I am an above beginner level meditator. I have been practicing Vipassana meditation regularly for the past 6-7 months. By regularly, I mean 1hr of sitting meditation at least 5 times a week. I have not been able to control my lust. I try to remain mindful during acts of sexual gratification, but I have very few moments of awareness. The rest of the time, I am just going with the flow. Although I am a lay person, I want to be celibate. Please guide me. I remember a story wherein Buddha said to someone how one should eat as if they are eating their own child having lost in a desert. Are there any such stories from Buddha's life/teachings regarding this subject? Basically I need some inspiration. Please share your experience if possible

Similar to this question. I started vipassana with my roommate and we both meditated peacefully. But now that he left and I am alone, I have noticed lust in my mind that leads me to wrong websites and results in negative deeds.
 **I have tried to observe, but just could not control self**. I have read many related answers from my all time favourite [@Suminda Sirinath S. Dharmasena](https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/users/295/suminda-sirinath-s-dharmasena) , but regarding this topic, all answers sound very theoretical. 
May I know something powerful, though I know it will be difficult for me. Living with another person will stop my mind, but I think that is not a solution as thoughts can again come when I am alone.
**The real victory over lust should come when I am alone**. 

Kindly help, I really want to get rid of this.

Hello Beautiful People, I have a quick question. After years of meditating with a mixture of Mahasi and Goenka style, I would like to ask the following. Very often when I sit to mediate, it is a matter of seconds to experience a subtle sense of pleasure and/or spaciousness. But more interestingly, is that after meditating a bit more there comes a feeling that my eyes want to move upwards, almost like if they want to see behind my head/brain. The first times this eye movement happened, years ago, there was fear in me because this was unusual and unexpected - it was even a bit painful. But after letting this movement happen, I realized that the traditional lights, pleasure, and spaciousness became more present. Sometimes this leads to a very focalized pleasure spot at the top of my head and sometimes to the feeling that a very strong and interesting sense of pleasure would come from that spot (like if there is a cascade of pleasure emanating from the top of my head). The eye movement I am describing is not like REM. It is rather slow and it is directed upwards. So, I guess my question is: what is this eye movement thing? Is it described anywhere? Is it a Jhana thing? Is it a symptom of any stage of the path? Thanks!

I can devote 7 hours total to meditation + sleep per day. Should I do 5 hours of sleep and 2 hours of mediation (1 hour twice) **or** 6 hours of sleep and 1 hour of meditation? Please explain your reasons why. Will 2 hours of meditation increase my productivity? Please explain from your own experience, not any bookish knowledge Will meditating twice give me **twice** as much benefit as meditating once?

When you meditate with ADHD, the difficulty level of life drops a lot. If you then practice the noble eightfold path in order to come closer to nibbana, you're sort of doing that on a wheelchair. If you stop meditating, ADHD will come back full force, and you still have 0 experience of being on the noble eightfold path on that difficulty level. Could meditating be a hindrance toward enlightenment, for that reason? Aren't you making it too easy for yourself?

I am asking this in reference to the aircraft that crashed in India. Is there anything like collective karma, like the alayavijnana (Collective Consciousness)? ( I should not say this, but...) Like, sometimes the entire community suffers, like the Jews in the Second World War. Or sometimes there is an earthquake, natural disasters...If the dependent origination is correct, then should there be a reason behind the mass suffering?

Definitions: - I want to emphasize the mind, the body doesn't ache, isn't sore, isn't itchy, nothing at all; that is the 'an lạc' of the body (bodily ease/well-being). - 'Thanh thản' (serenity) is when our mind doesn't ponder, isn't busy at all; that is 'thanh thản'. - 'Vô sự' (actionlessness/nothing-to-do) is doing nothing at all; the body also does nothing, and the mind also doesn't ponder, meaning it does nothing; that is 'vô sự'. It is normal, very normal like a normal person, yet doing nothing at all. That is: the head/mind doesn't work, and the hands and feet also don't work; that is 'vô sự'. As for the mind that doesn't ponder, doesn't worry about anything at all, that is 'thanh thản' (serenity). As for the body that doesn't ache, isn't sore, itchy, nothing at all, that is 'an lạc' (ease); it is normal. Just like right now, [if] our body has no aches or pains, that is the 'an lạc' of our body. That is the state right now; it's not anything strange or different. It is the normalcy of a normal human being. Therefore, once you recognize that normalcy, now you just need to use the method of Right Thinking (Như Lý Tác Ý), guide it [the mind]: > "A mind unshaken, serene, at ease, and free from involvement.” You just fear it [the mind] will move and ponder about this and that, so you remind it: ‘Mind immovable, serene, at ease, actionless,’ and then just sit relaxedly/idly like that. So, can I use "unshaken, serene, at ease, uninvolved" as a mindful reminder throughout my day to make my mind feel better?

I’ve been reflecting on ***the slide*** of the practice—that threshold where the "Doer" or the "Agent" seems to fall away and you’re just left with the flow of the process. Suttas like **AN 11.2 (the Cetana Sutta)** describe this beautifully. They show the path as a series of mental qualities that "flow on and fill up" through dhammatā (natural law), without needing an act of will (cetanā) to push them along. It's one thing to know the "map" of these links intellectually, but I'm curious about the specific point where that knowledge flips into a direct "Aha!" moment—witnessing the mechanics run themselves. How do the Suttas (or the broader tradition) describe this shift from just knowing the mechanics (ñāṇa) to actually seeing them unfold (dassana)? Is there a specific term for that tipping point?

