so, my 17 yo son is doing a 10 day buddhist meditation.

[mopinko]

this was kind of a surprise, tho not totally. a friend of his did it over the summer, and thought it was great. it is tough, tho. 10 days of silence, no food after 11 am, except for tea and fruit at dinner. (tho they said for those under 18, they will offer him a light dinner.)
he is a big hearted, sweet kid, but he has had a hard time with life. school was really torture for him. he just is not that kind of smart. he is, however, very smart. so, pretty much every teacher conference we ever had was "he is so bright, but i have to flunk him" such bullshit. he dropped out of high school the day he turned 16. he just took his ged and passed, with a good score. but he has just been hangin' around, keeping the couch warm.
i think that it will be great to have him just think for 10 days.
he will be gone over thanksgiving, so we decided to surprise him and wait till sunday, when he comes home.
he is here

[Droopy]

1. Your link is busted

I was interested in Eastern philosophy when I was your son's age, maybe a little older. There are many interesting books about Buddhism out there. I recommend the ones written by people from a culture where Buddhism is the native religion.

[mopinko]

2. here is a naked one

http://www.pakasa.dhamma.org/

he is not a book-larnin kind of kid. i think the best part may be that he will now be welcomed at buddhist monasteries. i would totally support this kid doing some traveling. his buddy is thinking about that. the 2 of them might have some really interesting trips. the buddy has been talking with some people from thailand after meeting them at his meditation.
i am a die hard atheist myself, but buddhism is one religion that i mostly approve of. they have their fanatics, but for the most part i find it to be interesting and very level headed. believe me, i would not have let him go on a christian retreat.

[Droopy]

4. Well, I've never met a charasmatic, ego-driven Buddhist

I guess it's possible that they could exist, but I don't think your son is going to be brainwashed into some cult by studying Buddhism.

For me it's really simple. I went to a local Buddhist temple a few times. The "temple" was a bi-level house out in the Dyaton, Ohio suburbs. I met the monks in private one time. There were two of them and they were from Thailand. We meditated together for a little while and then they talked with me. I walked away from the experience feeling calm and aware. Centered, if you will. That's what Buddhism is all about to me. There are many religious rituals and spiritual leaders in Buddhism, kind of like other religions. But I think that the genuine Buddhist guru is more interested in showing you your mind and not his or hers.

[LostinVA]

23. Oh, they certainly do exist -- the scandal at the SF Zen Center is but one example

[DarkTirade]

3. Link works for me.

:shrug:

[Droopy]

6. This is what I get when I try the link in the OP

The address is not valid

Most likely causes:
There might be a typing error in the address.
If you clicked on a link, it may be out of date.

What you can try:
Retype the address.

Go back to the previous page

[DarkTirade]

7. Bizarro.

:)

[mopinko]

8. i did test it.

cut and pasted it from their page. have yet to make a hyperlink that doesn't work for someone.

[bicentennial_baby]

5. Personally not a Vipassanna fan, but

Good luck to you son. :)

[mopinko]

9. i'm not a fan of any religion.

and to be honest, it seemed a little over the top. i just don't think it can hurt him. plus, he decided he wanted to it, and there was no way to change his mind. we have been nagging about what he is going to do with himself. can hardly oppose his first real try at figuring it out.

[elshiva]

11. Not a fan of religion here, either, but this seems okay.

He needs to explore it for himself.

[dynasaw]

15. Buddhism is not a religion

[dynasaw]

16. Probably One of the Best Thing

a kid could do for her/himself.

[mopinko]

21. then what is it?

it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and sure do quack like a duck. and they sure taught me that in school.

i know that this mediation is not really buddhism. the center is run by buddhists, tho.

[FloridaJudy]

27. It is a religion, and then it isn't

Not surprising since a lot of Buddhists are into non-duality.* It's not a religion in that it doesn't depend on belief in any particular deity: some Buddhists believe in one God, some believe in lots of Gods, and some are Atheists. The Buddha himself had nothing to say about the existence or non-existence of God, just about how to attain enlightenment and end suffering.

It is a religion in that it has a set of practices and ethical guidelines designed to bring the practitioner closer to a state of harmony with the natural world and other human beings.




*Old Buddhist joke: How many Zen masters does it take to change a light bulb?
...............Two: one to change the bulb, and one to not change the bulb.

[mopinko]

30. there is also the matter of temples, monasteries, rituals and prayers.

but i get your joke.

[LostinVA]

24. Yes it is, if you wish it to be

Your answer would surprise alot of monks.

[peruban]

28. True in a technical sense.

It's more of a way of seeing things as impermanent and liberating yourself from suffering. The Buddha never spoke of a supreme being, only that mankind is the missing link between apes and human beings.

