INTRODUCTION: my history 1

HOW I FOUND BUDDHISM

I was brought up in the Christian faith. Throughout my childhood, teenage years, and young adulthood, I had maintained a belief based on what I had been told to believe and a practice based on pleasing my parents and on following the direction of their expectations. I sincerely tried to live my life as a Christian. During my mid-twenties, I began to find fault with the rigmarole and traditions of the modern Christian faith and decided to concentrate on a 'God, Bible and me' style of practice. I was trying to make it real and true, rather than ceremony and ritual. However, by this time I had suffered dreadfully and found no God answering my prayers. I could not relate to the Christian God, though my family and friends could and still do. I decided to term myself a 'Post-Christian Atheist' and live my life based on nature, love, and truth, instead.

It was not until I was around the age of forty, that I began to seriously look at Buddhism as an option. During my schooldays, I recalled being cross because our religion teacher had brought up 'other' religions in class. I was at that time firmly a Christian, and so I blocked my ears stubbornly. The only information about Buddhism that actually entered was that Buddhist monks swept the path in front of them to prevent their treading on small bugs and insects, that Buddhist monks only ate once daily, and that Buddha was some fat Chinese chap. Since school, my only connection with Buddhism had been when I picked up the classic 'Siddhartha' from the library shelves around four years ago. I read the entire book, but did not relate it to Buddhism.

Around a year and a half ago, I was reading online comments about a book by the Dalai Lama written by a friend of mine. I decided that I would like to check out the book. I was looking for new inspiration at the library, having already read everything by my favorite authors. I could not immediately obtain a copy to peruse, but I managed to locate an alternative book by the Dalai Lama. Reading that book was the first time that I considered Buddhism with open ears.