Exploring Buddhism later in life.

[Aloka]

Another resource which I enjoyed reading myself, is this transcript of a talk given by Ajahn Amaro, who's the abbot of Amaravati Monastery UK....

"Theravada Buddhism in a Nutshell"

https://www.abhayagiri.org/media/boo...a_nutshell.pdf

[McKmike]

For those of you who discovered Buddhism at a later stage of their lives may I ask how easy was/is it for you to learn about?

The reason why I'm asking is because I find the depth and complexity a bit daunting sometimes. I was raised a Christian and my family would always go to church on Sundays and place great importance on the principles and reverance of that faith Christmas etc, so when I began to be intrigued with Buddhism a few years ago and began researching it throughly after a lifetime of being raised on the Christian faith I have found trying to assimate this new faith with the current one I was raised with quite challenging at times.

Hi Fenchurch, I have known many people of advancing years get into and thrive in Buddhism, there has been a great deal of good advice in this thread, especially the advice to look at "early Buddhism" which is a euphemism for looking at what the Buddha actually said.

This is important for various reasons, but in my experience the most important reason is the unique approach of the Buddha to the human condition, I note that you have a grounding in Christianity, and point out that your family would always go to church on Sundays and place great importance on the principles and reverence of that faith.

For me, this is a key insight into the difficulty many people experience when exploring Buddhism for the first time, it is not age-related but related to the difficulty all of us have in looking at spirituality when you come from a metaphysical standpoint and meet the Buddha's teachings which are not metaphysical but pragmatic.

We tend to look at Buddhism as we would look at a faith-based system of ideas, principles and creeds that have to be understood and accepted as truth, have faith in as it were.

Buddhism isn't that, in many respects, it is the opposite of that, the Buddha asked his followers to adopt a scientific principle of investigation and sceptical investigation because Buddhism is not about belief but an experiential understanding of reality.

Buddhism, at least early Buddhism, is asking you to experiment with ethical behaviour, meditation practices and the wisdom that arises from the open and honest understanding that arises from that experimentation, the wisdom you personally gain.

Looking for the truth in Buddhism is not found solely in books or in teachers, much of the understandings which many people find confusing or baffling are confusing and baffling because a person who has not understood the reality behind the concepts have no proper reference points in their experience to understand them.

The practice of Buddhism is a path, it is a path because as you travel down it you gain wisdom, understanding, and that honest discernment is what Buddhism is all about, your own knowledge shared with others on the same path, it is not a faith or belief, the saying goes that the Buddha just points the way.

[Aloka]

.....The practice of Buddhism is a path, it is a path because as you travel down it you gain wisdom, understanding, and that honest discernment is what Buddhism is all about, your own knowledge shared with others on the same path, it is not a faith or belief, the saying goes that the Buddha just points the way.

Good to see you posting again, Mike!

[Fenchurch]

Another resource which I enjoyed reading myself, is this transcript of a talk given by Ajahn Amaro, who's the abbot of Amaravati Monastery UK....

"Theravada Buddhism in a Nutshell"

https://www.abhayagiri.org/media/boo...a_nutshell.pdf

Thank you for that, that was very helpful and the kind of thing I'm looking for. I feel that I'm now coming towards the end of the 'research phase' and I'm begining to focus more now on 'practice' because of articles like that.

[Genecanuck]

Hello friends,
I was interested in this thread because I also have come to Buddhist ideas and concepts late in life.

I have saved all the references and plan to carefully read them this week.

Kind Regards,

Gene

[Aloka]

Hello friends,
I was interested in this thread because I also have come to Buddhist ideas and concepts late in life.

I have saved all the references and plan to carefully read them this week.

Kind Regards,

Gene

Hi Gene

Hope you enjoy your reading!

[Valerie1]

Hi

I just wanted to say I can so relate. I am 50 and coming from a Catholic background. I've read several books on amazon and I love watching Doug's Dharma on YouTube. He's been my favorite resource. But the thing that is difficult for me is to think that if I became Buddhist I would have to give up my belief in God. So at this point I am just reading and seeking. I am meditating "mindfulness" 30 min a day and I would say that has been a wonderful experience. I've just started to practice lovingkindness meditation. I may visit a local Sangha. To me it takes time to digest all this wild info like the non self and dependent origin? I don't know if I'm even saying it right. But I'm not there yet. I just focus on the Buddha's basic teachings. That's all I can do for now. If you ever need someone to chat with about this you can send me a note. Seems like were on a similar road.

[Element]

Hi

I just wanted to say I can so relate. I am 50 and coming from a Catholic background. I've read several books on amazon and I love watching Doug's Dharma on YouTube. He's been my favorite resource. But the thing that is difficult for me is to think that if I became Buddhist I would have to give up my belief in God. So at this point I am just reading and seeking. I am meditating "mindfulness" 30 min a day and I would say that has been a wonderful experience. I've just started to practice lovingkindness meditation. I may visit a local Sangha. To me it takes time to digest all this wild info like the non self and dependent origin? I don't know if I'm even saying it right. But I'm not there yet. I just focus on the Buddha's basic teachings. That's all I can do for now. If you ever need someone to chat with about this you can send me a note. Seems like were on a similar road.

Hello Valerie. Non-self means life & the things in life do not ultimately belong to us; that they are products & even gifts from nature. It is similar to believing life comes from God and the good things in life are gifts from God and, when life passes away, life returns to God. The Buddha taught when life & the things in life are viewed as belonging to self, suffering will inevitably occur when life or the things in life are threatened, change, lost or pass away.

Dependent origination is similar. It explains sorrow, grief & suffering originate from the perception of 'aging & death' in relation to the 'beings' the mind is attached to due to craving. Ultimately, the Buddha taught how suffering arises & how suffering can be overcome or prevented so there is freedom from suffering.

Note: In the original Pali Buddhist Teachings, dependent origination is not related to the origination of the physical world therefore it cannot be used to refute the notion of a Creator God. As explained, dependent origination is only about the origination of suffering in the minds of the people.

Kind regards

[Olderon]

Valerie1 wrote: "But the thing that is difficult for me is to think that if I became Buddhist I would have to give up my belief in God."

There are many gods in Buddhism. Buddha speaks of his experience as a teacher of gods and describes both their characteristics and the nature of the delusions, which some gods hold about themselves, much like the delusions which we hold about ourselves, of which we become stripped over time as we study his teachings and experience our lives in light of those new awarenesses.

One of Buddha's aliases is, "Teacher of The Gods", just as we as students of Buddhism have taken him to be our teacher: https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/.../wheel414.html