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Vajrayana Buddhism The Diamond Way ???
Went to a meeting with this guys . Was pretty keen to find a meditating sangha i could join . Seemed a bit strange nothing like Buddhism as I have known it . Lots of talk really fast so you couldnt get the complicated philosophical or even get a word in edgeways . Strange als because after watching a few u tube vids about the leader of the group the leader of the class sounded really like a clone Only 5 paltry minues of meditation imagining coloured lights coming out of a buddha into you .Can this be a genuine Bhuddhist path ???
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So... my experiences involving the sangha were positive. There was no obligation to stay longer than you wanted to or to do something you weren't comfortable with. They were always very open to questions with lots of opportunities to ask.
My two cents is that it might not have as much to do with the type of practice, as the type of people involved.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ole_Nydahl
:wave:
The group I affiliate with does straight-up Shamatha, Vipassana and Tonglen and devlopes into either mahamudra or Dzogchen. We meditate a lot.
In the case of Sila, the underlying thought seems to be Sila, etc. arises spontaneously from practice. Contrivances are to be avoided. IOW, you don't "try" to be moral. You practice in a way where moral conduct will manfiest naturally.
Another group that might offer more in the way of practice is a Shambhala center if there's one close by. Excellent meditation instruction and plenty of opportunities for practice.
Yes, some of us are spoiled by an abundance of choices in sangha. There's 1/2 dz centers within 2 miles of my house that cater to the Vietnamese community here. A little farther away is a Zen center. A Shambhala center is less than 10 miles. There's a TF group, mainly Thai and Cambodians. There's a Kagyu Sangha nearby as well as a Chinese Pure Land group. There's a HUGE Jodo Shinshu center downtown. Then there's Boulder. Boulder has what is perhaps the highest per capita Buddhist demographics in the country - it crawls with Buddhists.
What's funny about this is that I've been shopping for a group to do group practice with. My sangha is in Boulder and that's a bit inconvenient for regular visits. With all the choices I can't decide on where to go.
Sounds like the leaders of this particular group need to learn how to conduct an introductory session. There is both a skill and craft to conducting a meeting and you've just described several huge mistakes amateurs often make. Simply ask them if they have something more heavily weighted to meditation and less on selling the brand.
As for people being scared of trying new things and exploring, there's no danger in a group like this. What do you think they're going to do, kidnap you and tie to to a chair and force you to watch videos of the illustrious leader until you're brainwashed? At the most, you'll decide it's not for you, like most of the people who try it out. That's right, these groups know that most new faces will be showing up once or twice and that's it. They're used to it.