Special Topics
Learning Buddhism with Delight, Without Lingering Doubts

Thanks to the convenience of the Internet, many Buddhist organizations have their own websites that provide free video or audio Dharma talks, as well as free publications for people to access. Despite this easily available information, however, some people still have doubts and are uncertain about becoming a Buddhist, even after coming into contact with Buddhism and developing a yearning for Buddhist practice. So eventually, they remain outsiders to Buddhist faith.

But why learn Buddhism? What is its fundamental belief? And, what do we learn in Buddhism? These are perhaps the questions many people have asked. From its doctrine—the impermanence of worldly phenomena—Buddhism teaches us the truth that there are no everlasting and unchanging phenomena in our mundane world. What we think we possess—including health, fortune, and fame—will change with time and circumstances. Birth and death are part of life, just as plants will blossom and wither. However,our tendency to attach to the belief that things can be everlasting and unchanging inflicts various forms of suffering to ourselves when we experience changes to our fortune, fame, well-being, and health. In times like this, the mere act of harboring kind thoughts, making charitable donations, practicing giving, and performing good deeds can’t really resolve our spiritual or mental distress. As Master Sheng Yen succinctly elaborated on Buddhist belief in his book The Path of Practice, “To believe in and practice Buddhism is to learn to develop in wisdom and compassion, so that we are able to recognize the reality and cease our afflictions as we live in the chaotic world.”

Resource: Issue 267 of Life Magazine, Dharma Drum Publishing Corporation
Photos: Lee-kha Su (蘇力卡)
Translation: Cheng-yu Chang (張振郁)
Editing: Chia-chen Chang (張家誠), Keith Brown