About

My name is Jerrod Lopes. I have been a practicing Buddhist for over 10 years now. I won’t pretend to be an expert or a monk, but have a good understanding thus far of the teachings of the Buddha . I was born into and raised in the Christian faith which I have renounced, but still admire Jesus and his teachings as they so coincide with those of the Buddha on many levels. Either way you slice it, life can suck and guys like Jesus and the Buddha (Siddathata Gotama) gave us everything we need to know to get out of it and stay away from it. But does it really suck, or do we just think it sucks? That’s the $50,000,000 question.

I prefer the path the Buddha has set forth as there was much less room or motivation for corruption of his teachings as he explicitly stated and was known for saying that there would be no keeper or “boss of Buddhism”. The basic teachings are simple, deal with moral conduct and purifying the mind while cultivating wisdom through meditation. All parts of the practice are personal, experiential and integral. There are no revelations one can give you toward salvation that you can avoid experiencing for yourself. Nobody gives you true knowledge. You must make the effort and find it for yourself, with others, like the Buddha, to guide you. One is also encouraged heartily to investigate and question the teachings of the Buddha AND others relating his teachings. There is nothing hidden.

This blog is about putting a lot of the questions and answers of life as it’s known to Buddhists in a manner consistent with modern Western thought and language. No mysticism, no BS, just truth and the occasional humanly bout of ignorance. Enjoy.

Jerrod