[Misespimb]

Left his palace, wife and child. Showing that to gain something you must first lose everything.

hi Goughy

i think it is more accurate to hold that the buddha did not actually lose anything. if we think we will be losing something by giving it up then i would suggest to not give it up. the buddha did not lose anything. when he gave up his palace, wife & child, he did not want these things anymore because, for him, they could not bring him happiness

Now I'm not planning on losing anything but the 6 years or so that he spent meditating and putting his body through unimaginable amounts of pain and stress. again, this view is not accurate. the Prince spent 6 years searching for the path. when he meditated for six years, for most of that time, it was wrong meditation. but when he discovered the Path and became Buddha, his disciples only meditated for a short time before they gained enlightenment. for some of his disciples, it is reported their enlightenment required 7 days of meditation rather than 6 years of meditation

Now I'm quite new still to Buddhism, so I was wondering. To become a Buddhist do we have to give up some things in our life? Meditate nearly every waking second a day? Are these the tasks/rituals we must part-take in? This may sound quite stupid, but I do not understand. How is one fully a Buddhist yes, you sound new. if you are very motivated to end suffering. i.e., find the here-&-now peace of Nirvana, then generally, taking a period of time out, such as one year, to meditate most of the day, i would recommend. but, as i mentioned, if we feel we are giving up something then we may not be ready for serious practise

to be a Buddhist, there is both the life of a serious meditator, such as a monk, and the life of a layperson. if we are lay people then Buddhism offers many ways of skilful living which allow the everyday lay person to live a far happier & far less problematic life . often it is said one is fully a Buddhist is one at least follows the five precepts

warm regards

element