Expert: Justin Choo - 6/4/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hello,

I have several things I wanted to discuss with you: The first thing is I am coming to Buddhism from Christianity so keeping that in mind things are kind of different in Buddhism then what I am used to. One of the biggest thing I am struggling with is deciding what "tradition" to practice. I Know a little about both "vehicles" A part of me wants to keep things strict like in theravada but at the same time I feel that everyone can achieve Nirvana, and I like the concept of the Bodhisattva but I wouldn't know what tradition to follow in Mahayana. I was looking at Zen but it doesn't seem to give credit to the teachings of the Buddha. I think that If I can understand how to get started in Theravada and what to do I would be comfortable practicing that. I am in the military so any advice that can help me with that and getting started would be great. Thank you very much

Christopher

ANSWER: Hi Christopher,

Thank you for asking me.

Welcome to the path of inner peace and happiness.  To become a Buddhist means to practise the teachings of the Buddha.  If you practise the teachings of the Buddha, then you are a Buddhist. Just that simple.  The big question is which tradition?

The best place is to start with the Buddhist sites in the internet.  Please take your time to surf through the sites below, which are mainly Theravada.  The "mother" of all Buddhist sites is www.buddhanet.net which gives you all the worldwide links on different traditions and the locations.  Having done that you can identify the temples nearest you. Visit them and feel which one appeals to you and go from there.  I would recommend that you spend serious time studying the various traditions to know their differences and similarities.

The journey will be a long but rewarding one.  As we travel along the path, we learn to experience happiness and inner peace through the three processes of learning, practising, and experiencing the positive results.  With this experiencing, it further encourages us to put more effort to continue learning and practising. The destination may be unreachable but the journey itself is a lesson in life.  Have a pleasant journey, and if you need more info please come back.

Smile from justinchoo :-)

These are the Buddhist sites:

http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/whatbelieve.pdf
"What Buddhist Believe"  by Ven. K Sri Dhammananda.  This book explains the Buddhist perspective on life's general questions.
Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda was my revered teacher. His writings have benefitted countless people throughout the world.  He had recently passed away (18 Mar 1919 -- 31 Aug 2006)

http://youtube.com/user/dhammatube
Short Buddhist talks.

http://www.justbegood.net/index.htm
http://www.geocities.com/wave_books/index.html
You can obtain excellent publications from them.

http://www.buddhanet.net  (The “mother” of all Buddhist web sites)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism
http://www.dharmanet.org
http://www.buddhism.about.com
http://www.parami.org/buddhistanswers/index.htm
http://www.nibbana.com
http://www.triplegem.net
http://www.buddhistchannel.tv
http://www.bswa.org
This site is in Western Australia where Ajahn Brahmawamso resides. He is an English monk and is a very popular speaker. You can listen to his talk through this site.

http://www.foresthermitage.org.uk/
http://www.amaravati.org/abmnew/index.php/about_us/getting_here/
Ajahn Sumedho is the most senior Western monk, trained under the Thai forest monk tradition. He is an American and is resident in England.

(Ajahn Sumedho and Ajahn Brahmawamso are disciples of the well-known Thai forest monk Ajahn Chah)



http://www.lioncity.net/buddhism/
E-Sangha Forum
This is a very active and highly authoritative forum.


http://dharmaavenue.com/home.htm  
http://www.thebuddhistsociety.org
http://www.budsas.org/index.htm
www.fundamental-buddhism.com
http://www.maithri.com/index.asp
http://www.parami.org/buddhistanswers/
http://www.abhayagiri.org/
Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery, the first monastery in the United States to be established by followers of Ajahn Chah, was founded in 1996 in the mountainous forests north of Ukiah, California.
http://www.watnongpahpong.org/indexe.php
www.dhammasukha.org


[You are invited to visit my blogs:]
http://lifeislikethat999.blogspot.com/

[And this blog by Rev. Dhammika:]
http://sdhammika.blogspot.com/


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you justinchoo for the outstanding response and it has help me alot so far. Like I said I am leaning more to Theravada, in saying that can you explain to me: How do I get started as a Solitary Theravada Buddhist? Like I said I am in the Navy so I travel around alot so I cant stay in one place at a time. However once in get out in a year I plan on settling down and finding a good Sangha. Also do you recommend any books I can start reading up on. Thanks

Christopher Miller

Answer
Hi Christopher,

Thanks for returning to this place.  As I said before, the best place is the internet.  If you follow thru the sites I recommended, you will be in the right path.  I can assure you it is much better than visiting temples.  Please follow Rev. Dhammika's blog daily @
http://sdhammika.blogspot.com/

and also my blog @
http://lifeislikethat999.blogspot.com/
(I am also human with Big Ego!!)


For books refer here:
http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/whatbe...
"What Buddhist Believe" by Ven. K Sri Dhammananda. This book explains the Buddhist perspective on life's general questions.
Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda was my revered teacher. His writings have benefitted countless people throughout the world. He had recently passed away (18 Mar 1919 -- 31 Aug 2006)

http://www.geocities.com/wave_books/index.html
You can obtain excellent publications from them.


For forums:
http://www.lioncity.net/buddhism/
E-Sangha forum.
This is a very active and highly authoritative forum.


For current news:http://www.buddhistchannel.tv
This is a Buddhist news channel, giving latest news in the Buddhist world.


For Web Sites:
http://www.bswa.org
This site is in Western Australia where Ajahn Brahmawamso resides. He is an English monk and is a very popular speaker. You can listen to his talk through this site.


And the MOTHER of all Buddhist web sites:
http://www.buddhanet.net  

Have a pleasant journey, Chris!!

And don't forget to visit my blog!  Ha! Ha! Ha!

Smile from justinchoo :-)