Shall I be reborn as a girl again? I've had a rough life, gotten a CVA (Cerebrovascular Accident) recently, and am now half-paralyzed. I feel tired of living. I guess God forgot me, given all this suffering that I've faced during this horrible life.

If one reads [this quote by a monk](https://ninjastream.to/download/n9JZrxK8gAG72/atid-370-uncensored-mp4) , who is referring to [donations to SuttaCentral](https://suttacentral.net/donations?lang=en) : >...For the past week or so, we’ve been actually losing money on Stripe: paying more in settlement fees than we get in donations. - What should one assume in regard of observing Vinaya while letting people believe to act in preserving a noble tradition? *This seems to be referring to asking people to donate money, to preserve a noble tradition (i.e. the scriptures published by SuttaCentral) -- but can they be doing this and observing Vinaya?* - Maybe some can quote some related texts to money and relation issues from open resources on the matter to try to catch bite the tail (don't forget to donate...). What faults can come into play? What's required to make with things attained wrongly? What can be assumed when Bhikkhus share food and success, trade together with lay people? *To answer this question, perhaps quote from available from resources, on issues such as money and relationships. Are these faults? Is this an example of Bhikkhus sharing food, and success, and trading commercially with lay people?*

Why do we close a question about trying to find out if I’m disrespecting The Buddha, I learned I should not look at my altar when I’m angry or disappointed. see I’m so angry right now I don’t think I can look at my altar. I just wanted to know. And then you guess closed my question. It wasn’t offensive, in any way. I was clear, I think ,I just deleted the message after I tried to please you. I just wanted to know know if I’m disrespecting The Buddha.

Is there a reference text for the theravada tradition that contains a lists of concepts for quick reference? Such as a text that allows for reference of ideas found in the pali canon when reading, like the 5 aggregates, various lists from the abhidamma, four foundations of mindfulness, fundamentals to advance stuff,etc.. I know this stuff should be committed to memory and not just referenced when coming across in a text but that takes time so until then I am looking for a good physical resource since I don't want to use tech because I find it a hinderence to mindfulness and I am a recovery tech addict.

Dharma is usually donation-ware. There is a really valuable dharma book that my friend is in no financial condition to buy (it is $100) but he also does not want to download it for free from me. Is there any sutta which clearly states that dharma is donation-ware and that it is OK to redistribute dharma content even if it is copywritten?

Christianity says sin is when someone does something bad. In Buddhism, people are reincarnated for karmic reasons, but they say this without reference to sin causing bad karma. Does sin preclude karma? What is the difference then between sin and karma (or what ever that causes bad karma)?

SN 12.35 says: > “Not a valid question,” the Blessed One replied. “Bhikkhu, whether one > says, ‘What now is aging-and-death, and for whom is there this > aging-and-death?’ or whether one says, ‘Aging-and-death is one thing, > the one for whom there is this aging-and-death is another’—both these > assertions are identical in meaning; they differ only in the phrasing. > If there is the view, ‘The soul and the body are the same,’ there is > no living of the holy life; and if there is the view, ‘The soul is one > thing, the body is another,’ there is no living of the holy life. > Without veering towards either of these extremes, the Tathagata > teaches the Dhamma by the middle: ‘With birth as condition, > aging-and-death. ’ Why is there no living the holy life when there is the view, ‘*The soul and the body are the same*,’ and if there is the view, ‘*The soul is one thing, the body is another*’?

Do Buddhist teachings or scripture say anywhere whether or not a reincarnated soul has memory of their past lives? Referenced passages are encouraged.

SN 12.35 is translated by Bhikkhus Sujato, Bodhi & Thanissaro as follows: >Mendicant, if you have the view that the **soul** and the body are the same thing, there is no living of the spiritual life. > >Taṁ **jīvaṁ** taṁ sarīranti vā, bhikkhu, diṭṭhiyā sati brahmacariyavāso na hoti. > >If you have the view that the **soul** and the body are different things, there is no living of the spiritual life. > >Aññaṁ **jīvaṁ** aññaṁ sarīranti vā, bhikkhu, diṭṭhiyā sati brahmacariyavāso na hoti. Is there an explanation why the translation of "soul" is used here for "jiva"?

Regarding reincarnation, I have a few questions: 1. Unfortunately, because of a big mistake and peoples' interference, I lost the love of my life to another woman almost 30 years ago, but still love him deeply. He's moved on. But I am stuck and can't stop thinking about him every single day of my life. Can I be finally united with him in my next life? 2. Will my parents be the same in my next life? 3. I don't like to study too much in this life. Can I be what I dream of being in my next life? I would love to be a doctor, to be part of *Médecins sans frontièrs* and cure people for free, but in this life I didn't succeed in doing so, as my IQ was not perfect in many fields of study. I appreciate your answer. -Farah

If reincarnation were true, in that a soul takes on different human bodies across several different lives during that soul's existence, have philosophers, theologists, scholars or any scriptures ever indicated whether one of those lives is the true identity of that soul? Or is it implicitly always assumed that the first life or incarnation of that soul is its true identity?

