Do you have a meditation practice and follow the Buddhist teachings but don’t belong to a Buddhist community, or sangha, and don’t have a Buddhist teacher? If so, you’re part of a growing community of unaffiliated Buddhists in North America. And that’s one of the themes of the Spring 2010 issue of Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Quarterly, sister publication of the Shambhala Sun. It’s on newsstands now.
Here on SunSpace we’ve asked those readers who consider themselves unaffiliated Buddhists to share their experiences. You’ll find them in the comments for this post. Those who posted comments will want to check the Spring 2010 issue to see if theirs were published inside.
Also in the magazine are essays offering guidance and support to those who are “going it alone,” from prominent Buddhist teachers Sylvia Boorstein, Norman Fischer, Gaylon Ferguson, Barry Magid, Judy Lief and Lew Richmond. As Norman Fischer points out in his introduction, if you are unaffiliated, you are certainly not alone. He even suggests that most Western Buddhists may be unaffiliated, practicing “off the books.”
So check out the many smart and impassioned comments here, add your own, and keep an eye out for more teachings on and chances to comment about “Going It Alone” here on SunSpace in the coming days.
See also (links open in new windows):
- Buddhism’s New Pioneers: Norman Fischer’s introduction to Buddhadharma’s “Going It Alone” section
- Diving In to Buddhist Teachings: Judy Lief’s “Going It Alone” contribution
- Community: Extending the View of Sangha: Gaylon Ferguson’s “Going It Alone” contribution
- What If? Guidelines for Choosing a Buddhist Teacher: Lewis Richmond’s “Going It Alone” contribution
96 Comments
This description sounds exactly like my situation. I've practiced Zen Buddhism for years on my own, partly because it's something I want to do, partly because I simply don't have a Zen center in my town.
Not having the experience of ever practicing at a center, I don't know the difference between what it might be like, but I don't find it a struggle at all. Meditating and being mindful is something I make as a part of my routine.
I have been practicing Buddhism on my own for technically 2 years (1 year was spent understanding the way of life) now, and it's been whatever it is right now. I wouldn't be able to say, "Well, it's harder than going to Buddhist Centre" because I’ve never been to one. I wouldn't be able to say, "It’s hard going it alone" since I’ve only ever done it alone. However, when looking at it based upon a purely social stand-point, time. Before practicing Buddhism on my own was far more stressful than the time spent studying and practicing it on my own.
I won’t run through the pivotal point in my life when I realized, “Yes, I will practice Buddhism” or the transition from saying, “in the future” to “now” for that is irrelevant now. But, to give perspective on the experience, I will say that I’m currently a full-time student, full-time employee for a few years now, and would not have been able to survive without the teachings that Buddhism has brought on. Mainly, the Mahayana teachings of Lama Zopa Rinpoche on, “anger” (something my life was consumed with years ago) and meditation (universal to all various teachings).
It has been a glorious experience – peaceful – eye opening and to quote the Matrix, “your eyes hurt because you’ve never used them before”
I live in a rural part of Oklahoma, with a church almost on every corner, but no Buddhist centers. Most of my practice has been done at home… reading almost everything I can get my hands on… reading books, blogs, and websites and listening to podcasts. I also practice sitting meditation daily. I've recently started driving about an hour to a very small Zen group, but we don't do much more than meditation, drink tea, and chant a little bit. So far I'm happy where I'm at, accepting it as my karma (I guess). It's hard to pick up and move since I have a family and am pretty grounded where I'm at. Probably the most helpful thing I have found is internet access. It gives me opportunity to not only find reading material, but allows me to also interact with a any teacher or other practitioner who also has an internet presence. At present I'm unaffiliated by choice and circumstance. Besides for no really local group, I have hesitated to affiliate with anyone online because many of the Buddhist leaders and teachers as well as organizations are sort of a turn off. It seems like they are fighting to appear the most authentic and gobble up true seekers to claim as trophys and statistics. The whole ego-driven consumerism of the current Buddhist scene, at least in the U.S. is a turn off.
Agree that it's hard to know if it's difficult, because it has always been this way. Have always been turned off by organized religion, and though Buddhism is not a religion, do sometimes see negative group think. I live in a a big city and there are plenty of opportunities to get involved with the larger community, but so far I have not found the time to make it out to a group function. It is probably much easier for me personally to do my own thing and study and meditate on my own then to sync my practice to a larger group.
Hi Tim,
You raise an interesting point that it's hard to know what you might be missing out on if you've never had the experience of being part of a Buddhist community or had a Buddhist teacher. It's great that your experience as an unaffiliated practitioner has been positive and that you're making meditation and mindfulness an integral part of your daily life.
Tynette
Dear Jamie,
Thanks for sharing your story. I suspect a lot of people may share your reaction to what seems to be an overwhelming number of Buddhist groups and teachers who are reaching out online. Of course there are lots of really great Buddhist teachers and groups with websites nowadays, but it's hard to tell from the Internet alone who is the real deal.
Tynette
Hi,
I'm curious to know whether you get stuck at all in your meditation practice, and if so, how you handle that. One of the things that a teacher or meditation instructor can do is give you a nudge when you need it (and most of us need it). Have you found was to help you stay motivated and to keep practicing when things get rough?
Tynette
I am content, and it is (at times) a struggle. What's most difficult in solitary practice is to be consistent- to sit every day. What has been most helpful for me is to commit to a practice I know I can fulfill on- in my case, nine bows (prostrations) first thing every morning. There's always time for that; and it lives as an invitation for the rest of the day- to sit in the evening, to be mindful during the day. Bowing is also great medicine for resistance! There is also a wonderful proliferation of Buddhist & other teachers & students online, which can be very inspiring. And over time, you'll find yourself practicing because things get rough.
The Sangha operates as an extreme, rigid form of practice. Some prefer it as the center of their practice and some don't. It should, however, never be the definition of practice. While serving an important pupose in the rooting of Buddhism more firmly across ethnic and racial borders in the West it is limited (usually) to the coasts and urban areas. The rural Buddhist is largely left out in the cold and out of the loop.
Even for many in urban areas or with a rich Buddhist community from which to tap, restrictions and responsibilities of household life are a barrier. These restrictions and responsibilities become exactly the things we spend most of the day doing so we incorporate our practice. Our life and work is our Sangha, our parents and friends our teachers, our online community becomes our iSangha. Our restrictions and responsibilities no longer hamper us but provide a new venue for understanding the Dharma.
Sanghas also occasionally monopolize the Dharma. They are taught in a tradition and attempt to provide instruction but tend to at the expense of other teachings. By being teacher-less, I am able to grab from a much larger pool.
….cont.
….cont
I live in the Great Plains. In my town we are lucky enough to have two very small Buddhists groups. For a Midwestern town this is practically a smorgasbord. We are a loose group of learning, struggling and eager Buddhists. Guidance is accepted as it is available. I prefer this situation to that of a large Zendo or temple. It affords me the freedom to practice from each of the vehicles as I see fit and study Buddhism without the constraints of a hierarchy or institutional dogma (notice I do not state religious dogma).
While sometimes I do wish to be involved with a larger group or a more experienced teacher, I do enjoy the realization that my teachers have been eclectic and diverse even when they don't wear saffron or black. I read the Buddhist scriptures and struggle over the meanings; I sit and struggle over the pain and the concentration, I drink with other lay-practitioners that struggle over the same things. I think my sangha is just fine the way it is.
and when all else fails, I check my iSangha…;p
cont….
I practice in my house, on my deck. I pull from what I can. Be it Zen or Tibetan; esoteric or practical. My practice evolve and changes as I change and evolve. I like it that way. Oddly enough, I still look at those beautiful temples and large sanghas with some amount of longing but I tend to prefer where I am now. A small, eager and struggling home-practitioner, a house-holder. Where others a digging a large and deep well of Dharma, I am digging a wide and shallow trench. Who is to say that my wide practice is better or worse than the deep practice of those affiliated with a sangha?
Either way, I flit from one Buddhist element to another. Chanting, zazen, chanting, visualization, whatever. I try them out for a year or so before I determine where they sit in my practice. When I feel the need for more guidance, I can check any number of reputiable teachers that podcast their dharma talks or find translations on line…if anything I am in Buddhist purgatory without a sangha. It isn't the best of situations but it isn't the worse and most importantly it is based upon my own striving and ability.
summary: Unaffilliated Buddhism is like camping in the wild (like really roughing it). You learn what works because you have to and because there is no other teacher than yourself. However, any aid you may receive from people (parent, teacher, friend, another lone Buddhist, online) becomes your sangha. Others may be staying at the Holiday Inn but you are in a lean-to made of sticks next to a river hoping that you aren't going to be ravanged by a bear. You jump at sounds but become much more intuned with YOUR practice rather than someone else's.
