What to do when the mind starts moving so fast that individual experiences cannot be noted? And as far as I have experienced, the mind can only be in one place at a time, but it begins moving so fast between different experiences that it is as if there is awareness of nearly the entire body at once and all experience blurs together and the body feels like its humming? edit: there seems to be some confusion..this didn't seem like a distracted state; it seems as if I was able to be mindful of multiple things happening at once all over my body. The normal areas where sensations occur that I'm only able to be mindful of one at a time i.e. sensations on my head, my arms, pain in the back, legs, I was nearly fully aware of all at once.

My question is this is the mantra Om Ah Hum Benza Guru Padma Siddhi Hum a Vajrayana mantra? Can I chant it? I am asking because, I’m wondering why I’ve had the company of hallucinations? Will the mental health problems be permanent, until I see a Lama to give me my refuge vows?

*I have learned.....* When a receptor (eyes,ears,nose,tongue,body,mind) meet with the preferred input (light,sound,smell,taste,touch,thoughts) if the dedicated "Vinyana" is born to accept it the being will feel that particular sensation. *So my question is....* Eyes can't see when they are closed Ears can't hear when we sleep Nose can't sense when we sleep Tongue can't sense when we sleep Body can't feel when we sleep But the mind does not seem to share the same condition with the rest of receptors.Because when we sleep some part of it function and when we are awake it is fully functioning. **So does mind ever stop?** **Does mind start with the birth and keeps going till the last minute?** What does the Suttas say?

I've been meditating using different types of meditation for years now. I've been feeling a lot of stress lately, and I want to calm down in the ideal way. I've been reading neuroscience studies claiming that breath meditation is the most effective to calm down the amygdala, a key brain region in stress. However, when I meditate on the breath, I feel somewhat tense. When I meditate openly (without object), I get shivers on my body as if I were getting calmer. During focused breath meditation, this doesn't happen. I'm having a lot of trouble figuring out whether, on the long term, breath meditation is really more calming than an objectless meditation or even of loving-kindness. **How can one know what type of meditation is most calming and de-stressing long-term?**

1. Is masturbation wrong? In what exact way is it wrong? I just need to know if the act of masturbation is wrong. This may include watching nudity while masturbating. Even though it's an addiction, I was wandering if it hold more or any negative karma than another general addiction, like addiction to food. I just need your opinion in this backed up by references to the teachings. 2. Is the act of masturbation a barrier towards mental concentration or samadhi? Will I have more mindfulness and concentration if I get rid of this addiction? I'm talking about the samadhi gained through annapanasati. 3. In what way can I get rid of this addiction if it is leading me away from the path? Please give instructions to one who is somewhat deeply ingrained in it. I am not here to discuss about an 'embarrassing' topic, rather a plausible problem (affirmed by many Buddhists) that a majority of people in the western world have. I am also here to see if my addiction can be a cause for any other negative habits, like many Buddhist say so. That being said, thank you very much for the help. I honestly will appreciate the answer you give me, since this idea have haunted and caused inner conflicts within me for the past 2 years.

At the beginning of his talk, The Vanishing of Greed, Hatred, and Delusion , **Ajahn Viradhammo** reads verses about Nibbana from a translation by Nyanatiloka of a fragment of the Pali Canon, from the Asaṅkhata Saṃyutta I suppose: > This, Oh monks, is called the Unconditioned: the vanishing of greed, hatred, and delusion. This Oh monks, is called the Boundless: the vanishing of greed, hatred, and delusion. This Oh monks, is called Freedom from [?]: the vanishing of greed, hatred, and delusion. This Oh monks, is called the True: ... This Oh monks, is called the Further Shore: ... This Oh monks, is called the Subtle: ... This Oh monks, is called the [?]: ... This Oh monks, is called the Ageless: ... This Oh monks, is called the Permanent: ... This Oh monks, is called the Beyond of All Manifoldness: ... This Oh monks, is called the Peace: ... This Oh monks, is called the Deathless: ... This Oh monks, is called the Sublime: ... This Oh monks, is called the Auspicious: ... This Oh monks, is called the [?]: ... This Oh monks, is called the Wondrous: ... This Oh monks, is called the Sorrowless: ... .. etc... Is anyone aware of such a translation by Nyanatiloka being available on line ? Thank you for having taken the time to read this, your kind and generous help is very much appreciated.

Can you be a Buddhist and believe in another religion at the same time?

