Hi guys

Introduce yourself to others at Dhamma Wheel.
Post Reply
Fluke
Posts: 24
Joined: Wed May 22, 2013 4:47 pm

Hi guys

Post by Fluke »

Hi guys

I'm male 39 years of age, hailing from Yorkshire in the UK, and have been interested in Buddhism for approximately the last 10 years.

I've read several books on the subject and have learned from Buddhist forums and chat rooms as well as other online material. I've been meditating for around 5 years and have slowly built up the amount of time I spend on it, although I admit I lack discipline in this area as I sometimes miss days.

I live in a small town where there are no Buddhist centres or temples, and so unfortunately I have no teacher. I intend going on retreats in the very near future, where i can learn more about the practice of the Dhamma (in particular the most skilful way to practice Vipassana) and of course I hope I can learn a lot from this forum.

I look forward to meeting and conversing with you :smile:

Peace
Fluke
--
Peace
Fluke
User avatar
felipe
Posts: 18
Joined: Sat May 11, 2013 3:01 pm
Location: Costa Rica

Re: Hi guys

Post by felipe »

Welcome aboard :)

I am in the same situation, no centres near me and no teacher, but this place is very good, internet is a great tool this days.

Hope you can find what you are looking for :)
“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”
― Mahatma Gandhi
User avatar
Aloka
Posts: 7797
Joined: Wed Jan 21, 2009 2:51 pm

Re: Hi guys

Post by Aloka »

Welcome Fluke,

If you can travel further north to Northumberland at any time, Harnham Theravada Thai Forest tradition Monastery might be worth investigating.

http://ratanagiri.org.uk/about/

With kind wishes,

Aloka
User avatar
DNS
Site Admin
Posts: 17169
Joined: Tue Dec 30, 2008 4:15 am
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, Estados Unidos de América
Contact:

Re: Hi guys

Post by DNS »

Welcome to Dhamma Wheel!

:popcorn:
User avatar
Khalil Bodhi
Posts: 2250
Joined: Tue Feb 03, 2009 6:32 pm
Location: NYC
Contact:

Re: Hi guys

Post by Khalil Bodhi »

Welcome to DW!
To avoid all evil, to cultivate good, and to cleanse one's mind — this is the teaching of the Buddhas.
-Dhp. 183

The Stoic Buddhist: https://www.quora.com/q/dwxmcndlgmobmeu ... pOR2p0uAdH
My Practice Blog:
http://khalilbodhi.wordpress.com
User avatar
retrofuturist
Posts: 27839
Joined: Tue Dec 30, 2008 9:52 pm
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Contact:

Re: Hi guys

Post by retrofuturist »

Greetings Fluke,

Welcome to Dhamma Wheel.

:buddha1:

Metta,
Retro. :)
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
Fluke
Posts: 24
Joined: Wed May 22, 2013 4:47 pm

Re: Hi guys

Post by Fluke »

Thanks for the kind welcome.

Aloka, I appreciate the link you have given and will check it out. As there are no Buddhist centres near me, I know I will need to travel, and am prepared to do that. Right now I'm looking for a short-stay retreat (2-3 days) that teaches Vipassana. If that goes ok, I will consider the Goenka 10-day retreats.

Peace
Fluke
--
Peace
Fluke
Spiny Norman
Posts: 10154
Joined: Fri Mar 05, 2010 10:32 am
Location: Andromeda looks nice

Re: Hi guys

Post by Spiny Norman »

Fluke wrote:I'm male 39 years of age, hailing from Yorkshire in the UK, and have been interested in Buddhism for approximately the last 10 years.
Hi Fluke, this might be worth a look: http://www.buddhanet.info/wbd/search.ph ... =theravada.
Buddha save me from new-agers!
Fluke
Posts: 24
Joined: Wed May 22, 2013 4:47 pm

Re: Hi guys

Post by Fluke »

Spiny Norman wrote:
Fluke wrote:I'm male 39 years of age, hailing from Yorkshire in the UK, and have been interested in Buddhism for approximately the last 10 years.
Hi Fluke, this might be worth a look: http://www.buddhanet.info/wbd/search.ph ... =theravada.
The problem I have is that I don't drive, and when I last checked out the schedules of Sheffield Buddhist centres they finished late in the evening, making it impossible for me to return home by public transport.

I think my best option is going on a retreat for a few days.. which is something I've never done before. If that works out ok, I will consider longer retreats.

Thanks anyway Spiny Norman.

Edit: Or do the centres you mentioned offer retreats? Sorry I replied before looking properly. When I last researched this, there were no retreats available in the nearest city (Sheffield.)
--
Peace
Fluke
User avatar
Ben
Posts: 18438
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2008 12:49 am
Location: kanamaluka

Re: Hi guys

Post by Ben »

Greetings Fluke and welcome to Dhamma Wheel!
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725

Compassionate Hands Foundation (Buddhist aid in Myanmar) • Buddhist Global ReliefUNHCR

e: [email protected]..
Spiny Norman
Posts: 10154
Joined: Fri Mar 05, 2010 10:32 am
Location: Andromeda looks nice

Re: Hi guys

Post by Spiny Norman »

Fluke wrote:Edit: Or do the centres you mentioned offer retreats? Sorry I replied before looking properly. When I last researched this, there were no retreats available in the nearest city (Sheffield.)
Samatha Trust have a retreat centre in Wales, but it's worth checking in case they organise local retreats. And I think the the monastery at Harnham has already been mentioned - see the Thai Forest listings. Not all groups put themselves on the Buddhanet directory, but the ones that are listed should be able to give you information about other groups in their area - so it's worth making contact anyway. I think there's also a Triratna centre in Sheffield, they provide a good introduction to meditation.
Buddha save me from new-agers!
Fluke
Posts: 24
Joined: Wed May 22, 2013 4:47 pm

Re: Hi guys

Post by Fluke »

Thanks for the welcome Ben and for the advice Spiny Norman.

I checked out the web site of the Sheffield Triratna centre and that looks ideal, as it's not far to travel. I'll contact them and ask about their retreat dates.

Peace
Fluke
--
Peace
Fluke
Parth
Posts: 157
Joined: Tue Nov 10, 2009 1:53 pm

Re: Hi guys

Post by Parth »

Dear Fluke,

Only thing in 2-3 days vipassana can't be learnt let alone practised. You might end up taking a mild course and loosing the benefits that come with it.

Better take a 10 days course at Goenkaji's centers

Metta

Parth
Fluke
Posts: 24
Joined: Wed May 22, 2013 4:47 pm

Re: Hi guys

Post by Fluke »

parth wrote:Dear Fluke,

Only thing in 2-3 days vipassana can't be learnt let alone practised. You might end up taking a mild course and loosing the benefits that come with it.

Better take a 10 days course at Goenkaji's centers

Metta

Parth
Hi Parth

The 10 day retreats sound a little "intense" with ~10 hours of meditation every day, and complete silence between the visitors. Also, I've never been on a retreat before, so it's my intention to "test the waters" on a shorter retreat. If all goes well with that, I'll sign up for the longer Goenka retreat, where I'm sure I'll learn a lot more about Vipassana.

Peace
Fluke
--
Peace
Fluke
Post Reply