The label will not save you!
What is in Buddhism for me? This is what a prospective traveler in search of the "truth" will ask, when someone invites him for a chat on Buddhism.A good question, I would agree. These are the times when everything one does has to fit inside a rich payback matrix. Whatever you do, embrace, subscribe to, support, sleep with, have to yield a positive result, either in terms of wealth or in kind.
For those who are driven by the "ME" complex, there is nothing to offer in Buddhism, that will further inflate their ego, fatten the wallet, lead a peaceful and a fruitful life or save from that horrible place after death.
But, for those who suffer because of the "ME" obsession, I think there is everything in Buddhism to offer them, except that is, inflated egos and fattened wallets.
Then, one may ask, what is the point?
The point is, as I see, Buddhism enables one to live the life, rather than spend it chasing illusory targets, which will prove of no use in the end. The creators of great pyramids prove this point. In spite of their wealth, power, which they seemed to have amassed during their life times, have only helped to enrich the looters of the later years.
Just ask: what is the point in spending your life achieving that million dollar target, if you had to go through sleepless nights worrying about stock market crashes and credit crises? (As in 2008-2009 period)>
It does not mean one does not earn a living! One makes realistic decisions in life, which allows to live a reasonable life, while enjoying other aspects of life.
Imagine what it would be like to be able to allocate time to walk in a park, enjoy the scenery, while not being pressured by worries about how to make the next million.
Imagine spending time to discover yourself; come to terms with the universal laws of change: birth, aging, sickness and death.
Imagine the serenity of a life based on essentials, rather than on wants.
Does this mean one has to become a monk to do all these?
I suppose it will be easier, if one becomes a monk by detaching from all lay-life bondages.
It is not essential. Many of these can be practiced on your own at home.
The message here is a life avoiding extremes - suffering and indulgence.
We hear and we see people going to great lengths maintain perfect figures by virtual starving. That is one type. Then there are the religious nuts who torture their bodies and souls hoping to achieve some indefinable salvation.
The other extreme - indulge in everything - searching for everlasting pleasure: food, drink, drugs, sex,… It is a long list. Can anyone really sustain such a life for ever?
Buddhism brings a message of moderation - a middle path - for comfortable living, for the individual. It describes a path for the individual to follow.
Let me take just one pointer in this path: right speech. It is easier to talk about the impact of wrong speech, isn't it? What do you think right speech can bring to you in life?
Here, I am not trying to preach to you. I am trying to show you that there is a pleasant way to live one's life - an eminently practical way of life.
Buddhism puts you in charge of your life! There is no one else accountable for your actions and there is no one to account to for your actions either.
You are encouraged to open yourself and discover. Buddhism does away with this concept of absolutes. It presents the world to you in its true form; that fact that everything is subject to change, even Buddha Himself.
He also demonstrated that He himself was a product of the natural forces of growth, decay and demise, having lived through youth, middle age, old age, and eventually returning the constituents of the body he inherited back to earth.
There are many many works on Buddhism. There are many many places to study Buddhism. Also, there are many many places to practice Buddhism.
Now we all have the Internet, all these services are at your fingertips.
What is in it for you is to enter the discovery mood!
This page will not be complete without telling you how Buddhism affected me. Here is my story.