Tomorrow (June 18th 2004) is e-Sangha first anniversary. I’ve been running e-Sangha for a whole year.

The primary purpose of this post is to thank all the moderators, founding members and members for making the past 12 months possible. Thanks my e-sangha pals.

There has been disagreements, some arguments and some technical difficulties but on the whole, it has been rather smooth sailing.

Thanks for the support given and may everyone who has been here with us be well and happy.

Regards
Leo

Dear teyes -- To you and all participants:

EXCELLENT!

Thank you for this beautiful, beautiful place.


Well done!

Teyes,

Thank you from the bottom of my heart

Thank you to the moderators, members, everyone at E-sangha!!! This place is truly much more than just a website to me as I am sure it is to everyone else. Rock on.

Wonderful! Oddly enough, tomorrow happens to be my parents' wedding anniversary too. In any case, a big for all the wonderful people who've made this possible and kept things going. The love and wisdom I see here daily is truly inspiring.

-Dan

Happy Anniversary E-Sangha!

CONGRATULATIONS AND THANK YOU to Teyes, on this wonderful accomplishment!

and CHEERS to the community for helping make this place so special!

". . . aaand maaany mooore . . ."

[FONT=Optima][SIZE=14]Thank you Teyes

Dave

10,000 gasshos.

Thank You
This site has been a great inspiration to me . It would be a treat if you could post the story about how this site got started . You know the one about how your wife was lost and you vowed that if she was found , you would start this site ? I never actually heard the story . Someone told me that in chat and when we looked for your original post on the matter it could not be found. Hope you'll post it

.



One Year ! A home in cyberspace !

Thank you teyes ,
thank you all ,
the ups and downs ,
the laughs , the frowns .

People come and people go
But here we are
In the flow
Of talk , of chat ,
O my goodness !

Can't beat that !

Happy Anniversary !

....

e-sangha crew, represent.

who knows where i'd be without this site - you've all been a great anchor for me and thank you all for your patience.

teyes, moderators - you guys are rock solid. a light in the dark.

TEYES

~NP

Thank-you Teyes for your brilliant idea. Thank-you to all the contributors, moderators and members for sharing, encouraging, supporting and guiding. Congratulations on your One year anniversary. May there be many many more.
(deep bows)

...THANK YOU TEYES...THIS IS A WONDERFUL VOW YOU MADE !!! I BOW TO

YOU AND ALL THE MODERATORS AND EVERYONE THAT MAKES THIS WEBSIGHT

POSSIBLE !!! MANY BLESSINGS TO YOU ALL !!! SANDY

LT

To parphrase one of my favorite sayings;

May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
And rains fall soft upon your path.
And as we travel together,
May Tara hold you in the hollow of Her hand.

Namo Amituofo.
Namo Amituofo.
Namo Amituofo.

Nam Mo A-Di-Da Phat.
Nam Mo A-Di-Da Phat.
Nam Mo A-Di-Da Phat.

Namo Amitabha Buddha.
Namo Amitabha Buddha.
Namo Amitabha Buddha.

May This E-Sangha continues to exist.
May This E-Sangha continues to widespread Buddha-dharma.
May This E-Sangha continues to change and save lives.

May all who contribute to this website as well as others end sufferings, get out of samsara, attain the Enlightenment.

May everyone everyday more diligent at practicing Dharma, more peaceful, and more happiness.

May Buddha-Dharma continues to exist.

Namo Amitabha Buddha.

Yayyyy! Very Happy Happy Birthday !

coyote is dancing happy! ears and paws flying everywhere!

_/\_ Thank you Teyes and Mrs Tayes, all mods and helpers! _/\_

Thank you, Teyes!

Thank you, Moderators!

Continued Blessings!

(()) Congratulations and thank you to everyone who keeps this wonderful sight up and running! (())

I did not know that this thread had already existed, and I posted a new thread here:
http://www.lioncity.net/buddhism/index.php...opic=5768&st=0&

Happy birthday to E-Sangha!

Thank you Leo, you have truly created something wonderful and of great purpose and meaning...and also thanks to all of you people making this thing function in the first place. May all beings attain lasting joy and happiness (shivering).

