For Buddhists, the new year should not be an occasion merely to celebrate and enjoy good food and the company of friends. It is an opportunity to take a new birth and start a new life, a time to renew our commitment to the Buddhist path. In following the Dhamma, it is always best for us to consider ourselves beginners. We should not think that because we may have been practicing Buddhism for ten, twenty, or thirty years, we are experts in the Dhamma.
You may have been born in a Buddhist family and thus have a deeply rooted sense of being a Buddhist. But the Dhamma is not something that one inherits as a birthright. Birth in a Buddhist family can even be an obstacle if it serves primarily as the basis for a sense of pride. One identifies oneself as a Buddhist and then feels one must prove to others the greatness of Buddhism by arguing with those who follow other religions and paths of life. Others may be attracted to Buddhism because they are drawn to the exotic trappings of an Oriental religion.
Many come to the Dhamma because they want to learn meditation as a way to overcome worry and restlessness, or to find some discipline in their lives. We might be attracted to the Dhamma because we are fascinated, or puzzled, by the strange concepts of Buddhist philosophy.
[pdf]http://www.dhammikaweb.com/pdfs/Bodhi_Bulletin_2008_2_spring.pdf[/pdf]
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