ws.hkkk.fi!kyyppari.hkkk.fi!kahila
Subject: Buddhism: Intro & Suggestions for newcomers to talk.religion.buddhism (part 1/3)
Supersedes: <476vqv$9mb@kokki.hkkk.fi>
Date: 4 Dec 1995 02:02:48 GMT
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Posting-Frequency: monthly

..talk.religion.buddhism FAQ -- Part 1 of 3

Mind precedes its objects.  They are mind-governed and mind-made.
To speak or act with a defiled mind is to draw pain after oneself,
like a wheel behind the feet of the animal drawing it.

Mind precedes its objects.  They are mind-governed and mind-made.
To speak or act with a peaceful mind is to draw happiness after
oneself, like an inseparable shadow.

-- The Dhammapada (Richards' translation, see "resources" for info)

------------------------------

The FAQ is in three parts.  Part 1 gives a full table of contents.
The other two parts give only the contents for their sections.

Readers of this FAQ may also be interested in other FAQs mentioned in
the Resources section. 

------------------------------

Subject: 1. Table of Contents, etc.

FAQ 1/3:

1. Table of Contents, etc.
.1.01 Introduction
.1.02 Significant changes in this edition of the FAQ
.1.03 How to obtain the most recent version of the FAQ
.1.04 How to suggest additions/corrections to the FAQ
.1.05 How to contact the FAQ maintainer
.1.06 Acknowledgements
.1.07 Disclaimer

2. Information for those new to the Net
.2.01 What are WWW, FTP, gopher, archie and veronica ...?
.2.02 About newsgroups
.2.03 Netiquette
.2.04 I am bothered by a person/topic.  What can I do?
.2.05 Ummm ... I'm afraid it's more serious than that.
.2.06 What is a killfile, and where can I get me one?
.2.07 Aren't you being a bit obsessive about crossposting?
.2.08 I only have email.  What can I do?
.2.09 My mailbox is unmanageable.  What can I do?
.2.10 Where can I find other FAQs?
.2.11 What's this "chat" thing I've heard about?

FAQ 2/3:

3. Occasionally asked questions
.3.01 Charter? What charter?
.3.02 What is the current flamewar about?
.3.03 Do Buddhists worship the Buddha as a deity?
.3.04 Do Buddhists believe in God?
.3.05 Do Buddhists believe in a soul?
.3.06 Do Buddhists believe in reincarnation?
.3.07 What does Buddhism say about sex?
.3.08 What does Buddhism say about homosexuality?
.3.09 What does Buddhism say about morality in general?
.3.10 Are all Buddhists vegetarians?

4. Glossary
.4.01 Why don't you folks speak English?
.4.02 A note on spelling and usage
.4.03 A random selection of terms and names
.4.04 A random selection of abbreviations and smileys

FAQ 3/3:

5. Resources of possible interest to Buddhists
.5.01 Some Internet sites
.5.02 Online scriptures and related material
.5.03 Sites mostly devoted to specific practices
.5.04 Other sites of possible interest
.5.05 Mailing lists
.5.06 Electronic journals
.5.07 Newsgroups
.5.08 A random selection of books
.5.09 Bookstores, etc.
.5.10 Bulletin Boards, etc.
.5.11 Meditation Centers
.5.12 Overlapping interests
.5.13 Cults and other forms of abuse

------------------------------

Subject: 1.01 Introduction

This is the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) file for
talk.religion.buddhism.  It is posted monthly to the following groups:
.talk.religion.buddhism
.talk.answers
.news.answers
.alt.magick.tyagi (by request)

The purpose of the FAQ is to serve as a single source of (hopefully)
useful answers to common questions of several different types: 
."How can I do X on the Internet?"
."Does Buddhism say anything about X?"
."What does the term 'X' mean?"
."Are there Internet resources dealing with X?" 

