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New to Buddhism... seeking support
annac
New
Am currently researching and everything so far has compelled me to convert to Buddhism. Love for any support or advice as I embark on this new journey.
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Comments
Read Suttanipata. Here is a thread about it. With references.
http://newbuddhist.com/discussion/21766/the-beautiful-verses-of-the-sutta-nipata#latest
Welcome. Hope you stay too.
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@annac -- Best wishes in your efforts. Take your time. Everything is useful. Conversion is not necessary.
Welcome to the dharma. May I ask, what are you finding so far that attracts you?
Welcome @annac; as @genkaku rightly states, there is no need to 'convert'. You are free to adopt, and work alongside whatever you already have. 'Constrained' is not a word you'll often come across, when considering Buddhist tenets....
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I meant to add, that while conversion to Buddhism is not a ceremonial, publicly-evident process, perhaps what you are thinking of is more in line with a commitment to Buddhism.
Taking Refuge in the Triple Gem is a personal statement of commitment to this particular calling, but again, it is wholly dependent on you, when you feel ready to 'do' it, and it matters not, to many, whether you decide to make a public ceremony of it, within the Temple of your choosing, or whether (as i did) you create a private, 'DIY' mini-ceremony which is of great significance to you and you alone.
I recite the Triple Gem morning and night (first and last thing) and the 5 precepts, in the morning, as a follow-on to the Triple Gem.
How and what you do, is entirely up to you, as is the timing.
Don't feel pressured or believe that there is a requirement or urgency about this. Do as you feel, when you feel it, and in whichever way feels right.
Hey Annac I'd say the best way to go about it is to get a good gist on how to practice emotions & feelings control practice, & learn to meditate using your senses....That should over the months gain you some awareness, & at the same time follow the 8 fold path....Bear in mind that as you practice emotions & feelings control practice & awareness through practising mindful meditation of your senses, it's that exact practice that you will need to use in order to follow the 8 fold path....As you shed your minds desires (which you will) it's vital that you replace them with your hearts desires, otherwise you'll end up in an emotional neutral zone....Buddhism is great stuff, but i honestly believe it's 10% reading on what to do, & then it's 90% training until realised....The Buddha was only searching for the end of suffering, & so once our suffering is over because we've learn't what it's there for, what then?....Well in opinion to end my suffering was to fully understand how my own mind works, & what it's actually there for....So just the same as we can't learn how to ride a bike or learn to swim etc by just reading about it, it's the same with Buddhism & I'm a massive fan of Buddhism i really am....I personally read mountains of stuff for months & nothing happened i never changed, & it was only once i realised every minute reading was a minute i could have been practising or meditating did i start to see massive changes for the better....Now I'm honestly fascinated by it all, & life itself. :-)
Sorry @Daveadams but advising that you can shed desires is like saying to a dandelion: 'you cannot let your seeds fly away with the wind'. But it's a good place to start I admit - fascination with it all is also a great place to be. It's wonderful:
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Thanks for your question. I just feel that what I believe in life and what I believe life is aligns more within Buddhism than what I am at the moment. I suppose you can say I have experienced a disconnection with my religion for a very long time now. Everyday I feel connected and want to learn as much as I can before I start practicing. But I know I have a lot to learn.
Namaste @annac
Buddhism is very attractive - just don't believe that you will learn anything that was not or is not already accessible to you. In fact, apart from paying to learn to sit and meditate and train your mind to be present in a reputable meditation centre, it could become a hobby that should cost you nothing. If you are paying for it - regard it as sham buddhism!
My advice: spend some time to sit alone when and where you can be and really just be yourself. Sometimes a walk in the park looking at the goings on is an alternative whilst you learn to train your mind. Then, should you find a place and time where there is a stillness/silence that you are comfortable with reflect on the four noble truths, and let your buddha nature guide you - not the thoughts, they are not buddha, they are just (shall we say) mind waves.
Metta
Join the club.
As a fellow beginner, always a good way to be, familiarisation is a good idea.
Are you ready for meditation practice? Never wasted. A few moments of stillness and you will realise the nature of dharma requires facing that beginner firmly by the cushion.
The refuge can be done early on as an inspiration. Or you can wait until you know what it actually means. In the west we mostly focus on our side what we will do and how pure our morality (5 precepts) and practice (mindfulness and meditation etc). But refuge also happens from the side of the world going to you. Eventually the world actually calls to the Buddhist and asks their own response.
@anatman. Pay is always voluntary. IF not then it is not authentic 'dana' (generosity). But if I want to pay to take a course and to buy infrastructure that my sangha needs even so far as my guru needing a computer or iPad that is totally up to me.
