choosing a path

Wisdom23

So i have been practising buddhism in a general sense for only a few months and i am now contemplating whether it would be beneficial to me to choose a chain of buddhism to practise. I was wondering what my fellow buddhists had to offer me in answering this question.

BhikkhuJayasara

For me there was a moment it "clicked" when I found and began to learn Theravada. I found it fit my world view like a glove and it became part of me.

I had first found out about Buddhism through the dalai lama and Tibetan however it never fit and I had too many reservations and such.

So check out all the different traditions and if one strongly fits you, then naturally follow that. If no specific tradition calls to you then don't feel that you HAVE to pick one. All traditions have the same core teachings and go off on their own tangents from there.

The most important thing is to practice.

Jeffrey

There is a pain to realizing that not all agree with each other. Don't worry about that pain and just keep in mind that all the individual constituents of streams are better off with their path than they would be without, in general.

But yeah there is a pain to disagreements particularly in that you can encounter the 'mandala guardians' of the other school when you contradict them. Mandalas have a center which is the heart of the ethos etc of the group or individual (yes individuals are mandalas). When you tromp around in enclaves with other view than you and you constantly contradict them then the mandala guardians work together to expel you. It's kinda like peer pressure. This is why it's wrong speech to sow schisms. It wastes a lot of energy to try to quote 'give' others your view with the ulterior motive of shoring up your own ego in self-replicating your ego/view.

Jason

Wisdom23 said:

So i have been practising buddhism in a general sense for only a few months and i am now contemplating whether it would be beneficial to me to choose a chain of buddhism to practise. I was wondering what my fellow buddhists had to offer me in answering this question.

I'd say it doesn't hurt simply because a particular teacher or tradition will tend to have a cohesive framework that makes practice under or within them more structured and fined-tuned, which I personally find more helpful. While I started exploring everything and picking and choosing from various schools and teachers, I've since narrowed most of my focus to the Thai Forest Tradition of Theravada because I'm attracted to its profound simplicity and the fact that it's practice-oriented tradition. Each person is different, however, and different things will appeal to them, so choosing a particular teacher or tradition to practice with/in is often a process of trial and error.

lobster

Mix and match.
I was fortunate to be thrown out of the YinYana cult for trying to join. They exclude anyone trying to be a member.

Most Buddhist schools offer generic meditation and courses/retreats. My advice would be watch some youtube presentations and suggested practices and find what appeals . . .
I have less than twelve months to become enlightened, so am concentrating on the fast one lifetime paths: zen, dzogchen, tantra.
You might require a more leisurely approach.

Good luck. Be kind to the fish.

ThailandTom

I personally would not force it and let it crop up on it's own accord. Just like with meditation one should not induce a state of concentration with brute force, but to let it arrive with a gentle, guided hand.

I have been studying/practicing Buddhism now for somewhere between 4-5 years and still do not stay confined to one tradition. However I tend to listen more to what Theravada teachings have to say, that being said there are good things to be found in all areas if you look closely.

Deepankar

All sutra is your mind and all traditions is your tradition. It depends on your own aptitude. All traditions are chan/zen. Based on my experience, be wisdom in learning and pureland amitabha as destination.

Wisdom23

Wisdom23 said:

So i have been practising buddhism in a general sense for only a few months and i am now contemplating whether it would be beneficial to me to choose a chain of buddhism to practise. I was wondering what my fellow buddhists had to offer me in answering this question.

Thank you all for uour input i am so greatful. it has confirmed what i thought.

Many thanks

zenmyste

The path of no specific path
Like nature
Be one with everything
Live in accordance with our true mother nature..
If you feel like walking in the rain - walk in the rain (could be zen rain)
If you feel like staying in doors - stay in doors (could be theravada indoors)
Learn from all
Live like all
Be, all!

ZenBadger

My advice is that if you have something local then try that first. I didn't and tried to follow a group that met 200 miles away costing me almost every penny I earned just to keep up enough for my teacher to remember who I was. There was a Sangha meeting in my village less than 200 metres away but it was "the wrong sort" and belonged to a certain tradition with a bit of a bad press. Now I have no money and therefore cannot attend the group I trained with for so many years but because of the politics and prejudices with which I have grown up (in a spiritual sense) I find it difficult to bring myself to sit with the local Sangha. Result - no practice at all.

Keep an open mind and don't make things hard for yourself finding the perfect group, school or tradition - it doesn't exist.

lobster

This vipassana course begins in two days, might be a good way to consolidate a practice . . .
http://www.vipassana.com/course/

caz

Keep an open mind

footiam

Wisdom23 said:

So i have been practising buddhism in a general sense for only a few months and i am now contemplating whether it would be beneficial to me to choose a chain of buddhism to practise. I was wondering what my fellow buddhists had to offer me in answering this question.

If it is about benefits, every chain has its perks!

DaftChris

Simply choose the path that seems right to you.

I was a Tibetan Buddhist for about a year and now I'm non-sectarian. Although I do find an interest in Theravada.

how

With a sincere practise, the right path is simply what's under your feet right now.

Lee82

I have considered myself Buddhist for only a relatively short time but think I have been following 'the path' all my life. I haven't as yet taken any interest in different schools of thought within Buddhism and have no need to follow any particular path other than the one I am on. I don't think you need to shoehorn yourself in to a category unless it absolutely fits with who you are. If one aspect of a particular path doesn't fit with my philosophy or belief then it isn't right for me. I suppose if I don't look in to the different paths I won't know if one of them is perfect for me; I stumbled across Buddhism and found it fit perfectly with who I have always been and perhaps the same will be true with this but I somehow doubt that would be the case.

Buddhapada

Hi Wisdom23,
I am also a new Buddhist.
Although many may disagree with me, I do not believe in the necessity of choosing a path. Buddha said that Buddhism should be supported by logic and science, there should be a constant progression. For now, I personally believe that carving out my own path of Buddhism may be the best way - it will be both a learning process and an individual one, one that won't necessarily subscribe to the role of Buddhism as a religion but more to its role as a Philosophy. I believe that Buddhism, a way of living (to me), should be applied to our unique (for a lack of better words) lives and should be developed, personally, in different ways.
Of course general principles and idea must still have influence and hold true, however my viewpoint is that practices and emphases should be open to individual interpretation and decision.
I hope that helped. I am by no means well educated in the field of Buddhism, so I apologize if this statement generates a negative response.
- Buddhapada