What to learn more about Buddhism?

Question

I am very interesting in learning more about Buddhism. I have read many books on the subject and I don't know where to go from here. How would I learn more about the practises, especially meditation? There are no temples close by and those that I do know of I'm not sure what type of Buddhism they offer. Is there a lot of difference between the different types? Which have you found more helpful and why?

I live in Southern Ontario, in Canada

Answer 1

Hi,

Have you read the book "Accidental Buddhist"?
It explains the three main types of Buddhism in the US.
The situation may be similar in Canada. The three
main types are - Tibetan (vajrayana), Zen, and Theravad
It is a well written book. You can read about it here:
http://tinyurl.com/hkugo In addition to the three main
types that the book mentions there are some Chinese
buddhist temples as well.


You can start reading and practicing meditation by
using material from this excellent site:
http://www.buddhanet.net/meditation.htm

You can try whatever is available to you where you live.
You may find that one of them has a natural draw or appeal to you.

In Tibetan buddhism, there is chanting, and rituals
in addition to meditation. This appeals to many people
for various reasons. I have tried this method and have
had some experiences while practicing it. I also
found the books by Pema Chodron especially helpful.
The ones that helped me most were - Wisdom of No Escape,
and Start Where You Are.

There is a meditation called "Vipassana" (also called
"insight" meditation by some). I found this to be a
very direct and profound experience. You have to
invest 10 days of your time to learn it properly in
a residential course. There is no fee charged for it,
but on the last day donations are accepted and people
pay whatever they feel like paying. You can read
about it here: http://www.dhamma.org/art.htm
and if you find that you would like to try it,
you can find a course date here for the
center in Egbert, Ontario if that is convenient to you.
http://www.dhamma.org/schont.htm
This is no ordinary meditation. By this I mean,
not only is it very profound, but also that it is not
new-agey type relax and space out type. You have
to work at it. But it is WORTH it. If you have already
read a lot, it will begin to sink in during the course.
Even if you have not read anything, there is a lecture
every evening which is very useful and helps us progress.
After you finish the course, you can continue in a group
or on your own. Also, after the initial 10-day course,
you can take part in 1-day and 3-day courses. I cannot emphasize enough the
benefit I derived from it. There is no ritual or worship in
this method. Just direct practice of Buddha's teachings.
Just the essentials - nothing added to it. The reason
I found it helpful is that the 10-day course gave me
an opportunity to be in an environment where I could
work on myself using the teachings. There is no talking,
reading, phones, pagers allowed, so the mind keeps
getting in to deeper and deeper states. For the first time in
my life I was able to experience total quietude and this
was very helpful in going deeper and deeper every day.
In other types of meditation courses I had done (Tibetan & Hindu)
there was mingling and chatting in the breaks and in
the evenings, and I found that even though the topic was
related to dharma, I was not able to continue experiencing
the feelings throughout the day. Initially I had a lot
of self-doubts about whether I can handle this type of
environment (no talking, reading), and whether I can
actually be there for 10-days, but once I did it, there was
a feeling of accomplishment and I was very glad that
I did it. I realized that I could not have learned what
I learned there by going to weekend/evening meditation classes
or even short courses of 2-4 days that I had done in
other types of buddhism because only after day 3 do you start
getting into the deeper states of mind. After the course,
there was an amazing lightness for a long time.

If you cannot invest 10 days now, I hope some time in your
life you can do so and try the course.

Good luck to you.

Answer 2

Which country are you from? From where I live, in Asia, Buddhist temples are rampantly found. I can't help you locate a good temple if I don't know where you are putting up.

But I can offer you information about the different forms of Buddhism practised globally. There's Indian Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism (most original forms of the religion), Chinese Buddhism, Thai Buddhism and Japanese Buddhism. In fact, the appearance of the altars and faces of Buddhas differ a bit too. So, whichever place of worship you go to eventually, make sure you find out in advance which form of Buddhism suits you best. The different forms of Buddhism are just like Christianity, the different denominations differ slightly in terms of beliefs and practices, that's all.

Answer 3

Buddhism has evolved into myriad schools that can be roughly grouped into three types: Nikaya, Mahayana, and Vajrayana. Of the Nikaya schools, only the Theravada survives. Each branch sees itself as representing a true, original teachings of the Buddha, and some schools believe that the dialectic nature of Buddhism allows its format, terminology, and techniques to adapt over time in response to changing circumstances, thus validating dharmic approaches different from their own.

For on-line help on meditation: http://www.wildmind.org/

Answer 4

You find a lot of information at www.buddhanet.net. If you are looking for a centre nearby, check their comprehensive directory http://www.buddhanet.net/worlddir.htm.
Personally, I follow the Diamond Way Buddhist path, which is very suitable for Westerners (www.diamondway-buddhism.org). There are lots of teachings available on www.diamondway-teachings.org.

Good luck on your journey!

Answer 5

I am very interested in learning about that religion too.