u/Apprehensive_Paper15

I'm wondering how many of you have found yourselves in my situation. I actually live in a community with a strong Buddhist population. There are five or six Zen temples and three or four Tibetan ones. But the nearest Theravada group is 2 hours away from me.

I've found an online Theravada sangha that I feel very comfortable with and really feel like I fit in. But of course, I can't make in-person friends that way, and because of health and money issues, the likelihood is low that I'll ever be able to visit in person.

In the main Buddhist subreddit, I've seen a lot of people say that it's better to go to a sangha in a school you don't agree with than to refrain from going to the sangha. But Theravada feels like home. Not only that, but all I'm going to say is that I don't feel comfortable with several Mahayana teachings and traditions, including the bodhisattva ideal. But it would be nice to have people in my town who share my practice. Is it truly better to attend a sangha for a school you don't feel comfortable with than to be part of an online sangha? I'm not trying to be divisive, just trying to explain how I feel.

My question is pretty much in my title. Do Theravada Buddhists pray, and to whom? I know they don't, as a whole, believe in bodhisattvas or multiple Buddhas. I've also heard of sending metta, but how specifically is it believed to help in a situation. I know Buddhists don't believe in a supreme creator god, but is it considered acceptable to pray to gods and goddesses who aren't supreme creator gods (I'm thinking like Tara, for example)? I know this question may seem a little ignorant, but I hear Buddhists saying they'll pray or send metta and what they believe they're accomplishing by doing so has always confused me a little. Thanks!

Hi! My partner and I have been talking about getting married and have agreed we want to. The problem is that we are both disabled with serious health issues and neither of us can afford to lose our health insurance, and if we combine our incomes, she almost certainly would lose it, and I might. So we talked about doing a commitment ceremony. But I'm worried we won't be able to find anyone to officiate for it because of us being two women and not doing the legal route. We also want a handfasting (I"m Wiccan and she's Pagan) which makes it trickier.

Has anyone done a commitment ceremony? We want to do everything basically exactly the same, we just won't be signing the paperwork at the end. We plan on having a very small wedding- probably about 25 people at most, and all are close enough to tell why we aren't doing the legal wedding. Still, I'd like to hear people's stories. TIA!