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Welcome, Olivia. It's nice to meet you. Make yourself at home and ask as many questions as you like. That's what this site is for. I hope you like it here and learn from it as much as I have.
Welcome, Olivia. Draw up a toadstool and join us round the fire.
0
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
edited October 2006
Olivia, feel free to ask any and every question that crosses your mind. That's the whole point, isn't it.....? This wonderful voyage of discovery.....?
Welcome to you, and it's nice to have you with us....:)
Age:44
Married, 1 child
Reading. Pennsylvania
New to this board, and to Buddhism. Previously a practicing Atheist:tonguec:
Hello to all. I have enoyed reading posts previously as a lurker. Just joined. I Think I know enough now to be able to ask questions about what I don't know, or think I do know.
Age:44
Married, 1 child
Reading. Pennsylvania
New to this board, and to Buddhism. Previously a practicing Atheist:tonguec:
Hello to all. I have enoyed reading posts previously as a lurker. Just joined. I Think I know enough now to be able to ask questions about what I don't know, or think I do know.
Welcome, Bikerfry. Glad you've decided to join the crowd around the fire.
Books, Bf, books: the first step towards totalitarianism. After that, anyone who disagrees. And, after that, the burners. And, in the end, there is only fire.
Books, Bf, books: the first step towards totalitarianism. After that, anyone who disagrees. And, after that, the burners. And, in the end, there is only fire.
Siomon,
I once had the occasion to fall into a meditation while watching an outdoor fire in a pit.
Thoughts of the similarities between fire and myself were astounding. A real paradigm shifter.
Hello again all. It's been so long I thought I'd better post first again on this thread. I was here briefly around February time but got diverted since then. Anyway I'll pull up a chair again if I may and talk to ye soon.
Hello again all. It's been so long I thought I'd better post first again on this thread. I was here briefly around February time but got diverted since then. Anyway I'll pull up a chair again if I may and talk to ye soon.
Welcome back, Tribesman. How has the search been going? Have you managed to turn your stumbling block into a foundation stone?
Thanks Simon,
Yes the last 6 months or so have been quite interesting. I think the stumbling block has been firmly laid as a foundation stone. Time to build slowly from there.
0
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
edited December 2006
Welcome back Tribesman, nice to see your radiated face again....! And hello Bikerfry. Glad to have you with us......:)
Hello! My name is Masteravatardavidstar! I'm glad to be a part of your buddhist website "family". My goal is to spread love and enlightenment to myself and to everyone else! We're all connected ! That's why I'm "connecting" with all you guys in this chat forum!..........So happiness , joy , and peace to ALL of US !!!!!!!!!
My dharma name is Engyo; I am a Nichiren Buddhist from Houston, Texas. I enjoy discussing Buddhism, and other issues from a Buddhist point of view. I'm looking forward to some interesting discussions.
Hi Tribeman, angulimala, masteravatardavidstar, Andrea dn others:
Welcome.
Masteravatardavidstar, now you are not going to expect me to type that ID out each time, lol. I usually abbreviate long screen ID's with first word, but I'll be hit n teh fce witha snowball before I call you master...LOL
My dharma name is Engyo; I am a Nichiren Buddhist from Houston, Texas. I enjoy discussing Buddhism, and other issues from a Buddhist point of view. I'm looking forward to some interesting discussions.
:bigclap: GREETINGS AND A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU BROTHER ENGYO !!!......................WELCOME TO OUR WEBSITE FAMILY !!!!.......I TOO AM A RECENT CONVERT TO NICHIREN DAISHONIN BUDDHISM....THERE ARE MANY QUESTIONS THAT I WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOU (AS WELL AS SHARE THE BENEFITS I'VE RECEIVED AS A RESULT OF CHANTING "NAM MYOHO RENGE KYO"). IN ADDITION TO THIS I TOO AM A RESIDENT (AND A NATIVE-A RARE BREED) OF HOUSTON TEXAS !......HOPE TO HEAR FROM YOU AGAIN SOON ! ..........NAMASTE DUDE !!!............................................................................................................................................................................:cheer:
My dharma name is Engyo; I am a Nichiren Buddhist from Houston, Texas. I enjoy discussing Buddhism, and other issues from a Buddhist point of view. I'm looking forward to some interesting discussions.
