In particular, does Buddhism think that rebirth is a solution to a human need, or is it a mechanic to how the universe works? And is rebirth a type of regeneration? In my interpretation of Buddhism, rebirth is the means by which pain does not last forever, because according to type theory, pain should be eternal.

I wonder, in everyday life, when I feel really cold outside and I want to rush indoors for warmth, how these ascetics deal with it. I understand coldness is a part of reality and must ideally be experienced when it presents itself with a calm mind. I'm curious how ascetics, like the Buddha and his followers, manage this since they lived in the forests for extended periods without heating or modern amenities. How is it possible for them not to get sick or die from diseases and cold? More importantly, in the early stages of renunciation, how do they resist the urge to return to civilization? Sorry, if its a silly question, But I have wondered about it every day these months, without finding an answer yet. Thanks

I'm soon getting my wisdom teeth removed. Like always, I don't plan on using any anesthesia for the procedure - the pain is probably going to be excruciating, like always. So how can I use it as a meditation object for doing insight meditation? The logic behind it would be that my mind would be entirely hyperfixated on a single sensation, distractions subsiding completely due to the lack of spontaneous mind moments caused by other sensations. Firstly I plan on investigating on how my mind reacts to pain, constantly self-reflecting on all the intricate mind mechanisms related to it. This would prove insightful in getting my mind to give up resistance to the pain, which is something that would be practically impossible for me to do at an intrinsic, fundamental level, but somewhat possible to accomplish at a concious level. Afterwards, I plan on investigating The Three Characteristics directly in the sensations I'm experiencing related to pain. This, for me, is the most confusing part of insight meditation. How exactly does one notice The Three Characteristics in sensations? How are you supposed to realize that everything is transient and ephemeral when the pain you're experiencing is excruciatingly constant? How are you supposed to meditate upon no-self and unsatisfactoriness? This question isn't limited to the context of the post. I'm genuinely confused about what they mean, and I would be deeply grateful to anyone who could answer my questions.

If someone shot an arrow at Buddha's heart, Bhudda will focus on the pain caused by the arrow. What will be Buddha's views on the shooter? If it was unintentional, forgiving the shooter is understood. But if that was intentional what will be the opinion of Buddha about the shooter? And why? Forgive the shooter? But why and how? And if forgive the shooter, then how to react if he pulls up another arrow to shoot?

If remembering correctly I once heard a Dhamma talk about the Buddha finding solace in/with the investigation of energy while (at least once) experiencing physical pain. What's the sutta reference(s) for this please?

I am meditating now regularly for last 4 months. I always sit in a cross legged position with my head slightly bent down. I started developing a neck pain for last 10 days and it distubs me a lot. I couldn't do a chin up position because if i do it then my forehead part feels heavy after meditation. I tried various positions like chin slightly tucked in, it still puts me under pain. Everything was good but this neck pain now disturbs my meditation. Does anyone experienced it ? Any suggestions for me to come out of it.

Antinatalism is the view that it is ethically wrong to procreate any sort of sentient beings, be it human or otherwise because to exist means also to experience pain, pleasure, suffering, bodily deprivations and psychological frustrations. None of the above obviously is inflicted upon the non-existent. My question is: (i) What is the Buddhist view of this way of thinking; (ii) Why create further imperfect human beings who are capable of experience any sort of dukkha, need, want, deprivation, frustration etc., when these kinds of dukkha (and ills) could've been prevented in the first place? Even in the most ideal case, where a parent brings a child into existence that becomes an enlightened being, it is still ethically indecent to do so because (i) one is gambling with the life of that child; (ii) one is using that child as a means to an end; (iii) that "need" or desired outcome to attain enlightenment is only relevant for existent beings. It seems that Buddhism has some Antinatalist undertones, because although not mentioned in the scripture, if everyone followed the ideal, everyone would strive towards arhatship, and thus stop procreating.

In the last couple of months, I have experienced a chronic headache in my forehead and after checking with doctors etc nothing could be found. I then kind of had the intuition it could be related to my meditation practice. It's more the 2 years I meditate daily for 20/30 minutes or more. I have come around some articles online reading that focusing on the breath (especially in the nostrils, which I used to do) could lead to an accumulation of energy around the third eye chakra, and it seemed to me my pain felt exactly like this. I have now taken a break from my daily practice and the headache got much better and nearly disappeared, but as I stopped meditating I really miss the peaceful state of mind and presence I had when I meditated daily, so I would like to start again soon. I would be so grateful to get tips from you on this.