------------------------------

Subject: 1.02 Significant changes in this edition of the FAQ

Apart from section 3.02 (which is updated monthly), the following
changes have been made in the FAQ during the last month: 

    * 4.04 Glossary additions:
.alaya-vijnana
.bhavanga
.epistemology
.ontology

    * 5.08 additions to book list:
.A Path With Heart (Jack Kornfield)
.A Buddhist Critique of the Christian Concept of God (Dharmasiri)
.The Sutta Nipata (Saddhatissa)

.The book list has been further subdivided.  There are now
.separate headings for "general", "scriptures" and "special
.topics". 

    * New home pages/URLs:
.5.01 Dharma center schedules
.5.01 CEAL Buddhism page
.5.03 Tendai
.5.03 Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO)
.5.04 Council on East Asian Libraries (CEAL)
.5.04 Another art link

------------------------------

Subject: 1.03 How to obtain the most recent version of the FAQ

The FAQ is archived, and is available by anonymous FTP from
rtfm.mit.edu /pub/usenet-by-group/talk.religion.buddhism.  If you 
don't know what "anonymous FTP" is, see 2.01.  For information on
obtaining the FAQ by email, see 2.10.

------------------------------

Subject: 1.04 How to suggest additions/corrections to the FAQ

If there is a topic you would like to see covered in the FAQ, or if
you find any mistakes, please send email to the FAQ maintainer.  If
you are knowledgeable on a (Buddhist) topic of general interest, and
feel like writing something short, so much the better.

------------------------------

Subject: 1.05 How to contact the FAQ maintainer

The current FAQ maintainer is John Kahila (kahila@kyyppari.hkkk.fi)

------------------------------

Subject: 1.06 Acknowledgements

Many people have contributed to improving the FAQ -- more than I can
name (and some have asked not to be named).  One person who deserves
special thanks is Hsuan Peng at Cornell, whose excellent comprehensive
resource list has made the FAQ maintainer's task easier.  See 5.01. 

------------------------------

Subject: 1.07 Disclaimer

This is not an "official guide" (whatever that might be) to Buddhism.
It is only an effort on the part of the FAQ maintainer to provide
useful information.  Inevitably, the selection of material is skewed
by the FAQ maintainer's biases -- but hopefully not too much. 

This FAQ does not represent the collective viewpoint of t.r.b.  There
may be errors.  You have been warned. 

------------------------------

Subject: 2. Information for those new to the Net

This section is intended primarily for readers who are very new to 
Internet services in general.  Many readers will want to just skim the
headings.  If your newsreader understands digest format (tin doesn't),
you should be able to do this painlessly (e.g., by using ^G in nn). 

------------------------------

Subject: 2.01 What are WWW, FTP, gopher, archie and veronica ...?

If you are new to the Internet, please obtain a copy of FYI #4,
Answers to Commonly asked "New Internet User" Questions.  You may need
to "bootstrap" this process, by using one of the utilities you are
asking questions about.  This is not as mysterious as it sounds.

In what follows, the computer's side of the dialogue is indicated in
square brackets [].  Do not type that part in.  The indicated dialogues
are only approximate -- details may vary depending on circumstances.

The rest is your side of the dialogue, which you *do* have to type in
(followed by pressing the Return or Enter key).  I have used my own
email address in the examples; you should substitute your own.

If you have a Web browser, set it to point at
    gopher://ds2.internic.net:70/00/fyi/fyi4.txt

If you have access to gopher, use the following
    gopher ds.internic.net [Connecting...Retrieving Directory...]
    cursor down to InterNIC Directory and Database Services (AT&T)/
        and press <Enter> [Connecting...Retrieving Directory...]
    cursor down to Internet Documentation (RFC's, FYI's, etc.)/
        and press <Enter> [Connecting...Retrieving Directory...]
    cursor down to FYI's (For Your Information RFC's)/
        and press <Enter> [Connecting...Retrieving Directory...]
    cursor down to fyi4.txt
        and press <Enter> [Connecting...Retrieving File...]
    Press s
    A form will pop up.  Just press <Enter>.
    Press q, followed by another q
    You will be asked if you really want to quit.  Answer y.

