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New to this!
So at this moment I am wiccan, but I would like to leave that and become a buddhist. But I have no idea where to begin. Can somebody please explain to me piece by piece. Can I be wiccan and buddhist?? Please someone help me as I am totally confused I have been reading up on buddhist on a lot of websites but none of them makes any sense.
Someone please explain me how and where I begin?
Someone please explain me how and where I begin?
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Complete Idiots Guide to Buddhism is an awesome book! Dalai Lama's book "Becoming Enlightened" is another.
I am a very spiritual person, I see stuff deeper then people do. I believe in spirits and so on...
See books would help if I can get it. But the problem is my dad may not know about it. And I don't have funds to buy it, I need someone to explain me everything from a - z in a way that I can understand.
I'd recommend learning a basic meditation technique and develop a consistent daily practice, even if its only for 5 minutes. Of course it could be longer, but daily is more important IMO. Also pick up a beginner Buddhism book and read it. The philosophy is broad and deep, Tibetan monks spend 20 years or so learning to get a PhD equivalent, so realize you can't learn it all in a few weeks. You can learn enough to begin to make a difference in your life though, just pace yourself and dig in, you'll learn what you need soon enough.
http://viewonbuddhism.org/
There are other sects as well with good sites of their own, I don't know them though.
I just need to make a change in my life. I need to learn to be calmer and relaxed. I snap to easy. If possible if you guys know sites that tell me a - z but spoon feeding. Really need your help guys...
Simply put your questions here. No question is too small.
Start with that which makes you most curious. Then you can get direct answers and links.
Welcome!
/Victor
PS
We will not tell your Dad.
DS
To be calmer and more relaxed facts and information won't do much direct good. You need to begin a meditation practice. Here's a basic meditation instruction.
We'll I need from the beginning. Where to start. Where do I get meditation. How do I meditate?
1. Killing other living beings. (Does not mean you have to be vegitarian)
2. Taking what is not freely given (Avoid stealing)
3. Hurtful sexual contact. (Actually avoid hurting others as much as you can in any way)
4. Lying
5. Drugs and Alcohol.
you can read about it here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Precepts
After the first time you accept to try to follow these precepts to the best of your ability you can call yourself a Buddhist. (that is it
/Victor
How does its mean living like a buddhist.
No alcohol?
What must I give up?
So if I follow those 5 rules I am basically a buddhist?
Actually I like good beer and good whiskey on occasion.
The precepts are Guidelines and you yourself set the standard.
You do not have to give up anything to start with.
Later on you might decide on your own that you want to.
Some become vegitarian and give up alcohol entirely others dont.
/Victor
Sure, I was both Pagan and Buddhist for a long time. I think it really all depends on how well you're able to combined the two, however.
I found the Buddhist teachings on kamma (which the Buddha defines as intentional actions of body, speech, and mind) and meditation, for example, helpful in approaching pagan rituals, with the essential premise being: When we understand exactly what it is that we're doing, and the reasons behind why we're doing it, we'll subsequently have much more control over the desired outcome, more power directed towards its success, and a more positive result overall. The reason for this is that the three poisons of greed, hatred, and delusion often color our intentions. It's therefore imperative for the skilled magician to be able to purify his or her intentions before any magickal working. Without this mental purification, a magician's magickal workings will almost certainly be tainted by hidden intentions—intentions that could have adverse affects on the results of such workings. As for where to start, I generally suggest starting out simple and focusing on observing the precepts to the best of your ability and developing a consistent meditation practice. I also like to point people to Access to Insight, which is a fairly large and reliable source of information. And if you're interesting in learning more about mediation than the guided meditations I've linked to above, I suggest checking out some short books like Basic Themes, Frames of Reference, and Keeping the Breath in Mind, or listening to some Dhamma talks like these.
Unfortunately, nobody can do the work for you, and you have to put a fair amount of effort into figuring things out for yourself; so in the future, it may be more helpful to pose more targeted questions about specific areas of confusion that 'explain Buddhism in its entirely to me.'
There is no special ceremony but you can have one on your own if you like or go to a monk and ask him to help you. The important part is the dedication you invest in becoming a Buddhist. Again a promise to yourself.
If you want more details...? Please ask.
/Victor
How did you come across Buddhism?
what makes you wish to study it?
Why do you want to leave wicca?
How old are you?
you might first of all like to know the story of how a nobleman from the Sakya Clan, a man named Siddharta Gautama, decided to leave his home, his wealth, his inheritance, his wife and his baby, and go out into a world he knew little about.
How, having witnessed, old age, sickness and death, he came to see that everyone has to experience these states; how he spent many years as a wandering student, learning about the natural progress of life, and how humans dwell in suffering - of their own making.
And how eventually, he sat, meditated and became enlightened, and came to be known as The Buddha...
And how his first lesson, in Deer Park, consisted of telling his previous fellow travellers, about The Four Noble Truths and The Eightfold Path....
So tell me the answers to the questions above, and what you know so far that makes you so certain Buddhism is what you seek, (if you know almost nothing about it) and then we can go on from there...
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/
It also turned out to be very good when trying to understand Buddhism many years down the line of buddhist cultivation.
/Victor
Good luck to you!
I want to try and get my emotions under control help me be more calm and relaxed. My temper is to quick.
I don't want to I thought I have to be a buddhist but now as there have been said I don't have to so I can do both which is great for me.
I am 16 at the moment.
The best thing you can do is look for some mainstream Buddhist websites. Learn about the Noble Truths and 8-Fold path, about the life of Buddha and start reading some basic sutra translations like the Heart Sutra, the Dhammapada, etc.
Buddhism is a wonderful diverse religion. You will find many schools each with their own language, practice, and ceremonies. Don't let that confuse you.