I'm looking for a story in the Jataka wherein the Buddha talks about mindfulness and the importance of not living in the past or future. He compares the mind living in the past or future to grass that has been cut off from its root. When that happens the grass will dry out and the same thing happens to the mind that does not live in the present moment. It was asked how monks who only eat 1 meal a day or sometimes don't eat at all can still retain such radiant complexion. That's where the Buddha taught the above grass simile. *Here's a link to the video where Bhante talks about it. It's mentioned at 6:45 into the video.* Can anyone help me find the Jataka story? Thank you for your time.

Health anxiety is defined in the quote below. A person suffering from it may mistakenly believe certain fluctuations in bodily sensations to be dangerous or a sign of impending critical illness, and this may cause them to become anxious. When they become anxious, they may get symptoms of anxiety (like rapid heart rate and chest discomfort) which may lead to a positive feedback loop, resulting in a panic attack, where they may think that they have a heart attack and go to the ER. That's the worst case. The best case is frequent unnecessary visits to the doctor. Based on Buddhist techniques, what could a health anxiety sufferer do to help himself or herself? On the other hand, if he really did have some critical illness, but convinces himself that it's not really the case, then it's not good for his health. So, how could Buddhist techniques help him find the balance? According to this article on health anxiety: > **The False Alarm** > > Health anxiety is the misinterpretation of normal bodily sensations as > dangerous. Healthy bodies produce all sorts of physical symptoms that > might be uncomfortable, painful, unexpected, and otherwise unwanted — > but not dangerous. Picture a car with an alarm system. It’s useful if > your car alarm goes off when a criminal is breaking in, but it’s > problematic if it goes off every time someone walks by. Your car alarm > would be misinterpreting innocent pedestrians as dangerous criminals. > > Normal physical symptoms that often produce fear and worry include > changes in visual acuity, heart rate and blood pressure, saliva > levels, depth of breathing, balance, and muscle tone, to name a few. > These are normal and harmless. But when a person misinterprets them as > symptoms of some terrible disease, it creates undue worry. This > explains why medical tests come out negative: The physical sensations > are real, but they are not symptoms of a disease. > > **Overestimating Danger** > > Misinterpretation may be due to assumptions about health and illness, > such as, “My cousin died of cancer, so it’s only a matter of time for > me.” Or, “Viruses spread quickly. Since people in Africa are dying of > Ebola, it could easily spread to the United States.” People with > health anxiety might hold rigid definitions of good health, perhaps > believing that any discomfort means bad health. > > If they hear a news story about a few cases of a serious virus, people > with health anxiety might start scanning their own bodies for symptoms > of the virus. Looking for symptoms makes you notice subtle sensations > that you might otherwise ignore. With uncertainty, the imagination has > room to create stories. And that’s when your body’s alarm sounds off > as you imagine the worst. > > **It Gets Tricky** > > Symptoms of anxiety produce very real physical symptoms: Dizziness, > stomachaches, rapid heartbeat, tingling in the hands and feet, muscle > tension, jitteriness, chest pressure, and the list goes on. These > symptoms add fuel to the fire. Now you have real evidence that > something is seriously wrong. Or do you? Perhaps it’s anxiety. So how > do you know if these symptoms are serious? You go to the doctor… and > then to a therapist. > > Health anxiety persists despite reassurance from the doctor. Seeking > reassurance from doctors, insisting on repeated medical tests, and > visits to the ER and urgent care are common if you have health > anxiety. This habit leads you to rely on such reassurance to obtain > relief from health worries. A vicious cycle develops of noticing a > sensation or learning of an illness in the world, misinterpreting it > as threatening, then becoming anxious, and finally going to the doctor > for reassurance. Reassurance from the doctor reduces the anxiety and > brings relief temporarily. Soon the cycle starts again.

In AN 10.176 idle chatter is defined as > He speaks in season, speaks what is factual, what is in accordance > with the goal, the Dhamma, & the Vinaya. He speaks words worth > treasuring, seasonable, reasonable, circumscribed, connected with the > goal. Bearing this in mind - is right speech purely connected with the Dharma? Should one speak of the Dharma and nothing else? From my own perspective some idle chit chat which has the effect of putting someone at ease in a social situation is a kindness. Similarly chatting to the daughter about nothing in particular is building the bonds of caring and again feels like the right thing to do. However would both those actions be classified as idle chatter and would not be right speech? On a personal note I probably do talk too much so a bit less idle chatter would do me some good i think.

