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So what are you doing right now in the way of a Buddhist practice? Are you meditating, or looking to start meditating? Are you reading any sutras or listening to any sermons on youtube?
Try some kriya yoga while sitting in a zen pose. There are various poses half lotus full lotus and some that incorporate benches. Depending on how flexible you are I'd recommend half lotus.ifyou have sat on couches and use back rests for a good portion of your life it will at first be uncomfortable. Brief intro to kriya yoga is being mindful of breathing in and out from your gut. When the mind wanders and some sort of angry thought pops up note it and also feel if that brings to the body any tension then return mindfulness to breathing in and out. Everything is subject to rising and ceasing.
Doing kriya yoga helps one better tame the "monkey mind". Diet plays a big role into state of mind too maybe consider changing from vegetarian/vegan if that is not already being undertaken.
I'd recommend going to a zen center of some sort though as learning with a sangha is beneficial.
Also there are various teachers on YouTube whom shed better light on meditating with hindrances.
If you have time buddhadhammasangha.com gives good lectures. Remember to stay sincere!
0
Barrasoto zenniewandering in a cloud in beautiful, bucolic Victoria BC, on the wacky left coast of CanadaVeteran
Hey thanks so much for the detailed answer @Invincible_summer, and also @how for the assistance!
IC - Yah potentially, it's an option we are looking at
Metta, Abu
Hey, Abu! If you're checking out this area come over to Victoria. It's a ferry ride away. A smaller and prettier city with yoga centers and Buddhist groups on every block!
I am happy to join this forum. A wonderful feeling to meet all of you in here. Learning dhamma together and sharing with one another. I hope we can meet someday, guys
Hello folks, my name is Rasmus, going grade 11, living in Sweden. Went to a talk held by the Dalai Lama two years ago and felt more inspired after that than I had ever felt in my life, it was a powerful emotion. After that I really wanted to learn more about the religion he'd been raised with, and I eventually found my way here. I'm not too great at tricks but I love martial arts, both the excercise and the philosophies present in them. So, I hope I'll be able to make somewhat of a contribution to this place, feels great being able to share Buddhist ideas with people who are familiar with the subject! Peace out and have a great day/night!
Hi everyone, my name is Deborah. i signed up today Im 36 years old and female... I live with my partner and four children, I am from the uk England. I joined this group to learn more about buddhism and meditation . I have been watching a lot of Arahn Brahm on youtube which so far as been a great help.Looking forward to learning and growing amongst you all
I'm a 27 year old customer support agent for a major computer games company, living in Ireland for four and a half years, though was born and raised in England.
I was raised CoE christian, though in my teens edged away from this and started looking at other religions as I found Christianity didn't hold answers for me. Not really participated in mass religion since then, though I've thought a lot about my own beliefs.
Recently though I've been listening to a lot of dharma talks on youtube while working, from the likes or Arjahn Brahm and Thubten Chodron for the most part, both of whom I find wonderful in their style of speaking and teaching, and finding a lot of what they say strikes a chord with me, thus, here I am. It feels like starting a journey, a new path in life; I feel drawn to look into this more in-depth, find I'm starting to apply things to how I think and behave in my day to day life.
So.. that's a bit about me. Time to dive in and see what the discussions here have to offer
I joined just last night, looking for a Buddhist discussion forum. I was drawn to the name newbuddhist, because I guess you can say that's what I am, at least partially. I'll explain...
I'm primarily Vaishnava Hindu, an Italian-American convert, 56 years old next month, IT sys admin (read "desk jockey"). I've begun learning about Buddhism, Mahāyāna in particular. I am also learning about Taoism. I'm finding compatible elements in all three traditions/philosophies. Though I was always interested in eastern philosophies, from the time I was a teenager, I was drawn to begin learning about Buddhism by a comment someone made about deity yoga. To that end I began looking into Vajrayāna.
It turns out that it was not compatible with my primary Vaishnava practices, though not necessarily incompatible with beliefs. What I've taken away and held onto are the bodhisattvas, bodhicitta, innate buddha-hood, and some other concepts that mesh with Hinduism. I find concepts and deities in Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism to be "cross-pollinated" and in some cases parallels... the same deity or concept with a different name.
