newbie help! Where to begin? What tradition ?
MeDeetate
Canada New
I have decided I want to begin to meditate for all the great benefits to my mental health as a way to take care of myself. In my quest for courses and information I also came across Bhuddism, and it appealed to me, as it seemed to have many aspects that fit well with how I believe in living my life. My main problem is where to start! I went to one class in my area that follows the new Kadampa tradition but I Have to say I am not sure I want to go there, after reading there is a lot of controversy with it. As a person who has always been suspicious of participating in religion in general, it is a huge step for me to want to learn about Bhuddism in the first place. My gut tells me I would not be happy trying to defend a controversial group to others, as I have difficulty embracing religion myself. I have to say the people were very nice and I enjoyed the class but what I have researched has made me want to check out other traditions before getting overly involved with any. The problem is there is not another centre in my area closer than 2.5- 3 hrs away. Should I start practicing on my own? Or should I try and connect with a centre a few hours away, which would add cost and difficulty. I have been reading a lot about Zen Bhufddism and have downloaded a book to read about it, Three pillars of Zen.
Is it possible to begin this on my own? Where do I begin there are so many traditions to follow it is overwhelming?
Comments
As far as we know, the Buddha was a real human being, and just learning the basics about his life got me started out on the right foot (although I'd read many other books about Buddhism before I ran into his bio written by Master TNH called Old Path White Clouds. It was my/the inspiration to stick with Buddhism and its practice and study. Some how, understanding him as a person just kept me grounded while I read other things that are controversial and/or seemingly contradictory and/or just boring (the repetitious stuff with foreign names really was too great of a challenge so I just said forget about that part).
I'm pretty new to Buddhism as well (about a year or so since I really started investigating), and haven't joined a local sangha yet. I've been doing some reading, some basic breath meditation, and participating here.
As a former Christian, I'm somewhat leery of organized religion too. You may find Secular Buddhism interesting.
Welcome @MeDeetate. Hope you find something useful here.
A good book, not least for the passages at the end, written by those practicing: Those passages can let you know that you may be crazy, but at least you have some company.
And you do have company. I can think of almost no one who hasn't floundered around at first, not being quite sure which step to take and which to avoid. It may not be much consolation, but every step you take is a step well taken -- something that will inform and nourish whatever practice you choose in the end. Don't fret: To borrow a nitwit bit of encouragement, "It's all good."
In the Zen department, this link is pretty down to earth about what to do and how to do it when it comes to meditation (zazen).
Best wishes in your travels.
IMO it's quite alright to start studying and practicing on your own. In fact, that's how a lot of people begin. There's video instruction for meditation available on the internet, and there are also cd's you can buy. To answer questions and get some guidance and helpful hints, you have us.
The book that I happened upon that piqued my interest in zen is 'Questions to a Zen Master' (Taisen Deshimaru). It's a small book full of very interesting advice and answers about it.
OP, you don't have to get a book belonging to any particular tradition to get started. You can get a generic book about Buddhism basics, like the 4 Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, compassion, mindfulness, and selflessness. It doesn't really make sense to choose a tradition before you know the fundamentals, to my way of thinking. Get a good grounding In the basics, then you can see as you advance, which "school" might appeal to you. There should be a selection of beginner books at your local bookstore or library, "Intro to Buddhism" type stuff.
edit: I just looked at Amazon, to see what they offered, and took a detailed look at several books. A good one to start with for a complete newbie is "Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction", by Western scholar, Damien Keown. It's non-sectarian, and offers pretty much the bare-bones basics. With that grounding, you can then look at other books that cover the same material and more, but in greater complexity.
You can't learn it all and figure out all at once, so start small. Learn a basic breathing meditation and do it daily, even if only for 5 minutes, its generally thought that regularity is more important than length especially at the beginning. Then read some books and internets across several traditions and one will likely appeal more to you than others, even then I find it helpful to understand other traditions.
As for attending a group, it is helpful for support and guidance but isn't absolutely required and you can find groups online like this one for help as well.
I find going to a group Very Very helpful, to answer questions and keep up motivation. I've been to some seriously weird groups, but just keep your brain working, and your bullshit-detector on high power, and you'll be fine.
Thanks for the links, ideas and support. I am going to try the daily meditation and continue to read the books for now and not get too worried about it all. I do have a tendency to want to figure it all out at once sometimes!
