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I have no way of visiting a temple what do I do?
SJDR21
Puerto Rico New
Its been two months ince I started on the path and I cant go to any temples to better educate myself, practice or just meditate. What do I do?
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Go without. I haven't been to a temple in about 4 years, I think. None that I can visit, near me, at all....
@SJDR21 -- If you have a practice, do that. If you don't, do that. It is nice to have a temple to visit -- it is, as you say, an education. But then ... well, it's nice not to have a temple. That too is a good education.
Be patient. Pay attention. Take responsibility. Don't worry -- there's no way you could be wrong.
Best wishes.
Read. Watch dharma video's on YouTube. Listen to podcasts.
Practice sila, see if you can find yourself in that.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_ethics
And at least read the Anapanasati Sutra and some descriptions of mindful breathing so you can practice the beginning meditations there.
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.118.than.html
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anapanasati
OP, it's hard to fathom exactly how sincerely interested you are in educating yourself on Buddhism, when you abandon threads you start. We'd love to pitch in and help (I've learned a TON from this forum!), but we need your involvement if we're to be effective at it.
You can meditate at home. There are videos on youtube, or DVD instructionals that you can buy. Podcasts are a great idea! I can recommend Dharma Geeks as one source of very interesting interview/podcasts, and also Roshi Joan Halifax's Upaya Zen Center site, for teachings from a variety of dharma teachers. Reading is also good--see your library or bookstore.
https://www.upaya.org/dharmatalks/
I have been a Buddhist for 5? maybe 6 years? And I have never been to a temple in my life. It's not a requirement. The nearest ones are 200+ miles from me and simply aren't feasible with kids at home. I do have a teacher who I see 1-2 times a year (he travels around the state to a handful of smaller "satellite sanghas") and he thankfully puts his weekly teachings on youtube. I have a few other teachers I follow on there as well, but most of my practice consists simply of the basics because I find them to be quite enough as it is,
@SJDR21 What practice can't you do? What meditation can't you do? I take it you are studying now?
lobster, I'm willing to try out new and different things. I dont think there is any kind of meditation I cant do. Im just starting off tho so i dont know many types of meditations. Yes I am a college student but i have the mornings free if that helps
OK how about starting with a year or two of daily practice?
Which technique?
You choose. 
I'm like you no temple near me and I believe it is important to get some instruction also. Coming from a Christian background I think it takes time to understand the concepts
Remember that Buddhism is not something you incorporate into your Life.
Buddhism - IS Life. Every moment, whether during a free morning, or at college, is a moment ripe with practice. You can meditate in a busy dining hall just as much as you could sitting in the sunshine, under a tree. It's a question of stilling that Monkey Mind and focusing on that mental silence which is both nourishing and calming.
Buddhism is something that adopts you. You don't adopt it....
OK ... as wikipedia has closed for the weekend
Here is a little something ...
http://cundi.weebly.com/meditation.html
Hope that helps. Otherwise we can set @Shoshin on you ...
@federica -- Sometimes I feel as if I had been adopted and Buddhism changed its mind and decided to send me back to the ASPCA.
You're surprised....?
I have no way of visiting a temple what do I do?
-Don't visit a temple...
That's what I told him....
Ok, no temples it is.
You have a temple and a Sangha.
You're on it right now....
Federica, you provided a very insightful pov. Thank you
I think that one should avail themselves of the resources available. I remember in Thailand once when I was lamenting to a monk that it was rather difficult to find a local Thai temple in America, he said, "Easy to learn about Buddhism; buy a book. Difficult to learn about yourself."
After living here in Colorado Springs for 7 years, I finally went to the local Thai Buddhist temple here. Not sure why it has taken me so long. Mostly just lazy. It's been a wonderful rebirth of my connection with Buddhism. However, that is because one of the monks, 32 years of age, speaks English fluently, and since I go on Thursdays there are few other people at the temple. I have an opportunity to have good conversations with him. However, with the much more limited English of the other monk I have met there, the learning opportunity would be far less.
The OP is rather lucky. When I first became interested in Buddhism back in 1986 (give or take a year), there was no internet. So the only resource was books, and even in Thailand, those I could find that were in English were often poor translations. The internet is a whole new resource.
So I just think that people need to use the resources available to them, and depending on where they live, those resources may vary greatly.
@SJDR21: I have not gone to a single Buddhist temple till now, since the thought came to me to see what Buddha taught, which was nearly 5 years ago and I think within 2 to 3 months of that I joined this forum. I will not say that now I know something about Buddhism, but whatever little-bit about Buddhism, which I came to know about, is only through internet. Also just to let you know till now I have not bought any book on Buddhism.
