Telle would know better than I, I've never visited a monastery. All I could really do is define stereotypes that probably aren't respectful of however a particular temple operates.
I'll be honest, I think you should question why you feel the need to visit a temple. To speak to someone knowledgeable, learn at the feet of the master, that kind of thing?
Teachers can be useful for punching holes in your understanding, making you think about the responses you give to questions. Truly though, as I think Siddhartha will show you, enlightenment comes from within. It is a personal quest that you live. What you think, what you come to yourself, is to me of more value than what you can be told or what can be explained. All of the life lessons I've learned, I've had to do it myself. Despite a lot of great advice throughout my life, Eastern-thinking or otherwise, I only learn things the hard way. And when it comes to matters of a spiritual nature, I think that holds true for everyone. I could be wrong though.
So would the practical part be the meditation then ?
I'm going to fall back on some buzz words because they are the best I have. Meditation teaches you to listen to your inner voice, to feel your own presence. Today, especially, we live in a world that drowns out our inner selves. We're constantly distracted, every moment. We act and speak without thinking, often, because of the speed at which we live our lives.
Meditation is intended to isolate your mind from everything except itself, to slow you down and bring you to a place where you can reflect. In doing so, you find relaxation. Your brain wave patterns shift. Your thinking changes. By isolating yourself from the outside, you expose yourself to an inner world.
It's a state many people cannot abide. They cannot be alone with their thoughts, because they are turbulent and worrisome. Ask yourself, what do you normally dwell on? Happy thoughts and good things that have happened to you? Most likely not. We dwell on problems and sources of discontent in our lives, or things we crave with an almost greedy anticipation. (Looking at you, gaming.)
Meditation (which is a skill you have to practice) eventually pushes beyond all that. Once you've found that place, where only the inner self is truly important, that's when you start seeking the connection with all things, that's the place where you feel it. A place of quiet, calm reflection.
It is my laymen's understanding that what you're ultimately going for is to exist in that state of meditative harmony in your everyday life. That said, you'll strive for it, struggle to achieve it, and chase it your whole life. But that too is just part of the cycle of enlightenment.
So yeah. Find a good quiet place, practice some meditation. Read voraciously, there's plenty out there. Think about your actions, and why you do what you do. And honor the God in all things, as you honor the God in yourself.
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Topic: Looking into Buddhism (Read 2630 times)