In that way many of us do have some support but what we may be lacking is some overall guidance. I
Recently, I underwent the final awakening. And, throughout the process, I never considered any one person to be my teacher. I sought support wherever I could and from whomever I could. Often an author in a book had just what I needed to hear. I practiced at a local sangha, and maintained nonmembership. Due to my need to care for our children I found practice at home just as essential, and little support for being a serious practitioner as a woman and mother.
The pull felt strong. It was like a subroutine had kicked in and I had to practice, so I didn’t need any encouragement. Fortunately sticking with my local 12 step group helped: to provide stability during the challenging times and to enjoy the process while keeping things simple.
What really helped is that I never tried to become a “good Buddhist” or a “good” practitioner of anything. I just wanted to know the truth. I can’t say I am a Buddhist or not a Buddhist, although I’ve used a variety of Buddhist teachings intuitively for insight. I practiced in Christian traditions as well, and wasn’t a “good” Christian either.
Teaching is the hardest thing to do really. It can only be approached through a deep call to do it. I suspect that most after they truly wake up, help those in close proximity to them by example and just go back to their workshop and stay quiet. It saddens me that many appear to have fallen prey to Mara’s army. But there are still several bright teachers I met on retreats, and a few over the internet I spoke with at critical times that were very helpful.
All I ever wanted was to wake up. Now that it is happening, I’m offering my experience and support to others. Only the space and options that appear will decide if that is going to continue. For practical purposes, I’m more likely out in the garage building cabinets. I continue to find support in creative ways, and the process itself is a teacher.
If I had a guru, she would be Pema Chodron, though I have never met her. If I had a sangha, it would be a virtual sangha, though I have never met my fellow Buddhist bloggers. I have tried attending formal sanghas, both Zen and Shambhala, and neither felt right for me.
Because I am more in the Stephen Batchelor mode of Buddhist, many sanghas are too traditional for my taste. It probably has to do with worldviews. The more our beliefs tend toward the mythic and traditional, the more we will need a formal group to provide structure to our practice. The more we tend toward a rational and post-modern worldview, the less structure we will need. Either way, however, we do need contact with other Buddhists to act as reality checks, inspiration, and motivation.
While I am sure I would enjoy the fellowship of a more formal practice, I prefer the flexibility to sit at 4:30 am or 11:30 pm – whenever I can fit into my busy schedule as a student, fitness coach, and partner.
I attended a sangha for about a year, and I share many of the views others have previously expressed. I still on occasion return when I have time. I enjoy the dharma talks very much, but I found that I also enjoy listening to recorded talks that I download from the internet as well. It has become more of pragmatic decision for me. When I listen to these talks, it almost as if I am attending the teaching in person, so in many respects I do not feel like I am practicing Buddhism on my own. Reading Buddhist texts often gives me the same sense of not being alone with my practice.
i practice from a Buddhist context but i don't consider myself Buddhist. i don't really have a sangha i regularly go to but i've tried sitting with different sanghas from different schools (e.g. zen, tibetan, theravada/vipassana). currently, i do my retreats at home via phone (via Basicmindfulness.org). but mainly, what i consider "sangha" are people i meet online who share similar practice and interests in Buddhist practice, concept, and theory. in short, my main sangha is a cyber-sangha.
~C
I have been going alone for one year. There is one Buddhist center in my town but it is far away from where I live. However, it has been better doing it alone than not doing it at all. I like reading books and try to think of the messages they bring. These studies have helped me a lot, but I would like to know if it is possible to have a teacher from far away.
In your call for contributors, you asked if people who have a meditation practice but are unaffiliated would write in. I hope you will be open to Buddhists who do not meditate–after all, meditation is very rare among lay Buddhists and always has been, in every school and in every time period that Buddhism has existed. While popular among a subset of mostly white converts to Buddhism (or, in many cases, practitioners of Buddhist meditation who don't necessarily call themselves Buddhist) in North America, meditation remains a marginal at best practice for the vast majority of worldwide Buddhists. Let's not close the door on what may be the majority, even in North America, of non-affiliated Buddhists, please. I'm sure they have interesting experiences and insights we could learn from.
Hi Jeff,
That's a great point. Thank you. I'd love to hear from unaffiliated Buddhists who don't have a meditation practice. Indeed, as you point out, in many parts of the world meditation is not a common practice among lay Buddhists. I hope people who fall into this group will write in and share their experience.
Tynette
Thanks Dave, that's very practical and inspiring.
Tynette
Hi John,
I love your line, "Unaffiliated Buddhism is like camping in the wild." Clearly you don't see being unaffiliated as lacking something but rather as being more of an adventure. I suspect that's a very helpful outlook when you're going it alone.
Tynette
It does lack something. We are lacking almost everything while roughing it and who hasn't camped and at some point in time went "Why am I out here?!".
Adventure tempered by realism I suspect is a better description. I fall short sometimes or run into a wall with my practice. When I do I search out the difficulty but am more than willing to ask for help when needed. Noone wants to die in the wild.
Although at this point I have never needed an all out rescue.
Cheers,
Hey c4chaos! We love having you in our iSangha. You throw out wisdom like hand-grenades!
Hey Jeff! That is an awesome point. One of the strengths of home-practice is that you can soak up whatever you need. For me it is turning into a combinations of meditation and esoteric practice. The combo of the practical and the ethereal has broadened my practice.
It would be nice to see this article or edition really move towards how broad the practice of Buddhism is in North America rather than having it be based on the same old zen/tibetan meditators that we always hear about.
Meditation is how many start but it is still only a small portion of the practice.
I have found that I have a strong desire for spirituality and a weaker desire for religion. Sometimes I long for religious ritual and the feeling of belongingness, and the support for spiritual practice that they give, but I often get put off by the cultural baggage.
I also have an aversion to adopting another cultures "stuff". I would like to find a Zen group that has a local (I guess we could say 'American') flavor, but visiting most groups feels like a trip to Japan for me. I like Japan and the history of Zen culture, I am not xenophobic, but it's just not me. I don't want to wear a costume.
Also, I was attracted to Buddhism for a variety of reasons but one is the universality of it. Meditation is the path that is very human, very basic and is fundamentally open to everyone. It's democratic! But going Zen ( or Tibetan or Theravada -I've explored them all) is not an option for most people. Remember, the Buddha was not a "Buddhist" and before his enlightenment, he walked away from the Sadhus (the Hindus) to be alone when he meditated….
Hello all,
I have been practicing Buddhism for about 2 years now. I have never been affiliated with any local sangha but have found a home at the Treeleaf Zendo. Treeleaf is an online sangha and it is great to be able to sit with people in different parts of the world. We have a Teacher to guide us along the path and fellow members for great discussion and inspiration. I am very content with my practice and would encourage anyone who cannot make to a local sangha to join an online sangha.
I’ve been practicing some years now. Not sure how many, really. Probably since I first saw Star Wars when I was in 2nd grade in the 70s. :) I live in Birmingham, aL and I thin this may be the biggest metropolitan area anywhere with no Zen Centers. No worries though, I listen to Dharma Talks from San Fran. Zen Ctr as well as Steve Hagan in Minneapolis. Then I ride.
When I’m on my Harley, I’m awake and aware and free. I have to be, or I’ll get run over :) I try to maintain that mindfulness throughout the day. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesnt. When it doesnt I note it and return to what I’m doing.
Between riding, reading, and listening to the talks, I walk the path as best I can. Maybe I should start a Zen Center here. Hmm…
Great question; I had a hunch there might be lots of us around.
I remember stumbling across a coupla' Alan Watts books maybe 40 years ago, but the seed sprouted/blossomed five years ago when I stumbled on to another fine book, Chadwick's bio of Suzuki, Crooked Cucumber. I tried a local sangha, but it had a decidedly Catholic heritage, plus the sensei typed his dharma talks out ahead of time – didn't seem quite right. I just kept reading everything I could find, and soon, sitting every morning was without effort: I enjoy it as naturally as drinking good water when thirsty. So, while my sangha is immediate family and a few friends, I definitely have a teacher (Shunryu Suzuki Roshi) – I forget he died in 1971.
