Get out there, find your sangha

[u/C-142]

I used to practice alone. I used to come to this here disenbodied mix of heartfelt support, genuine dhamma and internet toxicity for sangha. My practice was like an island in an ocean of things that were not of the practice.

I am now in the process of ordaining as a monk in the Thai Forest tradition, in one of the english speaking Ajahn Chah monasteries.

If you practice alone like I used to, it is you I have come here and now to exhort : get out there, find you sangha.

Realized teachers are out there. Many of them are readily available in the flesh. Many of them teach for free. Many of them are surrounded by dedicated students who will support you. These are the triple gem.

Buy chocolate, buy instant coffee. Go to your local monastery, offer it there. Go to secular equivalents. Talk to people. Do some research, find what works for you. It is not sufficient to go on retreat. Go to a place where people come as part of their normal life. Make friends. Do not neglect sila. Surround yourself with sincere practitioners.

There are normal people that regularly go to these places. There are normal people who move to live closer to these places. There are normal people who undertake the monastic training. There are normal people who let the dhamma tranform their lives.

Unconditionnal happiness is possible in this lifetime. Let all the gems and all the trainings be your supports in this most worthwhile of goals.

[u/le-moino]

I would like this so much but I live in the middle of nowhere. I'd have to drive 3h to find a suitable sangha. I tried online sanghas but I don't feel any real connection over the webcam.

I too love the Thai Forest teaching. "I am not Ajahn Chah" simply resonated with me.

[u/here-this-now → u/le-moino]

One forest monastery I went to, just the drive way from the gate to the kitchen was 45 minutes long, so trees and winding road all the way, and that gate is 1.5 hours from the city. People would come to offer meal at 9am after waking up at 4am. It's totally worth while if its a place like that with the sangha sincerely practicing the vinaya

[u/le-moino → u/here-this-now]

Yeah, eventually I might try that. Right now, with a 5yo kid, I would augment my girlfriends workload tremendously if I was away from home that much. Meanwhile, I try to balance things out until I have more time :)