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Name: Matias
Age: 21
Sign: Gemini
Hair: Black
Eyes: Hazel
Height: 5'10
Weight: 160 lbs.
Born: Newport Beach, CA
Live: Tigard, OR
Favorite book: Angels and Demons
Favorite band: A Perfect Circle. Changes constantly, though.
Favorite food: Burritos.
Favorite movie: Avatar
Favorite colour: Green
I live in Tigard, Oregon, right by Portland. It's very beautiful and very green. I recently started getting into buddhism because I felt that it was a very honest look at reality as it is and also a great way to look at the human mind as well. Last year I was into psychedelic drugs, which helped me develop an understanding of what has always been in front of me, but recently I decided to quit all drugs altogether because I felt that any answers I wanted to find were in front of me to grasp and didn't require drugs as portals anymore. I don't regret my psychedelic use, though, as it woke me up to be the person that I am today. Next year I'm planning on hiking the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada and I hope that all goes well. It's nice to see so many people in this forum and to see that everyone is kind. I look forward to posting here often.
LNP: That's an issue Lincoln's working on, a few people have had it and he didn't know about it until a couple of days ago. I'm sure he'll get it fired up again soon.
Next year I'm planning on hiking the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada and I hope that all goes well. It's nice to see so many people in this forum and to see that everyone is kind. I look forward to posting here often.
Very cool! I've hiked some sections of the Appalachian Trail and really hope to do the entire thing in my lifetime. Definitely by sections; hopefully in its entirety at once! I never feel closer to myself and to the whole of the Universe than when I'm out there in the woods, completely alone.
Welcome Popeschmoll (I think I have a friend with that name ) This is really a good place to make friends, lots of nice people here Welcome, enjoy your time here :wavey:
What a great forum you have here, well done to everyone
Name: Ruth
Age: 24
Sign: Leo
Location: Ireland
Fave Movie: Ummm.... too many to mention
Fav Book: A short history of nearly everything - Bill Bryson
I found this forum while doing some research on buddhism online. I was raised as a roman catholic, I am baptised and confirmed, but I have been an atheist since my early teens, but lately I have been feeling like there is something I am missing, the way i describe it is 'feeling unfulfilled'.
I used to practice tae kwon do, and we were encouraged to meditate regularly as part of our training. But when I stopped training, I stopped the meditating. I have been going through a bad patch the last few months with my health and finances so I started to meditate again. I still have a long way to go regarding technique, but it is already starting to bring my stress levels down. I have a clearer head and am able to sleep a little better
While researching meditation techniques, I found buddhism mentioned in a lot of the material, so I read more about it, and a lttle more and a bit more again. I think that buddhism is what I need in my life right now so I am dedicating all my free time researching teachings and literature. I have downloaded a few things from BuddhaNet and I am slowly but surely reading through all the info. I am very excited about it all
I think that empty feeling, that feeling of being unfulfilled, is what drives humans to all forms of religion including Buddhism. The difference is that Buddhism isn't just a stop-gap, it can show you the reasons that you feel unfulfilled and help you repair this problem at the source.
Fulfillment is desire-gained; that is, you want something and you get it. Most of the things we want are not in our control to get, or mostly not in our control, and so we desire the improbable/impossible and that leads to our frustration. Buddhism gives you the knowledge and tools (i.e. insight meditation or Vipassana) to understand and see how these desires arise in the first place, and to know that truth fully is to no longer have those desires -- it's putting your hand in the fire knowing you never want to do that again; but for the mind. Insight meditation leads to this mind-sight that is the same as any of your other senses. The mind is considered the sixth sense in Buddhism.
At least that's the way I'd describe it. Opinions vary.
Anyway, welcome again to the forum. I hope everything works out for you and that at least your desire to know the Buddha's teachings does not go unfulfilled!
Name: Brendan
Age: 30
Sign: Capicorn
Hair: Light brown
Eyes: Blue
Height: 5'10
Weight: 175lbs
Born: Surrey, B.C Canada(Greater Vancovuer)
Live: 10 minutes from above
Favorite book: Ann Rule true crime(in the past not so much anymore), The Handmaid's Tale
Favorite band: U2
Favorite food: Pasta,bagels, vegetarian sushi, hearty stews
Favorite movie: Bokeback Mountian (haunting), Thelma and Louise, Back to the FutureTrilogy(more from childhood...but I still love them)
Favorite colour: Red...I think....I really like deep blues as well.
