On Tue, May 25, 2010 at 02:05, Thaths <[email protected]> wrote: > On Mon, May 24, 2010 at 10:53 AM, Sriram Karra <[email protected]> wrote: >> On Mon, May 24, 2010 at 10:47 PM, Thaths <[email protected]> wrote: >>> For what purpose? Are you looking for spiritual/self-help purposes or >>> for academic reasons? >> Spiritual/Self-help it is. > > Buddhism, in my experience, is a hands-on spiritual practice. > Meditation is the foundation of this practice.
In Buddhism, meditation is just one aspect of spiritual practice and one's actions (karma?) also has a role to play. I suppose the same is true of other religions like Hinduism but I digress. Depending on the Buddhism school, they follow/teach slightly different styles of meditation. And while a DIY approach is not wrong, you may not get the intended benefit as compared to the formal way (ala, the 10-day course described below). I dont have any books to recommend because I think spirituality is a personal quest and is unique to an individual. However, i'd definitely suggest a (slower/harder?) path of discussion --try to find a monk willing to talk or guide you at the local monastery. Its far easier to establish a communication channel if one goes with an open empty mind (read, comparing schools of thought, arguing endlessly with the teacher ...the temptation to quote from books --presenting others interpretation as one's own-- is best avoided). Apologies for not being more verbose/helpful. > http://gurmeetsingh.wordpress.com/2009/02/01/vipassana-meditation-taught-by-s-n-goenka-part-i/ His statements on "Loss and Stress" is something I'd disagree with, strongly. Meditation != vipassana. There is a chasm between the former and the latter. Vipassana isnt a "simple-cure-for-life's-ills" pill. Rather, the 10-day silence period is tough if practiced seriously, not something that I'd recommend to anyone undergoing treatment for depression or huge amounts of stress (due to whatever reason, personal or otherwise) or people diagnosed with suicidal tendencies and taking medication. IIRC, they ask you this when you fill out the forms on the first day and likewise they prefer to keep out people who experiment with drugs and other addictive narcotic substances. Re, part 2 and 3 --They (goenka's teachings) also request folks to not discuss (blog?) ones' experience with each other as each individual has a different individual personal threshold**. ** At the camp I remember meeting a lady who wanted so get away from her mother-in-law for a few days and also met a couple who used it as a getaway from parents who disapproved of their relationship. I kid you not. -- .
