I'm angry, I like cookies, could Buddhism be for me?

There is only one way to find out if Buddhism is for you, try it. It doesn't matter if you scoff at meditation. As far as I can tell, most Buddhists have at some point. What matters is you read the teachings and you give it a chance.


I want to share with you one of my favorite Dharma Talks so far.

http://againstthestream.org/audio/item/the-fire-sermon?category_id=5


I love this talk. I love how Noah delivers it. I love the message of it. Noah has this way of just explaining the teachings in an easy to understand way. That is a huge thing. To be able to relate to the younger adult generations of today's American society. To be able to get them to believe in something outside themselves. Huge deal. In this talk the Buddha comes across some fire worshipers. He explains the four noble truths and the eightfold path in a way that relates to them. He adapts his teachings to use examples they will really get into. To me, that means his message was just something so important to him he wanted, possibly needed, people to be able to relate.


If you can adapt in life, you can survive. Maybe that is why Buddhism has survived so long.


Listen to it, even if you aren't interested in becoming Buddhist,I think you can still enjoy it.


He mentions suffering a lot. One of the key teachings is that life, the human experience, is suffering. Now, as true as that absolutely is, he isn't saying happiness is absent. He is saying that part of the human experience is moving from one type of suffering to another and that, in a lot off cases, we bring this upon ourselves. It's normal though, you aren't alone. The way I relate to this is that I have spent the last two years of my life going from one suffering to another and my mind was miserable because I craved a more pleasant path possibly an easier path, thus making me more miserable. To be able to accept the suffering in life without actually allowing it to be yours and shape your life is a big step in the right direction. To be able to say, well I can't afford to do these things that I WANT, but at least I can afford what I NEED and to acknowledge that this too shall pass is a really freeing experience.

So, I guess what I am saying is, there is no wrong place to start. All you need is to WANT to let go. If you are tired of holding on to the suffering and you find yourself thinking, gosh I wish I could eat this cookie without suffering the guilt, maybe you should listen to some Dharma talks. See what happens, Eat another Cookie.

Angry Girl letting Go.