All Questions

I completely understand the second noble truth which says origin of dukkha, which arises or "comes together" with taṇhā ("craving, desire or attachment") in plain English, ...

I recall, years ago, reading about Buddhist treatises on rebirth, composed some long time after the Buddhas death. It was a very brief reference of Johannes Bronkhorst's, probably in a footnote. I've ...

"In the seen will be merely what is seen” I’ve red this http://theeyeofdhamma.blogspot.com/2013/10/ditte-ditta-mattan-bhavissathi.html?m=1 I’m still not sure how I should apply & practice ...

Whenever I'm confronted with behaviours I find potentially harmful, I get angry. One example of this is when I witness motorists speeding or otherwise making risky maneuvers (going after the light has ...

Did Nagarjuna aspire to Buddhahood in a way that he wouldn't be a 'ariyasavaka' type of disciple who attains awakening to the truth during a Buddha's sasana?

What is your view regarding svasaṃvedana? Do you accept or deny (the existence of) svasaṃvedana? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svasaṃvedana https://encyclopediaofbuddhism.org/wiki/Svasaṃvedana Can a ...

The following sutta quote shows the reflection that would cause the diminishing or abandonment of misconduct. However, this appears to be a method of skillful means for reflection by someone with self-...

An important compendium of the ancient Indian philosophical schools - called Sarva-Darsana-Samgraha - was written in India in 14th century CE by Madhvacharya (a non-Buddhist Indian Philosopher) who ...

A little reference-request question. As I remember it it's the story of someone who supported his aged parents. He did this by taking loose river clay -- without digging it -- making it into pots, and ...

Can anyone share or tell: where can I find a summary explaining those ancient Indian philosophies of those non-Buddhist schools that had debated with Buddhist, especially Nalanda, masters? For example,...

I read the following on the internet: The reason that Secular Buddhists (who do not admit the conventional existence of rebirth) do not commit suicide is because they believe in the true existence of ...

Peace, Divine Love, and Blessings to All. I recently began to research meditative/breathing for the Solar Plexus. I was instructed that the "normal breathing" done in the west is not the ...

It is commonly asserted that Buddhism advocates for monasticism as an ethical ideal for at least some of humanity. I am interested not in arguments for monasticism full stop, but arguments from a ...

From sutta SA 2.218: The renunciant Gotama is staying at Sāvatthī at the Jeta Grove in the Anāthapiṇḍika Park. And there is the nun Selā who took her robes and her begging bowl and entered Sāvatthī ...

In line with my understanding of the teachings, I have been letting go of many possessions that have been accumulating in my life. I realized they really are unnecessary, they mostly just add stress ...

Regarding the teachings on virtue, not considering the more advanced teachings (such as Dependent Origination), did the Buddha ever speak of where the sphere of personal responsibility ends? The ...

Is there advice in the various Buddhist scriptures that a leader could use in this Coronavirus situation? Is there advice in the Buddhist scriptures that a lay-person could use in this Coronavirus ...

I've noticed it's really difficult for me to be consistent, even with short meditation. I'm thus hesitating between: 10 min sessions every day 40 min sessions every 2 or 3 days Which of these seems ...

In SN 35.145 (below), we see that the body, intellect etc. is "old karma", capable to be felt. But it doesn't say whose "old karma" it is. The sutta also talks about "new ...

According to Lama Surya Das, novice monks traditionally meditate 23 hours a day, with one hour for sleep. I met another American lama who said the same thing. How is this even possible? Even if the ...

It's been asserted by some knowledgeable individuals that the Buddha explicitly identified "the mental idea of the self" as what is (re)born in samsara and has done so in suttas spelling out ...

I am from a Buddhist family, in which my parents believe in Buddhism a lot (100%). But after learning tech, science, and IT in the last five years, what I feel is the idea of rebirth is nothing more ...

What advice did the Buddha give to laypeople or monastics about taking care of a dying loved one or anyone dying in their deathbed?

I am just a little curious as I do not know. Would they be prohibited for buddhists or would they be allowed to watch?

Jainism is a philosophy which is similar to Buddhism. So how do Buddhist teachings and the Jains teachings contrast with each other on way of attaining enlightenment ?

In Chandrakirti’s Madhyamakavatara, there is a debate with the Charvakas (ancient materialists) about the existence or non-existence of past and future lives. In the commentary, Rinpoche compares and ...

