amar

Laughing here about the idiot question preface, I heard a nice one recently, something to the tune of the idea wisdom better being a noun than a verb because it can also be seen as a process, e.g. discerning this from that...

Not to be too flip, but is there an incorrect way to meditate? Sincere question....

Chogyam Trungpa frequently expressed the idea of ownership and territory in his talks, and mentions the idea of " disowning" thoughts and habits. I think his point might have been that the truly exhausting thing is holding onto, owning, and caring for what is "ours." He also mentioned the idea of pulling ourselves out of our individual cocoons, and feeling tired and exposed might actually be a good sign at this point!

Greetings from Germany! I'm looking forward to sharing and learning here. The posts I've already seen were, among other things, sincere, informative and curious. Promising. Refuge is where we find it, I guess. Much of my practice is online at dharmasun.org, which offers a daily Tibetan practice called Tara's Triple Excellence. It has been a great adventure so far, both on the cushion and off, and it focuses on the fundamentals above all. To clarify, the Tara practice in this form is basically a grand tour of Hinayana, Mahayana and Vajrayana practice with strong Dzogchen and Nyingma influences but also somewhat adapted for secular/Western Buddhists. Most of my earlier experience was with Theravada Buddhism, and the transition (if there has been one) has been an easy one, the overall difference being shorter periods of meditation and much more visualization. Those in the know should feel free to add to or improve my description. At this point, in the 2nd Excellence, we are meditating on the Mahayana fundamentals of compassion, loving-kindness, wisdom, and emptiness. One of the many reasons that I am so grateful for this practice is because is has made me more available to and accepting of other practices and approaches. No two will be alike...so here we are meeting at the forum. Finally, I would like to share a quote from a recent session: "If not now, then when? If not us, then who?" All my best, Amar