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Dr.Caligari posted:This sounds simple, but have you tried using compassion? If you feel anger rising, just think something like 'hello anger, I know you are there'. I have used this method with other feelings, such as sadness that arrises. Sometimes just acknowledging something unpleasant and giving it permission to just be, rather than fighting it, will help you get past it. Naming and observing are great ways to deal with both emotions and sensations if your goal is not to get too caught up in them during a sit.
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Feb 12, 2016 13:53
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Esteemed thread friends, Losar la Tashi Delek shu. I wanted to post a little bit about what I've been doing, largely because in the last few days I've been returning to productivity after a bit of a low effort period and I hope that writing about all the things I'm working on and have upcoming will both keep me motivated and help me stay on task. Recently, I think Rhymenoceros posted a quote from the Buddha about meditation on non-virtuous things leading the mind to rest on those things. While I can't weigh in on that discussion any more than "this is why having a teacher is good," I am happy to say that from that I took that I've been allowing my mind too much to rest on silly Internet spaceship games and other such distracting things, and I am happy that I am refocused back on the Dharma. I'm currently working on a prayer book compilation for the Drikung Kagyu lineage similar to the Drukpa Lineage's A Rosary of Jewels. This is my ongoing work. The process is primarily transcription in nature - I take pecha which are often either hand written photocopies or old typed works using Tibetan Machine Font. Now, there are Tibetan Unicode fonts that are actually very nice and quite robust. There are tools for typing Tibetan from Wylie, but I use the Windows Tibetan keyboard. It has not been worth the effort to learn to type Wylie fluidly, though I suspect that would be faster and more effective. It does allow me to type without "code-switching" to English letters, which is nice. I hope to have the transcription part of this book finished by the end of the month. I will then probably have to do my own proofreading, which is a pain, unless Khenpo will be kind enough to proof-read it: I don't have any other Tibetan speakers locally. I could possibly farm it out to some other people I know, but as they are not practitioners it might be better to keep it in house, as they might not be familiar with the words used in practice texts versus colloquial speech. This winter I had a wonderful opportunity to level up my shrine attendant game. Khenpo is a strong scholar, one of the best in the lineage, but he's not so strong a ritualist. His good friend Lama Norbu kindly came to help us with a Mani Drubchen, and while he was here he taught me the queues and methods for properly caring for the shrine during the rituals. He also taught me how to make a delightful variety of tormas - ritual offering cakes, basically - which I will need to continually practice I think. Lama Norbu also left me with some awful Ladakhi speech habits. I have also recently completed a retranslation of one of my center's main practices, which is pending verification and endorsement. My dear Khenpo is in India now after having done a brief European tour. This Summer I will also be traveling with him to India, to visit his monastery as well as to hopefully attend the Hemis festival where His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa will be putting on the Naropa Bone Ornaments, which he does once every 10 years. I'm currently slogging my way through the visa application process. His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon will be giving Monkey Year Teachings in the US this year as well as in India (which will occur in 2 or 3 days) this May in Chicago. I will be attempting to attend those and if anyone else has interest in that I can post some information. I'm also now studying Tibetan Astrology from another Khenpo. Earlier this year, Sorig Institute began offering a Tibetan Medicine online program. I asked Khenpo if he thinks that would be a fruitful study, and he answered that if I studied Astrology, maybe that would be more useful. I am currently working on memorizing the preliminary texts, which is unfortunately my least strong form of learning, but the most typically Tibetan method. I have learned the contents but need to actually practice to recitation. So I guess at this point I just need to read it again and again outloud the same as one eventually memorizes ritual from repetitive recitation. I'd like to revisit the idea of doing a Tibetan language thread as a wonderful new resource has come out, which can be found at khata.co . This is a crowdsourced Tibetan dictionary that has already become fairly robust, and is a great alternative to the academic dictionaries generally available (Rangjung Yeshe's, for example). It has a lot more colloquial options. Additionally I believe they are working on adding a grammatical reference, but for that there is already a strong, though perhaps very academic, reference to be found at the Tibetan and Himalayan Library website. I know SubjectVerbObject is likely to be keen - SVO I'd still like to buy you plat or be able to email you or so on, give me some contact information already yeesh. I'm happy to field any questions or so on or to be told simply to shut up and get back to work.
