Inner Revolution is the first book I read about Tibetan Buddhism and I highly, highly recommend it. It's perfect for newbies and beginners. It was assigned in an introductory class, taught by Dr. Robert A.F. Thurman, that I took during my first year at Columbia (in 2003).
Learning about Tibetan Buddhism was a major turning point in my life. It completely transformed my worldview and helped me tremendously with understanding why things were the way they were. Life post-escape was not easy. For as many absolutely amazing things that happened to me (e.g., having the opportunity to travel to quite a few other countries, earning my pilot's license, being accepted into Columbia, etc.), an equal amount of not-so-good things happened, but my unresolved issues with my father were what bothered and dragged me down the most.
Buddhism was the last on my list in my search for truth amongst major religions/spiritualities. The concepts of karma, relativism (as opposed to absolutism) and infinite lifetimes, as presented in Tibetan Buddhism, were the missing elements. These were concepts that finally made enough sense to me to accept and subscribe to that belief system. (And through Tibetan Buddhism, I learned that the only absolute is that everything is relative. There is no such thing as "absolute truth"--except that everything is relative. :) )
NOTE: I turn to Tibetan Buddhism for my guiding principles but I don't call myself Buddhist. Instead, I'm an aspiring Buddhist. I feel much more comfortable with saying that I aspire to be Buddhist than saying that I AM Buddhist (although there is the idea in Tibetan Buddhism that every being is already a buddha).
You can get the book here:
About Me
- Torah Bontrager
- New York, NY, United States
- I graduated from Columbia University in 2007, and now I'm writing a book about my escape from the Amish when I was 15. This includes my experiences pre- and post-escape. One of my friends suggested that I keep a blog during the writing process. I won't respond to any comments while I'm writing (except press/media-related inquiries), no matter how tempting. Otherwise, the book will never get written. Please know, however, that I read and appreciate each email I receive and that you might find an answer to some of your questions via this blog.
Monday, April 13, 2009
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1 comments:
Hi, Torah,
Your story is quite fascinating. I'm glad you feel that Buddhism is useful. I used to go to a Mahayana Buddhist temple in Houston. There was a young man there who lectured named Dr. Gray. He was also a student of Dr. Thurman. I believe that he majored in Sanskrit.
I was raised as a liberal Presbyterian. I eventually concluded that Christianity, indeed, any Abrahamic religion, could not give me a logical framework for looking at life. And I am not a hypocrite who goes to a church that I did not believe in.
I have studied Hinduism and Buddhism off and on for several years and find them to be common sense and very rich in tradition. I have no problem with Buddhism being atheist. I take comfort in the statement of Gautama that one should not believe anything until it is found true in your experience.
I live in a conservative area, but without Mennonites or Amish. I feel very isolated because there are no secular humanists around. I usually go the Unitarian-Universalist church, but there are none in rural areas. Social life revolves around various Protestant churches here.
Because of the people who constantly want to share their religion with me, I am sick of hearing about Christianity in any form. It is very simplistic, and does not work for many people.
I have a question: Do the Amish go to the doctor much? I wondered because of the huge numbers of children the women have, and childbirth is often quite dangerous without a doctor's care.
Thank you again for your courageous writing.
Please read my blog at http://lavidacountry.wordpress.com
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