I’ve thought about this since reading it the other day and will meditate on it more.

Emory and the spiritual leader of Drepung Loesling in Atlanta have done studies on meditation and benefits. I went to a talk there he did a couple of weeks ago on the subject. He was in San Antonio last week working with a study on it there, I believe also.

I wish I could go to the conference, although I am fortunate enough to be able to attend the Dalai Lama’s teaching on 17 Oct. I will be sure to follow what comes out of it closely. It should be very interesting.

What do I think? I think that the teachings of the Buddha and commentaries by others in antiquity and modern times stand on their own. They are timeless and true. We don’t need another religion for human egos to corrupt. You know it always happens to good religions. I think your Awakeing the Buddha Within is beautifully written and the instructions particularly at the end in the meditations will take some time to work through and is a work to return to time and again. I read it twice back to back slowly when I got it.

If one wanted to combine the Buddha teachings with action meditation, that would be OK, I suppose. I have reservations about violent action meditation such as practices at shou lin temple combined with Buddhist teachings because of the non-violent philosophies.

I do not believe it is proper to commercialize (other than making books and other materials available for sale) Buddhism in any way. If I started seeing commercials on TV for it, I would be turned off by that. I do not think Buddhism actively seeks to convert, although if asked, the practitioner should answer questions or refer people to other authorities on the subject if they can not answer the questions.

Compassion in action is where we all should strive to be, in my opinion. Just staying aware and “in the view” is a big challenge in today’s world. There may be opportunities, especially in larger cities, for spiritual teachers to have Buddha Yoga in health clubs or Buddhist Temples as well.

This is a very good point to consider and again, I will be very interested to hear what comes out this conference, especially from the Dalai Lama’s point of view.

John

What strikes me in this post is the truth about all of us wanting something more…”man’s search for meaning,” so to speak. I am no different. And I suspect my answer is no different as well. Surya writes:

“I found that connecting to my source, what Buddhists call the groundless ground of being, makes clear my purpose and place in the world and gives meaning and direction to my life.”