Dharma Wheel member meditation group?

Discussion of meditation in the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions.
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Rick
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Dharma Wheel member meditation group?

Post by Rick »

Hi. :-)

I'm working at establishing a daily meditation practice.

I've meditated regularly a few times before (anapanasati and vipassana, several months each), but I always seem to "fall off the wagon." ;-)

When I did the online Vipassana Fellowship Meditation Course it really helped me stay regular with my practice.

Is there a Dharma Wheel member meditation group? If not, would anyone like to help start one? All we'd need, I think, is a handful of people who would check in from time to time, share experiences, etc. I'm thinking: "interdenominational." All styles/disciplines/schools welcome. The goal is not to teach/be taught, rather to help each other maintain a healthy meditation practice.

Thanks,

rachMiel
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Rick
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Re: Dharma Wheel member meditation group?

Post by Rick »

I'll give this one more try ... then let it go. :-)
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Johnny Dangerous
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Re: Dharma Wheel member meditation group?

Post by Johnny Dangerous »

I'm game for talking about anything non-restricted, there is plenty I wouldn't share but I have found talking about and asking about meditation one here to be productive sometimes.

I think many Vajrayana people won't really be able to do this, or only sutra practices, even then..
Meditate upon Bodhicitta when afflicted by disease

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when sad

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when suffering occurs

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when you are scared

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Ayu
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Re: Dharma Wheel member meditation group?

Post by Ayu »

I didn't understand the practical process yet.
A meditation group where people come together in reality in a room and practice meditation together is an extremely helpful thing for beginners.
Seems like the spiritual power of the experienced members is able to carry the beginners part of the way. So a beginner may feel, where his practice can bring him. How it feels and why am i doing it.

But to meet and meditate together seems to be quite impossible in this regard.

So we could just write about our meditation experiences here?
I would not join that, because talking to much about it destroys the peace of mind just recently created by the meditation. It is like pouring water in a cup with a whole. The whole is the talking.
Only my opinion.
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dharmagoat
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Re: Dharma Wheel member meditation group?

Post by dharmagoat »

rachmiel wrote:Is there a Dharma Wheel member meditation group? If not, would anyone like to help start one? All we'd need, I think, is a handful of people who would check in from time to time, share experiences, etc. I'm thinking: "interdenominational." All styles/disciplines/schools welcome. The goal is not to teach/be taught, rather to help each other maintain a healthy meditation practice.
There are four of us (recently five) that are in the process of developing such an online meditation group over at HamsterWheel.

We have been going since 2012 and have had some ups and downs along the way. Right now our group is very tight, meeting at Dhamma Wheel Chat every day at 19:00 UTC to discuss issues relating to practice and to provide feedback and support to one another.

At the moment our membership is equally divided between Zen and Theravada practitioners, and we look forward to including Vajrayana practitioners as well.
MalaBeads
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Re: Dharma Wheel member meditation group?

Post by MalaBeads »

rachmiel wrote:Hi. :-)

I'm working at establishing a daily meditation practice.

I've meditated regularly a few times before (anapanasati and vipassana, several months each), but I always seem to "fall off the wagon." ;-)

When I did the online Vipassana Fellowship Meditation Course it really helped me stay regular with my practice.

Is there a Dharma Wheel member meditation group? If not, would anyone like to help start one? All we'd need, I think, is a handful of people who would check in from time to time, share experiences, etc. I'm thinking: "interdenominational." All styles/disciplines/schools welcome. The goal is not to teach/be taught, rather to help each other maintain a healthy meditation practice.

Thanks,

rachMiel
:applause:

I applaud your interest and effort to establish (or re-establish) a meditation practice. May it be fruitful.

I am, however, with Ayu on this i think. I can't imagine wasting the silence that is created after meditation talking about meditation. Doesn't make sense to me. Groups of human beings, being what they are, are surely to devolve such an effort. Better to find something (or someone, as in a teacher) who inspires you and then you will be less likely to "fall off the wagon".

