hello from ohio

elake2013

i am new here.

and also new to buddhism.. been doing alot of reading and i am wanting to become a buddhist.

just all the buddhist centers/temples are so far from me without transportation.

can anyone help?

Dandelion

Hello There is a website called meetup.com, you could check that out and see if anyone has set up a buddhist group close to where you live, that might at least give you the opportunity to meet other Buddhists and meditate in a group etc, albeit not at a temple.

Also, in the search bar on facebook, you could enter the name of your local area and 'buddhism' to see if anything comes up.

Welcome!

Vastmind

Hello..nice to meet you......What would you like help with?
May I ask...what have you been reading?

elake2013

a book called learning buddhism.
just need a teacher

lobster

a book called learning buddhism.
just need a teacher

hi
Any tradition?

Some teachers are online
for example the treeleaf Zendo

You will get loads of advice on forums . . .
not all of it relevant or even applicable but people are trying

Vastmind

Well...finding a teacher is a pretty personal task.
By that I mean, It would be like saying...I need a preacher.
You would have to try out different churches, right?
Different strokes for different folks, you know?
Since a place is not available to you, look around on the
internet and watch different teachers on youtube. Find who
you like and best gets the message across. Not sure what tradition
you are leaning towards...so that will make a difference at first also.

misterCope

Hello @elake2013! I'm in a similar situation to you. You might try listening to some talks from places like audiodharma.com in the interim. I'm particularly fond of Gil Fronsdal. I hope you find what you're looking for!

karasti

There are wonderful teachings on youtube and elsewhere that'll help you get a handle on traditions and such, if you aren't sure which direction you want to go yet. Give it time. It seems to me a teacher finds you when you are most ready to receive their information. You can practice and learn until your teacher appears Also, everyone in your life is a teacher if you can be willing to accept the lesson. It's not always easy, lol.

Jeffrey

If you go it alone you can read your book and then ask questions here and elsewhere. I have a teacher across the ocean (literally) from me. I have studied almost 7 years on one course that is a spiral learning course meaning you are always winding around towards a truth that I believe you can find. It is like peeling an onion. I could study the same 4 coursebooks for another 7 years probably.

You can also get tastes of the different traditions from reading materials. I think you need a destination to have a journey even if it is only a temporal destination where in your heart you adjust the goal depending on what is meaningful and of relevance to your practice.

I think the starting point of Buddhism for westerners is two-fold. One is to reflect on why you are studying? That also can be an 'onion'. The second is to start a meditation practice. You can sample different ways of meditating. It's up to you.

Regards,
Jeffrey

Blondel

There is a lot of stuff on the Internet. Do your homework.