Where to start
 

Hello,

My Dilemma would be where what school ,style to go with so far i have read about Zen, Shambhala, Nichiren Sōka Gakkai, and New Kadampa Tradition, any advice and help would be appreciatedhttp://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...milies/bow.gif,

hi Jupiter

the advice i usually give is to ask ourself what we are looking for and then decide which school resonates with us

visiting some respective buddhist centres can also help us to make the right choice for ourself

kind regards

element http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ilies/grin.gif

Namaste Jupiter,

I echo Element's post.

In metta,
Raven

Hi, again, Jupitermadcat,

If I were you, I'd start with the most general overviews of each school, written by objective non-adherents to those schools. You'll most likely find one that resonates with you a little than the others. Start investigating that one a little further and see what it leads. There are a lot of dead ends along the path, but you eventually develop a knack for spotting them from a distance. http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ilies/grin.gif

Jupitermadcat

You have left a few traditions out, get hold of the book Buddhism for Dummies or something similar, it will give you a basic explanation of all the major and not so major traditions. As an afterthought I would suggest that you take great care in any of your relationships with the New Kadampa Tradition (NKT). Try googling it.

Keep to the basics of the Buddhist teaching, I believe you will need no more.

Best wishes in you search and endeavours.

Peace

Gerry

A gentle reminder about a request in our Code of Conduct:

"Members are requested to avoid posting discussions or media items concerning controversial practices, traditions and disputes within Vajrayana Buddhism as these issues can lead to deep divisions between online sangha."

Thanks http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...lies/hands.gif

For some reason shambhala Buddhism seems to have my attention even though i haven't visited a center yet i have been reading about them maybe being a westerner it resonates with me i don't know the center is a bit of a drive.

I go with this advise. Going to the basics will give you, at list, a good notion of what the Buddha taught. By "nature" most of the traditions have shifted from those teachings in several degrees. To know this is important because can give you some criteria and a wide perspective so to chose what really you need to practice in accordance to your basic believes and temper. I think that we have different needs and temper and some traditions offer believes, rites, rituals and cultural artifacts that can meet those needs and also fit with your temper and basic moods.

http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ilies/grin.gif

So would you advice me to read and maybe practice at home for a while first?

Hi Jupiter,

Why not research the teachings of the Theravada Thai Forest tradition which are very pure and without add ons ?

I recommend you start with Ajahn Chah and Ajahn Sumedho

You can find some talks to listen to here...

http://www.dhammatalks.org.uk/

You also might like to read this:

http://www.buddhanet.net/4noble.htm

with kind wishes,

A-D

Yes Jupiter. And Aloka's advice sounds very good. Thai Forest tradition has a very fresh and practical approach to the teachings of Buddha.

http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ilies/grin.gif

Thank you i will add it to the to do list which is starting to get pretty long lol http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ies/tongue.gif

I know what you meanhttp://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...milies/lol.gif

So much to read and absorb so little time to do so....

I'm quite new to Buddhism myself although I have had an interest for some years I've now started to look deeper.
I thought I would just look at Buddhism in general to start with but I'm strongly leaning towards Vipassana due to the talks i've been listening to on audio dharma http://www.audiodharma.org/

Metta

I'm a fan of things from the Pali Canon because, to my mind, that's the closest way to get to the heart of Buddha Sakyamuni's teachings. Of course, ultimately we should all follow what's in our hearts and minds and what resonates with us.

Same here cole... http://www.discussworldissues.com/fo...ilies/wink.gif

Is there an English translation of the Pali cannon available?

Is there an English translation of the Pali cannon available? Yes, you can find quite a lot of it at the Access To Insight website.

Here's the site map:

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/help.html#map