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3 free e-books
ramchaza
New
Here's the link:
http://emodernbuddhism.com/download-free-modern-buddhism-ebooks.html
Here's his website:
http://emodernbuddhism.com/about-free-ebook.html
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^^^ These are NKT free books
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Kadampa_Tradition
Hi Welcome to New Buddhist, many thanks,
What books if any, would you recommend @ramchaza for those not interested in a tantric approach?
Hi, @ramchaza!
Be warned that NKT does not go down without some controversy in the Buddhist community.
http://info-buddhismus.de/new_kadampa_tradition.html
http://viewonbuddhism.org/controversy-controversial-teacher-group-center-questionable.html
http://buddhism-controversy-blog.com/tag/geshe-kelsang-gyatso/
Walpola Rahula's classic, complete or a synopsis:
http://bs.dila.edu.tw/zh/downloads/download_document.html?gid=4210
http://www.dhammaweb.net/books/Dr_Walpola_Rahula_What_the_Buddha_Taught.pdf
What about some oldies-goldies to download?
http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/index.htm
There are many books free for download if we know where to look:
http://www.buddhanet.net/ebooks.htm
Oh not all that again. Look, I'm not NKT; I'm not even a Buddhist, but there's controversy in many areas of Buddhism. Even with HH Dalai Lama.
And since I know quite a few NKT practitioners, I can say - hand on heart - that they're a good bunch.
In fact, someone - anyone - please name me a Buddhist sect where there's been no controversy. I'd love to hear about it.
I also know NKT practitioners who are a good bunch, @Tosh.
And I agree that we will find controversies in many Buddhist sects, though not all.
As usual, controversy sometimes lies in the eye of the beholder.
But some people who are just beginning to tread the Buddhist path don't know that some groups are more controversial than others.
In Switzerland, NKT does not appear as a member of the Swiss Buddhist Union, for instance.
It is also claimed that Geshe Kelsang Gyatso is not even a geshe and has been expelled from his own monastery.
Also, that he ordains monks who have not accomplished the education and the time usually appointed to become monks.
Sometimes information is gold.
Edit: NKT has some nice meditation groups here in Switzerland and I have often considered attending their Green Tara pujas.
But at least, I know I have all the cards on the table if I choose to go.
Yet you only choose to single out the NKT?
Funny that innit?
And seriously, please name me a Buddhist sect without controversy? Just one. I'd be interested to read about it.
@ramchaza
I'm not sure what you know of the NKT, but often on the internet, there's...
Anyway, here's what the NKT say about the negative stuff that's been said about them:
http://www.newkadampatruth.org/why-we-have-made-this-site#kadampa
But the best way to find out the truth is to discern it for yourself.
And being an atheist myself, I find it funny that Buddhists argue about deities. One thing that initially attracted me to Buddhism was that there were no gods (or so I thought). However, I don't chuck out the baby with the bath water; if it works, it works.
Happy seeking.
I don't know how updated this link that I pasted above is, but it has a list of the most controversial Buddhist groups or people and the reason why.
I don't choose to single out NKT, but they are the most mediatic and since they seem to be set up even in the tiniest villages, they tend to be the newbie's first choice.
http://viewonbuddhism.org/controversy-controversial-teacher-group-center-questionable.html
This is just like when people post vids but no intro....or sum up of their intention.
When posting links or vids....it's just nice to let the people know ahead of time what they are walking into. These links could have easily been to another group or a bunch of real weirdo's. If Im about to walk into a meeting of people who worship cantaloupes..... or a group that believes Christmas cards will instantly explode if you don't pay tithes....well...just a little intro or backstory would be nice. ..... Not saying the controversy should have been mentioned.....just let people know who the commercial is from/for.
......... Then the audience isn't captive.
I don't think you're being fair to the NKT, DhammaDragon, but I'm not going to argue with you. I could post all kinds of links that demonise HH Dalai Lama, but won't, because I don't think there's any truth in them either.
I've been involved with groups on both sides of this debate, ie NKT and Rigpa. Both groups have attracted controversy, for different reasons. I found that the Rigpa people were quite vindictive about NKT, but that the NKT people didn't reciprocate. Which is interesting.
Just saying.