The light inside me, hidden. In the dark I wander aimlessly, with eyes hardly open. External focus, desperate search to create tangible out of mere impermanency. Frustration pervades. Until...in one's path appeared a great mirror. Like a mountain, it stood there. A trembling sight made contact with a reflecting surface, and flash ! the view was reversed. The spark in oneself was always there, but means to see it were missing. A great beacon of light, to show how to find the one in yourself. Gratitude *bows*

Thanks Teyes and all the team for your time and effort.
much appreciated.

gassho

To E-Sangha on its first year...

Leo... My thanks for your devotion and commitment during the trials and tribulations of year #1... You have created the best Buddhist Communication Board on the web by far.

My thanks to all the admin. team who, along with Leo, have maintained an environment in which all sincere patricipants in Buddha's teachings can discuss a diverse range of interests.

And my heartfelt thanks to all of our members who share their experiences, knowledge and wisdom here with each-other. (Even the occasional joke)...

Here's looking forward to many, many more years of global communication at such a personal level...

Kindest Regards
Bernie

HAPPY BIRTH DAY!!!

Well done to all for making this place so special - and an extra special thanks to Teyes and all the mods!

Thanks Teyes!! For the best Sanga available!

Thanks Henry for your kindness and patience
And thanks to all the rest of the moderators too

A special thanks to Frasir for his generosity and compassion!!

Happy 1st Birthday E-Sanga Family!! Many Happy returns of the day

Tremendous

A thousand thanks to Teyes for having established this wonderful community and to all the rest for being part of it. E-sangha truly is greater than the sum of its parts!

By the virtue so lovingly created here on e-sangha, may peace pervade the entire universe, from now to eternity.

Om Mani Padme Hum!!

In Dharma,
Kunsang

I was just thinking that Buddhism on the internet is rather like setting up a meditation group in a crack house. Some of us crazy junkies really need it, and we appreciate the brave souls who give us our little whiff of incense through the heavy fumes of our own unskillful self-indulgences. Volunteer firefighters indeed!

The balance between openness and keeping it civil seems to me particularly skillfully done here.

Three cheers for all the volunteer firefightes at E-Sangha is all I have to say. Happy First Birthday!!!!

Happy (WAAAAAAAAAAAAY belated) Birthday.

Hmmm, just consider it an early well wishing for next year.

Happy Anniversary!

Peace and Metta

I'm incredibly late also.

Thanks to Teyes and everyone else that makes this place so special.

..
..
..

Thank you for your service to Buddhism in starting this sangha.

Hi,

This site used to be a lot better than it is now. The level of discussion and the topics are mostly just folks trying to get comfortable in samsara. A great deal of misinformation is being offerred as dharma. So much of what I read here will only lead to further binding.

This place has degenerated into a self help forum. Calling it a Buddhist forum is really quite a stretch. I especially notice this when the discussions are about more esoteric topics.

Buddhism is not about solidifying ego, giving it someplace to feel at home. Most of the discussion here is more suitable for Doctor Phil or Oprah Winfrey.

It is really a hard search to find topics that aren't mundane. In short this place has been DUMBED DOWN and thats too bad.

Best wishes to all ,
Pema

Dear Pema

Personally my preference is to uphold this thread in the spirit and gratitude it started and continued in.

But I guess as a Buddhist, we all have to understand that impermanence is a defining feature. Thankyou for showing us this reality again.

So allow me to respond ( briefly is not my forte unfortunately ):

I cannot speak for others; I oft read the threads of the 'past' so to speak - there are gems there and there are indepth Buddhism discussions by the members. They are good, enjoyable, informative and I like to peruse those when I am so inspired (and of clear mind because I need to concentrate much lol)

Those still occur, though perhaps not in the same depth and breadth you 'like'. I, as a newbie, know that there are many like me - we come, have little or no knowledge/experience in the Buddhist ways and teachings, but we are curious, we are in pain, we seek knowledge, we are inspired, we are taking one step at a time, we find this Sangha, we become part of it..

And, yes many people here post asking for 'help' - self help. Suffering from the effects of samsara, attachment, unaware of the teachings of Buddha.

