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What drew you to your school of Buddhism?

DaftChrisDaftChris Spiritually conflicted. Not of this world. Veteran
edited November 2012 in General Banter
I'm studying Mahayana Buddhism and, in particular, I'm interested in Tibetan. I like how it retains the 4 noble truths & 8 fold path and yet has a deeply mystical element. A nice mixture of naturalism and metaphysicism.

What drew you to your school?

Comments

  • LincLinc Site owner Detroit Moderator
    edited November 2012
    Reading a short book about it and saying "oh, yeah, that's basically what I believe. I guess I'm that, then." :D
    DaftChrisDairyLamatmottes
  • JeffreyJeffrey Veteran
    I started reading zen books when I was just beginning to become aware of Buddhism. When I actually started meditating I found a book in the Tibetan Buddhist (TB) tradition by Kathleen McDonald and it contained meditations on emptiness and other thoughts the author had and bundled with being excited about meditation I got a good impression from TB. Later I participated in an aol sangha and learned basicly the Gelug perspective on emptiness anger management and some other things. Six years ago I found my Kagyu sangha and I really like something special about how the teachings make me feel; I feel joyful, relieved, engaged, and enthusiastic.
  • cazcaz Veteran United Kingdom Veteran
    I was very fortunate I was born into it, Of course being born into something tends to negate the preciousness of the object so you learn latter in life to appreciate the instructions you have received.

    Kadampa.
  • lillymac61lillymac61 Explorer
    After doing a Vipassana retreat I read a Thich Nhat Hahn followed by a Pema Chodron. I was aware of Zen, Theravada, Mahayana but only vaguely understood the differences. One day I went searching for a sangha and found a Ngyingma centre quite close to where i live. I feel really fortunate I can receive teachings and connect with others there. I love the focus on compassion and integration and am quite partial to a bit of ritual. Now I'm a bit more informed TB feels right... inspiring and motivating.
    caz
  • BhanteLuckyBhanteLucky Alternative lifestyle person in the South Island of New Zealand New Zealand Veteran
    I was first into meditation, vipassana style. Purely secular, no religion.
    Then I visited a monastery in the Thai Forest tradition, and found there wasn't too much superstition involved. So I stayed a while.
    Then later I found there was a lot of superstition!
    But by that time I was ok with that, and now I actually like it and believe some of it.

    But what drew me to it first was the lack of mysticism, the practicalness of it, the down-to-earth directness. No secrets, no initiations, none of that. Just morality, meditation, and wisdom. Bare bones.
    caztmottes
  • karastikarasti Breathing Minnesota Moderator
    Tibetan, Nyingma specifically. I read some of everything but the Tibetan stuff made the most sense and it spoke to me the most. The deal was sealed when a monk from Minneapolis (300 miles away) came to my home town for a retreat, and I went and met many other people who were trying to learn but had no teacher and no sangha. So we made one of ourselves and I finally took refuge vows with my teacher and 8 members of my sangha last weekend, and it was splendid.
    cazlobster
  • taiyakitaiyaki Veteran
    I am currently studying and practicing Dzogchen and Vajrayana.

    I really enjoy the Vajrayana path because it incorporates the Hinayana and Mahayana, which focusing on energy.

    Dzogchen became more attractive because of the direction my practice has taken me. I was really into Advaita Vedanta and had lots of trouble reconciling Buddhism. So Dzogchen really brought a happy medium of the two traditions. Particularly the awareness teachings and how they relate to emptiness.



    To be specific:

    Vajrayana from Reginald Ray, Dharma Ocean.

    Dzogchen from Chögyal Namkhai Norbu.
    caz
  • JasonJason God Emperor Arrakis Moderator
    I stumbled onto Theravada after discovering a Thai Theravada temple near by house, which I started going to regularly to learn meditation and more about Buddhism. Nowadays, I tend to lean more towards the Thai Forest tradition, mainly for its profound simplicity and the fact that it's practice-oriented. (For a short history of the Thai Forest tradition, see Thanissaro Bhikkhu's essay, "The Customs of the Noble Ones." You can also check out this list of selected teachers from Access to Insight, if you're interested. I especially recommend anything by Ajahn Chah and Thanissaro Bhikkhu.)
    caz
  • CinorjerCinorjer Veteran
    edited November 2012
    I guess, looking back, I was attracted to Zen because of the "transmission outside of scriptures" element and the ability to laugh at itself. I'd been bombarded all my life by people who claimed religion began and ended with their sacred scripture, and that a religious life meant fighting a deadly serious war against ultimate evil. Zen was like a breath of fresh air.