If you have access to FTP, use the following:
    ftp ds.internic.net
    [Connected to ds.internic.net]
    [A long welcome message.]
    [220 ds2.internic.net FTP server ready.]
    [Name (ds.internic.net:kahila):] anonymous
    [331 Guest login ok, send ident as password.]
    [Password:] kahila@kyyppari.hkkk.fi
    [230 Guest login ok, access restrictions apply.]
    [Remote system type is UNIX.]
    [Using binary mode to transfer files.]
    [ftp>] ascii
    [200 Type set to A.]
    [ftp>] cd fyi
    [250 CWD command successful.]
    [ftp>] get fyi4.txt
    [200 PORT command successful.]
    [150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for fyi4.txt (98753 bytes)]
    [226 Transfer complete]
    [101220 bytes received in 60.71 seconds (1.628 Kbytes/s)]
    [ftp>] bye
    [221 Goodbye.]

If you have only email access, send a message to
mailserv@ds.internic.net.  In the body of the message, put the line
    document-by-name /ftp/fyi/fyi4.txt
The document will be sent to you by an automatic mail server in two
pieces, which you will have to splice together yourself.

As of 27 March 1995, FYI4 had a size of 98753 bytes as a UNIX file and
101220 bytes as a PC file.  If you use the mail server, the two
received messages -- as of 27 March 1995, on UNIX -- have sizes of
67287 and 34803 bytes.  I don't know if the server is smart enough to
break them into smaller chunks for mail systems that require that; if
anybody knows the answer to this, please tell me.

FYI4 is sometimes cited by RFC number (currently RFC1594).  It is
possible to retrieve documents by RFC numbers, but you should not do
so in this case.  RFC numbers change if a document is revised, FYI
numbers do not.

------------------------------

Subject: 2.02 About newsgroups

If you are new to USENET newsgroups generally, please subscribe to
news.answers, news.announce.newusers and news.newusers.questions if
you have not already done so.  General questions about USENET (and
some other topics) are addressed regularly in these groups.  By
subscribing, you can learn a lot in a short time about how to use
Internet resources.

Other sources for information on USENET and the Internet in general
can be found at <http://scwww.ucs.indiana.edu/NetRsc/usenet.html>. 

------------------------------

Subject: 2.03 Netiquette

Consider reading "Emily PostNews Answers Your Questions on Netiquette"
if you haven't already done so.  It is available from many sites, e.g.
<http://scwww.ucs.indiana.edu/FAQ/Emily/>.  Besides being informative,
Emily is very funny.  Less whimsical guides can be found at various
locations around the Net (which you will probably see mentioned from
time to time in news.newusers.questions). 

Please do not crosspost carelessly or broadly.  If you are replying to
something crossposted by somebody else, please ask yourself if the
original crosspost really needs to be preserved. 

When responding to long posts (such as this one), please do not embed
the entire original post into your reply.  Preserve only what is
needed for context. 

Newsgroups are public; email is private.  Many people consider it
extremely impolite, and an invasion of privacy, to post email to
newsgroups without the permission of all parties involved.

Please try to avoid debates of the "my religion is better than yours"
variety (is not! is too! not! too!).  If you feel like telling a
non-Buddhist what it is about the Dharma that enriches your life,
that's great.  But if you feel like ridiculing the person, please 
think twice and reflect on the example that you will set.  If others 
disparage your practice, try to respond with restraint and compassion. 

Here are a few more thoughts on netiquette for Buddhists -- adapted
from the Insight mailing list FAQ:

Keep discussions friendly. View this newsgroup as an opportunity to
practice both ahimsa (harmlessness) and sati (mindfulness).  Let's
use the group as a means of offering encouragement and support to each
other in our shared exploration of Dharma.

Rule of thumb: When responding to a message to which you had a strong
emotional reaction -- irritation, ecstatic delight, anger, whatever --
wait a day or two to cool down a little before responding.  There is no
hurry.  Also keep in mind that silence often speaks louder than words.

------------------------------

Subject: 2.04 I am bothered by a person/topic.  What can I do?

If a post inspires an unpleasant (or even pleasant) feeling, it may be 
instructive to examine how that feeling arises.  Phosphors on screens
have no independent power to influence thought.