That is true! I can go to the groups in my area and take what I want from it without getting too involved. I may learn some worthwhile information.
Clearly we have no "one size fits all" around here.
I am personally SGI
Others are, as you may have noticed, are Zen.
Still others are Thervedic or Tantric
Yet others are "Secular"...
Tally Ho!
Hello
you can realise you have 'no self' without dependent origination
http://liberationunleashed.com
you can ask a zen teacher in the 'ask a teacher section' for advice
http://www.zenforuminternational.org
you can sit and join an online zendo called treeleaf
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treeleaf_Zendo
Good luck
Hi @MeDeetate I'm sort of new too. I mean I'm going on like a year or two now and I have managed to do meditation like I do everything else, which is very inconsistently lol. However, What I have managed to do is remember the things I've read, the podcast I've heard, and the discussion's I've had access to here. I've only sat in on one dharma talk at a sangha and I don't' believe I follow any particular set of teachings. When I first started I felt like I had a checklist going like "Buddhist book, check". "yoga mat, check". "find sangha, check" and so on and so on. Now I just try to remember mindfullness and not beat myself up the way I would if I hadn't been to church in a while.
For beginners meditation, I thought headspace was awesome. I just reused the free trial over and over again. I mean they give you 10 guided meditations so i didn't see the need to buy anything. They have these great little animations that I just think are the bees knees. There are also Buddhist podcasts on iTunes that have guided meditations. "What The Budda Taught" and "The Four Noble Truths" by Ajahn Sumedho are the two e-books I keep on my phone. I found this PDF while looking for the link so I'm about to print it out myself
These suggestions are great, I have a lot of reading to do
@MeDeetate It's an adventure of discovery.
Deciding on a tradition is a bit through trial and error: read up a bit and try several ideas for size.
I am zen and theravadan at heart, but have gravitated around Tibetan sanghas because they are better represented where I live.
My sole condition is: no controversial groups.
The one you mentioned is one I personally prefer to stay away from.
Some books I have enjoyed are, as mentioned by @Morningstar above, "What the Buddha taught," but also "The Noble Eightfold Path" by Bikkhu Bodhi and virtually anything by Thich Nhat Hanh or Pema Chödrön.
It's a lifetime journey, @MeDeetate.
There is so much to read, so much to learn...
Yes, I do agree with you on that. I have emailed a couple of different centres outside my area and was directed to a couple of great sites by one of the Zen centres
tricycle.com/
They are not related to a specific tradition and have a lot I can use as a beginner.
I may try and visit a centre a couple hours away after I learn more. For now am going to try and make meditation a regular practice and read all of this great information.
There are many different types of Dharma presentation available. Some lead to individual liberation, others lead to full enlightenment and others are quicker methods of attaining enlightenment. It depends on your preference and capacity.
^^^^^^^
... and let's not forget the money-making potential.
Don't be in a hurry. We (and I was no different) have a tendency to want to focus in right on something and dive in to get to work. I think we want to fit in somewhere with our new belief system sometimes. One thing I've learned via meditation, the rest of my practice, and yoga is to be patient. Just absorb what you can, leave the rest for now and just kind of wander along. You will get there, and over time what you need will be narrowed down.
Go visit centers if you are able, meet with leaders and the people who attend there. See how you feel when you are there, and how you feel talking to the people there. Don't feel like you have to choose right now, or even choose at all. In my case it was chosen for me, mostly, and it's worked out well, lol. I live in a very small town a long ways from any Buddhist centers but out of the blue just when I was feeling like giving up, a teacher monk came to my town, hosted by a local family for a weekend retreat. It isn't likely a route I would have attempted to go down by myself, or even have explored much because it can seem so complex. But it is, afterall, what I needed. It came to me, not by me hunting for it. Let it come. It will.
Personally I like to try out different approaches. For example I did this free course:
http://arobuddhism.org/content/view/38/
The aro group are considered a bit controversial for their approach. However their free course was excellent for my 'reaffirmation of basics' needs.
If you need funding to attend a retreat? Available!
https://www.theofferingbowl.com
Another free course in the tantric tradition
http://learning.tergar.org/course_library/intro-to-meditation/
As usual @karasti gives excellent, relevant, grounded advice.
So much good counsel out there ...
http://yourskillfulmeans.com
Sounds like a plan.
