i think i need to simplify my practice

[hornets]

I don't know about my fellow beginners but I STILL keep swamping myself with far too much information. It's like I can't just patiently and methodically develop my practice. More books! Look at really advanced posts on forums! Get confused! Get disheartened! Get another book! Repeat!

I keep forgetting that Dhamma really is very simple stuff (but also hard work, like anything worthwhile). Strip away hundreds and hundreds of years of acculturation, commentary, etc it has a profound relevance to my life in 2012.

I need to reel this crazyness in and I've decided that all I need at the moment is:

1. Daily meditation (with or without a downloaded Guided Meditation on my mp3)

2. Just these books (for me personally, it's not a suggestion)
i. Anguttara Nikaya Anthology: An Anthology of Discourses
ii. The Dhammapada
iii. Noble Eightfold Path: Way to the End of Suffering

3. Attend my local Vihara once a week

4. Buy a back support and stop griping

5. Practice what I preach (to myself)


I attend a Theravada place once a week and it is for the most part hugely beneficial. However, I keep picking up yet another free book each week and for the most part they are currently way too advanced for me. Yet I'll sit down and plough through them until my brain fogs up, usually halfway through the introduction. I'm like a bloody magpie with these books. Perhaps I subconsciously think merely owning them will help?

I've signed up to do the Elementary Dhamma exam and one of the monks gave me a big, thick book called the Manuals of Buddhism which I can make no sense of whatsover. He meant well, I know that, he must just think everyone's as massively accomplished and learned as he is.

Are there any beginners out there attending an offline Buddhist centre? Are you currently struggling with some of the aspects of your chosen tradition? I ask this in the spirit of 'keeping it simple'.

I genuinely struggle with some of the 'ritual' (for want of a better term) within the tradition I have chosen, especially after having read (here we go again!) some books about the early history of Buddhism. Yes, Stephen Batchelor being one, but also 'Gautama Buddha' by Vishvapani Blomfield, among others.

Am I just another potential Pick'n'Mix Westerner who just can't admit that? Hmmm.

[LonesomeYogurt]

Didn't Ajahn Chah say "The only book worth reading is the book of the heart?"

I know how you feel. You're right on about trying to meditate more than read. As long as you know even the basics, it's going to be far more beneficial to explore your mind experientially than it will be to muse over high and lofty concepts that don't pertain to you at the moment. I wish I had your dedication! It seems I can't go more than a few days without sneaking another ill-understood essay or lecture into this brain.

Good luck!

[Aloka]

I genuinely struggle with some of the 'ritual' (for want of a better term) within the tradition I have chosen

Hi hornets,

Could you say a little more about what you mean by "ritual" please ?


with kind wishes

Aloka

[Cittasanto]

KISS KISS
Keep It Simple Stupid
Keep It Simple Stupid

doing it twice may help
but seriously I keep going back to basics when things get wobbly, no point trying to do detailed reflections if your mind is not stable, and the basics are really good for me to stable the mind!
and even if they arent wobbly I normally start with the basics and guage where to go from there, but that could be 30mins of basics. Just one breath.

[Volcommerce]

Hey,

I would recommend you to ask you, and write down, what it is about buddhism that you feel is relevant to you, and why?

If your answers do not seem or feel up to ''par,'' thats fine, from here you can guage a starting point on what you are seeking.

If you don't feel comfortable expressing this on a post, please pm me.

[retrofuturist]

Greetings Hornets,

My recommendation is to keep the Four Noble Truths and Noble Eightfold Path as your anchor.

Ensure your thoughts, speech, action, livelihood, intentions etc. accord with it.

The specifics as to how that alignment manifests in your life are secondary concerns compared to that.

Metta,
Retro.

[rowboat]

Greetings Hornets,

My recommendation is to keep the Four Noble Truths and Noble Eightfold Path as your anchor.

Ensure your thoughts, speech, action, livelihood, intentions etc. accord with it.

The specifics as to how that alignment manifests in your life are secondary concerns compared to that.

Metta,
Retro.

Towards this end, these are some very good essential resources:
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/auth ... toend.html

And for almost immediate noticeable results (but not at all to suggest that any one aspect of the Noble Eightfold Path is more important than the other) here is some material on right speech: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/auth ... peech.html

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dham ... index.html

[hornets]

i love you guys. thank you for the posts, helpful and encouraging!

[unspoken]

Sometimes you cant push yourself too far till the edge. To grow, we need time. Its useless if you practice everyday meditation yet couldnt realize things in life. Just make it as part of daily routine and slow things down, because even a Buddha before becoming one, went through uncountable time

[Bakmoon]

I don't know about my fellow beginners but I STILL keep swamping myself with far too much information. It's like I can't just patiently and methodically develop my practice. More books! Look at really advanced posts on forums! Get confused! Get disheartened! Get another book! Repeat!

I keep forgetting that Dhamma really is very simple stuff (but also hard work, like anything worthwhile). Strip away hundreds and hundreds of years of acculturation, commentary, etc it has a profound relevance to my life in 2012.

First of all, it's great that you recognize that practice is more important than knowledge. A lot of people get hung up on the books and forget to practice. A good rule of thumb is to meditate as much as you study. Always keep the meditation practice as the highest priority.

I would reccomend you put aside the more advanced materials altogether for a while. I would highly recommend listening to some of the talks at www.dhammatalks.org by the Ven. Thanissaro Bhikkhu. His knowledge of the Dhamma is very good, but he speaks in a normal straightforward, easy to understand way, and everything that he has to say is above all else practical.

You might also want to go through the Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi's lectures on the Majjhima Nikaya, as the Majjhima nikaya is an excellent place for beginners especially and is also very practical. The link to the lectures is http://bodhimonastery.org/a-systematic- ... ikaya.html

You might also want to check out the Majjhima Nikaya (and other Nikayas as well) at www.accesstoinsight.org as a good grounding in even the more simple suttas goes a tremendous way in terms of understanding the more complicated books. Make use of your copy of the Anguttara Nikaya as well.

I hope you find that helpful.

[Yana]

hi!

yes i know how you feel!grr...i have been swamping myself with too much things toooo and i get incredibly exhausted even before i start.

So i have decided to keep things simple.

Maybe just focus on meditation,mindfulness in daily activities,and keeping the five precepts!

[KASHI]

Hello friend,

I may be a bit late in this discussion but I understand where you are coming from. I have a fairly large selection of buddhist books and i find myself doing more reading then meditation. but at the same time the Buddha did say that the first thing to do in following the eightfold path is to have right view...which we all know is the first factor. So the way to get right view he said is listening to the dhamma and having good focus and attention...so these days reading would be the same thing as listening...but it is easy to get caught up in all the information. Some people here may have much better advice then myself but I would maybe just read a sutta or 2 a day and do a little meditation twice a day if your day allows the time for it.
good luck and may you benifit from the Buddhas teachings!!

Namaste
-KASHI

[FrancesB]

Hi hornets,

I could have written your post. I honestly think that buying/acquiring books is a kind of addiction. If I spent time on the buddhist books that I already have I would be a lot better off than frequently buying more. I'm trying to stick to one at a time just now and I know that the books I already have could last for years, so I am trying not to acquire anymore for the next year. I do however have a wishlist so that I can keep track of useful books that I hear about.

metta

[Ruralist]

i think we all go through the book buying stage, heck i just downloaded a load of new ebook PDFs to my ipad for mobile dhamma but getting bogged down in what is essentially someone else's opinion/experience/translation is nowhere near as good as getting bogged down in you own experience