First Day of Buddhism

ajani_mgo

OK, most of us here took Buddhism for real after some years of life. How did you feel the moment you picked it up? The 1st day where you walked on the streets and called yourself a true Buddhist?

Well for me, I felt like I was unbeatable and damned happy. But then now I look back, I kind of think that the Ajani Mgo back then on his 1st day of Buddhism was a total sucker, because he didn't really understand Buddhism, just accepted it and tried to understand it.

buddhafoot

I don't think it hit me over night or anything like that.

In fact, I've messed around with TM and stuff in the past without it ever being related to Buddhism.

I've also had a copy of the Kalama Sutra taped to my wall in front of my desk that I have looked at every day for about the last 4 years. It just made more and more sense to me as time slowly marched on. Plus, I'm not one to jump on a band wagon. For one, I'd look just like everyone else and that's no good! Plus, I find that when the drum beating of a fad or something NEW! dies down and the newness disappates - everyone is left standing around wondering how the hell they got there and where did their clothes go?

It's been a slowly growing process. Much like my waistband.

-bf

ajani_mgo

I daresay I sucked on my first day. Way sucked. I thought non-attachment was detachment and stuff like that. My teacher asked me about Buddhism once and I gave her all lousy replies.... But I did understand in the end after many months... It was like... WOW, it was there all along.

Karmically Buddhism isn't "The Apprentice" if not I'd have gotten fired on the first day. LOL

P.S. I never believe in luck nor fate... Everything is karma, so I always replace luckily with karmically (unless in English exams)

Makarov

Dear ajani mgo, The First Day? Hmmm. I have yet to take the "official" vow as I am unclear about making such a vow while still knowing so little. Not because I doubt but because I feel unworthy at this point to make such a sincere vow without ever having been "officially" educated in Buddhism. I feel too ignorant at this point to be able to say "I ama follower of Buddha. I am seeking, I believe and I am learning how one becomes a Buddhist but I feel I am lacking. I live in the Bible Belt where I am very often confronted by co-workers, etc who attend one of the 5 Fundamentalist Colleges here in Springfield, Mo. I think I fear that once I openly profess to being a Buddhist, I will open myself up to criticisms and questions that I cannot answer or defend and THAT would not only make me look foolish but cast a bad light upon Buddhism itself in the eyes of others who may then say..." He claims to be...but knows nothing about it."

Simonthepilgrim

ajani_mgo wrote:

I daresay I sucked on my first day. ....................

We all sucked (or suckled) on our first day. It is what the newborn must do!

One interesting way to shake our usual categories is to practise "surprise". I have based this practice on work of the great spiritual master Terry Pratchett in his revelatory work Thief of Time. It consists of taking each moment as the first so that all apparent memory and, with it, all presuppositions or definitions are treated as hallucination. This strange object, which others may call "tree", is no longer "tree" but a phenomenon of wondrous appearance, unknown until this moment.

The mantra which brings us to this state of awakening is: I was not born yesterday!

Windwalker

Every day is our first day.