[TNgqZhLR]

Dear friends,

I was wondering how our beginners to Buddhism were getting on with their offline study and practice.

Do you feel any benefits ? Are you having any difficulties ?

Perhaps you have some questions to share with us?

New topics are always welcome.

[Licacivelip]

Really it's been slow going for me. I originally bought a book (The Everything Buddhism Book) which seemed to be more of an overview and basic concepts. I'm slowly readying through that.

I have also read a bit online about the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. I need to re-read and study those - I don't think I have a good grasp on that yet.

I have mostly been focused on simple meditation - focusing on breathing. I have also been trying to be mindful of how I am treating people and how I react to things.

This does seem to have made an impact on me in a short time. I have been much calmer throughout my days. Much less stress and frustration. I don't get upset at other people while driving - I do have to keep telling myself I cannot do anything about others only myself.

For example - my parents live about 2 hours from my house, and driving there and spending the day with family used to stress me out and frustrate me (for various reasons). Yesterday I drove myself and my sons to my parents. Spent the day with family and drove back. My wife fully expected me to be a ball of stress when I got back. Arriving home after 8pm - I was calm and virtually stress free. My family hasn't changed all that much. They still got to my trigger points but I was able to internally brush it off with that's how they see things and I need to worry about myself and kids and not how they see me.

I honestly was really surprised. I'm not sure what to attribute this to - but work as been the same way this last week. I'm much calmer and the things that used to stress me out and frustrate me had a much smaller impact on me.

I plan on continuing with my breathing meditation and reading through the book I have. After that I guess I will need to figure out what comes next .

--Chris

[fedelwet]

It's going, but not too great. I'm having trouble with meditation. I'm trying to stick with mindfulness of breathing meditation, but it is still slow going. I always seem to get lost in a train of thought without realizing. A thought will occur and 30 sounds later I'll realize I just lost track of my breathing for half a minute. I think it would go a lot better if I had a group to practice with, but the only center near me is Tibetan and from what I've read of Tibetan Buddhism, I just don't think it would work for me and I'm worried trying to go to a Tibetan center could make things harder for me some how. I don't know.

[thakitt]

Hi Aloka-D,Well I've been doing quite alot lately.My husband kindly brought some books I requested for my birthday last month,(can't recall titles right now but will post again when I'm not so tired!!!lol)I have started going again to my local buddhists group,and most days practice meditation 10 mins morning and night.I did have a few hiccups to start with(meditating)and found I was feeling quite vulnerable and emotional but this has settled down now.I read as much as I can on this forum(huge help)and I also use You Tube to listen to various talks and so on.

[pkopwqzsdcvbn]

Namaste Aloka,

I still consider myself a newbie as my practise is often broken or stilted due to my current situation. I am going through my divorce (to which I am coping better than I thought I would), trying to get some stability in my working life now I am back in Sydney and am currently living back at home due to financial situation.

The one constant I have at the moment is meditation and re-reading "Awakening the Buddha Within" - I find the definition of the Eightfold Noble Path by Lama Surya Das helps me focus on things better.

In metta,
Raven

[freeringsf]

i'm currently finding it impossible to meditate due to a nasty ear infection. Wobbly horrible sea sickness! Tried meditating lying down but ended up nodding off. Can't drive, so can't go to class. Oh woe is me, etc.

Before I entered Wobblyworld I was happy if i could sit for 30-40 mins each day at home. I look forward to getting back on the cushion once the antibiotics do their thing. Not managed to meditate at a specific time, just when I got the chance.

At work I've occaisionally meditated during dinner break when i can and look forward to warmer weather when I can take off into the woods and try it there. Managed Mindfulness of Mowing and Mindfulness of Planting a few times recently which has been strangley exhilirating and stopped me getting into a Mindfunk thinking about pointless things.

Regular meditation has really helped my confusion/frustration/anger cycles I used to spiral through, and others say they've noticed how much calmer I am these days.