Hi everyone, I am so glad I stumbled onto this forum. I have been exploring Buddhism on and off for a couple of years now. I was raised a catholic, went to catholic school but I always had issues with it. The church's stance on homosexulity caused me great discomfort. I identify as bisexual, although I am not wild about labels. I haven't been to a catholic church(other than my grandma's funeral 2 weeks ago) in over a decade. I became a pretty militant athiest in my 20's after going to University and rejecting much of what I had previously held to be true. I was never entirely comforatable with it though. I never really felt fulfilled...I felt like something was missing. I suppose that was one thing that I initially liked about Buddhism...the fact that belief in a diety was optional. I am no longer a militant athiest, agnostic would probably describe me, although I am an athiest about an omnipotent, omniscient god. I also used to be very judgemental about religious folks and I suppose I had an inflated idea of my own intelligence to be able to see past what I thought of as nonsense. In the past year I have let go of a lot of those judgements about religion and even joined a Unitarian church. I was drawn to this church more for the values that are taught to the children and to be a pat of a progressive, active community. I have since found many other things about it that I like. I am married and the father of 2 kids aged 6 and 9. I have been a vegetarian for about 4 years..whole family is veggie!
Thanks for listening to my life story in a nutshell!
Welcome Brendan, sorry to hear about the recent death of your grandma :-/ I like the same about Buddhism and Unitarian The Catholic church is homophobic? I didn't know that. My non homophobic Catholic(or maybe he isn't anymore) friend said it wasn't. I'm not keen on Catholicism with all the pope's... y' probably know... :-/
Anyway, welcome :wavey:
Name: Saskia
Age: 31
Hair: Dark brown
Eyes: Dark brown
Born: Apeldoorn, The Netherlands
Favorite book: The secret history - Donna Tartt (amongst others)
Favorite band: Counting Crows
Favorite food: Pasta, pizza, salad
Favorite movie: I really don't know
Favorite colour: yellow and blue, can't pick just one
I found this site/ forum at another webpage, and I thought it quite active, so I decided to register here as well. Let me introduce myself a bit:
I'm a Dutch seeker, associated to the Rigpa centre of Sogyal Rinpoche, and dedicated to the Dharma since - I guess - 2006.
I truly believe in karma and individual responsibility. I try to be aware of my thoughts and feelings as much as possible and act on it as well. I'm really looking forward to 'meet' other seekers from over the world to elaborate and discuss buddhism in theory and practice. I hope this forum will meet my expectations.
About daily life: I'm graduating university (international relations) at the moment. I'm writing my thesis on transitional justice in Aceh (Indonesia) and will finish it in 3 weeks. Hobbies; reading, writing, photography, my dogs, sports (especially running) ....
Any questions?? just ask!!!
Hoy Saskia :wavey: My ancestors are Dutch and I'd like to learn the language. I can count to ten, say "hello", "hi", "how are you", "thank you", "goodbye" and "I love you" LOL.
Hi, my name is Jimmy. I am 16 and currently attending High School (obviously), and I am confused. My family was raised Catholic, yet nobody really followed suit. Everyone branched off.
Ever since I can remember my grandmother and grandfather have tried to get me to follow Christianity. I tried going to Church on several occasions, yet I constantly found myself confused and questioning. I would ask family and friends about the sermon, what they meant about God. I would ask several questions that were obvious contradictions and flaws that I noticed, but everyone would get angry with me. I was not trying to do anything to make them angry, just curious.
As I grew up I witnessed adults fighting constantly. I watched a man I called family beat another family member of mine and attempt to kill her. I had to stand up for her. I told the man to leave my house and he hit me. Eventually they split up. My aunt moved back to live near the rest of our family and is still plagued by random flashbacks.
I again tried turning to God for help, but I noticed even more flaws and missing elements in the religion that nobody would or could answer to me. For some reason I just never made a connection with it. So only recently I have started studying other religions. Reading articles online and looking up texts that could give me insight into religions or philosophies has occupied my time for the last year now. After several months of searching I found that Buddhism seemed to connect with me. The problem is I do not really know anything about it.
I have not told many family members, but I have made several hints. I do not think they could handle it if I did. I am very confused and I would like some helpful insight into this religion/philosophy. Please and thank you from a very confused guy.
