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Name: Jacob
Age: 20
Sign: Gemini
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Height: 6'1
Weight: 168 lbs.
Born: Gulfport, MS
Live: Gulfport, MS / Starkville, MS
Favorite book: East of Eden
Favorite band: Way to many to list. But I love Alternative, Rock, Ska, Indie, and Reggae music.
Favorite food: Mexican and Asian.
Favorite movie: I like way to many movies to pick a favorite. But a recent one that I really like is "The Fall"
Favorite color: Green
I was raised southern baptist, but at the beginning of high school I stopped practicing. My sophomore year of college I began studying a lot of philosophy and religion. I began searching for what I believed in. This led me to become a deist, then a pantheist, then I got to the point were I recognized that I was just an atheist. At this point I became very anti-theist. But this phase soon changed. I recognized that I still had a "spiritual" nature. I began studying Buddhism. I've always been interested in it, but never really looked at it in depth. So I've been practicing the eightfold path, meditating regularly, and reading TONS on Buddhism for the past year. I still don't feel like I've gotten to the point were I can call myself a Buddhist. Maybe soon though. Hahaha Buddhism has helped me so much in becoming a more peaceful/mindful/compassionate person. I've been reading this forum for a long time and I guess it was just time for me to finally register. This forum has been so helpful to me. Thank you all very much.
Name: Jeff
Age: 37
Sign: Taurus
Hair: Used to be something else, but honestly, it's gray
Eyes: Blue
Height: 6'4"
Live: Pennsylvania
Favorite book: Whatever I'm reading at the moment.
Favorite band: Phish
Favorite food: anything as long as it's vegetarian
Favorite movie: Lost in Translation or Night of the Living Dead. They're so similar I have trouble picking between them.
Not yet a Buddhist, like most of my life's faith, I've been almost but not quite lots of things! Raised Lutheran, but fell out of that in my teens. Dabbled with pagan religions, then christianity again, before just ignoring it all for many years. Continued to read about all faiths in that time, just wasn't looking to be a participant.
Came to an interest in buddhism in a sorta roundabout way. I became a vegetarian somewhere around 8 years ago (Yes I know this isn't a requirement of buddhism, please don't flame my introductory post!) In the course of being vegetarian and exploring Indian cuisine, it planted a very, very slowly growing seed. Many moons later, my interest has grown, books have been read, meditation has been attempted and here I am.
This forum has already helped me so much. It's been a joy to read. I can't promise that I'll be an active poster, too internet shy to do that, but I may poke my head in every now and again.
Hi, Snorkie. The thing I like about Buddhism is that you start where you're at. No prerequisites required. So please feel free to join in wherever and whenever you feel like it.
Name: Kyle
Age: Sixteen; just a wee lad. :]
Sign: Libran
Hair: Blonde turned brown, currently short for the summer months.
Eyes: Brown, which would be boring, if it weren't my favourite colour.
Height: 5'9" ?
Weight: I gained some weight this last year! I'm now up to 125! =D
Born: I think Pekin, IL.
Currently: A small town in central IL.
Favorite color: Brown.
Favorite band: Not sure: Pomplamoose, Dido, Owl City (I'm so stereotypical!), Classical, The Ruling Party (Now named The Bells or something like that?! Go look them up on Myspace.), Nightwish, etc.
Favorite food: Cheesecake, maybe? I hate chocolate. It makes me sick.
Favorite movie: Spirited Away, probably. I do not watch TV or movies, often.
Favorite book: The Lovely Bones, The Haunting of Hill House. Maybe I have forgotten a few.
Well, I guess here we are supposed to explain why we're at the site and our history with Buddhism? I grew up, am growing up, in a non-religious family. They call themselves Christians, but they do not act upon any "standards or morals" that most do, so I do not trouble myself with it. I have always had an interest in religions (I'm going to say religion. Those who find Buddhism to be a "philosophy" can just say that word in their mind instead. Really, it's not worth the whole debate. ). I find Asian and minor religions (here in the US anywho) very interesting. From Paganism to Hindu. I never really thought about Buddhism to be anything interesting. Generally when I thought of it, I only saw the whole Happy Buddha statue. It's not hard to imagine why it might have been viewed strangely by me. After some experience and aging, I realized that to judge a whole religion I knew nothing about on only my experiences of it was rather silly. So I've started delving into it. I'm not exactly Buddhist yet, but I do like the teachings I've heard so far and the sort...That's my introduction for the day. It will be GREAT to meet you all, I'm sure. =D
Hey Jellybean... I'm sitting here wondering if you are wearing that olive green farm cap you said you had (although any silly hat will do) and a name tag when you sit down to greet new members... Just curious...
Name:Liberte
Female
Age: 65...whew...65
Sign: Aquarius
Hair: Gray
Eyes: Brown
Height: 5'11"
Born: USA, California,Long Beach Naval Hospital at the end of WWII
Live: along side of 'The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter'.or Central Florida (the openning of the theme park a week ago is really a big deal here
Favorite book: Shark Dialogues, Mists of Avalon, NA Basic text, Colette's writing, any thing by Thich Nhat Hahn, so many more. I learned to read when I was four and it was my first addiction because it took me to places which were much better than my home
Favorite food:Right now, today, it is a Turkish Spinach Pie because my Hanai son took me out to lunch and the meal was just so, so good and I have plenty left over for dinner... tomorrow it might be papaya with lime or lental soup...I'm very fickle...