Better than what? Last nights early morning frolicks?
:bigclap: GREETINGS AND A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU BROTHER ENGYO !!!......................WELCOME TO OUR WEBSITE FAMILY !!!!.......I TOO AM A RECENT CONVERT TO NICHIREN DAISHONIN BUDDHISM....THERE ARE MANYQUESTIONS THAT I WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOU (AS WELL AS SHARE THE BENEFITS I'VE RECEIVED AS A RESULT OF CHANTING "NAM MYOHO RENGE KYO"). IN ADDITION TO THIS I TOO AM A RESIDENT (AND A NATIVE-A RARE BREED) OF HOUSTON TEXAS !......HOPE TO HEAR FROM YOU AGAIN SOON ! ..........NAMASTE DUDE !!!............................................................................................................................................................................:cheer:
Thanks for the big welcome, David!
I will be happy to try to answer any questions you may have as best I can. It's good to meet you, and I look forward to more interactions with you, and others here as well.
Better than what? Last nights early morning frolicks?
Iawa & all -
The way I look at it, 2006 was not a bad year for me at all, but things can always be better. 2006 was better than 2005 in many ways, so my wishes are for a continuing positive trend as we go forward.
I recently found this website and it has been a great benefit to my interest in Buddhism. I wanted to say hello to everyone and introduce myself. My name is Adam Wayne. I'm 26 years old. I'm married, for 5 years now. We live in Powhatan, VA, not far from Richmond. I have been looking into Buddhism now for about a year. My wife, Tomoko, is originally from Japan, and while not actually Buddhist, per se, has led a life and has many beliefs that fall in line with Buddhism. I think the reason I have been interested is that I would like to lead a more meaningful and peaceful life. I'm sure that I'll have many questions that I'll post on the forums and hopefully I can help someone else too. Thanks for all your time.
I recently found this website and it has been a great benefit to my interest in Buddhism. I wanted to say hello to everyone and introduce myself. My name is Adam Wayne. I'm 26 years old. I'm married, for 5 years now. We live in Powhatan, VA, not far from Richmond. I have been looking into Buddhism now for about a year. My wife, Tomoko, is originally from Japan, and while not actually Buddhist, per se, has led a life and has many beliefs that fall in line with Buddhism. I think the reason I have been interested is that I would like to lead a more meaningful and peaceful life. I'm sure that I'll have many questions that I'll post on the forums and hopefully I can help someone else too. Thanks for all your time.
As I wait for my lift to a few days away, it is delightful to meet a new friend, Adam. Welcome.
I have been reflecting on the importance of friendship in the good life, having just bumped into someone I had not seen for months. And, of course, I am about to spend time in a convent with a few sisters who live in community. They don't have the security that the canonical hours and regulation of a closed community can call on: they have friendship with each other.
Modern marketplace morality makes us think, as we meet new people, "What can you do for me?" but I believe that we access the better part of our nature when we think, "What can I do for you?"
I have this quote by the Dalai Lama:
I feel that the essence of spiritual practice is your attitude towards others. When you have a pure, sincere motivation, then you have the right attitude toward others based on kindness, compassion, love, and respect. Practice brings the clear realization pf the oneness of all human beings and the importance of others benefiting by your actions.
Once again, welcome, Adam. Pull up a log near the fire. Someone pass him a mug, a toasting-fork and some marshmallows.
Welcome, Adam! I hope that our site can be of use to you. Please feel free to ask anything. We may not have the answers, but at least our responses may be amusing!
Simon & Palzang,
Thank you for the nice welcoming. I've read many posts from both of you. I enjoy reading your views on all sorts of topics. I think this site is exactly what I needed. Thanks again.
Hello Brigid and Federica! It's nice to meet you both. You both seem to frequent these boards a lot and I look forward to talking more with you. I hope you havae great day.
I recently found this website and it has been a great benefit to my interest in Buddhism. I wanted to say hello to everyone and introduce myself. My name is Adam Wayne. I'm 26 years old. I'm married, for 5 years now. We live in Powhatan, VA, not far from Richmond. I have been looking into Buddhism now for about a year. My wife, Tomoko, is originally from Japan, and while not actually Buddhist, per se, has led a life and has many beliefs that fall in line with Buddhism. I think the reason I have been interested is that I would like to lead a more meaningful and peaceful life. I'm sure that I'll have many questions that I'll post on the forums and hopefully I can help someone else too. Thanks for all your time.
I begin to feel that one HUGE mistake I made when I first joined this forum some time ago is that I didn`t post here any self-introduction! That could have saved a lot of misunderstandings, I think!
Forty-seven years old, family name of Steiner, and from the United States, but I don`t like what is going on there. As a result I find myself a lot happier living outside my own country. I was raised Catholic Christian and loved studying as a layman as much as I could of theology. In the aftermath of my divorce my faith more or less fell apart as well, but that took a couple of years more. I have one son who lives near Mexico City. I teach English in Japan at the moment and I make paintings, drawings and collage. My studies were in Art at the University of California at Santa Cruz where I got a BA degree and did some post-graduate studies in Studio Art. I don`t claim that my painting is much good, but I don`t give up.
While I was at UCSC I also studied as much as I could about the Anthropology and History of Religion. After my faith fell apart, I found after some time that there remained a sort of Buddhistic tendency inside myself, and began meditating. But do I have the right to call myself a Buddhist? I don`t know. Having lost my original faith I still find it difficult to have any other religion, either, and I have never publically or "officially" taken refuge, and when I do so privately in my practice, I feel like I give a hugely "broad Church" or liberal and possibly "heretical" interpretation to the meanings of the words.
I found this site while I was doing some searches on the internet about Buddhist Sutras/Suttas. It is the first and still the only Buddhist discussion forum that I have joined. I chose the tag "VoidWhereProhibited" because I saw that some others here had humous tags. I have always found that statement ("Void Where Prohibited", which is found at the bottom of contest coupons and such in the U.S.) curious and funny. I love the doctrine of Emptiness and I feel "prohibited" not only because I am simultaneously both "traditional" and "heretical" but because I find following the Eightfold Path or even just the Lay Precepts to be nearly impossible for me just as I similarly felt as a commandment-breaking (divorced) Catholic. Maybe I am a "bad" Buddhist just as I was a "bad" Christian, or just am a card-carrying heretic wherever I go? Well maybe not, as I find myself powerefully drawn to Shingon Esoteric Japanese Vajrayana Buddhism, almost in spite of myself. It might seem loaded with dogma, superstition, ritualism, formalism, and all the things I thought I wouldn`t want to go near when I left Catholicism. But I`ve got to admit that I love "tradition": love that moment in "Fiddler On The Roof" when Tevyeh (spelling, anyone?) shouts "TRADITION!!" but then follows it up with a little shrug. That shrug says a lot...
Thank you to everyone here, and I ask that you be patient with me, because even though I know that I do not know much, as a deluded being I often might think that I know more than I do, and I often have many pointed questions that might at times sound offensive, but that is just because I am very much needing to sort things out and have doubts most of the time about just about everything in spite of the fact that I also have "faith". Faith isn`t all bad, is it, even if it ought to give way to experience, with time and practice?
That strange picture I am using for my "avatar"...it depicts the suffering of a monk overly attatched to the physical presence of the Buddha when the Thus-come-one passed into Nirvana. It is from a multi-figure sculptural scene, is much over a thousand years old, and is found in one of Japan`s most venerable temples. I know it looks unearthly strange and perhpas a bit shocking, but the image of the suffering Buddist is, for me, of some significance.
