Buddhism is unique among the world’s major world religions. So that’s the bad news — we have to do it alone. Barbara O'Brien is a Zen Buddhist practitioner who studied at Zen Mountain Monastery. The Buddha himself famously said, “Be a lamp unto yourselves,” and told his students they must test everything he said against their own experience. hope it help. What benefits can I expect from Buddhism? Of course, transcendence can be conceptualized in many different ways, also. It may be infinitely vast and profoundly deep, it may be mysterious beyond concept, it may be far different than we think it is, but whatever reality is, this is it. By Luna Greenstein “Oṃ śhānti śhānti śhānti.” This mantra—meant to bring inner peace to those who chant it—is an example of the many connections between Buddhist teachings and mental health. Can you help us? You can read a book, attend classes, or hear a lecture by a Buddhist teacher. There is nothing and nobody fundamentally different from or outside of it. Because according to the Buddha, all suffering, large and small, starts with our false belief in a solid, separate, and continuous “I,” whose survival we devote our lives to. Buddhism values the rational mind and seeks not to contradict it in its own sphere. Learn the questions to ask before you consider converting to Buddhism. It warms us; it feeds us; it offers us color, sound, and touch. Low-caste Indians are leaving Hinduism en masse—partly to stick it to their prime minister. Being a Buddhist for many people does not involve an active abandonment of one path for another, but simply following a path that naturally leads where it was destined to go. But they’re trying. It’s highly pragmatic, because it’s about whatever helps reduce suffering. The first assumption is that an omnipotent and omnipresent entity such as God—or Brahma, or the Tao, or the Trikaya—can be completely understood by human intellect and that it can be expressed in doctrine form and transmitted to others with unfailing accuracy. It always tells the truth. It wasn’t so long ago that most Americans took their religion for granted. There’s no one who’s going to do it for us, no place we can hide out for safety. What we find is that Buddhism works. The anonymous author of a great Christian work of mysticism said as much in The Cloud of Unknowing—finding God/transcendence requires first that you give up the illusion of knowledge. Westerners converting to Buddhism: An exploratory grounded theory investigation . They’re kinder to themselves and others. You cannot "convert" to Buddhism. You don't have the utter lack of aggressive ability Jains have, but you also don't have to deal with castes like Hindus or struggle without heir designation. We can’t see or measure subjective experience, so we can’t judge directly the effect Buddhism is having on someone else’s mind and heart. Buddhism offers a wealth of skillful means to meet their different needs. Identities of all sorts, including gender, nationality, ethnicity, and even religion, are not seen as fixed and ultimately true. The foundations of Buddhism, are not so much tenets of faith as demonstrable principles of perceptual science. Maybe Nirvana is a metaphor for God. But there are many people who find illumination and a pathway toward transcendence from those other religions. These are the famous “spiritual but not religious,” philosophically the fastest-growing demographic in the U.S. Generally, they’re educated, liberal, and open-minded, with a deep sense of connection to the Earth and a belief that there’s more to life than what appears on the surface. Buddhism may be a religion for you to investigate if Christianity or Islam or Hinduism or Wicca no longer engages your heart and mind. All you have to do is meet someone who’s been practicing meditation a lot to know that. If you stick with it, that’s guaranteed. Finally, it is the rare person who can navigate the spiritual path alone. Buddhism definitely asserts there is a reality that is not material. This is really a way of saying the same thing the Buddha taught. The key is where we go from there. Thank you Lion’ Roar, if only this simple explanation of what Buddhism isn’t could be in every school child’s satchel, and adults for that matter. . This is the third noble truth, the cessation of suffering. That’s why many Buddhists also take a vow to put others before themselves and do whatever is necessary to alleviate their suffering, including introducing them to Buddhist teachings and practices. There's a story told in Buddhist lore about a follower of another religion who went to the Buddha to try to convert him. What is Buddhism. When I first encountered Buddhism, what struck me was its absolute integrity. Here is a list though there are genuine exceptions in both lists. If Buddhism is the proper place for you, your path is already leading you there. (And if so, perhaps it’s the material world we should be questioning the reality of.). Yes, like other religions Buddhism describes a nonmaterial, spiritual reality (perhaps the realer reality) and addresses what happens after we die. Even when Buddhists take refuge in the Buddha, what they’re really taking refuge in is the truth that there’s no refuge. We have to test the teachings of Buddhism against our direct life experience, not against our opinions. You’ll also see that when you meet a Buddhist meditator, even one who’s been at it for a long time. A skillful doctrine opens the heart to compassion and the mind to wisdom. Buddhism is not a one-path-fits-all religion. In Buddhism, there is no savior. Meditation is Buddhism’s basic remedy for the human condition, and its special genius. Other religion, in their own words, do not focus on the point of ‘cognitive empathy’. January 2008; Authors: Alasdair Gordon-Finlayson. In conversations about religion, there is often discussion about converting from one religion to another. We are basically good as well, confused as we may be. About a third of the religiously unaffiliated describe themselves as atheists. But while no one can do that for us, help and guidance is available. You just have to understand what they are true of. OCT. 31, 2016 . Here are ten reasons why: Different schools of Buddhism have different views about who the Buddha was. The problem is that things that feel helpful — like going along with our usual tricks — can sometimes make things worse. Hence, you will not see any adverts on the conversion of people to Buddhism. First, a couple of cautions. All you can do is look directly, relax, and let go. However, the Zen Buddhist tradition generally considers the terms: Buddhist, Buddhism, and Triple Jewels as methods to help the initiate along the path to enlightenment but are not an end in themselves.1 So, converting to Buddhism from the Zen Buddhist tradition is more about starting a life long process rather than being a member of an in-group versus an out-group. Buddhism is practiced by people, so there’s good and bad. It is mind. But it is easy to misinterpret this advice. Christianity has rituals that say "NOW I am a Christian", but Buddhism does not. It is empty of all form, yet everything we experience is its manifestation. The Buddha taught his monks that Nirvana cannot be conceptualized and that any attempt to do so is part of the problem. Religious conversion is the adoption of a set of beliefs identified with one particular religious denomination to the exclusion of others. Or are my perceptions and my experience of them both mind? It is a simple, vivid world of direct experience we can investigate, care for, enjoy, make love to. It is the set of beliefs and practices that provide you with the possibility of transcendence and the tools for seeking it. They render the mind hard and closed to whatever revelations or realizations Grace might send our way. Krithika Varagur. Kagyu Samye Dzong is a buddhist centre in Yorkshire, United Kingdom: meditation, mindfulness, yoga, retreats We might think of transcendence as union with God or as entry into Nirvana. The Buddhist cosmos is a vast one, containing infinite beings of different minds, bodies, faculties, and realms. The ultimate goal remember is to end suffering and to aid in the journey for fellow man kind. They can be like markers on a path, showing you a way others have walked before. 1951-1956 Devoted his energies to studying Buddhism and exploring the idea of the conversion of Untouchables. (No, the Dalai Lama is not the head of world Buddhism. But one thing is certain: he was not a God, deity, or divine being. Yet these are just the endless variations on the reality we experience right now. and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it. It feels like we’re hopelessly caught in this bad dream of “me and them” we’ve created, but we can wake up from it. But first: who are “we”? Dalits convert themselves to Buddhism to escape the Brahminical social structure which benefits Priviledged people. Furthermore the whole basis of "conversion" is deciding to belief the teachings. Buddhist meditators have been studying the mind for thousand of years. Meditation — taming the mind — is what gets us from one to the other. Ultimately, we are no different from him, and vice versa. There are at least two problematic assumptions with this view, and people who intuitively sense these contradictions are often the types of people that become Buddhists. The Nagas were enemies of Aryans and they fought … As a religion, Buddhism takes discipline and dedication, many of the doctrines are very difficult to wrap your head around, and its vast body of teachings can be intimidating. We’re the Shambhala Sun Foundation. Whatever works for you — no pressure. For some people, Buddhism may offer an option if you are not finding yourself a good fit for the religion you currently practice. Buddhism has its positive and negative factors. The founder of Buddhism was Buddha Shakyamuni who lived and taught in India some two and a half thousand years ago. This might be from one to another denomination within the same religion, for example, from Baptist to Catholic Christianity or … But the conceptualizations may not be that important since all are inherently imperfect. Apr 19, 2016 - Converting from one religion to another is a very personal choice. No genuine Buddhist would consider coaxing him or her into abandoning that successful belief system for another. Topic: One million to convert to Buddhism : Hammer: posted October 23, 2001 01:14 AM One day, Low Cast Hindu Tamils will get frustrated with LTTE for using their kids to fight a war that they will never see a benefit and convert themselves to Buddhism or Christianity. KNOW WHAT MAKES BUDDHISM DIFFERENT FROM OTHER RELIGIONS. There are teachers — women and men who are further along the path — who offer us instruction and inspiration. Is it large or small? It’s highly pragmatic, because it’s about whatever helps reduce suffering. It’s the way we’ve related to religion for thousands of years. Whether this is an accident of history or a natural reflection of the Buddhist teachings, Buddhist communities embrace diversity and work against sexism and racism. .it feels good. There is no need to propitiate gods or priests, no blind adherence to useless dogmas, rituals, holy books, or myths. 1956 Died 6 December, aged 64. Realistic self-evaluation tells us that rigidly fixed beliefs are not skillful, however. Does my mind change constantly or is it continuous? It’s fair to say that Buddhism is the most contemplative of the world’s major religions, which is a reflection of its basic nontheism. His faculties were purely human, any of us can follow his path, and our enlightenment will be exactly the same as his. There are fine books, excellent teachers (many of them now American), practice centers, communities, and indeed, magazines. We might do well to follow the advice of Aldous Huxley in The Perennial Philosophy, who argued persuasively that all religions are really just dialects of the same spiritual language—and equally truthful and equally flawed as tools for communication. By using Learn Religions, you accept our, Faith and Doubt in the Buddhist Tradition, Buddhism: 11 Common Misunderstandings and Mistakes, Soka Gakkai International: Past, Present, Future. Buddhism is a religion that some people can enter into with their entire hearts and minds without leaving critical thinking skills at the door. Buddhism is not a practice that really solicits for followers. But always it is skillful. This is not to say that beliefs and doctrines have no value because they do. Either way, please allow us to re-introduce ourselves: You can practice meditation at home or go to a local center and practice with others. Because who doesn’t know the value of being present and aware? It is the nontheistic religion. Our modern egos are keen to take advantage of it. The Dalai Lama has said that Buddhism must give up any belief that modern science disproves. Until now. In their experience of God, Thomas Merton, Rumi, and Martin Buber had more in common with the Buddha (and each other) than with most practitioners of their own faith. Then it’s just the same old game we’re stuck in now. This is the fourth noble truth, the truth of the path. Is it inside me looking at the material world outside? Ultimately, the One True Religion for you is the one that most completely engages your own heart and mind. In a society that exalts the individual and questions the hierarchy of the teacher-student relationship, it is a challenge to find a middle way between too much self and not enough. My wife is keen for me to convert to Buddhism - has anyone ever done this, what did it involve? Hammer. So are their problems and states of mind. This makes it especially suited to those who consider themselves spiritual but not religious. These are all available for you to explore according to your own needs and path. But it does come. 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