Expert: Laurie McLauglin - 3/8/2009

Question
I went to see his highness the Dalai Lama last year in Normandy and he gave me an inner peace, I  read the books by Lobsang Rampa many years ago and was intrigued by them. Now, older and a survive of much suffering I find that reading the Art of Happiness from H.H. the Dalai Lama very true. I live about 200 kms from the nearest center, so I would like to know what to do and where to start to practice Buddhism. Thankyou.

Answer
Thank you for letting me answer your question.

I rejoice in hearing that you wish to practice Buddhism.

Since you seem to be drawn to His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama, I can give you a suggestion on how to practice even though you are so far away from a center.

As you probably know, there are many kinds of Buddhists.  His Holiness is from the Gelugpa tradition.  He is a Mahayana Buddhist. One of his students, Lama Thubten Yeshe started a group of centers worldwide called The Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition, or FPMT for short.  The FPMT teaches basic Buddhism classes that you can take from home and which, as I understand it, are monitored by  highly qualified teachers. Their website is www.FPMT.org.

This would give you the basics of Buddhism and allow you to learn how to practice.  Plus, I would assume they could also put you in touch with other practitioners in your area as it is really wonderful to study Buddhism with other like-minded folk.

In general, to practice Buddhism one needs a place on ones home that one would use consistently as a place to meditate.  Most Buddhists create an alter to use as the focal point of their meditation.  Traditionally there are three things that are placed on an alter.  An image of Buddha, a book of Buddha's teachings (called Dharma) and an image of a stupa.  A stupa is a building that houses Buddhist relics and the way it is shaped represents the mind of a Buddha. And often there are also water bowls on the alter which one uses to make offerings. If you choose to practice Tibetan Buddhism, one's alter can be more elaborate, if you choose to practice Zen Buddhism then one's alter would be more austere.

Then one would want to set up a meditation practice that one follows consistently.  The Discovering Buddhism series that is the beginning Buddhism course I mentioned presented by the FPMT includes beginning meditations that are very good at helping to begin to train your mind.

Once you have been involved in Buddhism for a while, you will begin to learn what areas you want to study more and which ones less.

Eventually, you will choose a guru as your root guru who will be someone whose teachings and advice you follow and who will help you throughout your Buddhist studies.

I hope this helped a bit. Don't hesitate to ask any more questions if any come to mind.  And I wish you much success and happiness on your path