Almost twenty years ago I did a meditation on death that catapulted me into a Near Death Experience the likes of which I could not even have imagined possible. This 'mini enlightenment' allowed me to let go of some but not all attachments. Over the years, I have tried (in vain) to recreate that experience via the same method and by trying other techniques from a variety of traditions. But since I did not get results and living in a world of phenomena competing for my attention I ceased seeking after 15 years. Recently however it occurred to me that there might be some resource out there, such as a book, that lists all of the techniques developed by the monastic tradition within buddhism, and that I might profit from systematically trying all of them that I am able to. I'm aware that it is folly to seek such experiences as ends in themselves. Does such a book exist?

I am a 25 year old who has become interested in Buddhism due to personal reasons. > Are there any good websites which have material to understand Buddhism from the start? Can you please recommend them if there are any?

MN 26 describes the Buddha after his awakening, as follows: > *If I were to teach the Dhamma, others would not understand me, and > that would be wearying and troublesome for me.’ Thereupon there came > to me spontaneously these stanzas never heard before:* > > *‘Enough with teaching the Dhamma That even I found hard to reach; For > it will never be perceived By those who live in lust and hate. > Those dyed in lust, wrapped in darkness Will never discern this > abstruse Dhamma Which goes against the worldly stream, Subtle, deep, > and difficult to see.’* > > *Considering thus, my mind inclined to inaction rather than to teaching > the Dhamma.* MN 116 says: > *Once upon a time, five hundred Buddhas awakened for themselves dwelt for a long time on this Isigili. **They were seen entering the mountain, > but after entering were seen no more**. When people noticed this they > said: ‘That mountain swallows these hermits!’ That’s how it came to be > known as Isigili.* It seems when the world is completely saturated with 'thicksters' (Buddhadasa translation of 'puthujjana') & 'drooling idiots' (Thanissaro translation of 'eḷamūga') the Buddhas decline to teach. So what is MN 116 about? Do the silent Buddhas enter the mountain to end life, such as starving to death?

How is the fetter "Identity View" destroyed by confidence in the triple-gem and ethics ([\[DN 16, see "Dhamma-Mirror"\]][3] )? The concept of identity view also seems to be a bit fuzzy. In [\[SN 55.21\]][1] the stream entrant Mahanamo wonders about his future abodes. I assume that Mahanamo was familiar with the term Sotapanna and its implications. The buddha assures him that by his ripened confidence in the triple gem and his steadfast ethics, he is saved. I make the following conclusions: 1. "I am worried about **my future births**" does not imply identity view. 2. If I doubt my attainment of SE, I do not disprove my attainment. Point 2 is mentioned, because often I see the argument "you worry about sotapanna, then you are not sotapanna due to identity view". By the above reasoning, I know that identity view must be something else, as it seems to tolerate some thoughts about **myself**. I also conclude that there are two sufficient conditions for stream entry: 3. No self view, no skeptical doubt and no clinging to rites and rituals implies Sotapanna[ \[MN 25\]][2] . 4. Confidence in the triple gem and good ethics implies Sotapanna,[ \[DN 16, see "Dhamma-Mirror"\]][3] . If point 4 describes the "conviction follower", then Thanissaro Bikkhu disagrees about 4, saying > [...] conviction-followers are apparently those who are following the path > to stream-entry but have yet to reach the fruit of stream-entry. This leaves only point 3 as possibility to stream entry and contradicts the Dhamma Mirror, given by the Buddha.

Or is it more complicated than that? i.e random?

Is it bad to do my mantra backwards? I say it normally, just I have been moving the beads backwards. Should I move them forward?

With intent being so important, would the karmic benefit of saving someone's life because they were in danger be the same as doing it because you thought you would be rewarded for it?

MN 122 says: > Ananda, there is this abiding discovered by the Tathagata: to enter > and abide in voidness internally by giving no attention to all signs. > If, while the Tathagata is abiding thus, he is visited by bhikkhus or > bhikkhunis, by men or women lay followers, by kings or kings' > ministers, by other sectarians or their disciples, then with a mind > leaning to seclusion, tending and inclining to seclusion, withdrawn, > delighting in renunciation, and altogether done with things that are > the basis for taints, he invariably talks to them **in a way concerned > with dismissing them.** Was the Buddha unsociable? If not, what is the meaning of the above verse?

Are there any commentaries in the pali cannon on The Iddhipāda-Vibhaṅga Sutta -- An Analysis Of The Bases Of Power (SN 51:20). And in general, what are some sources for the commentaries, obviously in pali but also in english. (If only in pali, a preference to be able to locate and navigate without knowing much pali.)