Remember that newsgroups and email are very "flat."  There is very 
little emotional context, unless somebody is flat-out raving.  Take a
few seconds to ask if the poster might have meant a remark humorously.

OK, you've read this far -- it's serious.  Your simplest choice is to
press the "next" key as soon as you recognize the poster or the topic
as an irritant.  If you are tired of pressing "next," or if that isn't
even an option, consider using a killfile (see below).

------------------------------

Subject: 2.05 Ummm ... I'm afraid it's more serious than that.

There are three special cases that may require forceful action.

(1) If you are being personally harassed in some major way, and if the
offender does not respond to requests to stop, talk to your
administrator and communicate with the offender's administrator.
Persist until the problem is fixed.

(2) If somebody is crossposting 1700-line off-topic tracts to a large
number of unrelated groups including t.r.b., and does not respond to
requests to stop, talk to your administrator and communicate with the
offender's administrator. 

(3) If spammers post off-topic ads to t.r.b. for things like
credit-rating repair services or legal "help" with Green Card
lotteries, consider putting them on the blacklist.  Information about
the blacklist is available by anonymous FTP from
rtfm.mit.edu /pub/usenet-by-group/alt.answers/advertisers-blacklist
or at <http://math-www.uni-paderborn.de/~axel/BL/>.  The latter URL
appears to be more current.

If you find it necessary to speak to a sysadmin other than your own,
remember that the sysadmin has a job and a life and -- at least in
case (2) -- may be trying to fend off dozens of complaints about the
same person all at once.  Be polite and clear in communications.
Provide supporting documentation where appropriate, but try to keep it 
brief and readable.  Do not engage in dirty tricks against the
offender's facility -- that will only increase the confusion, making
the original problem harder to solve (and possibly getting you into
trouble).  Remember to consult your sysadmin; two heads are better
than one, and you will be better protected against counter-complaints. 

------------------------------

Subject: 2.06 What is a killfile, and where can I get me one?

Most newsreading software has some mechanism for filtering out
unwanted subjects and/or authors. For example, in tin you can press ^K
for pretty clear instructions. In nn, the corresponding command is K.
For users of rn and trn, there is a FAQ on killfiles which should be
available at any FAQ site (e.g. by FTP from ftp.uni-stuttgart.de 
/pub/doc/faq/news.newusers.questions/rn_KILL_file_FAQ).  For Mac
users, a newsreader that supports killfiles is available from 
<ftp://grocne.enc.org/pub/V.A.NewsWatcher/>. 

If you don't know how to set up a killfile, talk to your administrator
or someone else who is knowledgeable about how things are done at your
facility or on your system.  Do not email the FAQ maintainer; he knows
less about your local setup than you do. 

------------------------------

Subject: 2.07 Aren't you being a bit obsessive about crossposting?

Maybe so.  A well-planned crosspost does save resources (only one copy
of the message needs to be kept, instead of one per group).  And
velveeta is preferable to spam any day. 

However, a poorly-planned crosspost can cause problems even if the
original post was on-topic for all groups involved.  If a tree of
threads and subthreads develops, some of them will inevitably be
on-topic for only one group -- but all of the original groups will see
the thread unless someone remembers to change the addressing.

The problem just mentioned can be eliminated quite easily, by setting
the "Followup-To" line of a post so that it only points at one group.
This also has a nice side effect: you won't have to look in all of the
original groups for replies that have gotten detached from the thread.

It's not a rule ... just a request to be thoughtful.

------------------------------

Subject: 2.08 I only have email.  What can I do?

A lot more than you think.

In the US, send email to listserv@ubvm.cc.buffalo.edu.  Enter just
this one line in the body (not the subject line) of the message: 
   GET INTERNET BY-EMAIL NETTRAIN F=MAIL

In Europe, send email to mailbase@mailbase.ac.uk.  Enter just this one
line in the body (not the subject line) of the message: 
   send lis-iis e-access-inet.txt

Elsewhere, use whichever site is closer to you.

