Pure Dhamma zoom meeting!

  • This topic has 48 replies, 10 voices, and was last updated 3 months ago by Lal.
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    • #47556
      Sammasambodhi Gami
      Participant

      There is a suggestion that Ven. Lal Sir and all the forum members should organise a “zoom meeting” once in a month so that we can share our experiences more effectively and also help each other in our path to Nibbana.

      After all, its essential to be with Kalyana Mithras (Noble friends) of Dhamma so that it encourages and guids us all towards our Ultimate goal (Nibbana).

       

      3 users thanked author for this post.
    • #47557
      Dawson
      Participant

      Great idea. I would definitely be up for that.

    • #47560
      Lal
      Keymaster

      Thank you for the suggestion.

      • We can think about it. Let us see whether there is enough interest.
    • #47562
      Sammasambodhi Gami
      Participant

      Those who are interested in this program, please comment here so that we can count your participation. 

      Thanks. 

      1 user thanked author for this post.
    • #47565
      Sammasambodhi Gami
      Participant

      I think we can also count Mr. Seng Kiat Sir in this zoom meeting. 

    • #47566
      dosakkhayo
      Participant

      I would like to join in the zoom meeting too. :)

    • #47569
      TripleGemStudent
      Participant

      I’m open to the idea.

    • #47575
      Gad
      Participant

      Very good !! I am open!

    • #47581
      Christian
      Participant

      If possible sent me link Lal on email I will put that on our discord so more people will come

      also we could record it for future as we will probably have lots of questions and insights

    • #47584
      Lal
      Keymaster

      Thank you, Christian.

      • However, we have not decided whether there is enough interest or how to go about it if we choose to do it.
      • How do you conduct your “discord”?  Is it an online forum like the one being proposed? I think you mentioned it before, but I have not had time to take a look. You can post a link here if you think it can benefit those on this forum.
    • #47586
      Sammasambodhi Gami
      Participant

      I have created a Google meetup link for the English Dhamma discussions. All of you are invited! As time progresses more people will join it.

      Details:

      English Dhamma discussions 01

      Dhamma-discussions-01-1

       

    • #47593
      Sammasambodhi Gami
      Participant

      If the date and time of the Google meeting is acceptable to everyone, then only we can proceed.

      First we need to get the approval of Ven. Lal Sir and other forum members.

      What are your thoughts? 

    • #47594
      Lal
      Keymaster

      I had no idea! But I appreciate your enthusiasm, Saket.

      • That would be 7.30 AM EST (New York, USA) on Sunday 14th.

      Since Saket is so enthusiastic, we can proceed with it if the time is okay for others.

      • We can think about an hour-long session, even though I can stay longer if needed. It happens to be a good day/time for me.
      • I will leave it to Saket to organize it. I have used Zoom only a couple of times personally, not in a group setting.
      • Having a few topics for discussion beforehand may be a good idea. That way, I can think about them too. 

      This will only be a trial session for now. 

      1 user thanked author for this post.
    • #47596
      Sammasambodhi Gami
      Participant

      Thank you so much Ven. Ariyaratana Sir for accepting the invitation. 

      We will first start with the Google meeting then gradually when we become familiar with the group online conference then we can switch to zoom meeting.

      The date and time is chosen specifically to cover all time zones around the world.

      12:30 PM (afternoon) GMT would be equivalent to 6 PM (evening) in Colombo Time (Sri Lanka) or Indian Standard Time (India).

      If anyone has more suggestions, you can comment here. 

      Lets decide the topic(s) to be discussed at the conference. 

    • #47597
      Lal
      Keymaster

      I am a bit confused. Is “Sammasambhodi Gami” same person as Saket? Or are you two working together?

      • One suggested a Zoom meeting and the other a Google meeting.
    • #47598
      Sammasambodhi Gami
      Participant

      Ven. Sir, it’s Saket. I recently changed my name on the forum. 