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Feb 16, 2016 16:05
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Tashi Delek, I am back and now have plat. I still can't pronounce 'Kyi', but we do Pujas enough that I am getting some exposure. I'm always looking for things that could help, but it is a struggle. I remember watching an intro youtube video where the presenter was going through the alphabet and for about half the consonants he said, 'er well, there really isn't a sound for this in English.' But in other news I have been officially accepted as a student by my teacher, and have been very busy with my practice and studies. The Shedra I am with has a lot to offer and I am trying to take advantage of it while still having family commitments, etc.
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Feb 16, 2016 21:01
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I am moved by your struggle and will make the Tibetan language thread today. I think you mentioned it before but which lineage are you studying under? It's very exciting if you're doing a formal shedra, I hope the best for you with that!
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Feb 16, 2016 21:33
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I'd be interested in a Tibetan language thread, too. The Sakya monastery here in Seattle actually has a language class but I think they're in the middle of the curriculum right now and I'm not sure when they start again. I've looked at online resources but it's hard to figure out where to start.
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Feb 16, 2016 22:03
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Paramemetic posted:I am moved by your struggle and will make the Tibetan language thread today. Nyingma. It it not exactly formal, or rather I am not sure what formal would look like. The teacher teaches at least 2 classes a year, usually on specific texts, and there are additional retreats based on specific concepts, Bardo, etc.
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Feb 16, 2016 22:24
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Paramemetic, please post about your Astrological studies! I would be very interested. Also have you heard of this book: Being Human in a Buddhist World? I picked it up because I'm interested in indigenous forms of medicine, especially those which have survived into modernity, and obviously Buddhism. I'll be honest, it's really well researched and presented, it just makes reference to so many particulars in Tibetan history that I had to basically have my iPad next to me just to wiki everything. If you were interested in medicine you may find it an interesting read.
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Feb 16, 2016 22:52
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I debated on rather posting it on here or not, but figured why not.. My home temple (which I shamefully rarely get to visit) has been burnt down by arson. Everyone is in good spirits, as everyone was safe and most of the important items were saved. It still a blow however, and for the immediate future we will be a nomadic group of buddhist. If anyone would like to donate, or even just spread the word we would certainly appreciate it. You can make a donationhere I too would be interested in a Tibetan thread. It's a language I would like to understand better (I know nothing of it now), but I also find it to be an intimidating language. Please post the link to the thread here when you make it Dr.Caligari fucked around with this message at 22:59 on Feb 16, 2016 |
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Feb 16, 2016 22:53
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Dr.Caligari posted:I debated on rather posting it on here or not, but figured why not.. I saw this when it happened, I really hate when my firefighting news and Dharma news cross paths. At the time I had not known it was confirmed to be arson. If I recall correctly Holiness Karmapa offered some kind words, but I don't know if there is much support from the lineage. I know there was some hope with this where HH Karmapa's personal flag remained up through the blaze. Was anything salvageable? And uh with that happy note there is this Tibetan Thread: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3764617 Thirteen Orphans posted:Paramemetic, please post about your Astrological studies! I would be very interested. I will post some about it as it goes on. Right now I am doing the preliminary studies which because I am learning this the traditional way involves straight memorizing an untranslated work to the point that I can recite it flawlessly. After that, there are techniques for calculations that are done using the hand and palm as a reference, that require the memorization beforehand (lol). Khenpo believes this will take maybe a year or so of study, so it will be an ongoing adventure. I'm pretty excited about it. Specifically I am studying chung-tsi, or elemental astrology, rather than kar-tsi, or star-astrology. chung-tsi generally is what we think of with astrology in that it is used to make predictions and divinations as well as for planning for individuals, events, and so on. It is based on the Chinese elements, rather than the traditional Indian elements, and is more practical. Kar-tsi is used more along with the Kalachakra tantra for big global things, and I don't know anything about it really as I am not learning that nor am I a Kalachakra initiate. I haven't read that book but I might pick it up! Paramemetic fucked around with this message at 23:02 on Feb 16, 2016 |
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Feb 16, 2016 22:58
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Dr.Caligari posted:I debated on rather posting it on here or not, but figured why not.. May I repost this in the Liturgical Christianity thread? I think I would not be alone in wanting to help you all recover from this terrible crime. Everyone deserves their sacred space.
