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Herstory Begins Now posted:In response to some slightly older posts: Just on average, for every place that is minimally sufferable to hang out and chat about buddhisms, you're going to run into half a dozen wildly toxic, weirdly competitive 'im more enlightened than thou,' deeply dysfunctional groups or communities or cliques or whatever that aren't worth wasting your time with. maybe if you have the patience of a whole bunch of saints it's worth participating in and trying to be a generally positive force, but tbh you're probably always better off just finding a community that isn't mired in a ton of dysfunction. Hey, new thread. Speaking of online, one silver lining of this pandemic is that there's a lot of sanghas who are livestreaming their services and teachings, which is increasing accessibility to all. I also welcome this opportunity to check out sanghas that are different than mine; last night, I watched the Sunday Morning Service from a Jodo Shinshu temple. While the conditions are not the best, I'm taking this opportunity to learn and explore new aspects of the Dharma. My sangha, Sakya Monastery of Tibetan Buddhism, has been livestreaming our Sunday Chenrezi services, with only the monks and lamas in residence. (They have been sequestered inside, while the rest of us members have been prevented from entering; the sangha is closed to the public). Our YouTube channel is here: https://www.youtube.com/user/SakyaMonastery Also, they are making the Sunday Morning Chenrezi booklets available to the public, free of charge, so that all can benefit. No special prerequisites, empowerments, or refuge needed. (Tibetan Buddhism is huge on empowerments). I uploaded them to this Google Drive, to share with the thread: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Pfco1zHJVwKfV7HFVo-squfBufsZVccw?usp=sharing Last Sunday, we had Chenrezi, as well as recitation the 16 Arhats prayer, and a Mandala offering for the long life of H.E. Asanga Rinpoche.
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May 4, 2020 20:56
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| # ¿ Apr 23, 2024 21:33 |
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Thirteen Orphans posted:My sister is Jodo Shinshu so I’ve been to a few Buddhist Churches of America services. The temple is beautiful and their bowl gong (what’s this called?) is exquisite. It really has that special feel of a sacred space. This was the service I watched last night; I really enjoyed the format. It wasn't just 'livestream of an empty sangha with one person talking', but they had a question and answer session with Zoom and three priests(?), a story at someone's home, etc. Someday, I'll visit that place in person in Seattle, for an actual Sunday service. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS-8LmOVrtk The first half is in English, and the second is in Japanese. I have an interest in Jodo Shinshu and other forms of Japanese Buddhism, as when all of this *waves hands* is all over with, I want to do at least part of the Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage. (Which is a mindfuck in its own right, as the Google Maps symbol for 'Buddhist Temple' in Japan is the same as...what the Nazis used for their hate campaigns. I know that in East Asia and Japan it has a wildly different meaning, but to this Westerner, I'm looking at SO many swastikas a day and it's just....*weird* seeing it out there, in a benign form.) Qu Appelle fucked around with this message at 22:25 on May 4, 2020 |
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May 4, 2020 22:18
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Weird question. Is one 'tied' to a sangha? Or to a certain tradition? I took refuge and joined a sangha that's rooted in Tibetan Buddhism. However, the sangha is really hard for me to get to for the Sunday Chenrezi chanting service. It's easily an hour one way, *if* I make my bus connections - and that's pre-COVID-19. Now? Our public transportation is in shambles, and I don't drive. I can get there for weekday events easily, however. The closest sangha to my place is the Seattle Betsuin, a Japanese Buddhist Churches of America sangha. They practice Jodo Shinshu, a branch of Pure Land Buddhism, if I'm understanding it correctly. It's really easy for me to get to; it's within walking distance for me. Can I just take in some Sunday morning services there, instead of my 'home' sangha? This may seem ignorant, but I was raised in Christianity, where bouncing in between denominations is something that's not really done. I've been watching their livestreamed Sunday services, so I'm familiar with how they do things, kind of. So, when things open up again, I'd like to check them out in person.
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May 15, 2020 08:34
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Paramemetic posted:Nah. A teacher? Somewhat. A monastery? Yeah. A Sangha or group or so on? Nah not at all. Visit and explore, the Buddha taught 84,000 heaps of Dharma and they are all good. That all is really reassuring. I don't really have a set teacher yet, and i think that's partially in that it's hard for me to physically get there - so I'm not around. Zoom has made that a lot easier, at least, to talk to people; we do have a virtual 'coffee hour' for sangha members after virtual Chenrezi, and that's good. Nor have I taken any monastic vows, so not tied to any monastery. I do have a White Tara empowerment, but the daily requirement is to just practice bodhichitta, which I try to do anyways. (I did get good advice in that now that I've made Refuge? Don't run around and get all the empowerments you can, just because you can. They're teachings, not Pokemon.) I'll give the Buddhist Church a visit when they're able to open up in person again.
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May 15, 2020 21:46
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Herstory Begins Now posted:There's definitely an expectation generally that if you invest enough into a tradition to formally become someone's student (which can be formal or informal) that you direct the majority of your energies in that direction if possible, at least for some time. There's definitely nothing against double dipping and generally if you asked anyone in a teaching role, 'hey i'm curious to check out x' or 'hey it's way more convenient for me to go practice at y a few days a week' you'll probably just get nodded at and told to report back how it goes. Depending on a few things you might also get told a bit about how to speak of previous practice.. or not to. Yeah that's a really good point. The problem may solve itself when I move, which I'm planning on doing in the next year or so anyways. There's definitely no dissatisfaction with the teachings or the sangha itself; my issue is purely geographical in nature. The one thing I don't want to do is stretch myself way too thin, and then have that be a source of stress. And! I just checked my sangha's message board, and one of the teachers there posted this resource of Tibetan texts and prayers into various languages, from Tibetan. My time might be better spent studying the texts in here as a dharma practice, for when I can't get to my sangha physically. https://www.lotsawahouse.org/ Qu Appelle fucked around with this message at 00:35 on May 16, 2020 |
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May 15, 2020 22:32
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| # ¿ Apr 23, 2024 21:33 |
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Nude Hoxha Cameo posted:Some of this will come down to personal preference, but we’ve used this one for years and love it: I just looked at my account, and I realized that I had enough Kindle credits for this Indian Vegetarian cookbook by Madhur Jaffrey, for free: https://smile.amazon.com/Vegetarian-India-Journey-Through-Cooking/dp/1101874864 Can't wait to try some recipes out of it.
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Jun 7, 2020 01:07
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