    • #47599
      Sammasambodhi Gami
      Participant

      I suggest the topic of discussion to be:

      • How the “distorted sanna” arises in our mind (the mechanism) and why is it critical to understand this to remove our defilements.

      And if this conference is successful, the topic of the next Dhamma discussion may be “How to practice the deeper version of Satipatthana by understanding distorted sanna.”

      Are there any suggestions from anyone? 

    • #47601
      Lal
      Keymaster

      OK. I guess we can use either the Zoom forum or the Google forum.

      • I don’t have much experience with either. Let us see whether others have any suggestions on that.
      • The suggested topic is good to be the main topic. If others have any other specific topics in mind, please post. We can try to address a few.  
    • #47602
      dosakkhayo
      Participant

      The 7.30 AM EST (New York, USA) would be equivalent to 9:30 PM KST (Seoul, Korea). I’m not sure if I can attend. Either way, I’ll contact you here when it’s decided.

    • #47604
      Sammasambodhi Gami
      Participant

      Dear Dhamma friend, dosakkhayo

      We can modify the timings by +1hr/-1hr. If it comes in your comfortable range then do inform us about it.

      Don’t worry, we will try to upload the recording of the conference on youtube (next day). In this way, those who missed the meeting can watch on youtube. But try your best to attend the meeting, because you will get to ask questions/discuss Dhamma with Ven. Lal Sir LIVE. Its a different experience altogether.

      With metta… 

      Saket. 

    • #47605
      Lal
      Keymaster

      7.30 am EST is 6.30 AM in my time zone. Shifting down by an hour is too early for me. 

      • I am available anytime from 7.30 AM EST to 11.30 PM EST (must end time.) 
    • #47608
      Yash RS
      Participant

      I think we should make a list of all the people interested and their respective time slots, and then arrange the time table accordingly,

      On Sundays I am available from

      1:30am Est – 10:30am Est

      1 user thanked author for this post.
      Gad
    • #47609
      Sammasambodhi Gami
      Participant

      Thanks dear Dhamma friend Yash.

      Lets see what others have to say. Then we will decide a convenient time slot which can be accessible for all.

      @Ven. Lal Sir, we will take care of your time slot as you are the Dhamma teacher in the online discussion session. 

    • #47611
      Gad
      Participant

       Montreal and New York have the same time zone so Mr. Lal’s time suits me.

    • #47639
      Sammasambodhi Gami
      Participant

      A little update regarding the scheduled meeting on Sunday:

      The free/basic plans of “Zoom meet” has time limit of 40 minutes and for “Google meet” the time limit is 60 minutes.

      So we have decided to schedule two meetings of 1 hours each consecutively via “Google meet.”

      The link to the first meeting is: (12:30-1:30 PM GMT)

      https://meet.google.com/wtz-qaff-iag

       

      The link to the second meeting is: (1:35- 2:35 PM GMT)

      https://meet.google.com/fus-wfvf-xqi

      All of you are invited to join this Dhamma discussion!

      Thanks.

      3 users thanked author for this post.
    • #47641
      Tobias G
      Participant

      I would also like to attend the meeting.

      1 user thanked author for this post.
    • #47642
      Lal
      Keymaster

      Thank you, Saket, for organizing it. He and I had a trial session a little while ago since I had not used Google Meet. It was easy to use. Let me point out a few more things.

      1. We will get into the second session only if one hour is insufficient to finish the discussion.
      2. Google would NOT generate a recording since it is the free plan we will be using. 
      3. Saket will start and conduct the meeting. I think people can raise their hands if they have questions to ask. By the way, Saket’s name is pronounced “Sāketa.” I did not know that.
      4. Before we take questions, I will give an overview of the next post (which will be out by Friday at the latest). That post will get into more detail about the “distorted sanna,” purāna and nava kamma and their relationships to Avyākata Paṭicca Samuppāda and Akusala-Mula Paṭicca Samuppāda.
      5. It would be a good idea to read the recent posts, especially the next one, before the meeting.
      6. Please address me by “Lal” or “Mr. Lal” to keep things simple. 
      7. The first meeting is at 12:30-1:30 PM GMT (7.30 AM EST New York time) on Sunday 14th.

