Real questions from real readers, with the editorial team’s answers. We update this page as questions come in. If you have a question, the contact form is at the foot of every page; we read every message and we try to answer the substantive ones.

The questions below are paraphrased from real correspondence. We do not include the names of the writers, but the questions are real.

Q: I’m a complete beginner. Where do I start? #

The short answer is: read The Four Noble Truths and The Noble Eightfold Path, and then sit for ten minutes a day for two weeks. That is more useful than reading ten more articles.

The longer answer is that the tradition is too large to “read your way into” — you will end up with a maze of references and no actual practice. The pattern that works for most people is: read one main topic (the Core Teachings is the most useful for beginners), pick one practice from the meditation topic, do that practice for at least a month, and then decide whether to go deeper. Going deeper usually means finding a teacher and a community, which the How to Start a Meditation Practice article covers in the “Role of a teacher” and “Role of community” sections.

The single most important thing is to actually practice. Reading about meditation is not meditation. Reading about Buddhism is not Buddhism. The site is a starting point; the practice is the path.

Q: I’ve been meditating for a year. Should I read more, or meditate more? #

Probably meditate more. Reading is useful up to a point; after that, additional reading does not produce additional practice. The pattern that works for most people who have been meditating for a year is: maintain a regular daily practice of 30–45 minutes, attend a few day-long or weekend retreats a year, and find a teacher. Reading can supplement, but it does not substitute.

The exception is if you are meditating without a clear sense of what tradition you are practicing in. In that case, reading the relevant main topic (Theravada, Mahayana, or Tibetan) is useful, because it will help you make sense of the practice in a coherent context. The Insight Meditation Society’s “What is Insight Meditation?” page, the Zen Mountain Monastery’s “What is Zen?” page, and the FPMT’s “What is Tibetan Buddhism?” page are all good starting points for the major traditions.

Q: Is Buddhism compatible with Christianity? #

It depends on what you mean by “compatible.” Theologically, the two traditions make very different claims — Buddhism on the absence of a permanent self, Christianity on the existence of an eternal soul, for instance. Practically, however, the traditions share a great deal of ethical and contemplative ground, and there are many practitioners who find a way to honour both.

The most thoughtful Christian-Buddhist dialogue has been by John Keenan (a Catholic theologian and longtime Zen practitioner) and by Thich Nhat Hanh (a Vietnamese Zen master who has been a friend of the Christian contemplative tradition). The most useful short book is probably Thich Nhat Hanh’s Living Buddha, Living Christ (Riverhead, 1995). The Buddhism and Christianity academic literature is more critical; John Makransky’s work on Buddhist-Christian contemplative dialogue is a good entry point.

Q: Is it okay to practice Buddhism without believing in karma and rebirth? #

This is a real question that comes up a lot. The traditional answer is that karma and rebirth are central to the Buddhist path, and a practice that ignores them is, at best, incomplete. The modernist answer is that a practice that emphasises ethics, mindfulness, and compassion can be developed without committing to the metaphysical claims, and many serious modern practitioners do exactly that. Stephen Batchelor’s Buddhism Without Beliefs (1997) is the most cited articulation of the modernist position.

The honest answer, in our view, is that karma and rebirth are central to the classical tradition and not central to many modern practices; that the modernist reconstruction is intellectually respectable; and that the choice is yours. We do not think the choice should be made lightly. A practice that takes on the bodhisattva vow without taking on karma is making a different set of commitments than the tradition thinks it is. A practice that focuses on ethics and mindfulness without engaging the metaphysical questions is fine, as long as the practitioner is honest about what is being left out.

The site does not take a position. The articles describe both the traditional and the modernist views and let the reader decide.

Q: I’m a Buddhist from a Theravada background. Why is there so little about the Abhidhamma on this site? #

You are right. The site has almost nothing on the Abhidhamma, the paṭṭhāna (the book of causal relations), the khandha analysis beyond the basic anatta context, and the more technical aspects of the Theravada philosophical tradition. This is a real gap, and we apologise for it.

The reason is partly the editorial team’s expertise: the editorial team is small, and the senior reviewer is a practitioner but not a scholar of Abhidhamma. The reason is also partly space: the Abhidhamma is a vast body of work (the Abhidhammattha Sangaha, the most accessible summary, runs to 200 pages in English), and a serious treatment of it would be a separate, much larger project.

We are planning a series of articles on the Abhidhamma for the next major revision. In the meantime, the standard references are Bhikkhu Bodhi’s translation of the Abhidhammattha Sangaha (the Comprehensive Manual of the Abhidhamma, BPS, 1993), and the Pali Text Society editions of the seven books of the Abhidhamma Piṭaka are the standard scholarly reference.

Q: What’s the difference between metta and karuna? I read your article and I’m still confused. #

The short answer is that metta is the wish for beings to be well and happy, and karuna is the wish for beings to be free from suffering. Metta is the affectionate, embracing wish; karuna is the compassionate response to specific suffering.

The longer answer is that the two are not in opposition, and in practice they develop together. The classical Visuddhimagga description of the brahma-viharas (the four “sublime states” of metta, karuna, mudita, and upekkha) is that they are progressively more refined forms of the same basic practice: metta cultivates the warm, embracing quality; karuna cultivates the response to suffering; mudita cultivates the sympathetic joy; and upekkha cultivates the equanimity that holds all of the others without grasping.

The thing to know is that the practice is to start where you are. If metta comes easily and karuna is hard, start with metta. If karuna comes easily and metta is hard, start with karuna. Both are real. The traditional teaching is that the four brahma-viharas are a single practice with four aspects, and that the development of any one supports the development of the others.

Q: I want to ordain. How do I find a teacher? #

The honest answer is that finding a teacher is itself a practice, and it is one of the most important decisions a practitioner can make. The site has a “How to find a teacher” section in the Becoming a Buddhist Monk article and a “How to find a teacher” section in the The Role of the Sangha article. The short version is:

  1. Visit a few teachers in the tradition you are considering. Don’t commit to one before visiting at least three.
  2. Look for a teacher who has been in the tradition for a long time, who is in good standing with their own lineage, and whose own presence reflects the practice.
  3. Be cautious of teachers who demand obedience, secrecy, or financial dependence. The tradition’s own warning about this is the Mahāparinibbāna Sutta’s teaching on the “ten offences” — most traditions have a similar list.
  4. Trust your own experience. If something feels off, it probably is. The relationship with a teacher is the most important relationship in the practice; it should feel respectful on both sides.

The most important thing is to take your time. There is no hurry to ordain, and the best teachers will not pressure you to commit before you are ready.

Q: I noticed you changed something on the site. Why? #

See the Changelog. We log every change, with the date, the change, and the reason. If you noticed a change and it is not in the changelog, that is an error on our part; please write.

Have a question? #

The contact form is at the foot of every page. We read every message and we try to answer the substantive ones. We cannot answer personal practice questions (that is what a teacher is for), but we can answer factual questions, methodological questions, and questions about the site itself.

— The editorial team