Please help me to advance myself.

tess

I am heading to my cabin in the woods soon. I will have a lot of time in my hands and would like to learn more about Buddhism and expand my views about reality.

I will try to mediate but I am a weak and over intellectualized person. I have been constrain so much by the science and what we human call ‘’logical thinking’’.


I am not spiritual person even I wish I have been.

Please could you supply some links on the Internet which will help me on my way?

One more question:

I am trying to escape rat race for 3 month? Is taking Internet with me wise?

tess

I have another goal too.

I love my cabin in the woods. However, after few days I need people around me not to go mad.

I know that I have to face myself without interruptions, hedonism and parties.


Any techniques to help?

Cloud

I for one see logic and reason in Buddhism, at least as far as using the teachings for the alleviation of suffering and seeing reality clearly. Seeing that all things are impermanent/transient, are ownerless (not-self), and to attach to an ever-changing reality can only lead to disappointment (dukkha) is one way to let go of that craving/attachment and find peace.

fivebells

I am heading to my cabin in the woods soon. I will have a lot of time in my hands and would like to learn more about Buddhism and expand my views about reality.

Reformed Slacker's Guide to Stream Entry.

I will try to mediate but I am a weak and over intellectualized person. I have been constrain so much by the science and what we human call ‘’logical thinking’’.

Lots of good talks (by my teacher) here. This one on Ideology and Wisdom is particularly helpful for fixed ideas about the way the world works.

I am trying to escape rat race for 3 month? Is taking Internet with me wise?

It's really hard to answer this confidently without knowing a lot more about you, so my default answer would be "no."

pegembara

[ The "practice" of physical meditation is very simple. There are many forms, many traditions. The essence is simply to sit physically still and comfortable and be relaxed of body. This in itself seems very difficult to some. We are so used to being busy and always moving, and to relax is often very difficult. To many people, relaxation of body means only sleep. Meditation is by no means sleep. On the contrary, meditation is a way of being totally awake to everything in our lives. You can try this, it is not difficult.]


http://www.puresilence.org/still_sitting_still.htm

Sabre

Logical thinking can be a great aid in Buddhism, but when meditating, try to find silence and peace, because by thinking alone you will not get more happy.

Zayl

Sadly, you are yourself, and we are not you. In matters such as this advice from others may give you a hint, but honestly only you can help yourself. Only you know what you are capable of and are comfortable with. Know your own limitations, and do not try to exceed them too readily, as that will only cause anguish.

And if you manage to find what you are comfortable with and learn your own limitations, only then can you really begin to grow.

mithril

As far as i know, you cannot escape from anything (as far as the mind goes) by changing your location.

If you intend to learn more about yourself, internet is a possible distraction, but it depends on your attitude about it.

Personally, i find that there is no wilderness for me as long as i have internet even if you send me to Jupiter (but that is because i use it alot probably.)

I'd suggest you really watch about what you are capable of and don't force yourself into anything, since it may only make you drop meditation and Buddhism, which in the long run may be helpful otherwise.

You might want to be prepared to be bored and hate the place and such. Spirituality is in all your feelings, as long as you are just visiting a calming place, a cabin you love as you say, after your 'rat race' everyday life, you are not avoiding hedonism in any way.

tess

Thank you very much for all your answers.


I am typical extravert. I don’t think I need people to hide from myself.
At least, I hope not because I like myself most of the time.

I went to my cabin for 3 month last year hoping I will use this time to become more spiritual and move forward.

I got bored after 1 week. I kept inviting friends and having parties, sailing and generally fooling around.

I had great time but in the end I had a feeling I wasted my time.
Hedonism is great but it most be something else too. It is true I came back brown, rested but still empty inside. Any techniques I could use this time to be more productive, focused and not to look for the distractions.

fivebells

Are you sure it's a failure of technique, and not a failure of commitment? What happened, that you felt compelled to fool around with your friends?

DairyLama

I went to my cabin for 3 month last year hoping I will use this time to become more spiritual and move forward.

I got bored after 1 week. I kept inviting friends and having parties, sailing and generally fooling around.

3 months alone would be a long time for anyone. Why not plan to do a solitary retreat for say the first 2 weeks and then see how you feel?

P

genkaku

FWIW ... a couple of weeks back, I went to a Quaker meeting. It was a matter of curiosity. The experience was pleasant: I like getting together with people who are willing to shut up. This is not because I think there is something absolute or angelic about silence, but rather because not-acknowledging silence is like missing a part of what human reality is. Noisy when noisy, sure. But a little time scoping out the silence on which those noises rely ... well, it strikes me as sensible.

Sometimes, because our lives are so full of noisy activity, we can get very excited, very 'spiritual' about the notion of silence. But I don't think we need to get overheated on the topic. Sometimes noisy, sometimes silent ... let's not elevate or neglect either.