      It will be nice to see some of you. Yes. Tobias, see you then.

       

      4 users thanked author for this post.
    • #47643
      Sammasambodhi Gami
      Participant

      You are welcome in this meeting dear Tobias Sir!

      @Ven. Lal Sir, thank you so much for giving an overview of the meeting.

      See you all Kalyana Mithras (Noble friends) on Sunday! 

    • #47645
      Christian
      Participant

      I will not be able to attend but I will post it on discord so other people may join:

      Lal asked for discord so here is link – https://discord.gg/vh5EJsSTxD I’m in the process of rebuilding it so it will be step-by-step process right now most channales we had are archived. + research on supernatural phenomena for supporters

      If anybody has screen recorder please record meeting anyway, you do not need to have paid plan, if you have any screen recorded or just built-in one if you have windows/nvidia graphic card.

       

       

    • #47649
      SengKiat
      Keymaster

      Thank you, Mr. Sāketa, for initiating this zoom meeting!

      As “Google Meet” does not have recording (free edition) and “Zoom” only allow 45 minutes per session (free edition), you may want to consider VooV Meeting (free trail edition – has been on free trail since 2020):

      Unlimited time for group meeting

      Up to 300 participants per meeting

      Only the master (one who initiate/host/schedule the meeting) needs to Register/Sign Up:
      https://voovmeeting.com/buy.html
      ==> Click on the “Free Trial” button
              Enter your Primary Location, click Next
              Select the “I have read and agree to Service Agreement、Privacy Policy”, click Next
              Enter your Sign Up details and click Sign Up

      Download VooV Meeting application for Windows/macOS/iOS/Android by ALL who are going to use the application for VooV Meeting:
      https://voovmeeting.com/download-center.html

      How to Record VooV Meeting | Easily, Securely, Privately
      https://recorder.itopvpn.com/blog/how-to-record-voov-meeting-2173

      I will only join the meeting for the first hour. My location is at GMT +08:00.

      With mettā, Seng Kiat

    • #47650
      Lal
      Keymaster

      Thank you, Seng Kiat, for the suggestion.

      • As many of you may know, Seng Kiat is a co-administrator of puredhamma.net. He maintains the eBook and also an app with all the posts on the website: “Pure Dhamma Essays in Book Format

      This may be a good time to acknowledge the efforts of many who have contributed to building and maintaining the puredhamma.net website over the past ten years. The website was started in 2014. Thank you all for participating in discussions, making suggestions, etc. 

      •  Those who have contributed are too numerous to list, but let me point out Tobias Große and Mr. Ja-nyun Kim or Patighosa (who maintain the “Pure Dhamma – German Website” and “Pure Dhamma – Korean Website” respectively.) I must also acknowledge LayDhammaFollower, who initiated a “Pure Shamma – Hindi Website.” He is devoting his life to being an Anagarika, and we decided it would take too much of his time to maintain that website. 

      I believe the “distorted saññā” concept is critical to understanding Buddha’s teachings (Buddha Dhamma.) It makes it much easier to see why attachment to “pleasurable things” in this world is an illusion. 

      • I started exploring this concept when we had a discussion on “saññā vipallāsa” on the forum last year.
      • As I dug deeper, I realized there is a “deeper layer” that even my teacher, Waharaka Thero, had not described in detail. Of course, he likely understood the concept, but he had the Herculean task of trying to take care of many other issues, like the misinterpretation of anicca and anatta. He succeded in that. Our misfortune was that he passed away early: “Parinibbāna of Waharaka Thēro.”