Hi, Void. Thanks for filling in the...uh....void...! lol! (*groan* Sorry!)
Sounds to me like you're a persistent sort of a guy which is such an important characteristic in spiritual development as well as artistic development. I thoroughly enjoyed your introduction and I'm glad you decided to post it. I welcome you with open arms and hope this site has been and will be as much benefit to you as it has been for me.
You are clearly another enthusiastic (i.e. 'god-filled') pilgrim. It is always such a relief to know that we are not alone in our enthusiasm - even if I sometimes wonder if it is of any more significance in the universe than stamp collecting!
Comments
I just found this site the other day and have been reading some threads before joining. It seems like a lovely place.
Although I've felt for years that buddhism was the 'right' path for me, life has been in the way for me to start practice.
There's so much I don't know and I might ask a lot of questions, so please bear with me.
Anyway... glad to be here.
Olivia
Welcome to you, and it's nice to have you with us....:)
You do make me feel very welcome
I'm really enjoying reading the threads... Right now I'm especially focused on all your book recommendations :eek2:
Married, 1 child
Reading. Pennsylvania
New to this board, and to Buddhism. Previously a practicing Atheist:tonguec:
Hello to all. I have enoyed reading posts previously as a lurker. Just joined. I Think I know enough now to be able to ask questions about what I don't know, or think I do know.
Welcome, Bikerfry. Glad you've decided to join the crowd around the fire.
Crowd by the fire... that's right...
Who are we burning today, Simon?
-bf
Books, Bf, books: the first step towards totalitarianism. After that, anyone who disagrees. And, after that, the burners. And, in the end, there is only fire.
Siomon,
I once had the occasion to fall into a meditation while watching an outdoor fire in a pit.
Thoughts of the similarities between fire and myself were astounding. A real paradigm shifter.
Hi, Tribesman! Nice to see you again!
Welcome back, Tribesman. How has the search been going? Have you managed to turn your stumbling block into a foundation stone?
Yes the last 6 months or so have been quite interesting. I think the stumbling block has been firmly laid as a foundation stone. Time to build slowly from there.
My dharma name is Engyo; I am a Nichiren Buddhist from Houston, Texas. I enjoy discussing Buddhism, and other issues from a Buddhist point of view. I'm looking forward to some interesting discussions.
Welcome.
Masteravatardavidstar, now you are not going to expect me to type that ID out each time, lol. I usually abbreviate long screen ID's with first word, but I'll be hit n teh fce witha snowball before I call you master...LOL
Better than what? Last nights early morning frolicks?
I will be happy to try to answer any questions you may have as best I can. It's good to meet you, and I look forward to more interactions with you, and others here as well.
The way I look at it, 2006 was not a bad year for me at all, but things can always be better. 2006 was better than 2005 in many ways, so my wishes are for a continuing positive trend as we go forward.
As I wait for my lift to a few days away, it is delightful to meet a new friend, Adam. Welcome.
I have been reflecting on the importance of friendship in the good life, having just bumped into someone I had not seen for months. And, of course, I am about to spend time in a convent with a few sisters who live in community. They don't have the security that the canonical hours and regulation of a closed community can call on: they have friendship with each other.
Modern marketplace morality makes us think, as we meet new people, "What can you do for me?" but I believe that we access the better part of our nature when we think, "What can I do for you?"
I have this quote by the Dalai Lama:
Once again, welcome, Adam. Pull up a log near the fire. Someone pass him a mug, a toasting-fork and some marshmallows.
Now, where did I put those toasting forks.....
Palzang
Thank you for the nice welcoming. I've read many posts from both of you. I enjoy reading your views on all sorts of topics. I think this site is exactly what I needed. Thanks again.
Make yourself at home. It's very nice to meet you.
Bring me some of that choolate.
-bf
Like something you can get your teeth into around midnight.....!:D
Reminded me of a a spittoon.
