Members Bios - please contribute yours

Introduce yourself to others at Dhamma Wheel.
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Mohan Gnanathilake
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Joined: Mon Apr 25, 2016 6:16 am
Location: Ragama, Sri Lanka
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Self-Introduction (Abhivādana)

Post by Mohan Gnanathilake »

My name is Mohan Barathi Gnanathilake. I am a Sri Lankan. I was born on 10 May 1975 in Kandy, Sri Lanka. I am a nature lover. I am working as a Private Tutor for German language at present. I was in Munich and Freiburg in the past. I got two scholarships to fly to Germany. I passed the “Zentrale Oberstufenprüfung” at the Goethe Institute in Munich.
All thoughts begin in the mind, mind is supreme and mind-made are they. If one speaks or acts with impure mind pain follows him like the wheel the hoof of the ox.
(Dhammapada 1, Yamaka Vagga – The Twin Verses)

All thoughts begin in the mind, mind is supreme and mind –made are they. If one speaks or acts with pure mind happiness follows him like one’s shadow that never leaves.
(Dhammapada 2, Yamaka Vagga – The Twin Verses)
indianromeo
Posts: 103
Joined: Wed Aug 31, 2016 3:04 pm

Re: Self-Introduction (Abhivādana)

Post by indianromeo »

Mohan Gnanathilake wrote:My name is Mohan Barathi Gnanathilake. I am a Sri Lankan. I was born on 10 May 1975 in Kandy, Sri Lanka. I am a nature lover. I am working as a Private Tutor for German language at present. I was in Munich and Freiburg in the past. I got two scholarships to fly to Germany. I passed the “Zentrale Oberstufenprüfung” at the Goethe Institute in Munich.
Welcome!
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soogar571
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Joined: Thu Oct 27, 2016 6:41 am
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Re: Members Bios - please contribute yours

Post by soogar571 »

Hello! I'm soogar(meaning 'practice more'). Because of my poor English, I wrote the biography as follow in condensed form.

main events in my life;
1957 born. 1975 my mother died when i was 18 years old. 1987 married. 1988, 1991 earned two daughters respectively. 2008 lost elder daughter forever and divorced. 2009 divorced. (My daughter, the decedent was definitely an effect of samsara of my mother died 12 years ago before the year of daughter's birth. I have undeniable many evidences.)

education background;
1970 graduated 6 year's primary school. 1973 graduated 3 year's middle school. 1976 graduated 3 year's high school. 1980 graduated 4 year's merchant maritime college.

occupations for livelihood;
1980-1983 maritime navigation officer of cargo ship for worldwide. 1983-1999 system programmer, application programmer and project manager. 1999-2003 reseller for thermal health care machine with at a shop rented. 2003-2009 owner of pensions for rental service at beautiful mountain area. 2009-current day-trading for 'future index' while staying home.

Practice;
1986-1989 qi-gong practice at DanWorld. 2008-2009 chanting practice of 'Om mani padme hum'.

Books affected profoundly to me;
1976-1978 Siddhartha written by Herman Hesse. 1978-1980 Bible, especially New-testament. 1980-1983 Tao of Physics written by Fritjof Capra. 1980-2009 Tao Te Ching translated by R.L.Wing. 1980-2009 I- Ching translated by R.L.Wing. 1980-1983 Third Wave written by Alvin Toffler. 2003-2004 Zi Ping Theory(chinese astrology). 2003-2009 Mahayana's Diamond Sutra. 2010-2016 Abhidhamma Sangaha. 2011-2016 Nikaya as AN, SN, DN, Ud and Dhp

My greeting is there in "Introduction".
That's all for my biography. Thank you.
soogar
Object determines the quality of citta.
So, the experience of nibbana at this very moment invokes the lokuttara citta.

home page : http://www.soogar.com
facebook : https://www.facebook.com/soogar571
sandun Wanniarachchi
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Joined: Sun Sep 11, 2016 12:10 pm

Re: Members Bios - please contribute yours

Post by sandun Wanniarachchi »

hi everyone,

i am sandun and i am from srilanka. i am 15 years old and i am probably the youngest member of dhamma wheel with least experience. i am a bit busy with school work these days since i have to face the ordinary level exam next year.not much to say about my personal life because my life history is very short.

though i am a buddhist by birth i started following it very recently. i have a very recent history in meditation which is approximately 8 months. over the last few months i discovered many of meditation methods but i was'nt able to adapt them fully. but after reading "satipatthana direct path to realization by venerable Analayo and heart of buddhist meditation by ven. nyanaponika thera i came to the conclusion that sutta reference was the best and possible method to reach the buddha. i am a member of sutta central and i am interested in studying early buddhist texts in pali,chinese,sanskrit and tibetan. but, i always make sure that i give priority to daily mindfulness and tranquility meditation which helps me to figure things out.
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“Venerable sir, it is said, ‘the world, the world.’ In what way, venerable sir, might there be the world or the description of the world?”