When you meditate, choose something that works for you. That may initially be preliminary or complimentary practices such as walking meditation, yoga nidra, tai chi. Many western dharma centres offer these complimentary services.
Early on when meditation tuition was not an option, the 'grit your teeth' and meditate process I engaged in was not ideal.
Slow, easy, simple ... mainstream is now entering the stream ...
http://opcoa.st/0LRsx
I would recommend:
"Awakening the Buddha Within" by Lama Surya Das and "The Path of the Heart" by Jack Kornfield, and any book by Thich Nhat Hanh.
These books are great introductions to Buddhism and are very accessible. They really got me started. Then you can step out and explore other approaches and perspectives from there.
I found You tube invaluable too.
Good luck!
ET
Excellent advice. You don't want to find your hair missing, dressed in a sari, no shoes and begging for food, living in poverty ... eh wait ... you might think the Sangha is not an ancient controversy ...
[Oops! I gets it all wrong again]
Indeed.
Eventually we have to continually unlearn too. As lay practitioners (mostly) we have a great potential and self responsibility.
Well said.
Me too. Still.
"Awakening the Buddha within" is the first of a trilogy by the same author, the other two being "Awakening to the Sacred" and "Awakening the Buddhist Heart."
@MeDeetate I have followed the Kadampa tradition for the past 15 years you have nothing to lose by going there but everything to gain. Lamrim, Lojong and Tantra are the main teachings of the Kadampa tradition and a direct quick path to enlightenment.
Lamrim in particular is a very excellent way of practicing all of Buddha's teachings, he gave 84,000 in total and great indian pandits like Atisha very kindly condensed everything into simple text instructions that the founder of the New Kadam tradition Je Tsongkhapa further elborated on to give us Lamrim as we know it today which consists of either 21 or 14 cyclic meditation that take you from the very beginning of the path to the very end of it.
There are no other instructions that are as clear as lamrim in taking you through all the stages of the path.
Thanks, I am keeping an open mind and hoping that by taking in all the information available as well as trying to meditate and make it a habit, that I will get a feel for whether a particular tradition is right for me over time.
before meditate one must learn Buddha's Teaching
unless it is not Buddhist meditation
Lord Buddha says we have six internal sense bases, namely eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind
there are six external bases, namely form, sound, smell, taste, feel, and thought
eye sees , ear hears, nose smells, tongue tastes, body feels and mind thinks
when seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, feeling and thinking happens there arises five aggregates, namely form, feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness
these five aggregates simultaneously arises and false away instantly
if we grasp them thinking they are me, mine or myself they are become five clinging aggregates which helps for another rebirth
Now we can learn how to calm the mind a bit
having a faith in Buddha's Teaching try to see the five aggregates when seeing, hearing smelling, tasting, feeling and thinking happens
for that we can use our own eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind
For example:
our (your/my) eyes can see the writing of this post
there is eye (internal base), and there is writing (form - external base) and now our Attention (manasikara) is with this writing, so there is seeing (according to Buddha that is five aggregates arises and falls away) but for us we see the writing and grasp the writing (so seeing becomes five clinging aggregates and we can remember those writing at a later stage (from the next moment to any time in future)
if we can stop at 'seeing' level we can remember the writing at later stage but we do not cling to it and get angry/like about the writing we have seen
instead of writing on and on, i must stop here and let you try and see whether there is any Truth in what you were reading so far
if you try to see the Truth in these writing using your six sense bases that is what we call Insight Meditation (Buddhist meditation)
Calming the mind using a meditative object (inhale/exhale etc.) is useful but that is not Buddhist meditation
You begin with what is common to all traditions, which is "sila, samadhi and prajna". Sila generally means proper ethical behavior. Samadhi generally means meditation practice and Prajna generally means the wisdom that arises out of those two. Every Buddhist tradition, regardless of which one you choose, will have those as the foundation. Perfect place to start! As starting there, you don't have to worry about choosing any particular tradition right away. You could say, in a sense, that people don't choose traditions, traditions choose them. In other words, people naturally gravitate towards one particular tradition or another. It's not something that needs to be forced, it just happens by itself and when it happens, you just know. However, if you are practicing sila, samadhi and prajna, one could even say that choosing some particular tradition is not even that important. What is actually important is just sila, samadhi and prajna!
Often in peoples story you find meeting someone had an influence. But in the internet age I guess it is possible to do everything from the internet. Even so still there might be people you meet from a tradition.