      Another point I would like to explain is that the mind is a quantum system that operates based on Paticca Samuppada. There is no “soul-type” entity (which is the most fundamental idea that the Buddha put forth.) Of course, quantum mechanics was not there at his time. Quantum mechanics is just another platform that could be used to explain how a mind operates.  I have only laid the foundation of that discussion in the “Quantum Mechanics and Dhamma” section. 

      • But that section is still too technical. I want to simplify things so that anyone can understand them. Of course, those with a high-school background in physics can probably understand that section (P.S. but not the scientific paper “A Self-Consistent Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics Based on Nonlocality” mentioned in the first post there; other posts are in simpler terms.)
      • However, as the discussion on the “distorted saññā” concept evolves, I can see how it can be merged with the essential concepts in quantum mechanics. I don’t mean using mathematical equations, but just the basic ideas anyone can understand. 

      To explain those two ideas in detail, the use of a “live discussion forum” could be valuable. I like to decide on the “best platform” for that. It is possible that “X spaces” (X is formerly Twitter) could be a strong contender. 

      • The planned meeting is only a trial session. 
      • I propose that we go ahead with the planned “Google Meet” session as it is. After that, we can take the time and decide on a “permanent platform.”
    • #47651
      Sammasambodhi Gami
      Participant

      Thanks dear Christian Sir for sharing the link of the meeting on your discord group.

      Also thanks to Mr. Seng Kiat Sir for suggesting the “voov meeting”. But the links you gave are not working.

      https://voovmeeting.com/buy.html

      https://voovmeeting.com/download-center.html

       

    • #47654
      SengKiat
      Keymaster

      Thanks, Mr. Sāketa, for the links not working information.

      Just Google, you must be in India and your country has blocked the applications of Tencent of which VooV Meeting belongs to them.

      With mettā, Seng Kiat

    • #47657
      Sammasambodhi Gami
      Participant

      Yes, dear Seng Kiat Sir, I live in India. It seems that “voov meeting” is blocked here by the government. However, I can still use VPN to access those links.

      But I think we should continue with the planned “Google meet” scheduled on Sunday. After that Ven. Lal Sir will decide which platform will be better for hosting online group meetings in the future.

      Thanks.

       

    • #47678
      SengKiat
      Keymaster

      Yes, dear Mr. Sāketa, please proceed with the planned “Google meet” scheduled on Sunday.

      With mettā, Seng Kiat

    • #47687
      Christian
      Participant

      Rather then using any third party apps you can just use my discord (with free unlimited options + free recording). I can setup event channel where everyone can talk and Lal can do simple moderation as main speaker (people who wants to speak will have “hand up” icon) and you can pull them up automatically to talk rather than pick and choose some random apps that you can use with limited manner, use platfrom that has already plenty of people with some basic understanding of Dhamma (and it’s easy to invite people who do not need even register with discord if they want to just go into event ie. temporary membership)

    • #47694
      Lal
      Keymaster

      Thank you, Christian, for the offer.

      • Let us think about that after the planned session. 
      • This needs to be a long-term plan with many aspects taken into consideration.
    • #47699
      TripleGemStudent
      Participant

      I usually always have work on the weekends. I won’t be able to attend the meetings but I’ll look into the recordings if there’s any. Have a great meetings everyone!

    • #47730
      Lal
      Keymaster

      Reminder: The meeting is at 12:30-1:30 PM GMT (7.30 AM EST New York time) on Sunday 14th.

      https://meet.google.com/wtz-qaff-iag

      The link to the second meeting is (if needed only, i.e., if there are questions): (1:35- 2:35 PM GMT)

      https://meet.google.com/fus-wfvf-xqi

      It is easy to join. Click the link, then click on the “Ask to Join” button.

      • Saket will allow anyone to join.
      • He will mute everyone at the beginning. Click on the “Raise hand” button to ask a question if something is unclear, even while I am speaking. He can unmute the person asking the question. 
      • Saket will record it. He says he can publish it as a YouTube video. 
      • It will only be published as a YouTube video if the quality is good. We will make that decision after the meeting. 

