1. Clarify motivation and goals
What made you interested in Buddhism?
Often, it is external circumstances in life that we cannot control or change, such as illness or difficulties at work or in a relationship.
Or we have the desire to lead a meaningful life and don’t know where to turn.
Whatever it is, it is important to be honest with yourself and clearly name what motivated you to engage with Buddhism.
It is just as important to be clear about whether you are pursuing a specific goal when you engage with Buddhism or whether you simply want to test how the Buddha’s teachings affect your life.
The clarity gained in this way helps us to recognize in the course of Buddhist practice whether the originally set goals are realistic and achievable or whether they should perhaps be better let go.
2. Recognize and accept the challenge
Buddhism is not a walk in the park. The media often paints a picture of Buddhism that looks like boundless relaxation, wellness and detachment. If you expect something like that, you’re better off going to a wellness hotel and getting a massage.
The practice of Buddhism requires an openness in the encounter with oneself, which under certain circumstances is anything but relaxing. A central aspect of Buddhist practice is to open oneself without prejudice to what is present in one’s own consciousness in every moment, and that can be challenging.
For people with a religious background of other religions, it can also be challenging to question the comforting afterlife of a paradise or a God who ensures justice.
Buddhism does not offer this, but emphasizes self-responsibility for one’s own actions and their consequences.
3. Trust is good, testing is better
Buddha did not proclaim dogmatic truths about the universe, but described a lasting practice for our lives.
He also explicitly recommended that his teachings be personally verified in each individual case and that practice only be continued if one can follow the statements of his teachings and confirm them through one’s own experience.
In order to get a taste of what effects Buddha’s teachings have in one’s own life, a skeptical basic trust is helpful (see below).
In combination with a portion of patience, as a beginner you should take the time to explore the Buddhist teachings and practice before deciding whether this is your path or not.
4. The best form of Buddhism
For beginners, it is very confusing to find their way in the jungle of different Buddhist traditions and groups.
In the last 2500 years, Buddhist teachings have spread from India and Nepal to neighboring countries and adapted to the cultural conditions of the individual countries. The individual traditions are also called schools.
This has resulted in additional Buddhist texts and rituals that differ considerably in some cases. However, Buddhism still has common foundations on which all traditions are based (for example, four noble truths, eightfold path).
The two main branches of Buddhism are Theravada and Mahayana.
Theravada is the oldest school of Buddhism and is widespread in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos. Secular Buddhism refers primarily to the earliest Buddhist texts (Pali Canon).
Mahayana is the tradition of Buddhism in China, Japan, Taiwan, Nepal, Korea, Vietnam and Mongolia.
Zen Buddhism belongs to Mahayana, especially in China, Japan and Korea. In addition, there are smaller groups within Mahayana.
Vajrayana is regarded as a variant of Mahayana or as a third independent form and is the form of Buddhism that is practiced and taught in Tibet and, for example, by the Dalai Lama.
Without a basic knowledge of the differences between the individual traditions, it is more or less a coincidence which school one finds oneself in.
The very fact that millions of people follow different traditions shows that there is no ONE best form of Buddhism.
Since people in the West usually have no family or social ties to a Buddhist tradition (such as in Thailand), it is the responsibility of each individual to turn to the tradition that best suits their own background. In the course of a Buddhist life, it is not uncommon for traditions to change several times.
Secular Buddhism or practitioners of a secular Buddhism are associated with different Buddhist lines. Secular Buddhism has developed from various reform efforts within different schools of Buddhism. In a secular Dharma community, open-mindedness and tolerance are of great importance, no one is discriminated against on the basis of ethnicity, gender, ability, beliefs or faith. No one has to adopt certain metaphysical beliefs or engage in activities generally associated with religion – Buddhist or otherwise – such as chanting or praying. At the same time, practitioners of a secular Dharma are tolerant of all Buddhist traditions.
5. Find a group, a teacher
Find a meditation group
Here, too, the basics for Buddhist meditation are essentially based on what the Buddha taught in all traditions. However, depending on the tradition, the objectives, details, design, rituals and other aspects differ considerably in some cases.
Learning meditation can be done alone, but the guidance of a teacher and practice in a group cannot be replaced by anything other than one’s own personal practice.
Meditation practice in a group is also often offered across traditions, so that beginners can practice with the group without any problems.
The important selection of a teacher.
Not a few traditional groups have a hierarchical teacher-student relationship based on their history, which is justified by the fact that progress on the corresponding Buddhist path can only be achieved through a very close personal relationship with the teacher.
Especially in traditions that are convinced that they are practicing the only perfect form of Buddhism, a certain form of control is often exercised over the student.
Here it is important to be vigilant and not to put one’s fate in the hands of others.
In Buddhism, there are no infallible masters, but quite fallible teaching people, with whom abuse has been documented over the years. A search on the Internet is often enlightening.
Recognizing toxic group structures is important, there is a guide from the DBU.
In secular Buddhism, there are no masters, gurus or fixed group structures
Secular Buddhism promotes and practices a skeptical basic attitude. The practitioners organize themselves in networks, in Germany for example in the Secular Buddhist Network (SBN). There are thought leaders such as Stephen Batchelor, whose interpretation of Buddhism is shared more or less by secular Buddhists. However, these thought leaders do not see themselves as leaders of a group or as leaders of a movement in the sense of the equality of all.
6. Don’t believe anything blindly!
The Buddha encouraged everyone to question teachers and teachings
Questioning all aspects of life also includes the teacher, who differs from the beginner only through his personal experience on the Buddhist path of practice and the knowledge about it.
Discourse to the Kalamas (Kalama Sutta)
In terms of skepticism and doubt as a healing tool, secular Buddhism relies on the statements of the Buddha in the Pali Canon (Discourse to the People of Kalama; see also S. Batchelor, Beyond Buddhism pp. 41-43):
“There come, O Lord, some ascetics and Brahmins to Kesaputta; they only let their own faith shine and shine, but they insult, revile, despise and reject the faith of others. Again, other ascetics and Brahmins come to Kesaputta, and these also only let their own faith shine and shine, and they insult, revile, despise and reject the faith of others. So we are, O Lord, unclear, are in doubt, who of these ascetics and Brahmins teaches what is true, and who teaches what is false.” – “You are right, Kalamas, that you are unclear and have doubts. In a matter in which one can really be unclear, doubt has arisen in you.
Go, Kalamas, not by hearsay, not by traditions, not by opinions of the day, not by the authority of sacred scriptures, not by mere reasons and logical conclusions, not by invented theories and preferred opinions, not by the impression of personal advantages, not by the authority of a master! But when you, Kalamas, yourself recognize: These things are unwholesome, are reprehensible, are condemned by the wise, and, when carried out and undertaken, lead to misfortune and suffering’, then O Kalamas, may you give them up.”
(Kalama Sutta, Anguttara Nikara, 3-66)
