My First Brush With Buddhism

Hello my fellow bodhisattvas. My name is Jeff West and I am a Buddhist. I have been interested in Buddhism and Buddhist philosophy since at least the early 90's. However, I never thoroughly explored Buddhism outside of a book until August, 2005.

What Led Me To Buddhism?

Great question glad you asked! Well, as I said previously I have been interested in Buddhist philosophy for quite some time. And what really got me motivated to learn more and start searching for answers was a lot of pain in my personal life, a seeking mind, and complete disenchantment with the Christian faith.

Here's an extremely abridged version of the events which precipitated my taking the final plunge into my new found spirituality.

• Jun 2002 - an extremely difficult and painful relationship break-up
• Aug 2002 - the loss of a very close friend to the aids virus
• Oct 2002 - job loss
• Dec 2003 - a cousin committed suicide
• Jan 2004 - a cousin was killed in a very freak car accident
• Feb 2005 - moved away from family to Columbus, OH for a job
• Mar 2005 - my grandmother "Nana" died:-(
• May 2005 - my uncle, a father figure when growing up, died
• Aug 2005 - experienced my first Nichiren daimoku (chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo)
• Oct 2, 2005 - I received my Gohonzon on World Peace Day at the USA-SGI Community Center in Columbus, OH. That's me in photo's 2-5 from top left.

Needless to say, I felt a bit NUTS at the time, but please keep in mind that I am not telling you all of this in order to illicit some sort of sympathetic response. I'm only presenting this timeline in order to provide you with a better understanding of the difficult things that were going on in my life during this time, and to show a clearer picture of what led me to seek a spiritual path.

While we're on the subject of spiritual paths it is probably an appropriate time to say that I was raised a Catholic. My parents did not force Catholicism, Christianity or any religion for that matter down my throat. I am extremely grateful for that.

I suppose they took a "more inclusive" and "less arrogant" approach to spirituality. I never heard them say that Christians were "all right" in their beliefs, and that everyone else was "all wrong" because they didn't believe the same things.

No, I was fortunate enough to be spared the "hell and damnation", "fire and brimstone" routine growing up. Don't get me wrong! As a child I was read bible stories, told about God and Jesus and all of that, but as I grew older I was allowed to decide for myself what I did and did not believe or what did or did not ring true. I am very thankful to my parents for instilling morals and values while simultaneously allowing me to have a mind of my own.

My First Nichiren Daimoku Experience

My first exposure to Buddhism was through the Nichiren Buddhist sect or tradition. I was living in Columbus, OH at the time, and went to an SGI-USA meeting on an invite from a friend. That first meeting was very "eye opening" and I received a first hand glimpse of how the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin worked.

The hosts of my first meeting were very gracious, and all the members were very helpful and eager to share. It was a very warm and welcoming evening.

After all the members arrived, everyone gathered around the butsudan (Buddha house) to partake in the evening's daimoku. The host and leader of the session opened the doors of the butsudan to reveal what at the time seemed to be a very odd and mysterious, but beautiful Japanese scroll. This scroll I was later to find out is called a Gohonzon, the object of devotion in Nichiren Buddhism.

Once the butsudan was opened a bell was rung and everyone chanted Nam-myoho-renge-kyo three times in unison. After that, "all hell broke loose." The chanting began with enthusiasm and vigor. Everyone seemed to be enjoying this strangely captivating activity.

It All Seemed So Odd!

What can I tell you? It was, at least for me; the strangest thing I think I'd ever seen! All these people sitting on the floor chanting words in a foreign tongue to what appeared to be nothing more than a piece of paper written in a foreign language. "How odd" I thought. In spite of the seemingly odd nature of the evening's events, I held true to my nature, (my Buddha Nature) and kept a wide open mind.

After about fifteen minutes the group finished up the evening's gongyo with some silent prayers, and a few more rings of the bell. The host bowed to the Gohonzon, and then closed the doors to the butsudan.

That evening left a lasting impression on me. Something about the rhythmic, almost melodic, chanting spoke to my inner being. I knew that I'd be back to do a little chanting of my own.

Stay tuned! I'm going to add a part two to this post about my first experience with Buddhism. It will be "My First Visit to the SGI-USA, Columbus Community Center"