Question: “i am 15 and found buddhism helpful, i do not meditate regularly, i don’t even know everything about buddhism, but i try as much as i can i find it amazing. The way it feels to just be at peace, be kind to everyone, i feel like i have been through so much more than this life. I feel as if my being, whether its a soul or just my consciousness, has been through a lot. How do i become more knowledgeable in buddhism, or become a buddhist per say? I don’t know where to start with my lifelong path.”
Easy; study! You have all the knowledge in the world on the Internet, so anything and everything you’ll need to about about Buddhism is going to be somewhere! And if you have a discount bookstore near by, there’s another source as well. One of my favorite books of all time is The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching by Thich Nhat Hanh. I’ve bought it so many times because I always give it away to someone. It’s an amazing must read, but you must read it several times!
I always tell people that I’m a spiritual person. I’ll mention Buddhist if they want a specific path, but I try not to put a label on the practice. I think one can call themselves a Buddhist when they have nothing else to learn. Of course this might take a while, a many lifetimes, but it’s achievable.
It took me about 3-4 years of just reading and studying before I started going to temple and fully practicing. I’ve been a meditator for about 17 years, studying Buddhism for 3-4, and practicing for almost 3 years. So it takes a while to get a solid understanding of a philosophy that is extremely profound and difficult. We only take baby steps each lifetime towards the shore of liberation, so it will take a plethora of lifetimes to reach the water, swim it, and stand up on the other side.
Don’t rush your studies or practice. You’ll never learn and understand that way. Tackle one subject at a time for 1 week to a month if necessary. Read, study, contemplate, and practice one noble truth a week until all are done at the end of the month. Then move on to the eightfold path, one a week, until all are done. Read something different each day and practice what the teaching is trying to tell you. It might take you a year to study the very basics, but I guarantee you you’ll understand everything you’ve studied in this one year more than someone else who has “studied everything” in one year, or even two.
Be patient.
Smile and be well!