Theravada Buddhist

You're now chatting with a random stranger. Say merry Christmas!

You both like buddhism.

You: hi

Stranger: hey there

Stranger: what's on your mind?

You: if you meditate.

Stranger: haha, I do, why? do you?

You: yep

You: do you know how to pronounce words in Sanskrit?

Stranger: most words

Stranger: why, something you're having trouble saying?

You: many things

Stranger: maybe I can help, although you can also look the pronunciations up online if the list is long.

Stranger: what's one of the words you have trouble with the most?

You: AA

You: I can't find my phone right now, but it has my flashcards

You: do you have skype?

Stranger: I'm not interested in skyping, sorry.

You: ok

Stranger: do you know what the words mean?

You: it's new, so no

Stranger: why are you studying sanskrit exactly? It sounds like it's for a test.

You: nope

You: just words to know buddhist teachings better

Stranger: ah okay, well you should probably focus on the meaning of the words above the pronunciation, no?

You: yes, but some words are so long

You: and others it's just so much easier to learn it by activating another part of the old noggin

You: speech

Stranger: ahhh, I understand

Stranger: as long as you end up knowing what the words mean in the end.

Stranger: I know it's new, but I'm surprised that you can't think of what they relate to.

Stranger: I'm not sure how you even learned that they existed without knowing what they meant in your own language.

You: I read about buddhism, and they come up--and I make them into flashcards

You: but sometimes youtube doesn't have someone say them

Stranger: but you're learning the core teachings at the same time, right? Like you know what the approach to things like suffering is, what meditation is about, the aims of non-attachment?

Stranger: It's fine if you don't, I'm just wondering what you've actually absorbed.

You: I think I have rudimentary ideas down

You: quiz me if you'd like

You: I would.

Stranger: you'd like me to quiz you? haha, I can if you want.

Stranger: well for instance, do you know about the three marks of existence?

Stranger: they're called the trilaksana in sanskrit

You: never heard of that before

You: just haven't

You: oh, but I'v heard of the

You: three words

Stranger: they're impermanence (anicca), dissatisfactoriness/suffering (dukka), and no-self (anatta

Stranger: there are a lot of lists in Buddhism, haha.

Stranger: how about the eightfold path and the 4 noble truths? those are pretty central.

Stranger: still there?

You: ya

You: so

You: a little sketchy on the eightfold

You: I think I memorized

You: the 4 noble truths

Stranger: what are they?

You: 1st

You: life is suffering

You: 2nd

You: suffering has a cause

You: 3rd

You: hugh, I don't want to say the wrong thing...

Stranger: haha, why not? You have nothing to lose.

Stranger: only understanding to gain, if you are wrong.

You: I'm going to falsely blame it on being too tiered and drawing a slight blank

Stranger: well the third is that there is cessation of suffering, the fourth that there's a path to that cessation.

Stranger: do you know what that all means though?

Stranger: or what the first two mean, since you knew about them?

You: ok...

You: just living, maybe not 24/7, but in aggregate

You: life is just a lot of "suffering"

You: whether that be studying for a test

You: or grieving for someone lost

You: so?

Stranger: well the first isn't really meaningful until you discuss it's origin.

Stranger: that's why the second is there

You: o?

Stranger: what is the origin of suffering?

Stranger: the cause, as you said.

You: yes, so there is no inherent suffering

You: it is always the effect of a cause

You: ?

Stranger: well the second is really indicating that all suffering shares one kind of cause.

You: didn't know that

You: please explain

Stranger: you might suffer as a response to your test, or you might suffer because you're in physical pain, but in both cases we're suffering because we're in a kind of emotional denial.

Stranger: So Buddhists say that we suffer because we're ignorant of nature (namely things like the 3 marks of existence), and so we grasp and crave, or have aversions and push things away, that's why we suffer.

You: can you recommend me some books please

Stranger: if you'd like to learn about these things directly from their original sources, there are sites online. One is called "accesstoinsight.org". It contains most of the pali canon (original texts, many of which were written not long after the time of the Buddha), and a lot of supplementary reading that can help you get acquainted with the ideas.

Stranger: If you want to keep talking or have any questions, I'll be back in just a minute, I have to change my laundry.

You: so you're Theravada?

Stranger: I'm back

Stranger: Most of my background is in Theravada and Madhamaka, the second is actually a Mahayana school.

Stranger: but yes, largely Theravada.

You: I was kind of thinking of leaning towards Mahayana

You: but

You: I know Theravada is for wisdom

You: while the other is more for community

Stranger: both can act in both capacities, sometimes it just depends on your disposition.

Stranger: you're right though, there's a larger emphasis on community in much of Mahayana.

You: (merely something I memorized)

Stranger: I gravitated toward Madhyamaka because there's an emphasis on ideas like sunyata (emptiness) in a way that other schools don't always delve into as deeply.

Stranger: but you can bring out these elements in most of them, at the end of the day, you have your own practice.

You: that is what I was planning on

You: how old are you--and how did you start out?

Stranger: 23, I have some Buddhists in the family but didn't really take an interest until I was a teenager, I started meditating and studying the Dharma, it gradually took on a life of its own.

Stranger: It was largely the philosophy and ethics, the methodology that drew me in at first.

You: yes, I haven't pinned it down

You: but something along those lines

Stranger: there's an emphasis on thinking clearly, without letting your inclinations push and pull you in different directions.

Stranger: that's what equanimity is all about, anyway. I like the idea of turning introspection into a practice.

You: love that word

Stranger: a justification for pacifism, too.

Stranger: haha, it's a good word, yeah.

Stranger: a better mindset, probing into it is a bit like pealing an onion.

You: altruism is what really pulled me in now that I think about it

Stranger: it's expressed in a great way, when you find the right sources.

Stranger: I've met some people that oversimplify things like Khamma though

You: ok, good to knopw

Stranger: they only talk about being altruistic in terms of future lives.

You: what?

Stranger: People will sometimes only refer to the idea that we must be altruistic for the sake of our next lives. Sorry, I have to get going, but good luck with your learning!

Stranger has disconnected

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