I was born in Taiwan to a very Buddhist family. Growing up, I had a lot of exposure to the religion. My family always has a home altar with many deities. Some of them were stored in outside altars. My earliest childhood memories that I can remember are of temples that my family and I visited in Taiwan. I can still picture those temples with the pond of turtles and the secluded mountains that were home to the temples. I also still remember the passing of my first grandfather and it was conducted with Buddhist traditions.
In 1985, my family moved to a suburb in Dallas, TX. The only Buddhist aspect of our life was the home altar. At that time, my parents actually allowed me to attend AWANA, which was a Christian organization teaching the Christian faith. I learned about Adam and Eve and about other Bible stories.
In 1990, my family moved to a suburb in Los Angeles, CA. It was at this time that my family went to a temple on a regular basis. My parents still allowed me to go to church too and I attended Friday night Bible studies probably 5 times. It was more for social reasons tho.
In 1997, I moved to Berkeley, CA for college. I knew that my family was Buddhist and I identified myself as a Buddhist. (I've been wearing the beads for as long as I remember.) However, I had no idea what the religion entailed. Most of the temples we went to all taught in Chinese and my understanding of the lessons were very limited.
In 2001, during my last year at Berkeley, I decided to take a Buddhist Psychology class. It was there that I first learned about the Buddhist beliefs of No-Self, Meditation, Karma, Suffering & the what causes it, and Life is Ever-Changing and Fleeting. They were all concepts to me and I understood it, but never really applied any of it to my life. I also had a hard time grasping Karma and the Afterlife of Reincarnation. I did keep all of the lessons I learned in class stored in my head.
In 2003, I went back to Taiwan with my family. Unfortunately, it was for my grandfather's funeral which was conducted with the Buddhist traditions. During that time, my family, of course, went and visited temples in the remote cities.
Throughout my life, I have always wanted to pursue the spiritual path more. Timing just didn't allow for it until...
2005, present day. After a retreat to Land of Medicine Buddha, visits to the Zen Center, seminar by the Dalai Lama, and countless eye-opening experiences throughout this year, I have arrived here...and gone zen...
Hmm, never noticed this page before on your Blog. Decided to take a look and found a whole different world (compared to all the partying on your main page, j/k haha) :p Anyways, I'm glad you're learning more about the teachings of Buddhism. I got a headstart on you because I understood those Chinese temple lessons a bit better, but I see you're catching up fast. It's pretty cool as you understand more of it. You'll get that feeling of being "enlightened." Basic thing to remember - everything (wants, desire, sadness, etc.) starts with(in) yourself. It's actually quite simple once you analyze yourself and ask yourself why you feel or act a certain way. You'll end up approaching things in a natural way and not get caught up in all the emotions associated with them. Sounds quite complicated, but it's not. I know you understand what I'm talking about. Keep up the good work.