Dhamma
All is Change
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 1,284
Dhamma
Part of a difficulty I have about starting a thread about Buddhism is that there is no such thing.
I know that sound weird but the thing is that Buddhism is a name given to a way of life that is universally beneficial. It benefits Christians, Atheists, Muslims, Jews, and so on, equally.
Monks like the Dalai Lama wear a traditional garb so looking at it from the outside the face of Buddhism has a typical look. Monks have devoted their life to walking 'the path'.
The technique of walking the path is built around a meditation technique discovered by Guatama. He is called The Buddha. He spent his life seeking the path and when he found it he spent his life teaching it.
Modern teachers continue to teach this technique as taught by Guatama The Buddha, the Great Teacher.
The technique is practiced after taking some precept basically to live a good life, to not harm self or others, to not indulge in harmful practice concerning sexuality, intoxication etc. Universally beneficial precepts.
In this moral atmosphere the technique teaches a universal way to tame the mind by focusing on a universal truth. The breath as it is.
As the focus is developed and refined deeper truths about the mind and body are revealed. As Goenka says it is not a christian breath or an atheist breath, not a body of this cast or that cast but the universal body that every person has all the time. Universal.
In this way it can be understood that instead of Buddhism being a Religion it is the application of a universally beneficial meditation technique.
Be your own Buddha by meditating using the technique as taught by Guatama The Buddha and taught today by teachers like SN Goenka as taught to him by Sayagyi U Ba Khin as taught in an unbroken line of teachers back to The Buddha.
Be Happy.
Dhamma
dhamma.org
I know that sound weird but the thing is that Buddhism is a name given to a way of life that is universally beneficial. It benefits Christians, Atheists, Muslims, Jews, and so on, equally.
Monks like the Dalai Lama wear a traditional garb so looking at it from the outside the face of Buddhism has a typical look. Monks have devoted their life to walking 'the path'.
The technique of walking the path is built around a meditation technique discovered by Guatama. He is called The Buddha. He spent his life seeking the path and when he found it he spent his life teaching it.
Modern teachers continue to teach this technique as taught by Guatama The Buddha, the Great Teacher.
The technique is practiced after taking some precept basically to live a good life, to not harm self or others, to not indulge in harmful practice concerning sexuality, intoxication etc. Universally beneficial precepts.
In this moral atmosphere the technique teaches a universal way to tame the mind by focusing on a universal truth. The breath as it is.
As the focus is developed and refined deeper truths about the mind and body are revealed. As Goenka says it is not a christian breath or an atheist breath, not a body of this cast or that cast but the universal body that every person has all the time. Universal.
In this way it can be understood that instead of Buddhism being a Religion it is the application of a universally beneficial meditation technique.
Be your own Buddha by meditating using the technique as taught by Guatama The Buddha and taught today by teachers like SN Goenka as taught to him by Sayagyi U Ba Khin as taught in an unbroken line of teachers back to The Buddha.
Be Happy.
Dhamma
dhamma.org
Member
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: New Orleans, LA
Posts: 985
But I think that the practice of meditation and stillness has been an interesting conversation for a very long time.
I agree that Buddhism is not at all a religion. More a technique or approach. A perspective or way of valuing things. As a cultural system, Buddhism holds the value of non-intoxication. Choosing instead to be intentionally present & attending both the details & the whole.
I've found that very helpful. Thinking about sobriety as an aspect of enhancing consciousness, rather than giving something up.
I agree that Buddhism is not at all a religion. More a technique or approach. A perspective or way of valuing things. As a cultural system, Buddhism holds the value of non-intoxication. Choosing instead to be intentionally present & attending both the details & the whole.
I've found that very helpful. Thinking about sobriety as an aspect of enhancing consciousness, rather than giving something up.
waking down
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 4,641
Which explains why I say I practice Buddhism rather than I am a Buddhist. It is, by the way, my recovery plan, and it has been working (that is I've remained clean and sober) for over three years now. It's about turning toward rather than away from fear. It's about accepting rather than fighting reality. It's about learning to simply be.
Member
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: New Orleans, LA
Posts: 985
This discussion actually began on another thread last night & I recommended "Refuge Recovery" by Noah Levine (& an older book - Dharma Punx by him), and "One Breath at a Time" by Kevin Griffin. But those were about Buddhism's relationship with recovery, not Buddhism itself.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 366
I love this post. Thank you.
I'm an atheist who tries to practice Buddhism. I've always stumbled over the concept of not over-indulging (alcohol and food) but my new sobriety really gives me a renewed commitment to walk the Buddhist path.
Also the non-judgmental teachings of Buddhism helps me to let go my frustrations with my past choices. I'm not only gentler with others, I'm also kinder to myself.
I'd recommend the book Awakening the Buddha Within. It's a book I keep in hard copy and on my e-reader.
I'm an atheist who tries to practice Buddhism. I've always stumbled over the concept of not over-indulging (alcohol and food) but my new sobriety really gives me a renewed commitment to walk the Buddhist path.
