solo practice

armando

there are no theravada sanghas or vipassana groups that i know of up here, so i go solo. i'm using two books to assist me, "mindfulness with breathing " by buddhadasa bhiikkhu and "focused and fearless" by shailia catherine. they click with me. i have the attention span of a gerbil, so the structure of a group would be helpful. do many of you have a positive solo practice? thanks.

aMatt

I have a solo practice, and being alone can be trying at times. However, I did study for quite a time with a teacher, which I feel is directly important to be able to see your own twisted versions of things... especially starting out. If we don't have someone to penetrate our habituated thinking, often our habits can appear as insights, and deepen.

armando

i understand and agree with what you're saying. it is a dilemma. i did take
s. n. goenka's ten day course in shelburne, ma which i found helpful. being the dilettante that i am, i'm fairly steeped in the literature of various traditions which probably puts me at greater risk in terms of "insights". the theravada tradition seems to fit for me. the thai forest teachers seem to explain things as clearly and simply as possible without a lot of extraneous fluff. i think i understand some of the things that they're saying. the plan is to approach the practice with some humility and patience and hope i meet a decent teacher down the road. thanks for sharing your experiences and the advice.

vey best wishes,
armando

FoibleFull

You got my curiosity up and I looked up Buddhism in Maine ... there seem to be 9 groups in a 0-60 minute driving radius of Bangor, but only one mentions vipassana and it's a mixed bag.

If you know that your work "better" with a group, I would suggest that you take what is available in your area and work with it. I speak from experience when I say that "fluff" doesn't harm you ... we all take in only that which makes sense to us anyway.

armando

thanks.