Have you changed Buddhist schools since joining DW?

General forum on the teachings of all schools of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Topics specific to one school are best posted in the appropriate sub-forum.

Have you changed schools since joining the Forum?

No, I haven't.
41
71%
Yes, I have, but it had nothing to do with the Forum.
4
7%
Yes, I have and I guess the Forum played a part. I changed from Tibetan to East Asian.
0
No votes
Yes, I have and I guess the Forum played a part. I changed from East Asian to Tibetan.
3
5%
Yes, I have and I guess the Forum played a part. I changed from Theravada to Mahayana.
3
5%
Yes, I have and I guess the Forum played a part. I changed from Mahayana to Theravada.
0
No votes
Yes, I have and I guess the Forum played a part. I changed within Vajrayana schools.
6
10%
Yes, I have and I guess the Forum played a part. I changed within the East Asian schools.
1
2%
 
Total votes: 58

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Matt J
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Re: Have you changed Buddhist schools since joining DW?

Post by Matt J »

I'm sure I really buy into "changing schools," because I don't see them as mutually exclusive. I don't really feel like a Buddhist, and accordingly don't really feel like any specific kind of Buddhist. But I did go from practicing with Zen teachers to practicing with Vajrayana teachers. In that regard, I would say the forum helped by pointing in the general direction of Madhyamaka, which also led to Mahamudra and Dzogchen.

When I first arrived, I usually skipped or ignored a lot of Vajrayana related posts. To be honest, I was turned off by many of the things I read, which probably delayed my shift. I'm sure I'm guilty of the same type of behavior, but I thought it worth mentioning.
"The world is made of stories, not atoms."
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TaTa
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Joined: Mon Jun 25, 2012 1:15 am

Re: Have you changed Buddhist schools since joining DW?

Post by TaTa »

It was hard to vote. When i started here all my studys/practice where kagyupa and now im more dzogchen oriented but i still recieve and prwctice from different kagyu linages
Schrödinger’s Yidam
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Re: Have you changed Buddhist schools since joining DW?

Post by Schrödinger’s Yidam »

Nope. I’ve been a Kagyupa for over 40 years. Don’t ask me why, ‘cause with all the various lama dramas I don’t know ehy.
1.The problem isn’t ‘ignorance’. The problem is the mind you have right now. (H.H. Karmapa XVII @NYC 2/4/18)
2. I support Mingyur R and HHDL in their positions against lama abuse.
3. Student: Lama, I thought I might die but then I realized that the 3 Jewels would protect me.
Lama: Even If you had died the 3 Jewels would still have protected you. (DW post by Fortyeightvows)
zhufawuwo
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Re: Have you changed Buddhist schools since joining DW?

Post by zhufawuwo »

As someone new to this forum and to practice in general, I would love to see more voting and stories on this topic. Not to get all sectarian, more to see people's engagement with different schools, approach to wider knowledge, and also how to deal with our own tendencies to get, well, sectarian :meditate:
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Dan74
Former staff member
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Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2012 3:59 pm
Location: Switzerland

Re: Have you changed Buddhist schools since joining DW?

Post by Dan74 »

Thank you very much, those who've completely the poll and those who've commented!

40 poll answers is not bad, but not a large sample for a Forum like this. Maybe a few more could answer quickly?
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Grigoris
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Re: Have you changed Buddhist schools since joining DW?

Post by Grigoris »

Dan74 wrote: Thu Mar 22, 2018 9:07 am Thank you very much, those who've completely the poll and those who've commented!

40 poll answers is not bad, but not a large sample for a Forum like this. Maybe a few more could answer quickly?
What's the rush?
"My religion is not deceiving myself."
Jetsun Milarepa 1052-1135 CE

"Butchers, prostitutes, those guilty of the five most heinous crimes, outcasts, the underprivileged: all are utterly the substance of existence and nothing other than total bliss."
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Dan74
Former staff member
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Re: Have you changed Buddhist schools since joining DW?

Post by Dan74 »

Grigoris wrote: Thu Mar 22, 2018 9:55 am
Dan74 wrote: Thu Mar 22, 2018 9:07 am Thank you very much, those who've completely the poll and those who've commented!

40 poll answers is not bad, but not a large sample for a Forum like this. Maybe a few more could answer quickly?
What's the rush?
No rush at all. But a valid excuse to bump the topic ;)
Simon E.
Posts: 7652
Joined: Tue May 15, 2012 11:09 am

Re: Have you changed Buddhist schools since joining DW?

Post by Simon E. »

I would have thought that 74% of the total of those that responded was quite enough to gauge the direction of travel. :shrug:
“You don’t know it. You just know about it. That is not the same thing.”

Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche to me.
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Thomas Amundsen
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Re: Have you changed Buddhist schools since joining DW?

Post by Thomas Amundsen »

Grigoris wrote: Thu Mar 22, 2018 9:55 am
Dan74 wrote: Thu Mar 22, 2018 9:07 am Thank you very much, those who've completely the poll and those who've commented!

40 poll answers is not bad, but not a large sample for a Forum like this. Maybe a few more could answer quickly?
What's the rush?
If we get enough votes, Dan will switch to practicing Dzogchen :tongue: :jumping: :twisted:
A Ah Sha Sa Ma Ha
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Joined: Sat Jan 30, 2010 2:01 am

Re: Have you changed Buddhist schools since joining DW?

Post by A Ah Sha Sa Ma Ha »

I didn't vote yes or no because I feel like I'm in transition. ...and i don't think I can even be considered Vajrayana, because I never had any HYT.

But i started out Sakya, now leaning towards Dzogchen.

My heart is everywhere.
I am nowhere.
chimechodra
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Re: Have you changed Buddhist schools since joining DW?

Post by chimechodra »

Started off with one foot in Tibetan Buddhism and one foot in Zen. Met Chogyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche, and ever since I focus entirely on teachers of Dzogchen, with Namkhai Norbu at the foundation of it all. I still appreciate a lot of the Zen teachings, and I was actually just re-reading Dogen's Genjokoan today. When the Tibetan stuff gets me a little too overwhelmed, I find reading a few Zen books really helps ground me again, as long as I be mindful not to conflate any views. Zen Master Seung Sahn's writings in particular have been tremendously helpful in the past (and present!).
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Dan74
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Location: Switzerland

Re: Have you changed Buddhist schools since joining DW?

Post by Dan74 »

Thomas Amundsen wrote: Thu Mar 22, 2018 2:53 pm
Grigoris wrote: Thu Mar 22, 2018 9:55 am
Dan74 wrote: Thu Mar 22, 2018 9:07 am Thank you very much, those who've completely the poll and those who've commented!

40 poll answers is not bad, but not a large sample for a Forum like this. Maybe a few more could answer quickly?
What's the rush?
If we get enough votes, Dan will switch to practicing Dzogchen :tongue: :jumping: :twisted:
Haha! No, my friend, I feel very much at home with Seon/Chan/Zen. No need to switch. Mind you, we never know what the future holds, but I don't think so.
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