But I've seen people drink from those too!
-bf
It's very nice to meet you!
Oh, YUK!!
Welcome to our site! It's nice to have you here.
BF - that is really just gross. And when you say you have seen "people" drink out of a spittoon, were you referring to yourself?
I begin to feel that one HUGE mistake I made when I first joined this forum some time ago is that I didn`t post here any self-introduction! That could have saved a lot of misunderstandings, I think!
Forty-seven years old, family name of Steiner, and from the United States, but I don`t like what is going on there. As a result I find myself a lot happier living outside my own country. I was raised Catholic Christian and loved studying as a layman as much as I could of theology. In the aftermath of my divorce my faith more or less fell apart as well, but that took a couple of years more. I have one son who lives near Mexico City. I teach English in Japan at the moment and I make paintings, drawings and collage. My studies were in Art at the University of California at Santa Cruz where I got a BA degree and did some post-graduate studies in Studio Art. I don`t claim that my painting is much good, but I don`t give up.
While I was at UCSC I also studied as much as I could about the Anthropology and History of Religion. After my faith fell apart, I found after some time that there remained a sort of Buddhistic tendency inside myself, and began meditating. But do I have the right to call myself a Buddhist? I don`t know. Having lost my original faith I still find it difficult to have any other religion, either, and I have never publically or "officially" taken refuge, and when I do so privately in my practice, I feel like I give a hugely "broad Church" or liberal and possibly "heretical" interpretation to the meanings of the words.
I found this site while I was doing some searches on the internet about Buddhist Sutras/Suttas. It is the first and still the only Buddhist discussion forum that I have joined. I chose the tag "VoidWhereProhibited" because I saw that some others here had humous tags. I have always found that statement ("Void Where Prohibited", which is found at the bottom of contest coupons and such in the U.S.) curious and funny. I love the doctrine of Emptiness and I feel "prohibited" not only because I am simultaneously both "traditional" and "heretical" but because I find following the Eightfold Path or even just the Lay Precepts to be nearly impossible for me just as I similarly felt as a commandment-breaking (divorced) Catholic. Maybe I am a "bad" Buddhist just as I was a "bad" Christian, or just am a card-carrying heretic wherever I go? Well maybe not, as I find myself powerefully drawn to Shingon Esoteric Japanese Vajrayana Buddhism, almost in spite of myself. It might seem loaded with dogma, superstition, ritualism, formalism, and all the things I thought I wouldn`t want to go near when I left Catholicism. But I`ve got to admit that I love "tradition": love that moment in "Fiddler On The Roof" when Tevyeh (spelling, anyone?) shouts "TRADITION!!" but then follows it up with a little shrug. That shrug says a lot...
Thank you to everyone here, and I ask that you be patient with me, because even though I know that I do not know much, as a deluded being I often might think that I know more than I do, and I often have many pointed questions that might at times sound offensive, but that is just because I am very much needing to sort things out and have doubts most of the time about just about everything in spite of the fact that I also have "faith". Faith isn`t all bad, is it, even if it ought to give way to experience, with time and practice?
That strange picture I am using for my "avatar"...it depicts the suffering of a monk overly attatched to the physical presence of the Buddha when the Thus-come-one passed into Nirvana. It is from a multi-figure sculptural scene, is much over a thousand years old, and is found in one of Japan`s most venerable temples. I know it looks unearthly strange and perhpas a bit shocking, but the image of the suffering Buddist is, for me, of some significance.
Sounds to me like you're a persistent sort of a guy which is such an important characteristic in spiritual development as well as artistic development. I thoroughly enjoyed your introduction and I'm glad you decided to post it. I welcome you with open arms and hope this site has been and will be as much benefit to you as it has been for me.
You are clearly another enthusiastic (i.e. 'god-filled') pilgrim. It is always such a relief to know that we are not alone in our enthusiasm - even if I sometimes wonder if it is of any more significance in the universe than stamp collecting!