You don't have to use Buddhism to help others. It may even be wrong sometimes.

It's plenty useful when used on your own issues by yourself.

Some sources say Buddhism mostly existed in monasteries until the 18th century.

Maybe the portion of the meditations which help others were for monks to help others with. It may even be wrong for an ordinary person to help.

Monks may have helped others mostly when asked. On that point, I am not sure.

Would you want some ordinary person, perhaps one of your competitors, to change the way you think and feel?

It's probably OK when monks do it because they have no stake in society. They have less of a personal stake in tampering in how you feel about your job because they are not competing for your job. Besides, some teachers say not to even talk about it for five years.

I prayed on whether it was OK to use Buddhist meditation to try to help my own soul through my efforts. I thought I heard a faint voice say "take up your mat and walk."

I have not seen it raise a person from the dead but the meditations do seem to help recover the ability to focus on the present and get over past stuff. Don't let misguided people from other religions tell you it's all about climbing mountaintops to ask gurus about the meaning of life. Get some down-to-Earth materials from contemporary Western authors if you don't want unnecessary esotericism.

I have found the two recovery group manuals to be great intros, i.e. Recovery Dharma and Refuge Recovery. They cover the basics a person needs to get started in a no-frills, no esotericism way. I have found John Kabat Zinn gave a clear exposition of mindfulness.

a reply to: Solvedit

If you are so inclined you may want to take a gander at the thread I authored awhile ago about the occult practice of meditation and whether it is beneficial here:

Meditation

originally posted by: randomuser2034
a reply to: Solvedit

If you are so inclined you may want to take a gander at the thread I authored awhile ago about the occult practice of transcendental meditation and whether it is beneficial here:

I don't know about TM or Yoga. I have tried some of the basics of Buddhist meditation.

Regarding TM, Wikipedia had this to say:

Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a form of silent meditation developed by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi...Maharishi began teaching the technique in India in themid-1950s...

Are you aware they have found a Buddhist artifact or two among the ruins of latter-day ancient Egypt? You can't let anyone tell you to color all meditation by some teacher who developed his own technique and started teaching it in the 1950s.

a reply to: Solvedit

Would you want some ordinary person, perhaps one of your competitors, to change the way you think and feel?

Our main stream news media and educational institutes do it all the time.

originally posted by: Solvedit

originally posted by: randomuser2034
a reply to: Solvedit

If you are so inclined you may want to take a gander at the thread I authored awhile ago about the occult practice of transcendental meditation and whether it is beneficial here:

I don't know about TM or Yoga. I have tried some of the basics of Buddhist meditation.

Regarding TM, Wikipedia had this to say:

Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a form of silent meditation developed by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi...Maharishi began teaching the technique in India in themid-1950s...

Are you aware they have found a Buddhist artifact or two among the ruins of latter-day ancient Egypt? You can't let anyone tell you to color all meditation by some teacher who developed his own technique and started teaching it in the 1950s.

You are correct. I corrected the reply and removed the "transcendental" from the post. The connected thread deals with the occult practice of eastern meditation in general. My apologies.

originally posted by: randomuser2034

originally posted by: Solvedit

originally posted by: randomuser2034
a reply to: Solvedit

If you are so inclined you may want to take a gander at the thread I authored awhile ago about the occult practice of transcendental meditation and whether it is beneficial here:

I don't know about TM or Yoga. I have tried some of the basics of Buddhist meditation.

Regarding TM, Wikipedia had this to say:

Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a form of silent meditation developed by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi...Maharishi began teaching the technique in India in themid-1950s...

Are you aware they have found a Buddhist artifact or two among the ruins of latter-day ancient Egypt? You can't let anyone tell you to color all meditation by some teacher who developed his own technique and started teaching it in the 1950s.

You are correct. I corrected the reply and removed the "transcendental" from the post. The connected thread deals with the occult practice of eastern meditation in general. My apologies.

