Buddhism??

Ok I have been doing a little research on buddhism and have heard some about it and I think I might want to practice it. But I need somemore in o on it. LIke what do you do as a buddhist?How do you practice buddhism? Where are there teachings written and...

what are they called? What are some main points of this religion? Thanks for helping ! Love YA!!

Buddhism is a little complicated at first but has some pretty simple messages. You have a lot to learn. Here are some of the basics. Read the entire thing because it will give you a better understanding. The following is taken off a website:

Dharma is an Indian term that is understood to mean simply the law of life. Within Buddhism, the Dharma means more specifically the teachings of Buddha.
Following Buddha's death his followers convened to create a system of doctrines that they could all agree on. These teachings were then handed down orally over future generations through Buddhist monks. In 80 B.C., Buddhist scribes finally compiled the teachings of the Buddha on paper, which became the Pali Canon, also called the Tripitaka. The teachings contained rules for conduct, methods for spiritual attainment, and the ethics taught by the Buddha.

Contrary to Hinduism's caste system which required a series of rebirths to move up through the different castes, the Buddhists recruited disciples from all castes. According to Buddha, nirvana, or deliverance from suffering, is extended to everyone who strictly obeys the laws of a monastic life. However, he did feel that the caste system was important for the framework of a temporal life. It was a step away from the strict caste system of India.

The Buddha rejected subservience of any kind to a supreme God and denied belief in an eternal self. While he believed that karma would determine the kind of rebirth and quality of life one would have at rebirth, he didn't believe it was a self or soul that was reborn. He taught instead that there is a rearrangement of the elements of a person's identity, which are called self. In other words the new self is still comprised of the same parts.

Where the Brahmins of India taught that nirvana was attained when the soul becomes one with the Universal soul, Buddha held that nirvana is actually the termination of rebirths. That is, you finally get to get off the wheel. You've reached Nirvana, you're done, you cease to exist. It's hard to see where the hope lies in this, but rebirth after rebirth could, I suppose, make your complete elimination from existence sound appealing.

Buddha believed that we are temporal creations born to lives of sorrow and suffering. This suffering is a result of selfish desires that chain people to the wheel of insubstantial impermanent things. Living according to the Dharma will help one eliminate these desires thus leading you to Nirvana. According to Buddha, the way to deliverance is summed up in four noble truths:

1. The universality of suffering - People discover through rebirth, aging, and death that life is full of sorrow. We suffer this sorrow until deliverance is achieved.

2. The origin of suffering - Suffering is caused by the false desires of the senses that have been deceived into clinging to the impermanent world. The quest for immortality further aggravates human suffering.

3. The overcoming of suffering - If false desires cause suffering, then the desires need to be suppressed, abandoned, or rejected in order to nullify their effects. Ignorance of the way of deliverance and the delusion that there is a permanent self are the primary cause of suffering.

4. The way leading to the suppression of suffering - The noble eightfold path is a sacred path with eight branches called right views of understanding, right aspirations, right speech, right conduct or action, right livelihood, right effort or endeavor, right mind control or concentration, and right mindfulness. These eight branches are not stages that can be lived out in succession or isolation from one another. They are different dimensions of a total way of life.

While Buddha did not deny the existence of gods, he taught that the worship of gods obstructed one's quest for nirvana. To him the gods inhabit the cosmos and are impermanent like all of us, so they too must escape rebirth through nirvana.

And how long will it take to follow these truths to deliverance and reach this state of spiritual suicide? According to the Buddha several lives are required to attain it. He taught that the journey to nirvana is long and difficult. And the reward for all your efforts is inner peace and harmony with all beings right before you reach Nirvana. And then...nothing.

The Noble Eightfold Path and the Middle Way:

Taken from Wikipedia:

The eight-spoked Dharmacakra. The eight spokes represent the Noble Eightfold Path of Buddhism.The Noble Eightfold Path is the way to the cessation of suffering, the fourth part of the Four Noble Truths. In the early sources (the four main Nikayas) it is not generally taught to laymen, and it is little known in the Far East.[22] This is divided into three sections: Śīla (which concerns wholesome physical actions), Samadhi (which concerns the meditative concentration of the mind) and Prajñā (which concerns spiritual insight into the true nature of all things).

