For Buddhists: How has Buddhism changed you life?

Question

I'm curious to see how Buddhism has changed your life. I'm very interested in Buddhism, but really have no one to talk to about it, therefore, I must go online. Are you happy with Buddhism? How did you come into Buddhism? Etc.

Answer 1

It has made me a much more insightful person, and I am still young in my journey for knowledge. Each day I grow stronger, in my awareness of the things around me, my awareness of self. I was a student of all religions for nearly 10 years, and because of this I feel certain that Buddhism is the correct path for me.

Answer 2

Ironically, if Buddhism has changed my life, then it probably wasnt Buddhism that I was in. And if I had a life I wasn't happy with in the first place, Buddhism wouldnt have made any difference anyway. If Buddhism is something I could be happy with, like my new car or my new job, then it's probably not worth much. If Buddhism is something I can get into, or not, like I'm not there now but I could be there sometime in the future, then this type of Buddhism isnt any better or worse than any other self-help, feel-good practice. I hope this throws some light on the questions you have. But seriously, if you DO find value in Buddhism, may it turn out to be as useless to you as it has to me.

Answer 3

Simply speaking, this is to avoid harming others and to help them as much as possible. Another way of expressing this is, Abandon negative action; create perfect virtue; subdue your own mind. This is the teaching of the Buddha. By abandoning negative actions (killing, etc.) and destructive motivations (anger, attachment, close-mindedness, etc.), we stop harming ourselves and others. By creating perfect virtue, we develop beneficial attitudes, like impartial love and compassion, and do actions motivated by these thoughts. By subduing our mind, we cut away all false projections, thus making ourselves calm and peaceful by understanding reality.
The essence of Buddha’s teachings is also contained in the three principles of the path: definite emergence, the dedicated heart and wisdom realizing emptiness. Initially, we seek definitely to emerge from the confusion of our problems and their causes. Then, we see that other people also have problems, and with love and compassion, we dedicate our heart to becoming a Buddha so that we are capable of helping others extensively. In order to do this, we develop the wisdom understanding the real nature of ourselves and other phenomena.

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reliable buddhist links:
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/pathmaps.htm <<< buddhism basics
http://www.buddhanet.net/
http://www.bswa.org/ <<< Thai Forest Tradition
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/index.html <<< Theravada Buddhism
http://www.thubtenchodron.org/ <<< tibetan
http://www.abuddhistlibrary.com/Buddhism/J%20-%20Navigation%20Pages%20and%20A%20List%20of%20Books/Navigation%20Pages/Lists%20of%20Files/Thich%20Nhat%20Hahn.htm <<< Thich Nhat Hahn, zen/ ch'an
http://www.amtbweb.org/tchet120.htm << pureland
http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/ <<< buddhism news around the world
http://www.lioncity.net/buddhism/index.php?s=aa2cd8ea15959ed3086add2bfce8f844& <<< buddhist community