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Life Changes
How has your life changed since starting Buddhism?
Was it a complete 180 change, or were your ideals very similar beforehand?
Was it a complete 180 change, or were your ideals very similar beforehand?
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Comments
It sounds corny, but Buddhism literally came to me in a dream. Sparing the details, suffice to say that I was so happy in my dream that I woke up nearly in tears. This was only two years ago, so I was a grown man with a family.
But like I said, the most overwhelming emotion is just plain relief. I'm so glad that I found all the information I needed to make the right choices, and one of my hopes is that I can make it easier (through the internet and such) for others to "come home" like I was able to.
I wouldn't say it has changed my life too much, yet. It meshed very well with many of the ideas I had been thinking about on my own. I think the most important thing is that it has given me more to learn and think about so that I can develop further and not just be stuck in my own thoughts.
...I also have to admit it helps to have a 'title' to your philosophies or beliefs - preferrably one that the Boy Scouts sanction so that one does not lose one's Eagle rank to the Mormon aristocracy that controls the organization :rolleyes: And also just to deal with western stereotypes better, because you know it obviously can't be a religion or belief system if it doesn't have a scriptural text to go with it! :blink:
I never even thought about that. I thought that you had to profess a belief in "god" in order to be a boy/eagle scout? (There was that case a few years back, right?).
//edit: OK, so I never find it explicitly stated that it is an "approved" religion, but I can't find any list at all. The best I can find is the list of relgious emblems you can earn: http://www.scouting.org/awards/religious/a...ards/index.html
It lists many religions including Buddhism - and I think it's pretty safe to assume that it's approved if they made an emblem for it
I was a cub scout, does that help? :unsure:
It also helped me stop caring what others thought of my own religious beliefs. Before I would always say "Well, technically I'm catholic..." but now I know what I believe and I can understand what others believe.
I guess the relief has made many improvements to my life but they certainly didn't all show up the next day or anything, the gradual process has been fantastic.
BTW- Sorry fella's, haven't been around SM or here much lately... lifes busy, but I'm working on keeping more in touch, I've missed ya
//EDIT whoa! thats hot, maybe I'll join the Boy Scouts so I can get meself a bodhi badge
I am SO relieved that I don't have to "make excuses" for my former catholicism anymore. I used to try to explain my dislike for catholicism. When I was a kid, I was vehemently "atheist" - you know, like all the cool teenagers. Really I was just searching for something, but instead I focused all that energy on being "antichristian". When I found buddhism, all of that angst just went away, and I made peace not only with actual christianity, but with christian people that I know. More importantly, I made peace with my past and my upbringing.
THAT was a relief.
At first, especially given my upbringing, I found it very hard to tell others about my experiences. It seemed embarrassing somehow. As I gained wisdom, I realized that the embarrassment was caused not by how others saw me or felt about me, but about my own attachment to the way I thought things should be. After I overcame that small obstacle, I never again felt uncomfortable talking about my experiences with people
I'm working on it though..and I am looking forward to that day to where I can relax and be at peace with my heart. Feel confident about life.
Every moment can be anything you'd care to describe it as - tumultuous, wonderful, arduous, joyful - yet there they are, all those moments..... Gone....
One thing I regret is allowing myself to wallow in negative moods, when I could have been facing things more cheerfully. All those grim moments, wasted....
Learn, people, learn... every moment counts.....
as far as changes, I am much more mindful and aware at all times, that doesn't mean i'm ALWAYS mindful, but when you practice, mindfulness comes on it's own even during times where it's seemingly the furthest thing from your mind.
The insight and peace I've achieved by letting go and practicing has lead me to having a strong "faith" (ie confidence) in the dhamma. At this point i know that insights will come when and how they want, all I need to do is practice diligently, like the Buddha's last words suggest.
Also I was always the type of person who stayed up late, playing games, browsing the net, etc.. I use to go to bed at 1 or 2 am.. I felt that I'd be missing out, or not getting in enough "me" time if I went to bed early. I'd wake up at 8:20 to get ready for work and consistently get there 10-15 minutes late like most of my co-workers.
now I'm up every morning at 6am, the first hour is for some sort of exercise like running, parkour, etc.. then I shower and browse facebook/webpages and watch dhamma videos. i'm usually at the office to start meditating around 8:20 and I end 8:55.
after work I do some dhamma teaching three days a week, I also do yoga and kung fu, and I'm in bed by 11. I've tried to get in a evening meditation but it hasn't worked out so well Lol.. I "fell into" my morning meditation naturally, it wasn't a forced thing, which is why i think i have trouble "forcing" myself to meditate at night.
A 360 degree change or ideal change doesn't cover it.
Work, family, running, A.A. commitments, Buddhist lessons, helping drunks - there just didn't seem to be time. So I've stopped going to Buddhist lessons/sangha, and my spiritual practise just revolves around A.A., (though I know it should be interwined in everything I think, say, or do). A.A. is a Buddhist practise I guess; mindfulness, meditation, helping drunks (compassion for others).
I think in the early days I thought a spiritual practise should be complex and intellectual, so I was drawn to Buddhism and particularly Buddhist philosophy, but over time my concept of what a spiritual practise is has changed, and now I think it's more about how to live 'correctly'; an ethical life, meditation, mindfulness, being kind; that sort of thing. I'm less impressed by the complex intellectual side and more drawn to the actual practicalities of being compassionate.
But give me another few months, and I might be back into Buddhism. Who knows?
For me it was both a "coming home" in a oh THIS is what fits! sort of way, and a 180 degree change. Because while some of it fit what I already believed, the details were lacking and in finding them it did make a big difference in my life, even in a short time.
Boy Scouts recognize many different religions and you can get patches for any # of them, but they do tend to focus on God, but more in a higher power sense now, like AA. However, many of the groups do focus very much on a Christian God. My son was in cub scouts, and when his friends requested the Cross badge because they were Christians, my son requested the Dharma wheel badge, and they told him "If you are a Buddhist, you have to prove it, by having a teacher sign a paper." The Christian boys didn't have to prove anything, and we ended up quitting scouts over it because they insisted Christian scouts wouldn't lie about it but other kids might to get different badges.