Dhamma Wheel Buddhist Forum

Hi folks,

I work for a University and was a student there several years ago. Our campus lacks a Buddhist/Dhamma club. There are tons of Christian groups, a Jewish group, and a Muslim group. I don't know how feasible or useful it would be to organize such a club and keep it running? I figured it might be a good group to organize Buddhist events or meditate together. I am already part of the Meditation club but it's not the same. It would also be a good group to have discussions on the Dhamma and maybe get non-Buddhists interested as well. The problem is, I don't even know where to start and if there are even like minded individuals or if other Buddhists just want to be left alone.

I would like the organization to be organized along the Venerable Walpola Rahula's "Basic Points Unifying the Theravada and the Mahayana" document (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_Poin ... 1y%C4%81na" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;). Do you think this would work? Or is it too broad? Is it a worthwhile effort? The other thing I need to factor in is that it seems a lot of young people aren't too interested in this type of stuff.

Please let me know what you folks think.



Al

We do not believe that this world is created and ruled by a God.

well as Ajahn Chah said to Ajahn Sumedho, "they maybe right" with a sly smile!

Why not just a simple meditation group with an emphasis/orientation towards Buddhism?

Hi Dhamma Savaka

You may wish to contact Zavk (a member here) who has started a group at a university here in Australia for tips and for how he got his group going. Also, I know thereductor also got a group going in his community.

If it were me - I would keep it really simple and focus on stuff that I would like in a group. Perhaps a focus on meditation with perhaps listening to a podcast of a short dhamma talk afterwards with or without discussion following it. I also think an important aspect of a group should be the informal social at the end so practitioners can get to know each other. As you get a bit of momentum and interest you could then tailor the group a bit more to what people need/want.
kind regards,

Ben

dhamma savaka wrote:Hi folks,

I work for a University and was a student there several years ago. Our campus lacks a Buddhist/Dhamma club. There are tons of Christian groups, a Jewish group, and a Muslim group. I don't know how feasible or useful it would be to organize such a club and keep it running? I figured it might be a good group to organize Buddhist events or meditate together. I am already part of the Meditation club but it's not the same. It would also be a good group to have discussions on the Dhamma and maybe get non-Buddhists interested as well. The problem is, I don't even know where to start and if there are even like minded individuals or if other Buddhists just want to be left alone.

I would like the organization to be organized along the Venerable Walpola Rahula's "Basic Points Unifying the Theravada and the Mahayana" document (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_Poin ... 1y%C4%81na" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;). Do you think this would work? Or is it too broad? Is it a worthwhile effort? The other thing I need to factor in is that it seems a lot of young people aren't too interested in this type of stuff.

Please let me know what you folks think.



Al

Some years back a friend and myself revived a Buddhist club on campus. It was extremely worthwhile.

We promoted it at Orientation, held two meetings a week, one focused on meditation and another on study and invited many teachers to come and speak to us. We also organised retreats, did working bees at temples, etc.

After the first year we had a core of committed members and 7 years on, I am very good friends with three of the people I met through this club, all still practicing (one sort of fledgling).

The Ven Rahula's paper is a good start. We tried to keep it strictly non sectarian and invited teachers from all traditions while personally people went to different places in their spare time too.

I think it is important to have a few people who are willing to do the legwork to keep it running but not take over too much. Once people show interest they should feel empowered to help out and feel that it is their club rather than yours and their are merely guests. It's also important not to become a de facto guru, but rather a convenor or a facilitator.

If there is anything I can do to help - feel free to ask.

Many of the universities in Australia have Buddhist societies, and even an organisation uniting them. They could probably give you some good points.

This person asked a similar question, so this thread might be of help:
http://dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f= ... ity#p77864" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thank you all so much for the info! This is really helpful!



Al