I am mediocre at my job and I am fine with it. But lately, I am having this fear of losing my job because of my mediocrity and there are far more intelligent and skilled people than me. How do I deal with this anxiety?

When one analyzes Saṅkhāras, where does 'unconditioned' fit in? > The word means 'formations' or 'that which has been put together' > and 'that which puts together'. I take this to mean something about parts and wholes, as well as causation. But what about "the unconditioned": will it appear as cognitive residue or by-product of establishing every conditioned thing, or is it an object of cognition one gets to? Or what exactly?

Heello, I am not really Buddhist - although I do read sutras and have some general inkling - or anything at all. I like to do drugs, drink, and other discretionary acts, however I am considering taking a breather from these habits in order to take revenge on a community of people I more or less despise. I would prefer to drink, experiment, and be absorbed in my own creation, but it really screws me up physically, and then the people here like to exploit me - they enjoy seeing me miserable and groveling for mercy. My question is should I cultivate my revenge tactic?, since it is the only thing that is keeping me from enjoying myself via my vices? I guess the physical pain is not enough to keep me from stopping. I'm sure you understand... p.s. Just to be clear, the revenge is not giving the people a reason to be so proud and smug by being drug-free, and the only way I would be drug-free is by keeping up my hateful feelings towards them. I can't imagine doing it any other way.

These sensations and a feeling that my whole body is swaying/floating started on the 7th day of the course. On the 8th day I had quite a surreal experience during one of the group sittings. My eyes would also start watering during meditation. I did share my experience with the assistant teacher and told her that I was scared something was happening to my body. I was also feeling dizzy. The teacher said that this was normal and I should just be aware of these sensations and feelings and not try to control them. The next days until the course ended, I did not pay much attention to the swaying/floating. If I focused on it, I could feel it strongly, otherwise sometimes I would just not be aware of it at all. My question is that it's been two days that I've been back from the course and the last I meditated was on the morning of the 11th day (final day) of the course. But I still have a swaying/floating feeling. Is this normal? Has anyone experienced this? If yes, what did you do about it and did it stop on its own? After how many days? Any insight into why this is happening and if its alright to experience this will be appreciated. Thanks!

What is the difference between merit and virtue from a Buddhist standpoint? Is it the difference between being and doing? Which is better from a karmic perspective? I think the idea of merit in Buddhism is silly because it creates a sense of ownership, like a reward-system or something, whereas virtue seems more elegant and less competitive.

I'd like to read the context for the following quote from Ajahn Chah: > I want those who train with me to see the truth, not just read the > scriptures. I want them to see if their hearts have been completely > liberated from conceptual thinking. It's from a calendar (October 2016) put out by forestsangha.org. Also, an explanation of the meaning of the statement would be very welcome.

I recently broke my vow (do not harm). I purchased a pack of cigarettes for a homeless guy. What should I do to fix this? is there a ritual to do or can i make an offering? Thanks in Advance...

I'm a westerner, non-thai speaker, age 37. I want to ordain in Asia (not in the West) and then stay there for 5 years with a preceptor and then either continue to stay there or move back to Europe and live as monk but the problem is that not many placese in Europe have monks living. Also where should one ordain in Sri Lanka or Thailand? I read about Ven. Ajahn Chah who made monasteries for westerners to ordain but where should one stay afterwards? Can one live alone after the 5 years or more and how would a lonely monk survive in Europe? Thank you.

I have difficulty with the notion of bodhicitta and the concept of Boddhisattva, and the difference with the concept of Buddha. If I understand correctly, the idea is to have an altruistic intention in one's practice: to seek liberation not for oneself, but for all sentient beings. I can understand the usefulness of having an altruistic intention as a basis for one's practice, but I have the impression that for Mahayana this must be taken as a real objective: however, it is held in Buddhism that samsara has no beginning and no end, therefore neither does ignorance, and that there will never be a moment when all beings will be liberated. In the same way, the practitioner who attains enlightenment obtains it only for himself, and cannot give it to others like a deity who would offer a grace: "each one is his own refuge". So what is the real scope of bodhicitta? Is it only a pious wish? How can one truly believe that one is really practicing for the liberation of the world and not only one's own, if one knows for a fact that awakening is always "personal" and that samsasra will always exist? If the idea is only to awaken in order to be able to teach others, this is what a Buddha does and there is no need for the concept of Boddhisattva for that. If the idea is to help others and to have a mind radiating compassion, this is also what a Buddha does with the brahmavihara and I don't see the difference with the Bodhisattva.

Some other asker had said something like ‘trapped in defilement’. I thought it was interesting b/c I feel that way a lot. Can karma (results) have a long-lasting defiling quality? Or is this just an excuse for a weak-minded one to continue along? For example, someone who is in hell is there for a reason, and while there, the mind is defiled and hasn't a chance to become undefiled due to the karmic energy…but after the hell period is completed, the opportunity to give effort arises. Can it be like this? on a side note, i believe some jain understanding talks about certain characters that can never be liberated, but that's another topic..

