Spiritual Guidance :)

[Muzza5]

Hello everyone,

I'm new here and have been drawn to Buddhism.

Watching youtube videos and reading articles about it is great but I know I have to live it to really understand and benefit from Buddah's Teachings.

I live in New Zealand and am a second year university student, i have an internship at a international school just outside of Pattaya in Chonburi next year and it would be a great opportunity to learn more about Buddhism and get a chance to experience it.

I will probably just ask around when I'm there about how to find out more about it.

I was just curious, as a foreigner what would be the best way to go about this? And if anyone has any experiences they would like to share that would be much appreciated

Thank you!!

[huli]

IMO you can learn more about Buddhism from Youtube videos, articles, and books than you can from asking around in Thailand.

[Muzza5]

Hi Huli,

Yea your probably right, would just feel more authentic in person.

[A1Str8]

Continue learning about it online. And when you have the opportunity to come here, then you will have the chance to go to different temples and talk to monks almost any time of the day. You can ask anything and they will do their best to answer and help you to gain knowledge and experience it first hand.

Edited October 13, 2013 by A1Str8

[Muzza5]

Thanks A1Str8

Yea that sounds like a good plan. I have some Thai Friends who could help me with some guidance too.

[rockyysdt]

Thanks A1Str8

Yea that sounds like a good plan. I have some Thai Friends who could help me with some guidance too.

Learning about what to practice would also be beneficial.

I recommend attending a retreat which will give you practical knowledge and experience.

A very good International Retreat (10 days) located in Thailand, without the gimmicks such as lucky charms and superstition, is held at the beginning of each month at Wat Suan Mokkh.

This retreat offers isolation, instruction (English), & practice, and includes Monk guest speakers.

http://www.suanmokkh-idh.org/idh-schedule.html

At 2,000 baht donation for 10 days (food, personal accommodation, authentic Theravadan instruction), you can't go wrong.

You will learn Sitting & Walking meditation, Mindfulness, Anapana Sati Meditation Technique, Sitting Posture, Mindfulness of eating, within a secluded Forest Setting, during which time, communication is forbidden.

A good introduction into Buddhism.

Edited October 13, 2013 by rockyysdt

[ChrisB87]

I recommend you visit this website http://www.dhamma.org/

They are a worldwide organization teaching Anapana, Vipassana, and Metta meditation.

There are centers in New Zealand and many in Thailand.

The courses last 10 days and are free. They provide everything you need. You may give donation. You can book your course through the link i gave you.

[PimonratC]

Here, Do you know Wat Suan Santidham?

We have volunteers willing to provide live English translations

of Luangpor Pramote's Dhamma talks on the second Saturday of every month

at Wat Suan Santidham, 7:00 am,

and provide assistance in English afterward.

This is by appointment only.

You can ask this man directly

Jesskoffman (at) hotmail.com

He can provide you a guide.

Wat Suan Santidham

at Sriracha Chonburi, Thailand

Here, you can look at his book. It so great.

^____^

http://usa.learndhamma.com/pramote/books/The%20Buddhist%20Way%20to%20Peace%20of%20Mind.pdf

.

[Jawnie]

Thailand is not a very good place to learn about Buddhism, frankly. There are several reasons for this. First, most Thais don't have enough English-Buddhist vocabulary to explain buddhist concepts and teachings as they understand them - it applies to reading materials as well. Second, the Buddhism taught in Thailand is Hinayana, which is known as the 'lesser vehicle' across the Buddhist world. This simply means that Thai Buddhist (and other Hinayana Buddhists) adhere only to the sutras, the recorded spoken words of the Buddha while generally rejecting Mahayana and Vajrayana teachings and texts. This rejection runs rather deep in that in doing so, it rejects additional sutras which the Buddha that reflect the ideals of the Mahayana and Vajrayana schools. Thai buddhists generally reject those teachings, specifically the bodhisattva ideal and the tantric teachings of the Vajrayana. In order the fully study, understand, and learn about Buddhism, you'd need to study those other schools. India and Nepal are good places to learn about them, definitely not Thailand.

[fabianfred]

I'm not into self-promotion....someone will think I've got a big ego...but I was the dhamma teacher at the MonkforaMonth project for several years and recent guests filmed some of my talks..

You might find them informative.

[camerata]

Second, the Buddhism taught in Thailand is Hinayana, which is known as the 'lesser vehicle' across the Buddhist world. This simply means that Thai Buddhist (and other Hinayana Buddhists) adhere only to the sutras, the recorded spoken words of the Buddha while generally rejecting Mahayana and Vajrayana teachings and texts.

The Buddhism taught in Thailand is Theravada. The term "Hinayana" (strictly translated as "inferior vehicle," according to Ajahn Brahm) was coined by the Mahayanists and is generally considered derogatory.

Theravada recognizes the Pali Canon suttas, Vinaya, and Abhidhamma, plus the Pali Commentaries. These are considered sufficient to get one to nibbana.

[PimonratC]

.

Friends,

There are so many good topics about Theravada Buddhism and Tripitaka that we really need to know.

Here is a book "The Pali Canon: What a Buddhist Must know"

by Phra Bhramagunabhorn (P.A. Payutto)

This English version first published 2002

as an article entitled 'What a true Buddhist should know about the Pali Canon'

in Manusya: Journal of Humanities (Special Issue No. 4, 2002)

You can download this book from here

http://www.watnyanaves.net/uploads/File/books/pdf/the_pali_canon_what_a_buddhist_must_know.pdf

Or here.

http://atenlightenment.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/the_pali_canon-what_a_buddhist_must_know.pdf

Good Luck Friends

.

[sabaijai]

Thailand is not a very good place to learn about Buddhism, frankly.

I would respectfully disagree. For someone interested in learning about Theravada Buddhism, Thailand is clearly one of the better places -- in the sense of overall convenience and availability of teachings (yes, in English) -- to study and practice in the Theravada school.

I've spent time in each of the Theravada-majority lands (Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Sri Lanka), and I'd say the Sangha here has the best Vinaya overall (even despite the well-known and recurring scandals).

One exception might be for someone who wanted to study Pali intensively, for which I'd recommend Sri Lanka. Good Pali study programs are also available here in Thailand, as well as in Myanmar. Sri Lanka is well known for the rigor of its Pali studies, which are available even in parochial universities.

For those interested in the Mahayana schools, including Zen, Pure Land, Shingon, and so forth, or in Vajrayana (considered by some as an extension of Mahayana), Thailand is not a good choice, as these forms of Buddhism are practiced by only a tiny minority here.