I am currently in a state of being that I don't understand properly. My main concern is that even though I am able to bring about major changes in my mind in a relatively short amount of practice, I am nonetheless deeply unaware and unfocused in every day life. For example, a lot of my time is wasted by me being in my head... Thinking unnecessarily situation, concepts, even Dhamma etc. but I end up not getting done much. Every morning with the intent of focusing on tasks, I end up doing just an hour or two hours work at best. Even other normal people are much more focused in their 9-5 jobs where they are working eight hours - and many of them don't even know about meditation etc. Other examples - - the slightest discomfort makes me feel strongly averse and then suffer disproportionately. - small amounts of substances have drastic mental effects - alcohol, caffeine, marijuana etc. I should mention some background info - I don't consume alcohol, weed etc. I am addicted to pornograhphy though. I am socially anxious, with slight aspergers and slight depression. Dhamma-wise, I am quite familiar with buddhism and more broadly, science-philosophy-spirituality. Edit : To clarify, I want to know more about this state of mind and the corresponding defilements. Further, what are the root components of this state (*like for example if someone has a habit of quarreling with people it is probably because s/he has lacking metta, excess anger and conceit*) . Have you experienced something similar, and if yes, how did you overcome it?

Pretty much what the title says, but expand on it a little - During breath meditation (also during vipassana, but mostly breath) I frequently see random narratives. Sometimes it is random bits from TV/video games that I play or from real life. But mostly it is random. For example, today I was meditating on rising and falling on the stomach and in the beginning for half a minute or so I had clarity, but then it transformed into images of ball expanding and contracting (stomach is spherical, so I guess that is why it became a ball). Then within a minute or so it changed to two balls, and competition of which is bigger...and which then changed into someone saying 'you are good at management' which then changed to folder being arranged in finder in macos. You get the idea - they are almost completely unrelated to each other, and yet surprisingly, all the while I am deluded into thinking that I am still on the breath. If I were to guess, I'd say these are low consciousness states almost like dreams where we are deluded into thinking something while something completely logical and disconnected is happening. But what's more important to know is what these states are and how to fix my technique if it is wrong. So, please let me know your thoughts; and also I'd be more than happy to discuss it and give any more details. Thanks **EDIT :** I want to know what this kind of random images mean in regards to my meditation technique. I strongly think these are bad, in the sense that I am not doing what I am supposed to do in meditation. Maybe it is my technique, maybe I am not serious enough or something else. I know it because at other times in my mediation I am able to achieve concentration in some form or other. Only when I am low energy like that, these dream-like states come. I am surprised to see this kind of question is not talked about more here because this thing seems so common, kinda like one of the first pitfalls. But anyways, let me know what your insights on this phenomenon. I will be happy to share the exact details of my technique and mind states etc.

In "The Sublime Attitudes " the word "release" appears multiple times. What is meant by "awareness-release"? What is meant by "release of awareness"? Do both have the same meaning? Do they mean escape? As in, from becoming aware, I am released (from something). Do they mean potential attention (awareness), become manifest? Both, neither? Twice in the sutta the translator uses the phrase "no higher *release*" (without the word *awareness*). Is this significant? Help! :-)

In one of Eckhart Tolle talks (can't find the exact one yet) he mentions how most people "loose themselves" at/during "work". i.e. - lose awareness of body, emotions and thoughts. For me this seems to be true - "digging deep", my consciousness becomes completely enmeshed in the academic or work at hand. Although similar to this question , I see this answer of mindfulness as a general way of working. But more specifically, is it possible for those fewer moments of very new, complex and complicated learning, to be like this? I cannot see how they can coexist. What would that look like and how is it done/practiced specifically?

It seems clear to me that that which is aware of sadness, anger, or anxiety is not sad, angry, or anxious. But shouldn't this work the other way as well? Wouldn't this mean that that which is aware of happiness or joy is not happy or joyful? It feels like by this logic that mindfulness, when applied to positive states, nullifies them or diminishes them and that one wouldn't want to do this. If mindfulness diminishes the power of negative emotions wouldn't it diminish the power of positive ones as well? I'm not sure how this is desirable. What exactly am I missing?