Favorite band: varies but my all time favorite music for the last 50 years has been the Blues I discovered when I was 15. I like all kinds of music from everywhere all around the world...
Favorite Movie: Life is Beautiful, Paulie, Harry Potter series, many, many others those just came to mind but I could probably come up with a couple of hundred more in the blink of an eye,
Favorite colour: Purple and Green, like a beautiful dark purple iris .
, I am new here and pretty new to Buddhism. I started to check it out in the 60's then I heard about " everything being suffering" and I was in the wind.
Have been seeking since then. Took a cruise here and a cruise there but it always ended up not fitting me in one way or another and I had problems with people telling me what to believe because my beliefs were so ecletic(sic!), a bit from here, a bit from there. In the last few years things started leading me towards Buddhism and I loved that there was no one telling me what I had to believe.
My Darlin'Dotter's ex is doing 11 Life sentences on drug charges in Arizona and about a year ago we started reading "Going Home, Jesus and Buddha as brothers" by TNHahn and writing back and forth about it .. And we both have been finding answers there. And it is really helping him find more and more peace.
I have 3 natural kids, Scott , 47, in Arizona; Darlin'Dotter, 35 in NYC, and Micheal, who would have been 41 this year if he had not died of AIDS in .I also have other kids who have adopted me as MOM after they appeared along the way.
I have 3 parrots, they are all rescue. I lost the love of my life, an Umbrella Cockatoo in 2006. We came together in ZZHawaii and he was the longest relationship I ever had with a male in my life ;-D
I've had HepC since the 60's and my liver is still in pretty good shape, something I credit to getting clean and sober in the 70's.
I'm really happy to be here. I have been lurking for awhile and really enjoying the sharing and finally decided to jump right in..
<!-- message --> Name: Jessica
Age: 23 next month
Sign: Cancer
Hair: Henna red
Eyes: Green
Height: 5''9
Weight: Not sure.. size 10 Aus clothing?
Born: Brisbane, Australia
Currently: Ditto
Favorite color: Red
Favorite band: Lifehouse, Goo Goo Dolls, Nickelback, John Mayer, Mumford & Sons
Favorite food: Corn chips
Favorite movie: The Scarlet Letter
Favorite book: Anything by Jodi Picoult, Paulinna Simons
So hi.
I'm Jess, mother to S (3) and A, born at home (1). Wife to C.
I've come here because I am at a time in my life where I'm realising slowly that posessions don't make me happy or induce happiness. I'm also experiencing quite a lot of pain from my mother who has decided to stay with my abusive father despite knowing that he abused me (beat me, burned me, kicked me.. not to mention the verbal and emotional abuse he put me through) for 10 years. I'm suffering from the pain that she chooses him over me and lets me down. I am really struggling with not having a supportive parent at the moment. I came here because I want to learn how to forgive and move past that hate that transpires into immense anger which is stupidly directed at the ones I love (my husband, and my two precious daughters). I also came here because I want to learn how to put up boundaries and come to some arrangement of inner peace. I feel incredibly vulnerable at the moment. I'd like to find a sense of community. I'm from North Brisbane, Australia.
I too came here at a time when I was dealing with anger from things that happened in the past... I received a lot of useful feedback from the great people here...
In 4 months of reflecting on the advice I received and through meditation have let go of my past,
No longer hoping for apologies or even the need for me to be able to forgive... I have come to accept
What was, gleaned what lessons I had learned even though it was an awful way to learn them and therefore
Feel no pain from those past events anymore...
I hope that in time you too will reach a point where you can let go of the past and more fully enjoy the present
It's lovely to meet you all and I hope you have a useful, productive time here.
Jessica,
Something about your post, maybe its honesty? Or that I could relate? Or the way you phrased things....I don't know. It really touched me. My mother also chose my abusive father over us (my siblings and I) and still does. It's brutal.
I struggle with deep rage too. If I'm lucky enough to grow old I know I'll look back and see that my relationship with my mother was the biggest challenge of my life. I know a big part of it has to do with my expectations of her. Mothers are supposed to protect their children, aren't they? That's the way it's supposed to be, isn't it? How do we accept things when they go against everything we believe is natural? How can I accept my mother for who she is instead of needing her to be different? It's so hard, isn't it?
Luckily the practice of Buddhism addresses these kinds of things directly and in ways we can understand and actually use. Wanting things to be different than they actually are comes up often in teachings because it's such a common problem. It's going to take time for the teachings and understanding to fully penetrate my mind but I take comfort in the fact that I'm actually dealing with my issues now rather than running from them or wallowing in them.
So it's great that you found Buddhism because it can help you in deep and lasting ways. You can be happy about that. Welcome to the site! It's lovely to meet you.
Hi, Feverfew. Reading your bio gave me a laugh, a real "blast from the past." When I was in school (way back in the dim ages), the Pekin team was known as the Chinks (because the town was supposedly named after the capital of China, get it?). Really! Makes the name "Redskins" look complimentary! They were also extraordinarily good basketball players and were always a factor in the state tournament every year. But they were finally moved to change the team mascot name, thank goodness, in 1981, to the Dragons. I grew up in Rockford, by the way, and went to Rockford East, whose team name was the E-Rabs, which makes even less sense than Chinks (it stands for East Red and Black, but try figuring out what the mascot would look like! A color wheel? A pixie? An Arab?) Welcome!
Name: Kyle
Age: Sixteen; just a wee lad. :]
Sign: Libran
Hair: Blonde turned brown, currently short for the summer months.
