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Buddhism
October 2009 
My story
Posted on Mar 15th, 2007
by 
Sean
Sean
From the CyberSangha pod, here's my story:
I think my story is probably like many you've heard: raised Irish Catholic, had major issues with the church when I came out but took comfort in the routine and familiar and became quite a spiritual person. Actually turned into a pretty good Catholic (in terms of practice), spending a great deal of my time at church praying for peace in the world. Ash Wednesday before the war started, I went to Mass to get my ashes and prayed for peace one last time.
Something happened that night and I left without my ashes. I gave up on being a spiritual person.
A few months later, there was a gaping hole in my life, and I struggled to fill it. I had major issues – how, for example, can we get just a few years on this earth to determine our fate for eternity? And what if you're born in a country where there is no Jesus/God/Holy Spirit? Is that a one-way ticket to Hell?
I was at a local bookstore and found Buddhism for Dummies. I read enough of it to know that it made a lot more sense. Plus I liked that Buddha said to question everything. Next trip to the bookstore, I found Lama Surya Das' Awakening the Buddha Within : Tibetan Wisdom for the Western World. Everything clicked.
It was a struggle there for a while because I built up a lot of resentment against Christianity. In my mind, I had found the “right” path that only served to show how “wrong” my former path was. Fortunately (for me AND my partner, who happens to be Methodist), I let all of that go.
Today, I've started integrating my spiritual, mental and physical approaches to life. Yoga. Meditation. Healthy vegetarian eating (if you read the New York Times Magazine feature “Unhappy Meals” a few weeks back, you'll understand when I say that I'm now trying to eat less “food” and cut out “nutrients” all together). It feels good to take a holistic approach, and it feels good to discover how my mind really works.
Metta,
Sean
I think my story is probably like many you've heard: raised Irish Catholic, had major issues with the church when I came out but took comfort in the routine and familiar and became quite a spiritual person. Actually turned into a pretty good Catholic (in terms of practice), spending a great deal of my time at church praying for peace in the world. Ash Wednesday before the war started, I went to Mass to get my ashes and prayed for peace one last time.
Something happened that night and I left without my ashes. I gave up on being a spiritual person.
A few months later, there was a gaping hole in my life, and I struggled to fill it. I had major issues – how, for example, can we get just a few years on this earth to determine our fate for eternity? And what if you're born in a country where there is no Jesus/God/Holy Spirit? Is that a one-way ticket to Hell?
I was at a local bookstore and found Buddhism for Dummies. I read enough of it to know that it made a lot more sense. Plus I liked that Buddha said to question everything. Next trip to the bookstore, I found Lama Surya Das' Awakening the Buddha Within : Tibetan Wisdom for the Western World. Everything clicked.
It was a struggle there for a while because I built up a lot of resentment against Christianity. In my mind, I had found the “right” path that only served to show how “wrong” my former path was. Fortunately (for me AND my partner, who happens to be Methodist), I let all of that go.
Today, I've started integrating my spiritual, mental and physical approaches to life. Yoga. Meditation. Healthy vegetarian eating (if you read the New York Times Magazine feature “Unhappy Meals” a few weeks back, you'll understand when I say that I'm now trying to eat less “food” and cut out “nutrients” all together). It feels good to take a holistic approach, and it feels good to discover how my mind really works.
Metta,
Sean
Access: Public
