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What's the general consensus on Shambhala? I have a friend who started attending a center a couple years ago, and it literally has saved his life (he was struggling with alcoholism and meditation has really improved his outlook on life). There's a center down the road from me, and I've been tempted to try it. I bought The Way of Shambhala, and it really speaks to me. I'm just nervous because I've read things that make it sound like it definitely has a bit of a cult-vibe, and certain areas of it (the paramilitary stuff) are definitely bizarre. On the positive side, though, I really like that they have such a focus on outreach and education. There's a zen center nearby, too, but they only seem to have a one-time intro class before service. I'd really like a bit more guidance than that. I'd really like to try one of those out, I just don't know which.
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Jun 28, 2013 17:01
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| # ¿ May 3, 2024 09:03 |
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Hey, everyone, I just wanted to introduce myself. I've been lurking a bit. I've had a bit of an off-and-on relationship with Buddhism. I'm a therapist, and my therapeutic model is heavily based on Buddhist psychology; there's a heavy emphasis on mindfulness and acceptance, and it focuses more heavily on changing our relationships to our thoughts and emotions, rather than attempting to change them. However, I haven't been the best about maintaining my own practice. I was raised Christian, and identified as Quaker for a long time, but I've always felt pulled toward Buddhism. I'm starting to practice zazen daily, and I'm reading just about everything I can get my hands on. I'm lucky in that all of the major schools seem to be represented in my city (Austin). I'm thinking about checking out the Zen center soon. If it feels like a good fit, I should be able to attend zazen every day at noon before I go to work, which would be great. I'm currently reading The Heart of the Buddha's Teachings. I feel like I've got a good (mental) grasp on the basics (Four Noble Truths, Eightfold Path, Five Aggregates, etc), but I'm just not sure where to go from here. Hopefully all of you can understand this, but I've just had a really insatiable hunger for knowledge and insight. That's all well and good, but it interferes with my mindfulness practice from time to time in that, rather than just sitting and being mindful, I get wrapped up in thoughts of trying to understand everything (what is reality? what does no-self mean? what is emptiness? who is thinking? what are thoughts? etc.) Anyways, just looking forward to getting to talk to some of y'all. Thanks for the awesome OP.
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Sep 17, 2014 08:18
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WAFFLEHOUND posted:Austin Zen Center was my go-to for a while, itʻs amazing and you should look into it Excellent! I went to Dharma Punx there one time, and definitely liked that. It kills me that, apparently, I just missed Brad Warner a week or two ago.  Anyways, I'll definitely check it out!
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Sep 17, 2014 10:20
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