Tibetan Yoga is being taught at 3PM on Sunday's here at
Dragon Seat by Chuck
Sullivan a local acupuncturist and Chinese Herbalist who has worked with opening
energy pathways in the body for many years. This is open to all regardless of
physical condition and is done in a chair. There is a meditation and
contemplative component to the yoga.
Do I have to be Buddhist to attend the
activities I see posted on this website?
Certainly not. The meditation sessions, retreats, celebrations, etc. are
always open to anyone that wishes to attend.
What Is Buddhism?
Buddhism is a path of practice and spiritual development leading to Insight into the true nature of life.
Buddhist practices such as meditation are means of changing oneself in order to develop the qualities of
awareness, kindness, and wisdom. The experience developed within the Buddhist tradition over thousands of
years has created an incomparable resource for all those who wish to follow a path - a path which ultimately
culminates in Enlightenment or Buddhahood.
Because Buddhism does not include the idea of worshipping a creator God, some people do not see it as a
religion in the normal, Western sense. The basic tenets of Buddhist teaching are straightforward and practical:
nothing is fixed or permanent; actions have consequences; change is possible. Thus Buddhism addresses itself
to all people irrespective of race, nationality, or gender. It teaches practical methods (such as meditation)
which enable people to realize and utilize its teachings in order to transform their experience, to be fully
responsible for their lives and to develop the qualities of Wisdom and Compassion.
There are around 350 million Buddhists and a growing number of them are Westerners. They follow many
different forms of Buddhism, but all traditions are characterized by non-violence, lack of dogma, tolerance
of differences, and, usually, by the practice of meditation .
Buddhism explains the reality of life and the universe: that all beings are
equal by nature and that all teachings are equal. The Buddha said many times
that the wisdom to understand the true reality of life and the universe, and the
virtuous abilities to cultivate are all already within our true nature. Buddhism
teaches us to have a broad mind, one that overflows with sincerity, purity,
equality, proper understanding, and compassion. Everyday, we must strive to
awaken to this reality. Being contented with all conditions and settings is a
good example for all, and striving for attainment of freedom of mind and spirit
will help to awaken. From this, we can see that the Buddha is a compassionate
multicultural educator who is worthy of emulation.
For a comprehensive multi-cultural list of definitions of Buddhism on the web
click here.
How can I find other people with whom to study
Dhamma and practice meditation?
Join the Dharma Memphis
email list. The Dharma Memphis email list is an Internet forum that allow
individuals to communicate with each other directly via e-mail. Messages sent
to a single central address are distributed automatically to every subscriber,
and is a means to send and receive information directly from members of the
community.
Ask around.
Browse through the listings of Dhamma centers and meditation groups that
are published in magazines and websites. Here are some possible sources:
» Inquiring Mind: A Journal of the Vipassana Community
devotes several pages of each free semiannual issue to a directory of
meditation centers and independent "sitting groups". To order a copy of the
current issue,
» see their website or write to: Inquiring Mind, PO Box 9999, Berkeley,
CA 94709-0999, USA.
» Tricycle: The Buddhist Review contains advertisements for
meditation centers in the back of each quarterly issue. Their website has a
searchable directory of meditation centers.
Explore your local universities or community colleges. Do they have any
Buddhist groups or clubs? Visit the student lounges, cafeterias, libraries,
campus bookstore, etc. — anywhere you might find bulletin boards with
announcements of campus events.
Look for flyers posted at local bookstores, natural food stores, "New
Age"-type shops, etc.
Start a meditation group or Dhamma study group in your own living room.
Advertise it with a flyer posted at one of the places mentioned above (ask for
permission first!). You may be the only one attending for awhile, but be
patient.
Check the telephone book (Yellow Pages), and look under "Churches" (Thai
temples? Vietnamese temples?) or "Meditation". Even if you don't see exactly
what you're looking for, you may at least be able to contact someone who can
give you some ideas of whom to call. Someone at a Hindu ashram or a
Benedictine monastery may have some suggestions.
More and more hospitals and health clinics offer stress-reduction and
pain-control programs that make use of simplified meditation techniques
borrowed from Buddhist traditions. The person in charge of one of these
programs may know of ongoing Buddhist meditation groups or Dhamma centers in
your area.
Write to someone at a monastery or Dhamma center in a neighboring city,
state, province, etc. and ask for his or her suggestions.
Ask around.
How do people become Buddhist, what is the
process?
There is no "process". But you need to adhere to the 5 precepts and "take
refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha" (the "triple gem" as it is called).
These are typically things you do with the assistance of a Buddhist monk or nun
in a monastery or in a monastic setting but mostly this is an undertaking or a
commitment you make with yourself to take a certain outlook on life. You are not
called upon to account to anyone but yourself for this undertaking except if you
become monastic or live in a monastery. For more on the
Three Refuges go here
How can I find out more about The Buddha?
There are some terrific suggestions for books on this website that
give accounts of the Buddha, and here are some websites that give abbreviated
stories or highlights of his life. A
Sketch of the Buddha's Life, Readings from the Pali Canon The
Life of Gautama Buddha The contents of this website was taken
from "The Buddha and His Teachings", written by Venerable Narada and
published by the Cultural Conservation Trust. Jan Sanjivaputta authored the web
pages and Chade-Meng did some editing to the presentation and language. This is
a readers digest or cliff notes kind of short presentation of the life
Siddhartha Gautama.