Eyes: Brown, which would be boring, if it weren't my favourite colour.
Height: 5'9" ?
Weight: I gained some weight this last year! I'm now up to 125! =D
Born: I think Pekin, IL.
Currently: A small town in central IL.
Favorite color: Brown.
Favorite band: Not sure: Pomplamoose, Dido, Owl City (I'm so stereotypical!), Classical, The Ruling Party (Now named The Bells or something like that?! Go look them up on Myspace.), Nightwish, etc.
Favorite food: Cheesecake, maybe? I hate chocolate. It makes me sick.
Favorite movie: Spirited Away, probably. I do not watch TV or movies, often.
Favorite book: The Lovely Bones, The Haunting of Hill House. Maybe I have forgotten a few.
Well, I guess here we are supposed to explain why we're at the site and our history with Buddhism? I grew up, am growing up, in a non-religious family. They call themselves Christians, but they do not act upon any "standards or morals" that most do, so I do not trouble myself with it. I have always had an interest in religions (I'm going to say religion. Those who find Buddhism to be a "philosophy" can just say that word in their mind instead. Really, it's not worth the whole debate. ). I find Asian and minor religions (here in the US anywho) very interesting. From Paganism to Hindu. I never really thought about Buddhism to be anything interesting. Generally when I thought of it, I only saw the whole Happy Buddha statue. It's not hard to imagine why it might have been viewed strangely by me. After some experience and aging, I realized that to judge a whole religion I knew nothing about on only my experiences of it was rather silly. So I've started delving into it. I'm not exactly Buddhist yet, but I do like the teachings I've heard so far and the sort...That's my introduction for the day. It will be GREAT to meet you all, I'm sure. =D
Liberte, I love that you're still in contact with your daughter's ex in prison. It's a great thing to be able to read and write back and forth about the texts. Such a great idea!
Name: John
Age: 19
Sign: Cancer
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Blue
Height: 5' 11"
Live: Alabama
Favorite book: The Great Gatsby
Favorite band: Queen
Favorite food: Grilled and spicy corn
Favorite movie:LOTR: the Return of the King
I was intrigued when a Buddhist told me on another site that you could be Buddhist and atheist at the same time. I love learning about other religions, so I came to investigate. I'll direct my questions about that to another section of the forum though. I just came here to introduce myself. I am currently an agnostic atheist, but I am open to views contrary to my current beliefs.
hello all im new here i was wondering around looking for info on a tattoo i wanted and saw on from here. i have been reading some of the posts here i and i liked what i seen. im new to buddhism and have been looking for other ppl who may share some of my ideas
name will
age 26
sign to be added later
hair brown
eyes green
height 6ft
live chippewas falls WI
if there is anything else you would like to know just ask me
Name: John "Tasslehoff" Anders, just call me "Tass"
Age: 31
Hair/Eyes: Brown
Born/Live: United States
Favorite color(s): White and Black (All and None)
We're all searching for answers, sometimes to the wrong questions without knowing any better.
This site looks to be a great place for us to help each other.
My name is Charley and I am a 55 year old musician living on Haida Gwaii, an island off the west coast of Canada. I believe that music can be a divine connection to The Universe. When things go well for me, I find myself just holding the instrument and the music is coming from somewhere else - I am in service to the music. Other times it is a job and I can still do it but it is not as good.
Like many here, I had some Catholic education that ultimately led me to question more than believe. I have considered myself a spiritual but not religious person for most of my life
I was very much a fan of The Beatles when I was younger and in 1970 when they broke up I was still hungry for anything Beatle. I got George Harrison's "All Things Must Pass" album and, in retrospect, that was my introduction to Buddhism. There were great songs on that album including "My Sweet Lord" where George thought he could use his position as a pop star to encourage the whole world to sing "Hare Krishna". There were other songs that encouraged me to think about life and love in a deeper sense than I had ever done before.
My wife of 20 years is the kindest, most loving, caring and giving person I have ever known and when we got together I realized that the songs, including "All You Need is Love" were right.
About five years ago I began to realize that most of the people I admired, both the ones that I knew personally or read about or heard speak on the radio were Buddhists. One man, Dr. Gabor Mate is a Doctor in Vancouver Canada who gave up his practice to buy an old hotel and turn it into a healing centre for addicts living on the streets of the city. I first heard Dr Mate on the radio talking about his book on addictions called "In the Realm of the Hungry Ghosts".
He spoke of his Buddhist faith and how he incorporated elements of it in his work. Once again, someone I admired was speaking about Buddhism. I had the great honor of meeting with Dr Mate when he came to Haida Gwaii to speak and give a seminar.
I began to read more about Buddhism and realized that the path I was seeking in life was already laid out for me if I were to choose to take it. I also realized that my wife, although she may not have known it at the time, was a shining example of the Loving Kindness that is such a big part of the Buddhist philosophy.
I have been lurking around this forum for about a year and find the way people present their thoughts and ideas to be absolutely wonderful. I decided today, after being particularly impressed by what I read here last night, to introduce myself and participate in some small way if I can.
I have been practicing yoga for a couple of years and recently started Vipassana and find that I no longer need artificial help to get "up for the gig" when it comes to musical performance. I am beginning to realize that I am in control of my mind and my life and that "making it" in music is a very subjective concept.
I live in a beautiful place, surrounded by nature. I'm married to the most beautiful person I have ever known in this life. I play and record music every day. I teach music to young people and could possibly be a profound influence on their lives as were those who taught me.