I am battling with understanding the concept of the middle path. Having read the many articles available, the concept escapes me especially with a view of self and no-self. My understanding is that in Buddhism neither is where you want to be as it is an extreme. There must be balance. If i work with an example, it leaves me nowhere. I do not see the middle path. If i have a weapon pointed to my head, i only see 2 outcomes. Death or survival. If i take the view of self, i would fear the outcome. If i take the view of no-self, i realize all is impermanent and have no fear. Where is the middle path in this? Secondly, what roles do intent and motivation play? For example, given the same example, if i am motivated to survive, is that not a play on self? If i have no intention of survival, is that not a play on no-self? Again, where is the middle path in this?

Looking for a primary source (an actual historical text) or a secondary source (a formal study of a historical text or texts), on how it is that this world is or isn't a "pure land". Presumably the Buddha Sakyamuni has or had a pure land? I've read a lot of Buddhist scholarship, so please don't be shy in recommending anything at all, in English or translatable somehow.

One thing that I find Buddhism fascinating is the "true contradictions", which says that there are statements that can be both true and false. I was googling and found Dialetheism and Catuṣkoṭi on Wikipedia, but I have not found a truth table that represents this idea. Do anyone know if there are web pages talk about this idea more clearly, and if we can also do a truth table about this idea, compared with the standard mathematical [Truth table](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth_table) ? Namaste

"Trivialism is the theory that every proposition is true. A consequence of trivialism is that all statements, including all contradictions of the form "p and not p" (that something both 'is' and 'isn't' at the same time), are true."

It's said that Buddhist practice can cause the arising of certain psychic powers. This answer hints that one of those physic powers might be precognition. Have I understood that correctly? I've never read anything about this in any of the texts. I wonder if anyone else has and can provide a reference where precognition is written about.

So the Heart Sutra is one of the most popular sutra in Mahayana Buddhism, said to be the summary and heart of the Prajna Paramita Sutra. It was popularized by the famous monk Xuanzang. It was said that he chanted this sutra when he was lost in the Taklamakan Desert on the way from China to India. Apart from its terse nature and convenience for chanting. Why is this Heart Sutra so important to Mahayana Buddhism? Some people even describe the sutra as a kind of 'crazy wisdom' that seems to intentionally tear down all purposeful cultivation. http://www.lionsroar.com/the-heart-sutra-will-change-you-forever/ It was even jokingly described as the 'heart attack' sutra. > "Also, there is no truth of suffering, of the cause of suffering, of > the cessation of suffering or of the path. There is no wisdom, and > there is no attainment whatsoever" Why would this sutra be helpful or useful - when it basically denies the fundamental teachings of the Buddha on the Four Noble Truth? Presumably the message of the Heart Sutra was so troubling that Thich Nhat Hanh had to 're-translate' the sutra into something that fit in with his own conception of Buddhism: http://plumvillage.org/news/thich-nhat-hanh-new-heart-sutra-translation/ What is the purpose of this sutra? Is it just sheerly for the shock factor? Maybe like a Zen Master whacking a student with a stick? I find other Prajna Paramita sutras such as the Diamond Sutra just as troubling. Note: I do enjoy some of the messages of Mahayana Sutras such as Amitabha Sutra and Universal Gate Chapter of the Lotus Sutra and is from a Chinese Mahayana Chan organization.

In the United States, many people find it cringy and even offensive when someone says "I'm sorry," especially when he or she does it frequently. Did the Buddha or any Buddhist teachers have any guidance on this point?

I recently found a book called "A Buddhist Bible". In it, Buddha refers to that there have been many Buddhas before him. If Buddha was the one to put the foundations of Buddhism, what "religions" did the previous Buddhas practice? Does this question even make any sense?

How do bodhisattvas, and those who would emulate them, respond to a tyrant or despot, e.g. a Hitler or Stalin? Are Buddhists / Bodhisattvas suggesting a "non-resistance to evil by violence" (Tolstoy) and some strange notion of absolute forgiveness, practically or otherwise? To have someone preach that we all forgive tyrants, as they may go for our throat, seems like a peculiar and sadistic form of madness.

Aṅgulimāla and Moggallāna both were Arhants. Aṅgulimāla killed 999. Moggallāna killed his parents in a past life. Only Moggallāna had to face karma? Moggallāna was killed by being cut into pieces, whereas there is no story of much suffering concerning Angulimāla. What is the difference?