    I've gotten past that a bit, but this is probably no surprise to people on the receiving end of my mini-sermons when I feel the force moving within me.
    caz
  • lamaramadingdonglamaramadingdong Veteran
    @Cinorjer- ditto.
  • lobsterlobster Veteran
    What drew you to your school?
    Om Ya Ha Hum

    The YinYana don't let anyone join. They even threw out the founder for starting it. That is my sort of madness. ;)

    They say stuff like:
    All too often our ideals are hijacked by the self interest groups and power thieves. A new spirit of cooperation and excelling also inspires us. Carrot and stick spirituality, so prevalent in previous ages of mysticism, are no longer sufficient for Buddhists independent of out modded religions, gods and dogma that would not convince a poodle.
    We need to find, amplify and express the genuine. The qualities of altruism of service and humility. Good qualities of good people growing to increase their will to good.
    . . . though I am not sure how they manage this without any good members . . .

    . . . also their mantra is positive, easy to use and understand
    Om Ya Ha Hum

    ya=yes in german dutch and some classes of english
    reversed it is ay=yes - Old english, some dialects, still used
    Designed for Western usage, even though it uses OM HA HUM as the basis

    Om Ya Ha Hum
    Jeffrey
  • karastikarasti Breathing Minnesota Moderator
    Auf Deutsch, es ist "ja" nicht "ya" ;) My German sentence structure is probably horrible, apologies, lol.
  • lobsterlobster Veteran
    yes indeed but the pronunciation is the key - not the spelling :)
    if it was ja that might jar with Jah . . .

    ya?
  • JeffreyJeffrey Veteran
    in any case it jars with yo-yo which is namaste in the Indian hood I am told yuk yuk!
  • ZenBadgerZenBadger Derbyshire, UK Veteran
    I intitially joined a Buddhist community because I was basically a non-religious student who was facing an unpayable poll-tax bill (this is before students could apply for loans and credit cards and there were strict rules on working while studying) and I needed to achieve exempt status. Having no money and no possible way of getting any was no exemption, they basically wanted the poor to stop going to university. It was basically the cowards way out, everyone else just went to court and exposed the stupidity of the system.

    After a while of grudgingly getting up at half-past-stupid in the morning to go and continue my sleep upright on a cushion something clicked (at first it was in my back but later in my head). I have been more or less Buddhist in my outlook ever since, even though I don't call myself Buddhist or have any particular school.
  • Steve108Steve108 Explorer
    The lazy part of my mind was attracted to Soto Zen because I read that the main focus was practice over scriptural learning. The longer I stayed with it and the more studying I did, I'd soon come to realize that this was not the easy option that I thought it was. But I stayed the course and it has got easier over time.
  • CinorjerCinorjer Veteran
    ZenBadger said:

    I intitially joined a Buddhist community because I was basically a non-religious student who was facing an unpayable poll-tax bill (this is before students could apply for loans and credit cards and there were strict rules on working while studying) and I needed to achieve exempt status. Having no money and no possible way of getting any was no exemption, they basically wanted the poor to stop going to university. It was basically the cowards way out, everyone else just went to court and exposed the stupidity of the system.

    After a while of grudgingly getting up at half-past-stupid in the morning to go and continue my sleep upright on a cushion something clicked (at first it was in my back but later in my head). I have been more or less Buddhist in my outlook ever since, even though I don't call myself Buddhist or have any particular school.

    I sympathize. When I taught a meditation class and they asked me what sitting all those hours in Zen meditation was like, I told them "Mind-numbingly boring. You know how people say something is boring as watching paint dry? That would have been welcome excitement."