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Feb 16, 2016 22:59
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Yes, of course, please do. A couple days after the fire there was an interfaith 'peace circle' in the parking lot and it got a nice write up by the Columbus Dispatch: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/02/04/interfaith-group-forms-peace-circle-to-support-temple-destroyed-by-arsonist.html I haven't heard of any invaluable items being lost, I am aware that most,if not all of the statues/rupas were recovered, as well as some paper items which are being restored at OSU. I don't know the extent of their damage. The fire was a tragedy, but it is really something to see a community come together in support.
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Feb 17, 2016 02:39
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Dr.Caligari posted:Yes, of course, please do. A couple days after the fire there was an interfaith 'peace circle' in the parking lot and it got a nice write up by the Columbus Dispatch: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/02/04/interfaith-group-forms-peace-circle-to-support-temple-destroyed-by-arsonist.html That's good to hear. I shared it in the other thread, I hope you all are able to fundraise swiftly.
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Feb 17, 2016 03:08
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That's awful. Was it a hate crime by someone opposed to Buddhism or something else?
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Feb 17, 2016 03:18
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I don't know much more than what they have shared on facebook and there gofundme page, but I did hear that there has been a wave of arsons in that area recently. I would say it was just arson for the sake of arson. I'm not sure if there is anything to be made of it, but the fire seems to have been set before service on Sunday. During the week the building largely sets unguarded, so if someone wanted to create the most damage there were much better time, so who knows. Thank you all for your support 
Dr.Caligari fucked around with this message at 04:58 on Feb 17, 2016 |
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Feb 17, 2016 04:50
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Paramemetic posted:Specifically I am studying chung-tsi, or elemental astrology, rather than kar-tsi, or star-astrology. chung-tsi generally is what we think of with astrology in that it is used to make predictions and divinations as well as for planning for individuals, events, and so on. It is based on the Chinese elements, rather than the traditional Indian elements, and is more practical. Kar-tsi is used more along with the Kalachakra tantra for big global things, and I don't know anything about it really as I am not learning that nor am I a Kalachakra initiate. Ahhhhh, this sounds so interesting! Would kar-tsi be what is used in aiding for the searches for and legitimizations of (if you have a better word for that please pass it along) important reincarnated lamas? Dr.Caligari posted:Thank you all for your support As I like to say, all God's critters got their place in the choir.
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Feb 17, 2016 05:20
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I run into a severe problem when I try meditation or breath work. At best I'll have a few seconds free of thought before I enter a negative spiral of anxiety or self hatred or depression or distressing imagery. Usually I just go straight to the negative thoughts. I've been told just keep doing it but the longer I do it the more miserable I feel. This was particularly problematic during a two hour guided meditation session where I spent the whole time in misery, unable to calm my mind. The workbooks keep saying do it and it'll work. But it's not working. I actively dread the exercises now.
