If you converted to Buddhism, what attracted you to it, and what did you convert from?

Question

Also: Do you believe in the spiritual aspect, the philosophical aspect, or both?

Answer 1

Sorry to argue semantics here, but one doesn't really "convert" to Buddhism. It's a philosophy regarding how to live a peaceful life, not a religion.

The main thing that attracted me to the philosophy is the fact that it requires you to be responsible for yourself, and your happiness. You succeed or fail in life based on your actions, not by whether or not you've had prayers answered. You must be actively involved in your life in order for it to be a happy life. I wouldn't call myself a Buddhist because I haven't completely devoted myself to Buddha's teaching, but I have incorporated many of the principals into my overall philosophy.

I do focus more on the philosophical rather than spiritual side of Buddhism.

Answer 2

I would not call it conversion I would call it expanding in thought. Some religions are based on Faith ( some even Blind ), some are based on our natural born instincts and intellect to figure out things and some don't need a religion in order to be spiritual, but strive for happiness and to be a benevolent pleasant person.

Buddhism falls into the 2nd catergory, where the Buddha asks his future devotees to challange his teachings if they do not seem acceptable to them, keep whatever is good and keep aside that which is not. Most other faiths, Command and Demand that its devotees "do not question; question and brimstone and fire will rain on you for all eternity." Thats just too easy a way to control people by scaring them every time doubt arises... Worked in the middle ages, in the modern world... I don'tthink scare tactics is gonna work.

It could be good for some to be just sheep, but I want to be the farmer on the side field that is watching the sheep being herded around and sheered naked every now and then.

Answer 3

I never ‘converted’ because conversion sounds like going from believing in one set of concepts to another and staying stuck there (with an emphasis on belief and identity with the religion versus using the religion’s path as a spiritual tool for awareness). I also never fully committed to Buddhism (Zen in particular) by becoming a formal student; my friend did. That said, I was attracted to Zen because its concepts seemed to be in line with what I perceived to be correct; I also was heavily into ‘A Course in Miracles’ which, when it’s not being butchered by new agers and others, says the same thing as Zen using metaphors and symbols in a Christian/Western language. These concepts that I was attracted to include non-theistic symbols for ultimate reality/god, reduction of the self/ego which is the foundation of all problems, and no ego-projected deity that reflected the worst from people’s human thought system: sin, guilt, hell, judgment, punishment, etc. Love and morality were not defined by the sophomoric “whats in it for me” mentality where one acts morally for a reward in heaven and to avoid the sinner’s punishment of eternal damnation. I was also attracted to the concept of enlightenment – I used to think Zen was just a self-help, mind-training program but, after ‘getting it’ by practicing the Course in Miracles, I realized (from small experiences) that the enlightenment experience is very real (despite the tendency in the West to try and remove Zen’s religious/spiritual context). For a great book on Zen and enlightenment, as well as the practice, look at ‘3 Pillars of Zen’. Note that Zen Mountain Monastery in Mt Tremper, NY has a good Zen lineage and some ‘intro to zen’ weekends if u happen to live nearby.

Answer 4

Well, I just thought the Noble Eightfold Path made more sense than anything else, and that led me into the deeper aspects of it.

And I didn't really "convert" from anything. I was an atheist who just picked it up.

Note, please, that I follow Buddhism as philosophy, and leave out the spiritual aspects. (I do, however, still follow the Noble Eightfold Path, and believe the Four Noble Truths, just not the reincarnation.)

Answer 5

I've been studying buddhism for almost 20 years. I do not consider it a religion. It meshes very much with quantum physics as a scientific model of the universe. Buddha said if you meet the Buddha on the road to enlightenment, kill him. Buddha specifically said that he did not create the universe; that he is not God. He also said that everything he can do, all humans have the aptitude to do because it is built into humans the same way we have arms and legs. It is the science of the universe's higher dimensions and the physical energies in and around the human body. I do not believe that buddhism and Christianity conflict in the least. All the world's major religions agree. The differences between them are put there by men trying to keep worldly power and to confuse and divide people. The definition of faith is the same in Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, the Bon religion, and Theosophy. So is using physical energy to build the soul body through living a virtuous life. Very few Christains or Buddhists have any idea of what faith is. It is not a blind belief in something that does not exist. A fairly good basic explaination of faith can be found in the Rudolph Steiner book, How to Attain Knowledge of Higher Worlds, which draws heavily on Buddhist philosophy, but also other world religions. The festival of Wesak is celebrated in the valley of Wesak in the Himilaya mountains on the Taurus full moon each year. All beings who ascended from the earth instead of dying return to pour light energy on to the earth to all who will recieve it. The list of ascended beings there each year include Jesus, Buddha, Mary, and many other beings who ascended. Taoism gives a more detailed description of using physical energy created by internal organs through virtuous living and concious intention that can be used to build a strong sould body and ascend rather than die and be re-born in the six realms. One such person who had used this technique to strengthen his body to the point where he did not need it any more and ascend rather than die was a famous buddist named Da Mo Sardilli, a prince from southern India. Detailed in the book, Muscle/Tendon Changing and Marrow/Brain Washing Chi Kung: The Secret of Youth (YMAA chi kung series) (Paperback)
by Yang Jwing-Ming
Most of the Chinese buddists lost this physical part of buddhism and many put themselves at risk of becoming yin ghosts.
The point is... Most practitioners of Christianity and Buddhism don't know half of the truth and it's not taught in the temples or churches for many various reasons. This information is not on the web. Unplug and start reading. Search for the truth on your own. There is only one God and one truth. All major world religions are based on advanced beings who came here to help us and in every case their lessons were hugely edited and distorted, sometimes purposely. You won't find the truth by joining any church or religion unless you search for the truth on your own as well.

Answer 6

my parent are buddhist and so i am buddhist and i enjoy it because, buddha is not really god, but rather a holy teacher. We shouldn't like worship ihm/her like christians but try to learn from them. Buddha is self achieved. They realized the truth and ended their cycle of life and death, chaging it to enternal life. I have actually seen a buddha at the temple. They used channeler and it was cool.

Answer 7

The peace of it...I didn't follow anything before.