But you already told us you were thinking of the practice of TM.

originally posted by: Solvedit

originally posted by: randomuser2034

originally posted by: Solvedit

originally posted by: randomuser2034
a reply to: Solvedit

If you are so inclined you may want to take a gander at the thread I authored awhile ago about the occult practice of transcendental meditation and whether it is beneficial here:

I don't know about TM or Yoga. I have tried some of the basics of Buddhist meditation.

Regarding TM, Wikipedia had this to say:

Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a form of silent meditation developed by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi...Maharishi began teaching the technique in India in themid-1950s...

Are you aware they have found a Buddhist artifact or two among the ruins of latter-day ancient Egypt? You can't let anyone tell you to color all meditation by some teacher who developed his own technique and started teaching it in the 1950s.

You are correct. I corrected the reply and removed the "transcendental" from the post. The connected thread deals with the occult practice of eastern meditation in general. My apologies.

But you already told us you were thinking of the practice of TM.

My bad. The linked thread if you read it deals with the eastern spiritstic practice of meditation. From the post:

The first form of meditation comes from ancient eastern religious roots.

TM is a branch of the original spiritistic practice.

a reply to: Solvedit


Ummm...I tend to find it exceedingly ironic...that one might seek to elucidate on a topic...that they openly avow they have no experience or practice in...

Rather...it seems that the methodology of honest impartiality...might require one to test their opinion...and find it either wanting...or confirmed...

Suffice to say...any honest scientist...or practitioner...would maintain an open minded approach to discernment...unclouded of course by prejudice...and preconception...

In Zen Buddhism...there is a practice called mindfulness...one maintains a state of hyper awareness...without impingement...without allowing external stimuli...and internal turmoil to cloud awareness...or become the object of focus by thought or consideration...to simply be aware of everything in your environment...yet not providing any consideration or focus on stimuli...to simply allow everything to be as it is...yet remaining detached from attachment...

Equanimity...allows for the function of daily routine...yet allows the mechanisms of life and the world to process around self without clinging to the mechanisms...or becoming servile to their allure...

There is a very good book on meditation by Shunryu Suzuki titled..."Zen Mind Beginners Mind"...Informal talks on Zen meditation and practice...

I have found peace and equanimity within it's pages...I haven't read it for decades...yet I keep the original copy I purchased all those years ago...


Meditation has absolutely nothing to do with calling forth entities...or opening your...self...to possessive constructs...

However...ALL of your innermost secrets and every aspect of your character will be laid bare for you to confront and move beyond...
One can certainly become trapped in a web of their own weaving...and forget that they are the hand moving the shuttle across the loom...

There's no need for any external influences to be causal as character or projective personifications...we all carry our own alter ego's within...it's allowing them voice...and a platform to give voice...that leads the self astray...





YouSir

a reply to: Solvedit

I was a 15 yr old hippie when the Beatles started practicing TM.

It's been 56 years...of Transcendental Meditation. The benefits outweigh any negatives .....learning to "go within" to "go without". It's been a remarkable journey inside to see the reality...of the "outside".

Astral Projection...a natural offshoot...is quite possible( since 1989)... The journeys-amazing, the gained insight, invaluable....in getting rid of it!

God bless ✌️😎

originally posted by: YouSir
a reply to: Solvedit


Ummm...I tend to find it exceedingly ironic...that one might seek to elucidate on a topic...that they openly avow they have no experience or practice in...

YouSir

More like very little.

Wouldn't you say, though, that there is no central authority which will pressure you into meditating for the benefit of others?,

Wouldn't you say that a lot of people may not want a rival tampering with what's on their loom, as you describe it?

originally posted by: Solvedit

originally posted by: YouSir
a reply to: Solvedit


Ummm...I tend to find it exceedingly ironic...that one might seek to elucidate on a topic...that they openly avow they have no experience or practice in...

YouSir

More like very little.

Wouldn't you say, though, that there is no central authority which will pressure you into meditating for the benefit of others?,

Wouldn't you say that a lot of people may not want a rival tampering with what's on their loom, as you describe it?

Ummm...No...the premise isn't to meditate...for...anything...the premise is to clear the mind so that extraneous thoughts don't impinge on the consciousness...

That's why prayer is the antithesis of meditation...prayer is the active striving to achieve a goal...whether it be for self...or the edification of others...prayer is goal oriented...

Meditation is to achieve quiescence...to first...think...not thinking...and then to attain a state of mind...a void...in which thought does not impinge on the awareness...where visualization does not impinge on the awareness...where the mind becomes a tabula rasa...a blank slate...

Enlightenment requires a blank slate...not a jumble of feeling...and experience...and anxiety...and inner voices clamoring for attention...but a mind that has set that all aside...yet remains totally aware...awareness without impingement...


The entirety of practice revolves around the individual seeking satori...or Nirvana...it has nothing to do with consciously influencing any other aspect or entity...Nor are there any rivals...with the exception that the only rivals one might encounter...are the separate and distinct constructs...or aspects of an individuals own consciousness...those other competing voices that argue in your head...

Yet who are they...but disparate aspects of your own multifaceted character...however...the key lies in the operative descriptor...your...
From that essential consideration is born the realization that control is ceded to whatever emotion or aspect one hands control over to...and further...that one need never hand any control over to anything...and further still...therein lies the key to achieving quiescence...to achieving peace...and to achieving enlightenment...


YouSir

originally posted by: YouSir

originally posted by: Solvedit

originally posted by: YouSir
a reply to: Solvedit


Ummm...I tend to find it exceedingly ironic...that one might seek to elucidate on a topic...that they openly avow they have no experience or practice in...

YouSir

More like very little.

Wouldn't you say, though, that there is no central authority which will pressure you into meditating for the benefit of others?,

Wouldn't you say that a lot of people may not want a rival tampering with what's on their loom, as you describe it?

Ummm...No...the premise isn't to meditate...for...anything...the premise is to clear the mind so that extraneous thoughts don't impinge on the consciousness...

That's why prayer is the antithesis of meditation...prayer is the active striving to achieve a goal...whether it be for self...or the edification of others...prayer is goal oriented...

Meditation is to achieve quiescence...to first...think...not thinking...and then to attain a state of mind...a void...

Mindfulness meditation is a little bit like what you said. But it still helps stay focused on the present.

Say, did you happen to get hooked up to meditation through your church? It's almost as if they wanted to lead you down too esoteric a path.

My admittedly quite limited experience is that you can find authors who focus on things that are useful to day-to-day life.

There's clearly more to Buddhist meditation than can be learned in a lifetime.

a reply to: Solvedit


Ummm...No...I wasn't attending any religious facilities or places of worship when I first started to meditate...I just found the book I mentioned above..."Zen Mind Beginners Mind"...by Shunryu Suzuki...in a library and started to read it...I enjoyed it so much I bought a copy and started to practice meditating...
At first meditation was hard...my mind wouldn't..."sit the hell down and shut the hell up"...but it got easier after a couple of weeks...then it proceeded to the point that I could be in a deep meditative state in seconds...which is still the case...

From there I stayed at the Shynryu Suzuki Zen Center in San Francisco on Paige street...I really wanted to be a member at Tassajara Monastery...the sister Zen Center to the one in San Francisco...I lived at the Zen Center for just over three months and meditated daily and attended a 7 day session of dawn to dark meditation...
I should have stayed...I really wanted to stay...but other life obligations that I had put off to attend called me away...

I cherished my life there and the people I interacted with...the monks...the other students...and I think of them with compassion...and wish them all well...

Then my journey took me to other places...other spiritual paths...other methods of accomplishing the same results that Zen Buddhism gave birth to within me...

But those are stories for another day...and another conversation...









YouSir

originally posted by: YouSir...I stayed at the Shynryu Suzuki Zen Center...I should have stayed...I really wanted to stay...but other life obligations that I had put off to attend called me away...YouSir

I have already stated I am just dabbling but based on what you said, I would wonder if what you learned was more relevant to monasticism than other life obligations.

a reply to: Solvedit

What is the path to self awareness? Only you know that through living life.

originally posted by: Solvedit

originally posted by: YouSir...I stayed at the Shynryu Suzuki Zen Center...I should have stayed...I really wanted to stay...but other life obligations that I had put off to attend called me away...YouSir

I have already stated I am just dabbling but based on what you said, I would wonder if what you learned was more relevant to monasticism than other life obligations.

