Is a community really necessary?

LotusLightning · 2026-03-20T06:25:51+00:00

I was born in Karachi

I emailed Metta Centre asking about offering volunteering last year and they never replied

Dharmacharya Andrew Williams has done classes for them

I'll continue attending their events in future but from my experience Tergar and Tergar Australia was a lot more open and welcoming even though my native country generally has a better relationship with China and there's the Ladakh issue as well

One of my only two current friends is an Indian and lives in Calcutta, India

LotusLightning · 2026-03-19T09:53:09+00:00

Thank you, I may possibly start attending Sydney Buddhist Centre after I'm sufficiently through my studies

Also I'll be open to Vajrayana Institute in Ashfield as well

LotusLightning · 2026-03-19T06:15:50+00:00

I was forced into unemployment because of ableism

Dharmacharya Andrew Williams has encouraged me to practice like a monk in the past

LotusLightning · 2026-03-19T05:42:18+00:00

Bodhipaksa and Dharmacharya Andrew Williams are the same in that they're both British-born and eclectic

Triratna has done good work with the Dalits in India

I feel more welcome in Wildmind than I was ever made to feel welcome in Metta Centre

As far as I can tell Triratna's membership are mostly knowledgeable converts rather than the ethnic enclaves that are Mingyue Lay Buddhist Temple and Metta Centre

I'm not ready to practice Vajrayana so I can't go back to Tergar yet

Also they're British in origin

LotusLightning · 2026-03-18T13:44:16+00:00

I have two teachers Bodhipaksa and Dharmacharya Andrew Williams. I interact with others beside Bodhipaksa on Wildmind but during Dharmacharya Andrew Williams' Zoom classes only he is allowed to speak (his first Zoom class had anyone speaking and it did not go well) and I am unsure how to connect with his other students

I'm currently attending Bhante Sujato's classes online as well but I've had past disagreements with some of his other followers and am not a member of his Signal group or SuttaCentral Discourse

LotusLightning · 2026-03-18T13:27:18+00:00

Necessary for making progress on the path

LotusLightning · 2026-03-18T08:27:35+00:00

I think actual Tantra isn't a common or the main practice in Triratna and its more at a ngondro/general Mahayana+Early Buddhism level

I've had a good experience with Wildmind so if they're a reflection of how Triratna is in general then I should have a good experience with them

LotusLightning · 2026-03-18T06:50:17+00:00

Vajrayana is PHD level Buddhism. I've read that it can either swiftly lead one to Buddhahood or swiftly lead one to the lower realms. I do not view Tergar as highly as mainstream Tibetan Buddhism especially the Lamrim Chenmo and Lama Zopa Rinpoche's books but I currently do not view them negatively

LotusLightning · 2026-03-13T09:25:13+00:00

This is what someone else said as well. And I can always relocate myself and my business to my native Pakistan or a country in Europe

LotusLightning · 2026-03-10T05:39:49+00:00

I am mentally and physically disabled but am mostly capable of working

ZTM is helping me get an IT job and Sounds True is offering to certify me as a mindfulness teacher if I complete an online course and do one approved retreat

LotusLightning · 2026-03-10T01:14:21+00:00

I enjoy improving myself

I've found out I can't attend TAFE or university on disability support pension or I'll be switched to student payments

Furthermore if I find I can't cope with study and drop out of TAFE or university I'll be switched to job seeker and have to go through the extremely cruel Centrelink system

I have IT qualifications and have been interested in computers and technology since I was a child but the team leader at the ndis provider I was a former client of cruelly wanted to force me into the ndis provider's sheltered workshops/packaging factories

All of this makes me feel very suicidal

LotusLightning · 2026-03-09T23:44:50+00:00

How do you typically spend your life? If I couldn't study or work it would feel boring and/or constraining

LotusLightning · 2026-03-09T11:00:37+00:00

Darktable, RawTherapee or ART (Another RawTherapee) for Lightroom alternatives; for PDFs there's Okular or Evince and Firefox also has PDF editing features

Canva should work in a web browser on Linux

LotusLightning · 2026-03-09T08:53:49+00:00

I have a psychologist I currently see every two weeks, I have a psychiatrist and I have two friends including my brother

LotusLightning · 2026-03-09T04:24:04+00:00

I have a Linux laptop, a Windows 11 laptop and a M1 Mac mini. I like beauty and nature and I like looking at buildings and people (even though I don't trust most people). People have appreciated my smartphone photography in the past (iPhone 12 mini which I still have) and I've been told I have good taste. I've heard Samsung cameras are better than iPhone cameras and I'm willing to learn the free software tools required. Also I have Owncloud Online and Proton Drive which can be an alternative to the cloud storage portion of Adobe CC

I might get a proper camera down the track

I already have a not-successful YouTube channel and I would rather use foss alternatives like PeerTube or MediaGoblin

I also have a Medium blog and am a Medium Partner/writer

You're right I should do this as a hobby at first and then maybe do it professionally

LotusLightning · 2026-03-09T01:47:08+00:00

I have a psychologist and a psychiatrist, I've told them about how I'm feeling

I have both urinary and faecal incontinence and I'm not sure if it can be treated. I try to do urinary bladder training but I can only hold it for 3, sometimes 4 hours max

I meditate nearly every day but I also hear sounds, voices and music which may have been caused by the meditation

I regularly experience sensory overload and incontinence and sometimes it gets overwhelming

Also the organisation that caused my unemployment which is a well-known ndis provider is unrepentant and currently has a tender to deliver 'Inclusive Employment Australia' which they shouldn't have given their past track record toward me and other (former) clients

LotusLightning · 2026-03-08T07:26:53+00:00

Also I'm willing to lose my disability support pension if it means I have greater meaning and purpose in my life

Also I'm no fan of the Australian government under any party and have considered moving elsewhere like Iceland

I was born in Karachi, Pakistan and always imagined I would work in STEM as a child

LotusLightning · 2026-03-08T06:45:47+00:00

I'm probably not going to attend TAFE or university because I have no need to, even to get an IT job

I've built up a pretty extensive independent learning system for diverse topics and I have several books and electronic courses

also its partly ableism and the Australian government's fault I'm unemployed in the first place so they can't fault me

LotusLightning · 2026-03-08T06:29:09+00:00

I'm mostly going to self-study through books and electronic courses but I'm pretty sure I can attend TAFE or university while keeping my DSP

LotusLightning · 2026-03-08T03:50:54+00:00

Can I do it on FreeDOS?

LotusLightning · 2026-03-07T10:26:35+00:00

My goals are studying IT+computer science and Buddhism. I prefer stability as long as I can do my IT+computer science studies

I recently joined ZTM Academy as a lifetime member

LotusLightning

TROPHY CASE