Smart people have a hard time getting into meditation. It doesn't lend itself to rational explanation very well, so the mind gets irritated or scared. OK. Talk up a storm, think up a storm, explain up a storm, read up a storm. And then, when all that noise doesn't really provide the sort of peace that we'd like ... well, try a little meditation. Just a little. Maybe five or ten minutes a day. Don't expect anything from it. Just do it ... and see what happens. Swami Vivekananda observed, "The mind (he meant intellect) is a good servant and a poor master." Based on the results in people's actual-factual lives (uncertainty, questions, etc.), he certainly seems to have been right. Never mind who the "master" might be ... just know that the intellect doesn't fill the bill if we look at the results up until now.

tess

Are you sure it's a failure of technique, and not a failure of commitment? What happened, that you felt compelled to fool around with your friends?

My hedonism. What is it : technique or luck of commitment?

tess

FWIW ... a couple of weeks back, I went to a Quaker meeting. It was a matter of curiosity. The experience was pleasant: I like getting together with people who are willing to shut up. This is not because I think there is something absolute or angelic about silence, but rather because not-acknowledging silence is like missing a part of what human reality is. Noisy when noisy, sure. But a little time scoping out the silence on which those noises rely ... well, it strikes me as sensible.

Sometimes, because our lives are so full of noisy activity, we can get very excited, very 'spiritual' about the notion of silence. But I don't think we need to get overheated on the topic. Sometimes noisy, sometimes silent ... let's not elevate or neglect either.

Smart people have a hard time getting into meditation. It doesn't lend itself to rational explanation very well, so the mind gets irritated or scared. OK. Talk up a storm, think up a storm, explain up a storm, read up a storm. And then, when all that noise doesn't really provide the sort of peace that we'd like ... well, try a little meditation. Just a little. Maybe five or ten minutes a day. Don't expect anything from it. Just do it ... and see what happens. Swami Vivekananda observed, "The mind (he meant intellect) is a good servant and a poor master." Based on the results in people's actual-factual lives (uncertainty, questions, etc.), he certainly seems to have been right. Never mind who the "master" might be ... just know that the intellect doesn't fill the bill if we look at the results up until now.

Very true.

It seems that I am scared of ‘’silence’’

I realize this.

However, I have a happy life; generally I like myself and fullfield.

Sure , I have demons in my history but I trust that there are very small when compared with other people – what makes me so uncomfortable without outside stimuli or being just by myself?

tess

I went to my cabin for 3 month last year hoping I will use this time to become more spiritual and move forward.

I got bored after 1 week. I kept inviting friends and having parties, sailing and generally fooling around.

3 months alone would be a long time for anyone. Why not plan to do a solitary retreat for say the first 2 weeks and then see how you feel?

P

Good idea.


Any techniques which will make this time more productive?

Ric

Why do you think having a party or going sailing is a hedonistic impulse? Sounds like a great time/way to relax from the daily grind. As long as you judge it as satisfying your hedonistic impulse you are truly taking away the good of the experience.

I would say dont go overboard. Dont try to stay away from ppl and just work on spiritual issues. Do a bit of both, dont overload on either. Balance.

I would recommend "What the Buddha Taught", great book about the teachings. And Mindfulness in plain english, great how-to meditate.

especially the mindfulness in plain english, taht you can DL for free, it really helped with my meditation which was stagnant.

tess

As far as i know, you cannot escape from anything (as far as the mind goes) by changing your location.

If you intend to learn more about yourself, internet is a possible distraction, but it depends on your attitude about it.

Personally, i find that there is no wilderness for me as long as i have internet even if you send me to Jupiter (but that is because i use it alot probably.)

I'd suggest you really watch about what you are capable of and don't force yourself into anything, since it may only make you drop meditation and Buddhism, which in the long run may be helpful otherwise.

You might want to be prepared to be bored and hate the place and such. Spirituality is in all your feelings, as long as you are just visiting a calming place, a cabin you love as you say, after your 'rat race' everyday life, you are not avoiding hedonism in any way.

Thank you for your advice.Maybe I should go through ''to be bored and hate the place and such'' and be looking what will happen next.

tess

I for one see logic and reason in Buddhism, at least as far as using the teachings for the alleviation of suffering and seeing reality clearly. Seeing that all things are impermanent/transient, are ownerless (not-self), and to attach to an ever-changing reality can only lead to disappointment (dukkha) is one way to let go of that craving/attachment and find peace.

Yes , yes but how do I go about it?

Great terms. So I suppose mediate.....meditate and meditate?

tess

I am heading to my cabin in the woods soon. I will have a lot of time in my hands and would like to learn more about Buddhism and expand my views about reality.

Reformed Slacker's Guide to Stream Entry.

I will try to mediate but I am a weak and over intellectualized person. I have been constrain so much by the science and what we human call ‘’logical thinking’’.

Lots of good talks (by my teacher) here. This one on Ideology and Wisdom is particularly helpful for fixed ideas about the way the world works.

I am trying to escape rat race for 3 month? Is taking Internet with me wise?

It's really hard to answer this confidently without knowing a lot more about you, so my default answer would be "no."

