I want to become a buddhist. How do i do that?
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I want to become a Buddhist. How do I do that?
It begins with one deceptively simple act: making the inner commitment to "take refuge" in the Triple Gem, to accept the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha as your source of spiritual guidance. This act is what makes one nominally "Buddhist". But going for refuge also implies a willingness -- if only provisional, at first -- to accept the cornerstone of the Buddha's teachings: the law of kamma. According to this universal principle, if you act unskillfully and make poor ethical choices, you are bound to suffer the consequences; if you choose wisely and act in line with the noblest ideals, you stand to benefit accordingly. In other words, your happiness ultimately depends on the quality of your choices and actions; you alone are responsible for your happiness. Your first act after seeking refuge should therefore be to resolve to observe the five precepts -- the five basic principles of living that can help prevent you from making grossly unskillful choices. This is where the practice of Buddhism begins.
You don't need a formal public ceremony or "initiation" to make any of this official. You don't have to dress differently or wear a badge that says, "I am now a Buddhist." The practice of the Dhamma is a private matter and no one needs to know about it but you. Many Buddhists do, however, find it invaluable to renew their commitment to the Triple Gem and to the precepts from time to time in a more formal way, enlisting the help of a good friend, a respected meditation teacher, or a member of the monastic community (Sangha) as a witness. Administering the refuges and precepts to laypeople is a duty that Buddhist monks are glad to perform.
Many people find it difficult to sustain their commitment to the Dhamma on their own, without the support of like-minded friends and companions. (It can be hard to stick to the precepts if you're surrounded by people who see no harm in telling lies, or in having a secret romantic affair now and then, or in going out drinking all night.) You may have to do a little patient detective work to find this kind of support. Perhaps someone in your neighborhood hosts a weekly meditation group ("sitting group") or sutta study group in his or her home. If not, why not start one of your own? Or perhaps there is a meditation center nearby that offers workshops and retreats. And if there is a Buddhist monastery or temple in your vicinity, why not pay the Sangha a visit?
Having taken these first steps, you can proceed along the Buddhist path in your own way and at your own pace. Although you can learn a great deal about Dhamma on your own, your understanding will grow by leaps and bounds once you find a good teacher -- someone whom you trust and respect, who keeps to the precepts, and who understands the Dhamma and can communicate it clearly. Other aids to progress in understanding the Dhamma are these: deepening your understanding of the precepts; studying the suttas; getting to know monks or nuns (Sangha) and become acquainted with their traditions; developing a keen, discerning eye that can recognize which of today's popular spiritual teachings actually ring true to what the Buddha taught; and learning meditation. How you proceed is entirely up to you, but the bottom line is this: learn what the Buddha taught and put it into practice in your life as best you can.
If you ever decide that the Buddha's teachings aren't for you, you are free to walk away at any time and find your own way. There is no ceremony for renouncing the Buddha's teachings. Just remember: your happiness is in your own hands. -
A deeper look at the spiritual aspects of seeking refuge in the triple Gems
FAITH.... Those who take refuge in the three treasures or triple Gems, the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha, are called the disciples of Buddha. The disciples of Buddha observe the four parts of mind-control: the precepts, faith, offering and wisdom. The disciples of Buddha have faith in the Buddha's perfect wisdom. They try to keep away from greediness and selfishness and to practice offering. They understand the law of cause and effect, keeping in mind the transiency of life and conform to the norm of wisdom. A tree leaning toward the east will naturally fall eastward and so those who listen to the Buddha's teaching and maintain faith in it will surely be born in the Buddha's Pure Land. It has rightly been said that those who believe in the three treasures of the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha are called the disciples of Buddha. The Buddha is the one who attained perfect Enlightenment and used His attainment to emancipate and bless all mankind. The Dharma is the truth, the spirit of Enlightenment and the teaching that explains it. The Sangha is the perfect brotherhood of believers in the Buddha and Dharma. We speak of Buddhahood, the Dharma and the Brotherhood as though they are three different things, but they are really only one. Buddha is manifested in His Dharma and is realized by the Brotherhood. Therefore, to believe in the Dharma and to cherish the Brotherhood is to have faith in the Buddha, and to have faith in the Buddha means to believe in the Dharma and to cherish the Brotherhood. Therefore, people are emancipated and Enlightened simply by having faith in the Buddha. Buddha is the perfectly Enlightened One and He loves everyone as though each was His only child. So if anyone regards Buddha as his own parent, he identifies himself with Buddha and attains Enlightenment. Those who thus regard Buddha will be supported by His wisdom and perfumed by His grace. Nothing in the world brings greater benefit than to believe in Buddha. Just hearing Buddha's name, believing and being pleased even for a moment, is incomparably rewarding. Therefore, one must please oneself by seeking the teaching of Buddha in spite of the conflagration that fills the entire world. It will be hard to meet a teacher who can explain the Dharma; it will be harder to meet a Buddha; but it will be hardest to believe in His teaching. But now that you have met the Buddha, who is hard to meet, and have had it explained to you what is hard to hear, you ought to rejoice and believe and have faith in Buddha. On the long journey of human life, faith is the best companions; it is the best refreshment on the journey; and it is the greatest possession. Faith is the hand that receives Dharma; it is the pure hand that receives all the virtues. -
“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.” quoted by buddha.