    But somewhere in all that, something happened.
    lobsterBhanteLucky
  • zombiegirlzombiegirl beating the drum of the lifeless in a dry wasteland Veteran
    My first experience with Buddhism was just so dogma and tradition... when I decided to leave that lineage, it was like I was yearning for something more simple. I was so tired of having to push aside questions and doubt by shoving 'faith' in its place. After being with them for several years, I had this moment that pretty well cemented my decision. It was well after I had officially become a member, going through the ceremony with all the bells and whistles... and I asked a question about something I didn't understand. One of my mentors turned to me, and sighed, and I honestly don't even remember the question now nor the answer... but the point was... I should have been beyond all of this doubt by now. The message between the lines was that my doubt was supposed to be replaced, not with a logical answer, but with faith. And I just couldn't do it anymore...

    I wanted less worship. Just to sit. Obviously, I floated toward the zen side eventually.
  • lobsterlobster Veteran
    I sympathize. When I taught a meditation class and they asked me what sitting all those hours in Zen meditation was like, I told them "Mind-numbingly boring. You know how people say something is boring as watching paint dry? That would have been welcome excitement."

    But somewhere in all that, something happened.
    image
    How exciting . . . :clap:
    You applied a second coat?
  • JeffreyJeffrey Veteran
    This post is a picture of white paint drying in a snowstorm:













    How'd you like that?!
    Cinorjervinlyn
  • CinorjerCinorjer Veteran
    Jeffrey said:

    This post is a picture of white paint drying in a snowstorm:













    How'd you like that?!

    A deep bow and that made my day. I had a rough time at work and it seemed as I dragged my tired butt out to the car that I was an old man in a young man's world. Which is the truth. Trouble is, there's still a young man inside somewhere, wondering where this old body came from and where all the time went.

    One lifetime is not enough. Eh, that's way OT.
  • JeffreyJeffrey Veteran
    Glad to oblige. It's funny how sometimes something gives us a lift.
  • vinlynvinlyn Colorado...for now Veteran
    Jeffrey said:

    This post is a picture of white paint drying in a snowstorm:













    How'd you like that?!

    My mistake. I thought it was a ghost shoveling snow in a blizzard.

  • howhow Veteran Veteran
    Zen (soto) grabbed me at first because half the time I clearly didn't understand it and my vanity was challenged by this. Eventually my meditation practise showed me that my practise itself was the understanding.
  • DairyLamaDairyLama Veteran Veteran
    Jason said:

    Nowadays, I tend to lean more towards the Thai Forest tradition, mainly for its profound simplicity and the fact that it's practice-oriented.

    Yes, I like this tradition for similar reasons. Simple is always appealing.

    ;)
  • seeker242seeker242 Zen Florida, USA Veteran
    Zen and it's lack of intellectualization, philosophy, mysticism, etc, etc. Which is funny though because some people think it's filled with those things. Probably because of the crazy koans. :)
  • DavidDavid A human residing in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Ancestral territory of the Erie, Haudenosaunee, Huron-Wendat, Mississauga and Neutral First Nations Veteran
    I think it was mostly my mothers contractions. But I guess the doctor helped.
    howCinorjer
  • StillpointStillpoint
    Zen for its directness, Soto mostly because of the teacher I've found here locally. She is from Shasta Abbey, the order Buddhist Contemplatives/Serene Reflection. I appreciate the simple difficulty of just sitting, and RM Meiten is a joy to learn from. Dogma and ritual tend to turn me off, so while there is just enough ritual to satisfy necessity, RM tends to spend a lot of time laughing at herself and humanity in general.
  • howhow Veteran Veteran
    I have heard of this wise one. Send her a Gassho from Howard if it seems appropriate.
  • lamaramadingdonglamaramadingdong Veteran
    Didn't want to be truant.
  • zenffzenff Veteran
    edited November 2012
    Zen appealed to me because it was too confusing for me.
    I just couldn't put my finger on where it was wrong. I wanted to understand it.

    Untill one day my then teacher explained "somethng can only be true when the opposite is also true"

    That's when I knew where it was wrong, but it was too late then.
  • StillpointStillpoint
    how said:

    I have heard of this wise one. Send her a Gassho from Howard if it seems appropriate.

    Are you speaking of RM Meiten, Howard? I'm interested to hear how you've heard of her.

  • howhow Veteran Veteran
    edited November 2012
    @Stillpoint
    Did a few lay terms and retreats when R. Jiyu was still walking the cloister.
    Still in contact with a number of folks from those days.
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