Thank you, I will take your post and links with me.

tess

[ The "practice" of physical meditation is very simple. There are many forms, many traditions. The essence is simply to sit physically still and comfortable and be relaxed of body. This in itself seems very difficult to some. We are so used to being busy and always moving, and to relax is often very difficult. To many people, relaxation of body means only sleep. Meditation is by no means sleep. On the contrary, meditation is a way of being totally awake to everything in our lives. You can try this, it is not difficult.]


http://www.puresilence.org/still_sitting_still.htm

Thank you , you have seemed to post a picture of my attempts to the meditation.

Nice feeling that I am not the only one.

fivebells

My hedonism. What is it : technique or luck of commitment?

It depends on what's motivating your hedonism. Would you like to be able to experience the boredom as it is, without taking refuge in entertainments like friends and sailing?

tess

My hedonism. What is it : technique or luck of commitment?

It depends on what's motivating your hedonism. Would you like to be able to experience the boredom as it is, without taking refuge in entertainments like friends and sailing?

Sure I would. BUT I am addicted to my self-indulgence.

I know hedonism is an attachment to feeling good. At the same time Buddhists searching for Nirvana are not so different. Are they?

fivebells

OK, so you are committed, you just don't know how to do it. Cultivate joy in the boredom. There's a joy meditation described here. There's further discussion of it in this talk (part of this series.)

tess

Thank you fiveballs to look after me.

Thank you for being so friendly.

I will take note of your links and looking forward to read them.
I am at work in the moment and have to concentrate on it.

Sorry.

I do really appreciate somebody who takes time to help me. I would love some advice in the future.

THANK YOU!!!

fivebells

No problem. Good luck.

zombiegirl

perhaps you should bring some buddhist themed books in addition? it's very nice to have a quiet place where you can read and feel free to stop and meditate whenever the mood strikes you.

this is the recommended reading thread:
http://newbuddhist.com/discussion/14/recommended-reading/p1

Aspirin4o

tess,
to me it looks like you are answering all your questions all by yourself. And I don't see the reason for your worries.

All I read was "I am extroverted, I am hedonistic, I am addicted to self-indulgence" and so on "I am"s. For me, you are nothing of those things. But it seems that you define yourself with them, like saying "I am dirty shoes." and than wondering why you are covereed in dust.
What I would do in your place is that I would sit down in the cabin and meditate upon those things and ask myself "Am I all these things, or are they just images and attachments that my mind holds on to?" In fact, I'm doing this training every time I utter the phrase "I am...". And it works very nicely

But, to finish, I would't worry so much about your time in the woods. The people before me showed you a lot of helpful links and advices, so if you spend even half an hour of the whole 3 months quieting yourself in the woods, I say that is time well spent.

pegembara

@ tess

Have a look at this article

Solitude/Viveka

[First, know that viveka has three levels. Physical viveka (kaya-viveka) is when nothing disturbs the physical level of life. Mental viveka (citta-viveka) is when no emotions disturb the mind, when the citta isn’t troubled by things like sexual lust, hatred, fear, frustration, envy, sentimentality, and love. This mental viveka can occur even in a crowded noisy room; it isn’t dependent on physical solitude. The third kind, spiritual viveka (upadhi-viveka) is when no feelings or thoughts of attachment to “I” and “mine”, “soul” or “myself” disturb the mind. If all three levels happen, you are truly alone and free.]

http://www.theravada-dhamma.org/blog/?p=4595

Regards

seeker242

I for one see logic and reason in Buddhism, at least as far as using the teachings for the alleviation of suffering and seeing reality clearly. Seeing that all things are impermanent/transient, are ownerless (not-self), and to attach to an ever-changing reality can only lead to disappointment (dukkha) is one way to let go of that craving/attachment and find peace.

Yes , yes but how do I go about it?

Great terms. So I suppose mediate.....meditate and meditate?

Yes, yes and yes.

tess

Thank you all for material to read and advice.

tess

tess,
to me it looks like you are answering all your questions all by yourself. And I don't see the reason for your worries.

All I read was "I am extroverted, I am hedonistic, I am addicted to self-indulgence" and so on "I am"s. For me, you are nothing of those things. But it seems that you define yourself with them, like saying "I am dirty shoes." and than wondering why you are covereed in dust.
What I would do in your place is that I would sit down in the cabin and meditate upon those things and ask myself "Am I all these things, or are they just images and attachments that my mind holds on to?" In fact, I'm doing this training every time I utter the phrase "I am...". And it works very nicely

But, to finish, I would't worry so much about your time in the woods. The people before me showed you a lot of helpful links and advices, so if you spend even half an hour of the whole 3 months quieting yourself in the woods, I say that is time well spent.

Your post makes a lot of sense and gives me a new perspective.

When you say:’’ sit down in the cabin and meditate upon those things and ask myself ‘’

Can you meditate about ideas? I thought meditation is about clearing your mind.
I.e. trying not to think.

tess

seeker242
Yes, yes and yes.



And I thought that Buddhism is about how not to suffer.
:dunce: