[nithhysfusy]

I wonder if this is because Buddhism may have become more of an intellectual exercise for some, rather like reading, studying and writing essays for a university degree. There are so many books and different sites on the internet that can be read and pondered endlessly. However, some of this information could be pointless gobbledegook and there's always a possibly that the all important ground-level practice might be getting neglected in the process.

It also seems like people might be becoming less inclined to actually seek out teachers and meditation groups if it requires some travel out of their local area, or a weekend away at a centre or monastery. (I'm not including people with disabilites or heavy family/work commitments in that)

I'm guilty of that on both counts

Personally speaking, I've found that over-intellectualisation just leads me to confusion rather than understanding!

On the second point, I think this is really important, it was only when I made an effort to seek out a good teacher and sangha that my practice started to progress. Diddiling about with different groups in my local area did not help as they never felt 'right' to me.

I finally found some peace settling on the Thai Forest Tradition of Ajahn Chah, and am very grateful to those people on this forum for giving me the encouragement and guidance to keep looking (particularly Aloka, Esho, and Element).