How could I begin following the path of Buddha?

Good evening.

My suggestion to you is to find a Buddhist temple or Buddhist center/study group to get some first-hand information. Since you don’t mention where you live, you might check this site to see if there are any near you http://www.buddhanet.info/wbd/ . The home page associated with this site will take you to a lot of information for you to explore. If you attend a study group, please understand there are unscrupulous centers that exploit the name “Buddhist” for their own gain. Trust your instincts. If a group makes you feel uneasy, leave and find another.

Since there are different traditions of Buddhism (Theravāda, Mahāyāna, and Vajrayāna [also called Tibetan]) and different schools within each, you may need to do some leg work before you find one that resonates with you. Think of Buddhism as similar to many beliefs like Christian traditions; There are Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Baptist, Anglican, Lutheran, etc. You wouldn’t blindly join any religious group without first checking it out in person. I hope you see why in-person experience is better than texts. You get to ask questions and get a personal answer.

This being said, there are very good sites on the Internet that provide Buddhist information. There are downloads that are in audio, PDF and video formats and “yogiskier” gave you several. Here are several more that may be helpful and I will concentrate on Theravāda because many of us Buddhists find this to be general information. We also know there are websites that are not very reliable in what they post. I have visited each of the following and found them to be of value:

http://www.ajahnchah.org/ (home site of the Theravāda teacher Ajahn Chah)

http://www.amaravati.org/home (contains eBooks and http://www.amaravati.org/teachings/audio is a library of audio teachings in the Theravāda tradition of Ajahn Chah and Ajahn Sumedho)

Unfortunately, Y!A only allows three URLs to be made into hyperlinks so you’ll need to copy-and-paste the following URLs into your browser’s address bar.

http://bdms.org.sg/ (The Buddha Dhamma Mandala Society offers free e-books from the Theravāda perspective.)

http://www.buddhaweb.org/ (Gives a general introduction to Buddhist concepts, a suggested reading list and links to other websites.)

http://en.dhammadana.org/main/news.htm (Website in the Theravāda tradition with free e-books, etc,)

http://pariyatti.org/Home/tabid/36/Default.aspx (Theravāda texts both free eBooks and for purchase, audio teachings, etc.)

http://records.photodharma.net/category/notices (Theravāda teachings in audio and text formats.)

With all this now buzzing in your head let me encourage you to stick with your secular schooling. I am rather concerned with your comment that you “…despise school and all the useless things they teach.” Yes, certain subjects may seem useless to you now but others are invaluable to rounding out your inner self. Continue with learning about Buddhism if you wish but do not do so at the expense of your other studies. They will serve you equally as well in Saṃsāra.

If you are interested in Mahāyāna (Zen/Ch’an), Vajrayāna, or have additional questions, you may e-mail me through my Y!A account.

I hope this is of some help and best wishes on your journey.

By the way, what does “ghghf” mean? Yes, I’m *that* old.

You look for a qualified teacher (an experienced monk or nun, ordained in any of the traditions of Buddhism). You take instruction and you DO the practices they give you. Your teacher give you practices and meditations to do that match your skill level

It is NOT reasonable to think you can get anywhere without a teacher. Just as a coach helps the figure skater lean the techniques and fine-tune their skills, so too, the teacher is vital to you mastering the training of your mind.

Start training your mind by doing your school work when you are supposed to be doing your schoolwork. Buddhism is about discipline and training . not self-indulgently following whatever you think you want.

Expect to make some sort of financial contributions. The buildings that dharma groups meet in are not free Temples cost money to operate. Teachers need to eat. Whenever you take/receive any benefit from someone, you gain a karmic debt and need to repay them. You are 16 .. if you are short on money, you can get a part-time job to earn the money. Just make sure that your schoolwork comes first and that you still have an hour or more a day to DO your Buddhist practices

The practices are usually done first thing in the morning, so you will be getting up an hour earlier (r more) than you do now,

You will learn NOTHING from Buddhism is you rely on reading. But IF you do the practices every day, and IF you do them properly as you teacher instructs you, then you can expect to begin to get some results from your practice after about 3-8 years ... and from them on it becomes part of you and easier to pursue.

This site lists dharma groups worldwide. If there is a group in your area, but that group does NOT have a local qualified teacher OR the teacher comes just one a year ... then it IS worth traveling to where there IS a teacher on a regular basis. (our own dharma group, which has a local/resident teacher who is one of the Dalai Lama's senior monks, has people who travel 3 hours one-way every weekend just to take teachings from him)

http://www.buddhanet.info/wbd/

Watch the video below to gain an understanding of the Buddha and his philosophy. Then explore the web sites under "Source" and see what they say about Buddhism.

Please note that there are a lot of fantastic (i.e. not realistically plausible) stories about the Buddha's life. I take those with a grain of salt. Any famous person has exaggerated legends grow up about him over time, but they shouldn't take away from the Buddha's actual MESSAGE. There are stories about Jesus walking on water and such, too, but the important part with him too is the message he sent, not the fantasy tales.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXrnxlfOT7w

The way to follow Buddha is first of all to do your school work and not read Buddhism in class. One of the first rules of Buddhism is to always do the right thing.

The in your own time, after you have done your school work, read and learn about Buddhism, observe your thoughts and actions and see how you can change to become more like Buddha.

It is a long but worthwhile road.

If you truly believe in the works of Siddhartha then why not start practicing it. You can start meditation right now. If you really truly believe that Buddhism is right for you, then why not make an altar.

"When I am gone, making heart filled offerings will be blessed as me being alive" - Siddhartha

If you are not sure then study Buddhism

There's a lot of information on the internet. And maybe there's a study group near where you live.

See this primer

Buddhism for beginners

http://www.taleofgenji.org/buddhism_for_beginners....

"I don't believe that age effects anything"

That's because you're a naive yet arrogant 16 year old who doesn't know **** but also doesn't want to admit it.

Luckily, most people grow out of this phase in a couple years.

First, never lie, not even to make a joke

Second, meditate often. it must be the right method

https://www.google.com.au/search?newwindow=1&q=rah...

well considering that he's been dead and moldering for quite a few centuries.....I might rethink that whole following thing

better to follow someone who's alive for ever more, who is King and Who is Lord