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converting.
I'm looking into converting to Buddhism Ive been studying the texts and teachings for awhile but have never really understood how to convert.
what did you experience when converting and is anything that i showed know to help?
what did you experience when converting and is anything that i showed know to help?
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Please don't 'convert'? Buddhism is not a thing to convert to. It's a way of training to gain the ability to be clearly aware and correctly understand stuff happening around and in you.
There'is no requirement to change whatever you're in to right now, there's simply an invitation to train to be really quiet and calm and look at what's going on in and around you.
All the other stuff surrounding Buddhism, i.e. stories, rituals, writings, etc. are just ways to help us understand how to accomplish clear awareness and correct understanding.
Please don't get hung-up on that stuff either?
If one chooses, one can eventually take part in a formal Refuge ceremony at an offline centre or monastery with one of the main Buddhist traditions. This is what I did myself and I found it very inspiring and helpful as a begining for further study and practice.
Before that I had already repeated the Refuge many times on my own in a similar way as described by Jinzang.
Kind regards,
Dazzle
One really takes refuge with their heart in a way Jinzang has mentioned above. Essentially, following the teachings of the Buddha makes one a "Buddhist", I think. And as Dazzle has mentioned, at some point one can choose to formally take refuge in an official short ceremony with a monastic (monk or nun) at a monastery or temple. You get a "Dharma name and usually get a cool looking certificate also!
It is a step can deepen one's practice, study and appreciation of the teachings, but for me I thought of myself as a Buddhist before my refuge ceremony, but it made it "official" at that point.
We don't convert to Buddhism. We go back to it. The only thing you are going to have to get used to is others making fun of you. Society has a habit of making fun of what it doesn't understand.
Just study and practice. Don't worry about any rituals. They are just labels we put on things. Worry about the actions.
If buddhism rouses your curiosity, go to a centre, take classes, learn more about it, see if it "does anything" for you.
A wise person takes their time and lets the experience speak for itself. There will be no speaking of tongues, and any manic-style elation should be suspect as being other-than-buddhism ... rather, you can expect that over time you will come to see that you have found your home, that things are falling into place for you, that you are slowly evolving and changing. With even more time, you will begin to see that there is a complexity and richness far beyond what you expected at the beginning.