I am a bit confused about what is the difference between 'witnessing meditation' as taught by Osho, which can be found here , here , and here , and 'silent present moment awareness ' (*page number 11*) as taught by Ajahn Brahm in his book, 'Mindfulness bliss and beyond'. At first, they both seem identical to me, but as I practice with Osho's instructions it's difficult to get to that point He describes. I would appreciate if the commentary is provided along with the answer from practice point of view.

Meditation and cultivating awareness is the heart of Buddhism. You need meditation for attaining jhanas and also for doing Vipassana, metta bhavana... So as far as I've discovered, the only meditation that Lord Buddha taught was sitting and watching the breath. But nowadays many masters and mystic have very different techniques for different kind of people. Because not all people has the same temperament and cannot go into trance by just one single method. And as tathagata also had so many different disciples, did anapana worked for all of them and all of them attained jhanas, stillness of mind, etc. by practicing anapana alone or there was other meditation techniques, if so what are these techniques? P.s. I know about walking meditation, loving-kindness and other awareness meditations explained in satipatthana but they are not specifically techniques. What I'm looking for is the sitting meditation techniques when anapana does not work.

My question is about supreme peace that is received from renunciation. When people renounce a major portion of their possession and title, they are believed to get supreme peace. Where I can get a detailed discussion about renunciation and a little logical discussion too that makes a person renounce? The ASIAN continent is filled with Buddhist, and Muslim countries. Many users of Buddhist countries can sufficiently address my concern. my concern is the risk associated with renunciation.

Often around 2:00 p.m. after eating, my body falls tired. So I have to stop studying. I am myself a long term meditator, but I rarely meditate when I am tired. Is meditation a good substitute for sleep? In other words, around 2:00 p.m., if I am going to meditate mindfully for an hour instead of sleeping, will this meditation be able to replace sleep?

How staying in the present moment(here and now) is different from awareness and mindfulness, and what according to you is better?

Buddhist teachers say things like > Do not expect anything from anyone, and also: > Do everything with good heart and expect nothing in return and you > will never be disappointed. Such a wonderful lines to get peace and never get disappointed. But as a human, it becomes very tough for us to follow this. Can someone throw light on this please? How we can remove the greedy nature? When we do a lot for someone, we at least expect basic thing in return. It is hard to accept disagreements or carelessness in return from whom where you have done/thought a lot for him in past.

Are there any list of thought patterns / believes of a person who have extream aversion, conceite .... etc ? There is an android app that gives a similar result. (I'm not sure that I can linked to a that kind of source from here) But that app is on topics like Perfectionism, low self esteem .. etc. That app let us know what are the common thought patterns, believes if we have one of that problems. Also they provide some pracices to overcome them. It is very useful to know that common belives, thought patterns as we can understand our mind / situation easily and quickly. Also, that may let us know some belives we have that we might think we don't have. Can anyone post list of common belives on topics from buddhism ? Especially on five hindrances ? (Wiki answers may suitable) Example format for an answer : *Common believes of a person who have aversion* *Common thought patterns of a person who have aversion* ***Very sorry for bad english*** **Kind regards**

I have been inquiring about the teachings including translations of scriptures with regards to 'Awareness that knows' here , here , here .. Specifically, in reference to the explanations given by most of the forest tradition, Ajahn's from Thailand and Translations by "Thanissaro Bhikkhu" who is also from the same tradition and has translated the bulk of pali cannon... It seems to me that the illustrations given by the forest tradition have a somewhat distinctive view about this, for example, In this talk Ajan Amaro said Liberation is possible because of the transcendent quality of awareness beyond the Five Skandhas. He said ...That which knows the five Skandhas is not intrinsically tied to the Five Skandhas. that which knows is not part of the five Skandhas / i.e. the five aggregates or heaps: *form (or material image, impression) (rupa), sensations (or feelings, received from form) (vedana), perceptions (samjna), mental activity or formations (sankhara), and consciousness (vijnana).* Could you please expound or explain further, how is this Awareness lokuttara and beyond the Skandhas? Many thanks

