Dialectic Two-Step – Buddhism For Beginners?

Dialectic Two-Step  is an ongoing series of my thoughts on questions that come my way.

Wisdom lies neither in fixity nor in change, but in the dialectic between the two. - Octavio Paz  

Buddhism For Beginners?

Question: Can You Explain Buddhism For Beginners?

Response: In my experience, people come to Buddhism for a few reasons

They feel like something is missing in their lifeThey need to find peaceThey’re alienated from their root religion, but feel that there is something valuable in being spiritual

For all of these folks I offer this:

Buddhism as an exercise in (re)discovering ourselves.  It’s a bit of a scientific endeavor.  Buddhists make an effort to step beyond our assumptions about life to uncover the root of our dissatisfaction or disconnection with the world.

The Buddha made a simple observation about how we seek happiness.  People gravitate towards either hedonism or rejection of worldly pleasures. Neither works.  He noted that an attitude of acceptance and gratitude goes a long way towards improving our lot.

This is Buddhism, unlearning our habits of mindless hedonism or deprivation to uncover our natural propensity for contentment.

Get Each Week's Dialectic Two Step in your email box

First Name:

Last Name:

Email address:

In addition to a monthly email you can also subscribe to the following weekly series:
One Minute Meditations
Tiny Drops (Photography series)
Compass Songs (My Favorite Poems)
Dialectic Two-Step
Modern Koans (interesting questions)
Sunday Morning Coming Down (Music Videos)
Relics (Timeless Republished Articles)
Say What?
Quotes
Verse Us (Poems I Write)

 

The post Dialectic Two-Step – Buddhism For Beginners? appeared on Andrew Furst.