Welcome Jimmy! You are not alone, trust me. Many are in similar situations or have been (or....will be). You're looking for basic information on Buddhism yes? I've found BuddhaNet at http://www.buddhanet.net to be a great resource. They even have a self-study guide at http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/index.htm that 'branches' off so you can go as deep as you want or just get the 'froth' of the teachings to start your mind working.
The Four Noble Truths are the foundation. They show us that our suffering can be overcome by following a path (The Noble Eightfold Path) of study, practice and meditation that will open our eyes to reality and make us stop wanting things that are outside of our control to get.
If you have any questions at all this forum is full of experienced practitioners and others that would be all too happy to help. After all, that's why we're here. If we aren't seeking answers, we're answering questions. We try anyway. Nobody's perfect, and everyone has their own view even in Buddhism. This is a melting pot of the different traditions/schools that Buddhism has to offer (based on Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana).
Hi all,
Just finding my way back to Buddhism after a gap of a few years. My first contact began about 14 years ago when I attended my local NKT group, due to it being the only one within travelling distance. Lasted a couple of years there, but became totally disillushioned due to the Shugden thing.
Came back to it about 4 years ago, when I attended both a Gelugpa & FWBO group. However due to lack of transport and the pressures of home life this didn't last any longer than a couple of months.
So now I'm back again for another go. At the moment I'm attending both a Gelugpa & Sakya group, before I make a decision about which tradition I feel more comfortable with.
Welcome new members. I'm still newish myself but I've been here long enough to know how great this forum is and that if you take the time to explore, you'll find you'll learn a lot of helpful things and enjoy your time here.
Welcome to the forum. I hope it becomes as useful a resource for all of you as it has been for me. It's a pretty cool place and I'm sure it will help you along the way.
thanks for the welcome! i've only just started looking into buddhism and it seems rather interesting. the goals and ideals of this philosophy seem to fit perfectly with my morals though i still have a long way to go. is there any information i can get as to how or what i should do to practice this the correct way? i have already read up on the link a bit and i do when i get the chance so thanks for that ;D but as a newbie i figured it would be best to hear from several people. what or how should i begin practicing? thanks for input
thanks for the welcome! i've only just started looking into buddhism and it seems rather interesting. the goals and ideals of this philosophy seem to fit perfectly with my morals though i still have a long way to go. is there any information i can get as to how or what i should do to practice this the correct way? i have already read up on the link a bit and i do when i get the chance so thanks for that ;D but as a newbie i figured it would be best to hear from several people. what or how should i begin practicing? thanks for input
Hi, seeking! I'm new to Buddhism, too, and have just begun by making meditation a daily occurrence in my life without stressing too much about if I'm doing it correctly. It's been only three months or so, but my meditation practice has been progressing slowly and steadily and become a favorite part of my day. After that, I believe the best thing to do would be to follow The Eightfold Path :-)
Name: Meng Jiat
Age: 21
Sign: Snake/Virgo
Hair: Black =D
Eyes: Black too!
Born: Singapore
Live: Singapore
Occupation: Student
Favorite book: The Alchemist =D
Favorite band: A Taiwanese girl band by the name S.H.E
Favorite food: If chocolate counts, if not, Japanese food
Favorite movie: Not yet found
Favorite colour: Grey
I'm a little lazy so I decided to copy and paste what I typed in the other section =X
Many Asians, like me, are born into Buddhist family. Since young, I followed my father blindly on the temple trips and so on but deep down, I knew I didn't want to be as such. I opened myself up to the possibility of accepting Christianity but ended up, I couldn't accept it. I couldn't accept that my own sins are taken away by another. Being a Chinese, I've always believed that for sins I've done, I'll pay for them, for they are my own actions and decisions. In addition, when I was in Middle School, I was already thinking that perhaps "fate" is the result of our actions, decisions and our characters more than it was written by someone.
Last year, after deciding that I can't believe in Christianity, I thought it was time for me to understand the religion I grew up with. And goodness! It actually coincides with my own principles and thoughts. That was when I knew, I am a Buddhist
Name: Rick
Age: 21
Sign: Ohhh astrology... :P
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Born: Wisconsin
Live: Tucson, AZ
Occupation: Student
Favorite book: Not a single book, but both the Ender's Game & Ender's Shadow series
Favorite band: Couldn't really put my finger on one, but I enjoy some good Classic Rock (The Who, Zeppelin, Bad Company, Pink Floyd, etc.)
