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A little bewildered woman...

  • 14-01-2009 8:11pm
    #1
    Yoda
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,853 ✭✭✭


    A nice person PM'd me with the following. I suggest that this friendly board is a better place for the discussion than private discussion with busy ol' me.

    =====
    Hello Yoda. I am a little bewildered woman who wants to know more about Buddhism, could you please help me? I have done Kundalini Yoga, Meditation at the Sri Chimnoy centre, and some Hatha and Asthanga yoga. I'd like to do some more Buddhist chanting and learn some teachings/scripture. I feel very out of place because anywhere I've looked has been pricey workshops in meditation and little "real" Buddhist teaching or guidance, with wanting to diss the community.

    Anything would be appreciated :)

    Thank you!
    =====


Comments

  • #2
    bou
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 158 ✭✭bou


    I would suggest taking a list of centres and groups, contact each of them to ask about how you get started or learn more. Look at their background also to understand what their tradition is. Maybe read about the different traditions and approaches. You could ask each group about their background too. You might find that one or two look like they are more suitable.

    Yoda has made a list of some centres in the "Charter, Truths, Centre, Books and Films" thread: http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=1052892#post1052892

    It is generally considered to be important to receive teachings from an authentic source where genuine understanding has been passed down through the generations from master to student. Best is to find an authentic teacher who has a high level of realization and attend teachings they give. As you won't know one teacher from the next, it is good to find a number of teachers and listen to their teachings until you find one that you believe to be a really good teacher who transmits true understanding. Again, it helps to understand the background of the teacher and their lineage. Ireland is a small pond with not too many teachers visiting so it could be good to look to other places also. London being large, diverse and a major world travel hub, has more frequent visits from teachers.

    As for the cost of attending classes and courses, that is a problematic issue. Maybe it would be good to have a thread to discuss this. The Dharma should be free and one should give what one wishes to support the Dharma. In a modern situation this can be difficult as people may be slow to give money, particularly when they don't know the group they are giving money to or how they money is being used. Some groups have a "suggested donation" which the participant can give if they are able to but they can give less if the amount is too much for them. Nobody should be excluded from receiving teachings because of cost. Likewise one should not feel restrained to give only the suggested amount. I think an important thing to look at is how the money is used that a group collects. It should only be used for supporting the Dharma and for charitable activities. If someone is receiving a living from donations then their life should be devoted to practising and supporting the Dharma and not living a heedless life of luxury. The karmic effects of misusing money that is given to Dharma are considered to be extremely bad.


  • #3
    Asiaprod
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,737 ✭✭✭Asiaprod


    bou wrote: »
    The karmic effects of misusing money that is given to Dharma are considered to be extremely bad.
    +1 to that. And good advice from Bou.

    You could also have a look at the sticky at the top of the page "What are the differences between the various Schools of Buddhism" where we have tried to give a brief outline of the differences between the schools and their traditions.

    Please feel free to ask questions, we are a friendly bunch here.
    Asia


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