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Feb 17, 2016 05:29
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I speak as a current atheist, however I have a general interest in Buddhism. This thread has prompted me to find out more- though I am not ready to marry my world view with a religion I am still in search of my own answers, and who knows, perhaps you have them. I was raised in a Christian household taught that I was a bad person and that I sinned and that I would never be good enough for God, and that the only reason I was going to heaven is his infinite love for his children. I found that for years of my life I found no interest in self-improvement. After all nothing would make me good enough anyway for God and even if I did self-improve I would not change in God's eyes. Still a sinner. Even though I knew God forgives and all, that doesn't leave room for self-discovery and improvement. Just looking the other way when something is done wrong. Why should I work on my integrity? My skills? My compassion? It wasn't until I left religion behind that I could truly begin to work on myself as a person. I love that Buddhism promotes that we are all on a journey or self improvement and discovery, I love that it doesn't tread down on people, it lifts them up and encourages them to be better. It's very heartening to see that the person beneath matters, and can therefore be improved. Thank you for teaching me this much. I really must find out more. I understand a lot of my bitterness toward religion is misplaced and I have been working on trying to understand people better, their motivations and beliefs. If I can ask any learned Buddist here their experiences- how did you come to find Buddhism? What drew you to it? Did you ever follow another religion or teaching, and how is Buddhism different? Do you have any advice for a confused- and admittedly previously hurt- atheist on their search for some sort of peace with their spirituality?
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Feb 17, 2016 06:00
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RandomPauI posted:I run into a severe problem when I try meditation or breath work. My knowledge of meditation if imperfect, and really am giving advice that wiser ones than I have given me, but I repeat it here in the hope that it will help you. Your description of your struggles seem just like that: struggles. My teacher would say that negative thoughts are "the good stuff' because of what they can teach you, but at this point they are interfering with your progress. You say you are unable to calm you mind, but who is calming what mind? It seems like you are fighting with yourself, when instead you should be trying to understand yourself. Don't try to blank your mind, don't fight yourself. I understand that you may be miserable, and you are trying to be free of thoughts because all of your thoughts seem bad, but the more you try to push them out, the more they come back. Try to use the meditation time getting to know your mind. In a way, this means surrendering to the thoughts, but it really means not being judgmental. When you have a bad thought, and then think "I'm bad because I had that thought' that's when the spiral starts. What form of meditation are you engaged in?
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Feb 17, 2016 06:27
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Sialia posted:I speak as a current atheist, however I have a general interest in Buddhism. This thread has prompted me to find out more- though I am not ready to marry my world view with a religion I am still in search of my own answers, and who knows, perhaps you have them. I'm not a learned Buddhist, but I have a similar background, although I was raised non religiously, and then tried Christianity, but it drove me a bit insane for a lot of the reasons you mentioned. I couldn't deal with it, but had always been in the spiritual but not religious category and Buddhism seemed to be a good fit. When I was younger I did a lot of meditation, so that was the initial attraction. I had tried Zen when I was younger, but I was searching for something a bit more mystical, so I now follow Vajrayana. Another part you may like about Buddhism is that you are trying to improve yourself in order to help all sentient beings. So you aren't just trying to liberate yourself from suffering, but are doing so to free others from suffering.
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Feb 17, 2016 06:38
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SubjectVerbObject posted:I'm not a learned Buddhist, but I have a similar background, although I was raised non religiously, and then tried Christianity, but it drove me a bit insane for a lot of the reasons you mentioned. I couldn't deal with it, but had always been in the spiritual but not religious category and Buddhism seemed to be a good fit. When I was younger I did a lot of meditation, so that was the initial attraction. I had tried Zen when I was younger, but I was searching for something a bit more mystical, so I now follow Vajrayana. This is what I mean, I feel like I need to find out more because all this makes so much sense compared to everything else. How can a search for peace with one's spirituality not involve the rest of the world and their search as well? In fact, it must include acknowledgement, at least, of every other living thing. Most religions try to cut you off from that, I feel, and only tell you what they want you to hear. I am just not really sure where I need to start. I've got about 6 hours of docos lined up since I made that post. Any advice is welcome.
