Is it okay to save money, asset for the future financial security for a person with family following the Buddhist Path? There is always this dilemma in making financial decisions based on the Path and security for future. How to go about it?

In the Buddha's teachings we learn how to see things as a product of our own mind, for example, if you "fall in love" everything happens in your own mind, the other person is nothing but an external stimulus, so in theory if we tam our mind we can live in this world without suffering wordly consequences of attachments and desires. Even with this deep knowledge, in Buddhism we are encouraged to abandon desires, wealth and go to homeless life (for monks!). So the question is: Is it impossible to tame the mind completely? Is that an utopia? Because if one could tame his mind completely, there would be no need to abandon things as the way he relates to them would be completely free and deattached. If material things have the potential to create problems, does it mean a full tamed mind is impossible?

I did a guided meditation today on Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village app. It was based on the 4 elements. Fire, Earth, Air and Water. As I was midway through it, I was contemplating the electrical energy that causes my body to interact with my nervous system and brain. I also thought about how it was present in thunder storms in the form of lightning. Clouds would be what I consider part of the water element and electricity can also create fire. I was wondering if there was any writing about electricity in the Buddhist tradition that might shed light on my contemplation?

I've hunted around a bit online but haven't found much besides some vague "probably not" answers. Has anyone ever come across an English (or other western language) translation of both parts of the Niddesa? I have the Pali Text Society's printings thanks to the Internet Archive, and enough resources to get started learning Pali if I need to, but figured I should try asking here before I attempt that.

With mindfulness experience that there is a mind operating very speed and realized not worth. After little time of thinking get rid of uneasiness happens automatically .That leed to feel happiness. What was the state of mind at this stage of meditation?is it the stage where mind operates on it's own?Mindfulness mind is very calm but feel like not worth attach to it even.

I broke up with my girlfriend a couple of years ago. We haven't talked to each other since then. A few months back we met at a job interview. We spoke to each other and she was very friendly. I thought she is no longer mad at me. Few days ago I came to know that we both got the job. I texted her to congratulate. She has seen it but hasn't replied. Now I can't stop checking my messages on the phone to see if she has replied. I know this is fixation but just don't know how to deal with it. What could be a way out of this?

Is the breath all important? I know that the breath conditions the body, in that the breath tranquilizes the body, but often I read about NOT volitionally breathing in and out and this is exactly what I am doing. Can I use an alternative object or even open monitorin, that is many objects in a succession?

My name is Prakash Karki. I am from Nepal. . I have just read 1 book on buddhisam and that is biography and philosophy of buddha. I became very serious about this spiritual stuff. I have been researching about spirituality for 2 years now. I want to know about the journey. how to be more serious about it and what should I do at first step as a beginner ?

I have been practicing different kinds of meditation for a year and more. But I don't know where I am and what my next step is. What should I do ?

It is said that the next Buddha will arise when the Dharma will have been forgotten by most. Forgetting about the time period, which seems to be around 5000 years after the previous Buddha, what does "by most" actually mean? It there a definition of most, or is it open to interpretation?

In Mahayana Buddhism chanting mantras is one of the core practices and each mantra is associated with a certain Buddha form (yidam). Since in Theravada Buddhism there is no meditations on yidams (or am I wrong?), I'm wondering what is the role of mantra chanting. Are there secret mantras which can be recited only after receiving the transmission from the teacher or can the mantras be shared publicly and used by anyone? And finally, are prayer beads (malas) commonly used?

Please provide suttas I plan to do a meditation until I can achieve the same experience as my deep sleep but I don't know whether it's the first jhana or even cessation of feeling and perception or even nibbana hence my question After that kind of meditation I won't sleep forever because I think that meditation is enough that meditation itself is deep sleep I am inspired by dipa ma who did meditation for 2 days non stop and buddha Siddhartha(7 weeks non stop) I think my meditation should be more sublime than my deep sleep if it's not then it's a shame it just doesn't make sense that my deep sleep gives me more peace than my meditation Because bhikku thanissaro states that even during 4 rupa jhanas you can still hear sound while during my deep sleep I can't hear any sound I assume the deep sleep experience can be attained after the 4th jhana but I am not sure which I think it's not cessation of feeling stage either because during cessation your upper brain won't function (flat zero brainwave) while deep sleep still gives you delta brainwave but I am not sure Thanks 😊😊 May you all be happy my friends, Sorry for my bad english I am still learning friends

During insight meditation no hearing of sound aware and cittarupa disappears like a mirage during meditation seen as no thoughts. Feel like cessation of mind. Is it anicca?thoughts disappear and citta goes inside without control. What is the stage of insight meditation is that?

