Any Buddhists here?

[Kimberley]

Hi guys,

I am interested in learning about Buddhism. I have already done a bit of mindfulness but I'd love to get into some formal meditation and learning. There are so many types though, that I don't know where to start.

It'd be nice to do something sympathetic to addiction recovery (with ideas about attachment etc), which is why I'm asking here. I really think it would help me with my final issues around Borderline Personality Disorder and self-comforting.

It'd be great to hear from anyone with suggestions.

Thanks x

[dixon]

Any Buddhists here?

Kimberley;1375848 wrote: Hi guys,

I am interested in learning about Buddhism. I have already done a bit of mindfulness but I'd love to get into some formal meditation and learning. There are so many types though, that I don't know where to start.

It'd be nice to do something sympathetic to addiction recovery (with ideas about attachment etc), which is why I'm asking here. I really think it would help me with my final issues around Borderline Personality Disorder and self-comforting.

It'd be great to hear from anyone with suggestions.

Thanks x

Yes, I do believe in mindfulness ,meditation and have good relationship with the Buddhist people and societies ,I will PM you about my know how with Buddhism.I am not extremist for any religion but believe in oneness of GOD.The more I can say here is I can give you every direct link about the Buddha, from his birth place and if you wish we can start a recovery plan from the place where the Buddha was born( I have some lands and properties there already ).I can send you more in PM if you wish .
Dix

[nancy]

Any Buddhists here?

buddhism

We have some great old threads on that topic. You can search for them. You should check out the author Pema Chodron, a Buddhist nun. She would be the perfect introduction for you. Also Jon Kabatt-Zin has a great book called Mindful Way Through Depression. And you can look up formal Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) classes in your area. I think MBSR may be secular but it's based on the Buddhist principles. Buddha it seems was a pioneer in cognitive based psychology!

[Guitarista]

Any Buddhists here?

Hi Kimberley,

I practice mindfulness and meditation daily, and pretty much buddhist by default, but i am just starting out in this area. I can dob in 2 MWO'er's though, who would be worth talking to. Lavande (mindfulness, not sure re buddhism), and Rags (buddhist, but currently travelling the world, back in a couple of weeks).

I'm sure there are a few more Buddhists among us.

G-bloke.

[Kradle123]

Any Buddhists here?

Hi Kimberly :h

I have been a practicing Nichiren Buddhist since 1995. I believe that there is a KIKAN or cultural center in London but I don't know where. I have the web site here in the US which pretty much answers most of your basic questions

SGI-USA: Buddhist Association for Peace, Culture and Education, Nichiren Buddhism

Buddhism is such a simple philosophy to adopt but i have found it very profound and difficult practice to follow. It is a complete force of nature which bases its tenets on the interdependence of all things and self -responsiblity through wisdom and compassion. My addictions often lead me to fight against my true self, my connectedness, my wisdom. I mostly sought solitude and what I thought was safety but my practice has kept me out of the grave, out of jail and for the most part out of the paths of lots of bullets (figurative! )

We chant every morning and evening the five characters or The title of the Buddhas highest teaching The Lotus Sutra: Nam Myo Ho Renge Kyo. I find silent meditation completely painful. I have KFKD radio in my head a lot and too much silence turns up the volume! I find that using my voice, chanting creates and amazing place of peace for me.

We do have a recovery group here in Seattle called , The Lotus Group. I haven't been in quite some time, preferring to work with my district members and stay close to them. We meet every Teusday. I am so grateful for them!!

Anyway, I love my Buddhist community, my Buddha Buddies. Many of us share the same struggles we share here at MWO. I hope the web site is helpful. I think it will steer you to The SGI or Soka Gakkai International in London.

PM if you'd like. I'm still trying to buy your book!!

Hugs and strength,
:h:l

[Cinders]

Any Buddhists here?

I am not going to Google or search about Buddhism. I lived in Taiwan as a young girl and had many "souvenirs" about Buddha in my house growing up.

One time I asked about Buddha.

