http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/en/archives/study/comparison_buddhist_traditions/general/sectarianism_within_bsm/transcript.html

Originally a yoga practicioner and practioner of various forms of Hindu meditation and ritual, I am a beginning exploring Buddhism and Buddhist mediation after what amounted to 25 years (mentally anyway) in PATTAYA.

I found the above archive to a be fascinating, as was a visit to Bouda in Nepal. I will go back to one of the monasteries north of town just for the great food and introductory courses. I walked from Bouda to a Kargyu (?) monastery very popular with Tibetan tourists but the place reeked of religion as business. I much preferred the simple shrine lower down. I loved the gongs and colours and even the kagyu flag, but it all seemed so much like religion as theatre, in much the same way as the Orthodox church is. I love the smells, sights and sounds - but I think a person could easily be seduced by the drama instead of the substance. I suppose this is the whole purpose, to draw in by the sensory to start.

My two cents.

That is a very good article, thanks for the link.

Pattaya to Kathmandu is quite a journey. My advice is to keep travelling. Somewhere around the next corner you may find a teacher or a revelation that will help.