I always hear of Buddhists encouraging people to chant mantras, dedicate merits, pray etc. for animals & pets so that they may be exposed to the dharma and take a better rebirth. Also, chanting for dead animals; the insect you unintentionally killed, the carcass on the dinner table, pets who have passed on etc. How do we know that? Do animals have the capacity to comprehend dharma?

I have read in various sources that karma is impression (when we grasp to something, it creates karma/impression), is this true? So what if, for example, a girl is sitting in a place then then they see someone next to them carrying an expensive bag that she has long wanted. Suddenly, in her mind appear ideas to steal the bag, but then she immediately acknowledge that thought and quickly tries to think of something else (tries to stop the thoughts of stealing). In that case, does the fleeting thought of stealing counts as bad karma? Will she suffer the bad consequences of that thought, even though she immediately acknowledged it and tried to stop that thought?

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 than an ancient Far Eastern religious belief, which is utterly impossible. For rebirth to be real, there would need to be: - The ability for consciousness or awareness to survive the death of the brain of the person concerned. This is an impossibility, since consciousness is an exceedingly complex function of the electrical and biochemical activity inside a living brain, and as far as we’re currently aware, only in the brain of certain higher mammals. The definition of death is when all electrical and biochemical activity in the brain ceases, and consequently everything which was ever held in that brain, vanishes. It doesn’t ‘go’ anywhere, it simply ceases to exist. - The ability for a person’s consciousness or awareness to exist both extra-corporeally and immaterially. There is no mechanism which allows for such a thing even when related to a living brain, let alone a dead one. For this to happen, several of the fundamental laws of science would need to be violated. - The ability for this extra-corporeal consciousness or awareness not only to survive the death of the brain in which it originated, and then continue in existence in an immaterial form for an undefined period, but then to somehow find its way into the brain of another person who might not even be born yet—we’re well into the realm of pure fantasy or science fiction here! So what I want to know is: has rebirth been scientifically proven or is it true?

**State Administration for Religious Affairs** (SARA) and the **Buddhist Association of China** are in charge of regulating religion in China. So far, what effect have they had on doctrine for Chinese (non-vajrayana) Buddhism? It's already well known that the Chinese government is hostile to the Dalai Lama. (Also, as a side note, for those skeptical of any government's ability to regulate belief and practice- some percent of American Zen's doctrine and practice can be traced to Meiji era government initiated reforms)

According to Wikipedia's [Buddhist monasticism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_monasticism) article, the Buddha formed the first monastery. There is no source, 'though. To quote: > Buddhist Monasticism is one of the earliest surviving forms of organized monasticism in the history of religion. > > The order of Buddhist monks and nuns was founded by Gautama Buddha during his lifetime over 2500 years ago. Ok, so it doesn't specifically say 'monastery' here but still, an order of monks and nuns, some sort of precursor to a monastery at least. According to History World's History of Monasticism : > Leading his followers into holiness a generation after Mahavira, Buddha also organizes them into communities. Is this just "according to tradition" or is there historical evidence of him forming a monastery/order/community: such as archaeological findings or non-religious texts? If yes, is there's anything left of the original or has it all branched out?

When a school of Buddhism has a senior who passes away, is it common for the school to go into a type of dissarray, until a successor is chosen? Some years ago I joined the Shingon school. It was awkward at the start, then upon the death of the (senior/master/sorry-correct-title-undefined), everything went sidewards. The body of the school seemed to splinter into minor sub schools, some casting doubt about other seniors. For a newbie this was disconcerting as the study of Shingon requires a 1 to 1 relationship, but my sensei stopped teaching, so I had to find another. Twas 3 years ago and I've still not found a replacement sensei. No new senior has been chosen. Is this type of behaviour common in Buddhism?

I was wondering if anyone had any insight into the possibility of there being “Astral Projection” in Buddhism. I know “Tibetan Sleep Yoga” is involved with Lucid Dreaming, which is the internal. Yet I was wondering if Buddhism had a concept where you could leave your body. Any help would be amazing!

