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Not to be a stickler about it, but I actually practice Zen  under the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh.I went out and bought Bhikkhu Bodhi's book "In the Buddha's Words" and try to read a bit of it every night along with all of the books I have by Thay. I'm starting to try to meditate every day, too. I really need to create a place in my home where I want to meditate and buy a bell or something. I love the little singing bells we use. I know it's kind of weird to say, but I really want to devote myself to this. Buddhism has kind of opened a whole new world for me and has allowed me to meet such interesting people, so I'm trying to be a regular practitioner. Shnooks fucked around with this message at 02:39 on May 10, 2013 |
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May 10, 2013 02:37
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| # ¿ Apr 19, 2024 02:42 |
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Yeah, I never understand the scholarly stuff  . It just confuses me even more. I try to make it as simple as possible. Fortunately Zen has been kind to me that way.
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May 11, 2013 16:16
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They're ok words when they're used alone, like...in a description or whatever. But when I see all of them put together its kind of like my history books in college where I'm pretty sure people just took words, smooshed them together, and made a new one. Also I find everyone spells the Sanskrit and/or Pali a bajillion different ways, which gets confusing. It's ok, though. It's still interesting to read.
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May 11, 2013 20:28
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Did anyone have a difficult time reading Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind? I'm about 50% through and it's a little bit of a strange read. I've found Thich Nhat Hanh's translations to be much easier to understand, but I'm trying to expand beyond reading Thay's work.
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May 25, 2013 21:41
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I know it doesn't really matter, but has anyone used Mala for things other than chanting? Some of the meditation and mindfulness practices I do require counting and I was thinking carrying a small mala around would be easier than keeping it in my head.
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Jun 10, 2013 02:32
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 Wow. I feel like Zen is stupidly simple, and then Thich Naht Hanh's teachings make it even more simple. Thay just teaches us to be kind to all living critters as we all share this earth and we are all connected. The entire universe exists in all of us. I don't hear too much about karma anymore...
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Jun 24, 2013 23:11
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This Zen master thing confuses a Zen beginner like me  . Apparently, when I was looking into it right now, I saw this interesting blurb on Wikipedia about Thich Naht Hanh, my teacherquote:Thich Nhat Hanh has created a ritual known as "Lamp Transmission", making a teacher a Dharmacharya—an individual with "limited teaching authority."[75] According to author James Ishmael Ford, I definitely believe that he said that. They do lamp transmissions and I know a few people who have gotten them, but I'm not sure I'd call them my "master" or "teacher". The leader of the youth group I go to was a monastic but she's just a regular sangha go-er to me.
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Jun 30, 2013 03:36
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Buried alive posted:There's a zen center nearby where I live and I'm considering checking it out. Specifically they practice Zazen. After checking out their web site it looks to be very highly ritualized; bells signal the ends/beginnings of meditation periods, proper times to bow, proper ways to bow, etc, etc. Is most zen/Buddhism like this or does it vary according to the particular flavor? Some are less than others, but yeah, that's pretty Zen. I like the bells, personally.
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Jul 9, 2013 00:02
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Honestly, the book that opened me up to Buddhism was Pema Chodron's "When Things Fall Apart". I also really enjoyed "The Miracle of Mindfulness" by Thich Nhat Hanh. I felt it was more, maybe hefty? than Peace is Every Step. Hefty in a good way.
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Jul 14, 2013 21:31
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Just came back from a 3 day general stay at Blue Cliff Monastery and what an amazing experience. I am pretty sure that if I didn't have my student loan debt and my SO I'd up and become a monastic. I've learned so much in 3 days, lets hope I can keep it up. The chanting is amazing and I've totally changed my mind about it, and I still love all the bell ringing. Also, home cooked vegan Vietnamese food 3 times a day definitely helps becoming enlightened.
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Jul 22, 2013 00:22
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Wow, you guys are really wordy . All I have to say on the topic is, "No mud, no lotus".