And so it is how I started here: deep in the pain of my samsara - within my own delusions and tools/habits that did not work for me, I started here asking complete Oprah questions! As impermanence goes, I slowly look forward.

And what did I encounter? I encountered warmth, compassion, understanding, responsiveness, wisdom. I encountered a way and people that I find inspiring, with no pressure, no discrimination. I learnt about the Four Noble Truths, and read about the Eightfold Path. I learn about Buddhism, and the teachings. I am inspired. I feel like it is a breath of fresh air - as if it is all I have known all my life - just that I did not know.
Without inspiration and that first 'taste' of this Buddhist road though, how will others follow?

Who are the teachers of tomorrow?

So I am thankful that there are the kind folk here who answered my initial 'complete ego' - 'self help' - 'self absorbed' - 'egotistical' - 'Oprah' questions. The warmth and acceptance opened me up in other ways. I am still not free from my old ways. It is not easy IMO for people at my level to strip away, and engage in deep Buddhist discussions.

However, I ask that you are patient with us "lower" or more immature in the path as you 'may' be, or may perceive to be. I ask that you display compassion for those of us whom are only learning, who - still suffering from deep illusions/delusions, cannot simply 'throw off the old, and put on the new'. I ask that you consider this in your own journey, of course it is your own, and this is only my own opinion.

But I certainly consider this a Buddhist forum: there are philosophy sections, sections to assist and support others, sections for differing 'levels' of audience: but a forum run with compassion, support, selflessness, teaching and one point on the road for those of us still looking ahead on where to go. For some the road ahead may lead to Buddhism, and further still for others who will find Buddhism and self irrelevant, others may come and go once their pain subsides. Who am I to judge another's path? I can only walk my own and find what I need within this forum - according to whom "my ego" is at the moment.

And of course, pro-activeness is a (wordly) looked upon trait - please by all means, generate the 'deeper' discussions that you long for - there are still much wiser and knowledgeable persons who engage here and can/like to contribute in these areas - Dave, our Moderators, Bill etc etc. Please point out where this is "misinformation" regarding dharma. I for one would welcome such wisdom and knowledge for each of us to experience ourselves.

Start the party - I'll be watching!

________________

Teyes, Moderators, Fellow Members and All That Come Across Here: Thankyou for this site, and this Sangha. It has allowed me to understand and encounter Buddhism, Buddhist folk, and as a source of Guidance and Inspiration for me, that I am thankful for.

Blessings and Good Will to All.

hi float

buddhism is about liberation. beyond acceptance and rejection. beyond feeling good or bad. beyond order and chaos. happy in any company. a life of uninhibited naked ease.

this is certainly way off topic. as such it may removed or moved or chastised. the rule of topic has become more important than a free flowing discussion. this is a choice for order that comes as result of fear of chaos.

buddhism is vast. our potential is unlimited. the teachings are incredibly precious.

i'm glad you are finding your way in through this place. theres just a lot of garbage to wade through that didn't used to be here.

lots of people wondering how to cope with a current problem of some kind. people seeking pleasure and avoiding pain. this isn't buddhism. buddhism is about coming to realisation and the blissful experience of the non dual pure essence of pleasure and pain.

most especially buddhism is non theistic. theisism tells us that everything will be all right. non theism goes beyond this kind of limitation. one never knows what will happen. theres much more freedom in this. potential always remains unlimited. this may seem kind of cold but thats only from the point of view of ego seeking to preserve itself. non theism is totally ripe, hot hot hot; giving birth continuosly.

enjoy your journey. remember me in your prayers. you will be in mine.

best wishes,
pema

Good Pema,

Thanks! and Happy anniversary to all !

I have treated this forum as my "home" and visit everday. Kinda of love in it....

Nice site, good job.

Uhhmmm...when did Namdrol become Admin?

Congratulations on the promotion, BTW.

Well, I'm impressed - as a newcomer, I look forward to working through the threads on this site.

Thanks for being here.

Congratulations.

Happy Anniversary to E-Sangha! May a thousand blessings be upon everyone in this message board!