My advice, for what it's worth? Keep that "I don't know" mind. I've been a practicing Buddhist since I was a young man and the purest expression I have of what it all amounts to is, "I don't know."
You might also start doing a little meditation. Nothing fancy and don't get caught up in a contest with yourself to do it longer or more often, just some breath counting. Lots of people here and elsewhere will guide you in beginner's meditation, if you'd like.
Remember, if you meet someone on the road to enlightenment who simply blows your mind, he or she was once exactly like you are now.
Thanks for your advice. I have taken onboard. At the moment I am keeping that logic and informing myself of how to be a buddhist and learn everything I need to know. I will consider taking that step further and begin mediating to get myself into that headspace.
Anapanasati sutta, which means mindfulness of breathing, it's a complete form of meditation
Probably a bit much for a beginner though.
Really? Well nobody told me that when I was a beginner, I'm actually still a beginner, and its my main practice
Started Anapanasati when I was 5 years old. But I had a instructor.
Hi at annac,
yoiu may find this series of videos helpful, its by Ajahn Jayasaro, a monk in the Theravada Thai forest tradition.
I meant the 4 tetrad stuff, not the basic breathing practice.
An instructor is always a good thing.
...anyway, I started ananapasati in a previous life, so there.
May Buddha's teachings (Dharma) be as wonderful and helpful for you as they have been for so many persons! It is (or should be) a very happy road, one we are all in. You will find there are many many teachers and traditions in Buddhism and as life goes by you will sure know many of them; be sure to follow whatever instructions that make you the happiest!
Just between us (which is just a thing to say in a public forum, LOL), I used to think that if I wanted to work on my cough cough behind, I would have to go to the gym, buuuut.... I have spent so many hours (days, months, years?) sitting on my meditation cushion that -again- Buddhism has proved me wrong. (^^) So...find a nice place to practice meditation, but remember, it would be great to find Dharma lessons everywhere and all the time during your day.
May happiness shines from within. I wish you a happy journey!
No you didn't ...
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Oh yeah? Well in a previous life, I was the cushion you sat on! Top that! ;D
I was the mat underneath the cushion...so there!
Sometimes you're the cushion, and sometimes you're the ass.....
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Alright. Enough already.
What I meant was anapanasati is pretty simple.
1. You sit,
2. you breath in
3. you breath out.
4. Repeat from point 2 until you had enough.
Pretty difficult to mess up unless you try very very hard. But of course to get somewhere you might need an Instructor...
/Victor
EDIT: I fear @annac might have converted to Dudeism by now since they probably have a more serious approach to beginners. Hrm. :shake: .
But don't stop breathing when you finish the meditation.
There's far too much silliness here. Get a grip!
I think Spiny that maybe you should just sit this one out...until you are a bit older. No? Hmm?
I don't know. One of the things that first attracted me to Buddhism and Zen in particular was its ability to laugh once in a while and not take everything so gosh-darn serious. I came from the "End times are coming Satan is winning repent before the rapture!" brand of fundamentalism. This was a refreshing change.
Mindfulness is critical, having a broad and a non judgemental mindfulness is key, you have to hit a right balance between over focusing on the breath to the exclusion of everything else, and being too lax that it will cause you to miss what the breath is doing in the present, like the analogy about holding a bird in your hand, not to tightly that it would injure the bird and not to loosely that it will fly away, there is a middle way in the practice. The breath is the means to anchor yourself in the present, that allows you to see the (body), as in the breath body, (feelings), (mind), and (mind objects). It's not a conceptualizing practice, but it's a purely an experiential one. Take what I say with a grain of salt and see for yourself, remember that there is no greater teacher than the Buddha.
Find a live teacher. One in your area, or a nearby dharma center that has a "spiritual advisor" who comes one or twice a year ... or travel TO take teachings. If you have to travel far, make it the destination for your annual vacation.
Buddhism is something you learn to do, so a teacher is of extremely helpful. Your understanding and progress in Buddhism is only as good as the skillfulness with which you do the practices. Not only does the teacher have practices that might not be available to the general public ... they know which practices match your skill level, and they have suggestions for roadblocks you encounter. But the most important aspect of having a teacher is that they role-model where YOU are heading. Somehow seeing someone else does it broadens your understanding of the whole thing in a way that words simply cannot convey.
There used to be this career guidebook called "If You Don't Know Where You Are Going, You'll Probably End Up Somewhere Else" ... that would be a good title for a book on why a teacher is so important in Buddhism.