Greetings and metta

Introduce yourself to others at Dhamma Wheel.
Post Reply
User avatar
Luiz Fernando
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Feb 19, 2018 12:14 am
Contact:

Greetings and metta

Post by Luiz Fernando »

Hello, there. I've just arrived here. I have read so many threads in difficult times, but never really registered until tonight.
So, I'm happy to join you and to tell a little about myself:

My name is the same as my nickname and this is me in the picture.
I am from São Paulo, Brazil, and live in Campinas. I'm a linguistics graduation student and currently work as a teacher.

My interest in spiritual and religious things has been present throughout my life and I studied these things by myself since I was a teenager, including occasionally Buddha Dhamma (I first read some Dhammapada verses when I was 16 or 17). Raised in a Catholic family, I never liked the church and refused to undergo catechism. I was more interested in Spiritualism, Pantheism, revivalist Celtic new age paganism and then, more seriously, in Ayahuasca and modern day shamanism as an universalist practice. I had participated in too many Ayahuasca rites. Approximately one year ago, I noticed no improvement on my ways, which I blame on my lack of discipline but also to the inconsistency of universalist groups and practices. So, I dropped everything I was doing and decided to chase exclusively one path: it would be Buddha Dhamma, because the Buddha was the one teacher who impressed me the most and his Dhamma talked to me like nothing else.

Since then, I wandered the realms of Dhamma, getting to know many doctrines and traditions, and reading their sacred texts (Sutras and Suttas). I settled for Theravada because I was unconvinced by late doctrines added by the Mahayana movement as I read some of the core Sutras of the Tathagatagarbha series (my first choice had been Zen, as I also admired Laozi a great deal and had hoped to reconcile both Taoism and Buddhism). Visiting a Soka Gakkai centre was also a bad experience. The Vajrayana contacts I had were pleasant, but I do not feel at ease with their many divinities and Tantra practices. This choice proved wonderful: the Dhamma as it was taught by the master has been my constant study and a source of much rejoice and unprecedented success in self-improvement and a proggressive will to go beyond even these gains.

I live in a city where there are no Theravada centres of practice, so I studied by myself for some time and got in contact with people online. Today, I'm connected to the Brazilian Society of Buddhism and their online Dhamma Talk broadcast. This old organization is recently applying for a place in the Ajahn Chah Forest Tradition council, and we have a resident monk (Ajahn Mudito) as our spiritual leader and a monastery being built. It's a high time for the flourishing of Theravada in Brazil.
Last edited by Luiz Fernando on Mon Feb 19, 2018 1:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
May all beings be free from enmity and danger
May all beings be free from mental suffering
May all beings be free from physical suffering
May all beings take care of themselves, happily
:buddha1:
User avatar
DNS
Site Admin
Posts: 17188
Joined: Tue Dec 30, 2008 4:15 am
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, Estados Unidos de América
Contact:

Re: Greetings and metta

Post by DNS »

Welcome to DW!

:buddha2:
User avatar
dylanj
Posts: 936
Joined: Wed Dec 14, 2016 1:48 am
Location: San Francisco
Contact:

Re: Greetings and metta

Post by dylanj »

Hi, think I know you from facebook, welcome :)
Born, become, arisen – made, prepared, short-lived
Bonded by decay and death – a nest for sickness, perishable
Produced by seeking nutriment – not fit to take delight in


Departure from this is peaceful – beyond reasoning and enduring
Unborn, unarisen – free from sorrow and stain
Ceasing of all factors of suffering – stilling of all preparations is bliss
User avatar
SDC
Posts: 9062
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 11:08 pm

Re: Greetings and metta

Post by SDC »

Welcome! Thanks for sharing!
“Life is swept along, short is the life span; no shelters exist for one who has reached old age. Seeing clearly this danger in death, a seeker of peace should drop the world’s bait.” SN 1.3
User avatar
bodom
Posts: 7216
Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2009 6:18 pm
Location: San Antonio, Texas

Re: Greetings and metta

Post by bodom »

Welcome!

:namaste:
Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements for reaching the final goal are two: to start and to continue. If these requirements are met there is no doubt the goal will be attained. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.

- BB
User avatar
Virgo
Posts: 1546
Joined: Sun Feb 14, 2010 10:52 pm
Location: United States

Re: Greetings and metta

Post by Virgo »

Welcome. :clap:

Virgo
User avatar
Lucas Oliveira
Posts: 1890
Joined: Wed Jun 10, 2015 10:07 pm

Re: Greetings and metta

Post by Lucas Oliveira »

Welcome!

I live in Salvador-Bahia.

Maybe you already know this center

http://casadedharmaorg.org/

:anjali:
I participate in this forum using Google Translator. http://translate.google.com.br

http://www.acessoaoinsight.net/
Post Reply