The idea of deferring happiness to when I "make it" has been replaced with immense gratitude for what is happening in my life right now - this moment.
It was not one specific post but rather an understanding, after reading through a number of posts, that this is a place where people share their thoughts and love freely.
There is much to be learned and with the kindness and help of others it becomes much easier.
I like the Samuel Butler quote in your signature and I agree with your bit about being nice..
Thank you I hope you get the most out of this forum, it's not perfect, but it's full of people who are funny and kind and wise and give good help, in my experiance
Im 20 years old. I live in Monroe, NC. I married to a Southern Babtist woman. Im not always the nicest person, I have tattoos, I drink occasionaly and very rarely smoke. Ive always been interested in Buddhism and becoming a Buddhist but studying and learning from a book is alot harder than I would hae thought. I just want to learn from actual people and talk to other buddhist rather than try and learn from a book.
If anyone could help me I would appreciate it. Ive looked into going to a temple and practicing but I have a busy life and its alot easier to use a computer. So I figured I would come here for help and guidance.
Welcome. Buddhism at its core is extremely simple. There are the Four Noble Truths (Google this stuff - it's all over the place), the Eightfold Path, and the Three Gems. And that makes those things sound more complicated than they are. All the other stuff can be overwhelming, so just start with those basic ideas. To me it's less about lots of complicated teachings (as good as they may be) and more about the simple ideas above. Live, or try your best to live according to them, be nice (compassionate) toward all sentient beings, and meditate. It'll all fall into line by itself after that.
Name: friends call me Val
Age: 25
Sign: "NO PARIKING THIS BLOCK" Found it in my garage
Hair: quite a lot of it
Eyes: both
Height: about 6' even
Live: yes
Favorite book: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Favorite band: Rammstein
Favorite food: I like a good burger
Favorite movie: I can't think of a serious answer or a witty one
I lost my faith in Christianity a couple years ago, and while I am comfortably agnostic, I have taken an interest in Buddhism (specifically Zen). I've always had a love of Zen koans ever since I "discovered" them a number of years back, and after crossing paths with some Buddhists on another discussion board I was interested in what made them tick.
I'm more of a lurker than a talker, but I do go through chatty phases.
I'm very indisciplined when it comes to leisure, at least now. I know little about Buddhism, but superficial readings infer I should be a lot more attentive than I am. I scatter energy all over. You guys are overall indulgent. That's curious. I always thought it was the other way around. How do you condone with indulgency and still perfect your spirit at times by dismissing the flesh? There's a time for everything? (I'm also prone to answer my own questions...).
Name: Vilhjalmr
Age: 20
Sign: Astrology is silly.
Eyes: Green
Height: 6'
Favorite book: Deadhouse Gates, by Steve Erikson.
Favorite band: The Pogues - Irish punk/rock/traditional!
Favorite movie: I don't really like movies, but "Kung Pow - Enter the Fist!" is one of my few favorites. So silly. So funny.
Favorite color: Grey
I became a Buddhist for three main reasons: Thich Quang Duc, the reality of suffering, and the Buddha's admirably rational approach to matters of religion. Thich Quang Duc (and the other monks, whose names I do not know) did something too incredible for words; I have always believed (like the Buddha, if I am not mistaken) that suffering is the greatest evil in the world; and lastly, I think that the Buddha's insistence that one not take his words on faith, but experience their truth, speaks well for the religion as a whole.
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Barrasoto zenniewandering in a cloud in beautiful, bucolic Victoria BC, on the wacky left coast of CanadaVeteran
edited July 2010
Hi, October -
Your use of the word "indulgent" got me going to the dictionary, and just as I thought - it has two quite different meanings. One meaning is "to be lenient" - and you're right, we are lenient in our response to people, because being non-judgmental is a basic tenet (aka precept) in Buddhism that we all try to practise. The other meaning is "the act or an instance of indulging; gratification: indulgence of every whim" and that is what we try to avoid.
As far as dismissing the flesh - there is no precept that says we have to dismiss the flesh. What we are encouraged to do with regards to our bodies and sex, for example, is to avoid over-indulgence and inappropriate sex - for example having sex outside of marriage, or having sex just for our own pleasure.
Anyway, welcome to our little club (aka sangha) where your every question will have been raised by someone somewhere, and if not, go ahead and ask!
Hi, October -
Your use of the word "indulgent" got me going to the dictionary, and just as I thought - it has two quite different meanings. One meaning is "to be lenient" - and you're right, we are lenient in our response to people, because being non-judgmental is a basic tenet (aka precept) in Buddhism that we all try to practise. The other meaning is "the act or an instance of indulging; gratification: indulgence of every whim" and that is what we try to avoid.
As far as dismissing the flesh - there is no precept that says we have to dismiss the flesh. What we are encouraged to do with regards to our bodies and sex, for example, is to avoid over-indulgence and inappropriate sex - for example having sex outside of marriage, or having sex just for our own pleasure.
Anyway, welcome to our little club (aka sangha) where your every question will have been raised by someone somewhere, and if not, go ahead and ask!
Hi Barra,
Now, I had to go to the dictionary myself, to find out about the meaning of the word lenient...
I have to admitt I enjoy it both on the lenient and on the sensual stance but that's probably because I'm single (ahahaha). Yet, balance ought not to be excluded from the equation and that probably implies some sort of a paralell line to what you've just said. I'm not sure I accept buddhism entirely but there are a lot of things that I like and maybe will explore a little deeper now. (Freedom?)