What is Insight Meditation?
Insight meditation, or vipassana, is a practice of cultivating awareness by
giving careful attention to everyday life. Insight meditation is based on the
teachings of the Buddha and has flourished as a living practice for 2500 years.
The discipline of insight meditation fosters the development of clarity and
non-judgmental mindfulness, which many find to be highly effective in promoting
serenity, relaxation, and equanimity. According to the Buddhist tradition, insight
meditation can also lead to greater wisdom and compassion and, ultimately, to
the end of suffering. The techniques of insight meditation are simple to learn,
yet require practice and discipline to master. These techniques offer not new
experiences but new ways of relating to our experiences.
Do You Have to be a Buddhist to Meditate?
Although insight meditation draws on the teachings of the Buddha, it is not
necessary to be a Buddhist--or even religious--to practice. Persons of many
different faiths and beliefs have found vipassana--and other kinds of meditation
practice--to be of great benefit to their lives.
How Do I Learn Meditation? Surely the best way to learn meditation is through
one-on-one instruction or a course taught by an experienced teacher. Books and
other resources can also be helpful, but they are not of equal value to actual,
live instruction.
Can You Suggest Some Books?
Please see our section on suggested readings by
clicking here.
Are all Buddhists vegetarians?
No. The First Precept admonishes us to refrain from killing, but meat
eating is not regarded as an instance of killing, and it is not forbidden in the
scriptures. (We are speaking here mainly of the Pali scriptures. Some of
the Mahayana scriptures, notably the Lankavatara Sutra, take a strong position
in favor of vegetarianism.
As recorded in the Pali scriptures, the Buddha did not prohibit consumption of
meat, even by monks. In fact, he explicitly rejected a suggestion from
Devadatta to do so. In modern Theravada societies, a
bhikkhu who adheres to vegetarianism to impress others with his superior
spirituality may be committing an infringement of the monastic rules.
On the other hand, the Buddha categorically prohibited consumption of the flesh
of any animal that was "seen, heard or suspected" to have been killed
specifically for the benefit of monks (Jivaka Sutta,
Majjhima Nikaya 55). This rule technically applies only to monastics, but
it can be used as a reasonable guide by devout lay people.
To understand this "middle path" approach to meat-eating, we have to remember
that there were no "Buddhists" in Shakyamuni's time. There were only
mendicants of various kinds (including the Buddha's
disciples), plus lay people who gave them alms out of respect without
necessarily worrying about the brand name of the teachings.
If meat was what a householder chose to offer, it was to be accepted without
discrimination or aversion. To reject such an offering would be an offense
against hospitality and would deprive the householder of
an opportunity to gain merit -- and it could not benefit the animal, because it
was already dead. Even the Jains may have had a similar outlook during the
same period of history, despite the strict doctrine
of ahimsa.
Vegetarianism could not become a source of serious controversy in the bhikkhu
sangha until the rise of fixed-abode monastic communities in which the monks did
not practice daily alms-round. Any meat provided to such a community by
lay people would almost certainly have been killed specifically for the monks.
That may be one reason for the difference in Mahayana and Theravada views on
meat eating -- the
development of monastic communities of this type occurred principally within
Mahayana.
The issue of meat eating raises difficult ethical questions. Isn't the
meat in a supermarket or restaurant killed "for" us? Doesn't meat eating
entail killing by proxy?
Few of us are in a position to judge meat eaters or anyone else for "killing by
proxy." Being part of the world economy entails "killing by proxy" in
every act of consumption. The electricity that runs our
computers comes from facilities that harm the environment. Books of
Buddhist scriptures are printed on paper produced by an industry that destroys
wildlife habitat. Worms, insects, rodents and other animals
are routinely killed en masse in the course of producing the staples of a
vegetarian diet. Welcome to samsara. It is impossible for most of us
to free ourselves from this web; we can only strive to be
mindful of entanglement in it. One way to do so is to reflect on how the
suffering and death of sentient beings contributes to our comfort. This may help
us to be less inclined to consume out of mere greed.
All of that having been said, it cannot be denied that the economic machine
which produces meat also creates fear and suffering for a large number of
animals. It is useful to bear this in mind even if one consumes meat, to
resist developing a habit of callousness. Many Buddhists (especially
Mahayanists) practice vegetarianism as a means of cultivating compassion.
The Jivaka Sutta hints that one could also make a good case for vegetarianism
starting from any of the other brahmaviharas. Interestingly, it is
loving-kindness rather than compassion that is mentioned first in the Jivaka
Sutta.
If you are considering trying out vegetarianism for the first time, we suggest
discussing it with someone who has experience. There are a few issues that
ought to be considered regarding balanced diet, etc.
What is Nirvana?
Most people have heard of nirvana. It has become equated with a sort of eastern
version of heaven. Actually, nirvana simply means cessation. It is the cessation
of passion, aggression and ignorance; the cessation of the struggle to prove our
existence to the world, to survive. We don't have to struggle to survive after
all. We have already survived. We survive now; the struggle was just an extra
complication that we added to our lives because we had lost our confidence in
the way things are. We no longer need to manipulate things as they are into
things as we would like them to be.
DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION?
You can email a question to Dharma Memphis using the form below. It will be
directed to someone who an best answer any question you may have.
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