Hi Mike, I came from Buddhist family. My friends from Amaravati (monastery in north of London) called my 'born Buddhist'. So I cannot imagine myself if I were your friend either.
The retreats that I attend are conducted in a Buddhist monastery. However, only a few of the participants are Buddhist. Many others are Moslem and Catholics. First time I was in the retreat, it was very interesting to find how people express similar meditative experience in their own religious framework. There have been, on rare occasions, people who then gave up their original religion, including Islam, and became Buddhists. I first came across vipassana when I was overseas and it was with Mahasi tradition. It was easier for me back then with the noting. It gave my mind something to do. Eventually, we have to let go the noting though.... Siska -----Original Message----- From: uerusub...@yahoo.co.uk Sender: Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com Date: Thu, 23 May 2013 05:37:35 To: zen group<Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com> Reply-To: Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [Zen] Re: Zuli Agrees With Bill! Siska,<br/><br/>I have a good friend in Jakarta. She follows Islam and is quite aware of the work of the Sufis. We sometimes discuss the poems of Rumi (of course!) and look for similarities between Islam and Buddhism. Although we see eye to eye on much in our conversations, I can't imagine her ever giving up Islam. What brought you to Vipassana in a country where the local religion is so strong? Also, which tradition do you follow? I prefer the Goenka 'scanning' approach, rather than the 'noting' method of the forest tradition. <br/><br/>Mike<br/><br/><br/>Sent from Yahoo! Mail for iPad
