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For any seeking refuge in the triple gems: the Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha.

Welcome to #buddhism

Buddha teaching a Sermon

#buddhism began as a channel on the Undernet Internet Relay Chat (IRC) network many years ago.

It is now linked via a relay bot to the #buddhism channel on a number of other networks.

The name of the relay bot is gem3 (a reference to the Triple Gem). Users on your local server will appear the same as usual, but users from remote servers will appear like <gem3> [net] <remote_user> Hello World! That is the bot, network name in square brackets, the user speaking, and their message.

There is a list of all the users on the #buddhism channels of the various networks at https://users.buddhism-chat.org/, because gem3 does not transfer the /who listings of users between networks. If you object to your nick being shown on this list, let nick appas know.

The idea of the channel is to support practicing Buddhists in their practice, and provide a place online to discuss Buddhism in a friendly, inclusive, relaxed environment. Think of it like a coffee shop next door to a monastery.

Code of Conduct

There are many paths to enlightenment, both within the various Buddhist traditions, and also outside of them. Channel participants should be respectful of all paths, and not impose a particular view on any others.

That said, in order to allow any beings a place to seek refuge, certain things aren't appropriate. Trolling or other harmful conduct won't get far. All forms of hatred or intolerance are right out, including sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, etc. Any slurs are discouraged at best. If you feel such things, you aren't required to change your view on them, but you will have to leave those aspects outside of the channel. There are plenty of other places online where you may troll freely, this doesn't need to be another one.

Participants aren't required to stay on-topic all the time, but if someone comes along and wishes to discuss a Buddhist topic, please be mindful and let the focus shift to Buddhism. If you're engaged in a deep off-topic conversation, feel free to take it to private messages or a different channel. It's also encouraged to look for a Buddhist angle to any off-topic things that come up.

And what is right speech?: Avoiding speech that's false, divisive, harsh, or nonsensical. This is called right speech. When you have gathered you have two duties: Either Dhamma-talk or noble silence.

How to connect?

A screenshot of the browser based IRC client for the Libera.chat IRC network.

For IRC access, you'll need an IRC client. You can download an IRC client for your operating system, such as Hexchat (Cross-platform), mIRC (Windows), Colloquy (macOS), or irssi (command line). Alternately, you can use a web-based IRC client at irccloud.com or kiwiirc.com.

Here is a direct link to Libera.chat IRC network's web access for #buddhism. It does not require any registration and you can be anonymous.

https://web.libera.chat/#buddhism

Which chat servers are included in the relay?

Network	Server	Port	Abbreviation
DarkMyst	irc.darkmyst.org	6697 (SSL)	[dkm]
EFnet	irc.choopa.net	9999 (SSL)	[efn]
EsperNet	irc.esper.net	6697 (SSL)	[esp]
EvilNET	irc.evilnet.org	6697 (SSL)	[evl]
IRC4Fun	odyssey.irc4fun.net	6697 (SSL)	[i4f]
IRCnet	ssl.ircnet.com	6697 (SSL)	[irn]
Libera.Chat	irc.libera.chat	6697 (SSL)	[lbr]
LunarIRC	irc.lunarirc.net	6697 (SSL)	[lnr]
Rizon	irc.rizon.net	6697 (SSL)	[rzn]
SlashNET	irc.slashnet.org	6697 (SSL)	[sln]
SorceryNet	irc.sorcery.net	6697 (SSL)	[src]
SpotChat	irc.spotchat.org	6697 (SSL)	[spc]
Stardust	irc.stardust.cx	6697 (SSL)	[sdn]
Umbrellix	irc.umbrellix.net	6696 (SSL)	[ubx]
Undernet	irc.undernet.org	6667	[und]