Are there any buddhists here?

The London Buddhist Vihara is in Chiswick (very near Turnham Green tube), they run 10 week (evening) beginners courses and an advanced 10 week course too, as well as weekly meditation classes.
I attended the beginners course last year and it was very intersting, but a couple of domestic issues prevented me doing the advanced course. I hope, one day to get back to the meditation class (I only went once!), as I feel it is a good thing.
There's a nice bloke at Chiswick called Richard, who helps out, but the courses are mainly run by the monks.
Hope that helps.

Forgot to mention there is a library there also, which is very good and books are reasonably priced too!

The library is run on trust IE they trust you to pay for the books, which is very refreshing!

Me, I'm not a Buddhist (being a Christian) but I do find many aspects of it very helpful. As with any religion it's not really something you can dabble with, cherry picking the bits which are convenient and ignoring the rest. If you embrace it, live it, you will gain structure and focus so I guess you need to ask yourself what are you looking for and how far are you willing to go.

Where to start? I've found the books by the Dalai Lama helpful. Obviously it's only his take on Buddhism (Tibetan at that) and does not cover the other branches practiced elsewhere. Again you will need to know which school you are interested in.

Another book (although not Buddhist) I use is "The Heart of Yoga" by T K V Desikachar which deals with the philosophy of yoga and the Sutras of Pantachali. It isn't a book of postures but of living.

The third book I've found inspirational (and again not Buddhist as such) is "The Marriage of East and West" by Bede Griffiths. A Roman Catholic monk who set up an ashram in southern India with the intention of rediscovering the mystery of religion and bring it back to Christianity. This he felt was best done through Eastern philosophy and religious practice.

Seriously, it's a brave step to take and I wish yo well. If there is anything specific I can help with I will try.

Tom
Namaste

You could do a lot worse than Richard Causton's Buddha in Daily Life, An Introduction to the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin or his book simply called Nicheren Shoshu Buddhism. Very easy and enjoyable reads.

Useful links http://www.sgi-uk.org/m1/links/l1.html

Been at this for a number of years now. Two chapters in "The Way of Zen" by Alan Watts have been more helpful to me than probably everything else I've read: "Empty and Marvelous", and "Sitting Quietly, Doing Nothing" (Chs. 1 and 2, respectively, of Part II of the book). Despite the title, it's more broadly applicable than just Zen.

Apart from that, research which type of meditation seems to be the most appealing or the best fit for you personally (a Google search will bring loads of info on the basic types).

Then, just do it. Practice. Experiment. If you're like me, much of what you read will only make sense in stages - little breakthroughs in meditation come, then a bit more of what's written becomes clear.

I also recommend finding a center nearby, and getting to know other Buddhists. Tremendous resource, great community.

j

Thank you all, I am really interested in your journey's & I will keep you posted on mine.

Dev, some of my nicest friends are Buddhists. My Austrian cousins are very Buddhist and very nice. One of them explained Feng Shui at inordinate length and told us where to position the girls bunk so that they slept better and became very nice. It didn't work but nor did we laugh or think him a charlatan - only a Buddhist could pull off that trick whilst talking Feng Shui!

The only problem I can see if you become a Buddhist is that you may become too nice since you're very nice already.

I'm slightly confused. Isn't the purpose here to follow a spiritual philosophy which brings you closer to the nature of God (call it what you will) rather than relying on a set on repeated physical practices. Meditation and mantra, the practice of yoga, taking communion, confession etc are surely merely a physical means to open the mind to greater awareness but true enlightenment is gained through the study of your religion and by your actions based on what you learn. Surely that is of more import than just learning to meditate (good though that is)?

I ask this not to cast a value judgement but to learn and to help Dev on his path.

Hi Tom. I don't pretend to speak from anything other than my own limited understanding, but my take is that the goal is realization attained by entering and then transcending a higher state of consciousness, and meditation is the fundamental mechanism for bringing this realization about. It's much, much more than a rite or an exercise - it is central to the practice.

The Noble Eightfold Path is the course of action one takes to achieve this. My experience is that only through meditation can I come anywhere close to the state of mind necessary to gain insight into these goals.

Volumes have been written on this subject; this is just my own little viewpoint.

j

Fair enough, I just worry that the ritual becomes the most important part of worship/devotion and is and end in its self. Something I've seen in Christianity, as well as other religions.

It is of course useless to judge because only God* can know your relationship with Him

Tom

* Using a term I can relate to. Feel free to substitute a term you feel comfortable with.

quote:

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Originally posted by Tom Alves:
I'm slightly confused. Isn't the purpose here to follow a spiritual philosophy which brings you closer to the nature of God (call it what you will) rather than relying on a set on repeated physical practices. Meditation and mantra, the practice of yoga, taking communion, confession etc are surely merely a physical means to open the mind to greater awareness but true enlightenment is gained through the study of your religion and by your actions based on what you learn. Surely that is of more import than just learning to meditate (good though that is)?

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Hello Tom. I was just passing through and thought I'd pop in.

I think you make a valid point about enlightenment being gained by one's actions (although I'm not sure about it being gained through the study of one's religion).

It has been said (by someone more enlightened than I) that prayer is talking to G-d while meditation is listening.

Steve Margolis
defy convention - make music

I suppose the aim is either to have a dialogue or to become one with God depending on your understanding of His Nature.

"Study of religion" I left deliberately vague but I think one can't move forward without some understanding of the philosphies and context they originally delivered in.

Tom

Dev,

A friend of mine is currently reading this, one of the few books that's meant to be both sympathetic and critical. Information on the author.

Thomas

Hi Dev,

I've been thinking about this myself over the last while. I picked up this link from the Sunday Times recently.

http://www.buddhanet.net/

I haven't really explored it much yet but it seems quite comprehensive.

Cheers,

Calum

Dev,
Although I am a lifelong atheist and intend to remain so, I have some interest in Buddhism and would like to contribute to this thread. However, I am not sure what you are really asking. Consequently, this is a wild guess that may be totally wrong but here goes:

My guess is that perhaps you have some degree of reticence or doubt - I'm thinking in terms of the idea of "converting" to Buddhism. If so then I suggest the answer may be to do Buddhism rather than to become Buddhist. From my atheist perspective, at least, the first is more meaningful than the second...

If not then ermmm... sorry.

there's buddhism, then there's richard gere, then there's steven seagal.

buddha never made himself to be a god, did he?
iirc buddhism has devils and temptations, but no god.

the world could use more of the buddhism's "let go of ego", ie. chill out. things happen(karma) and roll on with it(with better behaviour).

standing to be corrected, but buddhism is all about improving oneself(attitude, behaviour, regard for others etc) through disciplined thinking and living. without resorting to help from above.

i recently read 'the snow leopard' by P. Matthiesen. Ostensibly about climbing the Nepalese himalayas and his life with Buddhism, but to me really was about a particular special bag man.

a few set-up caveats:

i) thai and tibetan buddhists eat meat.

ii) the dalai lama started as a political appointment from the medieval mongolian court. buddhism may teach tolerance, but the DL doesn't seem to support certain liberal issues in western countries.

iii) buddhism in mongolia was wiped out by apathy, politics and syphillis.

the gardening man in the weekend pink financial newspaper recently wrote of an intrepid irish/scotsman who collected plants in Yunnan province of China and had to run and hide as the Llamas of tibet at the time(early 1900s) were butchering any foreigners they could find. primarily because the french christian missionaries were encroaching on the turf.

Canon the camera is named after Kannon the goddess of mercy, or GuanYing in China. i don't know what the connection between Buddha and these later 'gods' is. maybe its different re-incarnations.

enjoy the journey. at its purest form(ie. involves only you), Buddhist teachings, so far as i've scratched only the surface, has no political agenda. unlike all the other civilisational/political/expansionist temples. buddhism teaches tolerance and peace of mind.

just be.
no mind.

best

naim at source

[This message was edited by where's vuk? on Sat 15 May 2004 at 17:42.]

To add to the confusion, if you take Buddhism to its logical extreme you can apply it as an atheistic creed. This I admit is NOT the normal approach but you might find it helpful.

quote:

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Originally posted by where's vuk?:

things happen(karma)

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More that "things are made to happen through thought / action" In all we do and think we generate Karma for good or ill.

quote:

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Originally posted by where's vuk?:
there's buddhism, then there's richard gere, then there's steven seagal.

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No, he's just the ship's chef.

I've been reading a new book and having some thoughts and, as it's pertinent to this thread and to our search for 'truth & beauty', I thought I'd reawaken this thread.

The book is called "Destructive Emotions - How Can We Overcome Them". It is 'A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama' and is narrated by Daniel Goleman.

Our species needs books like this, particularly at this time, and I can recommend this one.

The foreword is by The Dalai Lama who says, and I quote: "Buddhism and science are not conflicting perspectives on the world, but rather differing approaches to the same end: seeking the truth. In Buddhist training, it is essential to investigate reality, and science offers its own ways to go about this investigation. While the purposes of science may differ from those of Buddhism, both ways of searching for truth expand our knowledge and understanding."

It strikes me that this is also true for the subjective and objective approaches to hi-fi. I consider speaker design to be a search for truth and beauty, as music can convey so much beauty while it's reproduction must be a search for truth, so I'd like to tie the above in with a couple of other recent events that have affected me on the subject of beauty.

The first was an article in 'The Sunday Telegraph' by Kevin Myers (although I read it in 'The Week'). The article was about 'The Motorcycle Diaries', a new film about Che Guevara that critics are raving about.

Basically he makes the point that Guevara oversaw the cold-blooded murder of countless political opponents in the sixties but that thanks to his good looks - captured in the famous portrait by Alberto Korda - 'this bloodthirsty savage' has become a global icon.

He then makes the point that "Guevara is a hero to the historically-ignorant and the very young, who cannot 'recognize evil when its guise is beauty and its lie is love'".

It's not just the young either. This hit home for me when I re-watched 'Cabaret' on TV this week. The scene where the beautiful young Aryan boy - resplendent in his Nazi uniform -sings 'Tomorrow Belongs to Me' and where, by the end of the song everyone is joining in, superbly illustrates the ugliness that can be inherent in beauty - unless it's beauty with truth.

Now, I'm not saying that anyone who listens to an 'inaccurate hi-fi system' which claims to be truthful is necessarily Nazi-fodder. Still, it makes you think.

Steve Margolis
defy convention - make music