Favorite food:
Favorite movie: Some of my favorites include: The Shawshank Redemption The Green Mile, Ironman (hard for me to resist anything with Robert Downey Jr.)
Favorite colour: Green, Blue
My story is a complicated one, and I've never really had the opportunity to share it completely with anyone, so bear with me if you like.
I was raised Catholic into a well-meaning but often misunderstanding family. I guess misunderstanding isn't exactly the right word; instead, I'll describe it as the acceptance of a lesser understanding of things in the same way that many claim that their lack of understanding of modern technology is due to a sheer 'inability' instead of an unwillingness to do the exploration necessary to learn. I'm doing my best to express that without coming across as bitter, but that's just the way they are; my parents have simply accepted their routine of going through each day, and life in general. Meanwhile, I've always found a dullness and unfulfilled-ness with the routine that is the paradigm of modern America. Anyway, I eventually opened up to my parents about my dissatisfaction with Catholicism, and really, formal religion in general. Ever since, I've considered myself an atheist, but mostly just as a label; I had pretty much turned a blind eye to my spirituality.
As the story goes, I taught myself to read at the age of 2, and I could rarely be found without a book or science magazine in hand until around my Junior year of high school. I've had (and still have to this date) a subscription to Discover magazine, and, spurred on by many of their articles, I've always found the great questions of science - most notably in cosmology, astrophysics, quantum mechanics, neuroscience and psychology - incredibly intriguing. I've always excelled in math and the sciences (though I consider myself to be a decent writer as well), and earned a scholarship to the University of Arizona - which I currently attend, double-majoring in Optical Engineering and Math.
Interestingly enough, I've also played baseball since I was 3 years old, and I had the opportunity to play with the baseball team here for my first two years in college. Any college sports team demands a significant degree of physical and mental commitment, and Arizona's baseball team has been historically considered among the elite. Quite a bit of effort and performance was expected from each and every one of us; but the potential rewards were great. In the end, this turned out to be a very tumultuous experience. I struggled a bit early, but at the time I considered those to be growing pains and improved greatly throughout my first year and over the summer heading into my sophomore year. My sophomore year was riddled with struggles on the field, which I took into my personal and academic life off the field. I started struggling severely at something I had been able to do fairly well for as long as I could remember; and as it happens so often in sports, I really couldn't figure out why. This, I think, was the most frustrating part.
At the same time, my grades - which had always been good - began to suffer. This past year, I was cut from the team entirely, and I sort of relapsed into a state of lethargy and depression stemming largely from negative self-talk. Another factor involved was bad (lazy) schoolwork habits that I had built up, but gotten away with, throughout high school. In addition, I started smoking marijuana quite regularly, destroying many of my relationships due to reclusiveness, and becoming cynical of nearly everything and everyone. Seeing how all of this affected my grades this semester was a huge wake-up call that I had better make a concerted effort to change my ways both physically and mentally.
My interest in Buddhism was catalyzed by this experience, but for me, there is a deeper, more elemental draw to it. I've never felt a connection with anything as true and as familiar as the connection I feel to the ideals and practices of Buddhism. For me as for many, this connection goes deeper than just a path along physical reality; it is a path to truly explore and discover one's self in such intimate way that cannot possibly be described, but only felt. That said, I look forward to learning much from my experiences henceforth in life and in this community, and I hope I can humbly offer some helpful advice to some along the way.
What great introductions. I love it when people introduce themselves with concise but well rounded descriptions of their lives. I enjoy autobiographies immensely and I was really moved by both of your stories.
Thanks so much for taking the time to describe yourselves as you did.
P.S. That's not to say that one line intros aren't as good. Brevity is the something of something, after all.
Welcome Meng and Rick. That's pretty cool Rick, I couldn't read any words until I was 3 (the words were cat basket lol) and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be good at baseball.
Hi everyone. I'm new to this forum, and I just wanted to say hello and introduce myself. (Hopefully this is a good spot to post an introduction)
I've been interested in Buddhism for a long time, but only just recently began a daily meditation practice (about two weeks ago now). I have practiced before, but only regularly for about a month or two, and that was years ago. I haven't chosen any particular... what would be the word 'sect'? of Buddhism just yet, Theravada, Zen, etc. I am interested to explore different ones and choose one that fits me best. For now I'm just counting breaths while sitting for about 20 minutes every evening shortly before I go to sleep.
