| Saturday, 25 May 2013 |
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About Buddhism |
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For some, it's a philosophy for living, for others a highly ritualistic religion, yet others see it as an advanced study of the nature of mind, while some take on small pieces like mindfulness meditation, or a view on karma or death.
There's no "right" or "wrong" way to approach Buddhist teachings, what works for people of one disposition may not work for those of another. Buddhism is not a faith. In fact, the Buddha himself cautioned us against believing him just because he said it is so, Buddhists are encouraged to listen, learn, contemplate, and integrate what is useful for them and to discard that which they do not find useful.
Learning meditation, or studying Buddhism, is learning about you, your own nature. The subject is about your own mind. Learning meditation or Buddhism does not mean learning sceptical doctrine or philosophy. It is a method how to control undisciplined mind, which is we have. So, by learning the characteristic nature of our own undisciplined mind, the control is the nature, because you understand; through the understanding, you release the emotionally ignorant.
It is so important to know the mentality of your own mind, no matter you believing or not believing, you are religious or not religious, you are Christian, or you are Hinduism, or you are science, or you are black or East or West or…no matter. To know your own mind is very , very important.
- Lama Thubten Yeshe
There are numerous sources of information about Buddhism on the net, but like many things on the net; much of what you read is not entirely accurate so keep that in mind. If you're really interested in exploring the fundamentals of Tibetan Buddhism we'd encourage you to attend a Buddhism in a Nutshell course at Chenrezig Institute, at any other FPMT centre, online, or homestudy with a package you can purchase at our shop or online from the FPMT Foundation Store.
You can read and listen to teachings from our founding lamas, the Dalai Lama, and many other lineage lamas at Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive. Copies of the LYWA free books are available through any FPMT centre.
Here's a small FAQ on Buddhism and a description of the how the variations or schools of Buddhism came into being is here
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