Western Buddhism Impossible?

[idav]

Is it possible to get the full benefit of Buddhism in the west without temples or practitioners to help with guidance?

What do Buddhists recommend for people wanting to practice in the west?

 

[LuisDantas]

Is it possible to get the full benefit of Buddhism in the west without temples or practitioners to help with guidance?

I don't see why not, although being part of a group may help quite a lot.

What do Buddhists recommend for people wanting to practice in the west?

Pick and choose among the practice groups you manage to meet in person. Travel a bit to find them if you must.

Make your own mind about the doctrine and the schools.

Attempt to find ways of describing the basics of the Dharma in your own words, because they will nearly always be the most trustworthy you are likely to find.

 

[von bek]

Is it possible to get the full benefit of Buddhism in the west without temples or practitioners to help with guidance?

I do not believe you would get the full benefit of Buddhism without experienced guidance. Having said that, there is no reason you have to wait to start practicing. Even without a monastery or monks nearby, you will receive benefit from studying the Buddha's teachings. It will make your study more stable and beneficial though if you have an expert to bring questions to. Going to a forum such as this can be helpful; but, we are not substitutes for fully ordained monks who are living out the Buddhadhamma daily.

What do Buddhists recommend for people wanting to practice in the west?

Start by checking out some good sites such as Access to Insight

There are a number of excellent books to help you. For starters, check out Walpola Rahula's What the Buddha Taught. Also, grab a copy of In the Buddha's Words which is an anthology of the Buddha's discourses from the suttas, translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi. I also strongly recommend any title by Bhante Gunaratana, especially Mindfulness in Plain English.

 

[idav]

Thanks for you alls input.

I could kinda tell I was missing stuff. I have been studying religion most my life but more like the generalities of religions. I like to think I have a pretty good grasp on Buddhism without really knowing how to convey it. It makes a lot of sense to me so I have been trying to follow some of the percepts of Buddhism but never really read too much Buddhist scripture. Then the other day I watch the movie "little buddha" and I was actually kinda taken by surprise how much clicked when the monk character was saying his insightful one liners. Haha and thats just from a movie, it still seemed like the guy knew what he was talking about from what I could tell. I can't help but feel it is a struggle to understand without guidance.

 

[Ablaze]

While it may be unnecessarily difficult, if not impossible to get the full benefit of Buddhism in the West without visits to temples or contact with other practitioners, there are partial benefits. I tend to conceive of it as "some is better than none, but more is better than less." Thus, it is in one's best interest to maximize the potential benefit by seeking guidance of some sort.

Indeed, one of the three jewels, the places of refuge advocated by the Buddha, is after all the Sangha - the community. There are critical elements of Buddhist practice that are missed out on when the Sangha component of the triple refuge is neglected or all-together omitted. I experienced this myself during the first two or so years of practice, without a Sangha.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Is it possible to get the full benefit of Buddhism in the west without temples or practitioners to help with guidance?

What do Buddhists recommend for people wanting to practice in the west?

Yes it is possible. Siddhartha set out like that. But still, it's very hard without some type of initial foundation of which will carry throughout your practice. Teachers and fellow practitioners still remain invaluable as there are at times exceedingly difficult moments that crop up and can help and prepare you during those moments.

 

[crossfire]

You can benefit from associating with any group that does not propagate greed, hatred, or delusion, and looks to end those. (See the Kalama Sutta)

 

[Banjankri]

It all depends on how you define benefit.

 

[Rick O'Shez]

Is it possible to get the full benefit of Buddhism in the west without temples or practitioners to help with guidance?

I think it's much better to have face-to-face contact with other Buddhists whenever possible.

 

[Mophiax]

It is easy to be misguided if entering a new and complex religious/philosophical system.
Engage in some internet forum or discussions group if you don't want face to face contact

 

[Rick O'Shez]

Engage in some internet forum or discussions group if you don't want face to face contact

It's also very easy to get misguided on the internet though! You never know exactly who you are talking to, and people who subscribe to forums are not necessarily representative of Buddhism "on the ground".

 

[wizanda]

The problem with Buddhism in the west, isn't the lack of temples or practitioners; it is the capitalistic mentality that spreads though everything, like you can buy your way to Nirvana and enlightenment.

 

[Rick O'Shez]

The problem with Buddhism in the west, isn't the lack of temples or practitioners; it is the capitalistic mentality that spreads though everything, like you can buy your way to Nirvana and enlightenment.

Yes, it can be a problem, people are so used to looking at everything as a product which is bought and paid for. I used to run a Buddhist group and didn't charge people to come along ( except for a donation to cover room hire at times ), that got a few raised eyebrows, like: "If it's free, is it really worth anything?"

Some Buddhist groups have fixed charges for classes and retreats, others do it on a donation-only basis, which I think is more in keeping with the spirit of dana.