As I wrote a few weeks ago, today is the beginning of my month-long celebration of the fifth year anniversary of my first embarking upon the Buddhist path. I am excited about this celebration and hope to embrace it as much as possible. To understand where I'm coming from, I have written for you a short summary of what first inspired me.
In the summer of 2007, I was feeling overwhelmed with work and worry. The familiar feeling of searching for something that would help me feel more at peace with welled up in me once again. I'd had enough of self-help books, the initial enthusiasm they invoked, and the inevitable disappointment of realizing the author's theories and advice did not apply to me. Instead I just wanted to read something that would help me feel more at ease, so on a whim I chose the book 'Open Heart Clear Mind' from Amazon. On a quiet and pleasant August afternoon, I read the whole book while sitting outside in the peaceful downtown parks of my college town. I was amazed by what I read, because most every page echoed what I had believed all my life.
As they say, the rest is history. (To read more about me and my story, just follow the links). Two years after I began my Buddhist practice, I decided that I would start a blog to reach out to others and discuss Buddhist ideas and spirituality. That was the beginning of ByChanceBuddhism!
In an effort to revisit BCB's original purpose, I have dedicated this month to writing about basic Buddhist concepts. I don't know how many posts I will write, but as always, I hope you enjoy them. I very much look forward to your comments and discussing posts with you!
May all beings be happy!
Renata,That's about the same time I started studying and practicing Buddhism, too. Happy 5th anniversary!
ReplyDeleteDear Andre,
DeleteThank you so much for your kind comment- I am glad that we share this great thing in common. Happy Anniversary to you, too! :)
I’m seriously happy to discover this great site the future of this blog is getting good and more useful for me thanks and god bless you
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteDear Renata,
ReplyDeleteI recommend that you look more deeply into The Four Foundation of Mindfulness. There is also a book I like to recommend. It is about the Law of Karma by Phra Rajsuddhinanamongkol. It is the most scariest book I have read and it also speak about the Four Foundation of Mindfulness.
This series is very interesting and it is worse than Ghost Stories. Every event written is based on true stories. Nevertheless, it is also one of the best book I read about mindfulness and the many technique written.
http://luangphor.net/html/english.html
This is a link sharing freely to some of his books.
Peace be with you.
Thanks so much for your recommendations, xenusfreeman- will do!
DeleteI love 'Open Heart, Clear Mind.' I've always loved Venerable's teaching style, its very accessible and she's very down to earth. Maybe if you haven't already and you're in Washington state, you could stop by Sravast Abbey and see what she's up too =D
ReplyDeleteLee
Thanks so much, Lee, for your comment. I really love the way Ven. Thubten Chodron explains things. And you are so correct in saying how accessible her writing is. I hope that someday I would have the privilege and honor of meeting her!
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