Any suggestions how to approach the pali canon and suttas from the point of view of a total novice? Dipping in and out doesn't really seem to be the best way for me, unless I'm missing the point?

all the best

[gogona]

It's really good to read everyone's posts !

Dont worry about having thoughts white_wolf, when you notice you're having them, just gently return to awareness with breathing again.

Any suggestions how to approach the pali canon and suttas from the point of view of a total novice? Dipping in and out doesn't really seem to be the best way for me, unless I'm missing the point?

Hi hornets,

I'm sorry to hear about your ear infection and hope you feel better soon.

Regarding the Pali Canon, why not try following what Element has suggested in #3 of the topic 'A few questions' in this beginners forum we're in at the moment.

http://www.buddhismwithoutboundaries...-few-questions


with kind wishes

Aloka

[illignocearia]

I'm just getting more and more into a consistent habit of meditating. I finally sat tonight after a few days of not committing any time to it.

I feel that cultivating mindfulness is coming out in different ways in my life.

I've committed myself to vegetarianism as I have a hard time eating meat when I am mindful of the fact it was once a living breathing animal. (this is just a personal detail of my progress - not meant to lord it over any one)

I've also noticed my dreams are becoming more meaningful. Instead of just being random sequences I am starting to have meaningful conversations in my dreams.

I've also been going in and out having days where the moment suddenly seems to be ambushed by goodness. I have a heightened sense of awareness of things around me and how they are just so beautiful.

There's something in life that I am seeking. It doesn't really have name. I refer to it as the kingdom of God because that's the language I've been raised with. It represents the substance of life, of passion, of goodness, of happiness, of peace, of joy. It means making the most out of my days.

I haven't completely locked on to this "kingdom of god" but I feel taking on the path of meditation and seeking my way through selections from the Pali canon is only helping develop this.

[Jorcelirl]

Gerradthor, just curious, have you ever studied any of the Gnostic teachings? I just ask because your view of the Kingdom of God sounds similar to there's. They were an early Christian sect that lost to Pauline Christianity. They taught that each person had an hidden potential for secret knowledge that could be unlocked through training and mediation. They had their own set of Gospels and taught that the Kingdom of God is within you. Perhaps a Christanized version of Buddhism?

[VeniHemealm]

Gerradthor, just curious, have you ever studied any of the Gnostic teachings? I just ask because your view of the Kingdom of God sounds similar to there's. They were an early Christian sect that lost to Pauline Christianity. They taught that each person had an hidden potential for secret knowledge that could be unlocked through training and mediation. They had their own set of Gospels and taught that the Kingdom of God is within you. Perhaps a Christanized version of Buddhism?

The only hold I really have left on Christianity is gnosticism.

There's a verse in Luke where Christ replies to the pharisees that the Kingdom of God is within. Some thinkers seem to say this is a mistranslation - that Christ would never have had said that to the god-awful pharisees.

That's where I jump to the verse found in the gospel of Thomas where the same thought is expanded. He says the kingdom of God is within you - but is also outside you. It was a bit of an aha! moment when I realized the oneness of the Universe within this statement. If the kingdom of God is within you and it's also outside you - but it is the same thing - you suddenly feel a unity between your internal reality and your external reality.

I know the term Kingdom of God is kind of limiting myself to one cultural view - but it's the best descriptor for something I am seeking in my own personal life.

There's link I bookmarked a while ago that compares the gospel of Thomas with Buddhism http://buddhistfaith.tripod.com/gospel/id9.html - I might have even found it on these boards.

[Cogebrego]

I'm just getting more and more into a consistent habit of meditating. I finally sat tonight after a few days of not committing any time to it. Hi Gerrard, you might find the resources in our Meditation thread within our Study Links section at the bottom of the main forums page helpful.

Mentioned there is Ajahn Jayasaro's "Buddhist Meditation" series of short videos which can be found on YouTube (link in the meditation thread in Study Links)

http://www.buddhismwithoutboundaries...356-Meditation

We also have a 'Meditation Room' with meditation timer, located in the sub-forum underneath General Buddhist Discussions.

