Best Of
Re: Have I ever truly meditated?
I find I get the best results when I have no goal other than meditation itself. When I expect the improvement to be gradual throughout my life. At first I needed a bit of faith but once I saw the benefits happening gradually I stopped worrying about doing it "right". Then again, I had formal instruction and doubt I would have seen as much improvement going it alone.
Re: Martial Arts and Buddhism - Is it acceptable?
One thing I would add to the thread: the Buddha did condemn theater and games as being a cause for heedlessness, might he not also have been negative about martial arts as training?
I am tending to agree these days that once you end up in a physical fight the important part of the conflict which is a meeting of hearts and minds is already lost. I’ve not been in a fight since my school days, it hasn’t been necessary.
Jeroen
Re: Have I ever truly meditated?
All meditation practitioners who honestly persevere will eventually have awakenings of differing strengths and longevity. The most common prelude to such things though seem to arise when the practitioner no longer seeks out such experiences.
Yep that's right 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾
The higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment...
Shoshin1
Re: Have I ever truly meditated?
I ask myself that sometimes. I've rarely experienced deep concentration or blissed out type meditations. My meditation life has largely been about returning to the experience of the body and letting go of thoughts. Just that has a profound impact on my well being. So I always try to learn and improve but I don't sweat it, whatever it is I am doing seems to have a positive impact.
person
Re: Have I ever truly meditated?
I experience the same, the chatter goes at some point. Wish me luck.
Kotishka
Re: A Buddhist teacher admits ... BUDDHISM HAS FAILED!
I've seen some blunt comments to be sure, but I haven't seen anyone criticize Jundo as a person. I don't know him personally. I have no idea about his family, his friends, what he's like at the office, etc. All I know is what I see here:
1. He's using a clickbait banner for his funnel
2. The funnel is to book sales
3. He denies he's selling books (despite providing us the links)
4. Beneath all that, he's advocating (I think; I didn't buy the books) recognition of the potential for technology to increase the dissemination of a message; the message being Buddhism in this case.
Having observed him here and in the videos to be observant and articulate, i recognize that there is certainly the potential for him to contribute meaningfully to the forum should he choose.
I doubt he'll choose. Among us, Shoshin did engage him on the concepts, at least initially. But critical mass in this thread seems to be that the sales/denial/innocense approach is off-putting (as it is to me), possibly fatally, and should he see this and decide to engage and salvage the effort here, it will be at notable cost in time and focus, for a very small audience/prospect pool. (And his approach will have to be "OK, OK, my cloak is off now; let's talk.") If he doesn't resurface, or if he does but continues on the marketing trajectory, then it was just a sales channel. If he comes back and engages in substantive discussion about technology and the expanded medium it confers, it could definitely be quite an interesting conversation.
My prediction and my hope are opposites. Jundo, come through!
Steve_B
Re: Have I ever truly meditated?
Have I ever truly meditated?
There are probably as many definitions of meditation as there are practitioners.
Some questioning of whether you are truly meditating or not, tends to be a less deluded space to practice within than just assuming that your meditation is true.
The real difficulty however in attaining a satisfactory answer to this question is more tied up in our attachments to a sense of self than it is about whether our meditation technique is true or not.
If the human condition is seen as a dream state of our ego or identity's storyline,
meditation is simply our attempted disassembly of the constructs of that dream.
To the degree that one approaches meditation as something to be acquired & possessed, is the same degree to which one's slumbering continues over any real awakenings.
To the degree that one approaches meditation as a renunciation of one's attachments, is the same degree to which the question answers itself.
All meditation practitioners who honestly persevere will eventually have awakenings of differing strengths and longevity. The most common prelude to such things though seem to arise when the practitioner no longer seeks out such experiences.
Take some comfort in a meditative truth that is seldom told.
When comparing awakenings.....
Small awakenings arise from small delusions
Big awakenings arise from big delusions.
.
how
Re: Have I ever truly meditated?
Were you given instructions by a qualified meditation instructor?
Re: A Buddhist teacher admits ... BUDDHISM HAS FAILED!
Lets try to keep any criticism we have to the ideas or approach and avoid critiquing Jundo as a person. We really don't know all that much about him.
person
Re: A Buddhist teacher admits ... BUDDHISM HAS FAILED!
The problem seems to be Jundo's presentation in the OP than anything about the money.
If it was going to be used as a fund-raiser, he should have led with that and not some egregious overstatement. In fact, "Buddhism Has Failed" should have been toned way down, otherwise it sounds like a bush-league, liberal pundit, you-tuber, trying to get attention for his videos and monetizing his channel. A real turn-off.
I wish Jundo the best of luck on his book. Maybe, after I get rid of the bad taste in my mouth, I'll buy a copy.