Each religion has their own values and its – compulsory or recommended – rules. Tolerance begins where the rulings of the religions differ. To what extent should a Buddhist follow the rules of a ...

Is there a specific word in Buddhism that refers to a "second chance" or perhaps redemption?

Currently, I work at home taking calls for tech support for a cable company. I work to help solve customers' issues as best as possible over the phone and send a technician if need be. The one thing I ...

How does an enlightened mind distinguish itself from all other phenomena? There is one such person amidst a crowd of other people. Somebody shouts their name, and they say, "yes, that is I. I am ...

A Mahayana Buddhist said: Mahayana Buddhists agree that there other sentient beings exist, that they have discrete mindstreams, and ingest and interpret reality in accordance to their own karmic ...

I am one of the (Taiwanese) fans of the Dalai Lama for a long time. Currently I am studying the subject "the four Buddhist schools/systems of tenets (of mainly Indian Buddhism before its decline)&...

After some reflection, I've noticed many of my mental hangups / dispositions (sankhara) were formed due to a deep seated fear of losing control over my mind / volition. Examples that come to mind ...

If we have been transmigrating in samsara infinitely via rebirths, then doesn't that mean that kamma which we have earned too is infinite? And if so, doesn't that imply that enlightenment is imposible ...

From craving, there arises clinging, then from clinging, there arises existence or becoming, and then from becoming, we get the birth of the self-identity or self-habit. But how does craving really ...

What is the difference between the scientific law of causality and the Buddhist law of conditionality (Paṭiccasamuppāda)? I am not convinced with the way Ven. Bikkhu Bodhi, for example, has drawn the ...

Please help translate the following Buddhist verse in Tibetan, to English. Thanks. དགེ་འདུན་དམ་པ་ཆོས་ལྡན་ཐོས་པའི་བཀྲ་ཤིས་ཕྱུག །མི་དང་ལྷ་དང་ལྷ་མ་ཡིན་གྱི་མཆོད་པའི་གནས།། ཚོགས་ཀྱི་མཆོག་རབ་ངོ་ཚ་ཤེས་དང་དཔལ་...

Further to my question about discussing Buddhism with children, I want to ask that, at what age does one becomes capable of understanding Buddhism? The very first time I came across Buddha and ...

I got into a situation when a 7-8-year-old child asked me, "Who is He?", pointing to the Buddha statue I have. This child had an idea about God and an idea about worshiping God with folded ...

In his brief introduction to Sivaka Sutta, SN 36:21, Thanissaro Bhikkhu states that the Sutta has been misinterpreted as saying that there are certain things not explainable as the results of Kamma. ...

The Buddha said a gift given as an ornament for the mind will lead the giver to the company of Brahma's Retinue. Then, having exhausted that sovereignty, he is a non-returner. So the benefit to the ...

What exactly is the "bodily knot of adherence to dogmatic assertion of truth" or "insistence that this is the only truth" in the sutta below? Why is it a bodily knot or tie? Please ...

Is there a comprehensive list of different types of Samadhi (in Pali, Sanskrit, English and/or otherwise) related to Buddhism?

I have been continuing my meditation practice, and I feel there would be a great benefit from switching to a metta practice instead of breath. Yet, with metta, a strange phenomenon occurs. I am ...

In western societies specially, children are encouraged to try their hand at different things so that they can find their interest, practice it, be good at it. In the process build character like ...

From Wikipedia on the Visuddhimagga and Siddhi: Aṇimā: the ability to become smaller than the smallest, reducing one's body to the size of an atom or even become invisible. Mahimā: the ability to ...

“Siddhartha Gotama sat for one last time under the pipul tree with the adiṭṭhāna that he would not get up till he became realized. He battled the beautiful as well as the ugly and fearful illusions of ...

I'm asking this question because I want to know if I'm misunderstanding or misinterpreting something. I hope I'm not offending anyone, I want to genuinely know how to interpret my experiences with the ...

this is my first post I have researched what the buddhist sutra says about Homosexuality...I found Saddhama Smrty Uposttana sutra and Upasakasila sutra that said homosexuality is sexual misconduct and ...

If a family member has been dishonest with me, and upon discussing the issue denies the lie, what is the best action?