Howdy and welcome to those that i missed!
Gassho, Dirk
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Howdy and welcome to those that i missed!
Gassho, Dirk
Hello everyone,
my name is Robin and I live in Germany. I'm married and father of three children. After reading
some books about Zen, I began daily sitting since two years. As an atheist, I thought about
my christian roots for many years to close this felt gap between the modern scientific worldview
and the inner feeling of a human beeing confronted with this astonishing world, finally
recognizing, that it's impossible to me to believe in this god, and that this maybe is even
a good thing.
Now I just sit with it, try to be open, to learn and it feels right.
Welcome to Treeleaf Brian, David, and Robin! :)
Hello ... :)
I was directed here by a kind soul who happened to read my sad tale of having no Zen community to call my own. Needless to say, I hopped over immediately to check things out. Apparently, the Universe heard me when I was thinking ... Well, why can't there be such a thing as an online zendo?
Who says wishes don't come true?! :D
Seona
Welcome guys - hope you get as much from being here as I do :D .
Kindest regards
Jools
hey,
my name is craig and i'm new to treeleaf. found out about it through buddhist geeks podcast. i have been studying buddhism for years both formally and informally. i have a degree in religious studies and am fascinated with the gap between myth and historical religious figures, especially buddha and jesus. i grew up christian and actually went to seminary for a year. i see buddhism as the next step on my spiritual pathless path rather than a conversion.
i began seriously considering a meditation practice after reading Wake Up To Your Life by Ken Mcleod. i live in atlanta, so there were a bunch of sanghas around. visited many off and on and finally began attending the local soto zen center regularly last summer. that is, until they brought the 'stick' out. i had a very strong reaction to it and haven't been back since. i also had trouble jumping into sitting for 40 minutes at a time at the center. i wanted to just build up. (it was also hot as hell in the zendo!) so, that's what i am doing at home, building up. i hope that treeleaf can be a connection to a sangha and teacher. in the future, i may go back to the atlanta zen center, but who knows. glad to find this place!
peace
craig
ps-i stay at home with my two boys who are 3 and 10 months. my first career was counseling and now i am getting a degree in accounting , of all things. my wife is a principal.
Welcome to Treeleaf Craig!
I'm especially glad to welcome another stay at home dad to the fold since there are a few around here. I have a son who is also 3, so feel free to drop me a line if you like. I always like to compare notes with other stay at home parents and having a common interest in zen is pretty cool. :)
Gassho,
Scott
Hi and Welcome to yas Robin, Seona and Craig
Gassho, Dirk
Hello All,
My name is Alan and I live in Oklahoma City. I haven't been practicing very long yet I've unknowingly been in touch with Buddhism for a long time. I grew up in an average Bible Belt home then, as a teen began rebelling and joined the punk rock scene (as it was in OKC in the 80's). I then began a slow decline that included homelessness and various forms of self-abuse and general bullheadedness. After leaving my last job five years ago I decided I needed to pull myself together and began with my health. I'm now a triathlete and vegan. For years I had been fighting anything spiritual and was a confirmed atheist; then finally I found Brad Warner's book (yeah, another one) and it was the first thing I read about Buddhism I actually understood. It was like everything fit and felt right (a real a-ha moment). I have only been sitting regularly (every evening for 30 mins) for about two months and I already have questions. Since there is no Sangha here I'm extremely grateful to have found y'all and Jundo's great talks. I'm very anxious to begin this study of myself.
Thanks again,
Alan
Welcome to Treeleaf Alan!
Welcome Alan! I am not too far from you..... I'm down in Chickasha. I know that there are some Buddhists groups in OKC, but it's a little far for me right now to drive regularly. I have checked out the websites of the groups up there, but haven't mustered the courage to visit. I can't decide which one I wanted to visit. Each have their own distinct flavor, but none of them quite what I was looking for.
Have you had a chance to visit any of them? What do you think?
Hi Jamie,
No, I haven't visited any places around here but all I've found is Korean and Vietnamese Zen. There is a Chan place out near Midwest City but they're with the Chung Tai monastery in Taiwan. It's a building as large as St. Peter's in Rome with 37 stories and that doesn't sit well with me if you pardon my pun. Other sects, I guess, might help with basics like how to sit and things like this. Right now I'm reading a basics book by a Renzai layteacher so I know there is plenty to learn from others. At least I know I'm not alone here in Oklahoma.
Alan
Hiya and welcome Alan!
Gassho, Dirk
Welcome Craig and Alan!
Just wanted to say hello and welcome to Treeleaf. I hope you find us a warm and interesting group that you can learn from and maybe teach us a few things too.
Gassho,
Kelly Rok
Hi! All Members of the Treeleaf Community. I am Cucchilou and live in a tiny town surrounded by woods in Burgundy, France. A long, long time ago, i used to practice zazen on a solid basis, then stopped.
Now, after many moves, ways & adventures and a 3 and 1/2 decade interval, i've been sitting again for a couple of months: everything is getting better and my general feeling is that i've found the way back home: i am very Happy to have discovered your Community! Warm gratefullness! wishing to deepen the practice and grow further...
Having just joined the Community Forum, i'll have there the opportunity to talk further; for the time being, 'breathe in, breathe out...' Gassho, Cucchilou
Hello and Welcome Cucchilou.
Gassho, Dirk
Hello everyone, My name is Joan and I am new to Treeleaf and only in the last 3 months have been studying Buddhism. I am also practising meditation but find that my mind wanders but I am getting better at just sitting and concentrating on the breath. I feel that I was brought to this site and your community and would appreciate if I could join you all. I live in Yorkshire, United Kingdom and after being made redundant at the age of 55 decided to take early retirement. I have worked full time since the age of 15 and now find my days are filled with finding new and interesting things and also trying to find my true inner self.
Welcome! Joan, Sitting gets better with practice and Treeeleaf is a wonderful place of inspiration and kindness. Gassho, Cucchilou
Bienvenu! Cucchilou
After many moons we meet again in sangha.
Good to see you here. Welcome!
Welcome to you Joan!
Gassho
Bids
Warm thanks to you Krid and Bids for your welcoming and welcome ! Emptyzen to the wonderful Treeleaf
Being new in this group, don't have yet much to tell about, except that this is a great place to be, right here, now and now anew; it gives more power to the daily practice to do it with you all, right here, to sit now or then together and share glimpses of awakening of our wandering minds.
Gassho, Cucchilou
Hello, everyone. My name is Martina, and I live near Los Angeles, CA. I have been a Buddhist since 1997, when I bought a book by Lama Surya Das to impress this guy I knew. We ended up just being friends (we still are), and I just continued to read a lot of Dharma, slowly build to a daily practce, and soon realized the benefit it was having in my internal life. As my practice has deepened, I have longed to find a Sangha I could participate in, despite frequent periods of time when it is very difficult for me to attend a physical gathering.
This idea, this place, the esteem with which you hold it (the convesations on the precepts in the Jukai section are wonderful & dizzying!) is very inspiring, and I am happy to have found this beautiful Zendo.
Hello & welcome! Tina to this wonderfull Now Place
Gassho, Cucchilou
Good Day,
I joined Treeleaf today. Very interesting site. Unique and exciting for those of us who are out of reach of a teacher.
I am a retired social worker. Sixty-two years old. I have been studying eastern religions for many years (since my teens, actually) and have been a practicing "sitter" (though not always regular) for nearly as long. I have had some opportunity to attend some zen centers, but have not had regular contact, face-to-face with a teacher. This is in part because I have lived in a rural area in the State of Maine, (most of which could be described as rural), USA. As well as working and being very active in raising my three kids. (I now have a 5 y.o. grandson). I have three adult children, and I'm married to my high school sweetheart for 42+ years. I am a writer and have some interest, and work, in films. I also have a commitment to child welfare work for the past 3 decades or so. My interests, besides those just described, include reading, studying, classical music, and, of course, life and death. I am anxious to join the community and hear what's going on. I fully intend to explore this fascinating site.
Drop a line to my email when you have a chance.
Hello and welcome to new folk.
Feel free in joining in on any topic or starting a new one
All the best and see you around
Philip
Hi and Welcome Emptyzen, Tina and again jbojanis.
Jump right in! The water is wet.
Gassho, Dirk
Hi! Jbojanis,
Welcome to this community: this is a wonderful place indeed; i have
personnally little experience with it 'cause I've just joined it but have
been sitting here a-long for a couple of months. The only fact this exists
is already great in itself.
Beside this point, Jundo is a very inspiring
and dedicated teacher and you'll find here lots of very friendly folks.
I personnally live in France, in a very small town of Burgundy, surrounded
by woods and no zen friend around (as far as i know) ; i fortunately live in a house with a
wild garden, share the place with 2 friendly dogs, do zazen everyday, love
Nature & music and have a 15 year old son in Netherlands... well, just to
give you an idea...
Hoping you'll find inspiration & more on this site and to hear of you
sometime, best wishes to you & your beloved,
Gassho, Cucchilou
Sitting,
Less thought, yet clearer
Few words or steps, more action
Light and breath in love
Gassho, Cucchilou
gassho,
hello my name is jc. i live in a small town in alaska. i was apart of a soto comunity years ago and studied under a japanese priest. however i quit attending after a rather painful divorce and moving away from the city that the group was located in. other than dogen, my fave zen authors is Uchiyama and i also enjoy brad warner since i too come from a back ground of being in punk bands, though i'm not as brash as he is :D
outside of zen i've lived in theravada temples in both america and thailand and i still spend time at them whenever i can as i'm friends with many thai and lao monks. IMO the thai tradition is quite compatable with zen especially the forest tradition and the ideas of ajahn buddhadasa (if you ever read him, i'm sure you'll feel right at home) who actually translated into thai the platform sutra and other zen texts (living in bangkok i even saw a thai version of dogen's zuimonki along side theravada texts!)
when i was still in my zen sangha i was working on my rakusu, but i never finished and never took judkai, and this has always bothered me =(
i hope to learn as much as i can here, and deepen my practice
with metta
jc
Welcome to Treeleaf JC! And to anyone else I may have missed. :)
Bienvenidos! :D
JC,
Bienvenu, Welcome to Treeleaf :)
Gassho, Cucchilou
Greetings All,
My name is Rod and I live in Los Angeles, CA. I came to Buddhism through my formal and informal studies of Western philosophy, consciousness studies (specifically the work of Susan Blackmore), and neuroscience. I recently became a member of the Hazy Moon Zen Center (William Nyogen Yeo Roshi).
I am also a full-time philosophy major/anthropology minor at a local college.
I look forward to learning and sharing on this forum and sangha.
Gassho,
Rod
Gassho Rod.
Welcome.
Will
Bienvenido Rod! Gassho.....
Hello everyone.
Just thought I'd introduce myself. My name is David. I live near Nashville, TN. I'm looking forward to meeting everyone, especially considering that there is not much of a community anywhere near me. I have been sitting only the last few months, but have been studying Buddhism for several years now. I hope I might be able to contribute to the development of the sangha with some of that knowledge.
So this is awkward. Thank you for your time. It's a pleasure to meet all of you.
Gassho.
Welcome JC, Rob and David!
Hehe when isn't it :)Quote:
Originally Posted by David
Gassho, Dirk
Hi! David and Rod, Welcome to Treeleaf, Welcome to Here & Now :)
Gassho, Cucchilou
Hello All,
My name is Kyle, and I am a senior in high school who plans to major in pre-medicine. I hail from Pennsylvania and am currently applying for college (yuck...the paper work is so tedious). I found this site by chance, sadly there are not many places in my area that practice Zen or any form of Buddhism for that matter, so I found Treeleaf through my random searching on the web. I mulled over the decision to join for a few days and after reading some of the material on the site and watching some videos from the blog, I decided to join. I have been sitting off and on now for about a year and a half, and really wanted to find others who did the same. Here in PA not many practice Buddhism nor know of it...or I have just not found many that do :) . I hope to strengthen my practice and I feel that a Sangha like this will aid in that goal. Well I look forward to chatting with others on this site...and of course sitting with you.