Barra, what's wrong with having sex for pleasure? I may have misunderstood you so, going around having sex with anybody for the pleasure=wrong to me. Having sex with someone because you also love them = OK
Name: Dirk
Age: 20
Sign: Sagittarius
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown/Green
Height: 1,75 meter (sorry I'm used to meters)
Born: Drachten, The Netherlands
Live: Groningen, The Netherlands
Favorite book: "De onzichtbaren" writen by Karel Glastra van Loon
Favorite band: Kamelot
Favorite color: Green
After looking around on the site, I wanted to take part in te conversations en be able te ask questions and respond. I must add that English is not my native language, so I apologize in advance. I'm not a very disciplined poster on fora, so I hope that is no problem.
I have had an interest in Buddhism for quite a while, but never really acted on it, other then reading books about it. I'm now thinking about looking for either a group or a teacher. I am practising meditation as I understand it through books of the Dallai Lama, the presentations of Kabat-Zinn and a book of Margit Seitz (non-buddhist).
I understand the basis of buddhism in general. The principle of dukka, the principle of samsara and the goal of enlightenment. However, the idea of enlightenment is hard for me to immagine. I don't really know the distinctions between the different schools of buddhism yet.
Welkom Dirk! Don't worry about your English, its perfectly understandable and your English is better than my non-native languages I'm trying to learn (Dutch) or have to learn in school (French). Welcome :wavey:!
Welkom! You could try www.aandacht.net where you can find the Dutch sanghas in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh. If you have any questions about it, I'm quite happy to help you!
Favorite movie: I don't really like movies, but "Kung Pow - Enter the Fist!" is one of my few favorites. So silly. So funny.
Oh man, that's such a GREAT movie and I love it too. I used to watch it over and over some years ago, but then my VCR crapped out and I lost all my tapes. I've been meaning to get it again tho, this time on the computer.
My screen name on some other forum used to be "Tonguey" after that movie. Hahaha. I'm a big fan. You have good taste, and welcome to the forum!
Comments
Age: 20
Sign: Gemini
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Height: 6'1
Weight: 168 lbs.
Born: Gulfport, MS
Live: Gulfport, MS / Starkville, MS
Favorite book: East of Eden
Favorite band: Way to many to list. But I love Alternative, Rock, Ska, Indie, and Reggae music.
Favorite food: Mexican and Asian.
Favorite movie: I like way to many movies to pick a favorite. But a recent one that I really like is "The Fall"
Favorite color: Green
I was raised southern baptist, but at the beginning of high school I stopped practicing. My sophomore year of college I began studying a lot of philosophy and religion. I began searching for what I believed in. This led me to become a deist, then a pantheist, then I got to the point were I recognized that I was just an atheist. At this point I became very anti-theist. But this phase soon changed. I recognized that I still had a "spiritual" nature. I began studying Buddhism. I've always been interested in it, but never really looked at it in depth. So I've been practicing the eightfold path, meditating regularly, and reading TONS on Buddhism for the past year. I still don't feel like I've gotten to the point were I can call myself a Buddhist. Maybe soon though. Hahaha Buddhism has helped me so much in becoming a more peaceful/mindful/compassionate person. I've been reading this forum for a long time and I guess it was just time for me to finally register. This forum has been so helpful to me. Thank you all very much.
I had never heard of The Fall, but it looks very good. I'll have to find a copy!
Palzang
All the best
Nickidoo
Name: Jeff
Age: 37
Sign: Taurus
Hair: Used to be something else, but honestly, it's gray
Eyes: Blue
Height: 6'4"
Live: Pennsylvania
Favorite book: Whatever I'm reading at the moment.
Favorite band: Phish
Favorite food: anything as long as it's vegetarian
Favorite movie: Lost in Translation or Night of the Living Dead. They're so similar I have trouble picking between them.
Not yet a Buddhist, like most of my life's faith, I've been almost but not quite lots of things! Raised Lutheran, but fell out of that in my teens. Dabbled with pagan religions, then christianity again, before just ignoring it all for many years. Continued to read about all faiths in that time, just wasn't looking to be a participant.
Came to an interest in buddhism in a sorta roundabout way. I became a vegetarian somewhere around 8 years ago (Yes I know this isn't a requirement of buddhism, please don't flame my introductory post!) In the course of being vegetarian and exploring Indian cuisine, it planted a very, very slowly growing seed. Many moons later, my interest has grown, books have been read, meditation has been attempted and here I am.
This forum has already helped me so much. It's been a joy to read. I can't promise that I'll be an active poster, too internet shy to do that, but I may poke my head in every now and again.
Palzang
All the best
Nickidoodle/Jellybean
Age: Sixteen; just a wee lad. :]
Sign: Libran
Hair: Blonde turned brown, currently short for the summer months.
Eyes: Brown, which would be boring, if it weren't my favourite colour.
Height: 5'9" ?
Weight: I gained some weight this last year! I'm now up to 125! =D
Born: I think Pekin, IL.
Currently: A small town in central IL.
Favorite color: Brown.
Favorite band: Not sure: Pomplamoose, Dido, Owl City (I'm so stereotypical!), Classical, The Ruling Party (Now named The Bells or something like that?! Go look them up on Myspace.), Nightwish, etc.
Favorite food: Cheesecake, maybe? I hate chocolate. It makes me sick.
