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Any recommendations for where to start learning?

tangent-man 3y ago
It is said there are 3 jewels in 'Buddhism' the Buddha, the Dhamma (The Teachings - the so called laws of nature/reality) and the Sangha. The word Sangha gets bandied about like nobodies business these days.. and nobody seems to care either.. talk about cultural appropriation! In my opinion westerners who are not ordained and are not true aupasikas have no right to use this word, but alas they do, in droves. I think in this context it means Maha-Sangha .. that is 8 pairs or individuals 4 types of special people: Supatipanno Bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho. Ujupatipanno bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho. Ñāyapatipanno bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho. Sāmīcipatipanno bhagavato sā- vakasaṅgho. Yadidaṁ cattāri purisayugāni aṭṭha purisapuggalā esa bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho. Āhuneyyo. Pāhuneyyo. Dakkhineyyo. Anjalikaranīyo. Anuttaraṁ puññakkhettaṁ lokassā’ti. Of pure conduct is the Order of Disciples of the Blessed One. Of upright conduct is the Order of Disciples of the Blessed One. Of wise conduct is the Order of Disciples of the Blessed One. Of generous conduct is the Order of Disciples of the Blessed One. Those four pairs of persons, the eight kinds of individuals, that is the Order of Disciples of the Blessed One. They are worthy of offerings. They are worthy of hospitality. They are worthy of gifts. They are worthy of reverential salutations. The incomparable field of merit for the world. That is where to start in my opinion. find the true Sangha. there are millions of Buddhist Monks, especially in Asia. I have heard though unfortunately there are only a few thousand perhaps, a handful, practising the true way now. That sadly is the times we are living in. The end of days.. But that is where to start in my opinion. Good luck finding them. _/!\_
m_a_g 3y ago
If you’re new to meditation, then I can highly recommend “Waking Up”.
krzat 3y ago
Here is a good starting point: https://www.reddit.com/r/streamentry/wiki/twim-crash-course https://www.reddit.com/r/streamentry/wiki/twim-crash-course
- thenobsta 3y ago
  Big fan of TWIM. I've tried several methods and TWIM seems to work super well with my brain.
passion__desire 3y ago
HN crowd would love Daniel Ingram and his teachings. https://www.integrateddaniel.info/ https://www.integrateddaniel.info/ https://www.ecstaticintegration.org/p/daniel-ingram-on-emergent-phenomena https://www.ecstaticintegration.org/p/daniel-ingram-on-emerg...
- nico 3y ago
  His book is essentially meditation/realization for overachievers. It is almost the opposite of Zen If you take everything as a task to be done and life as goals to achieve, then that might be a good book Otherwise Reddit’s /r/meditation, /r/streamentry or just the Calm app might be better starting points
  - passion__desire 3y ago
    He is good for theory and without all the woo woo that comes with such traditions.
    - nico 3y ago
      That’s true, the book is very secular and maybe the most scientific you can get about the topics and practices discussed
      - passion__desire 3y ago
        I still find myself going back to Ram Dass and Alan Watts. There is magic in their experiences which shows in their storytelling. They know very well the limits of their experiences. There is a talk in which Ram Dass is telling story about his Guru and at the same time deconstructing it in a funny way.
        nico 3y ago
        They are both amazing storytellers Love Alan Watts lectures, the way he explains things they just seem to make sense. He’s very good at translating the meaning of eastern philosophies into western concepts
uberstuber 3y ago
There's a wonderful group that meets every Saturday to practice and discuss: https://tasshin.com/metta-squad/ https://tasshin.com/metta-squad/
jbgt 3y ago
Two very nice meditation teachers, very skilled. They practice and teach for many years, long time based in Thailand. I like their approach of Compassionate Understanding, compared with some of the more achievement minded approaches we find often in Buddhism in the West. rosemary-steve.org

It is said there are 3 jewels in 'Buddhism' the Buddha, the Dhamma (The Teachings - the so called laws of nature/reality) and the Sangha. The word Sangha gets bandied about like nobodies business these days.. and nobody seems to care either.. talk about cultural appropriation! In my opinion westerners who are not ordained and are not true aupasikas have no right to use this word, but alas they do, in droves. I think in this context it means Maha-Sangha .. that is 8 pairs or individuals 4 types of special people: Supatipanno Bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho. Ujupatipanno bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho. Ñāyapatipanno bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho. Sāmīcipatipanno bhagavato sā- vakasaṅgho. Yadidaṁ cattāri purisayugāni aṭṭha purisapuggalā esa bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho. Āhuneyyo. Pāhuneyyo. Dakkhineyyo. Anjalikaranīyo. Anuttaraṁ puññakkhettaṁ lokassā’ti. Of pure conduct is the Order of Disciples of the Blessed One. Of upright conduct is the Order of Disciples of the Blessed One. Of wise conduct is the Order of Disciples of the Blessed One. Of generous conduct is the Order of Disciples of the Blessed One. Those four pairs of persons, the eight kinds of individuals, that is the Order of Disciples of the Blessed One. They are worthy of offerings. They are worthy of hospitality. They are worthy of gifts. They are worthy of reverential salutations. The incomparable field of merit for the world. That is where to start in my opinion. find the true Sangha. there are millions of Buddhist Monks, especially in Asia. I have heard though unfortunately there are only a few thousand perhaps, a handful, practising the true way now. That sadly is the times we are living in. The end of days.. But that is where to start in my opinion. Good luck finding them. _/!\_

m_a_g 3y ago

If you’re new to meditation, then I can highly recommend “Waking Up”.

krzat 3y ago

Here is a good starting point: https://www.reddit.com/r/streamentry/wiki/twim-crash-course https://www.reddit.com/r/streamentry/wiki/twim-crash-course

thenobsta 3y ago
Big fan of TWIM. I've tried several methods and TWIM seems to work super well with my brain.

passion__desire 3y ago

HN crowd would love Daniel Ingram and his teachings. https://www.integrateddaniel.info/ https://www.integrateddaniel.info/ https://www.ecstaticintegration.org/p/daniel-ingram-on-emergent-phenomena https://www.ecstaticintegration.org/p/daniel-ingram-on-emerg...

nico 3y ago
His book is essentially meditation/realization for overachievers. It is almost the opposite of Zen If you take everything as a task to be done and life as goals to achieve, then that might be a good book Otherwise Reddit’s /r/meditation, /r/streamentry or just the Calm app might be better starting points
- passion__desire 3y ago
  He is good for theory and without all the woo woo that comes with such traditions.
  - nico 3y ago
    That’s true, the book is very secular and maybe the most scientific you can get about the topics and practices discussed
    - passion__desire 3y ago
      I still find myself going back to Ram Dass and Alan Watts. There is magic in their experiences which shows in their storytelling. They know very well the limits of their experiences. There is a talk in which Ram Dass is telling story about his Guru and at the same time deconstructing it in a funny way.
      - nico 3y ago
        They are both amazing storytellers Love Alan Watts lectures, the way he explains things they just seem to make sense. He’s very good at translating the meaning of eastern philosophies into western concepts

uberstuber 3y ago

There's a wonderful group that meets every Saturday to practice and discuss: https://tasshin.com/metta-squad/ https://tasshin.com/metta-squad/

jbgt 3y ago

Two very nice meditation teachers, very skilled. They practice and teach for many years, long time based in Thailand. I like their approach of Compassionate Understanding, compared with some of the more achievement minded approaches we find often in Buddhism in the West. rosemary-steve.org