17
votes
Is it okay to seek financial gains as a layman?
Contrary to the popular belief, Buddhist way of life does not start with the eradication of attachment.Detached nature is a quality of final realization but definitely not the main part of the process....
- 1,621
15
votes
Is it okay to seek financial gains as a layman?
Original Pali Buddhism makes a clear distinction between the monks & the lay followers. If you are a lay person, generally you must earn a living or wealth, i.e., 'money'.
The Buddha praised ...
- 40.5k
12
votes
Confused about partner's practices. Need advice
As a (roughly) beginner practitioner, who has had a share of problems as well, I feel I can contribute. Mostly, my answer would fall in line with Andrei. Presuming this is accurate, this sounds like ...
- 220
10
votes
Confused about partner's practices. Need advice
1. Is this behaviour justified for a person who is on the verge of enlightenment?
From your explanations above it sounds like this person is very disturbed, not almost enlightened. You could be ...
- 58.3k
9
votes
Accepted
Why do the Noble Truths talk about 'craving', instead of about 'attachment'?
Craving (lit. "thirst", tanha) is a technical term that means that very phenomenological moment when you (here!) daydream about something (over there!). Buddha says "unsatisfied craving IS dukkha" (...
- 58.3k
8
votes
Accepted
Is it helpful to stay single if I am not going to become a monk?
What matters is what you do when you are single. If being single means using prostitutes to satisfy one's sensual desires, it could lead one further away from the path as compared to a person who ...
- 25.7k
8
votes
Attachment vs legitimate need
In modern terms, Buddhism defines dukkha as a state of mind that is in conflict between "is" and "should". The logical opposite of dukkha is a state of peace and harmony with no such conflict.
The ...
- 58.3k
7
votes
Accepted
What is attachment as per Buddhism?
Teacher S.L. gave the following examples of attachments: attachment to basic pleasures, attachment to possessions, attachment to "good looks", attachment to comfort, attachment to stability of life, ...
- 58.3k
7
votes
Accepted
Is detachment all about not giving damn to peoples/things?
The real purpose of life is to end suffering. Love is merely one method for preventing & ending certain types of suffering. Non-attachment is another method for preventing & ending other types ...
- 40.5k
7
votes
Is it okay to seek financial gains as a layman?
Nope: with lots of money (or lots of anything valuable), you can influence/help people and have time to cultivate.
Thus, the Buddha would encourage making money--but not at the behest of ignoring the ...
- 5,151
7
votes
Is it okay to seek financial gains as a layman?
I think of the Sigalovada Sutta as summary of practical morality for lay people:
Consider all the various types of people around you in society (the "six directions")
Don't harm people around you, ...
- 46.3k
7
votes
How can I remove my desire for a relationship/girlfriend?
What helped me tremendously distance myself is this:
Contemplate the various advantages and disadvantages of having a girlfriend--particularly the one that you think you would get--not the dream-woman-...
- 5,151
7
votes
How to have a relationship
Impossible. When there's relationship, there's bonding. When there's bonding, there's pain when it ends.
The only thing you can do to minimize pain is to stay as independent as possible, and be your ...
- 58.3k
6
votes
Accepted
Is Physical Attraction or Appreciation of the Human Form Considered Attachment?
What you say "attachment", I think that the Pali word for 'attachment' is Upādāna:
In Buddhism, upādāna is a critical link in the arising of suffering.
When it says "link", there, it means that it ...
- 46.3k
5
votes
Accepted
Is Buddhism "opposed" to striving, or working towards a goal that you really want
I guess this is four questions:
Is it 'wrong' to really want something?
Is it 'wrong' to really work towards something?
Is it 'wrong' to imagine a desired outcome?
Is it 'wrong' to be attached to the ...
- 46.3k
5
votes
Is detachment all about not giving damn to peoples/things?
Life has no requirements, including loving and caring. This is social programming talking.
Life just is.
Furthermore, in Buddhism life is originated from ignorant perception ( see 12 nidanas) so on ...
- 5,151
5
votes
Is smoking tobacco acceptable in any school of Buddhism?
Is smoking tobacco acceptable in any school of Buddhism?
I read that smoking is done.
The Broken Buddha includes these (and other) references to smoking.
No Sri Lankan monk
would dare to smoke ...
- 46.3k
5
votes
What Buddha's techniques I can use to uproot deep craving for a woman's love?
First, know that you are not alone. Nearly every person experiences something like this to varying degrees and intensity at some points in time.
Second, realize that this has nothing to do with her. ...
- 4,701
5
votes
Rejecting clinging to both pleasure and displeasure
Not clinging to pleasure does not mean there is no pleasure. It is the opposite. The more there is non-clinging, there more there is pleasure. For example, the suttas say the pleasure of 'jhana' ('...
- 40.5k
4
votes
Accepted
Detachment : What are we really parting from?
Attachment (and the other things you mention) are described among the Twelve Nidānas.
For example chocolate exists as:
Name ("chocolate") and Form (the form of chocolate)
Sensuality (sight, taste, ...
- 46.3k
4
votes
Accepted
Is all attachment equal in nature?
According to my first teacher, attachments to concrete worldly things are not as bad as attachments to abstract principles - which generate massive conceit and world-scale aversion.
Compare ...
- 58.3k
4
votes
How to combine Buddhism with being a parent?
I’m a clinical psychologist. I wonder if the various definitions of ‘Attachment’ might be the cause of some confusion? In psychological literature ‘Attachment’ is a crucial element of a healthy parent-...
- 41
4
votes
Confused about partner's practices. Need advice
Is this behaviour justified for a person who is on the verge of enlightenment?
My experience of a vaguely analogous situation was that doctors were not willing to diagnose mental illness (e.g. "...
- 46.3k
4
votes
Confused about partner's practices. Need advice
Is this behaviour justified for a person who is on the verge of enlightenment? Meditators can seem antisocial but this person described here seems to have the wrong view on how we do certain things in ...
- 7,144
4
votes
Is it okay to seek financial gains as a layman?
Accumulation of wealth is not directly the problem in Buddhism, rather it is the attachment to wealth that creates suffering. Wealth and fame are ephemeral so relying on these for happiness is like ...
- 1,333
4
votes
Why do the Noble Truths talk about 'craving', instead of about 'attachment'?
It is very difficult to deal with attachment (clinging; egoism) if one has not dealt with craving. If (the urge; drive; energy of) craving is not extinguished then attachment will keep raising its ...
- 40.5k
4
votes
Is it helpful to stay single if I am not going to become a monk?
As you've said, it all varies from individual to individual. The bottom line is one should not do what other people expects one to do. Instead, do whatever is best for oneself in terms of peace, ...
- 9,707
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