Hi Clintos,I am thinking of studying buddhism, is buddhism compatible with autism?
Does anyone know about buddhism and whether it's a good idea, I am thinking of switching from Christianity to become a buddhist or atheist because some people in the christian faith think that people with autism are inferior and need to be healed instead of accepted and accommodated.
I have been a practicing Tibetan Buddhist for nearly fourteen years. When it comes to practicing Buddhism, as with everything else in life, my Asperger's has been both an advantage and obstacle. For me, having AS has meant that studying the Dharma (the Buddha's teachings) has been easier, at least in an intellectual sense, but maintaining mindfulness has, perhaps, been more difficult. However, it's important to remember that everyone experiences obstacles when they follow a spiritual path.
In the fundamental teachings Lord Buddha describes a particular type of human life as necessary for someone to be able to follow the Buddhist path. This life must have certain freedoms and conditions that provide a person the necessary time and space to follow the path. One of these is the possession of 'sound senses' which basically means that one has the ability to experience the world accurately through the sense or, to put it more bluntly, that one's brain isn't damaged in some way. Another possession is the ability to see the link between cause and effect in your life.
So, unless someone is extremely low functioning and has severe learning difficulties; or, is so extremely mentally inflexible that they cannot see any link between their actions and experienced consequences they should be able to follow the Buddhist path. I would add that Buddhism is an inherently logical path and Lord Buddha repeatedly urged his followers to test all Buddhist propositions against the reality of their own lives, as if they were biting a gold nugget to test if it's real gold. As we are an inherently logical population we can take confidence from this.
However, these are only my views and I am a very ordinary practitioner of one form of Buddhism. It's important to remember that, from a Buddhist perspective, we all have different karmic potentialities and therefore Buddhism will not be suitable for everyone. The only way of ascertaining this is to find out more and gain some experience of the different traditions within Buddhism. It's important to remember that Buddhism is still in it's infancy in the west and there is much much confusion and deliberate misinformation about Buddhism, especially on the internet with many people appointing themselves as teachers with no authority to do so.
I would advise you to read widely and try to find a teacher who is embedded in a true lineage and not simply teaching from the narrowness of his own perception. I am a Tibetan Buddhist who is part of the Dechen Dharma Community. We have a website (WWW.DECHEN.ORG) which has basic information about Buddhism generally and the Tibetan tradition in particular. That may be a good place to start. We have beginners classes regularly in centres and groups across the UK, Europe and America. If Tibetan Buddhism is not for you then I'm sure they will be able to signpost you to a more suitable group.
I apologize if I've rambled on but I care deeply that people make an authentic connection with the Dharma because the consequences of receiving instruction from a charlatan are too great.
I hope you make an indestructible connection with the authentic Dharma that leads you to true happiness.