Sometimes I wish (a little) for a group, but everytime I check one out, they soon seem balled up on intellectualizing, politics (like the churches I left long ago), or group-grumbling. For me, zazen does it all (well almost all: I still read Dogen and Sojun Mel Weitsman's newsletters from the Berkeley Zen Center and browse a website or two like this one).
I don't even know for sure that I'm a "Buddhist," but I know (and my family seems to concur) that I'm more alive to the moment, more grateful, and most of my thoughts disappear like birds, without leaving many tracks behind in the sky.
Sounds good. Good luck Walt.
Bill
I prefer to practice on my own using downloads of Dharma talks from Dharma Seed and other sites. Currently, I'm focused on Tara Brach's work. In addition, I read your publication and books by Buddhist writers. At this point in my practice, I would find a sangha both confining and distracting. I have many virtual Buddhist friends on Twitter. I am the happiest and most present I've ever been, so it must be working.
Thank you so much for this awesome topic that is currently so near and dear to me. I have been what I call a spiritual vagabond for many years. During this time (I’m 40 now) I had an organically growing sense in me, as I explored many different spiritual paths, that I am (and we are) part of an interconnected whole. It was 2 years ago when I got exposed to Buddhism that I realized that my personal path had been written down over the past 2600 years.
This put me on the direction of Buddhism and I like to call myself Buddhist. I have taken classes at a Zen center in the nearest big city and I attend a recently created Dharma Punx sangha there as well. In doing this I have been struggling with what feels very natural to me…that being a solitary practitioner…and a sangha member. One the one hand sangha feels like a natural extension and component of the practice (and sanghas will certainly agree to that), yet on the other hand, (and the stronger feeling I have) practice is something to be integrated into my daily life from the largest things (dealing with death, skillfully handing being single and dating/sex, caring for family, etc) to the littlest things (how I brush my teeth, stirring my coffee, talking to friends, etc).
Ultimately I feel that there is a balance between the two but I have no idea where that balance lies for me. I have a feeling that the strongest component will always be my personal day to day practice that grows and evolves organically as it always has. I find the Buddhist teachings and practices (I focus mainly on Soto Zen as a core) builds the most complete and solid foundation I have ever found to date whether a sangha has been present in it or not.
What I’m organically coming to understand is that sangha is a verb. It is an activity I engage in and that includes interacting with people (Buddhist and non Buddhist), reading books, listening to dharma talks, sitting zazen twice a day (minimum), extending myself to help others (thru physical and non physical presence such as my blog http://www.zenfant.wordpress.com ), and following the mindfulness trainings/precepts.
As I’m writing this, I feel very good about being “unaffiliated” because right now it feels as if being unaffiliated with one sangha or tradition, means I am affiliated with the universe…and that’s a cool feeling
:)
I went to http://www.thebuddhadharma.com/index.php. and http://www.shambhalasun.com/news. I could not find reference to independent Buddhist practioners. Can you help?
Thanks, Jim
Jim: the "independent Buddhist practitioner" content is actually upcoming; it will appear in the Spring 2010 issue of Buddhadharma.
Hi Jim,
If you're referring to the article on unaffiliated Buddhists, that hasn't been published yet. It will be in the Spring issue of Buddhadharma.
Tynette
I have identified as a Buddhist for several years now and I generally practice with out an official sangha. I have taken a meditation course and take some Buddhist workshops/events here and there. My teachings come from the dharma, contemporary books (Pema chodron and Thich Nhat Hanh being favorites), Shambhala Sun & Tricycle & Buddhadharma, online (buddhist discussion groups on facebook, websites etc). I attend the yearly Buddhist film fest ;) But essentially I try to meditate (sitting and walking) regularly and to live Buddhist teachings in my daily life. I try my best to live by the Noble Eightfold Path and the 5 main precepts of Buddhism.
The neighborhood in Los Angeles where my family had lived since the early quarter of the last century was pretty solidly Irish and Latino; the former were immigrants and the later had been living on Spanish land grants for perhaps a century. There was not much socializing between the two groups as the neighborhood was fairly well segregated by language. The only places not segregated were the public schools; but those families who were able to do so sent their kids to the ESL school in their midst. We had our churches and they had theirs.
I went through 13 years of Catholic school; the local high school had been built in 1880, almost before the city itself, and was located thirty miles south of the original Mission. The nuns emigrated West from Missouri and the original establishment stood until sometime in the 1960s, when the school site was razed to make a parking lot outlined by a strip center.
In 1965 I had just delivered my third son at age 25 and in a life-changing moment of clarity, after twenty years of devout practice, decided the Catholic establishment was a fraud, perpetrated mainly on women and their children. At the time I was in a troubled marriage, being the battered partner, and looking feverishly for some way out. I had never read or heard of Stockholm Syndrome, but that's what it was. My sudden break with the Church gave me the emotional and mental freedom I needed to search out and weigh my options.
We were living at the time in an upscale area of Kansas City, renting a house down the street from the Nelson Atkins Gallery. My only time to myself, ever, was on Saturday mornings when my husband grudgingly agreed to see to the boys for a few hours. Perhaps he had no where else to go on those days, but I found a refuge that became the most important location in my life until then. I would walk up the street to the Museum (free on weekends) and head straight for the wing that housed the enormous Oriental Collection, specifically the cathedral-sized section of the Seated Guanyin Bodhisattva. There is a large screen on both sides of the end of the room where the statue sits on a black marble plinth, and a low seat runs all along the inside of the screen, affording a sense of solitude to sitting there. The smells of the Museum: floor and brass polishes, HVAC, and glass cleaners on the enclosed displays, as well as the unmistakable spicy aroma of ancient wood of the carved screen from India in the next gallery… those smells are with me now whenever I think about it. It is the place I can go to in my imagination at will, often… I do not know how many times I went there but my visits did span a few seasons and solidly planted a zen seed in my heart.
I have lived in other cities where there were Buddhist temples; in Marin the closest was in Mill Valley. But I have never felt impelled to join a group; I have never been a joiner – mostly a loner. I read Alan Watts and collected Joseph Campbell’s books and finally had a fairly catholic selection of work as far as practices go. Pema Chrodron’s work speaks to me most clearly at present. I feel that I am more comfortable in the Little Boat, and that will have to do as we now live right down in the southwest corner of Oregon where Churches of God proliferate and are differentiated only by the qualifier at the end of the title. But I sense that there are very many paddlers in Little Boats in this mostly rural valley of roughly 25 thousand people, surrounded by National Forests. And I suspect that most of them are also loners… this landscape beckons above all to loners.
Meditation used to be a thing I did fairly regularly; life changed that as I go older. Presently I am fairly immobile without a cane or two (soon I’ll need a walker, I suppose). I have fibromyalgia – a life-long and severe case. Many food allergies, including gluten. And now looking like I may be in the early stages of Parkinson’s.
One thing I have learned to do in my life, if not exactly meditation, is to sit still for long period of time. No cloud-watching for me, I am actively taking inventory of people, events, memories – from my life. I want to do it now, because the dreaded AZ got my father’s entire family before cancer wiped them out. I worked as an illustrator and photographer before arthritis and osteoporosis got my hands; now I run a movie of images in my mind that I remember best and sometimes one I had almost forgotten will slip in.
I live in a forest cathedral that covers thousands of miles, the most awesome of which are Crater Lake and the Smith Redwoods Park down at the Coast. (I used to visit Muir Woods when we lived over the hill.)
I have decided for myself that, coming out of a ritual-heavy religion as I did, the truest form of practice for me is simply acceptance and gratitude. No formalisms, no weird rituals, and above all, no Castro All-Hallows. But I really like Rumi and Basho.
you are absolutely beautiful. thank you for your post, i was deeply touched reading it.
Gentle Hugs (that don't cause pain),
Zenfant/Shane
http://www.zenfant.wordpress.com
Thank you for this topic. I lived in Toronto for many years and practiced at the local Shambhala Center where I learned much, found a community and was directed to many books from which inspired me. I retired to Kingston, Ontario and there is a Buddhist Center here but they seem to look down somewhat on Shambhala and books I benefit from. I learn much from the works of Sylvia Boorstein ( I wish I had a teacher like her– her childhood background is similar to mine– although mine included the mysticsm of the Hasidim). I read many books and enjoy the Dalai Lama's writing, especially his thoughts on science. I need something more inclusive than the Kaluta Center here and so I am content to occasionally meditate there but I prefer a more accepting and inclusive atmosphere. Practicing at home here for most of the year and in France for the winter months I appreciate the having the Shambhala Sun articles, interviews and now hearing from others on this topic. For the rest I try to live by the truths and live deliberately.
