Lifestyle changes concerning Buddhism 2

At first, when reading 2-3 books concerning Buddhism, I had no intention of personally using the information that I attained. However, after several months of reading and studying the Buddhist options, I put into practice a few of the ideas and consequently developed methods of controlling both anger and hatred.

When my Mother died, I had no tears or sadness. I felt cleansed, empty of anger and hatred, and refreshed. This confused and concerned me at first, though now I recognize my belief in rebirth to offer me no cause for sorrow at the loss. The suicide of Vince Welnick a year later likewise washed out all anger and hatred from within me - though this time there were tears and sadness, which I put down to Vince's rebirth not being on this planet, but in a better yet distant place. It felt wonderful to live without these detrimental emotions. My intentions became good - I aimed at trying to improve life on the planet in ways that would make these people happier when returning.

It was not until reading the Acariya Mun biography that anger and hatred vanished from me without a death. I was reading the book over a few days, engrossed. One morning, I woke up cleansed. I put this down to reading good material, rather than fiction novels. I decided to continue to read a lot more Buddhist books and try to retain the status without anger or hatred.

Gradually, taking helpful hints from other Buddhist non-fiction books, such as those written by the Dalai Lama, and putting into practice, creating experience, and learning from deep within, I managed to create a lifestyle that is currently 95% free of both anger and hatred. This was a major part of my decision to 'become Buddhist'.

I have since learned new techniques for preventing the arising of these negativities when they appear in seed form, to ensure they do not grow into massive plants that are again difficult to remove. Taking one step back and stopping frustration or annoyance growing into fury, was my first method. The second, being to detach from all emotions not naturally arising from deep within the zone labeled Buddha Nature.

I will continue this discussion my next post.