Also the non-judgmental teachings of Buddhism helps me to let go my frustrations with my past choices. I'm not only gentler with others, I'm also kinder to myself.
I'd recommend the book Awakening the Buddha Within. It's a book I keep in hard copy and on my e-reader.
All is Change
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 1,284
Hermann Hesse wrote a lot of novels about the journey. The journey, Steppenwolf, The Glass Bead Game, Siddhartha, Narcissus and Goldmund and others. Very readable for the western mind.
Recovering
Join Date: May 2012
Location: UK
Posts: 1,361
Originally Posted by soberandhonest 
Anyone have a good book to recommend, one that is informative but not overly dense, on Buddhism?
Anything by Pema Chodron is excellent.
All is Change
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 1,284
The Path is very simple. Walking on the path not so much. It takes an effort to overcome lifelong habits of denial.
The path is
Do not do bad things.
Do good things.
Practise awareness of things as they are. Concentrate the mind and study the truth.
As the truth is studied deeper truths arise. Continue to not add to the deep miseries by doing bad things. Push yourself along the path of awareness by doing good things.
The path is
Do not do bad things.
Do good things.
Practise awareness of things as they are. Concentrate the mind and study the truth.
As the truth is studied deeper truths arise. Continue to not add to the deep miseries by doing bad things. Push yourself along the path of awareness by doing good things.
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: "I'm not lost for I know where I am. But however, where I am may be lost ..."
Posts: 5,273
I started studying the Buddhist philosophy after I quit drinking 10 years ago. The idea of non attachment has been huge for me in so many ways. The cycle of constantly seeking pleasure and avoiding pain created so much grasping, that in turn created so much suffering.
Thank you for this thread.
Thank you for this thread.
All is Change
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 1,284
Awareness and Continuity
Some thoughts on the value of the continuous awareness.
The object of awareness is the truth as it is in the moment.
An entry into the study of the truth of the mind and body is the natural breath as it is from moment to moment.
An entry to the study of the breath is the awareness of the body movement as it is from moment to moment.
'Aha. at the moment I am lying down.' This is something I can know from moment to moment. 'at the moment I am standing'. 'at the moment I am walking' and so on . . .
'at the moment I am sitting'
I close my eyes, I am comfortable, relaxed, I choose to fix my attention on the breath at the area of the nose. The breath as it is in the moment, from moment to moment.
If the mind wanders bring the awareness back to the area of the nose. Observing the breath as it is in the moment from moment to moment.
Continue to bring the awareness back to the area of the nose observing the natural breath as it is passing in passing out from momen to moment. The mind wanders. Continue to bring the awareness back.
This is practicing Ana-Pana. The awareness of the in and out breathing.
The benefit comes from continuing the practice. Ten minutes is good. One hour is better. A ten day course even better.
The continuous work in bringing the attention back when the mind wanders bears fruit. Agonising about the difficulty in doing this is not helpful. Agonising about agonising does not help. Agonising is a wandering away. Bring the awareness back to the area of the nose observing the breath coming in and going out.
This is to be experienced.
'aha, at the moment I am lying down'
Be Happy.
Some thoughts on the value of the continuous awareness.
The object of awareness is the truth as it is in the moment.
An entry into the study of the truth of the mind and body is the natural breath as it is from moment to moment.
An entry to the study of the breath is the awareness of the body movement as it is from moment to moment.
'Aha. at the moment I am lying down.' This is something I can know from moment to moment. 'at the moment I am standing'. 'at the moment I am walking' and so on . . .
'at the moment I am sitting'
I close my eyes, I am comfortable, relaxed, I choose to fix my attention on the breath at the area of the nose. The breath as it is in the moment, from moment to moment.
If the mind wanders bring the awareness back to the area of the nose. Observing the breath as it is in the moment from moment to moment.
Continue to bring the awareness back to the area of the nose observing the natural breath as it is passing in passing out from momen to moment. The mind wanders. Continue to bring the awareness back.
This is practicing Ana-Pana. The awareness of the in and out breathing.
The benefit comes from continuing the practice. Ten minutes is good. One hour is better. A ten day course even better.
The continuous work in bringing the attention back when the mind wanders bears fruit. Agonising about the difficulty in doing this is not helpful. Agonising about agonising does not help. Agonising is a wandering away. Bring the awareness back to the area of the nose observing the breath coming in and going out.
This is to be experienced.
'aha, at the moment I am lying down'
Be Happy.
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: "I'm not lost for I know where I am. But however, where I am may be lost ..."
Posts: 5,273
My sister is a yoga teacher and much of her practice is outside of the yoga studio and off the mat. She taught me that the kind of mindfulness practice you describe in the post above can be practiced anywhere at any time. Often when I am at a stoplight or standing in a long line at the grocery store or working on something at my desk, I bring my mind to awareness of my breath, feeling my feet on the ground, relaxing my face/shoulders.