Donna
I have to confess to being something of an interloper in this discussion as I am based in Europe, not North America. However, I consider this to be an increasingly important topic since I suspect that (we) unaffiliated Buddhists represent a major component in the current growth of Western Buddhism. So, as someone who is “going it alone”, I felt I had to express my views on the question.
I have had an interest in Buddhism and meditation for many years now, but have only been a practising Buddhist for the past two years. I live in a major European city and, in theory, have many opportunities for practice in a sangha or group environment. However, because of the heavy demands of work and family life and (to be honest) a certain individualistic propensity on my part, I prefer to practise alone.
I feel most affinity to the Theravada tradition, but have also been influenced by Zen (especially Thich Nhat Hanh), Tibetan Buddhism and writers such as Stephen Batchelor. I try to build mindfulness practice into a very busy daily routine and find at least a few minutes every day for some meditation. I also read widely on Buddhism and am currently very interested in the question of Buddhist ethics.
I’m sure that attending group meetings would make my practice more disciplined than it is…..Yet, in a very important sense, I do feel that I am part of the ever growing Buddhist community on Internet. I regularly listen to the Zencast and AudioDharma podcasts, in particular, those of Gil Fronsdal, who I now consider to be one of my teachers. I have also recently opened a Twitter account so as to be more in touch with the cyber-Buddhist community and, in fact, that was how I discovered your post about unaffiliated Buddhists.
Congratulations on raising this fascinating question!
I have unfortunately ended up practicing alone and doing a lot of reading on the dharma at home, due to health problems. It is very hard for me to do much of anything except work and then rest.
But I have tried, and attended several sanghas in town, and they all do some singing, in english, and I find it odd. Not even chanting, singing like hymns from my childhood church days, only with new words and melodies I don't know and so I just sit there….I did relate positively to chanting when I lived near a Shambala group years ago.
Also, it would be nice to find a reference to guide me in figuring out the overall philosophies of various groups. It is so hard to figure out by going online or attending a few meetings. I've read a LOT of books, but it is just very hard to see the big picture. Any suggestions? Books? Websites?
I've been practicing for just a few years, but I'd like to be part of a flesh-and-blood sangha, both for fellowship and deeper learning. Unfortunately, the nearest Zen center is 40 mins away and my taking part in actual Buddhist events would create a great deal of stress on my Christian partner. These obvious issues not withstanding, I would greatly enjoy an online sangha and though I've found one, it doesn't seem to have much activity. Can anyone suggest a favorite?
Dear Fellow Humans, for such an important topic, I am a humble student of all wisom teachings. During those dark moments of spiritual confusion, the wisdom of Pema Chodron has nurtured my heart in a womb of her compassionate words. The Tao gives me perspective, Buddhism gives me an insight unattainable by any other method. The reading of "The Sutras" By Patanjali keep me focused on comprehending the vastness of the wisdom inherent in Buddhist philosophy.
But alas my situation is rarely touched upon by any classical wisdom of the ages, for I am a member of America's most detested caste: I am a Two Spirits person also referred to by the medical community as a transexual.
[in two parts because the box would not allow who message at once
.
Part 2
Spiritually and philosophically, I often joke that I am the sole
inhabitant of a leaky dinghy on a stormy spiritual ocean. While the
transcendent nature of my awareness makes me perfect model for non
duality, I find little commonality with the sexist and gendered binary
that is concretized in all sangha. In the struggle for liberation, even
the most ardent practitioners prefer the ignorance of fixed gender roles
to compassion for all sentient beings- that, if applied to my situation,
would instantly liberate millions of souls, present and future to then
make a spiritual contribution to the world that currently enslaves us
with the unnecessary burden of gender designations.
Part three [the comment box will not let me post more than one paragraph?]
This treatment or lack of awareness in both the Buddhist and Hindu
communities worldwide is contradictory to the true Buddha nature, which I
believe makes no distinction between Yin and Yang [yes, I know].
The Middle Path? That's my life. To those of you 'stuc'k in male or
female bondage, I will develop more compassion for you and your gendered
prison in hope that someday the Compassionate Buddha will open your
hearts to be able to include EVERYONE in your belief system.
According to my understanding, meditation is not a 'thing' that one does at a given time and place but rather an attitude that is to be cultivated during all of our waking hours. It is not an activity but a state of mind. Thanks
love you sista!
zenfant/Shane
http://www.zenfant.wordpress.com
love you sista!
zenfant/Shane
http://www.zenfant.wordpress.com
i have tos ay that unaffiliated Buddhist have alot to say… i have to say that they can´t do wild camping in the affiliated Buddhist centers…… of course an hotel it´s better.
have a nice life:)
Chris wrote:
',,,I long for ,,,the support for spiritual practice that they give, but I often get put off by the cultural baggage.
…the universality of it. Meditation is the path that is very human, very basic and is fundamentally open to everyone. It's democratic!"
I mirror nearly everything Chris said. Brand name buddhism (lower case intended) is proprietary. Members of the local Zen center thought that they were 'protecting the Dharma' by attacking me.
Homefire
why so much concern with doctrine and dogma.
why be a buddhist when you can be a buddha.
why be a christian when you can be a christ.
This is an issue that needs to come out of the closet. I would like for someone who has the time and resources to work towards the goal of starting a Buddhist group in each and every county in the US.
I really enjoy practicing on my own AND I really enjoy having occasional exposure to a wider community through our tiny local on/off sangha. My personal practice can get spotty at times and the surest sign of this is when I spend more time reading books and blogs than actually sitting. Having to be at a certain place at a certain time can sometimes feel stifling but most of the time it is a nice ritual, a way to connect with other people and be reminded that my interpretation of the dharma is not all there is to it.
The opportunity to practice being non-judgemental and kind is so much greater in these settings than say in response to someone doing something you would never do – in the sangha you are all just trying your best and the egos are there still and it's all very sobering.
I am definitely more of a loner in my practice but I would strongly encourage participating in or even starting a small meditation group – ours is only about 4 – 6 people which is intense sometimes but still a lovely support. TNH has a great book – "Friends on the Path – Living Spiritual Communities" which is a very practical reference for those squeamish or shy about building or joining a sangha, my favourite story is called "What to do when no one shows up" : )
I have been studying and practicing Zen Buddhism now for seven years. Before that I had been born and raised in the Mormon religion and one day it all fell apart for me and I felt like I had been lied to. I felt like it was all a fraud and still hold anger (that I'm working on releasing) over the feeling that I had been given no choice in what to believe or not believe. It gave me a deep seeded distrust of power, authority and organized religion so that when I became a Buddhist I was leery of sanghas.
Finally I decided to dip my toe into the "sangha waters" via a Tibetan Buddhist sangha located about 30 minutes away, which wasn't very friendly I must say. I didn't come back but gave sanghas another chance by attending a Zen sangha in a town about an hour away. It was again very unfriendly, unwelcoming and had a whiff of elitism to it. Still I kept looking and found one sangha associated with Thich Nhat Hanh whose books I had been reading. Initially I found it to be helpful as the two main facilitator's were very nice, helpful and personable but my fellow practitioners weren't very welcoming. Despite the best efforts of the two facilitator's I still felt like an unwelcome guest by what I call, "Penthouse Buddhists."
They are usually older, white, wealthy Buddhists who've been meditating for like 20+ years. They love people asking them questions about Buddhism and admiring their wealth of accumulated wisdom that they've built up over the years. However, if you try to join their "penthouse sangha" they quickly revert right back to the childish behavior in school where the wealthy and well-liked kids separated themselves from everyone else. That combined with an odd meditation time and health issues turned me into a lone wolf practitioner.
