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I'm overwhelmed with information
Mountains
Veteran
I'm fairly new to Buddhism. I first picked up (believe it or not) "Buddhism for Dummies" a couple of years ago. I enjoyed reading it, and it was pretty straightforward. Of course that led to questions, and more reading. But the more I read, the more I feel overwhelmed with Buddhism. I appreciate that Buddhism does not have a single book like the monotheistic religions mostly do, which I think is one of its attractions for me. But the number of concepts, words, sutras, branches, traditions, etc, etc, etc is just over my head!
I try to practice a sitting meditation every day - and I admit to not being really diligent about it. I work a really odd schedule, so most days when I work I don't get home until after 8:00 p.m. (after having left home at 6:00 a.m.), and am dog tired and just want to eat a bite and go straight to bed. But I do try to sit when I'm able. Beyond that, I still read occasionally, mostly online, about Buddhism, but again, the amount of stuff is overwhelming.
I'm not sure if I'm here to ask a question or just see if other beginners feel as overloaded as I do. Surely I can't be the only one who feels this way? I wish there were a Buddhist center near where I live, but I live in a very rural area. The closest Dharma center I can find is almost 3 hours away.
Perplexed...
I try to practice a sitting meditation every day - and I admit to not being really diligent about it. I work a really odd schedule, so most days when I work I don't get home until after 8:00 p.m. (after having left home at 6:00 a.m.), and am dog tired and just want to eat a bite and go straight to bed. But I do try to sit when I'm able. Beyond that, I still read occasionally, mostly online, about Buddhism, but again, the amount of stuff is overwhelming.
I'm not sure if I'm here to ask a question or just see if other beginners feel as overloaded as I do. Surely I can't be the only one who feels this way? I wish there were a Buddhist center near where I live, but I live in a very rural area. The closest Dharma center I can find is almost 3 hours away.
Perplexed...
0
Comments
IMHO you can take just this and digest it slowly. Its all you really need to begin with.
What drew you to Buddhism, and what are you seeking from it?
This is your first post so I want to say HI! And I hope you enjoy this online community.
Anyway, as Richard was saying, you can make it as complicated, or as simple as you want. What do you want to get out of buddhism? And how you answer should reflect how much you dive into it. Tecnically speaking, if you really really understood the 4 noble and 8 fold path you will be okay (as the story goes, buddha taught this, and one of his followers became enlightened by simply knowing these). I, on the other hand, love to learn and read about buddhism and want to know all that I can... so I read/ listen to as many suttas as I can. But that's what i choose to do.
I too am I beginner. It can seem overwhelming when you look at how extensive the suttas are, and how large the Pali Canon is. But just take your time, there is no rush, it's your path. Stay in the present moment, and practice your meditation when you can. When you become more serious and are ready to take a step further in the path, your practice will increase, and you can increase your study then. But don't rush to that point, learn all you can about the 4 noble truths, apply them, get some personal insight, etc. Best of luck!
Namaste,
Ashley
Welcome to the site. It's lovely to meet you.
No, you're not the only one to feel overwhelmed at first. I felt the same way. There was just SO much to read and understand and absorb. But it eventually just started to fall into place. Things I didn't understand at first started to become clearer later on. Once that started happening I just kept going and what I didn't understand I just put aside for the moment and kept going. I let myself absorb things slowly.
I also kept hearing how having and keeping a beginner's mind was a good thing and that encouraged me. It's been almost 4 years now and I'm still a total beginner.
But the thing that helped me the most to overcome the feeling of being overwhelmed was figuring out that I wasn't overwhelmed by how much information there was, I was overwhelmed because I thought I had to learn it all right away. I know that sounds like an obvious observation but it helped me let go of having to become an expert overnight.
Now I approach things differently. I learn one thing and then I start putting it into practice in my day to day life while keeping an eye on the big picture. When I feel it's well embedded I go back to the studying and find something else I can put into practice. That's sort of a simplified description but I'm sure you get what I mean.
