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where can i find the dahma?

cabossimncabossimn Veteran
edited October 2011 in Buddhism Basics
i want to read and study the teachings. all of them.

Comments

  • cabossimncabossimn Veteran
    all i know is from second hand.
  • cabossimncabossimn Veteran
    and whats a sutta?
  • CloudCloud Veteran
    A good place to start learning Buddhism is http://www.buddhanet.net. They should also have links to original sutras.
  • cabossimncabossimn Veteran
    ok
  • bodhipunkbodhipunk
    edited October 2011
    A sutta (or "sutra" in Sanskrit) means "thread" and it refers to the discourses or sermons given by the Buddha or his disciples. In Mahayana, sutras can also refer to the teachings of various bodhisattvas.

    For a look at the Tipitaka ("Three Baskets" of the Pali Canon), which is the foundation of Theravada and literally contains tens of thousands of suttas: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/index.html and http://tipitaka.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page

    For a list of Mahayana sutras: http://www4.bayarea.net/~mtlee/ and http://www.purifymind.com/Sutras.htm

    For a collection of suttas/sutras from both the Mahayana and Theravada traditions: http://buddhasutra.com/
  • bodhipunkbodhipunk
    Oh yeah, and like Cloud suggests, it would probably be better to get some kind of preliminary learning before diving in to reading the suttas. Buddhanet.net is definitely a great place to start.
  • cabossimncabossimn Veteran
    whats preliminary learning?
  • CloudCloud Veteran
    edited October 2011
    The basics. Easy to understand words.
  • taiyakitaiyaki Veteran
    The dharma is your experience. Just see for yourself.
  • MountainsMountains Veteran
    If you try to read, much less understand the sutras without some basic understanding of the concepts behind them, you'll be very frustrated very quickly. It's not something you can browse for light reading on the weekend. You need a teacher to help you understand them correctly.

    If you're brand new to Buddhism, the link above is good, as are many easily available books such as "Buddhism for Dummies" and "Buddhism Plain & Simple" by Steve Hagen.

    Like anything else, start with the basics and move on from there. Take too big a bite at first and you'll choke on it. You don't start mountain climbing by scaling Everest. You start with the mole hill in your back yard. :)

  • cabossimncabossimn Veteran
    im already done with the basics then
  • Floating_AbuFloating_Abu Veteran
    The dharma is your experience. Just see for yourself.
    What a stupid thing to say to a beginner @taiyaki !
  • Floating_AbuFloating_Abu Veteran
    edited October 2011
    Within the Buddhist world, there are not many Buddhists who use the Four Noble Truths anymore, even in Thailand. People say, ‘Oh yes, the Four Noble Truths - beginner’s stuff.’ Then they might use all kinds of vipassana techniques and become really obsessed with the sixteen stages before they get to the Noble Truths. I find it quite boggling that in the Buddhist world the really profound teaching has been dismissed as primitive Buddhism: ‘That’s for the little kids, the beginners. The advanced course is....’ They go into complicated theories and ideas - forgetting the most profound teaching.

    The Four Noble Truths are a lifetime’s reflection. It is not just a matter of realising the Four Noble Truths, the three aspects, and twelve stages and becoming an arahant on one retreat - and then going onto something advanced. The Four Noble Truths are not easy like that. They require an ongoing attitude of vigilance and they provide the context for a lifetime of examination

    - Ajahn Sumedho
  • taiyakitaiyaki Veteran
    @Floating_Abu

    =]
  • abhishek_laserabhishek_laser
    my personal recommedation on how you need to approach the dhamma.
    1)take the five precepts, practice minimum of 30 mins of meditation and read/listen to dhamma everyday. what i just mentioned is the threefold training of morality, concentration and wisdom.
    2) overcoming day-to-day problems in life by using dhamma principles. for this please read "Who ordered this truckload of dung" by Ajahn Brahm and listen to his talks found in the website dhammaloka.org.au
    3) attend a meditation retreat, vipassana meditaiton centres are many and you'll be able to find one close to your place.
    4) keep up regular practice of meditation and simultaneously keep reading/listening meditation instructions.
    5) read lot of dhamma books and also the suttas which are the original teachings of the buddha.

    This is as much as I can say, the rest is upto you. You have to practice by yourself and realize by yourself, the buddhas only show you the way you are the one who has to walk the path and put an end to suffering.
  • TalismanTalisman Veteran
    The title of this thread sounds like a koan. :p
  • shanyinshanyin Novice Yogin Sault Ontario Veteran
    im already done with the basics then
    Do you know what Dukkha means? Anatta?
  • shanyinshanyin Novice Yogin Sault Ontario Veteran
    I suggest you find a teacher. and check this out

    http://arrowriver.ca/dhamma.html

    Dhamma notes

    I started by trying to memorize the Four Noble truths through the numeric system that the Buddha used, and trying it. I never had a teacher. Buddhist doctrine seems to hold that four noble truths including the eightfold path is complete, leads to "the goal" and was preached by his disciples to lay people.
  • shanyinshanyin Novice Yogin Sault Ontario Veteran
    I'm not pushing that school on you, I met the monk who wrote all that. Keep an open mind to other schools. I can't speak on them because I have never studied them or had an understanding of the differences or whatever.
  • shanyinshanyin Novice Yogin Sault Ontario Veteran
    I'm no enlightened being living a holy life, or a scholar. But I have my experience and opinion. I didn't have a teacher, but it seems considered important many monks of both schools, and if I could have one, I would. Even just to try to understand parts of the doctrine, and keep motivated to keep meditating and being a good guy :D.
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