Is the seer and seen different? Is th watcher and watching different ? Is the observer and observe different? camera and picture are different ? For example I saw a tree? Tree and "me" different? Tree and "me" same? It is very difficult question. Please correct if i use wrong grammar

Is the Buddhist lifestyle harmless to living beings? Lot's of creatures are being killed in various human activities (walking, farming, building, etc.) Did Buddhists found a way to live while not harming other living beings? If yes, how? p.s. For more info, read the same question on this SE.

I noticed that upon watching Youtube videos, I seem to become sucked into merely watching stuff online. I almost 'forget' to do other things. Oddly, this doesn't happen while reading online, or creating something. **Can one directly relate this to lack of mindfulness? Is any such instance of 'forgetting' usually linked with mindfulness?** More so, **why might reading not generate this type of absorbed state?** Thank you

It echoes in my mind that space time is not fundamental. I thought I read this in some psychics experiments, saw it in YouTube videos and/or read it in a book related to Buddhism. But I far from recall the details. I searched for space time not being fundamental on the topic of Buddhism but I am not really finding much about it. With space time not being fundamental I mean to say that it is a construct of the mind. One can understand it is a mental construct, but still experience space time. I am asking about the Buddhist view on space time, and the implications of that view. I am asking because of the following experience I had. Recently I experienced some different perception during meditation. It was like my perception of the room I was sitting in vanished and there was no perception anymore of me having a body, sitting in a room. But I would not say I changed, I was still present. And I had my eyes closed all along. This experience of no longer having a body happened to me a couple of times during meditation now. More recent I was doing a mental exercise to get the difference more clear about experience coming from sensory perception, and experience coming from the mind. I did so by focusing on my body, and then on some memory of how something felt tactically, and then switch focus back on my body, and so forth. I was switching like this continuously. Every time that I switched I mentally called out the difference (using my inner voice, so not out loud): > Experience from sensory perception and > Experience from mental perception At some point the distinction became more clear. At that moment it was clear to me the experience of space time arises because of a mental process. At that moment I could solely focus on sensory perception, and the awareness of space time was gone. And I could go back as well to experience space time again. I then experienced having a body again, sitting in the car, on a parking lot in front of the office. And I could go back again, focusing solely on sensory perception, where there was no experience anymore of me having a body. It was like space contracted to be dimensionless and I had no awareness of my body anymore, nor the car I was sitting in. Or maybe I should say that there was nothing more but the experience of the body. The bodily awareness was different. All encompassing vs being part of something else. I am having difficulties to describe my experience. I could still think of my body and the car though, but the experience of having a body and sitting in a car stayed away. It stayed away for as long as I kept this focus on sensory perception. It was like I was withholding my mind from creating the spatial awareness or something. I'm so curious to explore this more. Also how it relates to the self-awareness and experience of space time in dreaming (so a lucid dream). And I am really curious if there is some perspective from Buddhism on this kind of experience.

Is it possible to have awareness without a self-sense? Does an awareness presuppose a self being aware no matter how refined or subtle that sense of self might be? Or to reframe the question slightly - can awareness be non-dual i.e. the being aware of the subject without the object. Many thanks as always

As a Buddhist, is it right to say that anything about Buddhism is right? If it is not right to *say* so, how right or wrong is it to *assume* that? Myself as a "traditional Buddhist" from Myanmar, I find it pretty disturbing to see Buddhists here having blindfolded faith in Buddhism and every act of monks and religious leaders. Above question might also relate to this question: as a self-aware Buddhist, how can you analyse if your thoughts or actions are right, without having much knowledge about Dhamma (Dharma)?

When some living being like dog or any mini bacteria are killed, since they are not self aware or concious do they feel the same type of pain as we do? what is the difference between their suffering and our suffering?