[Mowselelex]

Hi Gerrard, you might find the resources in our Meditation thread within our Study Links section at the bottom of the main forums page helpful.

Mentioned there is Ajahn Jayasaro's "Buddhist Meditation" series of short videos which can be found on YouTube (link in the meditation thread in Study Links)

http://www.buddhismwithoutboundaries...356-Meditation

We also have a 'Meditation Room' with meditation timer, located in the sub-forum underneath General Buddhist Discussions.

Thanks, unfortunately I can't run youtube with my terrible connection speed.

[Mifsnavassy]

Nice one Aloka. I'll print these off at work. Ajahn at the place I attend said not to worry too much about the suttas at my stage and then literally gave me some sweet books, bless him.

[vNGiDaFX]

hello white_wolf. If it helps I used to get really mad at myself for thinking. I wonder if the following books would help you at all---- Mindfulness in plain English by Gunaratana, The Insight Meditation Toolkit by Sharon Salzberg & Joseph Goldstein? They really helped me, and I actually read em. The Toolkit has meditations on CD that are really helpful for starting daily practice.

I really came on in leaps and bounds once I found a centre I was comfortable with, I hope the following links may help you.

http://dhamma.ru/sadhu/home This may help in locating a centre near you

http://www.dharmastream.org/ Really good insight meditation site

http://www.buddhanet.net/ebooks_m.htm links to meditation ebooks

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ really good for loads of stuff

http://diydharma.org/ some really good guided meditations to download

http://www.dhammatalks.org/mp3_index.html ditto

http://www.audiodharma.org/talks/ ditto

http://www.buddhanet.net/ loads of stuff on this

[ReggieRed]

Nice one Aloka. I'll print these off at work. Ajahn at the place I attend said not to worry too much about the suttas at my stage and then literally gave me some sweet books, bless him.

The Thai Forest Tradition monasteries in the west have some excellent free publications which can be obtained when visiting the monasteries - or downloaded or received by post from Forest Sangha Publications for the cost of the postage:


http://forestsanghapublications.org/

[leijggigf]

Hi Aloka and everyone on BWB... I also used the Everything Buddhism book recently which I found SO useful to get a general outline of the life of the Buddha, the four noble truths, the eightfold path etc, I have tried several books but they were just too complicated for beginners (or maybe just for me!) but this one really made me feel more confident about the basics as it were. I am finding my daily sitting session has changed from a 'must remember to do' to an absolute highlight of my day and something I can't imagine doing without so that is a change. I also have a ticket to see HH The Dalai Lama in June in the UK which I am sure will be a great experience. Still not got into my local centre yet-that is going to be the next step I take but I have exchanged some emails with them and they sound helpful and welcoming.

BWB is really helping me to find my feet, I hope we are all enjoying our involvement with the forum - and if you are in the North of England today then I hope you are getting some of this wonderful sunshine we are enjoying in Yorkshire!!

warmest wishes,
Joan

[echocassidyde]

I went to my first meditation retreat over the weekend and we did a sitting/walking meditation set that lasted about 3 hours and I thought I was going to go insane. Maybe that is way too much too soon. My meditation practice is frustrating, but I'm allowing myself to continue and push on past the frustration. I drift off in thought way too much. I'm going to do shorter stints of meditation (going down from 20 min to 10 min) this week to see if the shorter time lets me focus better. I guess I have a lot of work to do in adjusting things until I find what it takes to keep me "in the now".

I am learning to be more patient just not less controlling.

[jurnalkduo]

I don't really know how to gauge my progress, I just try and be mindful of myself and my thoughts, and just live, and not avoid/overreact to suffering and painful situations. I think I used to be as good at this as I'm rediscovering, and though there are resonant echoes of pain rippling out from the ongoing process of going through divorced, I find that I feel more comfortable with myself again. It's a relief to finally feel the passage of time; it's like experiencing the more pronounced than usual peace of a sunny day after a stormy night.

I skim and re-read texts that cover the Four noble truths, and the Eightfold path. I continue to make my way at an inconsistent rate through The Dharma of Star Wars, and have recently read through it's discussion of five aggregate which was intergrated into a discussion about the nature of us as individuals being an empty concept. I was fascinated by the description of how everything in creation that interacts is penetrating and interpenetrating all things they come into contact with. The thing is, I can recall the generalized particulars of these concepts, but I couldn't count off on my fingers the four noble truths, the five aggregates and the eightfold path. I can only ever remember one or two items at any given time.

I've felt delight over encountering wisdom. Dark rage flares inside me at the merest hint of what I'm calling entrapment doctrine. I was perusing passages from a book called modern Buddhism, and was disappointed to encounter elements of what I feared were doctrine set out for one branch of Buddhism (it doesn't put me off Buddhism, I just felt disappointed). It worried me a little, contemplating humans as empty far enough troubled me in a similar way that it bothered me when I watched Christians' on a discussion forum try to figure out how they were not de-humanizing humans while they credited all of a human's goodness to an unproven Holy Spirit.

I've armed myself to the teeth with a ton of books; The Heart of Buddhism, Penguin's newer Buddhist Scripture anthology, the Buddhist Bible. I am aware that buying all these books one part obsessive behavior, and another part attempts to compensate for deficient dopamine production in brain activity (a small dose of happiness from getting a new book). I'm still mainly using The Dharma of Star Wars as an introduction; I feel a certain amount of peacefulness while reading through it, while at the same time bemusement that this book is the only one that seems to connect with me, an irreverent text that uses a somewhat vulgar fictional universe to synthesize Buddhist concepts. It connects with me, yet also makes me wonder about if I'm disconnected from the world.

I've noticed that reading in general has been a different experience recently, given what I've learned about the way my brain operates; a constant barrage of thoughts, whirling around and chasing each other, going from tangent to tangent. Reading (fiction or non-fiction) has become a new experience, because I notice that it has an organizing effect on my mind. Unfortunately, it still only works on the reading material that I choose; reading I'm compelled to read by someone else is still a struggle to deal with, attention-wise.

I still can't banish the concept of a God who disappoints, though. I wish I could kick that concept out of my mind, or forget it, or have my thoughts lead me inevitably to rationalize why it's illogical or impractical, but the conception of God that's lodged itself in my brain is one that I can't dislodge, whether trying actively to banish it, or by ignoring it, or trying to come to terms with it in an accepting way.

There peace in some measure, and continued frustration in other ways. The balance between peace and suffering feels more evenly stacked now, perhaps. I hope.

[MannyLopez]

I've reached a point of pause in my studies. While I don't consider myself a Buddhist, I have been doing a fair amount of research. However, now that I am starting to practice mindfulness, and meditation, I've come to a sort of stumbling block.

Simply put, it is hard for me to understand compassion. I understand on some basic level that it is good, but in my life, I have become rather paranoid, and see compassion as weakness. This coupled with my familiarity with anger has brought my practicing to a halt. While I can understand why anger is wrong, and why it causes suffering, I am so used to it, that it feels like home.

A very disconcerting thought.

Basically, I realize that I need to meditate on WHY anger and violence are bad, but its hard to come up with reasons as to why they are so, when I have been raised to believe that they are necessary in this rather dangerous world.

I recently watched a youtube video with an American Buddhist who was talking at USC, and he mentioned the Buddha saying that Buddhism is almost in direct contrast with the human animal, and our base instincts.

I think that is something to think about.

I don't know. Its all very confusing. While reading books, and learning about the Four Noble truths, and the eightfold path, it all sounds very easy, but undergoing the mental shift required to view the world with a bit more mindfulness is much tougher then I thought.

I'm not sure if ANY of that made any sense whatsoever, but its where I am at with my studies into Buddhism.

[insoneeri]

Hi OneoftheLost,

Anger can be harmful emotionally (and physically) both for oneself and others. You might find this Noah Levine video helpful.