My altar is a combined Hindu, Buddhist and Taoist altar, following the traditionally prescribed formats for arrangement and offerings. I even have small images of Jesus and Mother Mary (great compassionate teacher, and another form of the Universal Mother, respectively). I'm an unabashed and unapologetic syncretic and henotheist.
I hope to learn a lot more. I hope that what I believe is not incompatible with the spirit and mission of this site.
2
DaftChrisSpiritually conflicted. Not of this world.Veteran
Hey, found the site the other day, figured why not. Its been many years since cracking a book on Buddhism or meditation for that matter. Back in the day…70’s was in to it, the dead, trips, sweat lodges and float tanks, but at some point it, books seemed to be mental masturbation, instead of just living it. So humbly tried to approach life as a meditation; gawd 30 years in mental health, mrs, 3 kids, dogs, cats, and a rabbit later…the swirl has slowed down and seems that the whole yoga, meditation, Buddha thing has really taken off and just the other day watched a documentary on Chogyam Trungpa on Netflix…at one time was signed up to do naropa. Anyway about 10 years ago, adopted “wrathfuldeity” as a reminder to face my demons, fears and anxieties…its been a fun ride. One of my favorite Buddhist things to do is snowboarding big pow lines at Mt Baker.
Just a little about my background for anyone who might be interested...
My family never showed much interest in religion, but I was educated in Church of England schools and was a member of the Scouts, so I had a Christian outlook on life and wore a cross around my neck for a few years in my early 20s. I wasn't part of any particular congregation, but I felt generally Christian and identified with it as such.
Then, when I was 29, my first child was born. To cut a long story short, there were several problems which resulted in my wife ending up in intensive care and my son moved to another hospital where he was operated on to save his life.
At that point, my belief in God was stronger than ever, and I admit to praying regularly during those very difficult times.
My wife pulled through and my son survived - albeit with several disabilities, including Autism. The strain of living with him and his several difficult conditions made me very angry and resentful towards life in general. Within a couple of years (and a read of a few books by Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens) I'd decided God was a load of nonsense, no other explanation made sense for the pain and misery I was witness to. Logically, there was no place for God in this universe we live in. If He exists, then He is irrelevant anyway. My opinion and nothing more, of course.
So, during my early 30s I became a very bad-tempered and depressed Atheist. Over time I found myself arriving at a very nihilistic point of view. I began to seriously consider suicide as a useful way out. The years dragged by with loathsome monotony.
Thankfully, I sought help from a very good psychologist last year (I'm now in my late 30s), who put me back on track. Around the same time, I was reading the Dune series of books by Frank Herbert. I found the ideas within those books very interesting (although the standard of writing is variable in the later volumes) and did some research on the man. It turns out that he was allegedly a Zen Buddhist. This fascinated me, and I did some research on Buddhism itself.
I read a book (no doubt some of you will have heard of it) - The Buddhist Handbook by John Snelling. I followed that up with some basic reading of the sutras describing the Buddha's life. I was hooked.
Suddenly I found in Buddhism everything that had been missing in my life, and yet it could co-exist with my scientific, logical understanding of the world - aside from the re-incarnation part, of which I'm agnostic. The more I think about it, the more I see I already had ideas and morals much in line with Buddhist thinking, and it really isn't a major change in my life to become a Buddhist - whatever that means exactly.
Sadly, there's few Buddhists around my way, so I'm starved of a local sangha. And so, I find myself here...
Just found this site and looks really interesting. Hoping to learn a lot. I've been reading a lot of Buddhism books and just want to know more, learn more. And the more I read of course I see how much i DON'T know! That's right I know nothing!
I'm Jewish but not getting anything out of it really. Just having a difficult time believing in "God". Well, the TRUTH is I just don't anymore!
But I like the peacefulness of Buddhism probably because I'm not a very inner-peace person! But I want to be and this seems the way. Having a TERRIBLE time with meditation! I read about Walking Meditation and I really like doing that, but why the heck can't I meditate the other way?? oh well, keep trying! Hope someone else watches and says what they think.
I live in Kansas, married for 25 years next month, one son who's married with a 2 year old. I'm a free lance English Editor so I read a LOT. I found a lot of free Kindle books on Buddhism from Amazon so looking forward to those.
"Hope someone else watches and says what they think." Don't know how i deleted the stuff before this comment, but what i said was on my PBS tonight are 2 shows i'm looking forward to, The Buddha and "Secrets of the Dead" about someone thinking they actually found the bones of The Buddha.
Welcome to New Buddhist!! I go by Shigo on here...I have actually seen a special on youtube called "Bones of the Buddha" I'll post it below so you and others can enjoy.
honestly it took what doubt I had (very little doubt mind you, Ive been a buddhist for about 5 years) away if The Buddha was ever a real person. The history, archaeological findings, researchers, my own research, numerous sources, and historical lineage have cleared away ever doubt. The Budda was a real human being and whats found in the pali cannon suttas are his teachings. Its wonderful and beautiful to be a buddhist :om:
welcome to this site. i am a Hindu. whether its Hinduism, Buddhism, Jew, Chiristianity etc, just remember peace comes not from outside, but from inside.
loving-kindness (metta) to you and all sentient beings.
thanks misecmsi. Very kind of you. My father in law is Hindu and he's a wonderful man.
thanks so much shingo!! that was just INCREDIBLE!! WOW!! Wonder if they ever carbon dated those bone fragments? I'm going to email that guy and ask. I thought The Buddha was really old when he died, I always pictured a Mahatma Gande type. I wonder what happened to his wife and son? Even The Buddha caused suffering, didn't he?
Dont remember about his wife...She might have become a nun. His Son became an ariya and reached liberation. If your wondering about their remains, I have no clue As far as The Buddhas age he was 80 something when he died.
I read about Walking Meditation and I really like doing that, but why the heck can't I meditate the other way?
There is another way?
. . . nobody tells me Nothing!
The reason is agitation, fidgeting, a busy life. How unnatural to just chill . . . . . . this is why in Buddhism, so I have been told, there are tactics to stillness . . . As well as walking, you can do mindful eating, as used by monks, or mindful washing up when the dishwasher breaks down . . . or prostrations . . . or chanting to some imaginary archetype (a principle manifest as a visual imagined mandala).
Unlike other religions we treat our 'gods' as mind fabrications which we create, evoke as a principle and dismiss . . . well those of a vajrayana disposition do . . .
OM MANI PEME HUM as I like to chant whilst doing almost anything . . . (I chant internally - don't want to frighten the dog - even though I don't have one)
Often when we cannot seem to sit still for meditation it is because we don't sit still when not in meditation. The mind likes to do things with what it is experiencing, it seems unnatural to do nothing.
Consider stapling or gluing your bottom to a cushion. The boredom and agitation will be so boring and agitating that you'll get so bored of it and agitated with it you'll set it aside and get to work not working.
I'll stop there before someone thinks lobster hacked my account. Namaste, and welcome!
All I will say is: Not all Buddhists sit in formal meditation. Not all who meditate are Buddhists. Don't let meditation (or lack of) solely define your idea of "a good Buddhist".
Welcome from me as well. Hope you like it here. Be patient with your practice and you will be rewarded! This site is great, by the way. Sometimes it's a bunch of nonsense and sometimes you will realize something so profound that it puts you on the floor. Enjoy :clap:
Shingo I'm so glad i got to watch it. I have it set to my DVR I have to see it again! I just wonder if that man still has all that stuff in a box in his house! Priceless antiquities housed like that? Does anyone think BREAK-IN? I hope he's done something with all those things, like send them back to India!
I just can't believe this isn't a bigger story. If it was Jesus or Moses it'd be HUGE!
Try breathing from your diapram (belly feeling and expansion) right after starting meditation. A body scan can also help, by slowly feeling all the parts of your body. Now consider how it could be possible for you to feel all of that. You raise your hand somehow? How do you do that?
Then go into labeling thoughts as thoughts and staying in the present.
Wake (like someone just dropped a tray of silver ware/ cutlery) Heart (there is some reason you are doing the meditation) Present Space (let everything expand and contract as it will... relax)
Shingo I'm so glad i got to watch it. I have it set to my DVR I have to see it again! I just wonder if that man still has all that stuff in a box in his house! Priceless antiquities housed like that? Does anyone think BREAK-IN? I hope he's done something with all those things, like send them back to India!
I just can't believe this isn't a bigger story. If it was Jesus or Moses it'd be HUGE!
I know your right. I wish I would have recorded it to see it again but I'm glad I got to watch it. I'm sure it'll find it's way back to YouTube soon enough lol
Hi Theresa. Jewish eh. Soon you will be Kabbalist. You say that you are getting nothing out of your religion. For the Kabbalist it would be only through the transcendence of the discriminating intellect in experience that the Unity of God spoken of in the Shema of the Jewish liturgy is revealed. This is where Judaism meets Buddhism.
Good luck with the meditation. I never offer advice on practice since I'm not sufficiently skilled, but don't worry, it works if you let it, and there's loads of advice available around here. Fortunately it's not rocket science. It may even be the opposite of rocket science.
If you've ever learnt a musical instrument you'll know that it is possible to go for quite lengthy periods with no discernable progress, then one day it all comes together and all that seemingly useless practice pays off with another step forward. Then it's another long period with no discernable progress etc.
The reason why the bones story is not bigger may be that Buddhists are not very bothered by the historical analysis. It would make little difference to most of them if the Buddha turned out to an invention of a committee of monks who invented the sutras. F=MA regardless of whether we can find Newton's bones.
Just found this site and looks really interesting. Hoping to learn a lot. I've been reading a lot of Buddhism books and just want to know more, learn more. And the more I read of course I see how much i DON'T know! That's right I know nothing!
I'm Jewish but not getting anything out of it really. Just having a difficult time believing in "God". Well, the TRUTH is I just don't anymore!
But I like the peacefulness of Buddhism probably because I'm not a very inner-peace person! But I want to be and this seems the way. Having a TERRIBLE time with meditation! I read about Walking Meditation and I really like doing that, but why the heck can't I meditate the other way?? oh well, keep trying! Hope someone else watches and says what they think.
I live in Kansas, married for 25 years next month, one son who's married with a 2 year old. I'm a free lance English Editor so I read a LOT. I found a lot of free Kindle books on Buddhism from Amazon so looking forward to those.
Sorry, hope this intro isn't too long! theresa
Shalom theresa from another JuBu. I'm also Jewish and questioning my relationship (if there IS one) with G-d. I live in Sydney, Australia am 38 with one daughter and can identify with the frustration you are having with walking meditation. However, I am the opposite, I can't meditate and walk ever and it frustrates me because I spend a LOT of time walking.
One book you may find helpful (and I think it's on Kindle) is Buddhism for Busy People by David Michie (on amazon here - http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/746610.Buddhism_for_Busy_People). I found some of the tips useful on quieting the mind before meditating. And welcome to NB
I am a Buddhist. I follow the Pure Land school of Mahayana Buddhism. My form of meditation is to concentrate to recite "Amitabha Buddha" without allowing anything to confuse the mind.
I actually just joined this forum yesterday. I do not belong to any religion and I do not have a religious background. I recently "awaken" on 2/20/2013 and have been on the best journey of this life! I have always been very interested in Buddhism, which directed me to this forum. I believe in the Infinite Creator and I am determined to find my own truth based on facts and common sense. Since my awakening, I have completely shifted my well being. Since 2/20/13, I have constantly been studying the mechanics of the mind, understanding the spiritual aspect(s) & strengthening the body. We are all destined for greatness in our own dimension(s). I wish you all the very best and if I may be of any assistance to you in any kind of way...please feel free to contact me. Live, Love & crack a damn Smile! :nyah:
My name is Matthew, I live in Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA. I've considered myself a Buddhist for about five years now. I mostly follow Soto Zen and Vipassana. I'm glad to have found such an active online community!