This is what I love about Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings in Peace is Every Step. No matter where you are, what you are doing, you can just be in that moment...not rushing through mundane tasks to get to the next mundane task.
This is what I love about Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings in Peace is Every Step. No matter where you are, what you are doing, you can just be in that moment...not rushing through mundane tasks to get to the next mundane task.
All is Change
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 1,284
Why are Vipassana meditation courses free?
The meditator gets free accomodation, food and service. The teachers who teach freely donate their time.
Why in a world where nothing is free is Vipassana free.
Goenka explains, It is because something so valuable must be free.
Certainly those who benefit from the course and want to make it possible for others to get the benefit donate their time and money to serve on and or fund further courses. (That explains the rapid growth of Dhamma throughout the world. When I started I could turn up at the only centre in Australia and get a place for the next course without having to book. Now I have to book 3 to 4 months ahead in any of the 6 centres in six states in Australia and a seventh being established in the NT. A phenomenal growth rate.)
The deeper answer is that it must be so in order for the dhamma to remain pure.
I have written a little bit about Anapana, the awareness of in and out breathing. I haven't written much about Vipassana. Vipassana is best taught under proper guidance and protection in a meditation centre ( dhamma.org ). It is when the meditator is going to need most help. Once Vipassana is learned it can safely be practiced outside.
What I haven't written about is the third and important part of the technique. Metta. or meditation of loving kindness.
At the end of every good deed Goenka says bhavatu sabbe mangalang, may all beings be happy, may all beings be happy, and the meditators reply sadhu (or amen or right on) sadhu, sadhu.
This giving of goodwill is selfless and to establish its purity. This purity is closely guarded. No one is to own it. It cannot be bought or traded, Only shared. Its value is rooted in its freeness. It must be free. If it is not free it is not Vipassana because it denies the meditator the greatest benefit. Selfless love. Metta.
Be Happy.
The meditator gets free accomodation, food and service. The teachers who teach freely donate their time.
Why in a world where nothing is free is Vipassana free.
Goenka explains, It is because something so valuable must be free.
Certainly those who benefit from the course and want to make it possible for others to get the benefit donate their time and money to serve on and or fund further courses. (That explains the rapid growth of Dhamma throughout the world. When I started I could turn up at the only centre in Australia and get a place for the next course without having to book. Now I have to book 3 to 4 months ahead in any of the 6 centres in six states in Australia and a seventh being established in the NT. A phenomenal growth rate.)
The deeper answer is that it must be so in order for the dhamma to remain pure.
I have written a little bit about Anapana, the awareness of in and out breathing. I haven't written much about Vipassana. Vipassana is best taught under proper guidance and protection in a meditation centre ( dhamma.org ). It is when the meditator is going to need most help. Once Vipassana is learned it can safely be practiced outside.
What I haven't written about is the third and important part of the technique. Metta. or meditation of loving kindness.
At the end of every good deed Goenka says bhavatu sabbe mangalang, may all beings be happy, may all beings be happy, and the meditators reply sadhu (or amen or right on) sadhu, sadhu.
This giving of goodwill is selfless and to establish its purity. This purity is closely guarded. No one is to own it. It cannot be bought or traded, Only shared. Its value is rooted in its freeness. It must be free. If it is not free it is not Vipassana because it denies the meditator the greatest benefit. Selfless love. Metta.
Be Happy.
Member
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: MD
Posts: 658
Here's an interpretation of the 12 Steps from a Buddhist perspective;
http://sfzc.org/sp_download/2010_buddhism_12steps.pdf
Personally I've found the 12 Steps are in perfect accord with my own practice, and everywhere else in Buddhist sutras, treatises etc that I've read.
I concur with others who assert that Buddhism is practice not belief, but there are many different styles of Buddhist practice- which is great. If one seems awkward or unattractive for cultural or other reasons, there are plenty other methods.
Thanks to the OP for starting this thread
http://sfzc.org/sp_download/2010_buddhism_12steps.pdf
Personally I've found the 12 Steps are in perfect accord with my own practice, and everywhere else in Buddhist sutras, treatises etc that I've read.
I concur with others who assert that Buddhism is practice not belief, but there are many different styles of Buddhist practice- which is great. If one seems awkward or unattractive for cultural or other reasons, there are plenty other methods.
Thanks to the OP for starting this thread
Member
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: MD
Posts: 658
For a practical view of Buddhism from the perspective of practitioners of many different schools I would suggest
https://dharmawheel.net/ for Mahayana/Tibetan forms,
https://dhammawheel.com/ for Theravadan,
lots to read on both. Many schools from many different countries and cultures are represented, and the participants are quite diverse.
https://dharmawheel.net/ for Mahayana/Tibetan forms,
https://dhammawheel.com/ for Theravadan,
lots to read on both. Many schools from many different countries and cultures are represented, and the participants are quite diverse.
Currently Active Users Viewing this Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
