Question: “I’m honestly confused about Buddhism, it sounds like something I would like to practice but I want to know how to properly practice it. Could you explain it?”
Buddhism is like a house. It has many doors to get inside; the front door, side door and back door. Whichever door you take, you’ll still end up inside, but the way to get inside might be different. Buddhism has many different schools and traditions, different methods and ways to go about the practice, but all end up at the same goal: enlightenment!
Without actually being Buddhist, you can take some of the main teachings and practices from Buddhism and apply them to your own life, like meditation, the eightfold path, understanding of cause and effect, etc. Just by studying, understanding and practicing the eightfold path, we can become enlightened!
To begin, start slowly and with the basics. Start by reading and research what Buddhism actually is. Read dozens of sources and material until you can assess and create your own conclusion. Likewise, you want to do that with anything else you read and study – come up with your own conclusions. Just because I said it doesn’t mean it’s totally correct or that it makes sense to you, so you must do your own contemplation and ask yourself if it makes sense or not. If it does, then great, move on to another topic. If it doesn’t, that’s fine too, move on to another topic.
Buddhism is about self-discovery and only you can control your path, not anyone or anything else. Buddhism isn’t about forcing its teachings on you. It’s about you taking what you need to help yourself with and utilizing it for your own benefit, then taking what you’ve learned and experienced and helping others.
Smile and be well!