u/arbolmuerto

Lately I've been curious about the status of Theravada Buddhism within the Han Chinese community, both mainlander and overseas. The only information I know of are the Tai-speaking peoples of Yunnan who practice Theravada Buddhism due to their cultural history with mainland SEA.

So my question is how often do Chinese Theravada practicioners appear, and maybe also ask where are they usually found?

Hello there, I plan to travel to Thailand, then Sri Lanka next year as part of my beginnings towards my journey of Theravada pilgrimage.

Are there monasteries or religious centers there that offer pujas accompanied by scheduled English language Dhamma talks?

Hello, I live in a small studio apartment with an upcoming small space that I can use to build an altar. I would like to try burning incense without triggering the fire alarm while doing prayers.

My plan is to buy a small zipper tent to fit the space where I can put the altar. It'll also provide the purpose of having an exclusive area for a Buddhist altar out of respect, while attempting to dampen out the smoke so it wont directly reach the alarm before it dissapates.

Will an electronic incense burner "weaken" the smoke coming out? And will the tent work as well?

For background, I recently converted to Theravada Buddhism, but my introduction to Buddhism was Mahayana from my enthusiasm in East Asian history and being in a country with a significant ethnic Chinese population. When I decided to enter Buddhism, I found Theravada's practices closer to what I'm looking for, but I still felt sympathy with the Mahayana ones I was introduced to (of course without feeling the need to cling to both.)

Since it's a generally accepted opinion here that there's nothing wrong with integrating or syncretisizing both in ones lifestyle, I would like to ask for the people who do both or know of people who do, how do you usually go about being a main practicioner of Theravada with Mahayana practices, vice-versa, or an equal mix of both?

Some examples of what I do:

• Seeing the Tripitaka as my main source of Buddhist teachings, but open to Mahayana sutras if I believe it's consistent/compatible with its teachings.

• Seeing the Mahayana Buddhas, bodhisattvas or protector dieties as role models, rather than figures of worship, as ideals to strive for in context to my ability as a human.

• Doing Mahayana chantings on some meditations, on top of me mainly doing sutta chantings, such as "Om Mani Padme Hom" which is attributed to Avalokiteshvara but essentially just means homage to the Triple Gem.

I would love to know how some of you guys practice your own form of syncreticism.

Every morning, when I take my ADHD medication, the side effects like temporary mania and light dizziness would occur, causing me to feel overwhelmed and disoriented. However, meditating to Buddhist chanting, especially Pure Land chanting, has helped me ground myself before starting the day. Same goes every night. The "Concerta crash" I feel when Im out of dopamine helps me deal with the emotional lows when the 8-12 hours are done.

Visualizing a pure land like Sukhavati or the bodhisattvas watching over me is less of my aim to be reborn there or call upon their blessings, and more of a mental grounding and calming method where I imagine a more peaceful place beyond this realm before returning back to mine, and remind myself the vows I took to be a kinder person.

Namo Amituofo 🙏

I had such a wonderful and wholesome time during my service, and gave me more assurance that this is the right path for me. The temple museum itself was beautiful, surrounded by elaborate statues of the Sakyamuni Buddha and different figures of the bodhisattvas and Buddhas from different Pure Land realms.

We had a lecture of the Kalama Sutta, in which the presiding monk used science and facts based pointers to interpret the reading. Then during the short break, we had free snacks of chocolate porridge, and I was able to grab three books about the introduction to Buddhism, Ambidhamma psychology and The Infinite Life Sutra respectively.

Then we had an English language puja where we did chanting for an hour in the meditation room surrounded by beautiful handcrafted statues of bodhisattvas, before the monk talked about his experience accepting the inevitability of human mortality and how we can experience our final days more peacefully.

I plan to have a one-to-one councelling session with the monk to further my path to Buddhism. Regardless, I'm happy with my decision to try out communing with one of the Sangha and complete my initial refuge of the Three Jewels.

So an update on my previous post, I had such a wonderful and wholesome time during my service, and gave me more assurance that this is the right path for me. The temple museum itself was beautiful, surrounded by elaborate statues of the Sakyamuni Buddha and different figures of the bodhisattvas and Buddhas from different Pure Land realms.

We had a lecture of the Kalama Sutta, in which the presiding monk used science and facts based pointers to interpret the reading. Then during the short break, we had free snacks of chocolate porridge, and I was able to grab three books about the introduction to Buddhism, Ambidhamma psychology and The Infinite Life Sutra respectively.

Then we had an English language puja where we did chanting for an hour in the meditation room surrounded by beautiful handcrafted statues of bodhisattvas, before the monk talked about his experience accepting the inevitability of human mortality and how we can experience our final days more peacefully.

I plan to have a one-to-one councelling session with the monk to further my path to Buddhism. Regardless, I'm happy with my decision to try out communing with one of the Sangha and complete my initial refuge of the Three Jewels.

Hello. I'll be attending my first Buddhist temple service this Saturday, where there will be a sutra reading followed by an evening puja.

While I consider myself a follower of secular Buddhist philosophy rather than a religious devotee, I do have deep respect for traditional Buddhist beliefs, and I would like to try partaking in the sangha/community, learn from the monastics, practice communal meditation, and gain access to their education resources on Buddhist history, scripture and practices. The temple I'm going to seems to be welcoming and advertises themselves in focusing on compassion, education and humanitarianism.

I would like to know if anyone here attends/have attended a service, and what do I usually expect especially as a secularist entering the world of Buddhism.

Hello, I am a Filipino who recently undertook my journey towards the teachings of the Buddha, and I would like to begin the process of creating an altar as a way to remind myself of this new path I have taken.

I'm looking for a physical shop in Metro Manila that sells woodcarved sculptures of the Guatama Buddha of modest size to fit my altar. I know there are most likely some in Binondo, Makati or Quezon City, but I would like to know any specific establishments that I may be able to buy or commission for. Thank you!