So I have been doing different meditation techniques to control/reduce different poisons(Klesha) of mind. Such as I do 1. Asuaba(Perception of Unattractiveness) for Lust 2. Perception of Loving Kindness (Metta) for Hatred 3. Anapanasati for overflowing of thoughts 4. Perception of Compassion (Karuna) for thoughts of harming 5. Perception of Sympathetic-Joy (Muditha) for jealous and so on. But when ever I encounter thoughts or memories of sorrow and pain, loss, I get confused on what meditation technique I should use to overcome it. All the dark memories haunt me, and i tend to fight them. But most of the time I fail to overcome them. And in that process my mind and body energy is already consumed and i become tired and sometimes i get a migraine. Is there any specific technique to overcome sorrow and pain? I know that Satipattanaya is there only way of overcoming sorrow, pain and loss, But i want to know the specific technique that I could practice on. A sutta reference is appreciated. -Metta

I practiced meditation for 6 months continuously. I used to meditate 45 mins in the morning as well as evening. In weekends, I used to meditate many rounds with breaks in between. I developed fear of loneliness due to which I have suffered from insomnia which has lasted till now though it has gotten a bit better now. I don't know if its dark night of the soul or depression. I have also been suffering from gastritis since 1 year. The stomach pain causes me anxiety and I have not been able to continue my meditation. I am waiting for both my sleep and stomach to get better so that I can continue. I sometimes feel that the problem will last till my death. I don't know how to progress from this phase. My meditation practice had definitely brought many positive changes. I have set milestones for myself regarding the practice that I think I may not reach during this lifetime. Any suggestions for me ?

The Buddha always said killing, no matter the circumstance, is always unskillful & leads to negative Rebirths. > In no recorded instance did he approve of killing any living being at > all. When one of his monks went to an executioner and told the man to > kill his victims compassionately, with one blow, rather than torturing > them, the Buddha expelled the monk from the Sangha, on the grounds > that even the recommendation to kill compassionately is still a > recommendation to kill — something he would never condone. If a monk > was physically attacked, the Buddha allowed him to strike back in > self-defense, but never with the intention to kill. As he told the > monks, > > "Even if bandits were to carve you up savagely, limb by limb, with a > two-handled saw, he among you who let his heart get angered even at > that would not be doing my bidding. Even then you should train > yourselves: 'Our minds will be unaffected and we will say no evil > words. We will remain sympathetic, with a mind of good will, and with > no inner hate. We will keep pervading these people with an awareness > imbued with good will and, beginning with them, we will keep pervading > the all-encompassing world with an awareness imbued with good will — > abundant, expansive, immeasurable, free from hostility, free from ill > will.' That's how you should train yourselves." > > — MN 21 > http://zugangzureinsicht.org/html/lib/authors/thanissaro/gettingmessage_en.html Three questions: **- What determines an animal's sentience?** **- If killing is never allowed, how would one deal with a parasite infesting their body, or any other animal as so?** **- Would not killing the parasite mean it is self-mortification, & thus an extreme, breaking the Middle Way (as it can hinder the practice of the Dhamma too)?** Please help! Metta to all!

So first I'd like to say I have permission from a therapist to ask this question, so this is not "asking for medical advice". So I have OCD. It affects me all the time, I feel this constant stress, discomfort. Thoughts and stressors bother me a lot, and tons of things cause this emotional pain. My therapist has suggested a long meditation is the way to do it. Sitting for several hours every day until it's dead. So this is what I'm doing and want to continue to do, but I'd like some help doing it more effectively. So I've been studying Buddhism and meditation and very unsystematic way. I think I'm starting to understand alot of it now. But ultimatelly I dont fully understand what exactly I'm supposed to be doing/not doing in meditation. I've been doing some guided mediation on vedananupassana and so far I've been feeling better. But once again, I don't exactly know how to do it... Im supposed to look at the feelings but I dont know what im supposed to do? If I wasnt so sick right now (fatigue, acid reflux) Id probably just study buddhism formally and just practice meditation until I start feeling better. But thats not feasible right now. So what would your advice be for me to go about this? Are there any good online courses or something? Also an important note: Several times now, in the midst of all this stress and discomfort all over my whole body I suddenly get these pretty short lived moments of bliss. My body glows with comfort and bliss and then after a while kind of fades out. This has happened several times now and it's pretty interesting. This is what fascinates me. What do you think is causing this? My guess is I must be doing something in those moments correctly, letting go and not resisting the pain or something Thanks.

