The hindrance of vicikitsa,vicikicchā(Pali) is related to 'doubt in Buddha'. What a vague phrasing, right?If you can, I am looking for the sutta where Buddha describes the difficulty of teaching to those of diverse backgrounds.

This may be an unusual question but I'm wondering if any monk or scholar has written work or made lectures about the spiritual obstacles of Capitalism. Namely the atomization, alienation, crippling entertainments, omnipresent advertising, the uncertainty of holding jobs and fluctuating markets, the need to wage wars to reduce the overall wealth of the society and obtain resources. We are not living in the time of Shakyamuni, Padmasambhava or Athisha. This is a spiritually confused, decadent world. Our spiritual obstacles are more complicated and strange than the obstacles of previous times. Any ideas? Sadhu.

I have some friends who are Christian that I can't avoid the subject with. We used to see each other very often for some events. Normally those are friends of friends. Examples of the unpleasant feedback I commonly receive include things like "Buddha is Satan", "Buddha is in hell" and "All Buddhist shall go to hell". There are many other examples and by - for example - searching YouTube, you'll find more than enough examples. I am looking for some efficient and effective response to avoid this unfruitful conversation and prevent more unpleasant conversation that won't benefit anyone. It's better to have a compassionate discussions instead. Below are some responses that I came up with: 1. Oh my God? So far Buddha didn't do me any harm me yet. I will be taking extra precautions for this. Thanks for the concern. 2. Oh my God? My understanding, based on personally hearing the story from both sides, is that roughly 80% of the teachings of Christianity have a counterpart in Buddhism which has a similar interpretation. How come Satan is teaching the same morals as God? 3. Oh my God? Where in the Bible is it written so? 4. I felt hurt that you say Buddha is Satan. In a few cases they will insist to talk on this and ignore my feeling. Not sure they feel righteous to say so on their side? 5. Oh my God. Can I excuse myself to wash room for some emergency? If talk again and go again. Post notes: Thanks guys, there is a chat discussion regarding this with another Christian. If you are interested, let me know and I will add you. I do respect Jesus and Buddha a lot and I hope there is no comment that leads to a battlefield. I will keep my sincere prayers for forgiveness from Jesus and others too if there is unpleasant feeling to others too due to this questions. Really sorry folks.

Many people frequently make bold and confident claims about what Buddhism is or isn't with little or no humility or doubt. Their views are asserted to be correct, and anything contrary to their view is asserted to be simply wrong or a misunderstanding. My own doubts are sometimes the cause of suffering, but they also protect me from having fixed views which can be erroneous and leave no space for growth, adjustment and wisdom. My view is that the more confidently a view is expounded, the more likely it is to be wrong, and the more likely that self-clinging and self-cherishing are lurking in the mind, but even this view seems uncertain. Perhaps developing contentment with the uncertainty of reality is a part of wise practice, but I can't be too sure of that either.

Dad admitted due to covid. Me, mum and Dad stayed in the same house so me and mum were close contact yet need to quarantined. I was tested negative with no syndrome for all 10 days quarantine. Mum had flu syndrome in the day 3 of quarantine. She was reluctant to perform PCR swab test because it's quite expensive. Mum can be quite stubborn too most of time. I believe most old folks will have this problem. I can't slowly or patiently talk to her too face to face as she doesn't even wear a mask neither i need a PPE suit nor special wearing to communicate with her for safety purpose. I hire another care taker that found online, pay him and request him to pretend as Buddhism community club to offer her free PCR swab test. Mum only accept in this way. I can't delay this as mum start developing psychosis mental illness too during this quarantine period. She will only feel much better when receiving free stuffs. If she found positive then need send to quarantine center immediately. At least me will not be infected. If all down, then who is gonna work and feed food to us? Mum indeed recovering well with mild syndrome. She is much happier too after this non exist Buddhism club care taker exist, received a lot free stuffs and start to accept Buddhism teaching too. Q) Did i committed a false speech fault by getting a "non exist" Buddhism club to offer help? What will be the punishment in this case base on Buddhism teaching ?

