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Trying to find a community
meteorshower01
Manila Explorer
in Sanghas
Im based here in the Philippines, in Manila..Any Suggestions as to any temples here..
Thanks
0
Comments
Google is your friend
.
And here.
See what you can do with a couple of clicks?
well I tried and did those things..
Im trying to really choose a community where I'd be part of. Exploring my options.
I'm not trying to proselytize for a particular group, school, or view, but I practice with a sangha in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh and the Order of Interbeing. The Order has a "Sangha Directory:" http://www.mindfulnessbell.org/directory/. The only listing I saw for Manila was for a "Wake Up" group: http://www.wkup.org/about/. Maybe contact whoever organized that at manila@wkup.org to investigate?
Good luck and don't give up, @meteorshower01 !
I think this is a great idea! IMO you can't go wrong with Vietnamese Buddhism and TNH. Also, I wonder if there are any Ch'an temples in the Philippines; I bet Taiwan might have a couple set up there; I've heard very good things about some of their groups, like Fo Guang Shan, and they've been doing international outreach. They operate a Buddhist university in the US, that offers degrees in Buddhism studies.
We are all different and have different opinions, but Thich Nhat Hanh's brand of Buddhism Lite leaves me cold. Maybe if I was a total beginner, but even still..... he sounds superficial, and doesn't go deep enough. It's not so simple as his Happy Buddha trip makes it sound. Mindfulness is only the first step, and he doesn't go beyond that. But if it works for someone else, that's fine.
More important then the lineage is the teacher and the people in the group you find. Of course, if you're not a religious type, then some lineages are not for you. If you don't like that sort of thing, you probably would not be drawn to something like Zen. If you prefer a more religious path, PureLand might be better. Maybe at first you could read some books on the different lineages and see if any of them seem suited for you? In the end, you're going to have to just go to whatever you can get to in your area and see how it goes.
I fooled around for 6 months after we moved to a new city because the only Zen centers were in a neighboring city that we couldn't get to by bus. There's a Shambhala center not far from our house and I had dismissed it, as it wasn't Zen. When the wife was away visiting her sons I had time on my hands and went over to the Shambhala place, and while I am not big on Tibetan Buddhism, the people there were fine, the sitting meditation was familiar, and it is a nice place for us to go for sitting meditation and talk to others on the Buddhist path. Because I stupidly pre judged it, we wasted 6 months.
Thich Nhat Hahn, superficial? I think not.
I know so.
I had read a lot of his books and found them outstanding. Clearly the work of a deeply realised soul. So much so when I went to see this 'great teacher' this is what I found:
Thich Nhat Hahn was superficial. Both he and his senior students were not transformed by the teachings, other than being jolly nice. Sorry.
No transmission beyond words outside the scripture. Just moral, ethical and ultimately vacuous new age Zen of the most alluring but unchallenging kind.
Zen can and should be effective, otherwise it is just a friendly cult for nice people ... nothing wrong with that of course ...
... and now ding ... mindless mindful bell ... oh and be kind ...
^^^^^I assume there is sarcasm involved in the above, or you are speaking in tongues or pulling someone's leg or wtf?
Indeed. Don't we all ...
I assumed from his excellent books and teachings that TNH MUST surely, seriously, obviously be a realised being.
My assumptions were wrong.
Speaking the deep, profound, absolutely perfect dharma words makes one a parrot at worst. A potential for others at best ...
... and now back to group think ...
Perhaps what one could learn from human culture is all knowledge ......perhaps Buddhism is not knowledge , Buddhism is not something anyone knows , is not something one could learn to know and even is never something any human including Mr Siddharta himself will ever know ..... why ? Perhaps Buddhism is not knowledge ........Buddhism is a natural process of realization , is you realizing your existence and your nature/cause of existence.........Buddhism is realization of your desire to learn not something you gain from learning
Many people like to state their opinions as facts, but I think it is more respectful of others to make it clear that it is only opinion. Often it is given with the best possible intention, but by stating it as fact you are committing a kind of forcing, where you are insisting on the rightness of your opinion not just in your own view but in the view of others.
I haven't personally met Thich Nhat Hanh, but I have watched many hours of his lectures, and in my current view it seems very likely that he is a quite deeply realised human being. He obviously has a strong connection with peace and with mindful presence, and has chosen to make that the core of his teaching. From what I've seen it slowly seeps more deeply into your being - I have heard that enough mindful washing dishes can make you enlightened
So i do not think how advanced the nature of one's practice is equates with one's progress along the path. Different practices suit different people, and a deep peace and mindfulness is also a quality to be valued in a teacher, and a teacher doesn't necessarily need a deep personal energy field to put others on their path.