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Aug 7, 2013 01:24
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I get up with at the same time the brothers and sisters at the monastery in my tradition get up at, and then meditate for about 10 minutes every morning, time permitting. While I've been capable of meditating for longer than 10 minutes, I find it hard to do it at home where I don't have my own space, so I rely on my own guided meditation to sink down. I usually start with, "Breathing in, I know that I am a breathing in. Breathing out, I know that I am breathing out. In, Out." and when I get that down, I switch to "Breathing in, I know that I am taking in a deep breath. Breathing out, I know that I am taking in a slow breath. Deep, slow." When I have that down, I go to whatever my object of meditation is for the day or I just try to relax. I found being told, "Just sit!" was really difficult to understand at first. There are definitely some mornings that I sit and just pet my cat for 10 minutes or just sit there and think about the air. I find mindfulness and meditation to be two sides of one coin. I want to set up a small alter at home with some incense and a little bell and what not. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to pick that stuff up? I checked online but I want to get it all from some place nice 
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Aug 28, 2013 23:30
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Razage posted:What's a good Buddhist way to deal with problems like bedbugs? I don't have them, but I'm curious what the answers might be. Oh god D: we had someone ask us a similar question at my sangha meeting. She had an ant problem and wanted to know the most humane way to get rid of them. Of course that's probably easier than bed bugs. Honestly, I'd probably just move and get new poo poo. Not really logical or feasible but if you're not keen on killing them that would be my next step. Another option is to use environmentally friendly pesticide stuff? At least you're saving the planet or something? My tradition is a joke compared to some of these guys in the thread, so I'm not sure if it's the most "Buddhist" response.
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Sep 1, 2013 00:39
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I meditate however I feel comfortable. Isn't part of meditation being relaxed? Some mornings I sit in half-lotus, some mornings it's a chair, sometimes I lie on the couch.
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Sep 1, 2013 11:20
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If you kill them just be aware of your actions and try to reduce further killing, that's all. It's all about mindfulness. You're not blindly smooshing ticks for the sake of pleasure or because you give no fucks - of course you don't want to harm any living critter, but sometimes you just have to for whatever. I kill a lot of stuff at work - ticks, fleas, all sorts of parasites. I participate in euthanasias. I just try to remain mindful.
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Sep 1, 2013 13:23
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You can become enlightened, you just can't be a Buddha. Of course others may disagree that someone is enlightened.
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Sep 11, 2013 23:51
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WAFFLEHOUND posted:Tell that to Maitreya. I thought to be a Buddha the dharma had to disappear? Or something like that.
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Sep 11, 2013 23:55
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I think people see the words "emptiness", "craving", and "suffering" and assume it's all nihilistic and we think the world is horrible or something. It definitely took me a bit to understand the Buddhist definition of "emptiness", so I don't blame people too much for being confused. I think it's just a matter of terms getting lost in translation.
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Sep 12, 2013 13:22
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Razage posted:So here's a question: The center that I now go to is having the Shambhala Level 1 retreat soon, and I want to go but I'm also on-call that weekend and can't find anyone to cover for me. I probably won't get a call but it's a possibility. I plan on asking the centre but I want the opinion of the people here as well. Would it be bad for me to try and go to the retreat and just keep my phone on vibrate and then if I get a call I'll have to go I guess. Or is that kind of against the spirit of the whole thing? I don't know what they'll say at your Shambhala center, but when I was staying at Blue Cliff Monastery they told us while they strongly encourage you to keep your phone off, it's understandable if you need to use it. They didn't really want you carrying it around on it all the time, but even the brothers and sisters peeked at their cell phones occasionally. I think as long as it's on vibrate, or you put it on silent and check it every hour or so for messages you should be OK.
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Sep 15, 2013 14:19
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I have the option to receive the Five Mindfulness Trainings (basically the Five Precepts) formally this weekend and I'm not sure if I should do it. Has anyone done anything like this? I want to receive them eventually, but I'm not sure about right now.