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good words...........Originally posted by (human):“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.” quoted by buddha. -
Why it is called the triple Gems?
In Buddhism, the following three are called Gems (Ratna) as they are invaluable :
Buddha (The Enlightened One)who, depending on one's interpretation, can mean the Historical Buddha, Shakyamuni, or the Buddha nature or ideal within all beings;
Dharma (The TeachingÂ), which is the Teachings of the Buddha.
Sangha (The CommunityÂ), The Community of those great people who have attained Enlightenment. so that those people(Sangha) will help you to attain Enlightenment.
The three gems are so called since amongst all gems, the Buddha gem and Dharma gem are considered incomparable in value as they are not material, so cannot be created, destroyed or changed in any way. Buddha's mind in his earth body or sambhogakaya is frequently associated with the greatest gem of all, the diamond. In the Anguttara Nikaya(3:25), Buddha talks about the diamond mind:
These three types of persons are found in the world: 1)One with a mind like an open sore; 2) one with a mind like a flash of lightning; 3)one with a mind like a diamond.
1)One who is irascible and very irritable, displaying anger, hatred and sulkiness; such a one is said to be a person with a mind like an open sore.
2)One who understands the Four Noble Truths correctly is said to have a mind like a flash of lightning.
3)One who has destroyed the mind-intoxicating defilements and realized the liberation of mind and the liberation by knowledge is said to have a mind like a diamond.
With this we understand that to take refuge in the Buddha is to take refuge in the mind like a diamond, the hardest natural substance that can cut through all delusion.
The Three Gems when used in the process of taking refuge, become the Three Refuges.
The expression Three Gems are found in the earliest Buddhist literature of the Pali Canon, besides other works there is one sutta in the Sutta-nipata, called the Ratana-sutta[3] which contains a series of verses on the Jewels in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. In the Ratana-sutta, all the qualities of the Sangha mentioned are attributes of the Buddha's enlightened disciples.
The Three Refuges occur very frequently in the ancient Buddhist Texts, and here the Sangha is used more broadly to refer to either the Sangha of Bhikkhus, or the Sangha of Bhikkhunis.
"I go to Master Gotama for refuge and to the Dhamma, and to the Sangha of Bhikkhus."
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source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_Gem -
yes... the kalama sutra.Originally posted by (human):“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.” quoted by buddha.
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Quoting from:http://buddhism.about.com/od/scriptures/a/Kalama.htm
The kalama sutra is a very helpful sutra in that it pares the Buddha's teaching down to what is essential. If there are aspects of Buddhism that an individual may not feel able to accept, it doesn't mean that the Buddha's teachings should be rejected wholesale.If an individual worked solely on eliminating greed, hatred and delusion from his or her life, and developing loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity, that individual would have gone a long way in putting into practice the Buddha's teachings.
In my personal opinion, i found this aspects in buddhism unique and not found in other religions that i know of !.. is a quite essential in learning buddhism and acquiring the right wisdom.