Hello all: Introduce yourself in this thread or just read it to meet the members

[Samsara Addict]

I never noticed this bit when I first logged on. So this is a better late than never introduction.

First, I'd like to thank the administrators for putting together such a good site and thanks to all the participants for sharing their thoughts on the dhamma.

None of my friends share my interest so its good to be here in the company of like minded souls.

I'm inspired primarily by the teachings of Gautama Buddha but I don't consider myself a buddhist. With regard to reincarnation and an afterlife I'm agnostic. All I know is that the dhamma helps me live in greater harmony with myself and others. I was introduced to the Buddhism about 5 years ago. I was so excited. I read everything I could get my hands on and went on several retreats. Since then my enthusiasm and dedication has waxed and waned. Its on the way up at the moment. I recently spent a few weeks in a Kuti at a Theravadin monestery in Australia.

I have been inspired by the teachings of many people from scientific, philosophical and religious backgrounds including: Albert Einstein, Henry David Thoreau, Rumi, Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg, Stephen Batchelor, Mattieu Ricard, Alan Watts, Ram Dass, Richard Dawkins, Osho, Jesus Christ, Dalai Lama, Kahil Gibran, Carl Sagan, Krishnamurti, Ramana Maharshi, Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, Stephen Mitchell, Lao Tzu, Leo Tolstoy, James Lovelock, John Gray, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Bertrand Russell, Paul Gilbert, Villanyeur Ramachandran, Jack Kornfield, Christopher Titmuss, Ajahn Chah, Henepola Gunaratana, Jiro Taniguchi, Thich Nhat Hanh, Mahasi Saydaw, B.F. Skinner, Aaron Beck, Sigmund Freud, Oliver Sacks, Carl Rogers, John Kabat Zinn, Dan Dennett and last but definitely not least, Woody Allen.

Glad to be a part of this virtual community. Isn't the web great!

[Matthew]

Welcome again Samsara Addict Good to hear about you.

Outer peace and harmony come from inner peace and harmony. There is no need to travel to find it or hear the teachings beyond simple sitting instructions. Indeed these can be a distraction. The main point is to make life as simple as possible and then spend the rest of the time meditating with correct technique.

Yes the web is great. And thank you for your comments on the site. I set it up over a few days last october when I was in a hospital bed. My co-conspirator Joe and i hatched the plan over a few days and we went live two or three days after buying the domain. The community heart however existed before at vipassanaforum.com founded by dear Anders - who lurks here but doesn't post  HINT HINT.

We have grown slowly as a Sangha which we always hoped for and activity waxes and wanes but with a bit of web savvy programming and Tricycle blog reviewed the site within days of launch we're listed highly at google and we get a lot of visitors.

Looking forward to more of your contributions to the site. We have a little fun as well as talk about meditatoin.

in the Dhamma,

Matthew

[jadedragon]

  Good Day Dharma friends,

  My name is Casey, I live in the small town of Pai, in Mae Hongson province, Thailand.  I am married to a Lisu woman named Aloma, we have two lovely sons together.  I am a Fire Dragon, born on Nov. 5th, 1976.  My wife is a Fire Dragon, our youngest son Cha is a Fire Pig, Oldest son Chachai is a Rat.
  Vipassana is a huge part of my life: I am a student of Kate Chindaporn and Ajahn Tong Sirimangalo, from Wat Prathat Chomtong, in Chiang Mai Thailand.  There are many vipassana centers and forest monasteries located around Thailand.  The closet Forest Monastery to me that accepts regular Western practitioners is on route to Mae Hongonson, a place named "Wat Tham Wua" which means "Cow Cave Meditation Monastery"  Amazing place, surrounded by a forest of bamboo, and pure clean streams of icy cool waters.
I teach a style of yoga and meditation here in Pai called Thai Hermit Yoga, basically during my retreats we focus on yoga the first part of the morning, and vipassana\insight meditation in the afternoons.
I'm stoked to be a part of this community!
-In Loving Kindness,
Casey

[Matthew]

Hey Casey Welcome!

I hitch-hiked up the dirt Road (as it was then) from Mae Sot to Mae Sariang and then on to Mae Hong Son in 1990 - not so far from where you are

Really looking forward to your contributions to the Sangha - sounds like you run some very interesting retreats.