Good luck and I hope you find our group friendly and helpful.
The Four Noble Truths is enough - the last Truth is the Eightfold Path, the way to what can be called the cessation of suffering.
It can be overwhelmingly, particularly on Internet Bulletin Boards. But in truth, Buddhism is very very simple.
I wish you well, and I wish you peace, dear Mountains.
_/\_
That both I and you have had to travel and trudge through this long round is owing to our not discovering, not penetrating four truths. What four?
They are: The Noble Truth of Suffering, The Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering, The Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering, and the Noble Truth of the Way Leading to the Cessation of Suffering.
[Digha Nikaya, Sutta 16]
Try to relax a little, and instead of looking at lots of different kinds of information, keep to the core teachings and just take one step at a time.
The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path are all you need to study and contemplate .
http://www.buddhanet.net/4noble.htm
With many kind wishes to you,
Dazzle
.
There is a story about a young man who spends a night in a shed talking to the Buddha. The next morning, the young man is enlightened. In one night, after one chat, he saw things as they were and knew how they would make him.
Some people like the depth and epic mystery that can be Buddhism, and others like it in less dramatic terms.
Maybe at some level you want to be overwhelmed, maybe you don't, maybe you see a mole hill and think, in the darkness, its a mountain. Keep at it, find your own way along the path:)
It's a life's journey, so let's hope you are far from the end!
Incidentally, the young man in the story, he was soon run over by a cow and killed, and the Buddha was said to be very sad.
Much Peace
Mat
brian
I know how you feel. We've got Theravada Buddhism, Chan Buddhism, Mahayana Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, all with different terminology and concepts. Some schools of Buddhism say there are 4 stages of enlightenment, some say enlightenment is instantaneous, the contradictions and confusion is endless.
Zen is what interests me because it's so simple. Pick up "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind" by Shunryu Suzuki and see if you like the style of Zen Buddhism.
http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Mind-Beginners-Shambhala-Library/dp/1590302672/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266298637&sr=1-1
Oh yes, this can be very complicated. It can also be very simple, and this is why:
Actually understanding Buddhism is not an exercize in intellectual understanding. It is through your practice that you will start to grasp what Buddhism is saying. And yes, it takes a lifetime.
Stop trying to go everywhere to learn, stop trying to learn all at once.. Go to that closest Dharma center at least once ... make it your summer holiday or something. Try to go once a year. Try to make connections with a teacher through which you can ask the occasional question ... for clarification, or for correction on part of your practice. Some Dharma centers have on-line real-time lessons once a week.
And do the practice that your teacher shows you. Every day.
I don't know, maybe because The Buddha felt sadness from time to time?
I suppose that the elimination of the cases of suffering isn't the same as the prevention of sadness. Some things are cause sadness/are sad irrespective of their dharmic structure. Eg, the way the developed world exploits the developing world, I would hope all Buddha's would feel sadness at that.
Salome,
Mat
Honey, you will just get even more perplexed in forums. lol
What happens is at first we want to learn whatever we can, any new term or technique is a must have (or a must learn). When we try to put it in practice it gets overwhelming, but remember that the Buddha himself made a system out of his teachings: The Noble Eightfold Path.
My suggest is to just relax and take your time. Buddhism is a gradual path, after all (Ud 5.5).
At the beginning, just try to focus on three things: (1) observing the precepts, (2) practicing meditation and (3) developing insight. The rest will gradual fall into place over time.
Have fun with your journey, you will soon realize that you've been where you wanted to get to all along.
Yeah, it's all the same message though. It seems like this guy has completely delved into hardcore Buddhist teaching that has covered up Buddha's true message for too long, and is lost when it comes to practical applicability. He seems to think that "meditation" (merely watching thoughts and emotions objectively) can only be done when sitting down and without any noise around you in your free time. Everyday and every situation is a chance to observe. The Power of Now helps one realize this. Gaining knowledge of Buddhism is fine, it's neither right nor wrong but let's face it how does this apply to what we deal with in this day and age. I feel as if that's what he needs. Sorry if I'm wrong in my assumptions Mountains, hope I'm helping you.
