in the united states?

Discussion of ordination, the Vinaya and monastic life. How and where to ordain? Bhikkhuni ordination etc.
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mikenz66
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Re: in the united states?

Post by mikenz66 »

Hi Zac,
zac wrote: well the language issue should be fine if it's an american temple and i doubt there's a crazy waiting list. an english speaking temple in thailand would have a long list for the small american population though.
Depends what you mean by an "American" temple. There are a number of Theravada monasteries in the West which are mostly populated by Thai or Sri Lankan monks (like the local monasteries in my city). They exist mainly to support their local ethnic communities and while they are probably happy to have others turn up, if you don't speak Thai or Sinhalese you may feel a bit lost at times.

There are a rather small number of Theravada monasteries in the US and Canada that have been set up primarily for Westerners, such as Abhayagiri http://forestsangha.org/index.php?optio ... s&Itemid=9" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; or Metta Forest Monastery http://www.watmetta.org/. Those are the sort of places I mean when I talk about waiting lists.

Mike
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cooran
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Re: in the united states?

Post by cooran »

Since the Buddha's time, the teachings have traditionally been given away free of charge, passing freely from teacher to student, from friend to friend. The teachings are regarded as priceless, and have been conveyed to us across the centuries by an unbroken stream of generosity — the very foundation of all the Buddha's teachings. I would investigate closely anyone charging for the Buddha's teachings, and I would completely avoid anyone charging dearly for them.

It may be that, if a private venue has been hired, that separate charges are made for accommodation - but the Dhamma Teachings should always be freely given.

As an example, Bodhi Tree Monastery (the home of Buddhanet.net), like most Theravada monasteries, does not impose a charge for Retreats - food, accommodation or Teachings. Most yogis, of course, give Dana generously - but this is by choice, and no note is taken of who gives and who does not.

with metta
Chris
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Paññāsikhara
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Re: in the united states?

Post by Paññāsikhara »

Regards student loans, the main point is that during ordination one has to certify that one is not in debt. Those in debt who wish to ordain, often considered from ancient times as a way out of debt, is not permissible in the Buddha's sasana. Such is my understanding.
My recently moved Blog, containing some of my writings on the Buddha Dhamma, as well as a number of translations from classical Buddhist texts and modern authors, liturgy, etc.: Huifeng's Prajnacara Blog.
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dhammastudier
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Re: in the united states?

Post by dhammastudier »

alan wrote:Zac,
I'm sorry but you are making a big mistake if you read posts like this. Don't you know real Dhamma isn't cheap? I mean, let's face it, you get what you pay for. What good teacher would work for free?
I don't ever pay attention to those cheap monasteries. You know, the ones what rely on charity. Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps, dammit!
If you want good Dhamma, PAY. Cheap Dhamma isn't worth the paper it was written on.
As my Guru always says: Bring your own bread or don't even bother!
:lol:
wow, thanx for the thought but that's against a lot of what i believe and what buddhism is about. sorry. the buddha took in poor people and taught them so i think it's wrong to only teach people with money to pay for teachings.
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dhammastudier
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Re: in the united states?

Post by dhammastudier »

mikenz66 wrote:Hi Zac,
zac wrote: well the language issue should be fine if it's an american temple and i doubt there's a crazy waiting list. an english speaking temple in thailand would have a long list for the small american population though.
Depends what you mean by an "American" temple. There are a number of Theravada monasteries in the West which are mostly populated by Thai or Sri Lankan monks (like the local monasteries in my city). They exist mainly to support their local ethnic communities and while they are probably happy to have others turn up, if you don't speak Thai or Sinhalese you may feel a bit lost at times.

There are a rather small number of Theravada monasteries in the US and Canada that have been set up primarily for Westerners, such as Abhayagiri http://forestsangha.org/index.php?optio ... s&Itemid=9" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; or Metta Forest Monastery http://www.watmetta.org/. Those are the sort of places I mean when I talk about waiting lists.

Mike
oh ok thanx.
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dhammastudier
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Re: in the united states?

Post by dhammastudier »

cooran wrote:Since the Buddha's time, the teachings have traditionally been given away free of charge, passing freely from teacher to student, from friend to friend. The teachings are regarded as priceless, and have been conveyed to us across the centuries by an unbroken stream of generosity — the very foundation of all the Buddha's teachings. I would investigate closely anyone charging for the Buddha's teachings, and I would completely avoid anyone charging dearly for them.

It may be that, if a private venue has been hired, that separate charges are made for accommodation - but the Dhamma Teachings should always be freely given.

As an example, Bodhi Tree Monastery (the home of Buddhanet.net), like most Theravada monasteries, does not impose a charge for Retreats - food, accommodation or Teachings. Most yogis, of course, give Dana generously - but this is by choice, and no note is taken of who gives and who does not.

with metta
Chris
cool that's what i was figuring. if someone is making you pay for that type of thing it's probably a scam artist who is book-learned on the topic and will hold you in a slow moving state of learning to keep the money flowing. and if not that, it's a person who is not very mastered in the art as they are not generous and compassionate toward the poor. i've already trained with a master and some nuns for free many times so i think that's proof alone.
hamishmarshal
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Re: in the united states?

Post by hamishmarshal »

Refugees from war in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos settle in USA and Europe, establishing many tight-knit Buddhist communities in the West. Ven. Taungpulu Sayadaw. Lay meditation centers grow in popularity in USA and Europe. First Theravada forest monastery in the USA (Bhavana Society) is established in West Virginia. Amaravati Buddhist Monastery. Then it continued western expansion of the Theravada Sangha monasteries from the thai forest traditions established in California, USA (Metta Forest Monastery).
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dhammastudier
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Re: in the united states?

Post by dhammastudier »

hamishmarshal wrote:Refugees from war in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos settle in USA and Europe, establishing many tight-knit Buddhist communities in the West. Ven. Taungpulu Sayadaw. Lay meditation centers grow in popularity in USA and Europe. First Theravada forest monastery in the USA (Bhavana Society) is established in West Virginia. Amaravati Buddhist Monastery. Then it continued western expansion of the Theravada Sangha monasteries from the thai forest traditions established in California, USA (Metta Forest Monastery).
um... ok... thanx?
Goob
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Re: in the united states?

Post by Goob »

Reanimation!

What is the visa situation when it comes to europeans ordaining in the states? Seeing how a U.S citizenship is pretty desireable for many people around the world, and you generally would have to be skilled or get married to get a residency, are internationals given some sort of religious worker sponsorship or something?
Goob
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Re: in the united states?

Post by Goob »

I'll try my luck again. Can a person with a European citizenship ordain in the United States without acquiring a Green Card the "normal" way? My guess is no, but may there be some sort of religious visa or something?
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DNS
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Re: in the united states?

Post by DNS »

richard_rca wrote:I'll try my luck again. Can a person with a European citizenship ordain in the United States without acquiring a Green Card the "normal" way? My guess is no, but may there be some sort of religious visa or something?
As far as I know, it is done the 'normal' way; which in the case of ordaining, would be the temple in the U.S. sponsoring you and basically guaranteeing that you will be a clergy member at their temple. It doesn't speed up the process, but doesn't delay it either, it will still take several years.
Goob
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Re: in the united states?

Post by Goob »

Aha, so basically it would be the same deal as for when a company sponsors someone as an employee? I'm guessing there's a lot of paperwork involved in that process but does anyone know the details regarding a sponshorship like that and how long it would take before the government approves of it?
Goob
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Re: in the united states?

Post by Goob »

Found some information: http://www.youradwokat.com/documents/ne ... tution.pdf

Seems like there is something called an R-1 Visa that allows people to come and stay temporarily as religious workers. Interesting.
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