Chinese often worship Ji Gong and I m quite confuse here. Buddhism practices should be placed at 1st instead of just worshiping or believing in fortune telling. Some may have possession of Ji Gong and provide fortune telling/healing service which I believe is forbidden in Buddhism. Source of Ji Gong > Unlike traditional Buddhist monks, Daoji did not like following > traditional monastic codes > > Not long after that, Buddhism began to recognise Daoji's compassionate > efforts and he is involved in many classic kōans. Where can I find more information on how Buddhism recognizes/accepts Ji Gong ?  It's giving me the impression Buddhism accepts Ji Gong's teaching? Its giving me impression recognised, drink and teach too in Buddhism ?

Chinese often worship Ji Gong and I personally believe it's a misconception of Buddhism or something need to be revised by Buddhism teaching/new Sutta? Source of Ji Gong >  He was widely recognised by people as the incarnate of the Taming Dragon >Arhat (Chinese: 降龍羅漢; pinyin: Xiánglóng Luóhàn), one of the Eighteen Arhats. > > Xianglong Luohan (Chinese: 降龍羅漢), also known as the Taming Dragon > Arhat, is an arhat and one of the Eighteen Arhats in China.[1] His > Sanskrit name is Nantimitolo and origins are said to derive from a > Buddhist monk Mahakasyapa , the leader of the first Buddhism Council Meeting. 1) As far as I understand, one who enters nibbana would not be incarnated again ?  2) My curiosity is very high regarding the spiritual world. I just want to ask the Ji Gong during possession some questions. i.e. Question 1# above and some 4 Noble Of Truths doubts. True Arhat should be able to answer right? Is this action appropriate? Here is the sample of the possession that visitor can ask Arhat a question or attend Buddhism session.

> The first level, the Realm of Formlessness (Arupaloka), consists of > four planes of brahmas who have no physical body, consisting entirely > of mind, but who may create a physical body if they want to be seen. > They are not completely free from the fetters of suffering (dukkha), > but the dukkha experienced here is much less intense than that > suffered in the Rupaloka. These brahmas are unable to hear the > teachings of the Buddha (dhamma) and they can never become > enlightened. Buddhist rebirth in different planes of existence Q1) What is the difference between Arupaloka and Nibbana except Nibbana has no incarnation, no dukkha and has Buddhism teaching ? Q2) Why brahmas unable to hear the teachings of the Buddha at Arupaloka? > These brahmas are unable to hear the teachings of the Buddha (dhamma)

Buddhism most basic perception is avoid killing. Assume the house is filled by termite and killing is unavoidable, assume house is too badly affected and without killing need the house to be left unoccupant for months and repair is very expensive. This is question is meant for normal lay Buddhist and not monk. How is Buddhism handle in this case ? There was a Mahayana Buddhist Scholar answered is to recite Mantra to the ants that been killed as much as possible n hope ants can incarnate to a better place.

I think the co-worker fighting is normal here: (YouTube) Horrifying office fight (Leaked video) . It happened to me as well quite a few times with different bosses. How to handle in this scenario in Buddhism? It's related to this previous post: Dealing with Anger and Criticism . But that does not directly answer my question. Some solutions may take a 500 lives to practice too such as master in patience as story of Buddha himself so minimum is 500 lives. The situation may could lead to continuous karma such as injury, unhappiness in the company or even death in some cases. We just have few seconds of thoughts in this event of karma. Any other quick guide? I tried these quite useful. Assume the "boss" is aggressive and unreasonable type 1. Personal message or personal discussion with the boss before the karma happens. i.e. if u start to scream like the other day, then how to manage ya. I can't talk properly when being screamed. 2. Can we talk about this in an hour time later ? Or just walk out of the place by saying "I need some fresh air". This tip eventually given from #1 above. Another solution provided in minute 2:03 of (YouTube) 4 Types of Workplace Bullies , for #1 screamer: she said can we have discussion in a respectful way. What if the boss said "No! get the F out of here?" and continue screaming?

