Exploring Buddhism

My parents both were raised in the Catholic faith. Therefore I was raised in the Catholic faith. I did my first communion, went to Sunday school etc. However as I got older the further away I felt from the religion. I don't follow or participate in any religion currently and haven't done so for many years now. Not too long ago I watched Claire Marshall's vlog from a trip to Japan. It opened my mind to the art of forest bathing (more on that later) and in the video she showed the culture of the towns she visited. Buddhism runs deep in these places and it caught my interest. I wanted to know more about it because up until then I never took the time to read up about it. So I did.

An overview of Buddhism

Buddhism began 2,500 years ago. It is said to be a tradition that is focused on spiritual development and the achievement of deeper insight into the true nature of life. There is no God as with other religions. Some argue it isn't a religion per say but a tradition of teachings (see BigThink article for more on that) . Anyways, the teachings came from a man called Siddhartha Gautama aka The Buddha. He was born into a life of wealth and privilege in a royal family that was in what today is Nepal. Until for the first time he stepped out of the riches of the only world he had known. He came across a old man, a sick man and a corpse. He was disturbed by this and decided to become a monk before he entered into a life of severe self-discipline and avoidance of all forms of indulgence or as it's called, asceticism. However, neither of these paths satisfied him so he decided to take a path that was in the middle. A life without luxury but also without poverty.

It is believed that one day while sitting under a tree aka the Bodhi tree (the tree of awakening) he slipped into deep meditation and reflection on his experience of life until he became enlightened. He then became known as the 'awakened one' aka the Buddha. These experiences and developed teachings and ways of living are what still continue on today. Buddhists believe that life is both endless and subject to impermanence, suffering and uncertainty. These states are called the three signs of existence. Existence is endless because individuals are reincarnated over and over again, experiencing suffering throughout many lives. It is impermanent because no state, good or bad, lasts forever. It is said that our mistaken belief is that things can last forever and that this is a large cause of our suffering.

Additional fun facts about Buddhism:

• There are roughly 470 million followers worldwide

• It is not centred on the relationship between humanity and God

• Buddhists believe that nothing is fixed or permanent - change is always possible

• The two main Buddhist sects are Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism, but there are many more

• Buddhists can worship both at home or at a temple

• The path to Enlightenment is through the practice and development of morality, meditation and wisdom.

My thoughts on Buddhism

Well I am still reading about it. Currently I'm working my way through Michael Williams's Buddhism: Beginner’s Guide to Understanding & Practicing Buddhism to Become Stress and Anxiety Free (Buddhism, Mindfulness, Meditation, Buddhism For Beginners) I plan on reading more about the topic. Overall I can say I am tremendously interested in Buddhism because of its philosophy. At the core it's teachings are what I want to implement into my life. Mindfulness, a deep understanding of morality and wisdom all sound good. There is much more to learn about, the different schools of Buddhism, Nirvana, the four noble truths, reincarnation, the list goes on.

Of course I had some preconceived notions about Buddhism but I can now say those have been changed. My experiences in the faith I was brought up in werent negative however as I got older the further away I felt from the traditions of that faith. Buddhism is the first "faith" that I have felt an urge to explore further. I've observed other faiths and feel they are more in line with the faith of my upbringing, I gather that is why I haven't felt that same urge to pursue them further. That's where I stand as of now.

As as you can probably tell I’m not exactly ready to yell out I’m a Buddhist! However I can say I will certainly continue to pursue my curiosity about it's teachings.

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