how do i be buddhist?..........?

Question

i want to become buddhist and where should i start? what should i believe in, how should i act, what are some meditations, what are some chants
ect

do u know any things that will help me become buddhist??? i do not know what to do! i am really intrested in that stuff

PLEASE DO NOT SAY ANYTHING LIKE "YOU SHOULD FOLLOW JESUS!" PLEASE!

but i go to a catholic school =(

Answer 1

Simply & easily by joining the Three Refuges and undertaking
the Five Precepts like this: Newly bathed, shaved, white-clothed,
with clean bare feet, one kneels at a shrine with a Buddha-statue,
and bows first three times so that feet, hands, elbows, knees and
head touch the floor. Then, with joined palms in front of the heart,
one recite these memorized lines in a loud, calm & steady voice:

As long as this life lasts:
I hereby take refuge in the Buddha.
I hereby take refuge in the Dhamma.
I hereby take refuge in the Sangha.

I seek shelter in the Buddha for the 2nd time.
I seek shelter in the Dhamma for the 2nd time.
I seek shelter in the Sangha for the 2nd time.

I request protection from the Buddha for the 3rd time.
I request protection from the Dhamma for the 3rd time.
I request protection from the Sangha for the 3rd time.

I hereby accept the training rule of avoiding all Killing.
I hereby accept the training rule of avoiding all Stealing.
I hereby accept the training rule of avoiding all Sexual Abuse.
I hereby accept the training rule of avoiding all Dishonesty.
I hereby accept the training rule of avoiding all Alcohol & Drugs.
As long as this life lasts...

Then one keeps and protects these sacred vows better than one's own
eyes & children, since they protects you & all other beings much better
than any army! They are the highest offer one can give in & to this world!
This is the very start on the path towards Nibbāna -the Deathless Element-
This is the Noble Way to Peace, to Freedom, to Bliss, initiated by Morality,
developed further by Dhamma-Study and fulfilled by training Meditation...
If any wish an official recognition by the Bhikkhu-Sangha, they may simply
forward the lines starting with "I.." signed with name, date, town & country
to me. I have then out up a public list of this newly born Saddhamma Sangha.
Here: http://What-Buddha-Said.net/sangha/Saddhamma_Sangha.htm
May your journey hereby be eased, light, swift and sweet. Never give up !!!

Answer 2

Buddhism doesn't require you to believe anything so it makes starting off easy. You believe only what you know or makes sense. I'd buy a book on Buddhist teachings if you want to know what the Buddha said, he said a lot of things and I can't even paraphrase it here. It involves the renunciation of material things and being a good person in general. Meditation involves closing your eyes, sitting in a fixed position, and trying to clear your mind completely while being mindful of all things. One way to help learn to clear your mind is to focus on your breathing, and try to focus on the feeling of your breath without controlling it, it's tough, I still can't quite do it and I've been trying for awhile, us westerners aren't good at this stuff. I'd buy a book on the Buddha's teachings though, be warned however! It is NOT as simple as it may sound, it has some very complex ideas. Anyways, I tried to give you a small starting point.

And by being a good person I mean reduce cussing, be selfless (that's a BIGGY), keep from acting out of passion, be patient, have no desires or aversions, don't drink/smoke et cetera. Now like I said there are no rules and these are guidelines to help you get to a more mature state and end suffering. Reincarnation is very complex and you'll have to read about it.

Answer 3

The ultimate goal of Buddhism is to not meditation. Before you become a Buddhist, you must understand real purpose of Buddhism. Otherwise, it is very easy to get mislead when you look for real Buddhism. If it is real Buddhism that you are looking for, it should talk about the suffering that arises from the attachment to our six senses (body, eye, mind, tongue, ear and nose). That is to understand the Four Noble Truths. You should have a sharp mind to understand the Four Noble Truths.

I will give you a classic example that Buddha taught in Baddaka Sutta to understand what is Buddhism.

The person called Baddaka asks Buddha to explain formation of suffering and elimination of suffering.

Buddha: Are there any people in this village that you feel sad when they die?

Baddaka: Yes, there are people in this village that I feel sad when they die.

Buddha: So, are there any people in this village that you don’t feel sad when they die?

Baddaka: Yes, there are people in this village that I don’t feel sad when they die.

Buddha: Why is that Baddaka that you feel sad for one person and not feel sad for another?

Baddaka: I feel sad for some people because I have desire or attachment to them.

Buddha says: Baddka, this is what is taught in Dhamma or the doctrine of Buddhism. That is, you feel sad when you lose something you like. It means that suffering always arise from something you love. Buddha’s goal was to explain this to the world.

Think of it this way, why do some people cry and get frantic when they hear that they are going to die? That is because they have a desire or an attachment to feel the gratification of our body, eye, mind, tongue, ear and nose and they don't want to lose it. But that is something we cannot do, everything that arises from a cause has an end. That is what Buddha explains in Great Dependent Origination. As long as we are born to this world because of a cause, we will have suffering ,aging and dying. When we eliminate that cause there will be no aging, dying and suffering. Take a look at the Great Dependent Origination first.

http://www.buddhanet.net/funbud12.htm


Buddha’s goal was to eliminate that suffering by teaching the Nobel Eightfold path. That is, Buddhism is the completion of the Nobel Eightfold Path.

If you interested in real Buddhism, you better look for Buddhism in Sri Lanka. They have the pure Buddhism that was not altered by the past generations. You might want to take a look at http://www.mahamevna.org/ it is a wonderful website that has pure Buddhism.

Answer 4

Visit a Buddhist Temple?