Here is what I was told and I am even lesser than wikipedia, so please take this with a HUGE grain of salt, but from someone who was a flower child in a Buddha wedding and with care givers who were Buddhist:

Buddha was an Indian Prince whose father told him to "go forth and conquer." He engaged in a battle on the field and won. He then rode through the battlefield after the carnage and looked "not observed, looked" at the death and destruction around him.

He decided that from then on, he would seek truth and enlightenment.

Buddhism is not a religion, it is a way of living.

This is all based on being raised by two Buddhist maids as a child. I am not sure how much of this applies.

Love,
Cindi

[dixon]

Any Buddhists here?

Hi Cinders,

You got a false information about the birth place of Buddha.Buddha was born In Nepal.Many people still don't know that Nepal is a different country and it lies in India.It is a small beautiful country of Mt. Everest and birth place of Buddha.His Royal palace was in Lumbini, Nepal.
He was just kept inside the palace so that he never would see the pain and sorrow of the people.

One day , he saw a procession of death funerals when he was out of palace and ask his assistance what is that.And the person( I dont know the name now ) given him the information about death.Then he realised that he also going to die . He wondered cause he was never been allowed by the King to see any tragedies.Then he simply left the palace to seek the real truth of life.After travelling to many countries I got his enlightenment in India under the Boddhi Tree.
Thats why India has claimed he was born in India which is 100 % false.You can see so many investments in the project of Buddhism in Lumbini,Nepal.Here is a link which is authentic site of UNESCO Lumbini - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
That's a short information about his birth place I have now.
Dix

[Kradle123]

Any Buddhists here?

Cinders;1376074 wrote: I am not going to Google or search about Buddhism. I lived in Taiwan as a young girl and had many "souvenirs" about Buddha in my house growing up.

One time I asked about Buddha.

Here is what I was told and I am even lesser than wikipedia, so please take this with a HUGE grain of salt, but from someone who was a flower child in a Buddha wedding and with care givers who were Buddhist:

Buddha was an Indian Prince whose father told him to "go forth and conquer." He engaged in a battle on the field and won. He then rode through the battlefield after the carnage and looked "not observed, looked" at the death and destruction around him.

He decided that from then on, he would seek truth and enlightenment.

Buddhism is not a religion, it is a way of living.

This is all based on being raised by two Buddhist maids as a child. I am not sure how much of this applies.

Love,
Cindi

Hi Cindi:

I mean no disrespect but your understanding of Buddism is completely wrong...

I'm unsure what to say except thank you Dix for providing some basic historical info on Siddartha Buddha.

PS Buddhism is a philosophy of life but fundamentally all religions speak to a way of living. :h
:l

[Kimberley]

Any Buddhists here?

Wow thanks for all the responses guys. I have spent a long time googling and trying to learn. I think there is a lot that Buddhism can help people in recovery with (we know we should NEVER stop working on our recovery, right?)

I found a great orgnaisation in the US called Dharma Punx that is run for people who have kinda rebelled against life, including many people recovering from substances. It was set up by someone in recovery (the most tatooed man ever by the looks of things) who has been clean and studying Bhuddism for around 20 years called Noah Levine. And another one has been set up since by a similar guy, Josh Korda. Google some videos of them talking - amazing. There are also some great mp3s on the Dharma Punx websites, including talking about Buddhism and recovery.

I think this is a great set-up - I wish we had that in the UK. Although someone has given me the email address of someone who runs a sitting group for people in recovery in London, so I'll defintiely drop him a line to see what it's all about.

Having looked at the info, for me personally I think the original Theravada path would be most useful for me to follow initially, as it's about developing inner comforting and coping resources, which are sometimes lacking in me due to my BPD, as well as living right by other people (which I think I already do anyway for the most part).

