Help in converting to Buddhism?

Question

I have studied Buddhism for the last two months, as I know the Buddha did not encourage following his teachings without research. I became interested after reading the four noble truths and eightfold path, these symbolized my world views and what I would like to strive to become.

I have great respect for how Buddhists conduct themselves, as they have great respect for all people and life. I have learned a great deal about the principles of Buddhism and the history of the teachings.

There is a Theravada temple in my town, and I was wondering how I should go about furthering myself in the teachings of the Buddha? I have already began striving for deeper meditation. What do they usually do at temples, are they just a place for meditation? What ettiquete should I use to avoid offending anyone?

Please do not come and proclaim your religion, whatever it may be, as absolute truth and be hateful, there are many other threads in which you can do that in.

Through deep meditation the Buddha had visions of his past lives.

I've studied most religions BigPappa, it seems like you are not in touch with Buddhism.

Answer 1

Hello Justin J.. :)

SGI..Soka Gakkai International

http://www.sgi.org/


Merry Christmas..To All..
With Love..In Christ.. :)

Answer 2

I interviewed a Buddhist monk in a very strong Buddhist country,
Here are his answers:

Buddha, after a long meditation, came back to preach that life is just unending cycles between heaven and hell with zillions of existences between (such as vultures, rodents, etc.). He advised us to pray for Nirvana (a state of nonexistence), but he also preached that all beings will reach Nirvana even without practicing to get there.

Buddhists believe that, after a few million years, the universe will collapse and annihilate all living beings to the state of Nirvana. A few lucky souls who were residing in the Buddhist heaven will escape this catastrophe, and will later come back and inherit a new universe.

In spite of the superior advice from Buddha to pray for Nirvana,
the monk said modern Buddhists are now praying to go to the Buddhist heaven, where you can enjoy a life of lusty enjoyment. Also. a resident of this Buddhist heaven can fall straight to hell, if he over-indulges in a lusty life.

How can this completely unpredictable future attract so many
naive followers? Just the teaching of a peaceful state of the mind through meditation should not make people ignore the fact that Buddhism is actually a religion of revenge. You will always have to repay for any misdeed in any life. The monk confessed that sometimes it may take a multitude of existences to pay back for one lifetime of misdeeds.


Hence, Buddha advised everyone to practice his teachings to get to Nirvana. The irony of all is that it may take millions of existences of this practice to get there. It is understood that he is in Nirvana, but if so, how can he hear the prays of his millions of followers? Did he just come and play a practical joke on all these simple, trusting souls?

Answer 3

As a Theravada Buddhist,just like to assure you that nothing much happened in the temple.We conduct new moon and full moon puja;organised dhamma talks;meditation class;tai chi and qi gong classes;also Sunday dhamma classes for children,etc.
Most days,devotees will come and offer food for the monks' breakfast(we called it breakfast dana) and the lunch dana.WE removed our shoes before entering the shrine.
If there are monks in your town temple,go and talk to them.We address the monks as bhante(ven.teacher).

Charles:What you described is not the teaching of the Buddha.Could it be because of language problem?Knowledgable Buddhist monks won't give you that sort of answer;one of our meditation teacher is a senior monk from the Pak Au meditation centre,Myanmar.

Answer 4

Converting, conversion, the VERB to CONVERT is an action not a thought so just go to the temple.... take a deep breath and let it out slowly to let your stress go and walk on in. The rest will take care of itself. Yuo are entering a safe place where you will not be judged. Dont think it to death. the whole point is to get off that uptight religous bus and into a spiritual peace. that is what makes buddhism so unlike christian, jewish, muslim and the like.

Answer 5

You can't make the statement "Buddhists believe...", as if all Buddhists are of a single mind, melded into one amorphous lump. Beliefs and practices vary by country, by school, by individual idiosyncrasies. Our one connecting point is that we have all experienced a moment of enlightened realization that the heart of Buddha's teaching - The Four Noble Truths - is true. What we do with that revelation is our individual choice, and what palette we use to tint our beliefs is created by experience, perception, and education.

Those who've chosen to see Buddhism as a "religion of revenge" have an interesting viewpoint that says far more about themselves than Buddha's teachings. The balance of karma is perceived by the guilty man as "revenge".
The balance of karma is perceived by the guiltless man as "justice".

Oh, yeah - and don't forget to put your rice bowl on your head and dance, once in awhile...

Answer 6

I prefer a more pure version of Buddhism that leaves out the afterlife (though, I am Catholic), this would be more true to Buddha, who, possibly for prudent reasons, gave no inclination to afterlife knowledge. This keeps justification out of your religion and keeps you active and honest.

But thats just me.

EDIT:
The radical morality in Buddhism is very similar to Catholicism, a would encourage you to consider Catholicism as well.

Answer 7

Find the book vishuddhi marga. It has everything about theraveda.

Answer 8

Well, please forgive me if, instead of helping you convert to Buddhism, I would like to help you not to convert to Buddhism.

http://www.angelfire.com/pa3/OldWorldBasic/Buddhism_to_Orthodoxy.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/pa3/OldWorldBasic/FrSeraphim.html
http://users.sisqtel.net/williams/blessedseraphim.html

Answer 9

u can contact me via YM.. :D