This is a quote from a Roger Ebert article:
The important thing is that you don't consider yourself to be your own Higher Power, because your own best thinking found your bottom for you.
referring to step 3 in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)I think the same think applies to how Buddhism works. Buddhism isn't doctrine and dogma that you must follow. It's pragmatic. And, ultimately, it does point at not believing too much that you, on your own, have all the answers figured out already.
It's not actually essential you believe the Buddha to be perfect or enlightened, especially not at the start. You just have to believe in the possibility that the way you've been going about things isn't the best and only way.
And then you work the path. AA has 12 steps focused on alcohol addiction. Buddhism has 8 that focuses on clinging and craving that, ultimately, hurts ourselves a great deal.
AA is for people who used to think that alcohol could solve their troubles or be a reliable path to happiness.
Buddhism is for people who used to think that money, fame, possessions, romance or anything/something external in the world could solve their troubles and be a reliable path to happiness. If only I had ____.
To start to see that those thoughts are a path of greed, anger, and delusion, in both small and big ways, is a start.
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