“Where there is the eye, Samiddhi, where there are forms, eye-consciousness, things to be cognized by eye-consciousness, there the world exists or the description of the world.

“Where there is the ear …..

“Where there is no eye, Samiddhi, no forms, no eye-consciousness, no things to be cognized by eye-consciousness, there the world does not exist nor any description of the world.

" Where there is no ear,.....

S.N. 35.66
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cjmacie
Posts: 690
Joined: Wed Dec 26, 2012 4:49 am

Re: Members Bios - please contribute yours

Post by cjmacie »

SDC wrote:...Did drugs and skied...
The guy who taught me how to ski (a friend from Germany), put it so: you go to the top, and go down, using gravity to exercise your body and mind. If you do it right, when you get to the bottom your are "higher" than when you began at the top. (That was in California, 1970's -- the golden-age of psychedelics.)
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SDC
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Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 11:08 pm

Re: Members Bios - please contribute yours

Post by SDC »

cjmacie wrote:
SDC wrote:...Did drugs and skied...
The guy who taught me how to ski (a friend from Germany), put it so: you go to the top, and go down, using gravity to exercise your body and mind. If you do it right, when you get to the bottom your are "higher" than when you began at the top. (That was in California, 1970's -- the golden-age of psychedelics.)
:rofl:
“Life is swept along, short is the life span; no shelters exist for one who has reached old age. Seeing clearly this danger in death, a seeker of peace should drop the world’s bait.” SN 1.3
Derek
Posts: 112
Joined: Wed Aug 28, 2013 12:31 pm

Re: Members Bios - please contribute yours

Post by Derek »

Dan74 wrote:I think it can be healthy to have a little thread where people can contribute a few lines about themselves. Some of us did that in the Intro already but others may feel like doing more after having gotten involved in the forum and gotten to know the folk here a bit better.

Anyhow here goes one of me and I hope some others will follow!
Some chapters of the link in my signature give biographical info. It's free to read.
Kapimaia
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Mar 20, 2017 12:32 pm

Re: Members Bios - please contribute yours

Post by Kapimaia »

Bio!

I have a pressing mess and will figure out who I was later, however in the link below I am Ananda.

http://www.earlywritings.com/forum/view ... 100#p66100

Clarity is meritorious!

Joy,
Kapimaia
Amare
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Apr 29, 2017 11:56 pm

Re: Members Bios - please contribute yours. English

Post by Amare »

Hi all, I'm Amarasiri from Sri Lanka. I'm an electrician by proffession and a teacher of a Sunday dhamma school.I'm conducting a program to teach Buddhism in English to some children. I'm a born Buddhist and I prefer to learn English so on.
Derek
Posts: 112
Joined: Wed Aug 28, 2013 12:31 pm

Re: Members Bios - please contribute yours

Post by Derek »

Derek wrote:
Dan74 wrote:I think it can be healthy to have a little thread where people can contribute a few lines about themselves. Some of us did that in the Intro already but others may feel like doing more after having gotten involved in the forum and gotten to know the folk here a bit better.

Anyhow here goes one of me and I hope some others will follow!
Some chapters of the link in my signature give biographical info. It's free to read.
Now moved here: https://toronto.stream-entry.ca/
Nuggets
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri May 05, 2017 6:56 pm

Re: Members Bios - please contribute yours

Post by Nuggets »

My name is Luke

I am 45 years old.

Born in Melbourne, Australia. Live in Geelong, Australia.

Single dad - look after my two little ones 2 to 4 nights a week (4 year old boy and 7 year old girl).

Discovered Buddhism about 7 years ago. Dabbled in Zen and Tibetan but finding Theravadan the most appealing.

Enjoy sport, meditation and hanging with family and friends.
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Invokingvajras
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Re: Members Bios - please contribute yours

Post by Invokingvajras »

Hello! I'm 27, recently moved to Portland, OR from Pennsylvania, where I attended school at Penn State and graduated in 2013 with a dual B.A. in Religious Studies and Japanese.

My studies started around 2004, when my Japanese teacher introduced me to Pure Land and Zen Buddhist traditions. I have been an artist as far back as I can remember, and as a child was inspired by popular media such as music, animation and video games. After formally studying the culture, I came to notice how much Japanese culture was lost among American audiences, especially regarding religion. In 2007, I had a dream about Amitabha shortly after attending a Jōdo Shinshū temple and picking up taiko drumming, which inspired me to take up a more serious and eclectic study of Buddhism, including Theravada and the Nikaya/Agama canon.

