Ive noticed i am alot happier, more free, and more at peace when im NOT involving myself in buddhism

zenmyste

Or any other spiritual or self help practice...

Its kinda hard to explain, but because i like buddhism and what it teaches , ive always studied it and read alot of books and even at times called myself a practising buddhist .. ive also always been into self help books so ive always bought them and read them etc...

However; it got to the point where I started believing i actually needed buddhism to better my life.. And it was like i was studying it to improve my life, but one day it hit me that i dont need to improve anything.

I decided to just STOP ...
I stopped studying, i stopped reading, i stopped meditating, i stopped my rituals, i stopped buying books, i stopped thinking...

And instead i just lived my life.. Spontaneously... Day by day..

And i found i was completely free and happy..
I didnt need any books, or any guidance etc...

I cant see myself getting back into buddhism any time soon..

I guess another way to explain it is that it somehow became more exhausting being into buddhism than when im not into it... lol

Does anyone relate to me here and understand what im saying or is it just me???

genkaku

No one needs to be a "Buddhist." So if you are happy, be happy and let others encourage themselves with the "happiness" inherent in Buddhism. Why sink a boat that already floats?

Simultaneously, and not by way of beard-stroking criticism, there is a pretty good saying in Buddhism: "Understanding is knowing to get out of the way of an on-coming bus. Practice is for the bus you didn't see coming."

Where the balance lies between understanding and practice is entirely personal.

poptart

The only resource you need is your heart. Life is practice.

Dandelion

If you're happy, free, then who is anyone to criticize.
It sounds kind of Buddhist anyway, actually - maybe you're putting into practice all that you have learnt, and it feels spontaneous because you're not getting too caught up in 'am I doing it right, lets read another book to check'...

Maybe you're living Buddhism experientially, instead of experiencing Buddhism intellectually, basically.

It sounds like a good place to be in, regardless.

Tosh

Enjoy it while it lasts!

Sorry!

Jeffrey

zenmyste said:

Or any other spiritual or self help practice...

Its kinda hard to explain, but because i like buddhism and what it teaches , ive always studied it and read alot of books and even at times called myself a practising buddhist .. ive also always been into self help books so ive always bought them and read them etc...

However; it got to the point where I started believing i actually needed buddhism to better my life.. And it was like i was studying it to improve my life, but one day it hit me that i dont need to improve anything.

I decided to just STOP ...
I stopped studying, i stopped reading, i stopped meditating, i stopped my rituals, i stopped buying books, i stopped thinking...


And instead i just lived my life.. Spontaneously... Day by day..

And i found i was completely free and happy..
I didnt need any books, or any guidance etc...

I cant see myself getting back into buddhism any time soon..

I guess another way to explain it is that it somehow became more exhausting being into buddhism than when im not into it... lol

Does anyone relate to me here and understand what im saying or is it just me???

I had the same thing happen. But on the other hand I wasn't totally happy because I felt bad about myself because of my mental illness. Also, I wanted to become a Buddha so I could have more ability to help others.

So now after on and off taking a break, I now have meditated always every day since last year october. No exceptions. That was hard to do so excuse me if I have a little pride

karasti

Everything everyone needs to live their lives constructively and truly happily is already within them. You don't need books to learn them. You just have to trust yourself. That's the part most people struggle with, having the level of trust that what they are doing really is okay.

lobster

:clap:

Now what? Now Nothing?
How do you feel about those without such freedom? Would you advocate giving up practice?
I would not.
Let me put it another way are you free of being free?
Let me answer your question . . . would you read it though?
http://yinyana.tumblr.com/post/44283561872/nothing-doing

Perhaps the quick answer:

Yes.

:wave:

Sabre

There are different levels of happiness. If you come out of a sort of frustrated or stressed situation, being free of that seems like the best peace and freedom ever. It's like when the neighbours finally put off the music they have been playing for hours - even when there is still other noise on the background for a moment it seems oh so peaceful.

