I keep pondering over the below questions and thought of posting it here. 1. Is the physical universe(the one we observe with stars, galaxies, black holes etc) contained in the 31 planes of existence or the other way around? 2. A "ten thousand world systems" imply that there are other universes besides ours, which gives support to the multiverse hypothesis in science? 3. Are there ten thousand of world systems or infinite of them? Just trying to ponder if its infinite, then imagine the probability of being born as a human and able to understand dhamma, that is mind blowing. That also goes to show the sheer magnitude of samsara.

According to the Buddhism's theory, one man's fate is destined by the past's karma. Suppose that he faced an unfortunate incident at birth, which is due to past karma. Besides, his genes are inherited from his parents. In other words, his brain is also initiated by past karma. In this condition, all his ideas are also affected by the experience he has had, which is determined by past karma. To elaborate more, some are clever, some less, which can again be explained by karma. But if the conventional human brain can be so strongly determined by the existence of karma, how can you say buddhism is not fatalism?

In my personal practice, I have found laziness to be my most clearly visible defilement. It plays a role in preventing me from getting out of bed, hindering my mindfulness throughout the day, and tempting me to abandon my daily meditation schedule. I am wondering if there are any tips beyond “just do it” regarding stuff like getting out of bed and meditating regularly, perhaps this is simply a kammic condition I must overcome. Thank you!

National Public Radio's [Buddhists Prepare To Observe Bodhi Day, When Siddhartha Gautama Became Buddha](https://www.npr.org/2020/12/05/943453999/buddhists-prepare-to-observe-bodhi-day-when-siddhartha-gautama-became-buddha) article and podcast begins: >These winter holidays are a time for fellowship, joy and, for religious people around the world, worship. For many Buddhists, Bodhi Day is December 8. And tomorrow starts the celebration. Bodhi Day marks the day that Siddhartha Gautama became the Buddha. Wikipedia's [Bodhi Day](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhi_Day) mentions Mahayana Buddhism and specifically Zen Buddhism. For those who recognize Bodhi Day is the Gregorian date of December 8 universal, or do some Mahayana Buddhists use a lunar calendar to place it?

Is Enlightenment a misleading goal? Is it more of a thought-form than just an experience? I am asking because there is a lot of discussion of awakening, enlightenment, satori, differences, levels, etc. and I think that this distracts from the simple truth of growing in awareness, which is both individual and collective. In other words, is it better to stop thinking about "how to get to 'it' " and just get on with life? In any field, we don't try to attain a specific goal, because - then what? Artists don't try to reach a level, they just make more art. So I would say, is it more helpful to not talk about enlightenment and talk instead about simply becoming more aware? My prompt for this question comes from what I read (long ago) about how people asked the Buddha after his enlightenment something like: "What are you? Are you an angel? Are you a devil? What?" and he said "I am awake." So, his answer was about a condition of being, not an endpoint. Like how a rainbow is an arrangement of circumstances, not a thing that you can touch. This is not coming out right... I think that the word "enlightenment" focuses on a rainbow - something that does not exist. Talking about it prolongs ignorance, perhaps? Is this addressed specifically in the Buddhist literature? Thank you.

I have been practicing two different meditations over the years, one is Anapanasati, i.e. mindfulness of breath as I learned from S.N.Goenka, and the other is Zazen or Shikantaza i.e. just sitting, doing nothing, as I learned at a Zen school. My trouble is, when I set to do breath awareness, then the mind gets triggered and I easily get lost in thoughts. It's difficult for me to be 'here and now' with the breath. On the other hand, with Shikantaza, my practice is really good. I can sit for longer periods without any thought in silence. But the problem is I did not read anywhere if we can attain to Jhanas or any other state, doing Shikantaza. As against this, I have read about gradual progression towards Jhana doing the Anapanasati. So, I want to know, if Jhana is possible through Shikantaza and if not, is there any other type of progression?

*I SUGGEST & REQUEST THAT YOU READ DN 10 (LINKED) BEFORE READING AND/OR ANSWERING THIS POST.* After contemplating DN 10 , several questions have arisen in me pertaining to the clarification of the sutta and the meditation practice. They are the following: 1. **When Venerable Ānanda talks about guarding the sense doors and not getting "caught up in the features and details" of sensual experience (the quote below), how does that translate into a meditation practice (in other words, what would one specifically do to do that in meditation)?** > ... > > “And how, student, does a mendicant guard the sense doors? When a mendicant sees a sight with their eyes, they don’t get caught up in the features and details. If the faculty of sight were left unrestrained, bad unskillful qualities of desire and aversion would become overwhelming. For this reason, they practice restraint, protecting the faculty of sight, and achieving its restraint. When they hear a sound with their ears … When they smell an odor with their nose … When they taste a flavor with their tongue … When they feel a touch with their body … When they know a thought with their mind, they don’t get caught up in the features and details. If the faculty of mind were left unrestrained, bad unskillful qualities of desire and aversion would become overwhelming. For this reason, they practice restraint, protecting the faculty of mind, and achieving its restraint. When they have this noble sense restraint, they experience an unsullied bliss inside themselves. That’s how a mendicant guards the sense doors." > > ... > > (DN 10 ) 2) **When reading the Satipatthana Sutta , I understand it says to "focus" or "discern" specific phrases and teachings and so too here in a way when Venerable Ānanda talks about having mindfulness and situational awareness (the quote below), but how does that translate into a meditation practice (in other words, what would one specifically do to do that in meditation)?** > ... > > "And how does a mendicant have mindfulness and situational awareness? It’s when a mendicant acts with situational awareness when going out and coming back; when looking ahead and aside; when bending and extending the limbs; when bearing the outer robe, bowl and robes; when eating, drinking, chewing, and tasting; when urinating and defecating; when walking, standing, sitting, sleeping, waking, speaking, and keeping silent. That’s how a mendicant has mindfulness and situational awareness." > > ... > > (DN 10 ) 3. **Would guarding the sense doors and being mindful and situationally aware lead to the hindrances being given up as well as entering the jhanas per DN 10 ?** 4. **When Venerable Ānanda speaks in DN 10 about extending and projecting the mind toward knowledge and vision, the creation of a mind-made body, psychic power, clairaudience, comprehending the minds of others, recollection of past lives, knowledge of the death and rebirth of sentient beings, and knowledge of the ending of defilements, are these supposed to be standard experiences and potential powers that one should only be aware of in meditation when Venerable Ānanda says to extend and project the mind towards them, or is one supposed to do something other than only being aware of them?** 5. **Would the "spectrum of immersion" per DN 10 refer to the meditative methods to achieve samatha (tranquility), would the "spectrum of wisdom" per DN 10 refer to the meditative methods to achieve vipassana (wisdom), and in that, does DN 10 express that both methods are suppose to be used in partnership to attain freedom from suffering (for reference of samatha and vipassana: AN 2.30 )?** *PLEASE REFERENCE THE TIPITAKA OR SOURCES STRICTLY USING THE TIPITAKA IN YOUR ANSWERS.* -Apannaka

As we know, in soto-shu we don't count nor observe the breath during zazen. I would like people who have a long experience with zazen meditation to explain if they consider that counting and observing the breath was helpful to progress in their meditation practice or not. Should a beginner start with counting breathing rather then go straight into shikantaza practice ?

> "There are these five inhabitants of the states of deprivation, inhabitants of hell, who are in agony & incurable. Which five? One who has killed his/her mother, one who has killed his/her father, one who has killed an arahant, one who — with a corrupted mind — has caused the blood of a Tathagata to flow, and one who has caused a split in the Sangha. These are the five inhabitants of the states of deprivation, inhabitants of hell, who are in agony & incurable." > >AN 5.129 If someone tries to kill an arahant, Buddha or their parents but they don’t get hurt even a little bit, do you still go to hell for “attempting” to kill them? Or is it only incurable if you have succeeded in killing them?

I learned many meaning of vitaka.. Like initial thought, or thought seed or directing mind toward object.. Whereas vicara is continuity of thinking about that object. Similarly nimitta is arising of some mental sign/clue etc. Like I remember today's event, or I heard something etc. There is sanna also in conjunction with nimitta... I want to know whether vitaka and nimitta same or different? If different I want to know practical understanding of the difference between them ?

Vaṇṇā-[maccharia](http://accesstoinsight.eu/en/dictionary/macchariya) , stinginess in regard to one's honor, reputation, not't letting make others use it, envy to lose it, is one of the five kinds of maccharia, based on ingratitude, wrong view, and a quality not only absent in all Noble Once, but also a [hindrance to attain whatever Jhana, path or fruit](http://zugangzureinsicht.org/html/tipitaka/an/an05/an05.254.than_en.html). What are practices to train to learn not being stingy in regard of ones honour, beauty, sublimity? What and where to give into? What traditional practice is done by faithful followers in that regard? ___ *A/the realated topic with given space for discussion and possible answer can be found [here](http://sangham.net/index.php/topic,9322.msg19061.html#msg19061).* *(note that this question is not given for trade, stacks, exchange or entertainment, but for ones work trough maccharia to escape the wheel here and liberation)*

Is it called akusala garuka kamma only if the action is completed? For example, Angulimala once tried to harm The Buddha (but did not succeed), and Nandopananda once tried to harm Moggallana Thera (also did not succeed). Their actions are not considered akusala garuka kamma because they did not succeed?

If remembering correctly I once heard a Dhamma talk about the Buddha finding solace in/with the investigation of energy while (at least once) experiencing physical pain. What's the sutta reference(s) for this please?

A person told me that the Buddha coined certain words as part of his teachings. I don't remember which words, but perhaps "samadhi" was one of them. Is there any evidence the Buddha invented new words? If so, do we know which ones?

Given the wide variety of possible solutions from keyboard firmware to operating system specific solutions, I'd like to leave the question wide open in order to discover which solutions are actually most commonly used by people who have this need in 2021. I am personally most interested in solutions that work for the macOS and Linux operating systems. Although iOS and Android solutions are also of interest to me.

This is the version I am referring to: > Thus shall ye think of this fleeting world: A star at dawn, a bubble > in a stream; A flash of lightning in a summer cloud; A flickering > lamp, a phantom, and a dream.

I'm searching for this Jataka where a monk is brought by The Buddha to heaven, and then to hell, where the monk sees a vacant place(?) in hell and asks a hell officer about it. The hell officer answered that he was waiting for a heaven inhabitants who will reborn in hell. Hearing that, he monk was shocked and trained harder to be free from the samsara. Maybe anyone here knows about that Jataka? Thank you

When I first started meditating, the body scan phase confused me. For a long time, I imagined the shape of a body in front of me in the distance, and scanned down through it. More recently I’ve realised that you get much more out of it by scanning through the feeling of my own body “in place” — but I still sometimes get muddled about which perspective I am “seeing” or “experiencing” parts of the body *from*. I’ve had the same challenge with the visualisation of the white pinprick at the solar plexus. Sometimes I wonder whether I should be looking “down” from my eyes, through my neck and into my chest… or if my “eyes” should themselves move to the chest … or… something else? At the moment I am practicing with the visualisation of the red pearl / red lotus at the throat chakra, as recommended in the book *Dream Yoga* by Andrew Holocek. The same puzzle keeps coming up! Where should this shape be relative to my mind’s eye? What angle relative to my spine in three dimensions should it be in, where should the “camera” of my mind be in relation to it, and what should the resulting image actually look like? How should the feelings of my body relate spatially to this shape? Here’s another example, a simple description of a visualisation from this blog entry that puzzles me: > Picture the energy of your root chakra as a ball of ruby light centered on the base of your spine. With each breath, see this ball becoming larger. In this example, should I be “seeing” my body in front of me, like watching a mirror, so that I can look at the base of my spine? Or should I be feeling the base of “my” spine where I know it to be? In which case, “where” is the “ruby light”? My eyes can’t see the base of my spine when they are looking roughly ahead with eyelids closed. I feel *very* confused, especially as I have managed to feel very “in” the breath and body at this point in my practice, but visualisation always humbles me. I’d welcome any guidance about this, including simple steps and theoretical underpinnings. Am I somehow too attached to the position and perspective of the eyes in my head and, if so, how would you loosen that and what replaces it? Is this a known challenge of body visualisation? Nobody seems to talk about “where” in experience a visualisation should emerge. It’s a bit disheartening.

In the Simsapa Sutta the Buddha said; > "In the same way, monks, those things that I have known with direct > knowledge but have not taught are far more numerous [than what I have > taught]. I would take the meaning that there were many things that the Buddha did not talk about because they were not important for leading the holy life towards Nirvana. But then in the Maha-Parinabbana Sutta , the Buddha says; > ...I have preached the truth without making any distinction between > exoteric and esoteric doctrine: for in respect of the truths, Ānanda, > ***the Tathāgata has no such thing as the closed fist of a teacher, who keeps some things back***... I would take this to mean that the Buddha says that He has not kept anything untold or unsaid...that, he has said everything that there was to tell to the monks. Why is there a seeming contradiction in these two suttas. Did the Buddha told everything or not...or I am misunderstanding something?

Mappō (a.k.a mòfǎ, mạt pháp) is a term used by the majority of Mahayana Buddhism branches in East and Southeast Asia. It was mentioned in the Mahayana Mahaparinirvaṇa Sutra, signalling the declination of Buddhism and corruption of society as a whole. The sutra painted a grim picture of Buddhism's future, where monks violate the precepts and preach a perverted version of the Buddha's teaching. Most of the times where this concept is mentioned, it is to achieve political purposes, e.g to gain legitimacy by demonising other people or sects. This has happened since more than a thousand years ago, in ancient China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and is still going on. Personally, I found the concept and its details unhelpful since it gives practitioners (especially beginners) the feeling that the world is falling apart. I'd like know why such description is necessary for Buddhists to know, and what is the optimal way to address it?