      P.S. Anyone not wanting to show their face can use the “Turn off Camera” button at the lower part of the screen or do a “ctrl + e” with the keyboard. Also, one could use the actual name, a fake name, or the forum name. You can test the link at any time. 

      2 users thanked author for this post.
    • #47748
      Gad
      Participant

      Thank you very much for the time you gave us Sir Lal. It was very rewarding. Many thanks to Saketa for taking the initiative to organize this meeting. 🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿 Much merit to all of you and the participants. May the triple gem be with each of you.

      5 users thanked author for this post.
    • #47749
      Sammasambodhi Gami
      Participant

      It is to inform that while recording today’s session, a technical error occured. Only the audio was recorded, not the video. I am really sorry for this error.

      But today’s meeting was quite useful.

      I  would like to thank everyone who took part in this Dhamma discussion. Also highly grateful to Ven. Lal Sir for being a Noble Friend for us. It was a great experience to discuss Dhamma with Kalyana Mithras. 

      We share the merits to all sentient beings so that they can also develop their spiritual faculties (saddha, viriya, sati, samadhi, panna) to achieve the Supreme Bliss of Nibbana!!! 

      Sadu Sadu Sadu. 

       

       

      3 users thanked author for this post.
    • #47751
      Lal
      Keymaster

      Thank you all for attending. Thank you, Saket, for organizing it.

      • It was a new experience for me. That was the first time I did an online live session.
      3 users thanked author for this post.
    • #47752
      Gad
      Participant

      Just a little suggestion. It would be great if we paid homage to the triple gem at the beginning and end of a live session next time. Short verses will be enough to do this. If it suits everyone.

      2 users thanked author for this post.
    • #47755
      Christian
      Participant

      Audio is enough for recording

    • #47763
      SengKiat
      Keymaster

      I have converted the above MKV format video file (about 1.2 GB) to only audio with the original sound source below:
      Dowload mp3 audio file (113.7 MB) for “Dhamma Discussion – January 14, 2024
      Link 1: Mega  
      Link 2. Google Drive

      Download “Dhamma discussion – 14th January Notes:
      Link: Google Drive

      7 users thanked author for this post.
    • #47768
      Lal
      Keymaster

      Thank you, Seng Kiat.

      • I deleted some of the comments since Seng Kiat resolved the issue.
    • #47769
      Sammasambodhi Gami
      Participant

      Dear Dhamma friend (Gad), your suggestion is admirable. Thanks for mentioning this. 

      I forgot to pay homage to the Triple Gem in the beginning. I am really sorry for that. It’s my mistake.

      Next time, the discussion will start with paying homage to the Triple Gem… “Namo tasssa Bhagavato Arahato Sammasambuddhasa”.

      @Seng Kiat Sir, Thank you so much for converting the audio file to a smaller size. I appreciate your efforts.

      1 user thanked author for this post.
      Gad
    • #47775
      Lal
      Keymaster

      In the above audio session, we discussed how the brain and the hadaya vatthu (seat of the mind) work together for the mind to “see” an external object. The following two posts could be helpful.

      Vision Is a Series of “Snapshots” – Movie Analogy

      Seeing Is a Series of ‘Snapshots’

       

      P.S. Another post I mentioned: “Aniccaṁ Vipariṇāmi Aññathābhāvi – A Critical Verse.”

      2 users thanked author for this post.
    • #47782
      Lal
      Keymaster

      Sammasambhodhi Gami has recorded my trial session with him on Jan. 13th. Following is the audio:

      Dhamma discussions – Pure Dhamma- Trial Session-Jan 13 2024

      • It has additional information that could be useful.

      P.S. By the way, Seng Kiat posted some viewgraphs that I presented at the 2-hour session in his comment above. Those could help in understanding that audio recording. 

      1 user thanked author for this post.
      Gad
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