Online Teachers

Bekenze

I am sure that this very question was asked before this, but the search doesn't work well for me...

Are there any online Buddhist teachers? I am unable to make it to a local Sangha. I was hoping someone here would know of a Zen or Theravada (or any, really) online Buddhist teachers. ? Thank you all.

genkaku

At Zen Mountain Monastery, they offer an email address for questions: cybermonk@mro.org.

Bekenze

That link is broken on my computer, genkaku. Is it just me, or is the link broke for everyone?

genkaku

Yup ... broken for me too. Apologies. Try this one: http://www.mro.org/mro.html

Raven

It would be great to have a place where students could teleconference (skype, or something similar) to do home-Sangha. Like Bekenze, I'm not in a position to attend a Sangha but I'd like to. Maybe, as the technology continues to develop and reach new points of society, this will happen.

Dakini

www.upaya.org has podcasts you can listen to. It's a Zen center with a small monastic community and a Buddhist chaplaincy program.

Bekenze

Any more?

Tosh

I can recommend this:

http://www.buddhistthought.org/

The students have a forum; a bit like this place; to ask and answer questions.

And it's a structured course, quite demanding; it's Gelug Buddhism.

LittleMighty

Thanks so much for posting this. My area doesn't have any Sanghas at all. The nearest one is about 4 hours away. This is very helpful! Happy New Year!

Bekenze

https://dharmasun.org/index.php?dharmasun=viewpp

Found a Tibetan one, but it costs 180 dollars.

Dakini

The podcasts at upaya.org are free.

Where's @Jeffrey? His lama teaches online, but I don't know how it works. I don't know if you have to pay, or how you become a member of the e-community. She's a Western Tibetan Buddhist lama.

Jeffrey

@Dakini, yes my lama teaches online. There are biweekly emails you may receive for free (to read). The course when I took it had a fee. I believe they have had some generous donations to help reduce their fee. Also I believe they work with you based on your ability to pay so it can't hurt to contact them if it is out of range. http://www.buddhism-connect.org/what-we-offer/

Bekenze

It costs 400+ dollars. I do not have that kind of money. I think it would be inconsiderate of me to ask them to lessen the price just because I can not pay it.

Bekenze

Edit: I saw where it says they can take 50% off for certain people. I will look into that.

Jeffrey

The course has taken me over four years though one could probably get through it in one. I think you can do the course in payments over the course of time. The emailings are free.

taiyaki

@Jeffrey

i am considering taking this online course.
is there anything i should know that isn't detailed on the website?
thought i'd get your personal opinion prior to signing up.

genkaku

I can't find it immediately, but Treeleaf Zendo has online meditation sessions as I recall. You might try snooping their site or contacting them directly: http://www.treeleaf.org/sit-a-long/with-jundo-and-taigu/

Amelia

I am a part of Treeleaf. I am taking Jukai with Jundo Cohen on the fifteenth. Very good place with warm people. It is Soto Zen.

Amelia

We function just as an ordinary sangha would, with zazenkai on Fridays. we have regular dharma talks, and the teachers are very open to dokusan on skype.

I feel like Im doing a commercial

Bekenze

Amelia, could you tell me more about Tree Life? Mainly, elaborate on your last post. Maybe give contact info too?

genkaku

There's a link in my last post.

Jeffrey

@taiyaki, I have found the teachings quite good. If you want to get a sense of the 'ways' of Lama Shenpen try reading some of the archived e-mails on buddhism connect. I have found that Lama Shenpen's answers to my questions are different from what I have encountered elsewhere such as forums. It's hard to explain how it is diffent, but I always feel more awake and surprised at her reply. It's something I can't quite put my finger on but I guess her replies challenge me in a deeper (what's the word) way than just giving something to the intellect. Also the contact person and sangha are of gentle speach and they convey some of the teachings, the vibe, of the sangha.

As far as the material in the coursebook it comes from a different angle seemingly than what I saw elsewhere. It starts with your own experience and teaches the buddhist material in terms of finding in your own experience rather than learning intellectually (again). The course teachings go deeper and deeper into the dharma in the way that you can repeat them or base a practice on them and its not just 'ok I memorized that material what next?'...

If you are unsure you could work on a payment plan for awhile in such a way that if you really don't take to it you don't invest the whole fee.

Just knowing you I think you would like the course material. When I took the course the angle was so foreign to me that I had to sort of slow down and let myself 'find' the material in my own life. There were points where I wanted to spit out the material but I found that it was very nourishing once I chewed and digested. What else can I say, hmmm?