Meditation, even it is non-meditation, is a solitary pursuit. Not that it cannot be done in groups, it can. But the "checking in with each other", in the way you describe, is.....problematic to be sure.

:namaste:
I am well aware of my idiocy. I am also very aware that you too are an idiot. Therein lies our mutuality.
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Rick
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Re: Dharma Wheel member meditation group?

Post by Rick »

I don't much like to meditate with people. I was in a sangha for a while and grew weary of the social nature of it.

What I would like is to have a trusted online circle of comrades, fellow meditators, who would function as a support system for each other: encourage each other to stay regular with meditation, deepen their practices, etc.

dharmagoat, your group sounds great! What kinds of things do you talk about on your daily meetings?
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dharmagoat
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Re: Dharma Wheel member meditation group?

Post by dharmagoat »

MalaBeads wrote:I can't imagine wasting the silence that is created after meditation talking about meditation. Doesn't make sense to me. Groups of human beings, being what they are, are surely to devolve such an effort. Better to find something (or someone, as in a teacher) who inspires you and then you will be less likely to "fall off the wagon".

Meditation, even it is non-meditation, is a solitary pursuit. Not that it cannot be done in groups, it can. But the "checking in with each other", in the way you describe, is.....problematic to be sure.
By discussing meditation issues before we meditate (not after), others can provide the encouragement to go to meditate, especially for those (like myself) that frequently lack the motivation. We meditate in private of course, but it can be very helpful to know that someone we know is meditating somewhere else at that same time.

Even those that have regular contact with a real-life teacher and sangha can benefit from additional day-to-day contact with fellow meditators online. We have one member that does just that.
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dharmagoat
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Re: Dharma Wheel member meditation group?

Post by dharmagoat »

rachmiel wrote:dharmagoat, your group sounds great! What kinds of things do you talk about on your daily meetings?
We spend most of the time talking about issues that come up regarding our respective practices, providing feedback and encouragement, and sharing possible solutions.

Two of us have an arrangement whereby we check that the other is following up on the commitments that they pledged to keep, kindly pushing them on if they have reneged.
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Rick
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Re: Dharma Wheel member meditation group?

Post by Rick »

dharmagoat wrote:
rachmiel wrote:dharmagoat, your group sounds great! What kinds of things do you talk about on your daily meetings?
We spend most of the time talking about issues that come up regarding our respective practices, providing feedback and encouragement, and sharing possible solutions.

Two of us have an arrangement whereby we check that the other is following up on the commitments that they pledged to keep, kindly pushing them on if they have reneged.
That's pretty much exactly the kind of mutual support system I had in mind when I created this thread.

Is it working?
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dharmagoat
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Re: Dharma Wheel member meditation group?

Post by dharmagoat »

rachmiel wrote:Is it working?
Rather well at the moment.

One of our members has gone off meditation for the meantime, but we are working on him. :smile:
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Ayu
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Re: Dharma Wheel member meditation group?

Post by Ayu »

Congratulations.
I did not know about such a possibility of online meditation group. But if it gives good inspiration, anything is good. :twothumbsup:
dimeo
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Re: Dharma Wheel member meditation group?

Post by dimeo »

The idea of this keeps returning to me and I'd like to participate in something like this as well.
We could collaborate on this, and who knows it may grow in numbers with time.

Could we build this through video conferencing? Connecting together in real time could be a wonderful thing to make happen. I'd like it to be open and inviting to anyone interested, beginning or experienced. You could sit and meditate together, have tea and share a talk afterwards. (Like a virtual Shambhala center.

This could happen using Google+ hangouts or https://talky.io/ allows 6 people to quickly and easily create a free video chat. Talky.io is an exciting new technology called WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication). Anyone can video conference using a current version of Chrome 23, Firefox 22, Opera 12, or Android.

I recall a rinpoche I was listening to in a podcast talking about how the dharma and sangha transcends time and space. How true!
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