I've never been much of a "joiner" and especially after being burned by Mormonism and THREE physical sanghas. I have found a great community of practitioners online that seem more sincere than the "Penthouse Buddhists." Online, people don't have to present their identity to everyone, which enables (I have found) people to better open up about who they are, what they believe and how they practice. You still get some grand-standing practitioners online. However, the vast majority seem like people more interested in liberation from their day to day suffering than being seen by others and being seen with the latest teacher, guru or author as you often see in many sanghas and amongst many "Penthouse Buddhists" (at least amongst the sanghas I've visited). I have rarely seen the deeply personal insights and expressions amongst those types of practitioners that I experience with total strangers in online gatherings and interactions. I'm sure that they're there and I don't doubt it but I have been burned one too many times. I might one day look into a sangha again but right now I'm happy with where I am.
There is a long history in Buddhism of hermit monks, which has been lost a bit but can be perhaps seen rising again with the many lone wolf practitioners around the world. The hermits still studied with others from time to time but knew that it comes down to the individual practicing. After all, Buddha was just one person off in the woods meditating who didn't mean to set up a formal religion. Who knows what he'd think of our sanghas today. Especially how they are structured in the west. I think monasteries and temples are important to maintain and keep as they train the next generation of teachers and students looking for more instruction and structure. However, I think one can still fulfill taking refuge in the sangha without having to physically take up space.
Thank you very much for doing this, I am very excited to see one of the big magazine tackle such a difficult issue.
I even plug your magazine here. :-)
http://buddhareform.blogspot.com/2009/11/shambhal...
I moved to be closer to my teacher, who is from Tibet. I didn't find a connection to the sangha. Rather, when I suggested that personal spiritual interviews be offered, I was told by a senior member that the teacher didn't have time. She also suggested that I should've moved to India instead, if I wanted that kind of teacher/student relationship. I spent the year doing preliminary practices and memorizing mantras. The physical practices drew me more than the actual content of any of the teachings I attended. From consistent "ahas" I trusted in a visceral connection to that lineage. I still do.
I found reading more helpful on one level, yet the amount of suffering I experienced from the risk of moving me and my 12 year old son to a different city, etc and the consequent fall-out was a huge learning. I really had to face myself, my condition and my expectations.
I only lasted a year, and ended up back where I originally lived, almost by accident. I still consider this man my teacher. We don't really know how to communicate with each other and it has ceased to be an issue. I trust his unconditional love. Whenever I can, I attend his teachings & weekend retreats.
I work at a nonsectarian personal development institute and could easily be persuaded to drop the trappings of my Buddhist practice. But I have a personal relationship now to a deity and her mantras, to simple ritual and visualization that I almost forget I do.
In my case I might even say it's been more difficult with a teacher. Sometimes the cultural differences get in my way. Yet I am so very grateful for everything I have learned from him.
I'm an interloper in this discussion too since I live in Laos and not the U.S. Having been in a Dharma Sudy Group in Kyoto, Japan and now living in a Theravada country, my only connection with the Sangha is through books and perhaps this website. Currently, my practive involves reading, but disciplined, thoughtful reading, of 'When Things Fall Apart'. I find that by reading only two or three paragraphs a day and then reflecting on those throughout the day, I am drawn back into the kind of mindfullness practice I used to follow when part of a group.
I am a senior Vegan Buddhist who has been practicing for over 20 years without a teacher. I practice insight meditation and dreamyoga. Observing silence and non-attachment to society has been my refuge until this year. It will take another generation to create the sanghas needed in the west ..Meitri…Metta.
what is the sangha we need in the west?! do we need a sangha outside or only inside? what do we realy need?
dharma
I was fortunate that when I came to embrace Buddhism, there was a dhammasala within a 90 minute drive from where I lived in Central Michigan. It was an enormously positive experience. Founded by the Thai community in the Lansing, Mich., area, the Wat was pretty equally divided between a Thai immigrant community and a non-Asian community. While the ceremonies and other activities were colored with Thai influence, the Wat’s primary purpose was not the protection and teaching of Thai language or culture: rather, it was focused on teaching the Dhamma and helping its community live skillfully. There were weekly Dhamma classes that were well attended by both Asian and non-Asian members. And there were twice-weekly meditation sessions that were also well-attended.
But the Wat was even more than that. We did things. The dhammasala was building a new meditation hall, and I helped with other build that. When the porch collapsed on the monk’s house, I helped rebuild that as well. There was a sense of community there.
When I moved to another area of the state and it was no longer convenient to attend, I sought out other Wats, thinking they would be similar to what I had experienced. They weren’t. The others I visited were founded by an ethnic immigrant community with a focus on preserving the immigrant culture, whether it was Lao or Cambodian or Vietnamese. Very few people spoke English, including the monks. And when I visited, folks were polite, but never opened their arms to embrace me. Groups that were founded by non-Asians tended to focus on meditation and the whiter the group, the more “intellectual” was its approach to the Dhamma, if it paid any attention to the Dhamma at all.
Now I live in Chicago, where there is a plethora of temples and groups. Time is the primary issue now. My work schedule often precludes me from being able to attend any activity at a temple I might be interested in, and when I manage to visit or find a temple that interests me, I soon realize that it was founded around a specific Asian immigrant community with the goal of preserving and teaching that community’s culture. I feel like an outsider when I go to these organizations, even if the monks welcome me with open arms.
I practice primarily alone for now. There is one group that I’ve started to attend for some weekly chanting and some social connection. It’s been a very welcoming group, but it is also one that is led by a charismatic figure who brings a decidedly commercial feel to the organization, which is international in scope and based in Japan.
What I long for and miss from my experience with that first Wat I attended was the sense of community I had. That dhammasala was not only a religious hub where I could learn the Dhamma, but it was also a social network, a community of its own. It was truly a place of refuge.
I've practiced on and off with a sangha for a while now. I prefer long periods of reflection, but with the support of the sangha when you move out of the silence. It's important not to let your practice get stale, or you approach thinking that you've 'got it down'. I like to try out different communities, too.
As you might have gathered, I am not affiliated with any particular branch of Buddhism. My main sangha has people from all walks of life, levels of experience and various branches. I've gone on retreats with Zen and Theravadan monks presiding. I've studied the Pali canon mostly, but read a good bit of modern American Buddhist writers, zen Masters from ages past, and am currently studying the 'Precious Treasury of the Basic Space of Phenomenon' by Longchen Rabjam on Dzogchen with the help of an experienced practitioner via email.
You can study Dhamma all kinds of ways. The people here prove that.
Thank you for your comments! I am recognized as a "male" in this body. I realized as a child that there was more to me than this gender. I did not begin to understand this innate insight for more than 20 years. As my life proceeded I slowly began to investigate many spiritual traditions including the classical religions. After learning from the eastern traditions of Hinduism, and Taoism I began to follow a Buddhist path of meditation. Only after many years of practice, insight, and experience did I start to realize that my original feelings of non-gender were encompassed within the buddhadharma! Although most Buddhist schools do not seem to embrace this type of discussion at the primary levels of teachings, they definitely are entrenched within the deeper levels of Buddhist philosophy as well as many specific practices. I hope and pray that as human understanding of the deeper levels of spiritual truth becomes more commonplace, this basic and simple fact of equanimity will eliminate the prejudice and ignorance we live with. It has only been through the heart of the Buddha that this most deep level of my conflicted self-awareness has overcome confusion and a level of personal suffering. My love and compassion goes out to you!
I'm glad someone is addressing this. I was born an "unaffiliated" Jew and now I am an unaffiliated Buddhist. I first read about Buddhism in a comparative religion class more than 30 years ago and was instantaneously drawn toward Zen practice, but I have never been a member of a sangha and have never had an "official" teacher. I live in the middle of nowhere in a red state and do not drive. I just recently resumed a formal "meditation" practice, starting with 10 minutes in the morning and evening and hope to work up to a half to an hour each. I find it interesting that originally Buddhism was a very solitary, isolated practice, and that people still make gargantuan efforts to go on "retreats" which artificially recreate the isolation in which I live. It seems to me generally, based on my nose-pressed-to-the-window view of the thing, that American Buddhism is more hung up on ritual and form than in living the precepts, but that may just be a lot of sour grapes on my part. In any event, I feel that practicing veganism, pacifism, restraint and patience are what make me a vowed, forever Buddhist and not how long I sit or how I sit or how many retreats I have attended or who my teacher is. I am incredibly fortunate as they say to have heard the Dharma in this lifetime, and it is my teacher and sangha. Everything else is the proverbial icing.
My name is Miles and I have been walking the Bodhisattvas path since 1974. Although ordained in three Zen lineages, I do not consider myself as being in any particular lineage or practicing any particular form of Zen. My being ordained in more than one tradition was intentional, since I consider all sects and lineages to be dividing lines drawn with a finger on the water to create divisions among those who cling to the superficial.