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Sep 26, 2013 00:29
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They usually do them during retreats or special dharma talks, but this is a special occasion locally where a bunch of dharma teachers are getting together for a Buddhist wedding and will be reciting them. I've bee practicing for about a year now and my "youth group" was given the option of receiving them if we'd like to. My tradition doesn't have a ceremony in taking refuge for lay people, but I've personally taken refuge. I guess I was hoping to do it up at the monastery some time soon versus in some person's house in Boston. Being at the monastery is such a spiritual experience for me. But I do have a weak spot for chanting 
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Sep 26, 2013 02:50
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What does everyone do when they seem to fall out of practice? I was doing very well but then things came up and what not and I haven't even read any books on Buddhism in the past month or so. I used to read at least a little bit of a book on the tradition I'm in once a day, but I don't even do that anymore. Ever since I went to take refuge formally and backed out last minute I kind of just stopped participating. Any suggestions or inspirations? Anything?
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Nov 13, 2013 02:36
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I do try to practice mindfulness day to day, and I used to meditate in the morning but I'm trying to pick it up in the evenings. Since I've stopped meditating at least once a week my teeth grinding has come back with a vengeance so I really need to pick that up again Thanks for the input, I appreciate it.
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Nov 13, 2013 13:08
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I'm looking at changing my sangha and there's one with more convenient times for me that's affiliated with Boundless Way Zen. Does anyone know much about them? I'm really afraid I'll be caught up in a cult or something. It seems like BWZ is trying to establish Zen sanghas in the west, which I can get behind.
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Mar 30, 2014 23:41
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The Dark Wind posted:Are you in Boston? I was attending Boundless Way Zen for a month or two back in October before I decided that Zen wasn't for me, but it had nothing to do with their sangha. They are really small but seem like a very solid community. Definitely not a cult or anything, all their teachers have legitimate dharma transmissions, and their heads come from several different schools (Soto, Rinzai, Kwan Um) which makes for a necessary amount of diversity. They have monthly sesshins which are a suggested donation but you can come for free, they offer dokusan every other week, and they offer instruction in both Koans and Shikantaza. Definitely check it out! I am in Boston! Do I know you? I was attending Boston Old Path meetings but their times are inconvenient and/or the meetings were entirely retired people in their 60s. I've been looking for another sangha that has better times to meet. Do you have any other recommendations?
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Mar 31, 2014 01:34
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This is kind of an opinion question, I think. Do you feel that it's more important to build up your personal practice before attending a sangha, or to attend a sangha and then build upon your personal practice after that?
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Apr 29, 2014 21:53
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I feel terrible saying this, but maybe someone can give me some insight. I feel like practicing is a chore sometimes. Going to sangha meetings takes me an hour one way on public transportation, and the meetings are all late at night. Meditating is uncomfortable and I live with someone who thinks it's all hippie woo. There are so many other things I rather do than sit quietly for 5 minutes. What do I do? I almost formally took refuge about a year ago with a sangha I'm no longer with, but I felt that I wasn't ready to commit. I ascribe to the teachings, and I know that if I practice it will only benefit me, but it feels like something else I have to do every day. Sorry to interrupt.
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May 12, 2014 02:30
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Mad Wack posted:I just kept visiting various traditions until I didn't feel weirded out and felt like I fit in with the community. Yeah basically this. Just kept looking up sanghas and poo poo like that until I fit in. If whatever they were talking about was too whacky I left.
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Jul 24, 2014 18:27
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Mad Wack posted:Also be a healthy skeptic - I had a group I really liked and found incredibly informative and good, but then the longer I spent with them the more it changed and suddenly everyone in the sangha had to go to 400+ dollar private sessions with some yogi I had never heard of, I was quick to leave but they tried a lot of different pressure tactics to get me back. I had been there for years and had lots of friends in that group. Basically my experience with Thich Nhat Hanh's sangha locally. I left because it wasn't doing anything for me, and the paying $500-600 or something to go on retreats to gain cred wasn't going to work.
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Jul 24, 2014 19:57
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| # ¿ Apr 19, 2024 02:42 |
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Sorry about the CK2 commentary. I know we chat about everything, but I do find you guys really helpful when it comes to needed religious support. It's all nice to go to your friends, but it's different when your religious community - albeit extended, is able to offer you some support in that aspect, whether it be because you had a bad day or need to make a big decision in your life.
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Aug 4, 2014 02:07
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