Favorite movie: Spirited Away, probably. I do not watch TV or movies, often.
Favorite book: The Lovely Bones, The Haunting of Hill House. Maybe I have forgotten a few.
Well, I guess here we are supposed to explain why we're at the site and our history with Buddhism? I grew up, am growing up, in a non-religious family. They call themselves Christians, but they do not act upon any "standards or morals" that most do, so I do not trouble myself with it. I have always had an interest in religions (I'm going to say religion. Those who find Buddhism to be a "philosophy" can just say that word in their mind instead. Really, it's not worth the whole debate. ). I find Asian and minor religions (here in the US anywho) very interesting. From Paganism to Hindu. I never really thought about Buddhism to be anything interesting. Generally when I thought of it, I only saw the whole Happy Buddha statue. It's not hard to imagine why it might have been viewed strangely by me. After some experience and aging, I realized that to judge a whole religion I knew nothing about on only my experiences of it was rather silly. So I've started delving into it. I'm not exactly Buddhist yet, but I do like the teachings I've heard so far and the sort...That's my introduction for the day. It will be GREAT to meet you all, I'm sure. =D
All the best
All the best
Nickidoodle Jellybean
All the best
All the best
Female
Age: 65...whew...65
Sign: Aquarius
Hair: Gray
Eyes: Brown
Height: 5'11"
Born: USA, California,Long Beach Naval Hospital at the end of WWII
Live: along side of 'The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter'.or Central Florida (the openning of the theme park a week ago is really a big deal here
Favorite book: Shark Dialogues, Mists of Avalon, NA Basic text, Colette's writing, any thing by Thich Nhat Hahn, so many more. I learned to read when I was four and it was my first addiction because it took me to places which were much better than my home
Favorite food:Right now, today, it is a Turkish Spinach Pie because my Hanai son took me out to lunch and the meal was just so, so good and I have plenty left over for dinner... tomorrow it might be papaya with lime or lental soup...I'm very fickle...
Favorite band: varies but my all time favorite music for the last 50 years has been the Blues I discovered when I was 15. I like all kinds of music from everywhere all around the world...
Favorite Movie: Life is Beautiful, Paulie, Harry Potter series, many, many others those just came to mind but I could probably come up with a couple of hundred more in the blink of an eye,
Favorite colour: Purple and Green, like a beautiful dark purple iris .
, I am new here and pretty new to Buddhism. I started to check it out in the 60's then I heard about " everything being suffering" and I was in the wind.
Have been seeking since then. Took a cruise here and a cruise there but it always ended up not fitting me in one way or another and I had problems with people telling me what to believe because my beliefs were so ecletic(sic!), a bit from here, a bit from there. In the last few years things started leading me towards Buddhism and I loved that there was no one telling me what I had to believe.
My Darlin'Dotter's ex is doing 11 Life sentences on drug charges in Arizona and about a year ago we started reading "Going Home, Jesus and Buddha as brothers" by TNHahn and writing back and forth about it .. And we both have been finding answers there. And it is really helping him find more and more peace.
I have 3 natural kids, Scott , 47, in Arizona; Darlin'Dotter, 35 in NYC, and Micheal, who would have been 41 this year if he had not died of AIDS in .I also have other kids who have adopted me as MOM after they appeared along the way.
I have 3 parrots, they are all rescue. I lost the love of my life, an Umbrella Cockatoo in 2006. We came together in ZZHawaii and he was the longest relationship I ever had with a male in my life ;-D
I've had HepC since the 60's and my liver is still in pretty good shape, something I credit to getting clean and sober in the 70's.
I'm really happy to be here. I have been lurking for awhile and really enjoying the sharing and finally decided to jump right in..
Age: 23 next month
Sign: Cancer
Hair: Henna red
Eyes: Green
Height: 5''9
Weight: Not sure.. size 10 Aus clothing?
Born: Brisbane, Australia
Currently: Ditto
Favorite color: Red
Favorite band: Lifehouse, Goo Goo Dolls, Nickelback, John Mayer, Mumford & Sons
Favorite food: Corn chips
Favorite movie: The Scarlet Letter
Favorite book: Anything by Jodi Picoult, Paulinna Simons
So hi.
I'm Jess, mother to S (3) and A, born at home (1). Wife to C.
I've come here because I am at a time in my life where I'm realising slowly that posessions don't make me happy or induce happiness. I'm also experiencing quite a lot of pain from my mother who has decided to stay with my abusive father despite knowing that he abused me (beat me, burned me, kicked me.. not to mention the verbal and emotional abuse he put me through) for 10 years. I'm suffering from the pain that she chooses him over me and lets me down. I am really struggling with not having a supportive parent at the moment. I came here because I want to learn how to forgive and move past that hate that transpires into immense anger which is stupidly directed at the ones I love (my husband, and my two precious daughters). I also came here because I want to learn how to put up boundaries and come to some arrangement of inner peace. I feel incredibly vulnerable at the moment. I'd like to find a sense of community. I'm from North Brisbane, Australia.
I too came here at a time when I was dealing with anger from things that happened in the past... I received a lot of useful feedback from the great people here...
In 4 months of reflecting on the advice I received and through meditation have let go of my past,
No longer hoping for apologies or even the need for me to be able to forgive... I have come to accept
What was, gleaned what lessons I had learned even though it was an awful way to learn them and therefore
Feel no pain from those past events anymore...
