Q: > 1) Can someone name the most important commentaries, sub-commentaries, > etc. I should read while reading the Tipitaka?

If someone was holding many hostages and I came along and offered to trade myself for the hostages place so they can be let free, would this be right to do or wrong to do and would be detrimental to my practice if I am killed?

I've been reading Thich Nhat Hanh's 'The Miracle of Mindfulness'. It's a wonderful, short book that I wish I had found years ago. There's one very basic thing I still struggle with. This is a quote from the book: > 'When you are walking along a path leading into a village, you can > practice mindfulness. [...] You practice by keeping this one thought > alive: "I'm walking along the path leading into the village"' Since I began mindfulness meditations a few years ago I've always aimed to practice an awareness where thoughts are merely things that happen whilst I am being aware, and that I should let them pass as they come, not engaging but not strenuously pushing away. However, is Thich Nhat Hanh suggesting in the quote that we can 'hold' a thought in our minds that mirrors the subject of our awareness, or this instead just a way of articulating the experience of awareness? He also mentions similar practices regarding mindful breathing throughout the book. This is such a basic thing that I'm concerned why I haven't 'got' it after all these years, it often feels like I understood mindfulness more when I was relatively new to it! All the best, James

The existence of Ghosts is taught in many religions. And Buddhist sites (mainly Tibetan Buddhists) claim the existence of "Hungry Ghosts". However I didn't see sites saying that the Buddha claimed that ghosts exist. Did Lord Buddha teach about Ghosts, or is it only Buddhist sects which teach that? Also do ghosts exist here on this earth, do they affect or possess people, are they visible? Or are they only in some other real of existence?

q: > Can someone name the books in the shelf of Yuttadhammo in his videos > or all the books in the Tipitaka and sources to get them in English? > or at least what has been translated to english?

I have chosen to practice meditation *on* and mindfulness *of* the breath, at the tip of the nose, as prescribed by the Buddha. My difficulty, simply put, is that I am able to sense and focus on the breath everywhere ***BUT*** the tip of my nose! I suspect that focusing on where I *do* perceive it (in the nostrils) might be sufficient, but I want to precisely follow the instructions given by the Buddha. I came to notice on my own one day that projecting my attention onto a fixed location in the space in front of my head (with eyes closed) seemed to facilitate absorption in single-minded awareness. I had hoped that directing my awareness to the tip of my nose would produce similar results. Imagine my disappointment upon finding that I was unable to fixate my focus as the Buddha recommended! I will be very grateful for any guidance... May all beings find perfect freedom from dukkha and samsara!

I have come to learn the fact that the idea if maha meru is not only included in the buddhist canon but in many other beliefs and cultures which are not Buddhist. This is what Wikipedia says - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Meru I belong to the theravada tradition so i am very interested in knowing sources in the canon for further learning if you can mention some. Also if you can ease me into the topic with a small explanation it is also very much appreciated. > *I know that this has nothing to do with nirvana but i am curious of this and i also read this* > > https://muslimanswersfiles.wordpress.com/2013/05/01/buddhism-modern-science/ I guess i want an answer to the question "While all other things are logical and also even scientific, why this (Maha meru) makes no sense?" Namo Buddhaya!

If someone sees self is an illusion.it disappears with dvesha.is that the state lord buddha said, anatta ?how do you meditate thereafter?

Could someone please clarify for me what to do with the eyes? I have heard that we should keep our eyelids half open, but could someone describe it in detail (or refer me to someone else who does)? Thank you.

Over the past year I've been studying Zen, and eventually came across a compilation of the writing of D.T. Suzuki, an anthology of such. Needless to say I was impressed and profoundly influenced by this anthology, but I wonder what the reputation of his work is among modern Zen Buddhists. Do they typically consider it an accurate depiction and representation of Zen? And if not, where would one come across an accurate representation?

I can accept the concept of Reincarnation in Buddhism . That is , after a person died , then he/she will reborn again as human , as animal , or even as God , in the same / different Realm. But there's one thing that to me is weird . In my previous life I was a mosquito ? , a flea ? , a worm ? , a bacteria ? , a bamboo tree?

What I would like to know is how does an entity (stream of consciousness) experience suffering if it doesn’t have a physical body? Like say in the hell realm or any of the lower formless realms. Is there anything in Buddhist teachings that can explain this phenomena? I am also aware that mental suffering can intensify physical suffering, but I don’t understand how mental suffering alone, without a physical body is experienced in the formless realms.

I mean Chinese Chan Buddhism, not Japanese Zen or Korean Seon. If not, what is the best course of action if one wants to become a monk in Mahayana Buddhism, but not in Theravada and not in Vajrayana? I am especially fond of Master Xuyun, are any of his disciples still around?

An important point I see is how one furthers death and lying. Through working, you are taxed, and taxes fund the breaking of the precepts. Taxes fund war and espionage, so killing and stealing are definitely two which you break just by earning income. If one abstains from paying taxes, then your wage will be held. So nothing is really achieved here, since you are just laying the karmic burden on another person, which is arguably worse. Also, just being a consumer, even if say you make less then the taxable amount in your country, then you still fund abusive working conditions and abusive companies and practices. You fund massive amounts of suffering, since the money you pay goes into the company and then into warfare/espionage funding through the company's taxes. So, to leave such a life would really upset my relatives. My question is, is it more important to not cause suffering to my mother and father, and am I just being over reactive about this issue? Because the way I see it, I am certainly breaking the precepts of killing and stealing through proxy, yet if I were to leave, I would cause a massive amount of suffering to some of the most important people in my life. Also it may cause people who know me to really disrespect Buddhism, thinking "oh what a lazy/crazy person". Yet I cannot help but feel that contributing to the death of millions of people is less compassionate. Any thoughts please! This is a difficult situation. I am practicing Mahayana and am currently adapting the Bodhisattva vows.

I work as a software engineer. I've been working at this workplace for around 2 years. But, I don't find the work challenging enough (just boring bugfixes only). Given that I spend 8 hours at my workplace, I probably do just around 3 hours of productive work. I think I am wasting my time. Is it bad if I want better work ? Should I consider this as my aversion and just continue with my work ?

There is no self that is permanent. All this results from 5 aggregates, then who is experiencing the non self?

I am a business woman and my job is stressful. It is entirely motivated by greed. I want to leave my career but I have a dream to help poor people in my country and also to make my parents proud of me. Could anyone please tell me what kind of career is compatible with Buddhism?

How did this idea of next Buddha formed? Is it the influence of other religion where they say Kalki or Christ will return. Also does Pali Canon mention many other Buddha before Gautam Buddha?

How are "all types of beings originally formless"? - p100 The Sutra of Hui-neng, Grand Master of Zen: With Hui-neng's Commentary on the Diamond Sutra I'm asking because this page [quoting His Highness the Dalai Lama] says > Immediately thereupon, the intermediate state begins—except for those > reborn in the formless realms of infinite space, infinite > consciousness, "nothingness" or peak of cyclic existence, for whom the > new life begins immediately upon death If we all are originally formless, then our original nature has no intermediate state, while our unenlightened state does. How can that be?

Ajahn Martin claims so in this talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tsu3GEsoMT4 at 14:25. What's his source for this claim?