My Buddhist journey began with some of the Buddha's very basic teachings. Poking Around the internet, eagerly seeking new information, a weary traveler searching for water in an endless spiritual desert, finally I stumbled across an oasis, the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path.
I must admit, at first, the Four Noble Truths sounded like cryptic nonsense, luckily the Eightfold Path seemed extremely logical to me. Drawn in by its promises, I was quickly engulfed by an unquenchable thirst for this knowledge.
One of the things I, as a "young" student of Buddhism, found joy in was the simplicity of the Buddha's ancient instructions. They are clearly laid out, often numbered, and still very valid in the modern world.
We are in a blessed age. The internet allows us the opportunity to seek out knowledge about any topic we can imagine. The Buddha's teachings have changed my life, but I can't help but wonder what my life might have been if I had been born in another time or place, one without internet. Would I have had the good fortune of finding this enlightened wisdom?
I am beyond grateful for this discovery, grateful for the changes walking down this path has brought to my life. Prior to this fortunate discovery, although I did not know it, my life was heading in the wrong direction, lost in the woods without a compass on a cloudy night.
The Eightfold Path pointed me in the direction of the path, but taking the Five Basic Precepts provided me with the guiding light that would illuminate my journey.
Depending on who you ask, the number of precepts varies. Five, eight, ten, sometimes more, but it does seem as if most people are in agreence on the first five basic precepts for lay practitioners (householders, practicing the Buddha's teachings while living out in the modern world).
If my circumstances were different, and I were not chained to the world, perhaps I would venture into a monastic life and take on more precepts. As a person of the world, holding the first five precepts has been truly life changing.
Although these precepts are now stored in my "mental hard drive", keeping them scribbled near by in a small, hard bound, notebook brings me an unusual amount of comfort.
They read:
- Abstain from harming living beings.
- Abstain from taking what is not freely given.
- Abstain from sexual misconduct.
- Abstain from lying. (Wrong speech)
- Abstain from substances and situations that cloud the mind.
All simple enough, but really dedicating myself to adherence of these guidelines has transformed my life in ways that my previous self never could have imagined.
I am so grateful to have found this path. All I can do now is keep walking. There is no way of knowing where this new road may take me, but it feels as if I am finally moving in a positive direction.
