Ever since I have started following Buddhism, I have stopped killing any type of insects but during the course of time I have accidentally killed few insects when I had no intentions of harming them like
1) While using touchscreen a tiny insect of few millimeters in length came between my screen & finger.
2) Accidental killing mosquito in sleep as they bite us.
3) Ants come under my feet whenever I am busy going from A to B (Here I mean totally immersed in work mode where you don't have time to think of anything else.
So is Karma different for such types of incidents because I never intent to harm such beings, forget about killing them or will I get the same punishment for intentional killing?

Hi may I know what is the karma of killing a dog please? My neighbours dog starts barking from 5am daily and I don't get enough sleep. I am so tired at work and cannot focus. I've tried soundproofing my walls and using ear plugs but they don't work I can still hear the barking. I've spoken to the neighbour but he tells me that he is a human and he can't ask ask his dog to keep quiet (whatever that means). I am at my wits end, I am so tired, I never get enough rest. Can I kill the dog? May I know what is the karma for killing a dog?

I hear the Buddha rejected the cultural gods when he achieved enlightenment and made statements that seem to reject gods, is this true? If not, what kind of God did the Buddha believe in?

In a recent article titled "America’s New Religions " which is concerned with political fundamentalism, the respected American journalist Andrew Sullivan makes a passing remark that "Buddhism’s genius is that it is a religion without God". How appropriate is that statement? http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/12/andrew-sullivan-americas-new-religions.html

In religions with God, the believer or devotee can call on God for help during distress, pray to God to seek emotional relief, find a virtual shoulder to cry on and sing God's praises or glories for emotional upliftment (including the use of devotional music). They also establish a personal relationship with God. In Christianity, one has the relationship of being a child of God. In Islam, one has the relationship of being a servant of God, created by Him and therefore must submit to Him. In Hinduism (Hare Krsna), one can see God as a friend, son, teacher, master, lover etc. Whether God exists or not is not the point here for discussion. Certainly in the above cases, there may not be any tangible direct interaction with God, but the believer or devotee could often indirectly feel the presence of God or see good things that happen to them as miracles that come as a response to devotion and prayer. The above describes the emotional support that one could get from religions that have a God. I know this exists in certain parts of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism too with Kwan Yin (Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara) and other Buddhist deities fulfilling the emotional support role of God. Chinese Buddhists have long composed songs and prayers to sing the glories of Kwan Yin, and they also call on Her during distress. However, in Theravada Buddhism, there exists no such emotional support from any deity. So, what should the Theravada Buddhist do in these cases? For example, during sudden distress or grief or loneliness, how would the Theravada Buddhist seek emotional support or relief, without a deity? How does a Theravada Buddhist sooth his or her emotions without devotional music? With whom does the Theravada Buddhist seek a relationship when they find that their worldly relationships have failed them?

I'm new to this site. So I'd like to ask a question about God. Do Buddhists believe in the existence of a God? Does Lord Buddha mention anything about this?

I've encountered many ideas about the identity of God, ranging from the omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent as in Judeo-Christian cultures, to that of one who has reached enlightenment. Is it suggested that Buddha is God or that Buddha is one who has attained enlightenment, leaving breadcrumbs behind for others to follow and that another being is God. Or does Buddhism reject God? Or something else that I'm missing?

Recently I encounter a situation where one of my close people and I went see a patient. While we were about to leave the place, my close person said **May God Bless you**. Me and my close person are both Buddhist. I asked why didn't you say May the triple gem bless you. And close person replied saying since they Christians I said God bless you. But I also observed that the patients people said **May God bless you**. Does saying **May God bless you** comes under a wrong view or wrong speech or etc or is it okay to tell? I'm just curious to know since my close person is also a Buddhist"

Is the Buddha an historic person (did he really exist)? If yes, was he a human being or a God, or both, or a human that became a god or God? Do Buddhists regard him as an emanation of God (for example, as Christians regard Jesus of Nazareth), or a prophet of God (as Muslims regard Mahomet), or an angel? My question is honest and is asked with a friendship intend of peaceful dialogue to lower the tensions between religions, philosophies and esoterisms (rare private philosophies). My goal is to learn better and to show to others how to speak publicly about spirituality lowering the violence; not increasing it and not making money on it. I believe it is very important today to learn those skills.

