Why Am I A Buddhist?: My First Buddhism Essay

Why am I a Buddhist?

Note to all Dharma friends reading this, if you find any discrepancies with the below article, please don't take me too harshly. I study from books by myself. What I present here is my own interpretation. I shall not quote anything from Buddhist texts as I intend this to be readable to laypeople and a light and thought-provoking read.

It might cause some degree of surprise to people whenever I confess to an allegiance with Buddhism, especially when I am the person who seem to be engrossed in the unconventional, violent-natured black metal music and one who seem to have a keen interest in depressing and destructive literature and philosophies. Please do not negate me as a deeply confused person or a blind follower of doctrines. In this essay, I shall try to explain, to my best abilities, how I think Buddhism is a largely revelant school of philosophy in the stress-laden world of today. I will try not to proselytize here; I do not wish to attract unnecessary comments from people who prefer to remain open-minded. With that said, just read this with a light heart, I just hope you will gather some alternative viewpoints from this. Here I go.

Firstly, I would like to touch on how an ancient faith that have spawned in the BC era, India, could have so much to do with our lives at this moment. Buddhism – unlike many other theistic religions in the world, namely Christianity or Islam, to name a few, professes no Higher Deity as the Ultimate Authority, this special faith rather uses the image of Sakyamuni Guatama Siddhartha Buddha to inspire Buddhists to embark on their very own paths of Enlightenment or nirvana. The word – Buddha, which means “Enlightened Being”, could have implied that enlightenment is not exclusive. In other words, there is not strict dogmas that followers, and there always have been a force to spur others to use logical reasoning to find their own answers regarding issues in life. Although there is a basic guideline for followers that own speed up the process of gaining truths, that set of guideline is called Dharma. What boils down from the Dharma is the essence that there are The Four Noble Truths, The Three Jewels, and the Eightfold Path. I shall not ramble on technicality of the above-mentioned aspects. In brevity, one could eventually reach Enlightenment by recognizing the Four Noble Truths – that the unbridled pursuit for sensual pleasures will not bring ultimate contentment, and by using and maintaining the right mindset in life.

Many of modern city dwellers like myself would have, at some point of time, realised and felt the irritation when you had difficulty in obtaining something you think you will be happy when equipped with; or you will be equally annoyed when you wanted to avoid the drudgeries of living but you simply can't. This does not happen rarely, I confidently assert. What humans fail to notice is, in long term, that such pursuits are endless and they will bring you more hardships then anything else. This is evident in many high-achievers of today, they have gathered millions in their bank accounts, yet they are not inherently satisfied. Buddhism works in a way that one's mind will be acquainted with the notion that happiness lies in the recognition that sensual pleasures are barren from quintessential importance, and by the process of sharpening of our mind faculties or meditation, we will see things clearly and make right decisions to draw nearer to Enlightenment. However, I will need to clear some misconceptions that might have arise from some of you reading here. You might rebuke me by saying that so if I were to deprive myself from any cravings of sorts, enlightenment will come rapidly. Hmm, if you deprive yourself from food – taste pleasures, you will be dead sooner than you think enlightenment is coming your way. Thus, Buddha once said either extremity or indulgence will work, moderation and personal self-discretion is the key. This is tremendously applicable to the modern people like us, who prefers to lead fulfilling lives without having to be burdened with strict dogmatic regulations.

The second reason why I am in great favour of Buddhism is the intense nature of introspection of answers by the practice of meditation. Buddhists are not encouraged at all to be fanatical about Buddha, instead, a constant albeit healthy questioning of the Dharma would be applauded. Shifting focus from the assurance of a close adherence of moral codes or the reinforcement of a sinner's image in everyone, this faith steadily gives inspiration to its fellowship that we will be liberated when we adopt the buddha mindset or bodhicitta or buddhanature and become exalted buddhas in the end of the cycle. This buddha mindset is cultivated by meditation – the quieting our cluttered minds, letting them enrich in generating a general compassion for all living things, and achieving a state of tranquility or gentle awareness of sensations and thoughts. That's the stepping stone for enlightenment. Yes, it is that straightforward. I am personally immensely inspired by this process, as it's practical-based and involves no other complex technicalities of rituals or prayers or heavenly hierarchy that many other beliefs involve. I am even more impressed by the great fact that anybody could have a taste of enlightenment, and the latter is well within the reach of anyone, regardless of one's heinous background, as it could be effortlessly overwhelmed by the goodness of the Buddhist teachings if he could acquaint himself with it and to practice introspective meditations.

I have anticipated that some of you would question me, “So Buddhism is about training our minds to reside in a state non-thinking and ourselves in docile behaviour?” I would like to add a few more points. Let's just visualise a situation where you are about to infuriate in a fit of anger when something unsatisfactory occurred without an a decent explanation. Buddhists will not fall into escapism by pretending nothing has happened and chose not to think anything about it, accepting whatever comes their directions. Instead, Buddhists will use complementary emotions to nullify the surging emotions they have, for example, love to counter with anger. When the anger has subsided, Buddhists will think logically on how to resolve the situation with grace. Buddhists feel that it's important to cultivate a sense of tranquility as it will aid in solving tough situations effectively as negative emotions are not meddling with our actions, speech and thoughts.

With the above few paragraphs, I have, to my best abilities, summarized the core essence of Buddhism. I hope I have done a decent job at that. I also hope you had an enjoyable and refreshing read, and I have not caused any incoherency in my writings.

In conclusion, Buddhism – a school of thought that is so opportunistic and optimistic for everyone, one that could bring much inner peace to its practitioner, one that is so rational and deeply applicable to humanity of all ages. I could only say one thing against Buddhism is that it should not be categorised under Religion, as it is, in essence, a philosophy science. Otherwise, Buddhism could easily be the answer to Life. And that is why I am a Buddhist.

I thank you profusely for reading.

Written by: Ng Ling Xuan “LingNemesis” December 2007.