I have been teaching Zen for nearly fifteen years and am a member of a vibrant sangha that is mostly scattered about, but come together four to six times a year for periods of extensive practice and fellowship. Over the past 35 years I have been in and out of Zen Centers here on the West Coast and have discovered that my practice just does not jive with the “Employ the Roshi” model. I was among those who witnessed the “bowing to the BMW” as the Roshi drove away and the related corruptions and scandals that have rocked nearly every major American Zen Center. (this part one of two parts)
(This is part two of two parts)
I have come to the conclusion that any notion of “inheriting” some form of authority or power through the formalization of Dharma Transmission is a corruption of the Buddha’s teachings and an affront to the Dharma. I have the highest regard for Buddhist teachers who teach and practice the Dharma as it actually is, but I have found that most of these teachers are either nearly unknown, claim no affiliation, or have abandoned the linage tradition and are shunned by the mainstream Buddhist Orthodoxy. Many are even claiming that they no longer consider themselves Buddhists simply because they do not agree with the “business” of mainstream Buddhism
So, along with your article about unaffiliated individual Buddhists, maybe you should include something about unaffiliated sanghas, those multifarious Buddhists groups that are indeed practicing Buddhism in the name of the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha outside the orthodoxy and Registered Trademark traditions.
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Weaving
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Weaving in and out of buddhism is good practice
until the world is shot through with it, until
buddhism is utterly worldly, solar-systematic,
galactic, till it threads all of time, and flows
like tao, which is to say between those very banks
that appear to have disappeared along the way.
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Following up on the suggestion of one poster that you ask about sanghas that are unorthodox (I prefer the word flexible), I would like to offer a few comments. I am am American female buddhist abbot with a hermitage, a sangha of about 50 and a homeless shelter for 15 older teens in western NC. While I trained in both schools (as well as some vajrayana practices), I was ordained originally by a Mahayana preceptor and then Theravada uppajaya — not into either school, but into the noble sangha of the Buddhas of all 3 times. This is seldom used language although "legal" that has caused some difficulty for me amongst not all, but some of the "monkcraft" of both schools. They say you must follow one way or the other. But the Buddhas had no such (school) distinctions. Each disciple was instructed according to what he needed. These handed down recollections by others much later became our suttas (sutras) and in time, commentaries about them, and passed down ways of how some later practitioners interpreted instructions or realized something by doing "it" a particular way (with a bit of their own cultural perspective imbedded) became THE way, the tradition . So, by their very natures, traditions can be the products of unenlightened minds when upheld as exclusively right or pure for everyone in every time or aspect (I don't use the word 'stage") of development; or as skillful means when appropriately employed, but not dogmatically clung to. In this way, various training disciplines can be useful depending on our current condition or the condition of others around us. This was the Buddha's example. I was formerly a christian and have been through this before! So, I often quote christian scriptures to help others in the west understand the dhamma. One one occasion, Jesus was asked by the elders why he transgressed their traditions. He replied with a question: "Why do your traditions make the word of truth of no effect in peoples lives?" Therefore, I say, I am for tradition when it is beneficial and useful for myself or others, but the true buddhadhamma (by any name) is supreme, unsurpassed for liberation. Tradition and methods, even the "teachings" upon which we think we base them are all like boats we can use to traverse a river. But, when we get to the other shore, no need to strap the boat on our back and carry it. So, we must rely on our own realizations, experienced and understood directly — for pleasant abiding here and now and in the future, nibbana. The apostle Paul also said on one occasion, "I become all things to all people that I might win some." On this level, there are no sects. Currently, I find it helpful to serve Theravada women due to a certain affinity. This requires contemplating truth within the confines of the tradition not only where it lines up with the dhamma; but sometimes leaving some things unsaid to not pull the rug from under a person prematurely– or to give them confidence in what you are pointing to because you are in accord with acceptable outer appearances. I do this for their comfort and in respect of their own journey and the community of practitioners of the tradition. However, there is also a way of pointing, for those who can hear, that is not restricted to a particular tradition's vernactular or methods. This, too is a skillful means of assisting most beneficial to those who have glimpsed reality and contemplated the experiences through multiple schools within buddhism or various "faiths" outside buddhism, particularly my western students. So, I think it is important to give what one needs to take the next step, wherever it can be found, however it can be approached. All who seek the truth find it and that comes in many ways. No one teacher or sangha, even, is sufficient — or — one teacher or sangha or tradition IS sufficient. This is the range. Where one individually fits depends on their own kamma and current aspiration! If you are making progress alone, keep going. If you believe you could make more with a teacher or group support, find it. If you refine qualities of being through compassionate service over sitting meditation, go for it. If you have breakthroughs by renouncing unwholesome thoughts, words and actions through understanding and discipline, that is good; and if by visualizing a buddhafield, go for it. These are our choices to make and we should not rely on anyone outside of ourselves to make it. This was the Buddha's last message before entering paranibbana: Be a lamp unto your own feet, a light unto your own path. You know, if everything is impermanent (changeable), unsatisfactory and not self, this would include traditions, sanghas and solitary life. So I think to just be natural and open to what's in front of me is the best way. Sorry this was so long.
The incongruity between "unaffiliated" and "alone"compels me to answer in diptych: yes, my practice of Buddhism is without allegiance to zendo or conscripted sangha, but it is certainly not alone. My teachers surround me like an enfilade without the malevolent intent; what concepts and tenets are constructed from my adhering to this world are comprised of interactions with humanity, with ghosts, with animals, etc. Those are my teachers; those are my shaman, my guides. In answer to siskiyousis, i do cloud-watch but i also watch the machinations of life on earth as well: i watch how the sparrows and red-breasts comingle with cold and snow this hour of Ohio's maturation. i watch how the deer and raccoon navigate the duff of their homestead. what portent held in the buzzards, the crows, the hawks overhead, beyond mere splay of pinion and song. i watch the mutation of man and woman throughout the day – how stimuli works upon each and how each individual responds to extraneous burden.
there is a zendo near our house, 40 minutes away. i do not attend their meditations and prayers because i am in church every moment of my life: the world is my church. if i were induced to enter a temple, so be it. the buddha seemingly would be the hailing that might lead me there and as of yet, i sit in the wind and the rain and the eyeshine of strange animals roaring through dark tempests. Linji said it, and i believe it and still i am wrong in my belief: if we were to meet the buddha on the road, kill it. if you meet with what you've conceived, you're deluded. impermanence is all there is, so go through that deceit and keep practicing.
i am as grounded as a lotus; as free as a slave. my own mind will keep me in all things and out of all things.
gate gate parasamgate bodhi svaha
Isn't everyone already affiliated–whether Buddhist or non-Buddhist?
Very interesting for me to find this as I just entered a Google search, "alone buddha," hoping to find something new. I search every so often for a sangha that might be close to me, hoping that there is something new. Admittedly, I do feel a degree of loneliness and strongly wish that there was a temple nearby. I live in a western suburb of Chicago where it is predominantly Christian and consequently, there isn't much in the way of Buddhism. The closest I can get involve individuals and groups that are "spiritual" or "new age" but I prefer a more traditional Buddhist practice and setting. I've thought about starting a group but don't feel that I'm in the right place within myself to do such a thing.
I have been going it alone ever since I was sexually assaulted by a senior student/teacher in my Buddhist community. I reported this and felt abandoned by my sangha. He received help and guidance and i was just to work through my turnmoil and confusion alone. I was too afraid to run into this person again during community events so I left the community all together and have been on my own. There is enough material to work with in my day-to-day life that I don't need the "help" of a sangha. Dealing with taking Refuge in the Sangha and how what happened affected me has been a ripe practice ground and has strengthened my faith in the Dharma. Going it alone I try to live the Dharma as best I can but it is not easy doing it alone. I think some people are meant to practice with others such as they do in a monastery while others go it alone and live in caves.
I'm not sure how I feel about the term "unaffiliated Buddhist", but then they are only words. Right? I grew up a Dharma Brat. There was only my father and I. He was more a "Kerouac" type. During the fifties and early sixties we lived out of our cars, travelling throughout the southern States; California, Arizona, Florida. Running up the coast to Washington State, British Columbia. Him working anything to do with produce; in stores, on docks, in fields. Me attending a myriad of schools all along the way. Formal and otherwise. Hanging out with other kids on the same path. Mexican, Oriental, First Nation. It was absorbing and exciting stuff for a Canadian kid.