You will receive the most recent version of the standard documentation
for accessing most Internet services (including newsgroups) by email.

------------------------------

Subject: 2.09 My mailbox is unmanageable.  What can I do?

Unix systems (and presumably others) support "mail filters."  These
are programs that can organize your mail into folders, so that it
isn't just one big jumble.  This can be a great blessing if you
subscribe to a large number of mailing lists.  The FAQ maintainer
knows whereof he speaks. 

Mail filters are sometimes also used to send unwanted mail from
specific senders to /dev/null (sort of the email equivalent of a
killfile).  Personally, the FAQ maintainer finds it easier to use the
'D' key in his mail reading program; but some people like the feature. 

Some popular Unix mail filters are "procmail", "mailagent" and "filter".
More info: <http://www.smartpages.com/faqs/mail/filtering-faq/faq.html> 
Also available by anonymous ftp from ftp.ii.com
/pub/ii/internet/filtering-mail-faq.txt. 

If your newsreader is "pine" and your mail filter is "filter", the FAQ 
maintainer may be able to give you some half-baked ideas about how to
set up a mail filter.  But on the whole you are better off talking to
your sysadmin, or someone else who is knowledgeable about how things
are done at your facility or on your system. 

------------------------------

Subject: 2.10 Where can I find other FAQs?

Here are a few locations for general FAQs:
  <gopher://sunsite.doc.ic.ac.uk:70/1/usenet/news-FAQS>
  <http://www.smartpages.com/faqs/>
  <ftp://ftp.uu.net/usenet/news.answers>
  <ftp://ftp.uni-stuttgart.de/pub/doc/faq>
  <ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet-by-group/>

In the last case, you can also use the symbolic link /usenet in place
of /pub/usenet-by-group.  Warning: symbolic links sometimes seem to
confuse Web browsers.  If Netscape (or whatever) gives you a cryptic
message like "URL not found", try using the actual link.

If the FAQ you want is archived at MIT, and if you know its name and
the full path needed to get to it, you can get a copy by email.  The
mail filter FAQ can be obtained by sending the message 
.send usenet/news.answers/mail/filtering-faq
to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu.  The talk.religion.buddhism FAQ (all
three files at once) can be obtained by sending the message 
.send usenet/talk.religion.buddhism/*
to the same address.  A complete list of commands understood by the
MIT mail server can be obtained by sending the message 
.help
to the same address.

------------------------------

Subject: 2.11 What's this "chat" thing I've heard about?

Interactive Relay Chat (IRC) allows several users to send messages to 
each other over a single "channel" in real time.  Some channels are
general free-for-alls.  Others are dedicated to specific topics. 

There are two topic channels that may have special interest for
readers of t.r.b.  One is #tibet -- not sure when the channel operator 
is around.  The other is #buddhist.  Try 'em out! 

If you haven't used IRC before, here are some notes based on the Unix
IRCii client (if you use something else, consult the resource listed
in the next paragraph -- or better yet, consult someone who also uses 
the same IRC client).  These notes are not entirely correct for
'advanced' users, but if you know what's wrong with them you don't
need my advice anyway. :-) Otherwise they will be good enough until
you know your way around. 

If your system has an IRC client installed, just type IRC to get
started.  If your system does not have an IRC client installed, and
you want to know where to find one (or if you just want more info),
take a look at <http://www.kei.com/irc.html>. 

IRC commands start with / (e.g., /help).  Anything typed on a line
that does not start with / will be sent to the channel(s) you are on.

If you are new to IRC, it is *strongly* suggested that you look at all
of the following before doing anything else: 
./help intro
./help newuser
./help etiquette

Next, try something like /join #buddhist or /join #tibet followed by 
/who * (note the asterisk) to find out if anyone other than yourself
is logged on.  If you are alone on the channel, try waiting around for
a bit -- if everybody just looked in and left, there would almost
never be two people on a channel at the same time! 

To leave a channel, type /leave * (or just /join a new channel).  To 
quit IRC altogether, type /exit or /quit or /bye.