[nancy]

Any Buddhists here?

coping skills

I found the philosophy very helpful in a lot of ways. I am not so sure about inner comforting though. You can learn observe your thoughts and view them as passing clouds. So if they are negative, you can not take them seriously. That's great for people suffering with a mental condition and comorbid substance abuse problem. It teaches you not to change reality but to learn to be comfortable with all states of being, and that everything is in a state of change. Because it teaches comfort with change, it teaches comfort with loss and growth. Focusing on the breath can be useful. I think what Kradle said though is very interesting in terms of the effect of silent meditation.

All those things are valuable. But there's a current of life has a lot of suffering that I think some people don't find all that positive. I think other things are better for teaching positivity, just an opinion. The other thing I found is that there seems to be a message that continual wanting is a state of life and we are never going to be satisfied. I believe if you are not happy you need to be active in changing the situation, that is that it isn't just a situation of constant wanting or not appreciating what you have.

You may want to also check out books aimed at people with eating disorders.

[Kimberley]

Any Buddhists here?

Thanks Nancy - from my understanding of Theraveda specificially, one of the ideas is to create through meditation a space inside yourself that is able to deal with overwhelming feelings - like a sense of peace and solace that you can always turn to, and a sense of compassion towards self as well as others.

That's always been my problem, I'm already one of those annoying positive thinkers with a good attitude (I learnt this) and I treat others with kindness and compassion, but I rarely do the same for myself. The idea for me is, as well as learning more personal development, to become compassionate towards myself. Intellectually I am, but emotionally I'm not - if that makes any sense at all. Intellectually I know that I'm a worthy human being, but somewhere in my gut there is still that feeling that I'm not as good as everyone else. I'm hoping to turn some of the love I show to others towards myself, too and develop that inner peace.

I'm an existentialist by nature so the acceptance of common suffering as the nature of life is a great thing for me to learn too. Haha, an existentialist positive thinker - yes it is possible

[dixon]

Any Buddhists here?

Link to BBC documentry about Buddha !

Hi KIm and all ,
I think this link would be interested who wants to know the power of Buddha , and his biography.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFbjDcz_CbU&feature=related[/video]]The Life Of The Buddha [Full BBC Documentary- HQ] with English/Greek/Catalan Subs - YouTube
Dix

[Kradle123]

Any Buddhists here?

Kimberley;1376209 wrote:
I found a great orgnaisation in the US called Dharma Punx that is run for people who have kinda rebelled against life, including many people recovering from substances. ).

Hi Kimberly:

Just wanted to pop in and say that true Buddhism is not at all about rebelling against life. Buddhism is entirely about manifesting the wisdom to embrace life.

I did have a look at the Dharma Punx group. They have an active group here in Seattle.

I have studied and am a Nichiren Buddhist for almost 20 years. Feel free to PM me.
Happy to share!

Hugs,
:l

[Rags]

Any Buddhists here?

Here you go Kimberley.

As well as Pema Chodron take a look at Jack Kornfield . She's Canadian, he's American. They both write pretty good stuff. Also, Thich Nhat Thanh

Here's a list of some Buddhist Centres for you.



World Buddhist Directory - Presented by BuddhaNet.Net


Also Buddhanet is the largest Buddhist website in the world. Run by a monk from Lismore which is in northern New South Wales Australia. It has lots of info and lots of links.

BuddhaNet - Worldwide Buddhist Information and Education Network


These are some of the cd's I have. I have a library of books. Am also listening to Jack Kornfields A path with a heart at the moment.



Hope this helps.

[Kimberley]

Any Buddhists here?

Ah thanks guys. Great stuff!

@ Kradle "Just wanted to pop in and say that true Buddhism is not at all about rebelling against life. Buddhism is entirely about manifesting the wisdom to embrace life." - which is exactly WHY the people who had rebelled against life needed Buddhism and a method for living wisely The idea was that they turn from pure nihilism to a solution for their unhappiness. So instead of raging and rebelling because they felt suffering, they learnt to manage and reduce that suffering. For me, that's largely what addiction recovery is about, too.

I'm hoping to go to a recovery-related sitting group next week. Will let you know what it's like!