I am starting to explore [Luminous Essence: A Guide to the Guhyagarbha Tantra](https://wisdomcompassion.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Luminous-Essence-A-Guide-to-the-Guhyagarbha-Tantra.pdf) , where in the first section on the "title", says: > All phenomena of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa are inseparable with the enlightened state; **they dwell primordially as the eternal wheel of adornment of enlightened body, speech, and mind**. Not knowing much Tibetan buddhism (yet), what is meant by the "wheel" exactly? And by the wheel of "adornment"? Finally, what does it mean to dwell **primordially**, what is the actual word used that is translated to primordial from Tibetan? Same with the word wheel, what is the Tibetan word for it and also what is it talking about more specifically?

The [Luminous Essence: A Guide to the Guhyagarbha Tantra](https://wisdomcompassion.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Luminous-Essence-A-Guide-to-the-Guhyagarbha-Tantra.pdf) says "This universal tantra of the great **Magical Net** is a secret among secrets". Later it says: > Accordingly, mahāyoga teaches the complete nature of the ground, path, and fruition of the entire mantra vehicle. It is, therefore, essential to develop certainty regarding all aspects of mantra practice based on mahāyoga. Mahāyoga belongs to the inner tantras of secret mantra, and can itself be divided into an infinite number of categories. These all come about through the play of wisdom of the **magical net**. Later they refer to "the wheel of the magical net." In several other places "magical net" is mentioned. What is the magical net? Is that literally the etymology of "Guhyagarbha"? Searching the web reveals [mayajala](https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/mayajala) , but no insight is to be gained easily looking at that word.

I am starting to explore [Luminous Essence: A Guide to the Guhyagarbha Tantra](https://wisdomcompassion.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Luminous-Essence-A-Guide-to-the-Guhyagarbha-Tantra.pdf) , where in the first section on the "title", says: > All phenomena of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa are inseparable with the enlightened state; they dwell primordially as the eternal wheel of adornment of enlightened body, speech, and mind. Th is is what is meant by the term _secret_. It is referred to as such because **those who are obscured and unfit to receive these teachings do not realize this**, although it is **genuinely realized** by the profound wisdom mind of the victorious ones. It is secret in the sense that the three bodies go unrecognized due to the veils of temporary obscurations, though they are present within. Moreover, the profound views that reveal this presence are not known through one’s own power, nor are they pointed out by another, and, even if they are, they are hard to realize. In this way, they are hidden. Furthermore, unless this special view, meditation, and conduct are concealed from those who are unfit to receive these teachings, **the seal of secrecy will be broken and they will be misconstrued. Therefore, it is not taught to such individuals and must be concealed.** In this way, it is secret, both in the sense of being unseen and concealed. _(bold added by me)_ What are they saying exactly here? Why must it be concealed exactly? What is at risk? To me it sounds like they are saying, trying to describe the teachings of this Tantra to someone who is not ready or capable of hearing it will just make it even harder for them to understand its meaning, because they will not realize what you are saying and it will harden them in their own stance in disbelief of the teachings. So it is better to just keep it a secret and let them discover it for themselves. I could be way off, I know very little about Tibetan Buddhism so far, but I would like to explore what they are saying and not sure the full impact of what they mean when they talk about "the secret".

When you first learn about mandalas, you learn about [sand paintings](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandala) : But in the Guhyagarbha tantra, outlined in [Luminous Essence: A Guide to the Guhyagarbha Tantra](https://wisdomcompassion.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Luminous-Essence-A-Guide-to-the-Guhyagarbha-Tantra.pdf) , it is said: > The _subject matter_ of this tantra is the **maṇḍala of the ground**, the ultimate natural state of all phenomena, which is primordially of an enlightened nature within great purity and equality. Moreover, the tantra also shows the path, the various means that allow one to actualize this ground either directly or indirectly. Finally, the tantra reveals the maṇḍala of the fruition—perfect, total purity. In short, the tantra teaches the profound realization of mantra, as subsumed within ground, path, and fruition. Where can I find more information on this deeper meaning of mandala. What is the mandala of the ground?

