💚What are the things that prompt people to follow the Dharma?

Question

For me, it seems I remembered some Dharma proselytizing or something like that. Someone was talking about the Dharma way back, maybe even in the 80's as if it was the way normal people talked about reality. I said to myself, "well that is impossible for a person to live in the rain in a shack on a fava bean", but I remained a little open to it. For years I tried to get into just the meditation part but in 2011-2012 I started watching Bhante Yuttadhamo and I got attached to the Dharma. I had some preconceptions about rain and monks but when Yuttadhammo taught about the rains retreat, that might have been the initial wrong view removed that resulted in the dam bursting.

Answer 1

Suffering is normally what prompts people to look for a way out of suffering and in turn liberation. It is what the Buddha himself experienced which drove him to seek freedom.

Suffering spring boarded me towards the dharma, though I was seeking out of repetition anyway as it seems as if I already understood dharma innately (probably from past karma)

Answer 2

Suffering and wanting to seek an answer to that suffering.

Answer 3

I don't follow the dharma per say, somewhat bitter nowadays, perhaps even willing to say I'm a prisoner of the dhamma. but what attracted me to it back in the day was my imagination. The exotic elements I was affected by: out in the woods, bare-foot, living with animals, the adventure aspects, etc. taking vacation in india was also fascinating to the same respect. Art furthers the imagination, Buddha and company made good models. I am also attracted to the simplicity of living. today's world is full of too much stuff that collects too much dust. in fact, i take many of the parables literally.

Heedlessness is dust.
Dust follows on heedlessness.

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Living the Dhamma life,
living the holy life:
This, they say, is the highest power.
But if, having gone forth
from home into homelessness,
you are harsh-mouthed,
delighting in injury, a stupid beast,
your life is more evil.
You increase your own dust.

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Obscured by passion & aversion
—some brahmans & contemplatives—
people entrenched in ignorance,
delighting in endearing forms,
drink alcohol & fermented liquor,
engage in sexual intercourse,
unwise, consent to gold & silver,
live by means of wrong livelihood
—some brahmans & contemplatives.
These are said to be obscurations
by the Awakened One,
kinsman of the Sun.
Because of these obscurations
some brahmans & contemplatives
don’t glow,
don’t shine,
are impure,
dusty,
dead.

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Having touched with his body
the deathless
property                  free
from acquisitions,
having realized the relinquishing
of acquisitions,
effluent-free,
the Rightly
Self-awakened One
teaches the state
with
no sorrow,
no dust.

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“Household life is confining,
a realm of dust,
while going forth
is the open air.”

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Just as sharp-bladed grass,
if wrongly held,
wounds the very hand that holds it–
the contemplative life, if wrongly grasped,
drags you down to hell.

Any slack act,
or defiled observance,
or fraudulent life of chastity
bears no great fruit.

If something’s to be done,
then work at it firmly,
for a slack going-forth
kicks up all the more dust.

I do find my abode has quite a lot of dust. but who knows, maybe the Yogacara are right, and the dusty world is only a projection of a dirty mind