A very unenlightened introduction

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qwerty13
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Joined: Mon Aug 26, 2013 5:41 pm
Location: Finland, Europe, Earth

A very unenlightened introduction

Post by qwerty13 »

Greetings from Finland ! (no, we DON`T have polar bears and penguins walking around here)

I am 22 year old university student (studing chemical engineering) dude interested in dharma. I have been meditating for little over one year now and have familiarized myself with different traditions of buddhism. I started with soto zen buddhism but couple of moths ago i found Tibetan buddhism.
Tibetan schools of Buddhism attract me because of their straightforwardness and versatility in practises. I used to basically sit only shikantaza daily and tried to cultivate awerness in my daily life. And found my progress painfully slow.
Some time ago i changed my style of meditation in good ol` samatha where i follow my breath. That helped me alot.
Then i found deity practice. My firts impression on the practise was that it cant be good for ones mental health as you feed idea of BEING that deity or at least CONNECTING to such deity. I thought that i`m going to just run around and tell people that i am some bodhisattva or buddha.
But i still felt the idea of that practice intriguing and so i educated myself on the subject. With better knowledge and good instructions i tried Chenrezig sadhana few times.
And it worked! I felt emotionally connected to the great compassionate one, and going through the sadhana with its mantras and so on felt natural for me... as a result after just few sessions my compassion, devotion and bodhichitta skyrocketed. Before that moment i had not really cared much about those things... I thought that they will come in time and i dont have to worry about such things. Damn I was wrong! With all that devotion, compassion and so on my meditations got deeper and sharper. I felt and still feel that only now the dharma is beginning to reveal its self to me, I`m having realizations frequently. I also tried Vajrasattva purification. To this deity I was not so well connected, and i had trouble with the visualisation, however i can tell that the purification and 100-syllable mantra worked. Infact after the purification I realized that i had carried with me a lot of unconscious/semiconscious emotional burden. I dont know what that burden was but i felt that it is gone now.
Third deity i feel strongly drawn to is medicine buddha. I have not yet tried his sadhana but I have tried just visualizing him and for some reason i can do it effortlesly (mayby because of the blue color).I am not going to try any more deities as i feel that now i have everything needed and i want avoid "spiritual shopping" and ending up as some airhead that changes his practices every two days.

But that`s overview of my journey so far. Like i said I`m feeling that i`m only now starting to practice buddhism. I consider myself as a down to earth person and not "religious" or "spiritual" at all. But i have to admit it, people... last two - three months of my life i have felt as if i have been standing in the rain of blessings sent by bodhisattvas and buddhas. Maybe its dat karma, son! I feel strong determination in my practice and life in general.Plus i think i should find a teacher and proper sangha but there are no Tibetan buddhist lamas in Finland.. only soto zen/rinzai sanghas and those of course cant provide tibetan curriculum of buddhism.
But now i feel i know what i have to do.and that is to live my life in meaningfull way taking care of myself and others. And realize the nature of mind.And go far and beyond.

Thanks for reading
Who should we turn to for refuge? We should seek refuge in the Buddha. He is the one we weep before
-H.H. 14th Dalai Lama
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lobster
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Re: A very unenlightened introduction

Post by lobster »

:smile:

Hi,
Great story. There are some lamas online, on Facebook etc. So if no Finland natives, you can connect and perhaps the occasional retreat . . . :woohoo:
philji
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Joined: Mon May 09, 2011 2:26 pm

Re: A very unenlightened introduction

Post by philji »

There are two very good Dharma centres in Finland.
http://palpungfinland.org/. Lama Rabsang from UK visits regularly, and is very experienced Lama having trained in India under guidance of MIngyur Rinpoche and Tai Situ Rinpoche.
also
http://www.danakosha.fi/index.html
another centre with good reports that i have heard.
I have met many Finnish students as they visit the Welsh centre of Palpung here in UK from time to time.
Good Luck...please find a teacher you can study with and ask questions of... This will be of immense benefit... :namaste:
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Luke
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Re: A very unenlightened introduction

Post by Luke »

Welcome Q,

That's cool that tantric Buddhist meditations seem to be helping you. I hope you are able to find the right lama for you.

Here's a commentary on a classic Tibetan Buddhist text which you might enjoy. Best of luck to you! :namaste:

http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/x/nav ... 67309.html
Last edited by Luke on Tue Aug 27, 2013 1:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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qwerty13
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Joined: Mon Aug 26, 2013 5:41 pm
Location: Finland, Europe, Earth

Re: A very unenlightened introduction

Post by qwerty13 »

philji wrote:There are two very good Dharma centres in Finland.
http://palpungfinland.org/. Lama Rabsang from UK visits regularly, and is very experienced Lama having trained in India under guidance of MIngyur Rinpoche and Tai Situ Rinpoche.
also
http://www.danakosha.fi/index.html
another centre with good reports that i have heard.
I have met many Finnish students as they visit the Welsh centre of Palpung here in UK from time to time.
Good Luck...please find a teacher you can study with and ask questions of... This will be of immense benefit... :namaste:

Thanks man, i had no idea about these groups. I`m definetly going check that palpung -group out.
Who should we turn to for refuge? We should seek refuge in the Buddha. He is the one we weep before
-H.H. 14th Dalai Lama
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qwerty13
Posts: 124
Joined: Mon Aug 26, 2013 5:41 pm
Location: Finland, Europe, Earth

Re: A very unenlightened introduction

Post by qwerty13 »

Luke wrote:Welcome Q,

That's cool that tantric Buddhist meditations seem to be helping you. I hope you are able to find the right lama for you.

Here's a commentary on a classic Tibetan Buddhist text which you might enjoy. Best of luck to you! :namaste:

http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/x/nav ... 67309.html

Thank you for this material
Who should we turn to for refuge? We should seek refuge in the Buddha. He is the one we weep before
-H.H. 14th Dalai Lama
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DNS
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Re: A very unenlightened introduction

Post by DNS »

Welcome to Dharma Wheel!

:yinyang:
Motova
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Joined: Sun Sep 16, 2012 11:05 pm

Re: A very unenlightened introduction

Post by Motova »

Welcome! :cheers:
To become a rain man one must master the ten virtues and sciences.
KonchokZoepa
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Joined: Tue Sep 10, 2013 9:50 pm

Re: A very unenlightened introduction

Post by KonchokZoepa »

actually if you live in helsinki there is a tibetan lama living permanently in helsinki, finland.

theyre website is

www.danakosha.fi

check out if it clicks with you.

i wish you all the succes and auspiciousness to your path.

blessings
If the thought of demons
Never rises in your mind,
You need not fear the demon hosts around you.
It is most important to tame your mind within....

In so far as the Ultimate, or the true nature of being is concerned,
there are neither buddhas or demons.
He who frees himself from fear and hope, evil and virtue,
will realize the insubstantial and groundless nature of confusion.
Samsara will then appear as the mahamudra itself….

-Milarepa

OMMANIPADMEHUNG

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ls6P9tOYmdo
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