My interests cover various subjects within the overlap of Buddhist and Western pagan/occult traditions, including meditation, cosmology, mythology, and gender. After a certain Uposatha observance, I came to identify as non-binary/gender fluid for a time. In hindsight, I realize that this identification came from a misunderstanding of LGBT culture and identity view. I'm slowly beginning to realize that gender is irrelevant at this point in time in my practice. I've been studying Japanese language and culture since 2004, which has served as a catalyst for my interest in becoming more involved with the POC community. This in turn has provided me with the opportunity to learn and grow within the tradition. You really begin to notice the tropes in Buddhist literature and how they relate to our own experiences interacting with fellow humans. I studied abroad at Nanzan University in Nagoya, Japan in 2010 and Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Monastery in Kaohsiung, Taiwan in the summer of 2015.

I have had a few very intense experiences in my 10 years of practicing meditation, which primarily includes mindfulness of breathing. In 2010, I experienced a vision of what I later came to believe was Vajirapani, a Buddhist deity who was synthesized with Herakles among the Greeks in the area that is now Pakistan and Afghanistan. I didn't know at the time of the experience, but discovered several depictions of this deity that were eerily reminiscent of what I saw in the vision. This historical period, as well as my involvement with the Pagan community, inspired me in 2012 to adopt Paganism as a valid worldview within my practice, especially as I reflect on the various states of the deva worlds. I've recently found inspiration in Alexander Duncan's writings in light of these ideas. It's part of my intuition that the widespread nature of folklore and mythology can play a vital role in aiding communication across cultures and potentially building a more cohesive, "global" community.

That being said, I'm mostly a solitary practitioner. And I'm absolutely comfortable wandering alone, "like a rhinoceros," but figured I'd try becoming more involved with the online community. It's nice to be acquainted with everyone and I look forward to studying the Dhamma with y'all!
Last edited by Invokingvajras on Sat Feb 24, 2018 7:51 am, edited 2 times in total.
Spiraling Down the Middle Path

♒⚡~Musā me bhaṇamānāya muddhā phalatu sattadhā~⚡♒
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Christofer
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Joined: Wed May 17, 2017 3:05 am
Location: Southern Utah

Re: Members Bios - please contribute yours

Post by Christofer »

Hi, my name is Christofer, I am born and raised in southern Utah. I am a husband of 12 years and have 2 sons ages 6 and 4. I have played the drums since I was 12 and play in a few bands locally. I am a barber by trade, I've been at that for about 7 years now. I started meditating daily about a year ago. I got really interested in Zen at first but eventually found my way to the Theravada tradition. I am very new to dharma practice but I have seen the fruit of it in my life and am looking forward to deepening my practice and learning what I can here. Thanks.
indianromeo
Posts: 103
Joined: Wed Aug 31, 2016 3:04 pm

Re: Members Bios - please contribute yours

Post by indianromeo »

Christofer wrote:Hi, my name is Christofer, I am born and raised in southern Utah. I am a husband of 12 years and have 2 sons ages 6 and 4. I have played the drums since I was 12 and play in a few bands locally. I am a barber by trade, I've been at that for about 7 years now. I started meditating daily about a year ago. I got really interested in Zen at first but eventually found my way to the Theravada tradition. I am very new to dharma practice but I have seen the fruit of it in my life and am looking forward to deepening my practice and learning what I can here. Thanks.
Welcome! I've found this to be a helpful community and still do, Christofer.

Southern Utah, beautiful part of the world, love the national parks.

Have you encountered the Satipatthana Sutta, as yet?
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Christofer
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Location: Southern Utah

Re: Members Bios - please contribute yours

Post by Christofer »

indianromeo wrote:
Christofer wrote:Hi, my name is Christofer, I am born and raised in southern Utah. I am a husband of 12 years and have 2 sons ages 6 and 4. I have played the drums since I was 12 and play in a few bands locally. I am a barber by trade, I've been at that for about 7 years now. I started meditating daily about a year ago. I got really interested in Zen at first but eventually found my way to the Theravada tradition. I am very new to dharma practice but I have seen the fruit of it in my life and am looking forward to deepening my practice and learning what I can here. Thanks.
Welcome! I've found this to be a helpful community and still do, Christofer.

Southern Utah, beautiful part of the world, love the national parks.

Have you encountered the Satipatthana Sutta, as yet?
Thanks, I actually live about 20 miles from Zion National Park. Very beautiful. I have not encountered the Satipatthana Sutta. I will seek it out.
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