I just came across this delicious interview with Pema Chodron on Elephant Journal speaking to how she became a Buddhist. I guess the gateway drug really can be suffering.
I think in my case, I came to Buddhism out of feeling like I’ve already exhausted all of the escape mechanisms for fleeing from suffering. I knew that I couldn’t really continue feeling the panic, sadness, frustration, fear, jealousy and perpetuate anger against others and myself. Having a little taste of compassion for myself broke my heart when I knew I had to make some serious decisions.
The thought of freedom can be so frightening, but what’s life without risk. Why wait until it’s too late.
NOW!
Thanks for sharing this - very timely for me. Just yesterday I visited a local Shambhala center as I’m looking for a sangha. My interest and, I suppose, introduction into Buddhism is with Vipassana and Insight Meditation…but there’s no local sangha in my area for that. I think that the Shambhala tradition may very well offer similar teachings.
Back to the video….
Her story very much rings true to me as well as your comments above. I came to meditation and Buddhism because I wanted to explore for myself. I had always read books about it and had a interest in it, but I never really formally practiced it. Stress, anxiety and some forms of unhappiness were prevalent in my life, but I never really knew why since there was nothing ‘bad’ about my life……which was a bit confusing to me. So, finally I made the decision to look for the answers myself. I knew it wouldn’t come from ‘out there’ b/c there is no out there. That’s when my perspective changed and I made the commitment to explore the inner workings of my mind and come to my own answers.