My tryst with Buddhism

The prescription to the everyday problems in life that the Buddha offered while meditating in Bodh Gaya to us is as valid as it was 2500 years ago. Buddhism as teaching (as opposed to religion) has a very important place in my life. Brought up in a Hindu brahmin family and deliberately or otherwise, we as children were never exposed to this wonderful therapy offered by Buddha himself. I consider it a therapy as it offers solutions to some of the very common problems we face in our lives, which can be said true of any therapy we talk about.

The Bodhi tree under which the Buddha gained enlightenment in Uruvela, Bihar state in India more than 2500 years ago. This place later came to be known as “Bodh Gaya” on account of that event. image courtesy: Wikimedia commons.

I was attracted to the teachings of Buddha, on account of a variety of reasons. Since childhood, my attraction to the culture of the far east definitely played a major role in my curiosity towards Buddhism. The orderly, neat, and clean culture of Japan, or ‘the humble and never missing a smile’ kind of people in Thailand always made me wonder how the long tradition of following Buddhist teaching and values played a part in the development of their societies. A glimpse into the world of zen Buddhism pushed me towards further exploration.

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As I grew older and precisely in the teenage years when a lot of questions began arising in my mind regarding life and death, body and soul, happiness and sorrow, good and bad, and much more, I started looking for answers. A lot of frustration arose as a result of that. Further, I was looking for some ideas to adhere to, some teachings to believe in. Now, as a Hindu, you don’t need to look outside your religion for things like that. I agree ours is the most comprehensive religion of the world, yet when it came to me, I felt like I was following the religion like a puppet. The dogmatic approach never suits me as there is no place for a reason, just obedience!
This was never acceptable and later as it turned out, I used to tune my ears to the atheist side rather than the religious side because atheists do make arguments based on reason and no belief. It is true even today and I don’t worship or believe in any supreme god sitting above our heads pulling the strings.
One day I randomly picked up a book by a Buddhist monk and started reading about the four noble truths as explained by Buddha. It appealed to me so much that I immediately started reading in detail about them. This was my starting point into ‘formal’ teachings of the Buddha. They can of course be summarized as:

1. There is suffering.
2. Desire is the cause of suffering.
3. Suffering can be eliminated.
4. It can be eliminated by following the eightfold path.

So precisely, he explained and offered to solve the most common problem we face all through our lives. The next logical step was of course looking into the eightfold path, what it offered and how could it treat all our suffering. Just follow the eightfold path and you get rid of suffering, seemed a good idea. I immediately dived into the resources available over the Internet and started reading all about the eightfold path. There were plenty of books, articles by monks, and of course video lectures. I filtered the most significant and genuine things among them. As it turned out, the simplicity with which the Buddha offered to solve the problem amazed me. I read all the steps one by one, immediately started applying them to my life and the results were awesome. Within a few weeks, a transformation was felt and from a reckless rash lazy individual, I was transitioning into an aware, mindful and happy person.
The eightfold path which the Buddha offered in order to end the suffering is also quite simply put (below):

1. Right view.
2. Right intention.
3. Right speech.
4. Right action.
5. Right livelihood.
6. Right effort.
7. Right mindfulness.
8. Right concentration.

This is the way therapy is offered, isn’t it? First, you look for the problem, then you look for the causes, then you work to eliminate the causes. I believe basic teaching of Buddhism should be imparted to each and every individual, irrespective of religion, gender, or race. It is not a religion, but rather, a solution to the ever-existing human problem. In the modern days, where we are used to people with a short temper and a huge ego, there can be no better time than this for people to realize the important role Buddhist teachings can play in society.

Once I started following the eightfold path, a sense of positive ideas arose which can’t be ignored. I started to value everything around me more than I used to. Was I getting too excited about all this? Yes definitely. I let these ideas sink in for a couple of weeks and noticed a change in attitude towards life. I realized what I was missing until I found these teachings. Within a few days, I felt transformed. As a person, I started respecting myself just for the reason of being here. The same goes for every individual I come across. Compassion can’t be ignored, can it?
I developed compassion for everyone and everything around me. There was little or no sign of hatred in my heart towards anything in particular and I think this was the biggest sign of improvement in the quality of life, that I witnessed.
I began writing about these experiences on my blog and almost 80 blog posts came out within a span of 6 months all documenting the changes that were being felt by me. Even today, after a duration of 6 years, when I read those articles again, the changes can be felt.
The answers to a few of my questions started coming one after another, and although a lot of my questions still remain unanswered, I became satisfied with the progress. On a personal front, I had become a more content person and with a practice of mindfulness time and again I managed to keep a check on my behavior as well. Living a life guided by the teachings of none other than the greatest teacher mankind has seen: the Buddha himself, what else I could look for?
Now 6 years have passed since I read about the four noble truths. Life has changed a lot, I saw a lot of ups and downs in those years. Many bad habits such as being egoistic, distraction at work, jealousy, anger, and foul mouthedness have reappeared time and again and a heavy price has been paid for all these ‘unwholesome’ qualities. Living a life being content, happy, and developing a feeling of ‘metta’ or ‘loving kindness’ towards every living being is something I aspire to and have succeeded in that direction a bit, although a lot of ‘cultivation’ needs to be done. There is no point carrying a mountain of regret on the back.