Are you a westerner, by chance? I’ve been interested in Buddhism for a few years now, but I can’t figure out how to like...become Buddhist lol. I’m agnostic and not religious, but I’ve wanted to take some of the secular aspects of Buddhism and apply them to my life, but have no idea where to even start. Care to share any starting points?
My understanding is that Buddhism acknowledges that life is full of suffering and pain, but if you live a certain way you can find inner peace and be a better person to those around you.
No I'm Vietnamese. The only way to officially become a Buddhist is finding a master and getting a dharma name, which is unrealistic for a westerner. It's not like doing so will make you a better person in any case. I can never forget that strange white Buddhist nun who is a devout supporter of Kamala Harris lmao. I've also seen plenty of monks over here who indulge in luxuries and give blatant preferable treatment to rich folks.
Just walk your own path. Buddhism ain't going to save any significant number of people in this era.
Are you a westerner, by chance? I’ve been interested in Buddhism for a few years now, but I can’t figure out how to like...become Buddhist lol. I’m agnostic and not religious, but I’ve wanted to take some of the secular aspects of Buddhism and apply them to my life, but have no idea where to even start. Care to share any starting points?
My understanding is that Buddhism acknowledges that life is full of suffering and pain, but if you live a certain way you can find inner peace and be a better person to those around you.
No I'm Vietnamese. The only way to officially become a Buddhist is finding a master and getting a dharma name, which is unrealistic for a westerner. It's not like doing so will make you a better person in any case. I can never forget that strange white Buddhist nun who is a devout supporter of Kamala Harris lmao. I've also seen plenty of monks over here who indulge in luxuries and give blatant preferable treatment to rich folks.
Just walk your own path. Buddhism ain't going to save any significant number of people in this era.
I enjoyed Hardcore Zen by Brad Warner when I was in my teens (nearly 2 decades ago now...).
Nice, thanks! I found it on the ebook app that I use, I’ll give it a look tonight.