Yeah, it's normal to feel overloaded. I did alot when I started out and I still do from time to time. When you get like that, just concetraite on your meditation, maybe make the feeling of being overloaded part of it.
When your feeling a bit more positive about it go back to the basics repeatedly: The Four Noble Truths and the Eight Fold Path.
These days I read all kinds of Dharma related books, mostly because it helps keep up my motivation to practice.
If someone wishes to learn what Tolle teaches than they should read his books. If one wishes to learn what the Buddha taught they should read about Buddhism, not about Tolle.
Again, he does not teach Buddhadhamma. He has studied many religions and claims no affiliation with any of them. He has stated that he does not teach any form of Buddhism. If someone is interested in reading Tolle, that's absolutely fine. But to suggest a book of his as a source, and a sole source at that, for Buddhadhamma to a newcomer isn't very honest.
How does what apply to what we deal with in this day and age?
All things are just as impermanent, not-self, and subject to dukkha when clung to now as they were in the Buddha's time. His teachings are timeless.
Meditation isn't just about objectively watching thoughts/emotions (not sure what exactly that even means). There are also different kinds of meditation, and there are Buddhist teachings who teach mindfulness meditation in everyday situations as well; Thich Nhat Hanh comes to mind.
I practice alone in a rural area. For me, devotional chanting in the easiest way to practice. Even in Theravada, the lay practice is mostly chanting. Youtube can be a good place to help learn different kinds of Buddhist chants. As for learning Buddhism, the numbered lists are helpful for me. I try to grasp the concepts. Once I began to understand core concepts, the rest started to fall into place. When I let my mind ramble, and stray from core concepts, confusion starts to take hold.
That is an excellent point. Dhammadina the Nun distilled the 8-fold path into what she called three bundles -- Ethics, Concentration, and Discernment. The Buddha used slightly different words -- Higher Ethics, Higher Mentality or Spirituality, and Higher Discernment. I see Meditation as a cultivation or development of one's mind and spirituality.
Most think of Meditation as simply Jhana / Dhyana. The development of that kind of one pointed or fixed concentration or absorption is useful. However, I think the development of moment-moment concentration, or mindfulness, is just as important. The usual method is Cattaro Satipatthana -- the four frames of mindfulness. These match up with, and help one overcome, the four vipallasas {distortions, hallucinations, or inverted views}.
I do not come across discussions of Samma Vayama; Right or Proper Exertion, Effort, or Endeavor, much at all. This, of course, is also part of the Training of Meditation and consists of the four restraints -- (1) blocking and {2} letting go of harmful mental states; while (3) cultivating and (4) maintaining wholesome mental states. I think the 3rd, cultivation, pretty much covers all four. I also think that Buddhist devotional chanting is helpful as a method of cultivating wholesome or meritorious mental states.
Buddhism is too large to take on all at once. It would be like trying to swallow the ocean in one gulp. It can’t be done.
We have to start where we are, and move along one step at a time. Don't worry. This will take you where you need to go, and teach you what you need to learn.
There are many ways to attack this. Probably the easiest way is to start reading, and to start getting a feel for what is being presented to you.
Start to think for yourself, "Does this make sense to me, and why?"
Or, "When I look at the world and myself, does this seem to apply…is it true from what I can see?"
Check things out like that. But above all, trust your self. We all start off not knowing.
And:
Just move along at your own pace and enjoy the ride. Trying to force yourself to move faster will only ruin it for you. : ^ (
Sometimes you will read something that inspires you and seem to make some real progress in your understanding. But then you might have a dry spell, and feel discouraged. We all do that. But, persistence always pays off. So just keep going along and enjoying your path. Every path is a little different, as every person is. In a way you are your path.
Buddhism is a lifetime journey…and if you are not enjoying it, then you are causing yourself needless suffering.
Peace is a skill,
S9