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new to buddhism
hi im joey some of you have already greeted me with a very warm welcome. I have learned a few things about buddhism but i still am curious about the rest. i know most will say read but i personally learn better by talking/messaging instead. I know about the 4 truths and the eightfold path but still wondering about the rest. I have an anger problem but have been getting better since i have started my breathing meditation. what else can i do. Thanks you to all of you.:tonguec:
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It's also about studying them intently and learning them, understanding them, and accepting them completely into your life. Not only as something you adhere to, but actually living it all, day to day.
The Noble Eightfold Path has been my bye-word for 14 or 15 years (I came to Buddhism about 16 years ago) and I still haven't finished learning about them. The 4 Noble Truths direct me every day, and teach me something new from moment to moment.
I think it may be a great idea to find what it is that you understand about the 4 Noble Truths, abd the Eightfold Path, before we consider doing something else!
This isn't an exam. It's not a "You've got this right but you've got that wrong" issue.
It's a way of really absorbing the teachings until if they took a bloodtest, they'd show up in the results! Knowing about the teachings is a wonderful start, and it means we have the whole of the Dharma open to us, in a wide expanse of unexplored country - ! Don't be daunted by it - we're all in the same place!
Ultimately, it's not about being Buddhist. Ultimately, it's about being Buddha.
Explain to us what you understand about the 4 Noble Truths, and we can start gently plodding from there.... How's that? :thumbsup:
WOW, you really got the The NewBuddhist Members Introduction Thread going. I didn't want to say HI there, cuz I just don't do it as well as the others.
Anger problems (see http://buddhism.kalachakranet.org/anger.html) are tough, since anger is such a tricky thing —a secondary emotion that responds to an initial hurt. Cognitively anger isn't that hard to manage if we can slow down and attend to the hurt rather than nursing the grudge against the source of the hurt. Although intellectually I can understand that all creatures have to undergo a lot of pain and loss in their lives, and thereby might feel real solidarity with them, it's only by practice that I can remove myself from all that emotional tumult. By inquiring within, "Why is it....?"
Most people probably have times in their lives when their anger becomes a problem, and also people tend to lose some control when they are overtired or overstressed. How many parents have to walk on eggshells around their teens at times?
'Nuff said by me on this. But I did want to say "Hello."
I agree with Fede. Try to keep it as simple as you can at first. Get the basics down in the intellectual sense and then work on practicing the Way so you can start getting an experiential sense of what the Buddha taught. It's really all there in the Four Noble Truths. Don't worry too much about things like "emptiness" and "not-self" and all that stuff for now. Just get a general understanding first and be patient with yourself. You'll be amazed how quickly you pick things up.
Are you familiar with The Five Precepts? If not, you can look them up. They are the basic precepts held by lay Buddhists. They are not commandments, though. But you'll see when you look them up.
You may already know this site, but I'll give you the link just in case, because it's been a huge help to me:
Access to Insight.
Questions. Ask us lots of questions. But look them up first. Lol!! Also, read through some of the old threads on here. You wouldn't believe how much I learned when I first came here as even more of a newbie than I am today.