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Feb 17, 2016 07:18
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SubjectVerbObject posted:Try to use the meditation time getting to know your mind. In a way, this means surrendering to the thoughts, but it really means not being judgmental. When you have a bad thought, and then think "I'm bad because I had that thought' that's when the spiral starts. Here's my problem in a nutshell. This is a very old problem. I've seen therapists, gone to groups, and read different books that tell me calm my mind, don't be judgmental, just keep trying. That I won't make any progress until I can just be calm and mindful in the present. But visualization exercises lead to me visualizing horrible ways that I need to be die. Breathing exercises lead to me freaking out and either having angry thoughts towards myself or depressed thoughts towards myself. Body awareness exercises like tensing the muscles or tapping lead to an acute awareness of just how tense the rest of my body is, and how I can't untense the other parts. From there I can either just detach entirely or go into a negative thought spiral that can last for several minutes at a time. Intellectually I understand where the thoughts come from, what their origins are, what's going on neurologically, etc. But the moment the emotions kick in logic goes out the window. And the emotions tell me that at best I need to be dead and at worst I need to die a painful, prolonged death. And when they kick in I believe them 100% even though I can never act on them.
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Feb 17, 2016 07:19
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What do you mean by "detach entirely?"
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Feb 17, 2016 08:25
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Nessus posted:What do you mean by "detach entirely?" Like become emotionally numb to anything. I'll still respond to things and behave in ways that are consistent with how I'd normally behave but I also won't have any real memories of what was said or what happened beyond a general awareness that I got emotionally overwhelmed, shut down, and operated on autopilot.
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Feb 17, 2016 08:34
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Thirteen Orphans posted:Ahhhhh, this sounds so interesting! Would kar-tsi be what is used in aiding for the searches for and legitimizations of (if you have a better word for that please pass it along) important reincarnated lamas? Kar-tsi is bigger scope, that would still be a function of chung-tsi is my understanding. Kar-tsi is about calculating the actual calendars themselves, kind of the astrology of the universe rather than the astrology of specific people. I am still not far enough along to be able to tell exactly the difference of scope between chung-tsi and nak-tsi. kar-tsi (white science) and nak-tsi (black science) come from India and China respectively, referring to the color of clothes those different people generally wore. Chung-tsi is a subset of both, it's a smaller scope but provides about half of the information we see on a Tibetan calendar. I'll be able to post more after I've started learning beyond the preliminary stage. Sialia posted:If I can ask any learned Buddist here their experiences- how did you come to find Buddhism? What drew you to it? Did you ever follow another religion or teaching, and how is Buddhism different? Do you have any advice for a confused- and admittedly previously hurt- atheist on their search for some sort of peace with their spirituality? Not sure about the learned Buddhist part, learning maybe. Was introduced to spiritual whatnot when I was a child, have a background in esotericism and so on. Used to be Catholic, briefly Mormon. After the Mormon thing I spent some time as an atheist, but ultimately found that it wasn't meaningful. Generally, when I look at belief systems, my test has historically been whether or not it's internally consistent to see whether it's valid. Not necessarily that that makes it a belief system for me, but that's the basic "test." Buddhism is extremely internally consistent, that's its main draw for me. Growing up, I did lots of meditation type things while being an off and on Catholic and later a very "on" Mormon (no zealot like a convert) until the internal consistency of Mormonism failed to hold up in a personal way. Then I was an atheist for, I don't know, 6 years? The thing about atheism is that it is generally internally consistent in the way that material sciences must be. Of course everything is consistent in a scientific sense, and