism. This is the Buddhist practice. Right now, this very moment - yeah, this is Buddhism," and leaving it at that. Or, what would you say?

Comments

  • compassionate_warriorcompassionate_warrior Veteran
    edited March 2011
    MG, you don't have a beginner's book on Buddhism that you can go to, for a basic outline?
    Buddhism is about compassion. It gives us a method and specific techniques for becoming better people, so we can be more effective at helping others.

    Information overload isn't helpful to people. Start simple and basic. The only time I've ever been asked about Buddhism was by Muslims, and the above is what I told them. Interestingly, that was all they needed to really get thinking. This little bit impressed them. They decided Buddhism was ok. If the people you talk to ask questions after you tell them the above, then you can talk about the 4 Nobles, and developing non-attachment as a way to avoid suffering. That should be enough to stimulate some thought. (Or to convince them that stealing your stuff is ok, because your unattached to it. :D ) You can give 'em some precepts, so they can see Buddhism has some similar values to Christianity: refrain from stealing, lying, intoxication, killing anything at all, etc. Avoid complicated, sophisticated concepts.
  • ShiftPlusOneShiftPlusOne Veteran
    Interconnectedness in action right there. You try to explain a concept which has another concept within it which is linked to something else, which is a part of something and so on.

    Maybe instead of explaining what each aspect of it is, just list the top few aspects without elaborating. So maybe just say what the four noble truths are (accurately, without saying things like "life is suffering" or something which can be easily misinterpreted) and how the 8FP is the path to cessation of stress/unsatisfaction.
  • compassionate_warriorcompassionate_warrior Veteran
    the path to cessation of stress/unsatisfaction.
    Good translation of "dukkha", Shift. The best one I've seen here, actually. :)
  • ShiftPlusOneShiftPlusOne Veteran
    the path to cessation of stress/unsatisfaction.
    Good translation of "dukkha", Shift. The best one I've seen here, actually. :)
    Brought to you by wikipedia.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dukkha

    "...a Pali term roughly corresponding to a number of terms in English including suffering, pain, discontent, unsatisfactoriness, unhappiness, sorrow, affliction, anxiety, dissatisfaction, discomfort, anguish, stress, misery, and frustration."
  • JasonJason God Emperor Arrakis Moderator
    To me, Buddhism is a way of life that's designed to lead one towards happiness.

    The Buddha approaches the problem of mental stress and suffering like a doctor, formulating the four noble truths in the same way that ancient Indian physicians formulated medical diagnoses, i.e., disease (suffering), cause (craving), prognosis (a cure/cessation of craving is possible) and treatment (the noble eightfold path).

    While it may sounds overly simplistic, the basic premise of the path can be summed up by this short passage from the Dhammapada:
    The non-doing of any evil, the performance of what's skillful, the cleansing of one's own mind: this is the teaching of the Awakened.
    Ultimately, every teaching in Buddhism is a tool to be used in the pursuit of happiness, and the majority of them focus on our actions and intentions because that's where the really work of moral and spiritual purification takes place (e.g., MN 61).
  • compassionate_warriorcompassionate_warrior Veteran
    The non-doing of any evil, the performance of what's skillful, the cleansing of one's own mind: this is the teaching of the Awakened.
    What a great encapsulation!

  • VincenziVincenzi Veteran
    why not put it in positive terms?

    "the path for true joy (nirvana)"
  • CloudCloud Veteran
    edited March 2011
    As long as we struggle against change, which is the very nature of our lives, we continue to cause our own frustration and suffering. Buddhism gives us the Noble Eightfold Path, a way of practice that leads the mind to flowing with the change, not striving against it. True peace. Nirvana.

    That's how I'd sum it up. :)
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