Welcome!

Glad you're back, Chris! I'd thought it was just work being demanding.

I miss Mike Monson!


-cmarti

Me, too!

I'm here. Just reassessing how to talk about this stuff. I've really felt not understood and have had a lot of trouble understanding what I'm reading. I just need to pause a bit and be gentle and open with things.

I hope this is unambiguous -- I am completely satisfied with my practice right now and have no idea how to convey or explain why in a way that would be meaningful for anyone else while not, in some way, casting a shadow on what is, right now, just brilliant sunlight.

Thanks. Things are so good. I hope to learn how to talk listen write and read about practice in a way that helps me and others. As I learn I need to be quieter.

Hello- My names Bill. I've been practicing for four or so years now. My practice has seen some big shifts as of late and what I'm drawn towards now is the merging of the deep insights I've gained through practice with my own personal, day-to-day life. This seemed like a good site to join because there seems to be a balance here which I find unattractive that didn't seem available at some other

Hi Bill, nice to see you here!

Hello!

Thank you all for the welcome. Good to be here. Seems like a nice community.

Hello all, I'm Liam - some of you might recognise me from the Dharma Overground. I'm a 27-year-old bloke living in the UK.

In terms of what I'd like to get up to on this site, I can quote my 'ello' email to Jackson:

"...there
are other aspects of, and perspectives on, the Dhamma that would
benefit from the same kind of experimental, specific, hashing things
out, speaking from experience approach that DhO espouses. This is
more dangerous because it's a tightrope - falling off into theory, or
argument for the sake of winning argument, are both possible - but I
think it's worth trying.

I'm
interested in how people are *living* their Dhamma and what that
might change in my own behaviour. What are people changing about what
they do due to having these particular insights? Is traditional sila
working for them? Are the Three Trainings really all that separated
in your lives as per the MCTB model? If the point isn't to be a nicer
chap, what is awakening compelling you to do? Why did Buddhism
suddenly make me a vegetarian? Why is it making Anarchism seem more
and more sane, and if you agree, what are you doing about it? What
does an Engaged Buddhist do that's so special, anyway?

I
warn you, I have a million more questions "

I'm trying to get more real life meets going for those who share the DIY ethic that I'm really appreciating in this community, so if you're nearby, feel free to give me a shout - or even if you're not...

hello! nice to meet you!

Hi! I'm Rob, 43 years old, living in Montreal, Canada. I stumbled on this site from Kenneth Folk Dharma, where I'm still active. I've often appreciated Chris and Jackson's constructively skeptical role in the KFD conversation, so I wanted to be part of this forum once I looked in on it- and found some really high-quality conversation

How I got here: About about 20 years ago in university I started attending Quaker meetings. Soon after, I met my (now) wife. While we were hashing out our respective philosophies, she pointed out that what I was *really* after was Buddhism. I looked into it, and sure enough. But it took me years of pinging from group to group, and being obnoxiously bookish about Buddhism while dreaming of my eventual satori, before I actually got down to a steady and disciplined sitting practice, about 8 years ago. In retrospect, I feel that I practised from a flawed premise: that I needed to practice in order to "fix myself", then, once that was done, I could rejoin society as an improved person.

I stumbled on Daniel Ingram's book, then KFD, a bit over a year ago, and was completely bowled over by their unadorned, pragmatic, and tangible definition of "enlightenment". With help from Kenneth, things really started to take off for me last fall. I experienced the full "Progess of Insight" burrito over a rather fraught couple of months, and had what I believe was a "stream-entry" experience last November. During that time, the insight map was extremely valuable and inspiring for me, but in recent weeks I've seen how eventually, you fall off the edge of the mappable terrain. (And it's not at all a bad thing). My practice and my views change every couple of weeks now- new things open all the time, and it seems pointless to keep marking my scorecard any more . (That view could change, too, but that's where I am at for now). But I keep coming back to the lesson that disengagement, compartmentalizing life, a sense of accomplishing, or gaining expertise, or mastery, is a wrong track.

In other words, hello!

Hello! Welcome (from a former heavy-compartmentalizer).

Hello! Welcome, from the annoying, "Well, but..." department head.

Hi all!

My name is Duane Miller. I live in PA with my wife and two daughters. I am a musician, produce my own recordings and am ranked 7th lower level in a Southern Short Fist style of Chinese Kung Fu. I have a blog where I have some commentaries on my experience with Buddhism and meditation practice here . I have been reading about Buddhism for a number of years but only really came to understand what it was actually all about within the past year and am very excited to converse with some knowledgeable people. I've recently read Daniel Ingram's MCTB so most of my understanding is based on that reference point but I'm not going for that "hardcore" of an approach. I have a loose sitting practice but am mostly trying to focus on bringing these sorts of techniques into everyday life as often as I am mindful enough to do so. I enjoy insight practice the most so far but am interested in strengthening my concentration. I am currently focusing on calm abiding and working toward SE as a 6 month - 1 year goal.

Thanks for having me here and I look forward to learning with you:)

Welcome, Duane! Glad to have you here.

Good to see you here buddy!

How do, Duane-- pleased to meet you.