July 07, 2021

Buddhism for Beginners

Introduction:

Parting with your loved ones, meeting an undesired illness, and broken heart, etc. In life, there are hundreds and even thousands of afflictions today that both undermine your body and trouble the mind. So even in the short span of life, you will have a lot of sufferings and sorrows.

People worldwide are looking for a way to end their sufferings and live peaceful life.  With every passing year, more people are getting interested in Buddhism. Buddhism is a vast religion and have helped many people to live a healthy and prosperous life.

The Beginner's Guide: How to start practicing Buddhism?

Buddhism is a religion that is still relevant to the modern world. So now, you might be wondering how to start practicing Buddhism? It surely is a tough question to answer as the Buddhist path has many entry points. Therefore, you may feel a little too overwhelmed without guidance.

To set you off on the right path, some of the things that can help you start your journey as a Buddhist are:

Read basic books about Buddha teachings

Many books are available on the internet for beginners to expand their knowledge of Buddhism and know about the teachings of Buddha. In these books, you will understand the reality of suffering, the reasons for suffering, and how you can end these sufferings to continue living a peaceful life.

To be a part of the community

To start your Buddhism journey, you must join a Buddhist community to stay connected with them. In this way, you will get to know about the places where monks provide information and help you practice the teachings of Buddha in your daily routine.

Find a temple

Every major city has a Buddhist temple, but each temple is based on different schools of thought (Zen or Theravada), so it provides different services, activities, and classes. The best way is to visit these temples and ask about what services and activities they offer. So, try to explore different shrines and keep visiting them if you feel comfortable there.

Practice the five principles

Buddhism mainly has five significant core values which are necessary for Buddhists. Therefore, when you finally chose to be Buddhist, it is necessary to practice them in your daily routine. These are as follows:

• Not to kill any living creature
• Avoid the habit of stealing
• Committing sexual violence
• Gossiping or lying
• Consumption of alcohol or drugs

Practice the middle way

Being Buddhist, you have to live a balanced life that is not too luxurious or tough. You must follow the "Noble Eightfold Path" to achieve enlightenment which includes:

• Right understanding
• Right speech
• Right thought
• Right effort
• Right action
• Right livelihood
• Right mindfulness
• Right concentration

Practice Buddhism daily

Learning knowledge without implementing it in your daily life is of no use. You have to practice whatever information you get, either from online articles or temples or buy sutras. Try to spend more time with Buddhist friends or colleagues to exchange information. Once you have learned about the teachings of Buddha, teach others in your surroundings.

Conclusion:

Buddhism is the religion of self-control and love, so a Buddhist must behave well in a way to achieve enlightenment. Therefore, being Buddhist, you have to practice Buddha teachings regularly to bring peace and devotion to your life. Furthermore, Buddhists strongly believe that their actions today will impact their happiness in the future which encourages them to be kind and generous towards others.