that's wonderful! But to me, it doesn't speak to human experience, and that's what I need any religion to do. Religion and spirituality is about man's search for meaning, and needs to speak to our lived experiences. I think what finally kind of brought me around to this was my embitterment with the psychological and psychiatric establishment, my observation that psychology transformed from speaking to man's experience to speaking to his brain, and now it doesn't speak to either. So for me, my disenfranchisement with atheism came from this kind of failure to recognize that we just have these senses, emotions, feelings, and so on which come to us, and we can label them and scrutinize them and study them, and we should, but the results of that study will always be just more senses, emotions, feelings, coming to us. It doesn't address them, it just changes their character. The sun rises whether it's Apollo's chariot or a ball of gas we float around, so whether we think it's a chariot or a ball of gas really doesn't matter. And to be clear, we know it's a ball of gas, but that information is only meaningful or useful within its own domain, which is science. So when people do venerations of the sun, okay! Great! Because that is meaningful even if it's not materially factual, and I'm way more interested in where people find meaning than where people find facts. And some people aren't, and would prefer to know how things actually are rather than how people perceive them to be, and that's great too! And in the West, where we have access to a lot of education and scientific knowledge and resources, balancing those two is pretty important. Unless you're an engineer and you're at work, in which case please do the factual based thing okay? lmao And Buddhism is okay with both of those and encourages both, so it works well for me. Like, I'm studying astrology now. I know that stars are just stars a long way away and any meaning we give them is a mental projection, but it's a mental projection that people find meaning in, and it's no more or less real than any other mental projection. So if someone wants to do astrology, okay, neato. Is it pseudoscience? Only when it's meant to supplant science! Creationism is not pseudoscience until people start going "wow I measured all the Satan particles on this dragon skeleton and Satan definitely left it to trick our faith." Until people get weird about it and try to justify it scientifically, it's just a thing, and it's okay to just do things or have beliefs or so on. Can I reconcile astrology with science? I mean I am okay with them coexisting and don't think that one or the other are mutually exclusive, so I guess sure. I'm rambling a bit here but I hope I said something you find useful, or at least meaningful, or at least not heinous, haha.
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Feb 17, 2016 15:23
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RandomPauI posted:Like become emotionally numb to anything. I'll still respond to things and behave in ways that are consistent with how I'd normally behave but I also won't have any real memories of what was said or what happened beyond a general awareness that I got emotionally overwhelmed, shut down, and operated on autopilot. I'm sorry for your struggles. The idea of sitting for two hours in a negative thought spiral sounds horrible. You need less struggle, so it may help you to meditate for less time. Get a timer, and start doing no more than 5 minutes at a time, and then get up and do something else. There are others in the thread that can give a better or different explanation according to their specific school, but something else to understand is that from a Buddhist perspective, the underlying spirituality supports the meditation practice. Simply sitting in the temple and preparing to meditate can be calming. Understanding that what you are experiencing is the effects of samsara and knowing that there is nothing fundamentally wrong with you, and that it is possible for you to liberate yourself can support the work that you are doing when you sit. It has been said before that monks aren't therapists, but given that Buddhists have been meditating for 1000s of year, it would be worth seeking out a qualified teacher to see what you can learn.
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Feb 17, 2016 15:43
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RandomPauI posted:I run into a severe problem when I try meditation or breath work. Use a candle as a prop, and just stare at the flame. Let that take precedence. Also, your missry is possibly related to your daily mental habits, so you might consider modifying that.
