Sharing Happiness and Joy with Others

There is nothing I love better than seeing someone transform their problems through this practice. It is one of the greatest joys in life. 

My career has often given me opportunities to sit down with people on-on-on for coffee and networking.  I usually, just drop the fact that I'm having a Buddhist meeting, or I speak briefly about my blog. 

That's ALL I do, then I follow their lead. If they say "Cool, I've always wanted to know more about Buddhism", I'll open a discussion. If they ignore my comment, or don't seem interested I will move on in the conversation. 

That's it. I just take their cue. If they want to know more I usually start by talking about my own story, and sharing how I looked for this practice for so many years. I KNEW it had to exist. But I kept finding practices that said you had to alleviate your desires to be happy. And I kept searching until I found this practice that says "Earthly desires are enlightenment" and you can chant for what you want. Then I either answer their questions or share more about how I raised by kids as Buddhists with the knowledge that they could solve every one of their problems, from bad dreams to arguments with friends by chanting. And I answer their questions. That's how I do it. 

Sometimes people who don't initially want to discuss it will come to me later with questions, or they'll introduce a friend of theirs to me who wants to learn. It's all about planting seeds. I always use discretion. When I am working for a company I don't say anything to my fellow employees for quite some time, and with some of them I never bring it up. I follow my higher instincts in this regard. If I feel a spark of connection with someone, I will casually mention my practice as I described and see if they want to talk about it. If someone is really interested I will bring them literature and invite them to a meeting. I've introduced a lot of people this way, and planted a lot of seeds. 

And I've been careful. I worked for a Baptist organization for 5 years. I was VERY careful not to talk about Buddhism much within the organization. Only my closest companions knew!