Śīla is morality—abstaining from unwholesome deeds of body and speech. Within the division of sila are three parts of the Noble Eightfold Path:

Right Speech—One speaks in a non hurtful, not exaggerated, truthful way (samyag-vāc, sammā-vācā)
Right Actions—Wholesome action, avoiding action that would do harm (samyak-karmānta, sammā-kammanta)
Right Livelihood—One's way of livelihood does not harm in any way oneself or others; directly or indirectly (samyag-ājīva, sammā-ājīva)
Samadhi is developing mastery over one’s own mind. Within this division are another three parts of the Noble Eightfold Path:

Right Effort/Exercise—One makes an effort to improve (samyag-vyāyāma, sammā-vāyāma)
Right Mindfulness/Awareness—Mental ability to see things for what they are with clear consciousness (samyak-smṛti, sammā-sati)
Right Concentration/Meditation—Being aware of the present reality within oneself, without any craving or aversion. (samyak-samādhi, sammā-samādhi)
Prajñā is the wisdom which purifies the mind. Within this division fall two more parts of the Noble Eightfold Path:

Right Understanding—Understanding reality as it is, not just as it appears to be. (samyag-dṛṣṭi, sammā-diṭṭhi)
Right Thoughts—Change in the pattern of thinking. (samyak-saṃkalpa, sammā-saṅkappa)
The word samyak means perfect. There are a number of ways to interpret the Eightfold Path. On one hand, the Eightfold Path is spoken of as being a progressive series of stages through which the practitioner moves, the culmination of one leading to the beginning of another, whereas others see the states of the 'Path' as requiring simultaneous development. It is also common to categorize the Eightfold Path into prajñā (Pāli paññā, wisdom), śīla (Pāli sīla, virtuous behavior) and samādhi (concentration).

An important guiding principle of Buddhist practice is the Middle Way which was said to have been discovered by the Buddha prior to his enlightenment (bodhi). The Middle Way or Middle Path has several definitions:

It is often described as the practice of non-extremism; a path of moderation away from the extremes of self-indulgence and opposing self-mortification.
It also refers to taking a middle ground between certain metaphysical views, e.g. that things ultimately either exist or do not exist.[23]
An explanation of the state of nirvana and perfect enlightenment where all dualities fuse and cease to exist as separate entities (see Seongcheol).
Another term for emptiness, the ultimate nature of all phenomena, lack of inherent existence, which avoids the extremes of permanence and nihilism or inherent existence and nothingness.
Theravāda promotes the concept of Vibhajjavada (Pali), literally Teaching of Analysis. This doctrine says that insight must come from the aspirant's experience, critical investigation, and reasoning instead of by blind faith.

In Theravāda Buddhism, the cause of human existence and suffering is identified as the craving, which carried with it the various defilements. These various defilements are traditionally summed up as greed, hatred and delusion. These defilements are believed to be parasites that have infested the mind and create suffering and stress. It is believed that in order to be free from suffering and stress these defilements need to be permanently uprooted through internal investigation, analyzing, experiencing, and understanding the true nature of those defilements by using jhana, a technique which is part of the Noble Eightfold Path. It will then lead the meditator to realize the Four Noble Truths, Enlightenment and Nibbana. Nibbana is the ultimate goal of Theravadins.

Here is a short overview of Buddhism as well as the different kinds of Buddhism:
Again, taken from a website.

With about 365 milliion followers -- 6% of the world's population -- Buddhism is the fourth largest religion in the world. It is exceeded in numbers only by Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. Buddhism was founded in Northern India by the first known Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama. In the sixth century BCE, he attained enlightenment and assumed the title Lord Buddha (one who has awakened)

Buddhism later died out in India, but had become established in Sri Lanka. From there, it expanded across Asia, evolving into two or three main forms:

Theravada Buddhism (sometimes called Southern Buddhism; occasionally spelled Therevada) has been the dominant school of Buddhism in most of Southeast Asia since the thirteenth century, with the establishment of the monarchies in Thailand, Burma, Cambodia and Laos.
Mahayana Buddhism (sometimes called Northern Buddhism) is largely found in China, Japan, Korea, Tibet and Mongolia.
Vajrayāna Buddhism (a.k.a. Tantric Buddhism, Mantrayana, Tantrayana, Esoteric Buddhism, or True Words Sect). Some consider this to be a part of Mahayana Buddhism; others view it as a third Buddhist path.

To these might be added:

Tibetan Buddhism. This developed largely in isolation from Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism because of the remoteness of Tibet.
Zen Buddhism. This developed from within the Chinese Mahayana school known as Chan. Zen Buddhism is becoming increasingly popular in the West.

Since the late 19th century:

Modern Buddhism has emerged as a truly international movement. It started as an attempt to produce a single form of Buddhism, without local accretions, that all Buddhists could embrace.

There are some really great books on Buddhism I recommend to you:

Buddha in Your Backpack: Everyday Buddhism for Teens by Franz Metcalf
(If you are not a teenager, this book won't be that great but if you are, it really helps)

The Buddha in Your Mirror: Practical Buddhism and the Search for Self by Woody Hochswender, Greg Martin, Ted Morino

Buddha is as Buddha Does : A Practical Guide to Enlightened Living by Lama Surya Das

Please buy these or get them from a library. They are really great books.

I`m buddish (:

Are you still interested?