@Tosh: Honestly, it might not seem to you so, and I don't want to argue either, but I'm not out there to get the NKT.
And I don't idealize HHDL either.
Like I tell you: I'm all for information. I have made up my mind about this group, but because of all I read, not because I uphold one group that is against them.
I am Dzogchen, so I could not care less about NKT.
But many people have gone through very bad experiences with this group and it reflects badly on Buddhism in general.
It's like people who have been abused by a Catholic priest, or the world pointing the finger at Muslims as a whole because of Isis.
The links were posted without presentation and without any introduction.
Books available for free on the net you have hundreds.
Use your melon!
We have melon worshipers in the UK . . .
http://onlineslangdictionary.com/meaning-definition-of/melon
Hope that info is useful . . .
A cursory google indicates that Dzogchen is also not free of controversy. I have no experience of Dzogchen, so I think it would be wiser if I didn't comment on it.
Really?
Before engaging in this Dzogchen meditation sangha several months ago, I asked members about possible controversies on the group.
The thread was sparked by @Jeffrey and so it went:
http://newbuddhist.com/discussion/21333/curious-about-dzogchen-i-like-the-vibe-of-this/p1
That seems a wise thing to do; you get to hear some accounts of other people's first hand EXPERIENCE. That's far better than just googling and regurgitating stuff from sources that may have an axe to grind.
I can google just about anything up that I choose to, even Dzogchen controversies.
You know, the problem with Buddhism isn't the dharma, it's that it's practised by human beings.
Why not visit an NKT teaching, speak to some of their practitioners and then report back? I personally don't like that singing thing they do at the beginning of each class, but that's just me.
So the idea would be in future posts about certain groups that we can't agree to disagree?
If one person posts red, another person cannot post blue?
Some of the people who visit the site are total newcomers to Buddhism.
It seems to me quite fair to give them the broadest spectrum of an issue for them to make up their minds for themselves which path to choose.
There are minor and major controversies in the Buddhist World.
Some are major league.
Anyone can google. It's good to hear from people who've actually been involved in groups, isn't it? I get tired of people pontificating and dismissing things with no personal experience.
I thought NKT were fine, maybe a bit insular, but sincere people.
I read two books by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso ("Introduction to Buddhism" and "Eight Steps to Happiness") and tried his audio version for Lam Rim meditation and did not find them to be my cup of tea, @SpinyNorman.
A passing comment to let you know that I did not just google and dismiss anything on a whim.
To each his own.
Two books and a bit of an audio Lam Rim meditation makes you some kind of authority on the NKT even though you've ever even attended a single class?
Well done.
It does not make me an authority on Kadampa. It just helps me choose if I want to have anything at all with Kadampa or not.
If you read several books by Gyatso and you don't find them enlightening at all, would you feel enticed to attend any of their group meetings?
Plus all the bad reviews?
Well, what I wouldn't do is run a Buddhist sect down that I have no experience of. I'd probably just not comment.
Can you fault anything with the free e-books? I did a foundation course in Buddhism with a Gelug sect and I understand that there's very little dharma difference between the two.
The NKT do actually teach that the emphasis should be given on the dharma and not the teacher you know?
I'm interested in all this stuff, and being a Vedantist who is very interested in Buddhist Truth and its Beauty, I am not met with the prospect of selecting any one school or branch.
However, I must say that I do not understand how the third post in this thread is in any way disrespectful to the OP. It just seeks to expand the picture window, as it were, for any reader of this thread. In that sense, it complements the Opening Post.
Really? Then whenever there's something about Zen Buddhism posted, I look forward to seeing lots of links about the systematic sexual abuse that has taken place within that framework.
Just to expand the picture window, as it were.
I think bringing up sexual abuse when someone posted queries about Zen would be disrespectful. What links were posted were done in a respectful context, I think.
So links that call the NKT a cult are respectful?
Do I have to try drugs to discuss drugs or fly to the Middle East to discuss about Isis?
Okay. So we disagree.
I won't attend any NKT.
Read enough. Don't care enough.
So many good groups out there...
Don't have enough time...
In any case, the thread was begun to furnish links, not start a heated debate on the ins, outs, whys wherefores, pros and cons of NKT.
Thanks for all contributions.