I could never quite figure out how he always knew where to find another person or persons involved in Buddhism, to greater or lesser extent, but he did. He and they were my teachers from the time I was five. I only ever knew about "one Dharma" and it was all of us. I was eight years old when I learned my Refuge Vows and Precepts, guided through these by a "Mitta" in Pali. He told me this was the "holy" language, but to be prepared to learn many because it was only one of many. It was out back of a Madison Pay-and-Take-It grocery store in Phoenix. His name was Aruni and he was on his lunch. He told me my job now was to study the Dhamma. "You mean "Dharma", I asserted. "All same thing", he replied, "First, listen to your father and study you".
I always figured I was an affiliated Buddhist from that point. Only I saw it as a type of union. By then I had met Japanese Buddhists, Chinese Buddhists, Indian Buddhists, American Buddhists and the Beatniks or Zen Buddhists. I just figured these things Buddham, Dhammam, Sangham was the affiliation criteria. These in turn were explained to me as "Buddha is your teacher, the Dhamma was what he taught, and Sangha was the community of Buddhists led by the monks. As for the different types of Buddhism sometimes alluded to in conversations with others. my Father explained, "those are like licence plates, that's all"
My first written teachings were a couple mimeographed pages from a meeting my Dad took me to in Los Angeles. It was pretty complicated to me. The words and concepts were strange. When I asked what they were all about, I was told, "Do good, be nice to everyone and don't do anything to harm any other person or animal". It was an easy concept. It only meant acting the same way the Buddhist grownups did. The way they treated me.
Coming back to Canada as a teenager was quite a shock, but I was still a Buddhist, right? I'd been confirmed. I spent most of my life calling myself a Buddhist. To tell you the truth, it never occurred to me that I required the benefit of clergy or instructors. I thought I had all the teachings I needed, in a "Everything I Ever Needed To Know I Learned in Kindergarten" kind of way.
Many years later I am still bumbling through Buddhism. I've been to temples once in a rare while, a zendo or two, a sala, a few Shrine Rooms. I study Buddhism through my experiences, books, accesstoinsight.org, the audio and text available online from Abhayagiri Monastery, to name a few.
I feel the Dhamma/Dharma is all around us and it is all one. I am no person's master or teacher, only every person's brother. My constant companions are the Dhammapada and Way of the Bodhisattva. I am content in my meditation, study and practice. More than this, I rest in the fact I am affiliated to all Buddhists everywhere. Differences and distinctions between us are only distractions and delusions.
All have a place in my heart. That is the ultimate lesson I learned at the feet of the Buddhists of my youth. My perfect teachers.
In metta,
shambhala can do a book with the comments.
Words are such slippery things, don't you think? I have to wonder how Gautama Buddha (for one) would respond to terms like "unaffiliated" when used to describe any of his adherents? Perhaps "independent" or "self-practicing" are more positive descriptions for disciples of these teachings who are not members of a specific school or sect. But then I am one of those who cringes more than a little whenever I hear or see any Buddhist described as being member of a lesser or greater "yana".
Could we ever look forward to a day when we could all just be Buddhists? Would we be greater or lesser for this? Could we all just be brothers and sisters in Buddhism?
…just a thought.
Thank you again, I plugged Shambhala and this article on my blog. I am really looking forward to it. http://www.thereformedbuddhist.com/2010/01/shambh...
I love the Buddhist teachings, and yheir always with me. It's been 14yrs of the ultimate teachings to the existential questions that bothered me most of my life. The Taoist teaching " that the only true understanding is understanding all that we can never fully understand." is a great gift to relax in my human ignorance. The monk that said "Meditation is the final and ultimate teaching and the final and ultimate teacher." It's true that the Dharma is like honey. It's rich and it's sweet and also like a great symphany, Sakyong Miphan Rinpoche used the words honey and symphany and I just love these people of peace and awareness. I may fly solo, but the view often remakable and my meditations are mindful of all the great teachers from Sakyong to his father to Krishnamurti to Thic Nhat Hahn.
I may or may note be a "going in alone" depending on definition. I have a teacher, Joseph Goldstein, who is 3000 miles away. My wife also practices and we live together. But we have no local sangha. I do call my teacher from time to time for guidance. What would I say about this? At this point in my life (I began my practice in 1960 and have had several teachers) I don't need hands on guidance. I feel connection to all human beings (this is not a head trip, it is a felt experience) and I depend on that practice to ground and encourage me. I firmly believe our reality is changed by our intentionality (call me Yogacharan). In the end practice and generosity is the bottom line. Am I less reactive, more responsive? Every day is informed by this basic question. Thank you for reading this.
After a 3 month long illness in 1985, I could do nothing but sit at home. To still my mind I started reading various books on Buddhism. The one that really gave me hope was "Seeking the Heart of Wisdom" by Joseph Goldstein. I practiced mindfulness meditation alone for 2 yrs. and felt I needed a bit more to advance my practice. I found a place to practice 2 hours drive from home. I went there every other Sun. to meditate for 6 years. Life changed and I no longer was able to get there and my meditation fell by the wayside. About a year ago I felt the desire to return to my practice alone. I am on my path again and feel no need to join a sangha right away. The difference is there are plenty online sites and many teachers. We Westerers have come a long way to make meditation available to those who want to practice. I hope to continue for the rest of my life.
Reading the post on this subject has given me encouragement. I belong to a sangha but have been going it alone for one year, due to the state of my health. I started with the idea of making one day a week a retreat, and it morphed into a kind of quasi monastic type of hermetic life. I love my daily practice, and I try to be mindful throughout the day. I have the privilege of attending teachings given close by, by various lamas, two or three times a year. Although I long to be able to go to a Dharma center and spend some days there, I look upon my inability to do so as my karma, and try to see it as a gift that can be used for others. The Internet has been a wonderful thing, as it unites me to other Buddhists, and even though I don't have a teacher that is personally guiding me, it is wonderful to be able to learn from many teachers. And that, I guess, is guidance.
Thank you for sharing your clear seeing of how we are all connected, all of us jewels in Indra's net, affiliated with Big Self, however we may call Dharma/Dhamma.
While pursuing a certificate in Holistic Nursing I was aquainting myself with different religions so I could better connect to my patients. I started reading "Buddhism for Dummies" and was instantly drawn in. That was in June of 2008. I do not have a sangha. However I have taken classes through RIGPA. This has given me a greater understanding of Buddhism and is helping me develope a regular daily meditative practice.
Fascinating. I have been going it alone for several decades now ever since I worked in Japan and became fascinated by Zen in the early 70's. But I am not drawn to groups save occasional contact with Thich Nhat Hanh's sangha's. I have maintained a meditation practice through various vicissitudes finding Loving Kindness meditation a great resource at tough times. It is part of my life, it is my life. Buddhism gave me back my life, in particular Ayya Khema's 'Being Nobody, Going Nowhere', and Thay's 'Touching Peace' and 'Present Moment, Wonderful Moment'. I steer away from the intellectual, I have a hard enough job just to walk, and know that I am walking, breathe, and know that I am breathing.
I have been studying on my own in a systematic way for about 4 years now, it began in earnest with The Tara Book by Gehlek Rimpoche. I have had email contact with Lama Zopa who kindly emailed instructions about adding to my practice (some of which I had added between emailing him and receiving his reply a few weeks later). I consider my sangha to be the people I practice yoga with, that is where I find the group dynamic. The other part is on my own (though we are never really alone on the mat or seat) and as I go deeper in studying, its no longer learning new things but like I am remembering things I once knew but forgot. I love the ritual of recitation and prostations, that is my meditation -stilling my ego and opening to a larger existence and post meditation, checking my motivation and holding to a clear purpose of not grasping (so much) and being present with what ever arises- but also learning that though being accepting of everything is good trying to also remember that though I may be loved just the way I am, hopefully I am loved too much to remain that way for all concerned.
I have been an on and off and on again practitioner for many years. I did practice Tibetan Buddhism with a friend ( who has been with the Shambhala Buddhists out of Vermont) for a couple of years. She has been a Buddhist for 30 some years, and it was a small group that she led. I left that group for several reasons, one of which was distance, and location. The main reason though was because I could not reconcile the need to learn so much about the past lineage of teachers and the intellectual side of Tibetan studies. There was also a feeling that Tibetan Buddhism for me, was a bit of feeling superior. At least that was the way it seemed to me at the time.