Osho had an amazing personal energy, but he did not have a deep understanding of ethics, or the Buddha's insight into suffering.
That is my understanding too. A member of the sangha is an idealised enactment of Buddhist dharma. There is great value in that.
However a teacher is not just in 'dharma showbiz', no matter how convincing the charade. Their job is to break us into the wisdom/awakening behind the surface. That takes great skill, developing experience and the X-factor
I misread that as: "see what you can do with a couple of chicks."
So you believe in sudden, personal breakthroughs as the preferred route to enlightenment? I know TNH is usually said to be a Zen teacher, but with his emphasis on mindful walking he seems to be more of the gradual school. And you can't say his teaching is devoid of powerful moments, there definitely are some.
Whatever it takes. Most of us are interested in healing, certainty, practices, companionship etc. If we are interested in the truth should we be surprised if it comes our way?
Who is ready? [Lobster puts up claw]
The question is are we ready for it ...or are we just interested in different dreams?
In my opinion saying it is the teacher's job to break people into the wisdom/awakening behind the surface is a bit too easy. Developing the will towards enlightenment and applying oneself to the study are more the students job than the teacher, and as a seeker on the spiritual path it is our own responsibility to find teaching that fits us, and to test that teaching.
Real growth is a process that comes from suffering and effort. Just being interested in truth without the elbow grease to find every speck that you can chase down and absorb is unlikely to be enough.
I did mention that what I said was simply my opinion in the first sentence. Obviously some TNH fans have had their feathers ruffled and can't read or something. Well, so be it, I don't like him. Not everyone likes everyone else, and yes, he is, in my opinion, superficial and teaches kindergarten Buddhism, and has made a large fortune off his popular books and videos. So what? If someone has no room for other's opinions, whose problem is that? I can listen to the TNH fanboys, so you can listen to my take on him. Anyone that is not up for different people's opinions is going to have a very difficult time in this world, trust me.
Anyway, rather than just picking out one thing to attack me on, how about looking at my intent? Is that what people consider the Buddhist path, attacking someone else for what they hold true, and not allowing each if us the right to see things our way? My main point to the op was that they should explore what they have available to them where they live regardless of lineage. Period, Full stop. If I had done that myself, well, I already address that, yes?
Really, this guru, holy teacher nonsense is BS. That's what the Budha said over and over. Don't believe something just because someone in so called authority said it. Don't believe something because everyone else believes it. Don't believe it because it is written in a book. Test it for ourselves, and if it feels wrong, make our own decision on what is truthful to us. I'm paraphrasing here, but this is exactly what he taught over and over and over. TNH is a fallable, flawed individual just like you or me. He is not a god or a saint, and I don't need to glorify his holiness because he wrote a book.
Moderator note: @row37 There's a difference between liking and respecting.
I don't give a fiddler's elbow whether you like him or not. Your response, is frankly, rude.
Write with more respect, both for him and others here. Seems to me the one with ruffled feathers, is you.
Watch your tone.
Someone mentioned Kindergarten Buddhism. Well, if I'm stuck in kindergarten for the rest of my life, I think that's okay, as long as my heart is in the right place. When I was four or five and in kindergarten, I learned a lot of real-life lessons from that pre-school sangha of abc's and 123's. I think what I need right now is kindergarten buddhism. That's not going to stop me from looking deeper.
I will be honest with you @RuddyDuck9 , as far as I am concerned, I have always considered the 4, the 8 and the 5 sufficient unto the day. They appear so basic in their simplicity, but in essence are profound and complex, and contain enough food for thought to last a lifetime.
A Theravada nun once advised me to hone the above 17 down further by the abbreviation "Simplify!" Which applies to all things at all times.
@federica exactly. Exactly exactly.
@row37 , if you're not aware of Stuart Lachs' writing categorized as "Critical Zen", you might enjoy his essays. He cautions people against falling for the guru "industry", if one could call it that, and analyzes the various pitfalls, and how they system works to promote some people who really shouldn't be promoted (such as some of the highly egregious examples in the Zen community). How ironic that the very thing the Buddha cautioned against (blindly accepting a teacher for whatever reason) has become a sort of cornerstone to some traditions.
http://www.thezensite.com/ZenEssays/CriticalZen/Zen_Master_in_America.html
http://terebess.hu/english/lachs.html#means
Indeed.
A community can be inspiring and confirming as well as superficial or worse as @Dakini provides links about ...
Here you can ask a zen teacher for advice if that interests you ...
http://opcoa.st/0gtkQ
Other styles of Buddhism also have online communities. Critical appraisal of dharma communities is something you will find useful. Most communities are genuinely attempting to follow the Middle Way ...
Good luck!