I hope that in time you too will reach a point where you can let go of the past and more fully enjoy the present
With Metta
Johnathan
All the best
Nickidoodle Jellybean
It's lovely to meet you all and I hope you have a useful, productive time here.
Jessica,
Something about your post, maybe its honesty? Or that I could relate? Or the way you phrased things....I don't know. It really touched me. My mother also chose my abusive father over us (my siblings and I) and still does. It's brutal.
I struggle with deep rage too. If I'm lucky enough to grow old I know I'll look back and see that my relationship with my mother was the biggest challenge of my life. I know a big part of it has to do with my expectations of her. Mothers are supposed to protect their children, aren't they? That's the way it's supposed to be, isn't it? How do we accept things when they go against everything we believe is natural? How can I accept my mother for who she is instead of needing her to be different? It's so hard, isn't it?
Luckily the practice of Buddhism addresses these kinds of things directly and in ways we can understand and actually use. Wanting things to be different than they actually are comes up often in teachings because it's such a common problem. It's going to take time for the teachings and understanding to fully penetrate my mind but I take comfort in the fact that I'm actually dealing with my issues now rather than running from them or wallowing in them.
So it's great that you found Buddhism because it can help you in deep and lasting ways. You can be happy about that. Welcome to the site! It's lovely to meet you.
Palzang
Liberte, I love that you're still in contact with your daughter's ex in prison. It's a great thing to be able to read and write back and forth about the texts. Such a great idea!
Name: John
Age: 19
Sign: Cancer
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Blue
Height: 5' 11"
Live: Alabama
Favorite book: The Great Gatsby
Favorite band: Queen
Favorite food: Grilled and spicy corn
Favorite movie:LOTR: the Return of the King
I was intrigued when a Buddhist told me on another site that you could be Buddhist and atheist at the same time. I love learning about other religions, so I came to investigate. I'll direct my questions about that to another section of the forum though. I just came here to introduce myself. I am currently an agnostic atheist, but I am open to views contrary to my current beliefs.
All the best
Nickidoodle Jellybean
name will
age 26
sign to be added later
hair brown
eyes green
height 6ft
live chippewas falls WI
if there is anything else you would like to know just ask me
Age: 31
Hair/Eyes: Brown
Born/Live: United States
Favorite color(s): White and Black (All and None)
We're all searching for answers, sometimes to the wrong questions without knowing any better.
This site looks to be a great place for us to help each other.
Yours,
Tass
All the best
Nickidoodle Jellybean
My name is Charley and I am a 55 year old musician living on Haida Gwaii, an island off the west coast of Canada. I believe that music can be a divine connection to The Universe. When things go well for me, I find myself just holding the instrument and the music is coming from somewhere else - I am in service to the music. Other times it is a job and I can still do it but it is not as good.
Like many here, I had some Catholic education that ultimately led me to question more than believe. I have considered myself a spiritual but not religious person for most of my life
I was very much a fan of The Beatles when I was younger and in 1970 when they broke up I was still hungry for anything Beatle. I got George Harrison's "All Things Must Pass" album and, in retrospect, that was my introduction to Buddhism. There were great songs on that album including "My Sweet Lord" where George thought he could use his position as a pop star to encourage the whole world to sing "Hare Krishna". There were other songs that encouraged me to think about life and love in a deeper sense than I had ever done before.
My wife of 20 years is the kindest, most loving, caring and giving person I have ever known and when we got together I realized that the songs, including "All You Need is Love" were right.
About five years ago I began to realize that most of the people I admired, both the ones that I knew personally or read about or heard speak on the radio were Buddhists. One man, Dr. Gabor Mate is a Doctor in Vancouver Canada who gave up his practice to buy an old hotel and turn it into a healing centre for addicts living on the streets of the city. I first heard Dr Mate on the radio talking about his book on addictions called "In the Realm of the Hungry Ghosts".
He spoke of his Buddhist faith and how he incorporated elements of it in his work. Once again, someone I admired was speaking about Buddhism. I had the great honor of meeting with Dr Mate when he came to Haida Gwaii to speak and give a seminar.
I began to read more about Buddhism and realized that the path I was seeking in life was already laid out for me if I were to choose to take it. I also realized that my wife, although she may not have known it at the time, was a shining example of the Loving Kindness that is such a big part of the Buddhist philosophy.
I have been lurking around this forum for about a year and find the way people present their thoughts and ideas to be absolutely wonderful. I decided today, after being particularly impressed by what I read here last night, to introduce myself and participate in some small way if I can.
I have been practicing yoga for a couple of years and recently started Vipassana and find that I no longer need artificial help to get "up for the gig" when it comes to musical performance. I am beginning to realize that I am in control of my mind and my life and that "making it" in music is a very subjective concept.
I live in a beautiful place, surrounded by nature. I'm married to the most beautiful person I have ever known in this life. I play and record music every day. I teach music to young people and could possibly be a profound influence on their lives as were those who taught me.
The idea of deferring happiness to when I "make it" has been replaced with immense gratitude for what is happening in my life right now - this moment.
Nickidoodle Jellybean
It was not one specific post but rather an understanding, after reading through a number of posts, that this is a place where people share their thoughts and love freely.
There is much to be learned and with the kindness and help of others it becomes much easier.
I like the Samuel Butler quote in your signature and I agree with your bit about being nice..
Nickidoodle Jellybean
If anyone could help me I would appreciate it. Ive looked into going to a temple and practicing but I have a busy life and its alot easier to use a computer. So I figured I would come here for help and guidance.