My journey of spirituality began like this: Nearly 8 years ago, I saw that one of my room-mate had bought Shreemad Bhagwad Geeta to give as a gift to his father, when he would go home. So till the time he was there, I read few pages of it. After that I just forgot about it for the coming 3 years. So after 3 years, then one day I read the book 7 habits of highly effective people or something similar was the title of that book. In that book it suggested that we should read something each day which will be go for mind and we should pray each day which would be good for spirit. So I thought about this thing and then a thought came to me that why not read the Shreemad Bhagwad Geeta, as it will serve 2 purpose of both reading for mind and since it is a holy book, so it will help the spirit. Then I browsed for Shreemad Bhagwad Geeta on internet and got its commentary on internet and read it completely. After that, I bought Shreemad Bhagwad Geeta and the only spiritual book, which I have bought in my life till now is Shreemad Bhagwad Geeta, which I have read completely and which is the first book which introduced spirituality in my life and after reading this book, when I was trying to search on internet for how to meditate, then a thought came to me that since I had read in my history book (may be of class 7 or class 8) that Buddha attained Nirvana, so I thought Buddha would have meditated as usually the picture is depicted of Buddha sitting under a tree in meditation posture, then I thought that Buddha would have taught something about meditation and after this thought, I started searching on internet for Buddha's teachings and within 2 months I think this forum came up in some google search and I joined this forum, as I said above. Till now I have read teachings of Thai forerst tradition masters like Ajahn Chah, Brahm, Sumedho etc, Mahayana teachings on emptiness and compassion like Heart Sutra, Zen teachings of Dogen, Suzuki Roshi, Norman Fisher, teachings on Dzogchen and Mahamudra teachings and Tibetian teachings of Atisha's seven point mind training, Tonglen, Shantideva's Way of Bodhisatva life and HHDL's teachings - most of the teachings were either in pdf format on internet or in you tube videos. Also heard many insightful dharma talks of Joseph Goldstein and Alan Wallace on you tube.
Coming to your question regarding since you cant go to any temple, so what should you do, I think I read the answer somewhere on internet for a similar type of question and the answer was - Make a temple inside yourself, whatever you think are the things for which you want to go to a temple, all those things are already inside you, just find them.
May all sentient beings be peaceful, happy, safe, protected, healthy and strong.
Late to the party, but I think you would benefit from creating your own altar and residing in your own temple. Be a solitary practicioner. There are worse things....
Dear head/Temple dwellers, cyber-nones and monkettes,
... my local holy place is trampled by rhino
http://www.buddhasutra.com/files/khaggavisana_sutta.htm
May have to go to this local supermarket instead
Om Mani Peme Yum!
Where I live most people go to the supermarket instead of church on a Sunday morning.
Praise the Lord Tesco!
Maybe supermarkets can be encouraged to provide Buddhabooths?
https://buddhabooth.com
How to make money out of a broom cupboard....
Thanks @lobster ....I've just ordered 10 and put them on your credit card
Have you ever considered you are the temple?
You travel TO a temple or to a teacher, and take teachings .. for 2 hours, 2 days, whatever. You make this the destination for your annual vacation.
Otherwise, you meditate, and learn FROM your observation. Don't try to arrive at some cognitive thought-based "understanding". Just keep on meditating and observing.
Theravadan Buddhism, with its Vipassana/Mindfulness meditation techniques, is well-suited for one who has no direct access to in-person teachings.
Zen says you get nowhere for your efforts if you practice Zen without a teacher.
And Vajrayana (Tibetan Buddhism) can be psychologically dangerous to practice Vajrayana without a teacher (The Tibetans say "it will drive you crazy" if you practice Vajrayana without a teacher).
So Theravadan for the solitary practitioner. Although even there, it will take much longer to gain insights if you go it alone.
I recommend this book for solitary practitioner's: "Mindfulness in Plain English" by Bhante Gunaratana. The first few chapters an excellent clear over-view of what Buddhism is and is not .. and the rest functions as a substitute for a live teacher (as good as a book can do this, at any rate). I believe you can buy the book online from amazon.
Or from Bhante Gunaratana's publisher, Wisdom Publications at: http://www.wisdompubs.org/author/bhante-gunaratana
Interesting thread. Many of us think Buddhism is something we have to do ... in a sense there is much undoing and sitting around with Noting/Nothing ...
OP last came on site ln June.
I think this one can be safely tucked into bed.
Thanks to all for their contributions.