I have a question about my current practice, but feel it's far too sensitive to share here. I do not personally know any person, teacher or guru who I could ask this question. What could I do in this instance?
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2StackExchange allows you to post questions anonymously when you sign out, if that helps.– ruben2020 ♦Commented Jul 14, 2021 at 3:22
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What's a sensitive question, why it's a question ashamed to ask? And might asking it oneself honest lead fast to a very insightfull answer? Didn't, does't it, as, in cases of reading selfchosen texts or approach those one current feels secure, would in most cases be just food for ones defilements to hide themself up, good householder. Would he ask it now, this sensitive question?– user21487Commented Jul 14, 2021 at 12:39
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in summary, a sotappana has no doubts therefore the question can't be about if you are a sotapanna, once returner, non-returner or arahant.– Dhamma DhatuCommented Jul 16, 2021 at 3:32
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2 Answers
Remarkably, for every single question I would have asked the Buddha or the Sangha, I've always found an answer in the suttas. There are a lot of suttas, so searching them can be overwhelming. The internet provides many ways to search the suttas. For example, for Early Buddhist Texts, Suttacentral.net has a prolific search engine that returns a massive number of results. For a more targeted search of a subset of the EBTs, Voice.suttacentral.net presents up to 50 directly relevant sutta results for arbitrary search strings. But these are only two examples--there are many other ways to find and search the Teachings.
However, for personal practice questions, it's also very helpful to talk with others as you've indicated. Personal practice question should really be directed towards a specific Sangha familiar with the nature of your own practice.
Buddhism StackExchange is not really designed for private chat exchanges. Although it does have chat rooms, these rooms are more for extended discussions about a specific topic of public interest. Nor is Buddhism SE intended for opinions and recommendations. Questions about personal practice should really be answered directly by the relevant Sangha for that practice. For example, Zen practice questions should be directed towards appropriate teachers or communities (e.g., Soto vs. Rinzai).
Instead of Buddhism StackExchange, which has a strict Q&A format, consider posting your question to more conversational Buddhist forums such as SuttaCentral Discuss and Discover. Such forums will support extended public conversations as well as private conversations held in confidence. Folks on such forums will often be quite happy to help direct you to Sanghas that may be able to assist you.
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Thanks. The suttas are nearly always my port of call, but I haven't find anything in there. I'll look into your other suggestions.– user17652Commented Jul 14, 2021 at 6:27
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Ah, yes. I found it thanks to your suggestion. ;-)– user17652Commented Jul 14, 2021 at 8:55
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Would you mind if closed this question?– user17652Commented Jul 14, 2021 at 8:55
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Second thoughts, it may be quite helpful to others, so I'll just leave it.– user17652Commented Jul 14, 2021 at 8:57
Most Monastics/Temples/Meditation Centers have a Youtube channel these days - especially in the West. They often have a weekly "Monk Chat" where people can ask questions in the chat and the monastics answer them live.
If you go to Buddhist Insights’ Youtube channel they have a weekly Monk Chat every Friday. You could try and ask your question there. A little tip is to be there at the beginning so you can type in your question as one of the first.