Namaste to Buddha. How and where is Buddha now? Does he still teaching now? I am trying to understand Nibbana and where Buddha is now. What I understand is that Nibbana is a state rather than a location or place. This state has no physical body, no desire, no dukkha and no more incarnation. Many have mentioned this state appears as in empty space but I would think the "empty" is a meaning of Buddhism that is 100% free from dukkha . > Endless space is called in Atthasālini ajatākāsa, 'unentangled', i.e. > unobstructed or empty space. Why don't we realise space instead of Nibbana? In Quantum Physics, a state is a source of energy so it's quantifiable and appears as a particle wave. An energy cannot be null or void state too as the law of conservation of energy states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed - only converted from one form of energy to another. Wave–particle duality Conclusion is can I say that Buddha is still teaching and around, appears as the supreme particle wave and possibly can be communicated via meditation? Any form of energy can be interfered/communicated/entangled with based on Physic theory ? > The universe encompasses everything that exists, according to our > current understanding: spacetime, forms of energy and the physical > laws that relate them, history, philosophy, mathematics and logic. > Buddhists refer to the Universe, both visible and invisible phenomena, > as the Dharma. The Origin of Meditation: Making Bonds with the Universe Anyone could verify my understanding above?

A while back I heard something about the 'Great Doubt'. I think it is a Zen thing? Does anyone know what it is and how it might compare to the doubt that all human beings feel from time to time? Many Thanks

I found there are lacking of Buddhism knowledge sharing in Temple or some close friends. The temple would rather be superstitious like worshiping, or more commercialize or like a tourism place. I was taught by one of my teacher that Buddhist needs certain level of credits or faith to study it. It was written in the Mahayana Sutra opening verse too. "Is difficult to encounter throughout hundreds of thousands of millions of kalpas" https://www.fgsitc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Ksitigarbha_Sutra_ChiEng.pdf . My personal findings we are still following the Treravada traditional of teaching where Pali languange was a royalty, the kingdom officer or the rich spoken language so it's not easy to encounter. I think what I was meant by this statement "Is difficult to encounter throughout hundreds of thousands of millions of kalpas" Scholars consider it likely that he taught in several closely related dialects of Middle Indo-Aryan, which had a high degree of mutual intelligibility. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pali Does it a truth or where else Sutra mentioning that sharing of Buddhism shall be limited to certain people?

I knew a few very senior Buddhism Scholars, one of them also start teaching Dharma having an issue as per title above. The guiltiness is persist more than a decade and the actions below i personally felt inappropriate especially being too superstitious and claim that all those bad luck due to the title above. Kindly Correct me from wrong if any statement here found inappropriate. 1) Body overweight and start having obesity sickness like knee pain. They will claim that the aborted child coming back and bite the knee. I thought it is as simple as due to diet issue (too much sugar and fats) and lack of exercise? 2) Getting a Spirit tablet for the aborted/miscarriages child and often doing offering like praying, food, toy, etc - Personally thought the child will remain in the human dimension and refuse to get incarnation yet it will keep playing mind tricks to the person. 3) They will start teaching Dharma and hope the child can listen as well? Q1) Please someone review the action above is appropriate especially #2 and #3 ? Q2) Apart the similar question and answer and this post , should we focus more in 8 fold path as core resolution and performing often chanting/praying without spirit tablet? Any Sutta/Mantra suitable for this type issue? I hope can have different angle and views from Theravada, Mahayana, Zen, etc. Well, those scholars i mentioned above are from Mahayana by the way.

**Ques 1) Base on Wiki below, which English translation found to be accurate? D.T. Suzuki or Kazuaki Tanahashi and Joan Halifax** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C4%ABlaka%E1%B9%87%E1%B9%ADha_Dh%C4%81ra%E1%B9%87%C4%AB **Ques 2) Refer to some Buddhism Documentaries, Theravada Buddhism disallow reciting of Mantra. Does it a truth?** Personally i found this Mantra translated into positive self-talk which physiologically helping on self healing of decease. i.e. Having better peace of mind simply can cure most of the deceases? https://www.wikihow.com/Think-Positively-About-Yourself It has content of worshiping too so the person too focus on it without understand the basic Buddhism could be lead to superstitious which is inappropriate. I found no issue combination of meditation and of course focus of practices must be Buddhism basic which is Four Noble of Truths.

