All Questions

Questions in the title. What is the significance of this term and how it is used by the Buddha in the suttas?

I'm often interested in the history of Buddhist texts and, being a Theravadan, I'm not very familiar with the Mahayana texts. Please help to educate me in this manner.

Okay, I'm well familiar with the regular Bodhisattva vows from the Brahma Net Sutra. That set of vows is open to both lay and monastic followers. I just found another set on Dharma Realm Buddhist ...

This answer points out that Karma is not something which is accumulated. Hence considering karma as just cause & effect, if I undergo suffering now, like disease, disability, etc, will my future ...

It is said, Buddhist missionaries made it to Alexandria Egypt and else where in the Mediterranean circa 200 BCE. Have any scholars and/or archeologists found any evidence of Buddhism being practiced ...

How should western practitioners approach the sutras? What are the most important sutras from the main Buddhist traditions for westerners to study? When studying the sutras should that be considered a ...

I recently heard the term Vajrasattva and wondered if that is another term for a Bodhisattva? How does the Vajrasattva path differ from the path of a Bodhisattva?

Repentence is often mentioned in Mahayana texts. Outside of my knowledge of the meaning of the English word, which is colored by Christian concerns, I'm not sure what's involved. What is done during ...

Is there any definition for 'Mara' in Buddhism? Islam has a concept called Shayṭān. They explain it as the devil inside a human (Islam explanation). There is something like this in Christianity too. ...

Certain Buddhist schools perform rituals to offer food to hungry ghosts. And I've heard and read stories that psychic mediums at the rituals saw hungry ghosts came eating the food. Some also reported ...

Even before the Buddha, the wheel of birth and death was a common teaching in India, with the six stages or realms. This is something that has passed down into Buddhism (even today). What did the ...

From a source which I don't remember any more (some rather scientific book on Buddhist philosophy) I have made a note, that the psyche in Buddhism is seen or can be seen (by certain schools?) as ...

A claim which is often heard in connection with Buddhism is that it is not a religion. From a scientific point of view, is it a religion, or is it not?

When performing the Nine Purification Breaths (I have it from a separate source, but it is close to the one described by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche in Healing with Form, Energy, and Light) the position ...

As far as I know, many Buddhists believe in multiple gods. Doesn't this contradict the idea that the world is governed by the law of karma? Is praying to gods allowed?

Are there any beings on earth that are samsedaja (born or arisen from moisture)? Are bacteria samsedaja?

In my understanding, there are a few ways to follow the not-eating-after-noon precept. Here are what I know of: Two meals per day + juice/sugar water: breakfast and lunch, juice or sugar water for ...

"For the person who transgresses in one thing, I tell you, there is no evil deed that is not to be done. Which one thing? This: telling a deliberate lie." Also The person who lies, who ...

Uposatha (a.k.a. Poya Day) is the traditional Buddhist observance day. Observances vary but one traditional pattern is to celebrate this day on the lunar calendar on each of four moon events; the new ...

I've found this to be an interesting question with highly respected monastics falling on both sides of the answer.

In the Theravada tradition, and perhaps others, monastics take a new name when becoming bhikkhus/bhikkhunis. Where does this tradition come from, and what is its significance? Others don't - what's ...

I have seen many ways to address a bhikkhu, and I'm wondering about the proper way to address a bhikkhu, in writing?

And maybe to save two related questions, why does Samantabhadra ride an elephant and Majursri ride a lion? I was meditating with Kwan Yin statute and that was the main distraction, I had no idea why ...

From the Buddhist perspective, is there an inherent conflict between being a believer in a theistic religion and a practitioner of Buddhist meditation?

I have always wondered if insects belongs to the animal realm in Buddhism, and I have yet to read stories about rebirth as an insect, such as a butterfly, a mosquito, or a praying mantis.

Despite communism as practiced (as opposed to what Marx might have had in mind) being the source of some of the largest slaughter of lay and monastic Buddhists ever (except maybe the Imperial Chinese)....

And as a follow up, what institutions are charged with expanding the list of canonical works, if any?

Are dark night problems a common thing? It worries me that if I practice they might happen: http://m.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/06/the-dark-knight-of-the-souls/372766

I have heard that some teachers do not teach the Jhanas, others do. Yuttadhammo mentions the great debate about Jhanas. What is the controversy about? Whether they are useful towards realizing Nibbana/...

For each of the Four Noble Truths, there are three aspects. The three aspects for each Noble Truth follows a pattern of Recognition (understanding it), Encouragement (what is to be done), and ...

How do you recognise the different factors associated with Jhana and the level of Jhana you are in? (Not necessarily when you are in Jhana.) More particularly how do recognise the factor of applied ...

How does Dependent Origination relate to Vipassana meditation as taught by different schools / interpretations of Buddhism? More particularly how do you break the links of dependent origination as ...

To refresh your memory, the Eight Worldly Winds are: Pleasure Pain Praise Blame Gain Loss Fame Ill-repute

What are the teachings of the Buddha about aliens or other planets that have lives? Is this the only place that can have life or human beings? Is it possible to be born a Buddha in some other ...

I am looking for an explanation for my wife about what happens during the dying-death-rebirth cycle according to Buddhist teachings as well as any background readings we can locate. I was ...

Torma are sculpted butter and flour cakes set on mandalas and on altars during Tibetan Buddhist ceremonies. Does anyone know what the story is with Torma and why are we doing offerings anyhow? Is ...

I'm not really expecting a short summary, but I'd be happy to get one. This is a 1600 page sutra in English (and cost over $100 on Amazon). It gets reference a lot in the Brahma Net Sutra and Huayan ...

Among the many schools and traditions, what core teachings are shared by all Buddhists?

Is there any meditation techniques that we can used to manged Bad Temper. As I know it is possible to manage angers by observing it as "feeling angry.., feeling angry!". However the problem is with ...

In a large number of religions, 'good' and 'bad' are defined by some all-powerful diety who either sends a representative or himself to tell us about what exactly they want us mortals to do. In ...

Also known as the Four Noble Dwellings or the Buddhist Virtues or the Brahmaviharas. Where in the Pali Canon are these described?

Where is the Noble Eightfold Path found in the Pali Canon? Are there significant differences among the traditions in its interpretation?

What are they? Where are they found in the literature? Are there any significant differences in them among the traditions?

I am amazed at how quickly folks on this SE find detailed quotes from the canon. Are folks using a concordance? (That's what Christians call it for the Bible--it's a dictionary of topics cross-...

In his philosophy, Nagarjuna uses the Pratityasamutpada to prove, that everything is empty and without reality. In the end, however he proves not only the emptiness of that very Pratityasamutpada but ...

And where are they found in the Pali Canon? I realize that this is a Straw Man question for the group but I would like to raise our visibility on the Web and perhaps start our community wiki.

Can someone be a wholehearted Buddhist practitioner if they entirely reject rebirth? Or is anyone that follows the Buddhist path while not subscribing to rebirth only getting half the story? Or is the ...

Why does Buddhism have so many variations, like Zen, Nembutsu, True world, Nichiren Buddhism, etc.? Why is Buddhist philosophy not uniform?

How is Shambhala Buddhism as founded by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and continued by folks like Pema Chodron different from traditional Tantric Buddhism such as that practiced by the Dalai Lama? Does ...

This may seem like a question that is far too modern for an ancient tradition, but when I traveled in Thailand I learned that katoeys (male-to-female) are a legal gender in Thailand. What does ...