I used to be a member of another Buddhist forum (e-sangha.com), but it's been down for months and months, so I decided to look for a new one, and this place looked like a great one to try out for a while.
I look forward to hopefully getting to know many of you, and be a member of your community! :cool:
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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 June 2010
Welcome fedaalis!
I moved your post to the New Members Introduction thread!
Greetings. New member, first post. New to Buddhism. "Found it" in 2001 when I first read "Orbiting the Giant Hairball" (but didn't know it at the time). Events in the world and my life have led me here...
Greetings. New member, first post. New to Buddhism. "Found it" in 2001 when I first read "Orbiting the Giant Hairball" (but didn't know it at the time). Events in the world and my life have led me here...
Welcome to the forum to you and all new members. I love your screen name lamaramadingdong, it reminded me of Adam Sandler. Thanks for the chuckle.
Arjquad, a lot of Therevadan (one of the main branches of Buddhism) Buddhist texts are written in Pali. There are on line courses for learning Pali if you are interested, and it helps if you want to read the texts in their original language, but it is not a requirement.
well thank you!! ive been meditating whenever i get the chance. im still trying to get it fixed into a set routine but im having difficulties. i guess thats just a bump i must get over lol so ya.. again, thanks for the welcome! i appreciate it ;D
I was about to start my first post without a real introduction of my self since I did not find a sticky for this. Maybe you guys should move it to a more obvious area titled 'introduce your self' or something along those lines. As ,as of now this thread is located in 'beginners buddhist. But yea howdie everyone my name is Ford. Glad to be here ).
Comments
Age: 21
Sign: Gemini
Hair: Black
Eyes: Hazel
Height: 5'10
Weight: 160 lbs.
Born: Newport Beach, CA
Live: Tigard, OR
Favorite book: Angels and Demons
Favorite band: A Perfect Circle. Changes constantly, though.
Favorite food: Burritos.
Favorite movie: Avatar
Favorite colour: Green
I live in Tigard, Oregon, right by Portland. It's very beautiful and very green. I recently started getting into buddhism because I felt that it was a very honest look at reality as it is and also a great way to look at the human mind as well. Last year I was into psychedelic drugs, which helped me develop an understanding of what has always been in front of me, but recently I decided to quit all drugs altogether because I felt that any answers I wanted to find were in front of me to grasp and didn't require drugs as portals anymore. I don't regret my psychedelic use, though, as it woke me up to be the person that I am today. Next year I'm planning on hiking the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada and I hope that all goes well. It's nice to see so many people in this forum and to see that everyone is kind. I look forward to posting here often.
All the best
NickiD
Namaste
Very cool! I've hiked some sections of the Appalachian Trail and really hope to do the entire thing in my lifetime. Definitely by sections; hopefully in its entirety at once! I never feel closer to myself and to the whole of the Universe than when I'm out there in the woods, completely alone.
Oh, and cheers Javelin
All the best
NickiD
All the best
NickiD
What a great forum you have here, well done to everyone
Name: Ruth
Age: 24
Sign: Leo
Location: Ireland
Fave Movie: Ummm.... too many to mention
Fav Book: A short history of nearly everything - Bill Bryson
I found this forum while doing some research on buddhism online. I was raised as a roman catholic, I am baptised and confirmed, but I have been an atheist since my early teens, but lately I have been feeling like there is something I am missing, the way i describe it is 'feeling unfulfilled'.
I used to practice tae kwon do, and we were encouraged to meditate regularly as part of our training. But when I stopped training, I stopped the meditating. I have been going through a bad patch the last few months with my health and finances so I started to meditate again. I still have a long way to go regarding technique, but it is already starting to bring my stress levels down. I have a clearer head and am able to sleep a little better
While researching meditation techniques, I found buddhism mentioned in a lot of the material, so I read more about it, and a lttle more and a bit more again. I think that buddhism is what I need in my life right now so I am dedicating all my free time researching teachings and literature. I have downloaded a few things from BuddhaNet and I am slowly but surely reading through all the info. I am very excited about it all
All the best
NickiD
I think that empty feeling, that feeling of being unfulfilled, is what drives humans to all forms of religion including Buddhism. The difference is that Buddhism isn't just a stop-gap, it can show you the reasons that you feel unfulfilled and help you repair this problem at the source.