Ummm...attachment is by far the hardest lesson to learn...attachment...and clinging...

It wasn't the monastic lifestyle that appealed so much as the compassion that deep meditative states helps to loosen and blossom in the experiencer...
How much easier to maintain such a state...when surrounded by other like minded individuals...pursuing the same path...

Living in the world and in the societal structures that humans construct...while removed from the close kinship of other like minded beings is exceeding hard to maintain the requisite balance between these seemingly diametric poles of pursuit...
Hard...but not impossible...

Like any pursuit it all devolves into the choices made...and every day...merely a linkage of choice joining moments together and stitching them into a pattern that the mind interprets as it's reality...whether or not it pertains to realism...or not...

The best...and the worst part of meditation...is that compassion begins to bubble up from within...until it flows outward like a torrent and connects to every other life form that we share this unique experience we call life with...
Perspective changes...perceptions change...you realize that you were never alone...that connection was always there...merely shared on a level below conscious consideration...

Yet...now it exists front and center within consciousness...in your face...in your heart...and it hurts...
Deep compassion for all beings...hurts...

Then you realize that this too is merely lesson...merely one more step on the path...one more mountain to climb...

Empathy...is...suffering...

Then...beneath that arises consideration that it's not where you are...who your with...why your there...that sameness through connectivity has ample space for every lifestyle...and that they all exist as one...

Moot is such an all encompassing descriptor...it renders everything down to one glaring singularity...

Still...each being travels it's own path...never realizing that they all lead to the same destination...always...



YouSir

I have not seen it raise a person from the dead but the meditations do seem to help recover the ability to focus on the present and get over past stuff.

When the past keeps on troubling us. Our minds will typically try to relive the past in its dreams in an attempt to find a solution to our anxieties. Ignoring those anxieties by existing in the now does not burn the roots of past desires. That is something the Buddha warned about in the Diamond Sutra. Something contemporary Western authors often overlook.

Meditation is only effective if it allows greater introspection. Using combination of practices such as shadow work to try unravel that inner turmoil. Turning ones heart to those experiences. Healing oneself with self-love.

Khadro-la, State Oracle of Tibet, warned ... “Many people like meditation. Many people think of it as single-pointed concentration. In my opinion, meditation is to cultivate a habit of an honest mindset and a kind heart. If we develop and increase our qualities of kindness and honesty, we can get rid of so many different kinds of suffering. Otherwise, if we think we want to meditate, and we just sit still and we don’t think about anything in particular, then what we are doing is actually resting our mind, giving our minds a little break. But it is not very constructive or useful. It does not decrease our negative mindsets of anger or attachments. It does not increase our qualities of kindness, truthfulness and wisdom. So, we might be able to sit still single-pointedly for four or five hours, but what’s the point? It’s like a pigeon!”

I hope your meditations are helpful.

originally posted by: nugget1
a reply to: Solvedit

Would you want some ordinary person, perhaps one of your competitors, to change the way you think and feel?

Our main stream news media and educational institutes do it all the time.

Only when you ask them, though.

originally posted by: Solvedit

originally posted by: nugget1
a reply to: Solvedit

Would you want some ordinary person, perhaps one of your competitors, to change the way you think and feel?

Our main stream news media and educational institutes do it all the time.

Only when you ask them, though.

Where have you been hiding out? lol

I don't think preschoolers are asking to be re-educated by the MSM push to normalize gender-bending and pushing sex ed on them, and I sure as hell didn't ask them.
It seems a lot of people aren't asking for the things MSM is pushing on us a 'progress' and 'good' but they're being labeled as domestic terrorists and their voices silenced.

Who is asking the MSM for the evil agendas they're pushing? I don't believe for a single second the majoriy of citizens are 'asking' for it.

originally posted by: nugget1
Who is asking the MSM for the evil agendas they're pushing? I don't believe for a single second the majoriy of citizens are 'asking' for it.

So you're saying it may be immoral to foist things on people they haven't asked for?