Caucasian skin is peachy and sandy (due to having no pigmentation) while the great man's body in nibbana is, according to the 32 perfections of a great man , "his skin is the color of gold". White skin requires some pigmentation. Currently my journey with white skin represents the Trix rabbit's (1994 commercial) attempt to take his own cereal. All he gets is "silly rabbit Trix are for kids!" And the fact that some saints may have received such a miracle to change their skin color forever makes the pain that much more serious. And what should I do regarding the psychologist? I am visiting one to drain my emotions of this, and that might make my eternity as a yellow man all that much more permanent!

Thoughts about mine and that things should be this way, about children, husband, and relatives - these are all personality view. That is developed in our own mind. So we inflicted our own wounds. So we were in our own prison. So when this thinking stops, personality view has been destroyed. Hasn't it?

If there is no self in mental formations and volition, then who carries out mindfulness? I try to see that there is no self in things. Is it not therefore that I am? 'Being mindful you'll see that even the ambition to be mindful has no self' - who sees that?

When a person or a group of people identify themselves with "the good" (in opposition to "not so good" or even "the evil" of others), quite often this can lead to "the good" getting overly aggressive in its pursuit of the goodness and de-facto turning into evil. Is this an inevitable problem arising due to identification/reification or is there a way to keep it under control and identify with the good without becoming the evil? If so, how can that be achieved? What guidelines do various Buddhist schools offer on this topic, if any? P.S. by "to identify with" I mean "to consider themselves to be affiliated with, or to be representative of, the true *something* (in this case *the good*)"

What practise to do to fill your heart with Metta? What kind of meditation or what to do the meditation?

I come from Hindu background. Hindus do idol worship in the temples and also there are idols in home. There are elaborate rituals about how to do the worship. The core belief in hindusim is that if you worship the idol then that particular diety will grant wishes, fulfill desires and give boons to fulfill the desires in samsara. Almost 90% of how hinduism is practised is along the lines of pleasing the diety. However the central tenet of Buddhism is to get rid of desires and desiring mind. "Desire is the cause of sorrow" the Buddha said. So, My question is why do Buddhist also do idol worship. There are temples of the Buddha where there are Buddha statues and also there are rituals in front of the Buddha statue. When asked 'if the Buddha exist after the Mahaparinirvana?' The Buddha did not answer the question. Nirvana means 'blown out', 'extinguished. My question is, does the Buddha help in any way to the devotees of the Buddha. Does the Buddha help solve the problems in Samsara? How does the worshipping of the Buddha help the Buddhist on the path? Is there some part of Buddha, perhaps His consciousness gets accessed through the statue?

Of the 4 brahmaviharas, karuna, metta, mudita and uppekha, which is the most easy to practise?

I want to cultivate the brahmavihara of Karuna (compassion). How to meditate or what practise to generate the heart of Karuna?

In theory, many ways of meditation have been given to stop cravings and aversion. What about practical life? During day to day life, it has often been seen and experienced as well that, "we tend to lean towards comfortablity", whether it be of body or brain. Let's take a basic example: one living in a rented house tend to go for a own-home(whenever possible).... even monks of modern era tend to go for own-kuti/monastery. For this one needs money. Reason being given is, "i feel more freedom inside my own-home instead of rented one". Another eg. : Using technologies, more resources for making life easy-going. Resaon being given as: we have less headaches, more respect, easy-flow of society. Even if i properly give time to analyze, realize, etc. bhlabhla, stay *disconnected* to this modernized life, there is definitely no need for me to ask this question! If one doesn't go for maintaining status, using hi-fi techs, spending money(either for dana purpose or for anything else..), ........ It's more likely to be 99.99% that such person would be physically and mentally **behind** from others. One simple solution came is:: live like a bpl(below poverty line) person but this will definitely decrease morale and enthusiasm of nearby-ones, decreasing their chances of learning dhamma. (If possible, kindly don't include advice for meditation to a freak and too-ignorants) i am more concerned into balancing the life(middle path for householders) such that both nearby ones and me can have less possible crave, more possible dhamma! **Edit::** Maybe, this answer is somewhat talking about balance in last 3 paragraphs. But it is also saying to re-engage in earning money to get approval of others.....getting approval is ok but how would money change someone's behaviour, confusing to me?

Please give a clear simple example of how this looks in a practical way without quoting suttas. I just want a practical example. Thanks > The object of consciousness, or mind-object, that arises has to be of > ultimate reality, not conventional reality. We must be able to > differentiate between what is absolute reality, or paramattha dhamma > and what is conventional reality, or sammuti.

I am basically an Undergraduate student in India. Let me tell everyone that I made huge mistakes in my past. When my parents beat me, I also beat them. I never respected my parents and my teachers. Whenever my parents told me to touch the feet of the elders, I always used to get angry at my parents. Whenever my parents suggested me anything good, then I always used to get angry and many times I have even beaten my parents. I have never said "Thank You Sir" to my teachers when they helped me out with my Doubts. I always used to challenge my elders. Many times, I have even shouted at my grandparents. But now at the age of 21, I am able to understand my every mistakes which I already committed in the past. Now I want to rectify myselves. I really want to know that how can I rectify myselves ? How can I control my anger ?

In my quest to develop virtue, sometimes, I get distracted and entangled in thoughts. When I am in thoughts, virtuous conduct is halted. The reason why I get entangled in thoughts, is usually because of attachment. For example, attachment to what someone thinks about me. My head starts ruminating and I am not being mindful or diligent or metta in the present moment. One way to phrase this came to mind, inspired by a sutta describing enlightenment. To paraphrase the relevant part of the sutta: > Picking up the aggregates is a burden, laying them down is blissful Inspired by this, **when I become distracted, I think of it like this:** > **Instead of having practiced the eightfold path, I picked up the aggregates** **Since I still don't grasp enlightenment or anatta, I am unsure if this is a helpful application of that phrase.** What do you think?