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Feb 17, 2016 15:46
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Sialia posted:I speak as a current atheist, however I have a general interest in Buddhism. This thread has prompted me to find out more- though I am not ready to marry my world view with a religion I am still in search of my own answers, and who knows, perhaps you have them. You see how hosed up Eurocentric Christianity is just from your description? In my opinion, original Christianity was very much like buddhism, but with a strong deistic tone, obviously; and much more love/forgiveness oriented, and the individual needs to man up, turn the other cheek, love thy neighbor, etc..... And if you look between the lines, you can still see it. In other words, none of that crap about errybody born bad need to be wash in blood ob lam, Cheesus gonna do it all, etc. I sometimes wonder how the semi-original Christianity, ironically being eradicated in Iraq and Syria compare to Western flavor. In any case, that's neither here nor there; you're correct that buddhism stresses that we all got to carry our own load- and then tells how to go about that. So, there is nothing incompatible about it with atheism. Gautama said succinctly to put his path to the test of actually implementing it; don't believe this or that. Sialia posted:Thank you for teaching me this much. I really must find out more. I understand a lot of my bitterness toward religion is misplaced and I have been working on trying to understand people better, their motivations and beliefs. Learned buddhist? *crickets*
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Feb 17, 2016 16:08
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Sialia posted:If I can ask any learned Buddist here their experiences- how did you come to find Buddhism? What drew you to it? Did you ever follow another religion or teaching, and how is Buddhism different? Do you have any advice for a confused- and admittedly previously hurt- atheist on their search for some sort of peace with their spirituality? I was raised as a Buddhist from birth. My parents had gotten in to Shambhala pretty early on when Tungpa came to the U.S. They met there and got married. This mostly left me outside most religious debates that went on in grade school, as no one really knew what to do with me. I did also participate pretty heavily in Shambhala's youth programs, including their summer semi-military camp that they have in a few locations. I mostly fell out with Shambhala because my parents had a lot of history and drama with the group that I found older practitioners just couldn't get past when talking to me. I've mostly stuck with Dzongsar and, more recently, Phakchok Rinpoche. Even with all that history, I would never claim to be learned, as someone else jokingly pointed out. I'm not sure if any of this is helpful.
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Feb 17, 2016 17:32
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I realise I have misunderstood somewhat in the wording of my previous post -see the multiple posts pointing to it- I apologise, I realise that everyone here is just learning themselves. I wasn't meaning to offend, if I did so.  Thank you so much everyone for sharing your experiences. I have gone and done some further research on the Buddha's life and story and I am finding it fascinating. Having been an atheist for the last 5 years, I have felt that, though I could bring myself to believe nothing else, it does not have the meaning I crave from life. Part of it is I want to make myself better, but also want the security of believing I am not just an insignificant spark of life that goes out in time. Buddhism teaches- correct me if I have misunderstood- that I am part of the latest iteration in a sea of life, and that being a piece of that collection of life- it almost gives further meaning to it, in the same way it encourages compassion and generosity for each other piece. In a way, we are not a spark of life but, together with all other beings, a roaring flame. The thought is comforting, and I think I will walk away from this believing that regardless. I was wondering, can anyone suggest a - I think they are called- sutra that I might read? Is this a good idea of what I should enquire into next? Will I understand it? Additionally, should I look into visiting a Buddhist temple? There are a few near me, I know this. Is there an etiquette about such things? I am feeling a little lost.
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Feb 17, 2016 22:25
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Try out "The Myth of Freedom" and "What Makes you Not a Buddhist." I realize I am essentially pushing my two major teachers in my life on you by suggesting them, but both of those books are very good primers on what you may be interested in. That comes with the caveat that they are discussing Tibetan Buddhism specifically. You may find some other flavor more to your liking. Depending on where you are, there is likely either a temple or a center near you, which will probably have an open meditation night or something to that effect. You can go there and check it out. Max fucked around with this message at 22:52 on Feb 17, 2016 |
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Feb 17, 2016 22:49
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Sialia posted:I realise I have misunderstood somewhat in the wording of my previous post -see the multiple posts pointing to it- I apologise, I realise that everyone here is just learning themselves. I wasn't meaning to offend, if I did so. An overview of teachings may be helpful to you. Below is one* source; there are others. Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/What-Buddha-Taught-Expanded-Dhammapada/dp/0802130313 PDF: https://what-buddha-said.net/library/pdfs/Dr_Walpola_Rahula_What_the_Buddha_Taught.pdf *Here's another: a compilation that may be of use: http://www.amazon.com/Buddhas-Words...YZSYWYKPP707ZR4 The OP has some general notes on sects that you may (would probably) want to take in for background before in-person visits. And it's worth reviewing overall.
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Feb 17, 2016 23:48
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Sheikh Djibouti posted:An overview of teachings may be helpful to you. Below is one* source; there are others. I am reading What the Buddha Taught- thank you for your time, it means a lot.