Answer 5

Buddhism does not make its aim to convert people into our philosophy of life, but we do our best to answer questions for people, who ask with the sincere intend to learn, and/or practice Buddhism, and you fall into that catagory.

Vinslave, Anger Eating Demon, (and couple others) on Yahoo Answers have been praciticing Buddhism for a long time, and many of their answers and questions would be most helpful. To be completely honest, I am student of Buddhism, but am a young student. It is important for us to always have a humbly teachable attitude in Buddhism, no matter how long we've been practicing the path.

**A most excellent book, which is easy to understand, for the purpose of application is: "Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness.'By: *Bhante Henepola Gunaratana*" This, out of the 63 Buddhists books I have, is the most informative, most excellent beginner's books to read on Buddhism {the author stresses, that it is written for the purpose of application to acquire peace of mind, and happiness) ! It is an excellent book. Anyway, here goes the rest of the answer to you. *Please Patiently read.Thx*

A starting point would be to study the 4 Noble Truths and The Noble Eightfold Path of Siddhartha Gautama {The first Buddha). Part of the Noble Eightfold Path is Right or Wise Concentration/Meditation, and Right or Wise Mindfulness. The first few months, it is quite helpful to focus much attention in these areas, while of course remaining well balanced - studying the entire Eightfold Path, with the purpose of practicing it.
A student of Buddhism can not progress at all if he or she doesn't practice what he or she learns, as he or she learns the information. The book suggested above is a Most excellent starting point, as well as the two websites below.

Two excellent Buddhist sites to study, learn from, with the intent to practice what is taught, are: {Click Below, and save as bookmarks on your computer)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/

http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/index.htm

Hope all this information helps you get started. The above two sites are Most Excellent to learn from.

With Metta {loving-kindness and friendship).

Answer 6

Just find books on the teachings of the Buddha and try to apply them. I'm very 'casual' about Buddhism though. You should visit a temple if you want to learn meditation and stuff. Different branches of Buddhism may have somewhat different practices, for all I know.

Answer 7

If you have the money then you should go to India. If not then visit any buddhist temple. I'm interested in Buddhism too and the first thing I did was read 5 books on it.

Answer 8

Just believe in Buddhist beliefs. Im from a Buddhist family and like all religions you just have to believe the religion's beliefs.

Answer 9

If you are sincere about it, you can go to my 360 and send a message to mirage. He's an 18 year old true buddhist. PEACE!

Edit: Salaams upon Abuhamza. But I do not accept buddha as a prophet though he is here to purify a soul. I consider him a reminder. 9th avatar of vishnu. But islam is the truth. Alhumdulillah.

Answer 10

Buddhism is a dharmic, non-theistic religion, which is also a philosophy and a system of psychology.[1] Buddhism is also known as Buddha Dharma or Dhamma, which means the "teachings of the Awakened One" in Sanskrit and Pali, the languages of ancient Buddhist texts. Buddhism was founded around the fifth century BCE by Siddhartha Gautama, hereafter referred to as "the Buddha".

Early sources say that the Buddha was born in Lumbini (now in Nepal), and that he died around age 80 in Kushinagar (India). He lived around the fifth century BCE, according to scholarship[2]. Buddhism spread throughout the Indian subcontinent in the five centuries following the Buddha's passing, and thence into Asia and elsewhere over the next two millennia.

Indian Buddhism has become virtually extinct, except in parts of Nepal. The most frequently used classification of present-day Buddhism among scholars[3] divides present-day adherents into the following three traditions :

Southern Buddhism, or Theravada (its own usual name for itself), also known as Southeast Asian Buddhism, or Pali Buddhism - practiced mainly in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and parts of Malaysia, Vietnam, China and Bangladesh (Southeast Asia)
Eastern Buddhism, also known as East Asian Buddhism, Chinese Buddhism, Sino-Japanese Buddhism, or Mahayana - practiced predominantly in China, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Singapore and parts of Russia
Northern Buddhism, also known as Tibetan Buddhism, Tibeto-Mongolian Buddhism, or Vajrayana, sometimes called Lamaism - practiced mainly in Tibet, Mongolia, Bhutan and parts of Nepal, India, China and Russia.
An alternative scheme used by some scholars[4] has just two divisions, Theravada and Mahayana, the latter comprising both Eastern and Northern. Some scholars[5]use other schemes. The term Hinayana, referring to Theravada and various extinct Indian schools, is sometimes used, but is often considered derogatory, and the World Federation of Buddhists recommends it be avoided.

Buddhism continues to attract followers around the world and is considered a major world religion. According to one source[6], "World estimates for Buddhists vary between 230 and 500 million, with most around 350 million." However, estimates are uncertain for several countries. According to one analysis[7], Buddhism is the fifth-largest religion in the world behind Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and traditional Chinese religion. The monks' order (Sangha), which began during the lifetime of the Buddha in India, is amongst the oldest organizations on earth.

In Buddhism, any person who has awakened from the "sleep of ignorance" (by directly realizing the true nature of reality), without instruction, is called a buddha.[8] If a person achieves this with the teachings of a buddha, he is called an arahant. Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, is thus only one among other buddhas before or after him. His teachings are oriented toward the attainment of this kind of awakening, also called enlightenment, Bodhi, liberation, or Nirvana.

Part of the Buddha’s teachings regarding the holy life and the goal of liberation is constituted by the "The Four Noble Truths", which focus on dukkha, a term that refers to suffering or the unhappiness ultimately characteristic of unawakened, worldly life. The Four Noble Truths regarding suffering state what is its nature, its cause, its cessation, and the way leading to its cessation. This way to the cessation of suffering is called "The Noble Eightfold Path", which is one of the fundamentals of Buddhist virtuous or moral life.