_I am looking for a public domain copy of the Tibetan book of the dead (in original Tibetan script, not a translation) online in text format (i.e. not a PDF). This lead me to the main question..._ My question is, I have seen the large volumes of the [Kangyur](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangyur) and [Tengyur](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tengyur) , but then independently there is this book [Bardo Thodol](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardo_Thodol) , _The Tibetan Book of the Dead_. They say it is from [Nyingma](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyingma) literature. Being a novice, I am trying to understand the relation between Nyingma and Kangyur/Tengyur. And thus how the Tibetan Book of the Dead fits in. Wondering if one could outline the relations between them.

Is there a difference between this two Pali expressions: *'janami passami'* and *'nana dassana'*?

Everybody is born under his own Karma. Indeed, while respecting the Dharma, we need to follow our own paths. Monks live an undisturbed life inside closed communities apart from samsaric suffering. And when they are ready, they try to enlight others under the Bodhisattva_vow If Sunyata is the ultimate reality, why hasn’t anyone achieved the ability to save others nowadays? UPDATED: How (and with all respect) the Dalai Lama and other monks can have reached the Enlightenment if he wasn't able to free in this life ALL human beings? They are not reborn KNOWING TO BE a Bodhisattva. They can maybe get near it with a hard work and faith, and so they cannot free others from bonds in this life. Furthermore, they can teach a path, which is of course important, but the basic logic of BEING a Bodhisattva contradicts this flow. How can Bodhisattvas enlighten others if they themselves are not fully enlightened? If they are enlightened, then they would not have been reborn in the first place. If they were reborn, then it means they are not fully enlightened and therefore still working towards it and at this time, cannot liberate others because they themselves are not liberated. And they cannot be liberated until ALL beings are liberated, due to the Bodhisattva Vow. That's the paradox of the Bodhisattva path. How can the paradox of the Bodhisattva path be resolved?

In one sutta a monk was teaching, that there's something that is behind our existence, that is permanent (opposite of non-self). Buddha asked for this explicitely, got confirmed, and corrected the view. Which sutta it is?

The question is complete, no additional explanation of the question is needed. I just need the suttas. For reference: > “And further, with the complete transcending of the dimension of the > infinitude of consciousness, (perceiving,) ‘There is nothing,’ > Sāriputta entered & remained in the **dimension of nothingness**. > Whatever qualities there are in the dimension of nothingness—the > perception of the dimension of nothingness, singleness of mind, > contact, feeling, perception, intention, consciousness, desire, > decision, persistence, mindfulness, equanimity, & attention—he > ferreted them out one after another. Known to him they arose, known to > him they became established, known to him they subsided. He discerned, > ‘So this is how these qualities, not having been, come into play. > Having been, they vanish.’ He remained unattracted & unrepelled with > regard to those qualities, independent, detached, released, > dissociated, with an awareness rid of barriers. He discerned that > ‘**There is a further escape**,’ and pursuing it, he confirmed that > ‘There is.’ > > “And further, with the complete transcending of the dimension of > nothingness, Sāriputta entered & remained in the **dimension of > neither perception nor non-perception**. He emerged mindfully from > that attainment. On emerging mindfully from that attainment, he > regarded the past qualities that had ceased & changed: ‘So this is how > these qualities, not having been, come into play. Having been, they > vanish.’ He remained unattracted & unrepelled with regard to those > qualities, independent, detached, released, dissociated, with an > awareness rid of barriers. He discerned that ‘**There is a further > escape**,’ and pursuing it, he confirmed that ‘There is.’ > > “And further, with the complete transcending of the dimension of > neither perception nor non-perception, Sāriputta entered & remained in > the **cessation of perception & feeling**. And when he saw with > discernment, his effluents were totally ended. He emerged mindfully > from that attainment. On emerging mindfully from that attainment, he > regarded the past qualities that had ceased & changed: ‘So this is how > these qualities, not having been, come into play. Having been, they > vanish.’ He remained unattracted & unrepelled with regard to those > qualities, independent, detached, released, dissociated, with an > awareness rid of barriers. He discerned that ‘**There is no further > escape**,’ and pursuing it, he confirmed that ‘There isn’t.’ > > > > [https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/MN/MN111.html] > > > : https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/MN/MN111.html > “And I have also taught the step-by-step cessation of fabrications. > When one has attained the first jhāna, speech has ceased. When one has > attained the second jhāna, directed thought & evaluation have ceased. > When one has attained the third jhāna, rapture has ceased. When one > has attained the fourth jhāna, in-and-out breathing has ceased. When > one has attained the dimension of the infinitude of space, the > perception of forms has ceased. When one has attained the dimension of > the infinitude of consciousness, the perception of the dimension of > the infinitude of space has ceased. When one has attained the > dimension of nothingness, the perception of the dimension of the > infinitude of consciousness has ceased. When one has attained the > dimension of neither-perception nor non-perception, the perception of > the dimension of nothingness has ceased. When one has attained the > **cessation of perception & feeling**, perception & feeling have ceased. When a monk’s effluents have ended, passion has ceased, aversion has ceased, delusion has ceased. > > [https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN36_11.html] > > > : https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN36_11.html > “And this, monks, is the noble truth of the cessation of stress: the > remainderless fading & cessation, renunciation, relinquishment, > release, & **letting go of that very craving.** > > [https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN56_11.html] > Now from the remainderless fading & cessation of that very ignorance > comes the cessation of fabrications. From the cessation of > fabrications comes the cessation of consciousness. From the cessation > of consciousness comes the cessation of name-&-form. From the > cessation of name-&-form comes the cessation of the six sense media. > From the cessation of the six sense media comes the cessation of > contact. From the cessation of contact comes the **cessation of > feeling**. From the cessation of feeling comes the **cessation of > craving**. From the cessation of craving comes the cessation of > clinging/sustenance. From the cessation of clinging/sustenance comes > the cessation of becoming. From the cessation of becoming comes the > cessation of birth. From the cessation of birth, then aging-&-death, > sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair all cease. Such is the > cessation of this entire mass of stress & suffering.” > > [https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN12_15.html] > Then there is the case where a monk, with the complete transcending of > the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness, (perceiving,) ‘There > is nothing,’ enters & remains in the dimension of nothingness. That is > its transcending. But that, too, I tell you, isn’t enough. Abandon it, > I tell you. Transcend it, I tell you. And what is its transcending? > > “Then there is the case where a monk, with the complete transcending > of the dimension of nothingness, enters & remains in the **dimension > of neither perception nor non-perception**. That is its transcending. > But that, too, I tell you, isn’t enough. **Abandon it**, I tell you. > Transcend it, I tell you. And what is its transcending? > > “There is the case where a monk, with the complete transcending of the > **dimension of neither perception nor non-perception**, enters & remains in the **cessation of perception & feeling**. That is its > transcending. > > “Thus, Udāyin, I speak even of the **abandoning** of the dimension of > neither perception nor non-perception. Do you see any fetter, large or > small, of whose abandoning I don’t speak?” > > “No, lord.” > > That is what the Blessed One said. Gratified, Ven. Udāyin delighted in > the Blessed One’s words. > > [https://www.dharmatalks.org/suttas/MN/MN66.html] > > > : https://www.dharmatalks.org/suttas/MN/MN66.html > Then there is the case where a monk, with the complete transcending of > the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness, (perceiving,) ‘There > is nothing,’ enters & remains in the **dimension of nothingness**. If, > as he remains there, he is beset with attention to perceptions dealing > with the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness, **that is an > affliction for him**.… > > “Then there is the case where a monk, with the complete transcending > of the dimension of nothingness, enters & remains in the **dimension > of neither perception nor non-perception**. If, as he remains there, > he is beset with attention to perceptions dealing with the dimension > of nothingness, **that is an affliction for him**. Now, the Blessed > One has said that whatever is an affliction is stress. So by this line > of reasoning it may be known how unbinding is pleasant. > > “Then there is the case where a monk, with the complete transcending > of the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception, enters & > remains in the **cessation of perception & feeling**. And as he sees > (that) with discernment, effluents are completely ended. So by this > line of reasoning it may be known how unbinding is pleasant.” > > [https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/AN/AN9_34.html] > > > : https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/AN/AN9_34.html > “Dependent on eye & forms, eye-consciousness arises. The meeting of > the three is contact. With contact as a requisite condition, there is > **feeling**. What one feels, one **perceives** [labels in the mind]. > > [https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/MN/MN18.html] > > > > > : https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/MN/MN18.html May all beings be happy and liberated ❤️❤️ Metta 🙏🙏

Yesterday, I was eating some vegetable sausages and I noticed that there was just a set of teeth rhythmically opening and closing like a lonely metronome with no meaningful sensory instrumentals. It reminded me of one those animations in a Pink Floyd video where unidentified mechanical machinery rocks back and forth which then took me on various excursions through the woeful realms. Afterwards, the thought occurred to me although with some slight linguistic embellishments here: "isn't it marvelous, isn't it astounding, isn't it stupendous that, amongst the processed and compressed remnants of soy beans shaped into a sausage, one can be brought to the very edges of the cosmos and back again but not actually traverse one single cubic meter of space." Even going down to the shops in the car to purchase various types of cruciferous vegetables, movement is sometimes stillness. In the Diamond Sutra, which I very carefully studied for four years, (I don't mean 'study' in the conventional or academic sense) the Buddha eludes to this by saying, "Subhuti, if any person were to say that the Buddha is now coming or going, or sitting up or lying down, they would not have understood the principle I have been teaching. Why? Because while the expression ‘Buddha’ means ‘he who has thus come, thus gone,’ the true Buddha is never coming from anywhere or going anywhere. The name ‘Buddha’ is merely an expression, a figure of speech.” At this juncture and with the notion and fallacy of time and space falling away, intention and striving seem somewhat superfluous. Striving perhaps takes a new manifestation; one that shimmers ever so slightly rather than presenting as various forms of vigour. In fact, in the Buddhist sense, striving seems counter-intuitive to its original dictionary definition and certainly debunks the overly enhanced ideas derived from the noise that motivates a materialistic-ridden society. The strange thing about the latter is that there is something ever so right about mundane human striving even in the face of its ensuing sufferings; that this rightness is the product of its own realising tendancies but through various infantile spasms - not infantile in the pejorative sense, but an infancy that is embodied by innocence and love. This is too subtle for me to embrace just now but I see it teetering on the very edges of my awareness prancing alongside some odd luminosity and unmitigated terror. In the above context what is the meaning of striving to awaken? Does the initial intention behind striving suggest a network of flimsy ideas indoctrinated by ones chosen context as a form of pacifying the mind from worldly distractions and that these spirituality fabricated artefacts must be later seen to be a hindrance? Currently, my intention seems to be informed by the way my mind has been previously exposed to the practice which is to say: raw personal experience, but I question the flickering baubles we call spirituality, Buddhism, Theravada, Zen, Mahayana. Is this suitable? NOTE: I understand it might sound like I'm all over the place but please be assured that this is not the case. I would rather not have a flurry of misdirected aims in this manner. The theme here is striving and intention and how they might be perceived - in the fullest range of perception - by different people and their traditions. Thanks.

In the game Cyberpunk 2077, you can encounter a character labelled only as "Zen Master", who offers your player character the opportunity to engage in meditations with him. However, the content of the meditations he offers doesn't seem to be based off of actual Buddhism from my understanding of it, though I am not a Buddhist or an expert on Buddhist philosophy or practice. Rather, it seems much more like Western New Age philosophy. Here's a video someone made compiling the player's interactions with him: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=In8etjG6LMQ Does this character present an accurate representation of Buddhist philosophy and/or practice (especially Zen Buddhism, given his name), or is the portrayal as bad as I think it might be? If it is bad, is it to the point of being offensive?