I understand this hand sign is to respect and say hello to Buddha or greeting to monks. **Ques 1:** Where is this written in Sutta exactly what the hand sign means? **Ques 2:** Can non Buddhist bow to Buddha when they visit temple? Most articles says no. If no, then what other hand sign more standard or more acceptable widely to greet Buddha or Monk from Buddhism perspective? Post note: Buddha is not for Worship

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkKOyV_pJ74 Refer to the image and video above, Venerable Guan Cheng explains that meditation should be practiced after proper moral virtue/Sila been achieved for the monks. **Question 1:** Does side effects occur due to basic or minimum of Buddhism Precepts or Sila (requirement) not been achieved yet? Most Common side effects could be hallucination, feeling dizziness or more example below Meditation side effects Unpleasant side effects of meditation **Question 2:** As a lay Buddhist, is it a right practice if the sequence is wrong or Sila/Precepts and Meditation being practiced together? If no, then at what stage of requirements? Well, i know at least not after being drunk and go meditate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_precepts **Post Note**: In the Youtube video above at 57:00, Venerable Guan Cheng explains that those monk only focusing on Moral Virtue before start meditation for the first five years. I had recently re-verify with another Bhante and he mentioned also must follow the sequence.

Assume a scenario that a seafood chef that inherited from the parent's seafood restaurant business and used to kill seafood alive before have a chance to study Buddhism. When the chef understood the basic and respect the basic perspective of Buddhism then he tried hard and changed his job/business entirely to a job that not required to kill animal/seafood alive. He is also doing very well in the 5 basic lay Buddhist precepts and has changed entirely the mindset and behavior after studying Buddhism. What would happen to animal/seafood that had been killed before? Does he still need go thru the Karma consequences or a least some waiver of punishment or this person is still going to hell but a better hell or how to reduce the bad karma consequences further? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_precepts This question is similar to the below but couldn't find the answer https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/questions/22433/what-does-ending-karma-mean Post Note: This question is more specific to the Chef and Seafood karma issue. The bad karma should go to those folks that order the Chef to kill and to consume the fresh and taste of seafood. At least to those folks that basic Buddhism theory/common sense already exposed to them. Correct me from wrong if any. Lobster is best tasted when boiled alive and also it is also known to have the highest consciousness level in term of vision of all being on earth https://science.howstuffworks.com/lobster-x-ray-technology.htm

Recently i experiencing the psychic abilities, telepathy and seeing other dimension sentiment when i having this so call 3rd eye syndrome (All of it) https://www.holycitysinner.com/2020/01/22/signs-your-third-eye-is-starting-to-see/ My psychic ability became more accurate and it's like Deja Vu then things really happened after 1-2 months. It's applicable to the stock market prices speculation price, date and how exactly it is speculated predicted 100% by mostly instinct. Sometimes when i am fully focused then i feel reading other people's mind and i will be winning throughout the night like a poker game, it's up to 90% accuracy. I am just a beginner poker player and winning all the senior players. I dont gamble much also. I felt so scared. I used to be a Buddhism and Shaolin Kung Fu practitioner. I used to meditate in a martial arts way where there is a study that this can unlock the 7 chakra. The more I practice, the more I sense this ability. Sometime If i fully focus especially during critical time, i can think much faster, accurate even i sense future things. I visited some doctors and my Buddhism senior. Some said use it for good, some said stop meditating.  My Buddhism senior commented that if it is so happening then it's devil abilities because I ' m really far far away from enlightenment requirement. Out of the 10 good deeds. I guess I only achieved 4 good merits, the rest just so so.   Question: Does it happen to someone just a 5-6 years Buddhism or junior practitioner ? Why such a things happening according to Buddhism? I just want to be a normal people and i dont require such abilities at the moment because my "good deed" is not good enough, perhaps i will use this for gambling or stock market or into devil's direction. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracles_of_Gautama_Buddha#:~:text=Psychic%20Abilities,-See%20also%3A%20Abhijñā&text=Following%20his%20enlightenment%2C%20the%20Buddha,and%20making%20copies%20of%20himself

Anyone has pictures or videos link illustrate as subject refers