People often ask me why I'm a Buddhist, especially since I come from a primarily Judeo-Christian society. Growing up, my parents weren't very religious. My stepfather was Jewish, my mother Protestant. When I was eight, I remember asking my mom if I could go to the church around the corner from our house and she said yes.
I went to the Sunday School being run by the church and sat in a small group of kids listening to the adult tell about how Christ died on the cross for our sins. Now that I'm older and have studied different religious beliefs, I understand the statement. At the time, however, it didn't make any sense and it left a deep and lasting impression on me.
By the time I was 17, I was searching for meaning in my life. The changes in our society in the mid to late 60's were hard to grasp - The Vietnam war, the beginnings of the women's movement and the advent of "sex, drugs & rock 'n' roll" led many people to questions that didn't seem to have any real concrete answers.
A friend of mine invited me to a Buddhist meeting. I'd heard of Buddhism by that time but my notion of it was formed by the image of a smiling Buddha meditating or a Zen koan. I was surprised to walk into the meeting and hear people chanting "Nam Myoho Renge Kyo." I was told I could chant for anything I wanted and it would come to pass. That left me skeptical, but I was encouraged to try it for 90 days. What impressed me more however were two major Buddhist concepts, one concerning attaining Buddhahood and the other concerning happiness.
The historical figure, Gautama Buddha, taught for 40 years. His last teaching was the 28 chapter Lotus Sutra. In this sutra, he stated that all people are inherently buddhas with eternal life and have the capacity to awaken to this concept, regardless of race, class or gender. This concept is revolutionary in that this life state is internal and not a condition that exists outside of our self.
Secondly, according to Buddhism, two forms of happiness exist for human beings - relative and absolute happiness. Relative happiness is defined as those things external to ourself, the job, the relationship, the things that we have or do. Absolute happiness is defined as a state of life condition within. It was pointed out to me that relative happiness is situational and can change from moment to moment, whereas absolute happiness comes from knowing that no matter what challenges one faces in life, there is nothing that cannot be dealt with.
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