Hello everyone, I am another new member here. I grew up in the Christian faith, Lutheran - turned - nondenominational, but having just turned 40 this summer I am finding myself feeling an inner change that I just can't describe. It's like an awakening? I don't know. But I feel myself drawn to discover something more and Buddhism especially seems to be drawing me, so here I am! I live in a very small town in a very rural area of the midwestern USA, and there are no Buddhist temples or meditation centers anywhere near me - so whatever learning I can do, I have to do online or through books.
I am so very, very new to this and I don't know where to begin. I have read a lot of the forum before I joined but the sheer amount of what Buddhism is is just overwhelming. I don't know if I'm ready or even going to leave behind the Christian faith (although, the organized church has, IMO, done such a poor job of teaching the true message of Jesus, but I won't get into that...) but I do feel that Buddhism will help me, personally, to become a loving, forgiving and compassionate person. To that end, I guess I can say my objective for now is that. To learn to meditate and have more love and compassion in my heart.
So anyway, there's my somewhat long winded intro! Thank you so much for letting me join!
Hello, I am new...very new. I am studying and have been for a while now, the Theravada. I am new to the way of life though and here to make friends, converse and hopefully share and receive advice as much as possible. Blessings.
Hello, I am new...very new. I am studying and have been for a while now, the Theravada. I am new to the way of life though and here to make friends, converse and hopefully share and receive advice as much as possible. Blessings.
Comments
Best wishes and welcome.
So what are you doing right now in the way of a Buddhist practice? Are you meditating, or looking to start meditating? Are you reading any sutras or listening to any sermons on youtube?
Doing kriya yoga helps one better tame the "monkey mind".
Diet plays a big role into state of mind too maybe consider changing from vegetarian/vegan if that is not already being undertaken.
I'd recommend going to a zen center of some sort though as learning with a sangha is beneficial.
Also there are various teachers on YouTube whom shed better light on meditating with hindrances.
If you have time buddhadhammasangha.com gives good lectures.
Remember to stay sincere!
I'm not too great at tricks but I love martial arts, both the excercise and the philosophies present in them. So, I hope I'll be able to make somewhat of a contribution to this place, feels great being able to share Buddhist ideas with people who are familiar with the subject!
Peace out and have a great day/night!
with thanks
deborah
I'm a 27 year old customer support agent for a major computer games company, living in Ireland for four and a half years, though was born and raised in England.
I was raised CoE christian, though in my teens edged away from this and started looking at other religions as I found Christianity didn't hold answers for me. Not really participated in mass religion since then, though I've thought a lot about my own beliefs.
Recently though I've been listening to a lot of dharma talks on youtube while working, from the likes or Arjahn Brahm and Thubten Chodron for the most part, both of whom I find wonderful in their style of speaking and teaching, and finding a lot of what they say strikes a chord with me, thus, here I am. It feels like starting a journey, a new path in life; I feel drawn to look into this more in-depth, find I'm starting to apply things to how I think and behave in my day to day life.
So.. that's a bit about me. Time to dive in and see what the discussions here have to offer
Dot
I joined just last night, looking for a Buddhist discussion forum. I was drawn to the name newbuddhist, because I guess you can say that's what I am, at least partially. I'll explain...
I'm primarily Vaishnava Hindu, an Italian-American convert, 56 years old next month, IT sys admin (read "desk jockey"). I've begun learning about Buddhism, Mahāyāna in particular. I am also learning about Taoism. I'm finding compatible elements in all three traditions/philosophies. Though I was always interested in eastern philosophies, from the time I was a teenager, I was drawn to begin learning about Buddhism by a comment someone made about deity yoga. To that end I began looking into Vajrayāna.
It turns out that it was not compatible with my primary Vaishnava practices, though not necessarily incompatible with beliefs. What I've taken away and held onto are the bodhisattvas, bodhicitta, innate buddha-hood, and some other concepts that mesh with Hinduism. I find concepts and deities in Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism to be "cross-pollinated" and in some cases parallels... the same deity or concept with a different name.