Thanks,
-Kyle
Welcome to Treeleaf David and Kyle! :)
Hello Treeleafers,
I realize that I never posted an introduction even though I've occassionally posted for a couple of months.
My name is Jeff Legg, and I live with my wife and son in Richmond, Va, USA. In addition we have a lot of animals: dogs, horses, cats, rats, gerbils, fish, and a Quaker parrot. I teach medical imaging at our local university.
I have been practicing for a little over a year now although I studied Buddhism a little during grad school. I have made a commitment to my practice and have witnessed at times some softening of my opinions and biases (I've written about that on a previous blog) and more calmness. I have also been a vegetarian for a little over a year which amazes all of my family/friends and doctor as I was a real carnivore! :lol:
I wrote Jundo several months ago regarding a question of dana for many of the homeless who are around our university (we're in the middle of the city). His suggestions were very helpful for me. I also made a commitment to either give to charity every payday. This has been very gratifying and fun and is a nice supplement to volunteering.
I would like to end by giving a little 'prop' to my students in our department at the university. We have an honor society that focuses a great deal on service. They have been great at conducting food drives, detergent drives for our local hospital hospitality house, and school supplies for an inner city elementary school. Not only am I proud of them but it is really nice to see some good work being doing by a very multicultural group of college kids--hope for the future.
I really love the sangha forum and the daily sessions/talks. I hope to participate in the Jukai ceremony in the future.
Jeff
Hi and welcome to Jeff, Rod, David, Kyle, JC!!!!!!!!
gassho,
rowan
who must attend her dripping nose........
Gassho & Welcome Jeff & Kyle !!! :)
... come and bring your bit of salt and sparks of light into this Here & Now Place
cucchilou
Hi Jeff!
I really dig your letter: very inspiring!! I see you from here with all your animals (in a farm-like place?) and family in Richmond... did you know that 'anima' meant 'soul' in Latin?
Good you gave up eating animals... and some wondering if they have a soul?? personnally, i don't!
Ok Jeff, take care of all them souls dear to you, humans or animals, all Buddha's nature, aren't they?
Gassho 3x Cucchilou
welcome for all the new treeleafers....
nice to meet you all... :D
Gassho, Shuidi
Thanks to all for the warm welcome.
I did get an email from a Treeleaf member who happens to be living in my town. I will have to drop him a line. (Small world - small universe).
RWC (jbojanis).
Hi all!
Im Hernán Massau-Chorne from Buenos Aires, Argentina. I will try to introduce myself briefly, let me see...
Im 31, married and proud father of a 5 years old girl. Im a traditional yoga teacher, I really love to teach yoga as I believe it's a great way to help people.
Also I work as communications manager in a nonprofit called Idealist.org (in the spanish-speakers branch)
I love to write in my blog about Yoga and Buddhism, and also enjoy playing some music in my free time with my charango and shakuhachi.
Im really new to zazen. I practice regulary trascendental meditation since 10 years, but after reading about zazen it blowed my mind and wanted to practice that. My only experience with zazen was in a Kosen Thibaut dojo where I've learned the basics. So here I am, wanting to learn, and to improve my zazen (in quality and quantity) and some day help many sentient beings to cross to the other shore.
Welcome Treeleaf Yogi...and all other recent newbies! :)
welcome yogi.
glad you are here with us :) hope to see you around treeleaf :)
p.s. one thing i sure need is a yoga teacher to help get me in to the lotus :lol:
Gassho, and welcome.
Daniel.
Hiya and welcome Hernán!
Gassho, Dirk
I have been a member of Treeleaf Sangha for about a week. During that time I have been immersed in the study of the Precepts, Jundo's comments, all links, and posts from members. Thank you all for bringing a profound new meaning to the precepts. My Zen Buddhist practice has truly been enriched. There could not be a better welcome offered. Gassho zak