Maddie

There are actually a lot of ways to practice Vipassana or mindfulness. The four foundations of mindfulness as taught by the Buddha state that there are four objects of mindfulness. Mindfulness of the body, mind, feelings, and dharmas (teachings). Most people start with mindfulness of the body which can include body scans and mindfulness of the breath. This is good at bringing people into the present moment. What I usually do (because its the "loudest" for me) is mindfulness of mind. This usual entails me paying attention to which emotion is the loudest at the moment and labeling it. This works for me. The important thing is to find what works for you.

Hello I thought I would make a thread like this primarily because I don't think there has ever been one like this on TDB since its beginning. So yes I am a transgendered woman (assigned male at birth, now female). You may have known me on here previously as dmattwads. Understandably there is some confusion on here when people see old posts of mine talking about male cultivation practices. I realize that the topic of transgenderism is very poorly understood by the general public and so I decided to make a Q&A post. I will NOT however answer super personal questions about my body so its not an AMA (ask me anything). I will though be happy to answer well intentioned questions about what it means to be transgendered because there may be those out there that are questioning for themselves, know someone that is transgendered, or just want to understand this topic better. Maddie :-)

Anything huh? If the two of us were stranded on a desert island and a Twinkie washed up on shore, would you share the Twinkie with me?

I would say another point most Buddhists would make between Buddhism and Hinduism would be Hinduism's focus on god's and goddesses, but at least with Mahayana Buddhism functionally Bodhisattvas and cosmic Buddha's fill the same role.

I feel like a lot of Buddhists would say that one of the primary differences between Hinduism and Buddhism is the teaching of "no self" but the Buddha never actually taught there wasn't a self (or that there was). He just taught that the five aggregates were not self.

I can't really comment on their differences because I do not feel that I understand Hinduism to say how it differs from Buddhism.

You can ask me on the transgender q&A in the current events section. It was made for that.

Or you can ask me here LOL

I'm going through a lot of things but particularly as a trans person in the United States I'm contemplating the election of somebody whose platform is specifically anti-trans. I'm trying to figure out how to get out of this country. Disappointingly a lot of people who I thought understood or had my back don't seem to get it.

I have seen this video before. It is worth noting that his opponent is a white belt and probably a new one at that. I like Jessie, but this is not a good example. After seeing this video I tried it with a purple belt. The results were not the same lol.

Hello and welcome.

I think this explains it unfortunately. Mindfulness can be very helpful.

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There's nothing new about trans people, we've been here all along. What is new however is the level of reactivity about us. https://youtu.be/8FYZ6m06bDU?si=G34XaB41QREnunX_

starts soon

And with a 40% suicide rate for trans kids that is detrimental.

I don't want you to think I'm singling you out. I've been disappointed with a lot of the lgbtq+ community since the election, including even trans people. I don't think people realize what is going on and what is planned.

Another reason I think people don't like trans women specifically reflects the built in misogamy and sexism of our culture. Women are seen as "less than" so to "become one" (not that its a conscious decision but people are ignorant) is seen as a humiliation.

Someone was recently discussing this, and it is fascinating. The naivety of so many people is honestly shocking to me. I wonder if it is genuine ignorance or fear disguised as denial .

For those in the lgbtq family who think they're fine because they're not the T, do you really think after they've gotten rid of us they're going to stop there?

Of the three things the Buddha said that the mind attaches to, sensory pleasures, identity, and permanence, gender definitely falls in the category of identity. The things people cling to they tend to get reactive about, and the stronger they cling to them the more reactive they get.

No you're good it's actually a very relevant topic for this discussion.

That's what I said the first time LOL. Identity is in the mind.