Not Yet Ready to Save the World

Question: I was wondering, I don’t have any 'altruistic' desires, to help the world. But I do want to stop my own suffering and improve my own happiness.

By ridding myself of the negative deeds, mental and physical, if I say to myself that it's enough for me to simply be happy and do these things, without having a desire to 'save the world', so to speak, does it mean that Buddhism is not for me because it seems from the thread above, to reach enlightenment is the ultimate aim we should strive for, which I don't. Doesn't this also mean that Buddhism is not the religion for me because foremost, I don't want to be a Buddha, and that being happy is just good enough for me, even if I continue to be in samsara, but in good rebirths?

Response: The mind to help all beings takes time to develop. Initially, we do not have this mind, only the wish to end our own suffering. We start from where we are, so you can still learn from and practice Buddhism. In the US, many of the people I teach are Christians. They feel Buddhism enhances their own beliefs and that there is no conflict as Buddhism is not a religion but a teaching of how to awaken. 

The basic teachings are to do no harm, to do what is good, and to purify the mind. You don't need to want to become a Buddha to practice these three precepts. The Buddhadharma teaches us to be moral and self-disciplined. Living a moral life is necessary for us to enjoy good rebirths. The Buddhadharma also teaches us to conserve our good fortune and how to keep creating more. We need good fortune as well if we are to enjoy good rebirths.

So the Buddha's teachings show us how to have good rebirths and how to have a happy life now.