i want to believe in buddhism again

• thestreamcarriesmealong

  12 Sep 09, 22:42

  a self introduction:

   

  im a early 20s male uni student in sg, i was born into a buddhist/taoist family here. since i was young, the taoist/buddhist rites were just 'rituals' to me and never carried any meaning to me.

   

  over years, my logic-seeking mind made me doubtful of the nature of all religions, and i eventually lost all traces of buddhism.

   

  i have read with interest on zen buddhism lately, and im very touched by their philosophy. to see a blue door is a blue door, to hear the birds chirping is simply to her them. this nothingness, this austerity, this deep meditation to re-understand oneself is a good call to me.

   

  i will be happy to be a born-again buddhist, and i would like to understand more about zen. i am scheduled for a trip with some friends to japan in feb next year, and i would like to spend a day in a zen temple or too, can fellow users here recommend me how i can start off my zen journey to re-understand myself?

   

  peace be upon you.

• An Eternal Now

  12 Sep 09, 23:18

  Hi,

  It's great you're finding interested in finding out the gem in Buddhism beyond all those rituals and stuff. Perhaps you can tell us what started your interest in Zen? Was it certain books you came across?

  There are books by Zen teachers you may want to check out, such as by Thich Nhat Hanh, Steve Hagen, Charlotte Joko Beck, Shunryu Suzuki, etc are usually recommendable. I also like books by Toni Packer, former successor of Zen Master Kapleau Roshi but later chose to teach in a non-traditional and non-sectarian style.

  As for visiting temples at Japan you may want to find a person who has been there, knows the place and is able to converse with them in Japanese, perhaps.

  Since you're interested in Zen, there are a couple of Zen centers in Singapore you can check out. At some point you may want to start formal Zen practices. Having a teacher and joining a community is pretty important:

   

  Kwan Lin Chan Lin Zen Meditation Centre:

  Affiliated to Kwan Um School of Zen

  Founding Master: Zen Master Seung Sahn of Korea

  Resident Teacher: Venerable Chi Boon (Gye Mun Sunim)

  http://www.kyclzen.org/

   

  Dharma Drum Mountain Singapore:

  Affiliated to Dharma Drum Mountain

  Founding Master: Chan Master Sheng Yen of Taiwan

  Resident Teacher: none, but teachers fly in now and then from DDM Taiwan

  http://www.ddsingapore.org/

   

  Zen Society in Singapore:

  Affiliated to Sanbo Kyodan

  Founding Master: Yasutani Hakuun Roshi of Japan

  Resident Teacher: Boey, Vivien (RYÛBI-AN,  )
  Tel: +65-(0)96653556
  Fax: +65-(0)67350411
  Emai: [email protected]

  http://www.sanbo-zen.org/master_e.html

• thestreamcarriesmealong

  13 Sep 09, 15:46

  dear an eternal now,

   

  thank you for your reply.

   

  the reason why i chose zen out of the many branches of buddhism is because during my soul searching, i have actually participated in some non-organized catholic events, but i did not find peace. catholicism while wholesome in general, and certaintly good, did not suit me. i decided to look for another way of life.

   

  i did some research online and i was astonished that actually what i have been looking for - an austere phiolosphy with "ideally" little emotional attachment - lies in the religion i was born into - buddhism. of my scant research, i found out that zen as a branch suits me the most.

   

  thank you for the links provided, i will definitely check out the links and participate in this forum.

• thestreamcarriesmealong

  13 Sep 09, 15:51

   

  dear eterna now,

   

  are there any zen temples here in singapore?

   

  thanks. it seems that the links you provided are all meditation societies.

   

   

   

• An Eternal Now

  13 Sep 09, 21:57

  Thanks for the sharing :)

  Those three are actually Zen centers. I am not aware of any other zen centers in Singapore.

  I personally attend my own dharma center "Jen Chen Buddhist Blissful Culture Centre" which is at Geylang. We aren't exactly Zen, but our Master's lineage is from the Rinzai Zen lineage. Perhaps you can come down next Saturday (19th Sept) from 7.30 to 10 p.m. and visit our dharma center. Our dharma teacher will be giving a talk on precepts on that day. You can take home dharma CDs and books you find from the shelves, almost all of them are free for distribution. Our dharma center website is down, here's another one (english website): www.jenchen.org.sg

  No. 30 Geylang Lorong 27, Citiraya Centre, #05-01