**EXPLANATION :** - In many TV shows,sites I came to know that Buddha gave Different answers about God to Two Persons.
**Buddha To a Ram Bhakta :** - A Devotee of Lord Ram(Hindu God) was confused that God is there or Not, so he came to Buddha and asked him that "God is there or Not" . - Buddha answered **:** **There Is No God**. **AFTER SOME TIME** **Buddha to Atheist** - An atheist was confused that God is there or Not,so he came to Buddha and asked him that "God is there or Not" - Buddha answered **:** **There Is A God**.
**QUESTION :** - What was the Reason for Buddha to Give different answers to same question ?

I have seen some videos in Youtube (here and here ) where it seems that just by standing in front of Papaji, people start laughing without control. Somehow it is implicitly said that this reaction is related to an awakening/realization experience. My questions are: - Is this true ? - How is it that just the presence of a teacher is enough for such an experience ? - Can we say that this experiences are real Enlightenment ? Answers with references are strongly appreciated.

Is there such a thing ? My guess is things like OCD etc. are extremes of concentration. Yuttadhammo Bhikku, for example, alludes to this excess concentration in some of his videos (I couldn't find specific mentions at the moment, I will cite the next time I find one). What are your insights on what is it? what are the pros/cons of it and what a person afflicted with it must do to overcome it? Thanks

According to Buddhist philosophy, there are two Pramanas or means of valid knowledge: Pratyaksha or sensory perception and Anumana or inference. (This is in contrast to most Hindus who believe in three or more Pramanas.) My question is, what are the traditional Buddhist arguments for the existence of rebirth? Now at least ordinary humans don't observe rebirth directly, so I assume that these arguments will rely on Anumana. I've seen Hindu arguments that use Anumana to prove the existence of rebirth, but those arguments are about establishing the existence of the Atma or soul, which Buddhists reject. So I assume that traditional Buddhist works have a different Anumana-based argument than the one Hindus use.

During my sit today I remembered that on my last retreat two weeks ago I kept seeing this wooden box. It was like I was breathing into it. I wasnt sure at the time what it was. I asked the teacher but they didn't mention anything about nimitta but I just realised during my sit today that this was probably what it was.

To me, the “present” holds greater significance than both the past and the future. Why? Because the present is the canvas upon which I can actively wield influence. It’s where my actions ripple outward, shaping what awaits me in the days to come. And when this present moment eventually slips into the folds of history, it leaves behind valuable lessons—etched into memory—as I learn and grow from its tapestry of experiences.

I heard the famous Dhammapada's 183: “Not to do any evil, to cultivate good, to purify one’s mind, this is the teaching of the Buddhas.” tractated metaphorically as what one needs to do to have a beautiful garden: it must be protected from bad plants by a fence (not doing bad, precepts, etc), good seeds must be planted (cultivating kindness, generosity etc) and weed must be pulled (purifying the mind through meditation). Is this a classical simile which can be attributed to a source, or a meme of unknown origin? If it can be attributed, where does it come from?

How does the Nimitta occur? I mean does it come **all of a sudden (like torch turned on)** as a shining bright white light or does it come as light gradually increasing brightness of varied colors? I am able to see a faint glimmer of blue circular object but not getting anywhere with it. The brightness and color remains constant for few minutes and it vanishes afterwards. Is it Nimitta? What should I do to brighten it

Is making a true promise, on the dharma, good karma? Not asking about the precepts per se, but it was about precept centred behaviour (a lack of infidelity etc. from me): and now I feel blissed out, independent of how it was perceived etc.. Just curious.

In the book Mindfulness in Plain English , Chapter 5: The Practice , by Ven. Bhante Gunaratana, he says the following: > As you keep your mind focused on the rims of your nostrils, you > will be able to notice the sign of the development of meditation. You > will feel the pleasant sensation of a sign. Different meditators > experience this differently. It will be like a star, or a round gem, > or a round pearl, or a cotton seed, or a peg made of heartwood, or a > long string, or a wreath of flowers, or a puff of smoke, or a cobweb, > or a film of cloud, or a lotus flower, or the disc of the moon, or the > disc of the sun. Can someone please explain what is meant by this. I’ve been meditating for years and I’ve never experienced such things. Any idea why not? How important is it?

Stabilizing the counterpart sign (nimitta) isn't easy. Is there a 'technique' that leads to stabilize it? I.c. is there a 'technique' to develop/cultivate intensively the absorption factors (jhanangas)? With 'stabilizing' I mean: making the nimitta sharp, focused, completely free from tension (of the panca nivarana), so that absorption (1st jhana) can be attained.