In the Dhamma,

Matthew

[Purple]

Hello, all:

My name's Brent but everyone calls me Purple due to a particularly awesome hair style choice in college.  I'm 34 and I've been practicing Buddhism for about 10 years now.  I started out in Vajrayana but it was too mystical and secretive for my tastes.  I dabbled in Zen and found it to be very patriarchal, opaque and tangled in cultural trappings.  I've always been most interested in what the Buddha actually practiced and taught.  Naturally, I ended up in the Theravada/Vipassana world.  Despite never having met him, I consider Noah Levine to be my primary teacher.  His first book, Dharma Punx, is what drew me to this tradition.  He considers Buddhism to be rebellious and revolutionary and that approach speaks to me in a very personal way.  I have many of his talks on my iPod and his voice has become a constant companion. 

We've emailed several times about the future I'd like to have as a Dharma teacher.  I live in Lexington, KY and there aren't many Buddhist options here.  There's a Shambhala Center and a Korean Zen group and that's about it.  I would like to actually learn from Noah face-to-face and eventually receive his blessing to teach in my hometown.  For that to happen I'll have to travel to LA a few times a year to his group, Against The Stream Buddhist Meditation Society.  His suggestion was for me to start a meditation group on my own, to teach what I already know to like-minded folks.  From there he thinks I might be able to raise enough money through donations from the group, as well as my family and the community, to cover my annual travel expenses. 

So that's what I'm trying to do.  I've got several people here interested in the meditation group and I'm trying to find a place large enough (and free enough) for us to meet every week.  I was pleased to find this online sangha and I hope I can benefit from it as I begin this endeavor.  My practice in KY has existed largely in a vacuum.  I'm excited about this opportunity for support and encouragement. 

Thanks for being here.

Purple

[jadedragon]

  Hey Purple!

  Welcome to the community, I just joined a few days ago, really like the idea of an online Sangha.
Anyway, I live in Thailand, have been here in the north for nine years now, I am an original NYC boy.

  Vipassana and Yoga are my life, and I teach both, Noah Levine seems very much on the same page as what I'm all about, check out these cool Bundles I created on Vipassana in Thailand and Vipassana in Burma.  Because why go to L.A. when you can go straight to the source!
Not knocking your Teacher, but you get my point.  Thailand has a wealth of Forest Monasteries with amazing monks and practitioners, spaces where you can come, chill, be silent, practice, basically do whatever you want without anyone bothering you, and you can stay as long as you like!

  If your ever interested in coming to this part of the world to practice Vipassana, Yoga, or just hang out and drink fine Teas, look me up, I will help however I can..

Yours in Dhamma,
Casey

[Matthew]

Purple

Welcome to the forums. I'd never heard of Noah Levine - I read a little and found him very interesting. Is he linked with Fleet Maul and the Prison Dharma Network?

I'm really looking forward to your contributions to the forum. We're deliberately egalitarian in approach, very much a mutual support society and a source of information and sharing of experiences. Hopefully we can help fill the gap, the vacuum of non-Sangha you have been living in.

I started serious Dhamma practice nine years ago in a  Shambhala Centre where I lived, worked and sat retreats for 18 months, and saw the Vajrayana practitioners. I swore never to take up Tantra. So my practice has always been Shamatha Vipassana and the Noble Eightfold Path and the Four Immeasurables and meditation in action.

This heas lead me more and more towards a Therevadin perspective, reinforced with some study of the Pali Cannon. I also had the honour of a brief but important relationship with a Zen Master, Kobun Chino Roshi - a man who broke all the rules to wake people up. I learned Caligraphy from him and much more.

Again, welcome,

In the Dhamma,

Matthew

[Purple]

Thanks for the invite, Casey.  If I ever head down Thailand way I'll give you a shout.

TIB- I'm not sure if Noah's involved with Fleet Maull.  I don't believe so but I know he is active in teaching Dharma in the prison system.  I was involved with the Shambhala community for several years.  I lived at Karme Choling in VT for 3 months and it was the beginning of the end for me.  The organization is so political and bureaucratic I couldn't take it.  I also had a lot of trouble with everyone's devotion to the founder.  Eventually all the back-biting and secrets forced me out, and I'm glad of it. 