But there is more peace to be found and for that I couldn't do without practicing the path. So my advice is: don't forget Buddhism because one day maybe that which seems very happy and peaceful now either goes away or becomes ordinary, and you may want some more peace. The Buddha had a very easy life as a spoiled prince, but he didn't think it was satisfying, so he went looking for real peace. Or I should say: an end to suffering.

With lots of metta!
Sabre

ThailandTom

We are all happy from time to time, and we all suffer from time to time, that is life. The 4NTs, you first need to know what suffering is and that you are suffering to even get the wheel turning towards liberating oneself. But of course it is our own path to walk so do what you're gunna do and enjoy

pegembara

I decided to just STOP ...
I stopped studying, i stopped reading, i stopped meditating, i stopped my rituals, i stopped buying books, i stopped thinking...

And instead i just lived my life.. Spontaneously... Day by day..

And i found i was completely free and happy..
I didnt need any books, or any guidance etc...

In the Anguttara Nikaya, the Buddha states that when the mind is empty of greed, aversion and delusion, empty of 'I' and 'mine' then kamma ends by itself. This means that kamma, vipaka (its result) and the mental defilements which are the cause for the creation of kamma, spontaneously and simultaneously come to an end. So don't be afraid of kamma, to fear that means we are ruled by our kamma. Rather, we should take an interest in emptiness. If we have created emptiness with regards to 'I' and 'mine', kamma will utterly disintegrate and there will be no way that we will have to follow its dictates.

It's due to this very point that someone like Angulimala, a murderer, could become an arahant. Don't explain wrongly as is often done, the Buddha's reply to Angulimala, "I have already stopped. It is you that have not stopped." Don't explain that 'not stopped' means that Angulimala became a saint because he stopped killing people. Anyone that explains like that is badly representing the Buddha because when the Buddha used the word 'stop' here, he was referring to the stopping of 'I' and 'mine', to the stopping of clinging and grasping, or in other words to emptiness. So it is emptiness that is the stopping and it is the only kind of stopping that could have made Angulimala an arahant. If it was just stopping killing people that would make one an arahant why are not all those people who do not kill arahants? It is because cessation, the true stopping, is the emptiness where there is no self to dwell anymore. That is true stopping. If there is still a self then you can't stop.

So we should understand that the word 'empty' is the same as the word 'stop', the single word by which the Buddha was able to enlighten Angulimala, even though the killer's hands were still red with blood and around his neck hung the 999 finger bones of his victims. For kamma to end by itself, to reach the stopping, we must rely on this single term: empty of 'I' and 'mine', not grasping at or clinging to dhammas.

Ajahn Buddhadasa

HAVE YOU REALLY STOPPED?

misterCope

Perhaps you are enlightened!

zenff

I decided to just STOP ...
I stopped studying, i stopped reading, i stopped meditating, i stopped my rituals, i stopped buying books, i stopped thinking...

And instead i just lived my life.. Spontaneously... Day by day..

I think you should call yourself a practicing Buddhist.
We don’t need too many deep and exotic spiritual insights and realizations.
Living our life, relatively uncomplicated and free, is advanced practice.

Hui Neng (the story goes) couldn’t read or write and wasn’t allowed into the mediation hall. He was instead a help in the monastery-kitchen. He became one of the most important teachers of Chan.
I’m not saying his biography is solid fact, but there’s some meaning to the story.

hermitwin

i think buddha had the same experience
prior to seeing the old, sick and dead men. lol.

zenmyste said:

Or any other spiritual or self help practice...

Its kinda hard to explain, but because i like buddhism and what it teaches , ive always studied it and read alot of books and even at times called myself a practising buddhist .. ive also always been into self help books so ive always bought them and read them etc...

However; it got to the point where I started believing i actually needed buddhism to better my life.. And it was like i was studying it to improve my life, but one day it hit me that i dont need to improve anything.

I decided to just STOP ...
I stopped studying, i stopped reading, i stopped meditating, i stopped my rituals, i stopped buying books, i stopped thinking...

And instead i just lived my life.. Spontaneously... Day by day..

And i found i was completely free and happy..
I didnt need any books, or any guidance etc...