Recently I heard from a group of commentators that the Bodhi tree, a tree species which Buddha choose to attain enlightenment under, was actually known to have medicinal properties. Has anyone ever heard this before? Apparently, this tree was what allowed Buddha to sit under the tree for long periods of time without developing pressure sores across his lower body. This particular sect of Buddhism believes Buddha sat under the tree for at least 7 years. Honestly I'm not surprised to find apologetical statements because of their position. Does anyone know if the Bodhi tree actually has these "medicinal" properties? Also, would you consider it's properties sufficient enough in explaining away the lack of pressure wounds we would expect to find on Buddha's body? To summarize my question: 1. Does the Bodhi tree actually have medicinal properties as some Buddhists claim? 2. Are the medicinal properties sufficient enough in explaining away the pressure sores we would expect to find on Shakyamuni's body through his prolonged meditation model (years)? 3. Please no short term models to undermine the question, thank you.

From what I understand of the Buddhist path, letting go of attachments shouldn't be painful. Are there times when letting go will be painful and if there is, why are those times different than the usual?

> 'Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.' I'm not sure I like the adjective 'optional' because I think it's insensitive to tell someone who's been injured that their suffering is some switch to easily flip (I don't have an issue with the nouns). I think 'not' is better than 'optional'. Anyhoo, many Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) texts seem to distinguish pain and suffering in other ways such as: - Psychology Today: The Dialectic of Pain: Synthesizing Acceptance and Change > Pain in life is inevitable, but suffering and misery are not. These can result from the way we respond to pain. The more we fight against it, the more likely we are to experience negative emotions, such as anger, hopelessness, and despair, and the harder it becomes to identify changes that can help. Like those Chinese finger-trap toys, the more forcefully we tug to release our index fingers, the more tightly ensnared they become. Calming down and taking stock of the situation opens the means to escape. - Wikipedia: Marsha M. Linehan (this quote has no source as of this writing) > Marsha M. Linehan (born May 5, 1943) is an American psychologist and author. She is the creator of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), a type of psychotherapy that combines behavioral science with Buddhist concepts like acceptance and mindfulness. - And so on.

Hello to all of you and thank you for your time in answering the questions here. I have a big problem with my feelings. I have a huge emotional lack, which means I've never moved on with my old girlfriends. My last three girlfriends, two that I loved a little bit, and one with whom I had a long relationship and thought she was my soul mate. As a result, I suffer and often come back to them again and again and again and again... in a never-ending loop. I look needy and pathetic. How can I get better, please? Thank you very much.

Both the Theravada and the Zen traditions appear to regard pain, even extreme physical pain, as a necessary part of sitting, whereas Ngakpa Chogyam in *Journey into Vastness*, speaking for the Dzogchen point of view, seems to imply that pain is an indication that one is not sitting properly and that there are ways of sitting that do not produce pain. The only references to pain in the context of meditation in the Pali Canon appear to refer to the Buddha's six-year period of self-mortification, which he repudiated (correct me with a specific reference if I am mistaken). Therefore, I am interested in the attitude of different Buddhist schools to pain in the context of sitting and meditation. Is it a sign of poor sitting practice or is it part of the experience, perhaps even something important that should be cultivated (e.g., ancient shamans used pain to induce altered states of consciousness, an example being the famous Sun Dance in which in which practitioners hung themselves by the pectoral muscles from a post for several days). What do the different Buddhist schools and traditions say about this?

If enlightened beings aren't bothered by pain, why did occasions happen where Buddha was unable to give a lecture because the pain was so severe or when he had to meditate to lessen the pain he was feeling. Surely if the pain truly didn't bother him, he could have just continued as normal without needing to do anything special. Thanks.

in Week 3 Mindfulness of Emotions an online course at:http://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/books-articles/articles/introduction-to-meditation-transcripts/all/1/ Gil Fronsdal says "... the Buddha had a bad back. You wouldn’t believe it with his good posture, but he had a bad back and sometimes he couldn’t give his Dharma talk, so he’d lie down instead and have one of his senior disciples give a talk." Anyone know where he might have got this information from?

My friend was healthy and normal. There was a sudden bleeding in her brain due to an AVM and went through a serious brain surgery. Now around 3 weeks she is in a coma status. How can I understand this in Buddhism. Does she hear us? Can she feel what is going on? Is she in pain? Thank you.