Thank you for the kind welcome, guys.  I look forward to participating here.

Purple

[jadedragon]

  Greetings all,

  Well, here's the order of the day, a complete Bundle on Noah Levine.  I included some video clips, as well as the official home page for Dharma Punx.
  He's a soft spoken gentle sounding man, which is nice.  I too agree that bureaucracy and too much politics in the Sangha drives me away, there's a lot of that here as well in Thailand: monks and seniority, and all that jazz, I usually associate myself more with the Thai Forest Tradition.  The Forest Monks have the right idea: meditate and wander in the forests, never stay in one place too long.  Post up in a nice little forest monastery during the rains retreat, and after the rains hit the open roads again.
  A very nice, peaceful way to exist...

In Dhamma,
Casey

[Samsara Addict]

Hi Purple and Casey,

Purple- Lovin the picture.

Casey- Liking the sound of the wondering forest monks.

Del

[kamika]

Hello.

My name is Philip.
Immediately before attending a 10 course in the goenka system, i was a Jehovah's Witness, though I had not attended meetings with the Witnesses for about a year, mainly because i didn't feel connected with any one.
I came to the course because my friend was going and i was going to be their ride.
it had a profound, but not too unexpected effect on me. after the first discourse i knew that if i worked seriously and attentively, i would reap the benefits.
When i lived in my car in san francisco for 8 months working as a cafe barista in the general hospital, i read the entire "Buddha" comic book series by osamu tezuka which was at the library.
and if you don't know osamu tezuka... he's the guy who made astroboy and gigantor and simba the lion.
funny stuff.
But that was my introduction to Buddhism.
I'm 22, i enjoy living in my car, i'm thinking about selling kites.
immediately after the 10 day course i considered being a monk living off of the charity of others from town to town, but i realize i have a ways to go before i do that.
As i guess my back ground of being a former jehovah's witness makes me appreciate things like non sectarianism, and no idols. My biggest craving... is love itself, and i realized how it made me suffer when i expected to be loved in the same way from others. I kept on having brief flashbacks of star wars during the meditation, i guess it's the nerd in me, and star wars had major influences from Buddhism.

I seek to find a partner who would like to travel with me around the continent, living as non complacent travelers helping each other benefit from the practicality of having two heads. I was living with a girl who i adored for about a month before going to the meditation thing with her, but she didn't take the meditation as seriously (notebooks and mp3player) so she was a major distraction when i was readapting because she kept on getting annoyed by the simplest things and sending that negativity directly at me, but we had our good times for about a week and then she went back to where she came from and i went back to my parents, and now I'm planning on going to another 10 course at a different location from the first one i went to during the holidays and leaving soon, even though i have a good relationship with my parents and the bed is warm, i got a cavity filled so i don't feel a reason to stay because it would only cause attachment to grow.

One of the coolest things, we feeling what real unselfish love was like, agape, or metta as it is called.

I'd like to learn the pali language, i think it's beautiful. i learned Japanese out of mere curiosity (and because i was a major anime fan)

I think it would be cool to talk to folks on instant messenger if any one is up for that.
my screen name is kamika1986 on AIM.

Gbye for now.

[Matthew]

Welcome Philip, I am glad you have found meditation and hope the forum can help you along your path.

In the Dhamma,

Matthew

[one.love]

Hello there, my name is corey im 21 years old and i live in canada. I had frequented this site alot when i was younger looking for tips on my meditations techniques. I had run astray from my spiritual well being for the longest time, now i am making it a large priority of my life to get myself back on track with my meditation and put some work into my inner emotions and hopefully better myself as a whole, which in turn i hope will better those around me from a lack of a negative impact from me. I feel very negative towards my life lately and im hoping to turn it into something positive in my future.

[pamojjam]

Welcome to our community Corey.

may you find that it becomes an aid to your emotional healing!

kind regards..

[one.love]

Welcome to our community Corey.

may you find that it becomes an aid to your emotional healing!

kind regards..

I have feelings of great promise on my road to spiritual discovery.
peace be with you

[Matthew]

Dear Corey,

Welcome to the forums. I am on and off at the moment for personal reasons but having read a little of your other posts you seem very open minded and determined. I have no doubt your efforts will bear good fruit in terms of more positivity in your life and greater understanding of yourself and others.