Dhammapada Verse 61: ***If a person seeking a companion cannot find one who is better than or equal to him, let him resolutely go on alone; there can be no companionship with a fool.*** This is obviously self preserving pragmatism of the Aesop's Fables variety, it doesn't require a Buddha to say this, so perhaps there is a deeper meaning I don't spot. Besides, I spot a couple of problems. **One**: For me to associate with someone better, that person would have to accept me, his/her inferior. Ergo, one of us must break this rule and accept an inferior (not necessarily a fool) as partner or companion. **Two**: This doesn't sound very loving and compassionate. Fools will remain fools without the company of intelligent partners or teachers, is it not? Plus, the Buddha himself tolerated Devadutta and others who were often comically stupid in his order. The accompanying story of the Thera who blindly trusts his disciples is a little too simplistic, how is it that a senior teacher (Thera) needed to be schooled on such a trivial principle of common sense? If someone is obviously lazy and scheming, even treacherous, he or she should not be trusted. Did the Thera get undermined by a false sense of duty or compassion?

Good morning, to everyone, I'm new to this site and only recently been very interested in Buddhism, mainly because I have always believed in reincarnation, but to be honest I didn't know other people had the same views. So deep inside I have had this feeling but could not express how I feel to anyone as most people think I'm crazy. But I am very interested in the life of how Buddhist lives and want to learn as much as I can regarding this religion. Any help would be very much appreciated. Thankyou

Our reality is quite violent. Observing the violence of others causes mental conflict, And it will ruin your state of mind during meditation. What should be the reaction of a person to violence? Put Nirvana aside, Can you even think of a simple meditation when there is growing violence around you? How to deal with violence?

From [AsianClassics.org](https://asianclassics.org/library/downloads/) you find downloadable copies of the Tibetan Kangyur and Tengyur. I have copied the Kangyur Table of Contents to a CSV [here](https://gist.github.com/lancejpollard/19b25b49f193b7020accf7a27f823de1) . You'll notice many things are missing titles, some have titles in only Tibetan, etc. Is there any standardized list of table of contents for the Tibetan Kangyur/Tengyur? Or why isn't there? BTW what is the organization scheme they have going there anyways, with KL00044-002(eTB) and things like that?

When the Sublime Buddha discredited some wanderers' position by uprooting their stand, would it be correct to assume that such an act is made for their harm, the harm of many, even his own? What does someone who is informed on this matter think?

Dad admitted due to covid. Me, mum and Dad stayed in the same house so me and mum were close contact yet need to quarantined. I was tested negative with no syndrome for all 10 days quarantine. Mum had flu syndrome in the day 3 of quarantine. She was reluctant to perform PCR swab test because it's quite expensive. Mum can be quite stubborn too most of time. I believe most old folks will have this problem. I can't slowly or patiently talk to her too face to face as she doesn't even wear a mask neither i need a PPE suit nor special wearing to communicate with her for safety purpose. I hire another care taker that found online, pay him and request him to pretend as Buddhism community club to offer her free PCR swab test. Mum only accept in this way. I can't delay this as mum start developing psychosis mental illness too during this quarantine period. She will only feel much better when receiving free stuffs. If she found positive then need send to quarantine center immediately. At least me will not be infected. If all down, then who is gonna work and feed food to us? Mum indeed recovering well with mild syndrome. She is much happier too after this non exist Buddhism club care taker exist, received a lot free stuffs and start to accept Buddhism teaching too. Q) Did i committed a false speech fault by getting a "non exist" Buddhism club to offer help? What will be the punishment in this case base on Buddhism teaching ?

Why is it that when we feel pleasant and positive feelings, the state of heart-mind is evanescent while when we are feeling down and unpleasant feelings that state of heart-mind feels like everlasting? The default state seems unpleasant then we practice mindfulness and meditation, the pleasant state is attained for some time, as soon as it comes the mind tries to grab hold of it, it's gone. My question is about why the time for which they last the way it is?

When I am meditating, most of the time the thoughts feel like arising from the heart center, and sometimes they feel like lingering in the head. Same with the 'feeling of self', most of the time it feels like 'I am' feeling is located somewhere around the heart. I need to know as I think being mindful in this region will help a lot to stop thoughts and to attain 'anatta.

Can you help naming and listing god qualities :