Fulfillment is desire-gained; that is, you want something and you get it. Most of the things we want are not in our control to get, or mostly not in our control, and so we desire the improbable/impossible and that leads to our frustration. Buddhism gives you the knowledge and tools (i.e. insight meditation or Vipassana) to understand and see how these desires arise in the first place, and to know that truth fully is to no longer have those desires -- it's putting your hand in the fire knowing you never want to do that again; but for the mind.
At least that's the way I'd describe it. Opinions vary.
Anyway, welcome again to the forum. I hope everything works out for you and that at least your desire to know the Buddha's teachings does not go unfulfilled!
Namaste
Age: 30
Sign: Capicorn
Hair: Light brown
Eyes: Blue
Height: 5'10
Weight: 175lbs
Born: Surrey, B.C Canada(Greater Vancovuer)
Live: 10 minutes from above
Favorite book: Ann Rule true crime(in the past not so much anymore), The Handmaid's Tale
Favorite band: U2
Favorite food: Pasta,bagels, vegetarian sushi, hearty stews
Favorite movie: Bokeback Mountian (haunting), Thelma and Louise, Back to the FutureTrilogy(more from childhood...but I still love them)
Favorite colour: Red...I think....I really like deep blues as well.
Hi everyone, I am so glad I stumbled onto this forum. I have been exploring Buddhism on and off for a couple of years now. I was raised a catholic, went to catholic school but I always had issues with it. The church's stance on homosexulity caused me great discomfort. I identify as bisexual, although I am not wild about labels. I haven't been to a catholic church(other than my grandma's funeral 2 weeks ago) in over a decade. I became a pretty militant athiest in my 20's after going to University and rejecting much of what I had previously held to be true. I was never entirely comforatable with it though. I never really felt fulfilled...I felt like something was missing. I suppose that was one thing that I initially liked about Buddhism...the fact that belief in a diety was optional. I am no longer a militant athiest, agnostic would probably describe me, although I am an athiest about an omnipotent, omniscient god. I also used to be very judgemental about religious folks and I suppose I had an inflated idea of my own intelligence to be able to see past what I thought of as nonsense. In the past year I have let go of a lot of those judgements about religion and even joined a Unitarian church. I was drawn to this church more for the values that are taught to the children and to be a pat of a progressive, active community. I have since found many other things about it that I like. I am married and the father of 2 kids aged 6 and 9. I have been a vegetarian for about 4 years..whole family is veggie!
Thanks for listening to my life story in a nutshell!
Brendan
Anyway, welcome :wavey:
all the best
NickiD
Age: 31
Hair: Dark brown
Eyes: Dark brown
Born: Apeldoorn, The Netherlands
Favorite book: The secret history - Donna Tartt (amongst others)
Favorite band: Counting Crows
Favorite food: Pasta, pizza, salad
Favorite movie: I really don't know
Favorite colour: yellow and blue, can't pick just one
I found this site/ forum at another webpage, and I thought it quite active, so I decided to register here as well. Let me introduce myself a bit:
I'm a Dutch seeker, associated to the Rigpa centre of Sogyal Rinpoche, and dedicated to the Dharma since - I guess - 2006.
I truly believe in karma and individual responsibility. I try to be aware of my thoughts and feelings as much as possible and act on it as well. I'm really looking forward to 'meet' other seekers from over the world to elaborate and discuss buddhism in theory and practice. I hope this forum will meet my expectations.
About daily life: I'm graduating university (international relations) at the moment. I'm writing my thesis on transitional justice in Aceh (Indonesia) and will finish it in 3 weeks. Hobbies; reading, writing, photography, my dogs, sports (especially running) ....
Any questions?? just ask!!!
All the best
NickiD
Ever since I can remember my grandmother and grandfather have tried to get me to follow Christianity. I tried going to Church on several occasions, yet I constantly found myself confused and questioning. I would ask family and friends about the sermon, what they meant about God. I would ask several questions that were obvious contradictions and flaws that I noticed, but everyone would get angry with me. I was not trying to do anything to make them angry, just curious.
As I grew up I witnessed adults fighting constantly. I watched a man I called family beat another family member of mine and attempt to kill her. I had to stand up for her. I told the man to leave my house and he hit me. Eventually they split up. My aunt moved back to live near the rest of our family and is still plagued by random flashbacks.