I trust that in some way this community can be an aid to you on that journey or you would not have found us.

In the Dhamma,

Matthew

[Slartibartfast]

Hello all, My name is Stephen.

I have only read about meditation (I liked Dharma Punx and am reading Against the stream by Noah Levine, any other reccommendations gratefully accepted) but would be keen to practice. I know of no Vipassana sanghas in Northern Ireland though.

[Matthew]

Hi Stephen,

Welcome to the forums. Have a look through our library section and you will find book recommendations, video's to watch and Dhamma talks to listen to. I would be really surprised if no one is teaching Vipassana in NI. I'll see what I can discover for you.

In the Dhamma,

Matthew

[Slartibartfast]

There is a Zen centre and an NKT centre, It's logistics really, I live in a small rural village and don't drive.

I have looked believe me lol. I've tried the Samantha centre a few times but get no reply. I'd appreciate any help you can give.

[grishma]

Hello,
This is Grishma here from India.
i am currently doing engineering in INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.

[Matthew]

Hello Grishma

Welcome to the forums,

In the Dhamma,

Matthew

[mindful1983]

hi. my name's mitch. I became increasingly interested in buddhism and meditation only since July this year, and by accident, as I was searching on help for my anxiety problems. I stumbled upon a long thread discussion in an anxiety forum. Since then, I started to listen to Gil Fronsdal and others' talks in zencast and audiodharma.org, especially while commuting. My meditation habits are currently on and off, i guess inconsistent.

I've had a history of addiction and psych. disorders ever since I was a kid. My greatest cravings now are cigarettes and food. I was able to quit drugs and alcohol for 3 years last oct. my addiction counselor's best advice that i recall was to focus on my feeling, and not the ego, and to breathe. (similar to buddhist practices)

I said I believed I got into this more as a necessity than a choice, as my mental and physical health was deteriorating. It has helped me tremendously.

I live in the philippines, and don't know anyone here who meditates or whos into buddhism. I feel buddhism is consistent with how I see existence. I am not too familiar with all the different kinds of buddhism (zen, etc), but I guess the vipasanna/samatha is what I read most about and am trying to learn more about.

My goal is to be more consistent with my meditation, and to learn more, and to one day be cut out to maybe do a 10 day vipasanna retreat here in the Phils. (as it would require no smoking for 10days  )

Im glad to be in this forum and am looking forward to sticking around!

[frepi]

Welcome.
I too turned to meditation in search of ways to cope with life more easily. Having my basic needs more than fully satisfied, I soon understood that my misery was much more linked to my own psyche than to life itself. Though I cannot say I reached serenity, I have seen small changes in my life that meditation brought to see how powerfull this tool is.

I would like to note to you that meditation (vipassana at least) is not linked to a religious practice though it should be practiced "religiously". I was born catholic but I see myself as agnostic. Meditation is not a act of faith, it is grounded in real experience. As such, anyone, believer or non-believer can benefit from it.

[mindful1983]

Thank you frepi!

I noticed the changes too in a short span of time. I noticed that the amount of time and energy I invest in meditation and mindfulness is strongly proportional to how good my life is. Some weeks I'm well behaved on my mindfulness and doing great and vise versa.

I was going over some texts, and saw faith as a prerequisite, and when I read the description, i felt it was defined like 'confidence'. I was also raised catholic til 13, then agnostic. I like the idea of thinking about faith as confidence

[Matthew]

Mitch,

Welcome to the forums

I was going over some texts, and saw faith as a prerequisite, and when I read the description, i felt it was defined like 'confidence'. I was also raised catholic til 13, then agnostic. I like the idea of thinking about faith as confidence

This is absolutely a correct interpretation of the texts. When the Buddha talks of faith he is saying "believe this long enough to try it for yourself and see if it works" or "put to one side your doubt long enough to try this and see if it works".

It is a very different kind of faith to that "demanded" by other religions: "Thou shalt believe or suffer!" - which is a silly instruction - because if you believe out of fear you aren't believing at all merely saying so because you have been taught to fear "not believing".

Welcome again,

Matthew