I cant see myself getting back into buddhism any time soon..

I guess another way to explain it is that it somehow became more exhausting being into buddhism than when im not into it... lol

Does anyone relate to me here and understand what im saying or is it just me???

shadowleaver

Being genuinely happy is the best gift you can give to the world. Be around people, spread it around!

oceancaldera207

I decided to just STOP ...
I stopped studying, i stopped reading, i stopped meditating, i stopped my rituals, i stopped buying books, i stopped thinking...

Ok so what are you studying? Because I think I would feel the same way if I were reading mostly what's on the shelves at Barnes and noble. Actually, if I spent more than about ten mins reading certain 'well respected' book machine buddhist authors, I'd probably hang myself with the nearest rope like object. I guess I'm just spoiled because I got into the sutras first and made up my mind about them before I read what every tom dick and harry car salesman scam artist thinks about them.

I know im getting up on my soapbox a little here, but honestly, maybe just refine your literary diet a little when/if your desire for Buddhism returns.

Also I think that certain fake teachers can really screw up the way you see authentic teachings. Just because someone gets published or is renowned, doesnt mean they know what they are doing.
I'm saying all this because people I know who read lots of modern fluff interpretations tend to get burned out and never get a lot from it. And its no wonder..ill contemplate a line of a sutra and feel great about it, see how insightful and instructive it is after I spend time thinking about it... Then see some of the commentaries on it and see how they suck all the life out of them, because of various errors in their understanding..or most often bcause they're just grifters.

seeker242

Third, seeking nothing. People of this world are deluded. They’re always longing for something-always, in a word, seeking. But the wise wake up. They choose reason over custom. They fix their minds on the sublime and let their bodies change with the seasons. All phenomena are empty. They contain nothing worth desiring. Calamity forever alternates with Prosperity! To dwell in the three realms is to dwell in a burning house. To have a body is to suffer. Does anyone with a body know peace? Those who understand this detach themselves from all that exists and stop Imagining or seeking anything. The sutras say, "To seek is to suffer. To seek nothing is bliss." When you seek nothing, you’re on the Path. ~Bodhidharma, Outline of Practice

lobster

Is it time for the river entry dance?

Victorious

If it aint broke dont fix it. Thats an old Dhamma saying I believe... .

Be free and at peace with yourself. Will you let us know how things are progressing? Would be interesting to know.

/Victor

Jainarayan

It's religion and ritual overload and overthinking. I experience(d) it too. I'm scaling way back on my practice and just trying to live a decent life, having compassion (some days are harder than others). I have too many books. I collected them compulsively, thinking I needed to read all this material to "find myself". I am reading The Spiritual Teachings of Ramana Maharshi; he says, in not so many words "chuck the books". His only message is ask yourself "who am I?" and explore that. We can get caught up in ritual, superstition, do's and don'ts. If it works for someone, great. But it doesn't work for everyone.

AllbuddhaBound

Even though it can seem like a bother, meditation has a number of gifts, some we are aware of, and some we are not. One of them is insight, which is something that is extremely subtle, but I would not want to forego that benefit. Even if I was uncomfortable in the pursuit.

caz

Tosh said:

Enjoy it while it lasts!

Sorry!

Seconded...Samsara's gonna get you.

Nirvana

Au contraire!

Overdoing religion is just not good for you!~

For that matter, overdoing any -ISM is just not right.

A person just is, whereas a prism not only is, but is also an ism.

An ism can be a prison
Wheras a person can just be free.

Is ism-ism better than just to be?

There are all sorts of ways to meditate; but carrying a loving heart is the best approach to the truly good life, and is in itself meditation.

Jeffrey

karasti said:

Everything everyone needs to live their lives constructively and truly happily is already within them. You don't need books to learn them. You just have to trust yourself. That's the part most people struggle with, having the level of trust that what they are doing really is okay.

My lama says that all of her teachings are meant to grant us trust of ourselves. Pema Chodron says one of the five points of meditation is to become an undonditional friend towards ourselves.