[penguinh]

Has anyone tried practicing Buddhism as a way to overcome anxiety and depression? Not as a religion but more as a philosophy. How is it?
I quite like the Buddhist sayings and I'm dragging two of my friends to visit a Buddhist temple with me tomorrow.

[PrisonBound]

I consider myself a Buddhist. The nearest temple is a bit aways, but I try to live by it. I've read a lot of books, and have gone to a few teachings. I find it very comforting....use it as a philosophy and/or a religion. That's the beautiful thing about Buddhism imo.

Read ANYTHING by HH Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh, Surya Das....these are Tibetan Buddhists. There's Zen, Varyjana, Therevada, etc. Give it a try...take what you can from it.

Much like yourself, I was attracted to Buddhist sayings and began educating myself. The more I learned, the better I felt.

Good luck! Namaste

[archipelago]

I sought out meditation for anxiety not really realizing that it was Buddhism. Now I've been a dedicated Buddhist for almost 20 years. I just took a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction course. If you can take one, I really recommend it. There is a workbook with a CD of meditations by Bob Stahl, who is a teacher here where I live. He has a web site with lots of stuff. You could try just listening to see how it sits with you.

[Maranara]

I am not an actively practicing Buddhist, but I'm closer all th time. The meditation/mindfulness practices are the absolute only thing that has consistantly helped me with my anxiety and sleeplessness. In addition to the resources PrisonBound gave you, I'd also recommend Pema Chodron. She is a Western Buddhist nun who has the ability to put Buddhist philosophy in to specific problems those of us raised in the Western culture and mindset have, such as self-hatred.

There is a social group here for Buddists and those interested in the philosophy: http://forums.psychcentral.com/group...-buddhism.html

[gnat]

I am not Buddhist as a religion, but am just starting to dip my toes in the water of the philosophies as a way of dealing with my depression/anxiety. I got the idea when hearing the author of the book:
Walk Like a Budda- Even if your boss sucks your ex is torturing you & you're hungover again
On public radio. What he said made so much sense. I started mindful meditation and I would say it's helped significantly. I did order the book but haven't had time to read it aside from the introduction, but am looking forward to it. I have signed up for the Buddhist forum as well as the Mindful Meditation forum.

Good luck to you!

[archipelago]

There is a book for those of you who might want to think of Buddhism as more a philosophy or way of life than a religion. It is called Buddhism without Beliefs by Stephen Batchelor.

[vans1974]

Most DBT concepts derived from Buddhist practices and have proven quite successful!

[FooZe]

Originally Posted by vans1974

Most DBT concepts derived from Buddhist practices and have proven quite successful!

Also ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), which we discussed a little bit here. We could also say that Buddhism, DBT, ACT, and a number of other practices all derived from mindfulness.

[archipelago]

I saw how mindfulness worked for the group that took the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction course, which only mentioned Buddhism on the last day. People really changed and got into it and some of the initial problems either got better or went away. It was really exciting to see how powerful it can be with a good teacher and people who are open and willing to change. It can make a world of difference.

[penguinh]

Wow, thanks everybody for the feedback and advice!

I went to the temple yesterday with my friend and it was unfortunately closed due to the massive ice storm here in Toronto. It's open every day of the year, including holidays but it was closed yesterday However, we were able to explore some parts of it and it was gorgeous; just the structure of the temple (it's a really massive temple) and the statues of Buddha and the different Gods were so interesting.

Once the power comes back and the library opens, I'll definitely check out the books you guys recommended and I'm hoping to drag my mom to a free meditation class in the area this Friday. I do have one question though. How did you guys actually learn to live by the ways of Buddhism? Like it's easy to read the quotes and stuff and be inspired by it but it's challenging to actually follow the ways and live by it.

[Webgoji]

Originally Posted by penguinh

Wow, thanks everybody for the feedback and advice!

I went to the temple yesterday with my friend and it was unfortunately closed due to the massive ice storm here in Toronto. It's open every day of the year, including holidays but it was closed yesterday However, we were able to explore some parts of it and it was gorgeous; just the structure of the temple (it's a really massive temple) and the statues of Buddha and the different Gods were so interesting.

Psst ... they're not gods. They're symbolic depictions (some not so symbolic) of Buddhas who are people just like you and I that achieved something amazing; Enlightenment.

Originally Posted by penguinh

How did you guys actually learn to live by the ways of Buddhism? Like it's easy to read the quotes and stuff and be inspired by it but it's challenging to actually follow the ways and live by it.

That's what Buddhism is all about.

A good teacher will explain how to implement the practices slowly into your life. Simple things like offering your place in line at the store to someone else, how to meditate in the time you have, etc. The teachings of Buddha are useless if you don't use them so as you learn, just think, "What have I learned that I can practice today?" and then work on that one little thing every day.

[Gus1234U]

if you are looking for practical advice for a daily practice which leads one away from suffering, there is an excellent practice online, called Lojong, daily mind training. it offers 7 teachers' explanation of one of the buddha's teachings on how to tame the mind (view the commentaries). you can sign up for a daily email, too. i hope it is helpful to you: Lojong and Tonglen Community Site

another source of daily input that i have found valuable is a blog for PTSD recovery skills. they will also send a daily email, but if you read the site, it's good to start at the beginning: ptsadawayout.com

best wishes~
Gus

[penguinh]

Originally Posted by Webgoji

Psst ... they're not gods. They're symbolic depictions (some not so symbolic) of Buddhas who are people just like you and I that achieved something amazing; Enlightenment.

Haha oops! We didn't have anyone to guide us around so we had no idea. I just remembered that one of the description called the statue a God. Thanks!

That's what Buddhism is all about.

A good teacher will explain how to implement the practices slowly into your life. Simple things like offering your place in line at the store to someone else, how to meditate in the time you have, etc. The teachings of Buddha are useless if you don't use them so as you learn, just think, "What have I learned that I can practice today?" and then work on that one little thing every day.

Looks like it'll take me a while then! Especially with my mood swings but it seems worthwhile. Thanks!

Originally Posted by Gus1234U

if you are looking for practical advice for a daily practice which leads one away from suffering, there is an excellent practice online, called Lojong, daily mind training. it offers 7 teachers' explanation of one of the buddha's teachings on how to tame the mind (view the commentaries). you can sign up for a daily email, too. i hope it is helpful to you: Lojong and Tonglen Community Site

another source of daily input that i have found valuable is a blog for PTSD recovery skills. they will also send a daily email, but if you read the site, it's good to start at the beginning: ptsadawayout.com

best wishes~
Gus

Wow thanks Gus!