I again tried turning to God for help, but I noticed even more flaws and missing elements in the religion that nobody would or could answer to me. For some reason I just never made a connection with it. So only recently I have started studying other religions. Reading articles online and looking up texts that could give me insight into religions or philosophies has occupied my time for the last year now. After several months of searching I found that Buddhism seemed to connect with me. The problem is I do not really know anything about it.
I have not told many family members, but I have made several hints. I do not think they could handle it if I did. I am very confused and I would like some helpful insight into this religion/philosophy. Please and thank you from a very confused guy.
The Four Noble Truths are the foundation. They show us that our suffering can be overcome by following a path (The Noble Eightfold Path) of study, practice and meditation that will open our eyes to reality and make us stop wanting things that are outside of our control to get.
If you have any questions at all this forum is full of experienced practitioners and others that would be all too happy to help. After all, that's why we're here. If we aren't seeking answers, we're answering questions. We try anyway.
If you need anything just ask. Good luck!
Namaste
Just finding my way back to Buddhism after a gap of a few years. My first contact began about 14 years ago when I attended my local NKT group, due to it being the only one within travelling distance. Lasted a couple of years there, but became totally disillushioned due to the Shugden thing.
Came back to it about 4 years ago, when I attended both a Gelugpa & FWBO group. However due to lack of transport and the pressures of home life this didn't last any longer than a couple of months.
So now I'm back again for another go. At the moment I'm attending both a Gelugpa & Sakya group, before I make a decision about which tradition I feel more comfortable with.
Jason
42 years old
North Somerset, England
Jin Zhi
Hi Everyone
Jin Zhi
.
Welcome to the forum. I hope it becomes as useful a resource for all of you as it has been for me. It's a pretty cool place and I'm sure it will help you along the way.
Wishing you all peace and joy.
-Boo
All the best
Me
Hi, seeking! I'm new to Buddhism, too, and have just begun by making meditation a daily occurrence in my life without stressing too much about if I'm doing it correctly. It's been only three months or so, but my meditation practice has been progressing slowly and steadily and become a favorite part of my day. After that, I believe the best thing to do would be to follow The Eightfold Path :-)
Welcome again!
All the best
mwa self
Age: 21
Sign: Snake/Virgo
Hair: Black =D
Eyes: Black too!
Born: Singapore
Live: Singapore
Occupation: Student
Favorite book: The Alchemist =D
Favorite band: A Taiwanese girl band by the name S.H.E
Favorite food: If chocolate counts, if not, Japanese food
Favorite movie: Not yet found
Favorite colour: Grey
I'm a little lazy so I decided to copy and paste what I typed in the other section =X
Many Asians, like me, are born into Buddhist family. Since young, I followed my father blindly on the temple trips and so on but deep down, I knew I didn't want to be as such. I opened myself up to the possibility of accepting Christianity but ended up, I couldn't accept it. I couldn't accept that my own sins are taken away by another. Being a Chinese, I've always believed that for sins I've done, I'll pay for them, for they are my own actions and decisions. In addition, when I was in Middle School, I was already thinking that perhaps "fate" is the result of our actions, decisions and our characters more than it was written by someone.
Last year, after deciding that I can't believe in Christianity, I thought it was time for me to understand the religion I grew up with. And goodness! It actually coincides with my own principles and thoughts. That was when I knew, I am a Buddhist
Age: 21
Sign: Ohhh astrology... :P
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Born: Wisconsin
Live: Tucson, AZ
Occupation: Student
Favorite book: Not a single book, but both the Ender's Game & Ender's Shadow series
Favorite band: Couldn't really put my finger on one, but I enjoy some good Classic Rock (The Who, Zeppelin, Bad Company, Pink Floyd, etc.)
Favorite food:
Favorite movie: Some of my favorites include: The Shawshank Redemption The Green Mile, Ironman (hard for me to resist anything with Robert Downey Jr.)
Favorite colour: Green, Blue
My story is a complicated one, and I've never really had the opportunity to share it completely with anyone, so bear with me if you like.