[Odin2005]

10. Cool kid! I've been into Vipassanna meditation recently.

Though I'm an Atheist I've always been partial to Theravada Buddhist thought and thought meditation would help me with my anxiety, Depression, and other psychological issues stemming from my Asperger's Syndrome. Loving-Kindness meditation is always good after a co-worker has pissed me off on a bad day at work, and maybe mindfulness will help me to be mindful of other people's thought's and feelings (a big problem us "aspies" have).

[mopinko]

12. i am tempted to do it myself.

i am not always as mindful of other people's thoughts and feelings, either. and 10 days of a healthy diet and peace would do me some good.

[kwassa]

13. A good friend met his wife-to-be on a ten day silent Buddhist retreat

in Joshua Tree, CA.

I never found out how they managed to talk enough to get to know each other, but they've been married quite awhile now..

I love meditation retreats, personally, though I haven't done one in a long time. The longest silent retreat I've done is three days.

[mopinko]

14. they get to talk the last day.

i'm hoping that he gets a ride home. they said they would try to hook him up with someone. it is 2 1/2 hrs from here. being a teenager, he thought nothing of this, and just assumed that of course mom could drive him out there. just because mom has a big show in 2 weeks, and is try to manage a remodeling job on the house shouldn't mean she can't blow the better part of a day driving him to this thing.
'sokay, tho. i am behind anything positive that this kid needs to do to get his act together.

[kwassa]

17. I think it will be a very positive experience.

There are two aspects to it; the attempt to be thoughtful within oneself, and the discipline of doing it for ten days.

Now, he will need to do something with his life besides being a couch potato.

edit to add:

I think this is the center my friend went to near Joshua Tree, and it was linked off your page:

http://www.vaddhana.dhamma.org/

[mopinko]

19. i think it will.

he is a sweet kid who has been put down, and is very frustrated. i hope he can put some of the past shit away, now, and move on. i also hope he can realize the good he has in him.
i like that he is connected to all these places, now. he can go stay at any of them. even if he never does, he will know that he can.

[FloridaJudy]

18. I think it'll be good for him

If he can stick it out, though I've met devout Buddhists with decades of practice that who have found similar regimens tough. Worst that could happen is he discovers that silent meditation is not for him, and you get a three a.m. phone call asking for a ride - a bit of a pain, to be sure, but not nearly as much as his being brainwashed into preaching on street corners, or joining the military and being sent off to Iraq.

He sounds very much like my own son, and I wish he'd tried something like that at your son's age. Hell, I wish I could have done the same at that age. It might have helped me get my priorities straight and develop a sense of who I am that it took me too long and too many missteps to discover.

[mopinko]

20. my comment to them when i dropped him off-

they said he will be a new man when i pick him up. i told them i thought we needed a way to help a boy to become a man besides putting a gun in his hand. i hope this does it for him.

[surrealAmerican]

22. This sounds like a positive step to figuring out ...

... how to get some direction in his life. Good luck to him.

[dig a pony]

25. I cannot link up; have you posted before? Is it Vipassana (sp.?)?

I see you are in Chicago. Do they have a temple downtown or nearby 'burbs? I'd like to visit sometime.

If you are the same person, I was intrigued by that link. I'd do it myself but the one thing that slightly concerned me was when they said you can't leave after you commit to the 10 days. I think you should be able to leave at any time, even if you don't get the full benefit. Sometimes when you are so immersed in the world, it can be tough to suddenly unplug so abruptly. I could probably do it but I would always expect an open door in case I feel like leaving.

By the way, I really appreciate the phrase "not that kind of smart." I can surely relate and my GPA in high school was atrocious (around 1.5) and did not speak to my abilities.

[mopinko]

26. i read it that the 10th day is the only one where you cannot leave.

doesn't sound like the kind of place where they lock the doors behind you, although they do have a wrought iron fence.
i an not sure what exactly is in chicago, but i know there are several temples. i know there is a big one in the uptown neighborhood that i think is vietnamese that i drive by all the time. i know there are others.

and i am a most firm believer in different kinds of intelligence. my kids are all weirdos, and bad fits. i homeschooled for 8 years because i think the whole factory school thing is fucked up. i think that we come equipped with an amazing program for adapting and exploring, and final wiring of our brains. i thought my job was to try to feed that thing, stay out of the way, and mortally wound anyone who tried to interfere. i wish i had the resources to keep it up. but at least they know that their parents argued with everyone who ever told them they were a failure.
this kid in particular, imho, like so many other boys, is a genetic warrior. i think that we come wired to fill a place in our tribe. the fetal environment shapes the brain for the kind of world the mother experiences. i think these boys that are labeled adhd are mostly just little warriors who don't fit into the one size fits all mold that we see for people in general, but especially for children.
oh, well, i could go on.

drop me a note if you decide to visit chicago.

[peruban]

29. I discovered Buddhism at around that age.

Changed my life forever.