My altar is a combined Hindu, Buddhist and Taoist altar, following the traditionally prescribed formats for arrangement and offerings. I even have small images of Jesus and Mother Mary (great compassionate teacher, and another form of the Universal Mother, respectively). I'm an unabashed and unapologetic syncretic and henotheist.
I hope to learn a lot more. I hope that what I believe is not incompatible with the spirit and mission of this site.
Good to see you here! It's StarryNightshade.
Just a little about my background for anyone who might be interested...
My family never showed much interest in religion, but I was educated in Church of England schools and was a member of the Scouts, so I had a Christian outlook on life and wore a cross around my neck for a few years in my early 20s. I wasn't part of any particular congregation, but I felt generally Christian and identified with it as such.
Then, when I was 29, my first child was born. To cut a long story short, there were several problems which resulted in my wife ending up in intensive care and my son moved to another hospital where he was operated on to save his life.
At that point, my belief in God was stronger than ever, and I admit to praying regularly during those very difficult times.
My wife pulled through and my son survived - albeit with several disabilities, including Autism. The strain of living with him and his several difficult conditions made me very angry and resentful towards life in general. Within a couple of years (and a read of a few books by Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens) I'd decided God was a load of nonsense, no other explanation made sense for the pain and misery I was witness to. Logically, there was no place for God in this universe we live in. If He exists, then He is irrelevant anyway. My opinion and nothing more, of course.
So, during my early 30s I became a very bad-tempered and depressed Atheist. Over time I found myself arriving at a very nihilistic point of view. I began to seriously consider suicide as a useful way out. The years dragged by with loathsome monotony.
Thankfully, I sought help from a very good psychologist last year (I'm now in my late 30s), who put me back on track. Around the same time, I was reading the Dune series of books by Frank Herbert. I found the ideas within those books very interesting (although the standard of writing is variable in the later volumes) and did some research on the man. It turns out that he was allegedly a Zen Buddhist. This fascinated me, and I did some research on Buddhism itself.
I read a book (no doubt some of you will have heard of it) - The Buddhist Handbook by John Snelling. I followed that up with some basic reading of the sutras describing the Buddha's life. I was hooked.
Suddenly I found in Buddhism everything that had been missing in my life, and yet it could co-exist with my scientific, logical understanding of the world - aside from the re-incarnation part, of which I'm agnostic.
The more I think about it, the more I see I already had ideas and morals much in line with Buddhist thinking, and it really isn't a major change in my life to become a Buddhist - whatever that means exactly.
Sadly, there's few Buddhists around my way, so I'm starved of a local sangha. And so, I find myself here...
Thanks for listening!
C'mon Ced....join in!
I'm Jewish but not getting anything out of it really. Just having a difficult time believing in "God". Well, the TRUTH is I just don't anymore!
But I like the peacefulness of Buddhism probably because I'm not a very inner-peace person! But I want to be and this seems the way. Having a TERRIBLE time with meditation! I read about Walking Meditation and I really like doing that, but why the heck can't I meditate the other way?? oh well, keep trying! Hope someone else watches and says what they think.
I live in Kansas, married for 25 years next month, one son who's married with a 2 year old. I'm a free lance
English Editor so I read a LOT. I found a lot of free Kindle books on Buddhism from Amazon so looking forward to those.
Sorry, hope this intro isn't too long!
theresa
I go by Shigo on here...I have actually seen a special on youtube called "Bones of the Buddha"
I'll post it below so you and others can enjoy.
thanks so much but what did you think of it??? dang new la0 top not used to it yet!
Its wonderful and beautiful to be a buddhist
:om:
the video alone by itself was not responsible for clearing my doubt, it was just another " piece of the puzzle " that fit.
loving-kindness (metta) to you and all sentient beings.
thanks so much shingo!! that was just INCREDIBLE!! WOW!! Wonder if they ever carbon dated those bone fragments? I'm going to email that guy and ask. I thought The Buddha was really old when he died, I always pictured a Mahatma Gande type. I wonder what happened to his wife and son? Even The Buddha caused suffering, didn't he?
