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**layedgebiamma** · 01-18-2011, 01:21 AM

I will start by letting you know I too am new to Buddhism, and definitely not as experienced or knowledgable as many others here.

But this is my opinion on this aspect you mentioned:

I believe when you practice something (in a religious aspect) that you shouldn't pick and choose what to follow In my opinion, when starting out, you certainly can 'pick and choose' a place to start at, and slowly work your way up. (and not just start at 'monk level'). For example, some of the basic 'things not to do' (sorry the correct word eludes me at the moment) is no harsh speech, dont steal, no divissive talk, do not kill, etc. (found in the noble eightfold path). I think this is a great starting point, as from what I have learned, actual monks must take 100s of vows, far more in depth. I think it would be unreasonable to expect anybody new to Buddhism to just "jump into" such a radical change in life and accept those 100s of vows all at once. So I think, you definitely can 'pick and choose' a more basic overall place to start with, then slowly work your way towards more and more commitment towards your path.

Afterall, enlightenment cannot just happen in one day, it takes years of practicing, and im sure no one who started into Buddhism just became 'instantly' pure and perfect.

Thats just my two cents anyway.

01-18-2011, 01:21 AM	#10
layedgebiamma Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 454 Senior Member	I will start by letting you know I too am new to Buddhism, and definitely not as experienced or knowledgable as many others here. But this is my opinion on this aspect you mentioned: I believe when you practice something (in a religious aspect) that you shouldn't pick and choose what to follow In my opinion, when starting out, you certainly can 'pick and choose' a place to start at, and slowly work your way up. (and not just start at 'monk level'). For example, some of the basic 'things not to do' (sorry the correct word eludes me at the moment) is no harsh speech, dont steal, no divissive talk, do not kill, etc. (found in the noble eightfold path). I think this is a great starting point, as from what I have learned, actual monks must take 100s of vows, far more in depth. I think it would be unreasonable to expect anybody new to Buddhism to just "jump into" such a radical change in life and accept those 100s of vows all at once. So I think, you definitely can 'pick and choose' a more basic overall place to start with, then slowly work your way towards more and more commitment towards your path. Afterall, enlightenment cannot just happen in one day, it takes years of practicing, and im sure no one who started into Buddhism just became 'instantly' pure and perfect. Thats just my two cents anyway.
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