What are the Pali cannon references, if any, for the historical Buddha explicitly teaching and/or endorsing Kasiṇa (meditation of the type found in the Visuddhimagga or any type of Kasina meditations)?

**Dear friends**, I am looking for references pertaining to the notion of the *Four Stages of Compassion* in the Mahayana traditions. Thank you for your kind and generous help, may you all be well and safe. > If you ask what is ‘great compassion,’ it is unstinting loving kindness toward all sentient beings, when there are actually no sentient beings. That is called great compassion. > > The Buddha (Perfection of Wisdom Sutra in Ten Thousand Lines) > > Tweet by The Buddhist Society

It seems that there are different "versions" of Buddhism today, and many of the teachings from these different versions appear to be at odds with one another. I'd like a way to tell which teachings are incomplete, corrupted, or flat-out fakes. If Buddhism is really a "science" of the mind, like many teachers say, shouldn't there be ways to test things? Are there ways to test the authenticity of a teaching?

So I've been doing vipassana meditation more regularly after my second 10 day regularly. I try to do 1hr to 1.5 hr per sitting and meditate as much as possible during my commute. I've been feeling many more sensations lately as well as having a deeper feeling for where they reach in my body. I've also had strong emotions regularly coming up and I've had some things that have been happening as well. I try my absolute best to be equanimous but at times during my meditation my body will automatically tense up And twitch. My main concern is my neck / throat area. Lately when I swallow, I don't feel a bump per say but I feel a spot of tightness which even feels like a ridge that I have to get over when I swallow sometimes. It only happens sometimes. I've been feeling a ton of tightness in my neck and I've never felt this before since the neck sensations are fairly new. Could it be that something is arising which is causing a shift in the state of my body like increased neck tightness and constriction? Generally after meditation this feeling gets much better so I'm not sure if it's a sort of transitioning state. I'm not sure. Saw a doctor and they couldn't find anything after feeling my neck. I don't smoke. I am active and a healthy weight.

>"I feel there is tremendous convergence and a potential for mutual enrichment through dialogue between the Buddhist and Christian traditions, especially in the areas of ethics and spiritual practice, such as the practices of compassion, love, meditation, and the enhancement of tolerance. I feel that this dialogue could go very far and reach a deep level of understanding. But when it comes to a philosophical or metaphysical dialogue, I feel that we must part company. The entire Buddhist worldview is based on a philosophical standpoint in which the central thought is the principle of interdependence, how all things and events come into being purely as a result of interactions between causes and conditions. Within that philosophical worldview it is almost impossible to have any room for an atemporal, eternal, absolute truth. Nor is it possible to accommodate the concept of a divine Creation. Similarly, for a Christian whose entire metaphysical worldview is based on a belief in the Creation and a Divine Creator, the idea that all things and events arise out of mere interaction between causes and conditions has no place within that worldview. So, in the realm of metaphysics, it becomes problematic at a certain point, and the two traditions must diverge (81-82).". *By The Christian Research Institute* - **If and when the two traditions don't diverge, is that necessarily problematic to Buddhism also?** - **If and when the two traditions don't diverge, is that necessarily problematic for all people?** - **Are Christian concepts pointing at the same things that Buddhism is pointing at but with different approaches?** - **How well does the Christian Research Institute understand Buddhism?**

Perhaps ritual isnt the right word but hopefully I can explain. So I am attracted to orthodox Christianity and its culture but I dont believe any of it. I like its fasting ritual many of its holidays, its worship and etc. and being in the west its easy to find like minded people to make that a part of my life or rather part of my practice. Buddhism by oneself is basically reading suttas and meditation since there is no local sangha but I find I would like to integrate more in my life so I can inundate my existance around buddhism without monasticism. I cant become a monk I have a wife and children. Is there anything like a Buddhist lifestyle beyond the 5 precepts for laypeople to follow to make it more "holy"?

Hayy and thank you for being here. I have heard quotes of the Golden Rule, which is the foundation of all religions. The Buddist one I received was "Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful." I don't know where the person found this... can you help me please? The words I heard the person saying a source for their quote was "Yudana Varga"... this provides NO RESULTS! Thank you for your attention and help. _/\_ ZubinNur (The Netherlands)

My fiancé in VN tells me couples must refrain from sex on first day of new year. I have not found anything supporting this claim. Where do I find more information about no sex on day one new year.

1. Is there advice in the various Buddhist scriptures that a leader could use in this Coronavirus situation? 2. Is there advice in the Buddhist scriptures that a lay-person could use in this Coronavirus situation? 3. What are Buddhist leaders doing about this Coronavirus situation?

I have heard about this before from a video teaching I watched before but I honestly cannot remember from who or where. The idea of the concept is that as one progresses upon the stages towards arhant Dukkha does not actually decrease and in fact can be seen or seems to increase. for eg a puttajanna is not concerned about death or freedom from the cycle of existence on a day to day bases where a Sotapanna is consistently concerned about these things that in fact a Sotapanna suffers more because of their more ultimate concerns, where I guess a putajanna is in a sort of blissful ignorance. Any direct from the Buddha or third party teachings on this concept would be welcome.