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The Sasana: A Refuge for the Skeptical Buddhist
The Sasana is intended to be a place where those of us who have accepted Buddhism as a way of seeing the world can discuss and practice it without what one of our respondents has called the “dross of 2500 years.” Through the centuries, Buddhism has become an amalgamation of folk beliefs as well as traditional wisdom. The central principles (The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path) taught by its founder, however, are as true and valid today as they ever were. We are hoping to practice Buddhism without the baggage. (More background on where we’re coming from personally.)
The community lives in a large and active mailing list. If you have a sincere interest in learning and living the Dharma, you are welcome to join us. Please keep in mind that the list generates a large volume of e-mail, sometimes as many as a hundred messages a day. Please do not subscribe if this will become a problem, as it might on a computer in your workplace or on a system you share with someone else. If you would like to join the list, please visit this link to sign up.
This is a closed list; each entry must be approved by the list administrator. We do this to discourage spam and irrelevant e-mail to the group. No particular qualifications are required.
Members of the group come from many nations and many backgrounds.Some were raised in Buddhist traditions; most have chosen a Buddhist path later on. Many do not call themselves Buddhist at all. We differ in our practices and understanding of the Dharma, but we share a respect for all Buddhist traditions and teachings. Please explore our site.
May you be filled with loving kindness. May you be well.
Quote of the Unspecified Time PeriodWe tried having a quote of the week, but we are not well enough organized to keep up the pace.—Ivan |
Monday 10 March 2008I guess they just take the idea of equanimity and go off the deep-end with it.—Marcello Spinella, regarding the Marathon Monks of Mt. Hiei |
Friday 22 February 2008The book of all Buddhist lists would not list a list about Buddhist lists, simply because a book on Buddhist lists is not a Buddhist list.—Nils Andreas Erstad |
Tuesday 29 January 2008Control controls only the controller.—Rhonda Teasdale |
Wednesday 9 January 2008After years with nothing quoteworthy, today we get two candidates. Bruce says, “Chants? I don’t need no steenkin’ chants!“Then Warren says, “They can help focus the mind and settle the thoughts to the point that ‘productive’ meditation is possible, but you have to actually be willing to try it. “All we are saying is give chants of peace.” —Warren Ockrassa |
Wednesday 9 January 2008Next thing we know, Mike Hebert, in response to a query about Clarke’s Law, says, “I’ve come up with a corollary:‘Any sufficiently verbose and obtuse set philosophical or religious ideas is indistinguishable from bullshit’.” —Mike Hebert |
Tuesday 6 Mar 2007[Alan] Watts was a flamboyant character and quite entertaining to listen to, but I think he adapted the Dharma to suit him. From what I've read, he didn't practice what he preached. He was a heavy drinker and lover of sensuality right to the end.Still, I love reading him. In a way, he is like the finger pointing at the finger pointing at the moon. —Bruce Wilson |
Wednesday 16 November 2005It’s a beautiful day in a beautiful world. My mind may think differently of course, but it’s so full of junk I shouldn’t buy into its warped view.—Martin Stepek |
Sunday 1 May 2005The problem isn’t that there aren’t enough ditto-heads, the problem is that there are are too many.—Gregory Czebatol |
| About the photograph: I am standing on the shore of the Great Salt Lake in the center of pilings that held a railway line that led to Saltair. |
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