I was raised Catholic into a well-meaning but often misunderstanding family. I guess misunderstanding isn't exactly the right word; instead, I'll describe it as the acceptance of a lesser understanding of things in the same way that many claim that their lack of understanding of modern technology is due to a sheer 'inability' instead of an unwillingness to do the exploration necessary to learn. I'm doing my best to express that without coming across as bitter, but that's just the way they are; my parents have simply accepted their routine of going through each day, and life in general. Meanwhile, I've always found a dullness and unfulfilled-ness with the routine that is the paradigm of modern America. Anyway, I eventually opened up to my parents about my dissatisfaction with Catholicism, and really, formal religion in general. Ever since, I've considered myself an atheist, but mostly just as a label; I had pretty much turned a blind eye to my spirituality.
As the story goes, I taught myself to read at the age of 2, and I could rarely be found without a book or science magazine in hand until around my Junior year of high school. I've had (and still have to this date) a subscription to Discover magazine, and, spurred on by many of their articles, I've always found the great questions of science - most notably in cosmology, astrophysics, quantum mechanics, neuroscience and psychology - incredibly intriguing. I've always excelled in math and the sciences (though I consider myself to be a decent writer as well), and earned a scholarship to the University of Arizona - which I currently attend, double-majoring in Optical Engineering and Math.
Interestingly enough, I've also played baseball since I was 3 years old, and I had the opportunity to play with the baseball team here for my first two years in college. Any college sports team demands a significant degree of physical and mental commitment, and Arizona's baseball team has been historically considered among the elite. Quite a bit of effort and performance was expected from each and every one of us; but the potential rewards were great. In the end, this turned out to be a very tumultuous experience. I struggled a bit early, but at the time I considered those to be growing pains and improved greatly throughout my first year and over the summer heading into my sophomore year. My sophomore year was riddled with struggles on the field, which I took into my personal and academic life off the field. I started struggling severely at something I had been able to do fairly well for as long as I could remember; and as it happens so often in sports, I really couldn't figure out why. This, I think, was the most frustrating part.
At the same time, my grades - which had always been good - began to suffer. This past year, I was cut from the team entirely, and I sort of relapsed into a state of lethargy and depression stemming largely from negative self-talk. Another factor involved was bad (lazy) schoolwork habits that I had built up, but gotten away with, throughout high school. In addition, I started smoking marijuana quite regularly, destroying many of my relationships due to reclusiveness, and becoming cynical of nearly everything and everyone. Seeing how all of this affected my grades this semester was a huge wake-up call that I had better make a concerted effort to change my ways both physically and mentally.
My interest in Buddhism was catalyzed by this experience, but for me, there is a deeper, more elemental draw to it. I've never felt a connection with anything as true and as familiar as the connection I feel to the ideals and practices of Buddhism. For me as for many, this connection goes deeper than just a path along physical reality; it is a path to truly explore and discover one's self in such intimate way that cannot possibly be described, but only felt. That said, I look forward to learning much from my experiences henceforth in life and in this community, and I hope I can humbly offer some helpful advice to some along the way.
Rick
Babystars (what a cool name!) and Rick,
What great introductions. I love it when people introduce themselves with concise but well rounded descriptions of their lives. I enjoy autobiographies immensely and I was really moved by both of your stories.
Thanks so much for taking the time to describe yourselves as you did.
P.S. That's not to say that one line intros aren't as good. Brevity is the something of something, after all.
All the best
NickiD
I've been interested in Buddhism for a long time, but only just recently began a daily meditation practice (about two weeks ago now). I have practiced before, but only regularly for about a month or two, and that was years ago. I haven't chosen any particular... what would be the word 'sect'? of Buddhism just yet, Theravada, Zen, etc. I am interested to explore different ones and choose one that fits me best. For now I'm just counting breaths while sitting for about 20 minutes every evening shortly before I go to sleep.
I used to be a member of another Buddhist forum (e-sangha.com), but it's been down for months and months, so I decided to look for a new one, and this place looked like a great one to try out for a while.
I look forward to hopefully getting to know many of you, and be a member of your community! :cool:
I moved your post to the New Members Introduction thread!
Hope you enjoy your time here.
Welcome to the forum to you and all new members. I love your screen name lamaramadingdong, it reminded me of Adam Sandler. Thanks for the chuckle.
Arjquad, a lot of Therevadan (one of the main branches of Buddhism) Buddhist texts are written in Pali. There are on line courses for learning Pali if you are interested, and it helps if you want to read the texts in their original language, but it is not a requirement.
metta
All the best
NickiD
All the best
hope i can find many fellow minded, and get more engaged on the path
metta :crazy: