interested but dont know where to start!

Buddhism/Hinduism

Hi Vicki

I first got interested in Buddhism 5 or 6 years ago when I saw an ad for meditation classes in my local paper. The group I joined belonged to the Kadampa tradition of Tibetan Mahayana Buddhism. They were very smiley and welcoming and the meditation was very calming, even though I couldn't really do it, but it wasn't much help in getting objective information about Buddhism. It would be a similar situation if you went to a Christian church to find out what Christianity is all about, there are dozens of different branches of Christianity - RC, C of E, Baptists, Pentecostalists, Greek Orthodox etc etc, and it's the same with Buddhism, and Hinduism is even more complicated, but if you ask believers what it is all about you will only get their version. I got so frustrated at not getting the answers I wanted I decided to study from a neutral perspective and did a degree in Religious Studies, which I found endlessly fascinating.

It depends whether you are seeking to 'know' or to 'belong'. I started off wanting to belong, but then found I needed to know. If you are looking for a community to belong to, you can shop around until you find one you feel comfortable with. Type 'Buddhist groups in Hillingdon' or wherever, into Google and you're bound to come up with something.

It might be an idea to do a bit of reading first to see which type of tradition appeals to you. There are hundreds of books available on the subject, but off the top of my head, a fairly readable one is: "Buddhism An Introductory Guide to the Buddhist Tradition" by John Snelling, published by Element Books. Also, "Teach yourself Hinduism" by Kanitkar and Cole, published by Hodder & Stoughton.

This must be the longest post ever, but if you want to know anything - just ask me, it's my favourite subject!

Buddhism/Hinduism

P.S. Have a look at , it's the web-site of the Kadampa tradition in this country, and tells you where their centres are.

Buddhist Groups

Hi Vicki,

As Elensdottir says there is a vide variety of approaches to Buddhist practice and it really does pay to do as much research as you can. You can also engage at almost any level that suits you as well. But one thing that I'd stress is that Buddhism from many different Asian traditions has been introduced into the west and this is quite a recent process. From my point of view the essential elements of Buddhist wisdom are transcultural but sifting out the culture from these essential elements can be a bit of a journey.

Anything we do or think is in a context of a background of qualifying beliefs and cultural conditioning. Nothing stands in a vacuum and nothing exists independently outside of relationships; things are constantly changing as are their relationships and the things that they relate to. This insight in itself comes straight out of Buddhist philosophy and has great similarity with some ideas in western philosophy.

In many ways this is the defining feature of Buddhism; its philosophy which can be summed up as above. But, for me at least, the defining feature of Buddhism, its philosophy, is combined with a series of practices that help you to experience living in a way that is consistent with this philosophical view.

You may find the array of ideas and teachings quite bewildering at first but in the end they all slot into these ideas; wisdom (philosophical understanding) and skillful means (methods to encounter this wisdom experientially).

This all may sound a little clinical. The practice has two key elements: meditation which helps to slow thinking down and enable better awareness of what is going on in ones thinking and feeling and then developing more compassionate, accepting and loving attitudes to oneself and [all] others.

A group can be very supportive but don't be surprised if these fundamental elements are less than obvious in any group you come across. Don't dive in quickly! Don't go any deeper into a group than you feel absolutely comfortable with and check them out thoroughly. (The internet is a great place to do your research).

And as Ellensdotir says, do come back and ask any questions in this string... Its my favourite subject too!

Norbu.

Hi Vicki,
I've been a Buddhist for most of my life and my advice to you is investigate any group carefully before getting involved, and that includes checking on any available information about their background and tradition.
It's also good to have a little basic knowledge of the basics of Buddhism first and the 3 traditions of Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana because there are centres connected to all 3 traditions.

Elen

for some time now i have been interested in the hindu/buddhist way of thinking and i want to learn more about it.

I don't know whether you are drawn more towards a Buddhist path than a Hindu one, but two books I'd recommend as an introduction to a Eastern/Hindu philosophy are by Paramahansa Yogananda; [url]Man's Eternal Quest[/url] and [url]Autobiography of a Yogi[/url]. Fantastic books.

thank you all. i have ordered all the books that have been recommended and looked on the website which has been really helpful thankyou!

i have ordered all the books that have been recommended

I do hope you enjoy them, Vicki. Of the two I recommended I'd read 'Autobiography of a Yogi' first. I'd be interested to know what you think of them. 🙂

will do barafundle. i cant wait for them all to get here and start reading! 😀

...The group I joined belonged to the Kadampa tradition of Tibetan Mahayana Buddhism.

Vicky,

I am a bhuddist and funnily enough the group mentioned above is my tradition.

This is strongly based in tradition. The teachings or 'dharma' that we recieve is brought down in a direct lineage from Bhudda Shakyamuni, originally Prince Saddartha who was the first to gain enlightenment in this world under the famous bodhi tree in present India.

The New Kadampa Tradition (NKT) is a charitable organisation which works toward spreading bhudda's teachings and achieving world peace. Geshe-la our spiritual leader is on a mission to build Bhuddist temples across the world to help bring this about.

The teachings received in this Mahayana tradition will give you the ability to find peace and tranquility in your life, right through to obtaining full enlightenment in this life time, should you seek it, as it combines the practice of both sutra and tantra teachings.

As a beginner, all those on the path begin with teachings in sutra, and learning how to train the mind to bring clarity and peace into our every day lives. If it is wanted, the student can progress from these simple meditation classes, to the 'foundation' class where a more comprehensive guide is given and teachings are based on the pure dharma teachings in books (translated from tibetan to english by Geshe-la with the help of his senior students) passed down through the centuries, there is another level again of understanding in the teacher training class where the student begins to study tantra. It is a flexible approach to bhuddism which encourages the student to bring as little or as much of the teachings into his/her life as they feel ready for at the time.

I hope that this will help you on your quest to understanding a bit more about my Mahayana tradition.

I especially have a warm feeling for the NKT because of its charitable base, the flexibility of the classes available, the sense of family, and the knowledge of Geshe-la's decent from his own student life in Tibet.

This is a pure practice taught and led by a pure practitioner.

Lily xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

im off to a NKT meditation class tonight actually lilyflower. my first one. not sure if all of them are veggie, but the website mentioned on here by Elensdottir are veggie which is great because they dont all appear to be so. anyway i am quite excited. i have no idea what to expect but i hope that i like it and that it brings me something that is missing in my life, not exactly sure what 'it' is really but can feel within myself something is missing. i also want to improve the type of person i am. i would say i am kind, caring and compassionate person but i am also selfish, lazy, moody and can quite a pain sometimes. all things i want to get rid of if i can.

thanks everyone.

So how was the class vicki?

The actual ordained buddhists for NKT will be vegetarin by the nature of their vows, although they don't stipulate that participants of their meditation classes have to be.

The classes, I found, can vary depending on the teacher you have (sometimes you get a student of the centre and sometimes an ordained monk/nun) and on the material they are teaching that night. A friend of ours came along with us to one of the classes, and couldn't wait to get away. The material was a big "heavy" that night and I think it scared her. Needless to say, all you need is an open mind and you just listen, discuss and accept whatever you feel is right for you.

All Love and Reiki Hugs

energylz

just typed out my post and deleted it by mistake so now got to write it again 🙁

the class was great! can you tell me though about why NKT buddhists follow the veggie route? do they all? if so then they will be the most appropriate for me i think.

anyway back to the class, it was held by a nun. she was quite young and very softly spoken but everything she said made so much sense to me! i know its early days but hopefully this will continue for me and make my life have more purpose. i took a friend along who didnt like it at all, in fact she spent the whole time fidgeting about in her chair. normally something i would do sitting down for nearly 2 hours but i didnt on this occasion so it must have done something for me. last one next week (as it is a course) but another course starts in novemeber. they also have day meditation classes at their centre in reading. the only down side (a major reason why my friend didnt like it) was the people didnt seem very friendly, no one spoke to us even though i said this was our first time. bit disappointing but it wont put me off going again. 🙂

still reading my books....

Hi Vicky,

I'm glad you enjoyed the class!

...can you tell me though about why NKT buddhists follow the veggie route? do they all? ....

The reason Kadampa (and I should imagine many other bhuddists) follow vegetarianism is due to their beliefs on reincarnation.

Bhuddists believe that we are currently 'stuck' in an endless cycle of existance called Samsara. We are trapped within samsara because we do not understand the principle of cause and effect (karma) and the true nature of existance (emptiness). As sentient beings, we continuously perform actions which cause negitave karma within our minds and thus lead us to be reborn within the many relams (levels) of existance, of which there are (from the most unfortunate to the most fortunate):
hell beings, animals, human, gods and demi gods, bhuddas.

Every human, animal, insect etc etc on the earth and throughout existance is a sentient being, who is trapped on this cycle. We believe that a fly, a sheep, a cow, a chicken etc was once a human, and will in all likely hood become one again in the future.

We also believe that we have been trapped on this cyclic existance since beginningless time. Therefore, we have all experienced many many lifetimes, that we cannot now recall. It is logical to therefore conclude that at one time or another we have all been each other's mother, father, sister, brother etc etc. We cannot now remember the relationships we once held to one another.

Even within this one life, if our most precious mother/father should pass away and be reincarnated as an animal, we would not be able to recognise them as there appearance will be altered. Only those with an enlightened mind can see through the gross appearance of existance and recognise those whom they have met before. How do we know for certain who is our lost mother/father? ....And contemplating that once all precious sentient beings were our mother/father? - It is for this reason that we do not eat meat, nor fish. As we believe that by doing so, we are in essence commiting or justifying the murder of our most precious loved ones and bringing more negitave karma onto our minds, throwing ourselves back into the cyclic existance we are trying to find release from.

...the only down side (a major reason why my friend didnt like it) was the people didnt seem very friendly, no one spoke to us even though i said this was our first time. bit disappointing but it wont put me off going again. :)...

What I have found as a regular attender of a bhuddist class, is that short courses tend to attract those who are just looking for an insight into bhuddism, or perhaps a short term 'fix' to their current anxieties and wordly problems.

Most people have a limited understanding of what bhuddism is, peaceful, loving, non violent etc. It may pop into folks mind that bhuddists are like ''hippy'' people, trying to find bliss and the ultimate way of ''chilling out''. Some bhuddist philosophies, teach that nivana is the goal, that enlightenment should be obtained for the self.

True Kadampa bhuddists believe that enlightenment should be sort for the self so that we can then benefit others by leading those still within samsara to freedom by turning the wheel of dharma, spreading bhudda's teachings so that samsara is finally extinguished.

You will probably find that the people who are following the teachings are in the regular classes and that most of the folks who turned up for the courses don't attend those. You also find that the more ''hard core'' bhuddists will be a part of the foundation/teacher training classes rather than the general class.

This is what it is like in my centre anyway!

I'm glad you are going to keep going, you will soon establish who are the regulars and who are using bhuddism as a temporary fix and those who are following the path.

Keep us updated on the classes, I look forward to having some discussions with you!

Lily xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx