**Friends**, having heard in many a Dhamma talk references being made to the permanence of the Dhamma as refuge, I am looking for suttas in the Pali Canon evoking that very theme of permanence of the Dhamma. Thank you for your much appreciated help.

What should or are the characters of a human being? In today's age, r people real humans ? As i feel , humans are those who have compassion towards others, love towards others wheather it be animals nature or other humans.. But i don't see this any characters in todays humans(>99%). Should i call them humans just because they have intillegence ? I think even the crow is intillegent. Is only self awareness enough to be a human being?

While describing Dhamma Buddha asks "Is what is impermanent suffering or happiness?" to which Ananda replies "suffering". My question is : Is what is impermanent always the cause of suffering?

I keep on long wondered the difference between wisdom and knowledge. I do not understand why the Buddha refers only to the intellect without talking to intellectuals?

I've heard a story about venerable Moggallana (after he became enlightened). Moggallana, the left chief disciple of the Buddha, got lost in space when he tried to find the limits of the universe. Then when he was about to give up on life, the Buddha sent his aura(a beam of light) to show venerable Moggallana the way back to earth. Anyone has a reference to this story?

Rebirth, is the continuation of anatta.. no Self can be said to transmigrate - only the statement that 'dependently originated phenomena (any conditioned and posited self) cannot have permanent properties', can be accurately put forward. Is nibbana therefore, still the continuation of anatta, but without dependent origination? Can it be said that dependent origination - impermanent and unsatisfactory - is distinct, or at least not identical, to anatta?

I have a background in business studies and communication. I believe that what the Buddha taught about how we should communicate with each other compassionately can change the business world. I want to be able to do a PHD on this topic so that I can spread this concept for the benefit of everyone working in business organisations. However.I have looked at several PHD programs on buddhist studies around the world and most of them ask for bachlor and master in buddhist studies and knowledge of atleast one root language. I do not have any of these. Does anyone know what I can study or where I can explore this idea ?

Quoted below is from 'A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life' by Santideva, Chapter IX: The Perfection of Wisdom. I'm struggling to follow the line of thought, can someone please decipher what it means. This is what I deduce reading it and It really is incomprehensible to my feeble mind. 1. Sentient beings do not exist 1. For one to be compassionate he has to be deluded to believe that sentient beings exist. 1. Compassion itself is a delusion 1. One should remain deluded to alleviate the nonexisting suffering of nonexisting sentient beings. How can all this be true? Please note I'm writing bluntly because I want to understand what it means not because of lack of respect for Santideva work, far from it his book is always in my heart... it just that I can't get through chapter 9 :/ > 75. [Qualm:] If no sentient being exists, for whom is there compassion? [Madhyamika:] For one who is imagined through delusion, > which is accepted for the sake of the task. > 76. [Qualm:] If there is no sentient being, whose is the task? [Madhyamika:] True. The effort, too, is due to delusion. > Never­theless, in order to alleviate suffering, delusion with regard > to one's task is not averted

I have a persistent fear of going without food that prevents me from giving monasticism a full shot. Some background: I suffered for approximately 4 years with something called cyclic vomiting syndrome. This is an affliction characterized by recurrent, prolonged attacks of severe nausea, vomiting, and prostration with no apparent cause. During this time I repeatedly lost and regained 100s of pounds at a time. Losing weight, while something I needed to do, was not fun. My longest single attack lasted a full 7 days during which time I was unable to keep any food down whatsoever, much less get any sleep. Retching on a completely empty stomach 45+ times an hour is a hell that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemies. So, food is important to me. At the same time I realize that too much is not good in a myriad of ways. So, where are all the Buddhist monasteries at which I'd be afforded the opportunity to practice self compassion as opposed to gritting my teeth and forcing myself through a whole lot of discomfort in order to satisfy my ego and other's expectations of what constitutes a good, chaste and worthwhile existence? That doesn't seem mentally or physically healthy or conducive to showing loving kindness and compassion to others. I'm a firm believer that in order to be able to show compassion for others, I need to show it to myself. I'm mainly thinking about food here. Whatever could be wrong with my eating something when my stomach is growling after noon? At least until my stomach had shrunk to such a degree that hunger pains were perhaps more a nuisance than anything else? I think I understand the reluctance on the part of many monastics to allow things like eating after noon, etc. It so happens also, that I suspect that their concern is misplaced. It seems to me that there aren't many things in life that don't consist of shades of grey. It also seems that Buddhist monastics in general tend to lose sight of the nuance making up many of these things. So, is there a tradition I should be focusing on? A teacher? (Ajahn Brahm is a favorite btw.) Am I way off base with my concerns? If so, how should I go about rectifying my inconsistent views? If not, then what?

I have been reading books on Buddhism, Zen, meditation. All mention observing one's thoughts and let it pass. My question is where does thought arise from and do thoughts create karma by just thinking about them? Thanks

Which consciousness/es are involved in meta-congnition (thinking about thinking)? And can the skandhas exist without them? I'm asking because I'm interested in whether animals without metacognition have skandhas.

Friends, could anybody direct me to some suttas of the pâli canon about **Tatramajjhattatā**, the developed form of the equanimous abiding 'in the middle of all that'. To the best of my knowledge, this specific mental factor is mentioned in the ***Abhiddhamma*** and the ***Visuddhimagga***, but I was unable to find it referred to in the Pali Canon. Many thanks for your much appreciated help, with Mettā

I have just started meditating and was wondering how much effort should I put into not getting distracted ? As I have noticed while practicing there are varying degrees of trying I can use the more I use the more focused I am but I also feel like my mind is working harder and kind of less relaxed . Should I even be trying at all ? Because when I am not trying at all mostly the wave of thoughts easily sweep me away from the meditation. Or is it like finding the balance between trying really hard and not trying ? If the last one is the case how can I find the balance ?

I heard an atheist ask this question from a christian and found myself lost in this question as well. Plainly and simply the question is this, > How does your religion fit into earth's history? His point was that although many religions talk about a very old human race, we are a new species. even if we deny all the archaeological evidence, we still can't answer how such a human civilization escaped the few annihilation earth faced, like the long ice age and the meteor that killed the dinosaurs etc. **Do we as Buddhists have an answer, considering we believe in an even older human race's existence?**

> There are numerous references in Buddhist literature to men and women living ordinary, normal family lives who successfully practised what the Buddha taught, and realized Nirvāṇa. --What the Buddha Taught . What else do people who have realized Nirvāṇa do besides become teachers? Can you cite examples?

We all know this precept taken by the monks, but I would like to understand the reasons behind it. Currently the specialists claim that we should eat small portions every 3 hours or so, eating once a day is not a big issue, but is not recommended.

Gatha #140 of the Parayanavagga goes as follows: > “Akincannasambhavam natva, nandi samyojanam iti, evam-etam abhinnaya, tato tattha vipassati: etaṁ nanam tatham tassa, brahmanassa vusimato” > Where can I find some interpretation about this verse ?

Is meditation thinking about thoughts? Is it rational thinking about our perceptions? What is meditation? What is the purpose of it? Can I gain supernatural powers via meditation?

Please feel free to delete this question if not relevant. I want to find peaceful Buddha statue wallpaper (Drawing or Statue). I wish to see lockscreen and my desktop with a spiritual wallpaper of lord Buddha. I feel peace in mind whenever I see lord Buddha. But across the google, etc. search engines point me to commercial sites. If any of you have good high resolution wallpaper, please share the location to download. much appreciated. Thanks.

They say to master jhana you must master five factors. I understand the first four but mastery of reflection is kind of leaving me unsure. I think i get it. Once you come out of the jhana state, you refect on the absorption factors like you do the jhana factors you focus on each until the hindrances is gone. But what are these absotbtion factors. Do i just think about it or stsrt a second meditations on each factor and be aware of them? How do i know what these factors are and distinguish them? They also say there different absorption factor to reflect on. Can you help me understand