I am catholic and i want to become buddhist ... how ?

dantheman1234

I am officially catholic and i want to be a buddhist but i dont know how to become one, i am under 18 and i go to a catholic secondary school but does that matter ?

Suceed

I'm not sure there's anyway to sign up to Buddhism, so maybe some of the sects do something.

If you adhere to Buddhist beliefs and adhere to the principles in living your life, you'll be a Buddhist.

Myself, I don't bother with the philosophy, just the meditation.

Mindfulness

Start by reading. There are some good free ebooks on introductions to buddhist philosophy.

Most Western people think that Buddhism is all about shaven-headed, kick-ass kung-fu monks but in reality buddhism has principles and tenets that are at its core. Reading about these gives you a better understanding of whether full-on Buddhism is for you or whether you just want to take on parts of it that will lead you to a more contemplative space providing temporary inner peace.

As for being Catholic, you have to ask yourself, if you believe in a Christian God. If you do, then you need to ask yourself 'have I explored the other non-Catholic versions of Christianity and why am I choosing not to go with those?'.

Then you need to ask, 'do I believe in any non-Christian God?' and if you do, then think about exploring other religions too. There is nothing to stop you practicing one faith while bringing elements of Buddhist teaching into your life.

What I'm trying to say is, if you are looking at Buddhism purely because you want to ditch Catholicism then you may be looking at it for the wrong reasons.

Aquarius34

How about be yourself? and not tie yourself to a religion at all?

Jeasus

Mindfulness wrote: »

Start by reading. There are some good free ebooks on introductions to buddhist philosophy.

Most Western people think that Buddhism is all about shaven-headed, kick-ass kung-fu monks but in reality buddhism has principles and tenets that are at its core. Reading about these gives you a better understanding of whether full-on Buddhism is for you or whether you just want to take on parts of it that will lead you to a more contemplative space providing temporary inner peace.

As for being Catholic, you have to ask yourself, if you believe in a Christian God. If you do, then you need to ask yourself 'have I explored the other non-Catholic versions of Christianity and why am I choosing not to go with those?'.

Then you need to ask, 'do I believe in any non-Christian God?' and if you do, then think about exploring other religions too. There is nothing to stop you practicing one faith while bringing elements of Buddhist teaching into your life.

What I'm trying to say is, if you are looking at Buddhism purely because you want to ditch Catholicism then you may be looking at it for the wrong reasons.

I agree with Mindfulness, I live in a Buddhist country and I think their systems of belief is better than that of christian countries with a greater freedom for all humanity, but I still do think its a load of bo**ix.

Just wondering why pick Buddhism?

Asiaprod

@Jeasus

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72DSpecial

I am an atheist, but I do have a soft spot for Buddhism. It can be practiced in part or completely, it does not require the existence of a god, nor does it require one to blind oneself to the reality of the universe we live in in favour of some ridiculous all powerful deity. It can be practiced independently without recourse to clerics or officials of any kind. I have been to Tibet, even to the Saga Dawa festival at Mount Kailash where the 'birth' of Buddha (the moment he became Buddha) is celebrated. Buddhism also promotes the idea of Anathma - that there is no soul.

A good place to start is 'The Four Noble Truths' - a small short book by the Dalai Lama himself. It makes for interesting reading even from a non-religious viewpoint.

roosh

dantheman1234 wrote: »

I am officially catholic and i want to be a buddhist but i dont know how to become one, i am under 18 and i go to a catholic secondary school but does that matter ?

hey dan.

just speaking from my own experience, I was raised in the catholic tradition and encountered buddhism a few times before becoming more interested in it. You don't need to have any kind of ceremony to "become a buddhist" and you don't even need to "become a buddhist". I started just by becoming interested in it and reading a couple of books. I ended up working as a volunteer in a retreat centre where I received instruction on various mediation practices and attended a number of retreats; while there I was introduced to further literature and people who were practicing buddhist teachings.


So, based solely on my own personal experience I would say, read a few books on buddhism and try to get some instruction on meditation from someone who is experienced in it - I would recommend a meditation retreat if possible, but that's just from my own experience.


The books that I found helpful as an introduction were:

- the power of now by Eckhart Tolle. This book isn't, strictly speaking, about buddhism but there are many similarities. I found it piqued my interest in buddhism but it by no means covers the depth of buddhist teachings and practices that are there.

- the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche. This is written by a Tibetan lay person who was trained by Tibetan masters. It's a pretty accessible book and, to my knowledge, a decent intro to Tibetan buddhism and possibly buddhism in general.

Misterfwishy

A good place to start is "buddhism for dummies" or "the complete idiots guide to understanding Buddhism". There is no formal baptism for becoming Buddhist (although some sects have a ceremony). Buddhism is something you do, not something you believe in. Learn Buddhist practices and take it from there.

Uncle Ruckus

I am an atheist but there's a lot I like about Buddhism. Check out this guy's videos. He is very good. http://www.youtube.com/user/BuddhistSocietyWA

Europa76

Hi, in order for you to understand Buddhism I recommend reading any of the books by Thich Nhat Hanh. He does believe in god but doesn't push his believe on others as believing in god or gods is beside the point in Buddhism. I started with the book called Fidelity: How to Create a Loving Relationship That Lasts. It's very easy to read and follow and has helped me a lot.
The first step to become a Buddhist is the study of Buddhism. Just read some of the books and you'll see what I mean..

SpaceSasqwatch

Europa76 wrote: »

I recommend reading any of the books by Thich Nhat Hanh.

For anyone that has a kindle he has 3 books free for download on the amazon website.Afaik they arent an xmas promotion.

Cant post a link so sorry but they should be easy enough to find.

SpaceSasqwatch

SpaceSasqwatch wrote: »

For anyone that has a kindle he has 3 books free for download on the amazon website.Afaik they arent an xmas promotion.

Cant post a link so sorry but they should be easy enough to find.

Sorry got the author wrong , its Geshe Kelsang Gyatso that has the free kindle books.

Nalz

Uncle Ruckus wrote: »

I am an atheist but there's a lot I like about Buddhism. Check out this guy's videos. He is very good. http://www.youtube.com/user/BuddhistSocietyWA

+1

this guy has helped me out on many an occasion

Peterve

Mindfulness wrote: »

Start by reading. There are some good free ebooks on introductions to buddhist philosophy.

Most Western people think that Buddhism is all about shaven-headed, kick-ass kung-fu monks but in reality buddhism has principles and tenets that are at its core. Reading about these gives you a better understanding of whether full-on Buddhism is for you or whether you just want to take on parts of it that will lead you to a more contemplative space providing temporary inner peace.

As for being Catholic, you have to ask yourself, if you believe in a Christian God. If you do, then you need to ask yourself 'have I explored the other non-Catholic versions of Christianity and why am I choosing not to go with those?'.

Then you need to ask, 'do I believe in any non-Christian God?' and if you do, then think about exploring other religions too. There is nothing to stop you practicing one faith while bringing elements of Buddhist teaching into your life.

What I'm trying to say is, if you are looking at Buddhism purely because you want to ditch Catholicism then you may be looking at it for the wrong reasons.

I totally agree with MF ,
Buddhism is seen as having shaved head, and kungfu but Buddhism is much more. Actually, Buddhism is sometimes quite similar to Christianity since each figures of both religion have left behind their knowledge and wisdom to help and shape the life of billions of people so that this knowledge and wisdom can be used to end the suffering of the people.
If you want, you can try to learn as much as knowledge from any Buddhist monks, if you can find near your area.
Or you can learn basics of Buddhism online or buddhist books.