Merle,<br/><br/>This is my teacher S. N. Goenka. I only include his words here
to support what Joe said about keeping your beliefs and still following the
teaching of Buddha without the 'Buddhism' aspect:<br/><br/>"Satya Narayan
Goenka (born 1924) is a leading lay teacher of Vipassanā meditation and a
student of Sayagyi U Ba Khin. He has trained more than 800 assistant teachers
and each year more than 100,000 people attend Goenka led Vipassana
courses.<br/>Goenka emphasizes that, "The Buddha never taught a sectarian
religion; he taught Dhamma - the way to liberation - which is universal"[1] and
presents his teachings as non-sectarian and open to people of all faiths or no
faith. "Liberation" in this context means freedom from impurities of mind and
suffering.[2] Goenka calls Vipassana meditation an experiential scientific
practice, through which one can observe the constantly changing nature of the
mind and body at the deepest level, a profound
understanding that leads to a truly happy and peaceful life. Goenka Ji has
also been conferred the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian honour in
India for social work on the occasion of India's 63rd republic
day.[3]"<br/><br/><br/>Sent from Yahoo! Mail for iPhone
