Familiarity with the Dharma
A new student wrote saying he felt that Buddhism was very familiar to him and wondered if it meant he had practiced in past lives.
My dear Keith,
Thank you very much for your kind letter. I am sorry for the delay.
When you hear the Buddhadharma, teachings, and when you practice, if you feel it is very familiar and easy, then it means you met the Buddhadharma in the past. You can tell from that experience. It is proved from that experience.
If you want to achieve liberation and enlightenment, there is no other way but to practice the Four Noble Truths taught by the Buddha. You have to learn the Four Noble Truths by actualizing the two paths and the cessation of suffering. That is how you totally remove from suffering forever, because you have removed the cause of suffering completely, including the seed imprint. This is not taught in any other religions – Hinduism, Islam, or Christianity. Then, if you want to help sentient beings—liberate and enlighten them—you need to learn the whole Mahayana path, to achieve enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings.
Thank you very much.
With much love and prayers...