Then I did not formally practice for a period of time, except for Yoga classes, with a very lovely teacher. Then fortunately, this past fall, after acquiring a laptop at home, I came upon Second Life, and discovered the online Buddhist centers there. That has helped me to develop once again an at-home sit practice, and have been really enjoying it. At times I feel the need to have personal contacts, but I am limited by budget also, and therefore this fits the bill for the time being. There are visiting real life teachers online and I really enjoy meeting them, listening to their talks, and discovering the various branches of Buddhism.
I think I have found my "niche" with Zen Buddhism. I enjoy the simplicity of it. And I think I am learning and growing in Zen.
I've never considered myself a true Buddhist but began developing an interest in some of the buddhist concepts and practices as far back as the late 50's. I was and am fortunate enough to live in a town with ample spiritual guidance available but I never quite committed to any one form, not even to Buddhism itself. I did have the good fortune to meet and be influenced by and attend retreats put on by some of the teachers returning from India in the 70's.
My practice ebbed and flowed though the years as I went my solitary way. Looking back I can say that there has been "growth" in my understanding of the dharma over the years. I have continued to meditate, some times assiduously, sometimes haphazardly. After almost 40 years of this I notice a deepening of the daily meditation sessions, and that my public, social life was changing without specific intention from me.
I'd have to say that going it alone is most likely a slower, more gradual path than having more exposure to a sangha. I am now beginning to miss not having fellow travelers close to hand. I do think it's better to have done it this way, though, than to do have done nothing at all.
I find your account most moving. Thankyou. You seem to have found yourself in a very gentle way. There is so much emphasis in formal practice on sitting for long periods and all the rest of it. But you have sat – right where you are – and come into a beautiful place, or maybe the place has revealed itself to you.
It is very interesting that I found this blog this morning, for right now, if I had to describe myself, i would say "unaffiliated Buddhist" best describes me…I have been involved (the best word i know to describe it) in Buddhism for the last 2 years- my introduction has mostly been through Zen/Tibetan sources, as well as my most treasured source thus far, The Dhammapada. Last night, at the behest of a friend, I attended a Nichiren (SGI) Daishonin meeting, and was able to experience a different side of Buddhism. For those unfamiliar, Nichiren was a 13th century Buddhist priest in Japan who rejected the accepted schools of Buddhism at the time due to corruption and their lack of response to the lowest classes of people. He was exiled, and advocated the study of the Lotus Sutra as the highest writing of the Buddha (called "Shaymuna Buddha"). His followers chant "Nam Myoho Renge Kyo", which calls for faith in the Lotus Sutra. Since my education thus far has been from a Zen perspective, I have focused more on meditation vs. chanting, and my research into Nichern has revealed some disturbing aspects on a personal level, mainly the exclusion of other schools. Any comments?
I spent years in the midst of wonderful sangha and found the formality of zendo practice deeply supportive and helpful. Then we moved to where there are no zendos within 50 miles. Thrown on my own, it took time to find my feet, or my seat. I continued daily sitting, occasional reading, wonderful downloaded dharma talks, and a stance within life that has carried me through ups and downs. I have the luxury of close dharma friends continuing through email and phone calls. Now I am at home too outside the regular zendo world, and deeply grateful for the experience of both. Given my choice, I'd still love the formality and support of group sitting to add to solitary sitting, but what is is enough.
Not affiliated, but I feel a part of a "virtual" sangha — the cumulative knowledge base of Dharma teachers – podcasts, blogs, etc – that dispense the basics, as well as the practices that help guide one along the path. But really, it just comes down to doing the practice which for the most part is nothing but you and your zafu and then what you take from that practice and apply mindfully throughout your daily life. The sages of the past have all instructed to "look within" and to not accept anything solely on what someone else says, but instead find out for yourself what works and what does not. If there was every a path that actually supports the practitioner in a "go it alone" aproach, this is it. The nice part is that soon one comes to realize, no one is ever . . . really . . . alone.
I am lucky to live in a city (Atlanta) with many different kinds of Buddhists sanghas, so remaining unaffiliated is a choice for me.
Author Karen Armstrong calls herself “a free-lance monotheist” and I call myself “a free-lance Buddhist.”
At first, not belonging to a sangha was lonely. But now I appreciate the freedom of not being locked into one particular way. I enjoy visiting a wide variety of Buddhist centers whenever I want to.
It keeps me open and alert. It keeps me from getting too comfortable with and attached to one particular way. It also keeps me from becoming preoccupied with a sangha’s various rituals and ways of doing things so that I lose sight of the big picture.
Part of my practice is to let go of as much as possibile – to shed things, not to add things – and to identify with as little as possibile. Not affiliating is part of that process.
And as for having a teacher, there are teachers everywhere and when the student is ready . . . .
Try Treeleaf.org
Thank you, William, for sharing your comments. I am encouraged when I see that I am not alone in the way I am approaching things.
I have studied Buddhsim, on my own since I was 13 years old. I live in a small town in Indiana and the only time I have ever been away was when I was in the military. I consider myself a Tibetan Buddhist because I have studied that the most and I follow the teachings of H.H. the Dalai Lama. The area I am from wouldn't know a Buddhist from a hole in the ground, and there are NO centers close. I am ok with that, its just the way it is. The internet is a wonderful place to find info and teachings. I recently found a home for myself and my Buddhism….Its about an hour away but totally worth it. The Indiana Buddhist center. Its a small Sangha and thats fine with me. I am now involved with the Dalai Lama's visit to Indiana and I couldn't be happier. I am also studying Tibetan and learning to read and write it. I don't think I could do that on my own……………
metta,
Howie
We want all to be happy and rich in actions,realities and experiences.May be sangha,schools,etc needed to the ways but until you action,feel,realize and experience ,no fulfilment .No fullness .One is happy and rich for all moments if one has fullness of spirituality and materialism .We are under one umbrella ie Government ie Nature [God].We are beings or nonbeings of the universe .We don’t believe groupisms,sectarianisms,casteisms,communalisms,colorisms,racism,ageisms,communities priorities etc .Specially all humans have equalities in duties and rights and comforts in the globe and life .Most of the differences among the countries,leaders,people etc are due to differences in processes and selfishnesses .Remind you all that all humans are equal for being happy and rich the earth and universe .So let’s lead and go together with the aim of maintaining happiness and richness every being as possible .
Wishes all to be happy and rich !!!
I live remotely in Wyoming and meditate daily when possible. I attend programs on weekends several times a year at Colorado Buddhist centers. I read Buddhist literature daily, mostly dzogen. I have a strong aspiration to study with a teacher but have obligations to my husband and our home. How could I have a teacher/student relationship and still live my life as it is?
I lived and practiced in New York City for 10 years. I had access to several wonderful Tibetan Buddhist centers and had the good fortune to receive teachings from many Rinpoches as well as HH Dalai Lama. I now have been living in the Midwest for almost 10 years. There are only 2 Tibetan Sanghas and a few other traditions. I found some centers difficult to reach, at some-the people were unfriendly and at others the teachers did not have the understanding of a Rinpoche… and others hard to fit in because they are other traditions.
I have come to realize that having received the teachings I did for so long, this is my opportunity to truly live the dharma..sorta like leaving the monastary and retreating into a cave.
When I finally realized I was still a practicing Buddhist, even though there is no sangha for me, everythng fell into place & I would say that my awareness grew . I gain much help and satisfaction from books, publications and online.
I live in semi-rural Scotland and have no idea where the nearest group might be. To be honest I am very happy practising alone as like many others who have commented, I have never been a great "joiner". My practice is very simple and consists mainly in sitting every day, ideally early for a nice dharma kickstart, but sometimes at midnight if urgencies get in the way. It does not seem to matter greatly. I tried sitting outside in the woods but twigs fell on my head then I start laughing. I walk dogs on a beach and recite hannya shingo when no humans are in hearing range. Also visit Shambala Sunscpace and/or Treeleaf once or twice a week, read a few texts including Red Pine's 'Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma', Shunryu Suzuki's books, Philip Kapleau ….. If I want classic texts I dip into Dwight Goddard's Buddhist Bible, which holds more than I can ever get through. So the twigs fall, the dogs get to hear Prajna Paramita, and it all seems to work out fine.