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Feb 18, 2016 04:56
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RandomPauI posted:Like become emotionally numb to anything. I'll still respond to things and behave in ways that are consistent with how I'd normally behave but I also won't have any real memories of what was said or what happened beyond a general awareness that I got emotionally overwhelmed, shut down, and operated on autopilot. You might want to go to a brain doctor and get that checked out.
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Feb 18, 2016 09:06
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It could be depression or, more of what I have, Depersonalization.
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Feb 18, 2016 10:17
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There are some very new and complex concepts introduced in the aforementioned 'What the Buddha Taught'. The five aggregates are a very foreign concept to me. It is refreshing to hear of a different system of how consciousness works, and the bits I can wrap my head around at this stage do make sense. There is just still so much of what I am reading I don't yet understand. The concept of the self and rejection of the notion of a soul seems a more realistic view than other religions. I love the system of the eightfold path, I can see how these ideas would be revolutionary to a culture otherwise unfamiliar with the concepts. This Buddhism thing is pretty cool
Sialia fucked around with this message at 10:51 on Feb 19, 2016 |
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Feb 19, 2016 10:25
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Hi all, I've been interested in simplifying and downsizing lately, stumbled upon the notion of Buddhist Economics, which articulates a philosophy I've been trying to put my finger on, and recently read a book called Zen in the Martial Arts, so here I am looking for more that I can read about Zen. So far I've only read the above and am currently reading Zen in the Art of Archery. I am using martial arts as one approach for Zen, and have been comparing its description to research about the "flow" that people experience when fully immersed in an activity—not thinking, just channeling. This is my favorite koan. quote:A monk asked Tozan: "What is Buddha?" So, Zen books?
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Feb 19, 2016 19:52
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Stinky_Pete posted:Hi all, In the spirit of Tozan: "woodpulp"
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Feb 19, 2016 20:10
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Heads up that Chogyal Namkhai Norbu is webcasting a Dzogchen transmission ceremony tomorrow. Here's an explanation of transmission from one of Chogyal Namkhai Norbu's sites and another on Wikipedia.
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Feb 21, 2016 04:50
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If you experience an uncontrollable amount of rage or despair coming up when you sit, it would be worth it to talk to a therapist and an experienced teacher (probably in that order). Strong emotions coming up can be a part of the process and can often be worked through, but it's not just a matter of keep sitting. Talk to someone knowledgeable and go from there. Journalling can also be an amazing resource for getting a sense of where strong feelings are coming from. What you're experiencing isn't that uncommon with meditation, but some issues can be worsened by continued meditation and some will resolve over time with continued sitting and a bit of therapy or counseling. Basically sometimes you need to sit more, some times you need to talk to someone. Also, have you tried changing how you're going about meditating? There's really no right way to meditate so you can try pretty much anything. Different postures tend to bring out different moods, so experiment a bit. There's no reason you can't just lay on your back and pay attention to the rising and falling of your stomach. Or wrap yourself in a blanket and sit with a cup of tea and simply observe your mind going wherever it's going to go. Basically, experiment with whatever you think might work better for you. Often, if you try to force the mind to do something, it will rebel. Sometimes this comes as impulses to go do something (I've caught myself standing up to go futz around in my kitchen without realizing what I was doing). Sometimes it is more emotional and instead the mind can start throwing up stuff you can't ignore. Some amount of that is totally normal and natural, but if it's becoming disruptive, by all means talk to someone qualified.
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Feb 21, 2016 19:34
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Popcornicus posted:Heads up that Chogyal Namkhai Norbu is webcasting a Dzogchen transmission ceremony tomorrow. Here's an explanation of transmission from one of Chogyal Namkhai Norbu's sites and another on Wikipedia. Is this for just anyone? I thought Dzogchen was an advanced practice that you needed a guru's permission to take part of. Aren't you also suppose to be done (or close to it ) with Ngondro practices before getting into this. As someone that rarely gets to my center, I like the idea of transmissions and things being done online. I just don't want to get into something that is beyond me
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Feb 22, 2016 00:12
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