Introduction to Buddhism: Theravada and Mahayana

If you are interested in trying a 10-day meditation experience, dhamma.org has centers all over the world. They are donation based or pay-what-you-can after the experience is over. It is an incredible experience. I always think this is the best thing I don’t do regularly and I often wonder why. They fill up quickly, so if you are interested you can see when their 10-day courses are and give it a try. I’ve been to the Norfolk center, The Shelbourne MA center and the Northern CA center. This is just one style or tradition. I’m just sharing it because I have experience with it. I’m sure there are other great centers all over as well.

A Vedic householder, known as a Grihastha, is  

a person in the second and most active stage of life in the traditional Hindu system of four life stages

. [1, 2]

What is a Grihastha?

• Timing: This stage usually begins with marriage and lasts from about age 25 to 50.

• Placement: It follows the student stage (Brahmacharya) and comes before the forest-dweller stage (Vanaprastha).

Here is some quick research on our question from last night's seminar - can there be more than one Buddha at a time?

Why Only One Buddha Per World System

• Cosmic capacity: Traditional texts state that a single world-system only has the merit and capacity to support the immense spiritual power of one fully awakened teacher at a time. 

• Clear teachings: If two appeared together, people might split into factions or compare them, which would dilute respect for their teachings. 

• No need for duplication: A Buddha discovers and re-establishes the lost path to enlightenment (The Four Noble Truths); once that truth is present in the world, a second independent discoverer is unnecessary until those teachings fade away entirely. (Gautama Buddha is our current world-era's Buddha, and Maitreya will be the next one after Gautama's teachings disappear). 

Multiple Buddhas Across the Cosmos