If your wondering about their remains, I have no clue
As far as The Buddhas age he was 80 something when he died.
. . . nobody tells me Nothing!
The reason is agitation, fidgeting, a busy life. How unnatural to just chill . . .
. . . this is why in Buddhism, so I have been told, there are tactics to stillness . . .
As well as walking, you can do mindful eating, as used by monks, or mindful washing up when the dishwasher breaks down . . . or prostrations . . . or chanting to some imaginary archetype (a principle manifest as a visual imagined mandala).
Unlike other religions we treat our 'gods' as mind fabrications which we create, evoke as a principle and dismiss . . . well those of a vajrayana disposition do . . .
OM MANI PEME HUM
as I like to chant whilst doing almost anything . . . (I chant internally - don't want to frighten the dog - even though I don't have one)
Consider stapling or gluing your bottom to a cushion. The boredom and agitation will be so boring and agitating that you'll get so bored of it and agitated with it you'll set it aside and get to work not working.
I'll stop there before someone thinks lobster hacked my account.
With warmth,
Matt
All I will say is:
Not all Buddhists sit in formal meditation. Not all who meditate are Buddhists. Don't let meditation (or lack of) solely define your idea of "a good Buddhist".
Peace.
Wow that sucks.
Shingo I'm so glad i got to watch it. I have it set to my DVR I have to see it again! I just wonder if that man still has all that stuff in a box in his house! Priceless antiquities housed like that? Does anyone think BREAK-IN? I hope he's done something with all those things, like send them back to India!
I just can't believe this isn't a bigger story. If it was Jesus or Moses it'd be HUGE!
Then go into labeling thoughts as thoughts and staying in the present.
Wake (like someone just dropped a tray of silver ware/ cutlery)
Heart (there is some reason you are doing the meditation)
Present
Space (let everything expand and contract as it will... relax)
itll eventually become a habbit and your subconcious will do it for you without any effort
than you can relax
Good luck with the meditation. I never offer advice on practice since I'm not sufficiently skilled, but don't worry, it works if you let it, and there's loads of advice available around here. Fortunately it's not rocket science. It may even be the opposite of rocket science.
If you've ever learnt a musical instrument you'll know that it is possible to go for quite lengthy periods with no discernable progress, then one day it all comes together and all that seemingly useless practice pays off with another step forward. Then it's another long period with no discernable progress etc.
The reason why the bones story is not bigger may be that Buddhists are not very bothered by the historical analysis. It would make little difference to most of them if the Buddha turned out to an invention of a committee of monks who invented the sutras. F=MA regardless of whether we can find Newton's bones.
Shalom theresa from another JuBu. I'm also Jewish and questioning my relationship (if there IS one) with G-d. I live in Sydney, Australia am 38 with one daughter and can identify with the frustration you are having with walking meditation. However, I am the opposite, I can't meditate and walk ever and it frustrates me because I spend a LOT of time walking.
One book you may find helpful (and I think it's on Kindle) is Buddhism for Busy People by David Michie (on amazon here - http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/746610.Buddhism_for_Busy_People). I found some of the tips useful on quieting the mind before meditating. And welcome to NB
In metta,
Raven
My name is Matthew, I live in Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA. I've considered myself a Buddhist for about five years now. I mostly follow Soto Zen and Vipassana. I'm glad to have found such an active online community!
This member is a monk in a hut near a jungle in Thailand. I walk the Earth, I breathe the air, I follow the way.
May you all be happy.
Monkk.
I am so very, very new to this and I don't know where to begin. I have read a lot of the forum before I joined but the sheer amount of what Buddhism is is just overwhelming. I don't know if I'm ready or even going to leave behind the Christian faith (although, the organized church has, IMO, done such a poor job of teaching the true message of Jesus, but I won't get into that...) but I do feel that Buddhism will help me, personally, to become a loving, forgiving and compassionate person. To that end, I guess I can say my objective for now is that. To learn to meditate and have more love and compassion in my heart.
So anyway, there's my somewhat long winded intro! Thank you so much for letting me join!