Benefits of Traditional Buddhist Ceremony

[Oppositionless]

So the other day I went to a Buddhist meeting. This was actually the third time I went to this meeting but the first two times nothing like this happened. Basically this was a very traditional Soto Zen service with chanting (about 10 minutes), a half hour meditation, a dharma talk and finally a breakout discussion group, followed by more chanting and closing dedication. All together it was about 2 hours. By about halfway through the talk I was giggling. By the end I felt like I was floating, very empowered. In a sense it was quite boring, the first two times I went I was miserable. But this time I just accepted the boredom and by the end I felt really good.

[Oppositionless]

Obviously my spiritual and psychedelic interest is too broad to commit to Buddhism , but the nice thing is unlike other religions you're not expected to become a Buddhist just to go to the services .

[Eskilon]

Nice to hear about your experience! Since you touched on this, have you gone to a meditation retreat?

7 minutes ago, Oppositionless said:

religions you're not expected to become a Buddhist just to go to the services .

Buddhism is one of the truer religions out there. No God, they don't have priest and belief is not encouraged nor mandatory.

Edited 6 hours ago by Eskilon

[Oppositionless]

20 minutes ago, Eskilon said:

Nice to hear about your experience! Since you touched on this, have you gone to a meditation retreat?

Buddhism is one of the truer religions out there. No God, they don't have priest and belief is not encouraged nor mandatory.

Yeah I've been to one meditation retreat , also Soto Zen. That was pretty transformative as well, but I was less receptive back then. Kriya yoga has made me more receptive to subtle energies , it's still my preferred for solo practice because I find it incredibly hard to sit for long periods of time without a group there to force me to, in a sense, and for that reason before kriya i did not have a consistent solo routine. Also another good thing is, I finished up my 5 meo and didn't get more. I probably won't trip for at least 6 months , maybe on the winter solstice.

Edited 5 hours ago by Oppositionless

[James123]

1 hour ago, Oppositionless said:

So the other day I went to a Buddhist meeting. This was actually the third time I went to this meeting but the first two times nothing like this happened. Basically this was a very traditional Soto Zen service with chanting (about 10 minutes), a half hour meditation, a dharma talk and finally a breakout discussion group, followed by more chanting and closing dedication. All together it was about 2 hours. By about halfway through the talk I was giggling. By the end I felt like I was floating, very empowered. In a sense it was quite boring, the first two times I went I was miserable. But this time I just accepted the boredom and by the end I felt really good.

Mind is like a small child, gets bored from stillness.