Welcome. Buddhism at its core is extremely simple. There are the Four Noble Truths (Google this stuff - it's all over the place), the Eightfold Path, and the Three Gems. And that makes those things sound more complicated than they are. All the other stuff can be overwhelming, so just start with those basic ideas. To me it's less about lots of complicated teachings (as good as they may be) and more about the simple ideas above. Live, or try your best to live according to them, be nice (compassionate) toward all sentient beings, and meditate. It'll all fall into line by itself after that.
Good luck on your journey.
Peace
Mtns
Age: 25
Sign: "NO PARIKING THIS BLOCK" Found it in my garage
Hair: quite a lot of it
Eyes: both
Height: about 6' even
Live: yes
Favorite book: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Favorite band: Rammstein
Favorite food: I like a good burger
Favorite movie: I can't think of a serious answer or a witty one
I lost my faith in Christianity a couple years ago, and while I am comfortably agnostic, I have taken an interest in Buddhism (specifically Zen). I've always had a love of Zen koans ever since I "discovered" them a number of years back, and after crossing paths with some Buddhists on another discussion board I was interested in what made them tick.
I'm more of a lurker than a talker, but I do go through chatty phases.
Hi Val
Nickidoodle Jellybean
I'm very indisciplined when it comes to leisure, at least now. I know little about Buddhism, but superficial readings infer I should be a lot more attentive than I am. I scatter energy all over. You guys are overall indulgent. That's curious. I always thought it was the other way around. How do you condone with indulgency and still perfect your spirit at times by dismissing the flesh? There's a time for everything? (I'm also prone to answer my own questions...).
october1560
Name: Vilhjalmr
Age: 20
Sign: Astrology is silly.
Eyes: Green
Height: 6'
Favorite book: Deadhouse Gates, by Steve Erikson.
Favorite band: The Pogues - Irish punk/rock/traditional!
Favorite movie: I don't really like movies, but "Kung Pow - Enter the Fist!" is one of my few favorites. So silly. So funny.
Favorite color: Grey
I became a Buddhist for three main reasons: Thich Quang Duc, the reality of suffering, and the Buddha's admirably rational approach to matters of religion. Thich Quang Duc (and the other monks, whose names I do not know) did something too incredible for words; I have always believed (like the Buddha, if I am not mistaken) that suffering is the greatest evil in the world; and lastly, I think that the Buddha's insistence that one not take his words on faith, but experience their truth, speaks well for the religion as a whole.
Your use of the word "indulgent" got me going to the dictionary, and just as I thought - it has two quite different meanings. One meaning is "to be lenient" - and you're right, we are lenient in our response to people, because being non-judgmental is a basic tenet (aka precept) in Buddhism that we all try to practise. The other meaning is "the act or an instance of indulging; gratification: indulgence of every whim" and that is what we try to avoid.
As far as dismissing the flesh - there is no precept that says we have to dismiss the flesh. What we are encouraged to do with regards to our bodies and sex, for example, is to avoid over-indulgence and inappropriate sex - for example having sex outside of marriage, or having sex just for our own pleasure.
Anyway, welcome to our little club (aka sangha) where your every question will have been raised by someone somewhere, and if not, go ahead and ask!
Hi Barra,
Now, I had to go to the dictionary myself, to find out about the meaning of the word lenient...
I have to admitt I enjoy it both on the lenient and on the sensual stance but that's probably because I'm single (ahahaha). Yet, balance ought not to be excluded from the equation and that probably implies some sort of a paralell line to what you've just said. I'm not sure I accept buddhism entirely but there are a lot of things that I like and maybe will explore a little deeper now. (Freedom?)
Nice to meet you.
october1560
Barra, what's wrong with having sex for pleasure? I may have misunderstood you so, going around having sex with anybody for the pleasure=wrong to me. Having sex with someone because you also love them = OK
Nickidoodle Jellybean
Name: Dirk
Age: 20
Sign: Sagittarius
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown/Green
Height: 1,75 meter (sorry I'm used to meters)
Born: Drachten, The Netherlands
Live: Groningen, The Netherlands
Favorite book: "De onzichtbaren" writen by Karel Glastra van Loon
Favorite band: Kamelot
Favorite color: Green
After looking around on the site, I wanted to take part in te conversations en be able te ask questions and respond. I must add that English is not my native language, so I apologize in advance. I'm not a very disciplined poster on fora, so I hope that is no problem.
I have had an interest in Buddhism for quite a while, but never really acted on it, other then reading books about it. I'm now thinking about looking for either a group or a teacher. I am practising meditation as I understand it through books of the Dallai Lama, the presentations of Kabat-Zinn and a book of Margit Seitz (non-buddhist).
I understand the basis of buddhism in general. The principle of dukka, the principle of samsara and the goal of enlightenment. However, the idea of enlightenment is hard for me to immagine. I don't really know the distinctions between the different schools of buddhism yet.
So that's me,
Dirk
Nickidoodle Jellybean
Welkom! You could try www.aandacht.net where you can find the Dutch sanghas in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh. If you have any questions about it, I'm quite happy to help you!
A lotus for you,
buddha to be.
Pieter
Oh man, that's such a GREAT movie and I love it too. I used to watch it over and over some years ago, but then my VCR crapped out and I lost all my tapes. I've been meaning to get it again tho, this time on the computer.
My screen name on some other forum used to be "Tonguey" after that movie. Hahaha. I'm a big fan. You have good taste, and welcome to the forum!