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I found a meditation center in Boston on line that charges $135 for a beginners meditation class. Does that sound reasonable?
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Comments
No.
Anywhere from donation-based to $3000 (from memory). Oddly enough some of the really expensive ones don't even provide accommodation.
I don't have much trust in non-donation based things. There are many of Buddhist centres where you pay what you feel is right.
It is usual to give after you had joined, because you like that other people have the same benefit like you. Its an old tradition.
No need to think about money! Dhamma especial Meditation should be never a question of money. Take it as a sign :-)
That's why some people download dharma ebooks instead of buying it.
I found this place http://www.meditateinnwwashington.org they have centers with in 20 miles of me. They are all New Kadmpa Traditions. They offer monthly memberships between 50-250 bucks a month. Classes are like 10 dollars a class or 5 bucks for those who are like me and are unemployed.
Beware of taking what is not given :-)
I guess that was the reason why nobody wrote down, ohhh that compassion. Always brings problems and so much environmental destruction. Killing in the name of...
Ohhh that is great, are the drinks included?
I don't know yet. I haven't went there yet. :crazy:
I would look around to see what other options are available,but as I say maybe we should not jump to conclusions as to why this charge is there.
With metta
They probably charge to keep the rent and support the teacher.
I suppose. So you can't have a teacher and be involved with the community if you don't pay? That makes me sad
maybe when i get a job
Well I guess there are some, teaching Dhamma. Don't worry!
Oh. Well if that's what the money's going towards I have no problem
Dont worry, you know that you can have fun with friends also without money.
Should all of our friends be spiritual seekers? And if so should they all be buddhist? And I understand that you love without discrimination, I just mean the people you choose to make close friends and spend significant amount of time with.
As soon as you try to be something you will miss the way.
If somebody offers you to come in, take the offer, but also prove if the purposes are honest. Look how people life. Are they harming, are they stealing, are they lying? No real friend would charge you money to come to a party. But as a noble friend your self you would not come without a gift.
Don't believe! But trust after your deep proof.
Most centers I know of will make exceptions for people with little money.
Which center is it? That sounds like A LOT. I know of centers (zen) in and around Boston that offer free instruction.
"All courses are run solely on a donation basis. All expenses are met by donations from those who, having completed a course and experienced the benefits of Vipassana, wish to give others the same opportunity. Neither the Teacher nor the assistant teachers receive remuneration; they and those who serve the courses volunteer their time. Thus Vipassana is offered free from commercialisation."
I saw Providence is not fare, there should be many theravada pagodas situated. A lot of cambodian communities over there.
:-) are you sure?
Cambridge Insight is really nice.
Larry Rosenberg is pretty fantastic.
Bodhicitta should also be in our motivation, also as one does at the end of practice: dedicating the merit. That's the meaning of practice also.
Fun, like while doing Chöd, is just secondary to the main practice in my opinion. Sometimes I'm really bored and lazy, I prefer to play Starcraft 2 than doing a practice that my lama instructed, and going for Starcraft 2 wouldn't be correct.
I think you're imposing your own views on others. I find study and meditation and treating others well to be fun.
I like meditating also, but that is secondary, just as that one shouldn't meditate for relaxation, neither for pleasure. Those are distractions to the main practice.
Starcraft 2 or thinking about nothing meditating? Hard choice.
The surroundings may change like the winds but the heart follows its own roads.
... if my pithy replies are ever confounding, do let me know.
That is good! But be careful that it do not grow to a burden. We often do things to serious. You know that human selfpunishment thing. Do you think Starcraft 2 is a good idea? Without keeping precepts there will never any real benefit out of meditation. I guess it is better you focus on moral and ethic first.
Now it is time to practice and now it is time to have fun... No, no... I guess its better if you continue to have fun and try to understand moral and ethic.
But just a personal hint :-)
If one feels pleasure, that's ok, if one is bored, that's also ok. Experience is experience; under the guidance of the teacher there is no problem. That's why I'm saying that one does not seek dharma to have fun, one seeks dharma to realize the 4 noble truths, to realize dharma: transformation of the mind.
P.S.: I try to use computer games for my practice, to check my emotions.
I use to say similar things when I am after a cigarette ;-)
SORRY, BACK TO TOPIC
Also, I'm glad you stopped smoking.
No money is needed to get one self liberated. It is more the opposite that leads one to the roots of suffering.
Even there are no meditation centers for free and we have no money, we can look: What is the real need for? Is there an other way?
Its about Dhamma books, but there is no different to Dhamma teaching and meditation:
<dl class="faq"><dt>Is there anything wrong with selling Dhamma books?
What's the big deal about giving them away free of charge?</dt><dd>
</dd><dd> There's nothing inherently wrong with selling Dhamma books. Indeed, many commercial publishers provide a valuable service by producing high-quality Dhamma books that are easier to find in bookstores than their free, privately printed cousins. But that accessibility comes at a steep price. A commercial publisher that lives by its bottom line is inevitably forced to make editorial choices based on what will or will not sell books. The result of this pressure is often a book that presents a watered-down version of Dhamma, a Dhamma that may sound joyous, uplifting, and pleasing, but which lacks the cutting edge of truth. It is unlikely, for example, that people would flock to the bookstore and empty their wallets to read about the Buddha's crucial teachings on renunciation, the drawbacks of sensuality, or the value of reflecting on the unattractiveness of the body. The market for people willing to spend money on this kind of truth is, alas, unprofitably small.
</dd><dd>
But there is another, deeper reason to think twice about selling Dhamma books. Since the Buddha's time, the teachings have traditionally been given away free of charge, passing freely from teacher to student, from friend to friend. The teachings are regarded as priceless, and have been conveyed to us across the centuries by an unbroken stream of generosity — the very foundation of all the Buddha's teachings. That tradition continues with the production of free Dhamma books. From the author, the stream flows onwards through those who give their time to editing, typesetting, and printing the book; through the donors who sponsor the printing; and through those who take care of distribution and mailing. If you are fortunate enough to receive a book borne on this stream of generosity, you learn an important lesson of Dhamma long before you even open the cover. The instant someone puts a price tag on a Dhamma book, you not only have to pay money for it, but you get a little bit less in return: you get a book that is merely about Dhamma, instead of one that is itself an example of Dhamma in action. Which one do you think has greater value?
</dd><dd>
So keep this in mind the next time you find yourself spending money in exchange for the Dhamma — whether it is in the form of a book, an audio tape, a CD-ROM, a Dhamma talk, a meditation class, a retreat. The old adage still applies: caveat emptor — Let the buyer beware.
</dd></dl>