Hi kinghenry95,

Yes, I tell my family that Buddhism is a train of thought/philosophy/way of thinking. With Buddhism, you don’t have to pick and choose. There is no Either/Or. There are Protestant Buddhists, Jewish Buddhists and even Catholic Buddhists. It’s best if you come from a place of being an expert rather than asking for permission. In a few years when you’ve read and experienced a lot in this, hold a workshop in your church called (let’s say you’re Protestant) “Protestant Buddhists ~ Putting God into Buddhist Thought” or something like that. So when you “come out” and they start questioning/judging you can say, “You should really come to my workshop on this on the 27th/!” 😉

There are books that show the similarities between what Jesus said and what Buddha says.

Have Buddhist and Eastern coffee table books. Give to your parents because the images are so beautiful. If they open it up the book may explain the “Tao/Now” and Buddha’s history. But not what to believe!

Good Luck!

Inky

• This reply was modified 9 years, 4 months ago by Inky.

Kinghenry,

Perhaps you could wait a year before telling them. What’s the rush? Buddhism is like a quiet internal revolution, deeply personal, an awareness of self. Don’t try to wear it like an armor with your family. Instead, consider using it to change the way you relate to them, seeing more clearly, loving more directly.

With warmth,
Matt

As Alexis de Tocqueville put it: “General ideas are no proof of the strength, but rather of the insufficiency of the human intellect.”

Common statement: “You believe in reincarnation! Yer a bood-hist!”

I actually do not ‘believe’ in that at all. Nor do most Buddhists. That’s a misconception in the Western World due to exposure to Tibetan tradition and Mahayana Doctrine.

“Huh?!”

As there are sects in every religion, so there are sects in the Philosophies of Siddhartha Gautama, the first ‘Buddha’. The original Pali Canon, of which all present day teachings are based, Theravada is the closest, and has no dogma or doctrine to that effect concerning reincarnation. Mahayana is in fact ‘unorthodox’ Buddhism, as it split from the main branch some time ago, and as it spread, it became adapted to local traditions and religions.

I prefer to call the ‘Buddha’ by his ‘real’ name of “Siddhartha” both from a personal preference, and to perhaps guide the others minds away from the preconceived notion. Siddhartha was a Hindu Prince turned Ascetic, he believed in multiple gods and some form of reincarnation.

He never once preached or taught it. He is quoted as saying: ” I teach one thing only: the nature of suffering, and it’s cessation.”

He is respected and venerated for showing us the Dharma, and there are sects that do take a religious function especially ‘New Earth’ buddhism, which is really a copy and paste of Christian Mythology.