Why do we have such a question?

I vividly recall my early days as a starry-eyed rookie on a quest to uncover the meaning of life. The tantalizing prospect of enlightenment in Buddhism beckoned me. Brimming with determination, I marched into my neighborhood library and promptly lost myself in the “Buddhism” section.

Imagine my amazement when I encountered the mind-boggling arrays of sub-categories in just one bookshelf. There were Zen, general Buddhism, Mahayana, etc. Which one should I read first? Is there a simple step-by-step guide toward enlightenment? I ended up judging the book by its cover!

This happened in the 1980s when the internet wasn’t invented yet. Fast forward to today, and we have the universe’s wisdom at our fingertips! Again, the question is where do I start? Which type of Buddhism should I explore?

Our dilemma is made worse when every brand of Buddhism insists it’s the supreme path to nirvana. Oh, and don’t forget the posers who claim to be Buddhist while dishing out non-Buddhist wisdom. Then there are those creepy cult leaders peddling their “enlightenment secret recipe” like it’s the latest diet fad. Did I miss anything else?

So, that is the situation we encounter at the main gate of Buddhism. It’s like walking into high school and you get to choose your own class and teacher; But as you make your way through the hallways, different booths are vying for your attention. Each one’s screaming, “You can only graduate if you join us!”

But seriously, where should I start?

I think the most sensible approach is to learn about the man who founded Buddhism. In our case, Shakyamuni Buddha. Even as we try to learn about that, more options present themselves. Should we limit our reading to the milestones in his life or should we go in-depth? Should we read books that portray Shakyamuni as an ordinary human being or should we read all those religious tales surrounding him?

Personally, I would read all of them; But the important point to note is to examine our mental reaction as we read.

For example, when some of us read about Prince Siddhartha abandoning his newborn son and wife, we might go, “What a jerk!” in our head. That is fine. Being aware of such a reaction in our head is the journey toward enlightenment. Then maybe we had a huge fight with our partner and the next time we read the same story, we might feel envious and think, “What a wise guy!”

Besides being aware of how we relate to those stories and understanding what caused our reactions, it is also equally important to try and understand Buddha’s personality from those stories. If we read his life stories in detail, we will witness how he started off as an ordinary person and gradually became an enlightened being. Then we will also discover how an enlightened being reacts to various situations in life.

Therefore, the first step in Buddhism is to get an in-depth understanding of Buddha. And through that process, perhaps we can also gain a deeper understanding of ourselves. The important tip is to read with an open mind and learn to read between the lines, ask questions, think, and ponder. Not forgetting that the authors of these books are probably die-hard fans of Buddha. Then ask yourselves, are there any values or core messages to be learned from his life stories? Are there any similarities with my life? Remember, in Buddhism, all of us can become Buddha. Therefore asking these questions is not blasphemous. Last but not least, don’t limit yourselves to one reading. The journey is really about finding yourselves in those stories.

Here’s a link to a good book if you want to explore the life of Shakyamuni Buddha in detail. And it is absolutely free in the name of Buddhist education! https://www.bps.lk/olib/mi/mi014.pdf

To be continued. May all be well and happy.

Seriously, which school or “club” should I choose?

Is shopping bad?

Does it matter? Is it important to get into the right “club”?

Practicality

Beware of cult and fake dharma