Expert: Bodhicitta - 6/5/2006

Question
You may not remember me.  
I said that I would come back to talk to you again and here I am.
I have remained very interested in Buddhism and purchased a book on the simple explanation of it.

It would be easy for me to say ''I need a teacher'' but it seems that nobody can 'teach' you how to awaken yourself.  Holding onto things that others have written effectively cannot guide or help you because buddhism is not about reading others work and saying ''yes i'll believe that'' it's about reading others work and saying ''i'll go and SEE if that's true then''. It's about seeing and not blind belief.  

I am having a hard time understanding things about this following.  i can't exactly put my finger on what I don't understand, as I read questions come up..... I guess buddhism is like a room with no walls and therefore no end... you are sat in the room but at the same time there are just no boundries, only marked places where you are advised not to go.

Is Buddhism not just an in depth look at how the world is going wrong?  And if you are buddhist you can surely not live your life without contradiction or hypocrisy whatsoever... I think that is what is bugging me most.  If a Buddhist is supposed to be able to SEE that desire causes ''Dukha'' or pain then can they not drive a convertible? If they see that wanting to live longer causes pain, can they not be treated for cancer... wouldn't this be a contradiction to buddhism?  
It seems no matter which way you go in life you never come upon a flawless way of making it simple... there are always things to confuse you.
Is Buddhism most obvious in the east because they are communist? Buddhism and communism seem to go together quite well.....

I would like to go to a retreat and just get some information from someone,Do you know anywhere that I could go at all... I live in Warwickshire UK.  Sorry if I am asking you more than you can answer..I spend most of my time questioning things.  

Kind Regards

Helen.

Answer
Hi Helen
Thanks for coming back.

I like your questions and I like your enquiring mind. This is very Buddhist. I like your sentiment "It's about seeing and not blind belief.  " this I believe is very Buddhist too.

"Is Buddhism not just an in depth look at how the world is going wrong?"

Not sure it is really. It is a quest for awakening and reality. To see how it is going wrong is kind of maybe a side effect. To rest in what is true and real is the path to truth.

" If a Buddhist is supposed to be able to SEE that desire causes ''Dukha'' or pain then can they not drive a convertible??? "

Difficult to say really. Buddhists are not really rejecting anything or renouncing the world. Although maybe
they would temporarily live simple lives for the purpose of specific meditation retreats or practices. A true Buddhist approach might take someone to live life more fully and completely and in a more heart felt and real way.
I think it is very difficult to judge whether a Buddhist
driving a "convertible" has lost it or not! What we need to
do is work on our own situation and clear away or confusion
and then we might have some insight into the rest of the world.Until that is happened it is difficult to know what
is going on at all.

I seem to come across many "Buddhists" who have a lot of opinions about different types of Buddhism, religion and other people - but don't seem to do any practice to cut away their own problems. Buddhism is really inviting us to start with ourselves , start with meditation.

We then need to do our best at making the decisions in our life to align with our sense of truth, and with our hearts. This is the path to awakening.

As you say these choices arent simple The whole of the world we find ourselves in is one big mess - so time to
look at ourselves! A confused world is really maybe a product of our confused minds.

"Buddhism and communism seem to go well" I think there is a lot of evidence to say that in communist China and the Soviet Union that communism destroyed all religion including Buddhism. The communists in China invaded Tibet a Buddhist country and tortured and killed all the Buddhist Lamas. They have been accused of genocide and ethnic cleansing. Communism and Buddhism haven't done too well together so far.

It would be good to learn to meditate and to go on a retreat. if you haven't done anything like that before
find something where it is a beginners retreat, and there
is a teacher to teach you basic meditation and to be on hand for your questions. I could recommend things - but you
could also just check the web.

Stay in touch
Bodhicitta
http://www.bodhicitta.co.uk