Many believe that it is important to avoid being negative and instead to see the good in bad situations. However, the Buddha said that good and bad are fabricated concepts that do not exist. An individual who has attained nirvana is neutral and does not experience emotions. Although a Bodhisattva is certainly not negative and pessimistic, they cannot be positive and optimistic either. Would seeing the bright side of things in life impede me from making spiritual progress?

Is there a higher alaya in mahamudra that is separate from the lower alaya the vijnana skandha?

This is something that I keep hearing from my grandmother that annoys me so much. Although I am of age (26 to be precise), I am still expected to listen to almost every word that my parents say (at least according to my grandmother). Not to bring personal matters to the site, but I keep arguing that not listening to parents should not be considered ill-treatment of them. They expect me to wear nice clothes, but I don't. (I prefer wearing the same clothes. Who has time for fashion?) They expect me to marry the one they want. They always say that as a Buddhist I should be very obedient. These days when you turn on the TV to listen to some Buddhist advice, monks most of the time talk about parent-child relationships and go on about how children should always listen to their parents. I am not saying my parents ask me to do anything bad, but as children we know (sometimes, not always) what is best for us. But when we do what we want all hell breaks loose. Daddy shouting, Mommy crying, and Granny shouting that my bad karma will eventually give me disobedient children just like me. Jokes aside, I want a serious explanation when it comes to parent-child relationships. I am quite aware of the Sigalovada Sutra, but when we do something we want and parents get hurt, is it always bad kamma? It can't be, right? Otherwise the amount of bad karma Prince Siddhartha would have gained after all the pain his father went through... Please share your thoughts.

Mind operates by thinking and automatically. Can see this when let go of thinking .Is it the two layers of mind as superficial and deep?

For a good Buddhist , is to always avoid any cause that will create bad effect, as we can see clearly in the 4 noble truths for example. What is the Buddhist perspective during an hypotetic moment of tension , where antagonist religions that serve a demiurgic god for temporal power or maybe from a blind communist regime , will decide to manipulate and force pratictioners to not follow the Dharma anymore , closing monasteries , destroying sources , texts and deport and killing people in the name of an evil faith? (Look for example what the christians did in Europe in the last 1000 years or the muslim in the Kashmir region, chinese in Tibet and Jews in Palestine) Fight or get killed? I would like to have direct answers , not political nor mellifuous / hypocrite one.

What does Buddha and Buddhism say about fighting against an enemy who is hell bent on wiping out all buddhists in the name of religion? Should a buddhist actively participate in war against evil? I would like to have an answer both from a buddhist layman and a soldiers perspective. An active resistance to injustice in general. Thank you.

I'm not certain if this is the right place to ask this question so let me know if I need to try a different forum. Does anyone know of a guided body scan that only covers the upper body? My partner is paraplegic and is trying meditation for the first time. It could be really good for her. But the first words were "feel your feet on the floor". She tried to stick with it, but it was just too much. I know meditation sometimes means you sit with discomfort, but that is way too much pain and way too early in her trying meditation. So, if anybody knows of such a body scan from the waist up - please let me know. Also Many thanks, Kim

Many people suffer because of an endless mind-thoughts. What is the simplest way to stop overthinking and make the mind still?

In this answer it says "Learning to trust one's fundamental goodness" is one of the way to practise seclusion. I want to understand what this means in context of the question on Rhinocerous sutta. Also how can this trust be cultivated so that it leads towards meditative absorption?

I read the following on the internet: > If having a little wisdom one would not see any different between > "staying right focused" and "watch closely", but the fool seeks to > accumulate knowledge just for gain and to pave his way downwardly. From the Pali suttas, the word "**anupassi**" is translated as follows: > On that occasion the monk remains **focused** on the body in & of > itself — ardent, alert, & mindful — putting aside greed & distress > with reference to the world. Thanissaro > > on that occasion a bhikkhu abides **contemplating** the body as a body, > ardent, fully aware, and mindful, having put away covetousness and > grief for the world. Bodhi > > That’s why at that time a mendicant is meditating by **observing** an > aspect of the body—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of desire and > aversion for the world. Sujato > > a monk lives **contemplating** the body in the body, ardent, clearly > comprehending and mindful, having overcome, in this world, > covetousness and grief Nyanasatta Thera > > a bhikkhu lives **contemplating** the body in the body, ardent, clearly > comprehending (it) and mindful (of it), having overcome, in this > world, covetousness and grief... Soma Thera > > a monk fares along **contemplating** the body in the body, ardent, > clearly conscious (of it), mindful (of it) so as to control the > covetousness and dejection in the world... Horner > > that bhikkhu is considered one who lives **constantly contemplating** body > in bodies, strives to burn up defile­ments, comprehends readily, and > is mindful, in order to abandon all liking and disliking toward the > world... Buddhadasa > > in regard to the body a monk abides **contemplating** the body, diligent, > clearly knowing, and mindful, free from desires and discontent in > regard to the world. Analayo > > **Contemplates** the body in the body with effort, sampajañña and sati, > eradicating covetousness and distress with regard to the world... > Payutto > > These unpleasant feelings are dukkha-vedana and the contemplation of > these feeling is vedananupassana, **contemplation** of feeling... > Mahasi Sayadaw It appears, from the ten translators above, the American Geoffrey DeGraff (also named Bhikkhu Thanissaro) has uniquely translated "anupassi" as "focused". Questions: 1. Is Thanissaro's translation accurate? Is the English word "focused" synonymous with the other translations of "contemplating", "observing", "watching closely", etc? 2. Is there a possible downward path, misguidance &/or confusion in adhering & attaching to Thanissaro's translation? Why? 3. Is there a possible downward path in rejecting, admonishing &/or even ridiculing Thanissaro's translation? Why? 4. Is there a possible upward & even Noble path in rejecting, admonishing &/or even ridiculing Thanissaro's translation? Why?

I am trying to understand karma, I have and continue to read about intention and letting go. I am struggling with something. Could you help me ? A) If I acted (unwisely, unkindly, causing suffering), not knowing that what I was doing was wrong, and never realizing it to be wrong, I believe this is neutral. B) If I acted (unwisely, unkindly, causing suffering), ***while knowing*** that what I was doing was wrong, and ***continued to understand it to be wrong***, I believe this is bad. C) If I acted (unwisely, unkindly, causing suffering), ***while knowing*** that what I was doing was wrong, and ***then saw that the act resulted in something good***, I believe this is bad. D) If I acted (unwisely, unkindly, causing suffering), ***not knowing*** that what I was doing was wrong, and ***later realized it to be wrong***, I believe this is neutral. If (now that I understand) I harbor guilt and attach to this guilt I am doing bad. Here I am asked to forgive myself and move on. If I continue to wallow in the guilt then I am doing more bad. (assuming I am correct on A-C) the problem I have with D is likely based in the faith of my birth (catholic), where I was made to believe that guilt is really like a payment and the worst the act the longer you need to pay for it (like a monetary value) by continuing to hurt yourself with guilty feelings. in Buddhism, if attaching to guilt is bad, then how long do you need to feel it ? do you just move on as soon as you realize it was wrong ? If the suffering impacted someone else do they have a "say" in how long you cause yourself suffering (if not literally, then in some kind of moral equivalence that you calculate yourself ?) thank you for sharing your insight.

I am a *Theravada Buddhist* living in *North America* practicing the *Mahasi Sayadaw* tradition. My queries (*regarding Theravada monasticism*) are the following: > **1) Can anyone recommend a or more than one bhikkhu monastery anywhere in > North America that I can ordain in that follows the tradition of or a > tradition similar to the Mahasi Sayadaw tradition?** > > **2) Does anyone know if I would be able to practice (as an ordained bhikkhu) the tradition I am under (the Mahasi Sayadaw tradition) while in a monastery practicing a tradition other than my own (e.g. the Thai forest tradition)?** Thank you!

Tripitaka talks of four kinds of Mara. It says that to begin with there were 3 attempt of mara to stop Buddha ... 1. First in Skandha mara (self view) 2. Then Klesh mara (Desire, hate and ill will) 3. Finally Mrityu mara ("now you going to die") ... and when all attempts failed, he appeared in person. May be that being Buddha talk of Devputta Mara. Devputta literally means 'son of God'! The natures of the first three maras can be known or understood from the general meaning of their names; but what about the "Devputra Mara"? How to identify him? What are its characteristics? If the first three are 3 obstacle of evil forces, to stop one from achieving enlightenment or liberation, I am asking the fourth one! Did Buddha said about the Devputra Mara in detail? Does he says about him and give caution to not to fall for his trap?

What kind of karma is it that causes people to suddenly go 180 on me when I seem to give 'too much' info about a certain point then they turn against me and give me the 'cold shoulder'? or have excuses to not be near me even if I currently haven't done anything wrong other then open up about myself? Then I regret wishing to be born and I have had dreams that I may have had done bad things to people in the past and went on the run instead of facing my trials as I'm always dreaming I'm escaping the police and often succeed in doing so leading me to think I ran from my crimes and haven't yet faced justice. Is it even possible to have been a dictator in a past life and your put in this as punishment? When I die and go to the 'pearly gates' is a big arrest warrant going to be shown in my face instead how do I retcify this crap and heal myself?

I use FB and Instagram quite a lot. I also play a mobile game called Genshin Impact which is an RPG-game where one can level up ones heroes and gain new abilities and weapons to defeat monsters and other creatures. It's a huge open-world game with tons of stuff to do. The movies I watch are usually horror movies such as Hereditary, Midsommar, The Conjuring, Sinister or science fiction movies such as Arrival, Interstellar, Moon etc. Will I be better served without these activities? What effect will the absence of those activities have on my meditation practice?

I understand this hand sign is to respect and say hello to Buddha or greeting to monks. **Ques 1:** Where is this written in Sutta exactly what the hand sign means? **Ques 2:** Can non Buddhist bow to Buddha when they visit temple? Most articles says no. If no, then what other hand sign more standard or more acceptable widely to greet Buddha or Monk from Buddhism perspective? Post note: Buddha is not for Worship

For some reason I'm a magnet to bad people or people who are chronic complainers or attention seekers. They often come to me when they need to talk or vent. Especially at work. I don't really want to talk to them but I'm too friendly and not good at setting boundaries and I often just listen to them offering advice. It stresses me, especially when they are angry and they come to me to talk about it. How can I deal with this in a skillful manner? I tried practicing Metta towards them which didn't work due to their negativity being too strong.

First of all, I would like to clarify that I am extremely new to Buddhism, Hinduism and Indian philosophy in general. I do not particularly consider myself an adherent of any of these traditions. I am doing research on Buddhism as part of a project I have to study the scriptures of every religion. With that out of the way, I would like to ask practicing Buddhists here if polytheism is compatible with Buddhist doctrine or *dharma*, and what the role of said polytheistic traditions are within Buddhism. I am a European polytheist who worships many members of the European pantheons, such as Germanic, Celtic, Roman and Greek deities. Is the worship of multiple Gods discouraged or encouraged within Buddhism? I know that the Buddhist scriptures mention Hindu deities like *Mahakala* and *Hayagriva*, but I have no idea where they are mentioned within the scriptural canon, and I have no idea what is said about them or in what context they are referred to. In summary: * Is **polytheism** *dharmic* or *adharmic*? * If it is *dharmic*, what is its role within Buddhism? * If it is *adharmic*, why is this the case? * What is the **scriptural basis** for your answer?

I'm looking for Buddhist magazines - relevant for lay practitioners - and would like to request a list of these if anyone can help Examples of the sort of magazines i'm thinking of: * *Turning Wheel* * *Mindfulness Bell* I'm grateful for help with this

I read the following on the internet: > If you truly understand the practice of generosity, then you'd never > have to look for outright expression of gratitude from the receivers. > The act does and will benefit you in this life and many future lives > to come. It's the donor who should express the gratitude for the > opportunity to build up his great kammic storehouse. Did the Buddha teach receivers to be ungrateful?