How do I get started on my journey to become Buddhist? I'm familiar with the basics and really connect with the teachings I know of so far on a personal level. I need some guidance as to what I should do now...
6 Answers
You approach should be pariyatti (learn), patipatti (practice) and pativedha (experience / validate)
To learn you can read. Perhaps a good starting point will be:
- In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon (The Teachings of the Buddha) by Bhikkhu Bodhi
- Sutta translations by Piya Tan.
Also you can find a course or teacher:
answered Nov 4, 2016 at 3:41
Suminda Sirinath S. DharmasenaSuminda Sirinath S. Dharmasena
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Start with a Vipassana retreat. Buddha sates clearly that the goal is the attainment of Nibbana by the practice of Vipassana.
I am fan of Thai-style (Ajahn Tong) Mahasi tradition (don't worry if this means nothing to you), they do a 3-week "basic course" which is suitable even for people who never meditated before. Something like that will give you a good taste how meditation makes you a better person and will build up your confidence (in the practice and in your ability to meditate), something books will never give you.
Good luck!
Let's deconstruct what you are saying. You find the teachings resonating with you. You feel you've got a handle on the basics. It would seem like you've got some faith in the Buddha and you are beginning to feel the pull of the dharma. Well, what's missing? The next step for you is to find a sangha!
I cannot overstate the importance of a community when it comes to your practice. It really keeps you honest about your progress. There is a major tendency for people to live their Buddhism in their heads. While sutra study and meditation are both extremely important, neither is worth a damn unless you can integrate those practices with those around you. Enlightenment doesn't happen in a vacuum located somewhere between your right and left ear. It happens in the world and in your relationships with others. The sooner you can begin that integration, the better off you'll be.
In our digital age, we are pathologically cut off from others. This is the exact opposite of what the Buddha taught. Compassion, loving-kindness, and wisdom are hardest yet find their fullest expression face to face. And as an aside, remember that the sangha isn't some thing out there that will always be waiting for you to join somewhere down the road. YOU are the sangha. Unless you participate in it, it doesn't exist.
I would suggest you to take one or two sutras to read yourself first. The Buddhas said his life merges into the sutras. It's the purest way to get your first hand understanding, before joining or listening to any school anyone. Since opinions and viewpoints are flooding thanks for the advance of medias, the purity of the Dharma and a good teacher is not easy to find. To begin with, Heart Sutra, Jakata although some said it's stories (made up by others). Personally I like to read Lotus Sutra, Surangama Sutra, Diamond Sutra (very difficult to understand), Vimalakirti Sutra, Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment, Lankavatara Sutra, I may begin Dhamapada which I read few lines, seemed like a very easy beginner text but dived into the meanings underneath the words one will get the nectar. I found that reading the original text is far easier since the great men's minds had infused into their words. Translations, explanations, elaborations etc. don't always make them simpler, unless necessary. Here "original text" I mean Classical Chinese, unfortunately I haven't learnt Sanskrit yet.
Start with the Digha Nikaya, I would say. It is the Pali Canon's 'introduction' to the Dhamma. There are two really good websites for this:
https://suttacentral.net/dn http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/index.html
If you like to get a hard copy, then you can't beat Bhikkhu Bodhi's (Maurice Walsh's) translation!
If you are a heavy rationalist then also read Nagarjuna's 'Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way', preferably the Garfield edition, as it gets misinterpreted quite a lot and he gets it right!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fundamental-Wisdom-Middle-Way-Mulamadhyamakakarika/dp/0195093364
(I am such a rationalist, and for the first year of getting through the Digha Nikaya, with the cosmology and gods found in some Suttas, made me read too much into the similarities between 'original Buddhism' and other faiths.. after reading Nagarjuna that wasn't as much of a worry!)
I would say don't explore Mahayana scriptures too much (beyond Nagarjuna), until you have gotten through some of the Pali Canon. It is the oldest of the old, likely very very close to what the Buddha spoke and there is little in it which confuses.
If you want a lighter load then the above, get the Dhammapada and the Sutta Nipata. The latter is considered one of the oldest parts of the Pali Canon, and is at the very least very similar to the Buddha's Dhamma.
Most importantly, meditate! Digha Nikaya 22 gives a long and detailed analysis of how to meditate https://suttacentral.net/en/dn22 .. I find the commute to be a good time to meditate (some earphones can kill the noise, and overall those journeys are very impersonal - a strangely 'secluded' space imo!)
answered Nov 4, 2016 at 13:32
According to the instructions of the Buddha Himself in the Anapanasati Sutta (MN 118):
Sit down comfortably and breath...
... "Breathing in long, he discerns, 'I am breathing in long'; or breathing out long, he discerns, 'I am breathing out long.' Or breathing in short, he discerns, 'I am breathing in short'; or breathing out short, he discerns, 'I am breathing out short.'He trains himself, 'I will breathe in sensitive to the entire body.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out sensitive to the entire body.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe in calming bodily fabrication.'He trains himself, 'I will breathe out calming bodily fabrication.'
"He trains himself, 'I will breathe in sensitive to rapture.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out sensitive to rapture.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe in sensitive to pleasure.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out sensitive to pleasure.'He trains himself, 'I will breathe in sensitive to mental fabrication.'He trains himself, 'I will breathe out sensitive to mental fabrication.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe in calming mental fabrication.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out calming mental fabrication.'
"He trains himself, 'I will breathe in sensitive to the mind.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out sensitive to the mind.'He trains himself, 'I will breathe in satisfying the mind.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out satisfying the mind.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe in steadying the mind.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out steadying the mind.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe in releasing the mind.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out releasing the mind.'
"He trains himself, 'I will breathe in focusing on inconstancy.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out focusing on inconstancy.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe in focusing on dispassion [literally, fading].' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out focusing on dispassion.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe in focusing on cessation.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out focusing on cessation.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe in focusing on relinquishment.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out focusing on relinquishment"
answered Nov 8, 2016 at 22:36
