What is the different between Nirodha Samapatti and Phala Samapatti? Are they the same? What are the distinctions between them?

I know that lying is unskillful in general but in the case where saying the truth could hurt someone and its necessary to lie in order to heal that person **but you cannot fake the lying in front of him/her since it would be obvious you are lying** rendering the method ineffective.So in accord with right action and intention how can this be resolved? I read this question Does any/every form of lying violate the precept of “not-lying”? which justifies white lies. However **Iam concerned with saying it genuinely**,if you are going to say a series of lies one after another and you don't believe they actually happened it can be hard not only to genuinly say them but to have a conversation about facts .

After the era of the well known Thai Bhikkhus like Ajahn Mun, Ajahn Tate, Ajahn Maha Boowa, Ajahn Waen and Ajahn Chah; Which Ajahns are considered as Arahants or Highly developed Meditators,in these days? (I'm asking this not to arouse curiosity of others, but to find good monks' Dhamma talks).

So I was doing breath meditation each day for 30 mins or so for around 2 years. Then over the past year I have found that it is causing me to feel strange and anxious when doing everyday tasks. When I meditate I don't feel the symptoms but during the day when I have to start thinking the symptoms come. When its at its worst loud sounds can make me feel very odd (e.g. someone shouting or laughing suddenly and loudly). However, if I have to speak and have a conversation then the symptoms tend to go. It's very frustrating because meditation has been such a great interest for me and has helped me so much in lots of other areas that I am reluctant to give it up completely. I am a pragmatist though and if the right move is to give it up completely then I will do that. Has anyone else had any experience of this or got any advice. Obviously its a tricky thing to advise on as you don't know the entirety of the situation but any help would be really appreciated. Cheers

The ability to believe in something is a function of the imagination. The power of belief is the power of the imagination. How does one differentiate between conceptualizing and using one's imagination ?

1) It is said that doing the technique that Mahasi Sayadaw talks about we can attain awakening. If you know anything about this technique how is it to be done and can it take us to Nibbana. 2) Question number 2: could you describe the sathipathanas and Jhanas and how I should train them. Especially when I hear about Jhanas on youtube it seems something mystical that we normal people cannot attain. Thank you Dhamma brothers.

Could you describe to me what all the Jhanas mean in everyday language because I couldnt understand it by reading the sutras. I couldn't understand what they meant by reading the sutras describing them like neither perception nor non perception and nothingness and I didnt understand the others either so could you tell me the meaning of all the Jhanas so I can understand what they actually mean. Also in Buddhism conciousnesss arises dependently so how is it possible for there to infinite conciousness when conciousness arises dependently. Thanks

Namo Buddhaya! People always ask "How are you?", "Isn't that beautiful/horrible", "You are so lucky/unlucky!", "Did you enjoy/like that", and so on. > How do I respond to these things in a way that doesn't identify with > the aspects that cause clinging, such as saying my day is good and > favorable rather than bad or saying I dislike this meal, and so on. > More specifically, how do I respond to these and other questions like > so in a way that doesn't push toward a worldly condition such as > pleasure and pain, status and disgrace, etc.? Metta!

Namo Buddhaya! Can someone please SIMPLY explain the EIGHT Jhanas, specifically: > 1) What are Jhanas meant to do & why would one want to achieve them? > > 2) How does one specifically achieve them (instructions please)? > > 3) What happens in each individual Jhana, from the first to the > eighth? > > 4) How can I explain the Jhanas to a newcomer of the Dhamma? **Please use scripture to back up your answers, but don't make your whole answer scripture...** Metta!

I have been on three 10-day Goenka Vipassana retreats in the past four years. I continue to meditate every day, although I question my technique, my progress, and eventually if this is the right tradition for me. Hence, I am naturally caught up in doubt as a primary hindrance. Goenka Vipassana being my only real exposure to any type of Buddhist meditation, I am trying to learn more about tradition because, for one, I feel like I still haven't gotten a handle on my samadhi. By that, I mean I still haven't achieved a quiet mind or a fully absorbed mind. - I am wondering if I should pursue a tradition that doesn't dismiss the dhyanas the way that Goenka Vipassana does? I like that there ares stages. I do better with structure in general, and could be more intent and directed in my practice if I have had more defined path with clear markers along the way. However, I do keenly sense my bodily sensations and can achieve a free flow of energy. Still, even as I experience awareness of subtle sensations and a free flow, my mind is not clear of thought. - Which brings me to another question -- am I supposed to observe thoughts as they arise, or keep my focus on my breathe (if pracaticing anapana) or sensations when doing Vipassana? - A final question: is bhanganana a type of dhyana? I have not reached bhanga, and I am not even sure that I have reached the first dhyana, but the definitions of each that I have read seem to correspond. How does one skip the dhyanas but then achieve bhanga? Forgive my relative ignorance of these matters. I live in a urban area that has a lot of different meditation centers in the vicinity, including a Shambhala (Tibetan) Center. I am curious to explore, although I am a bit hesitant about the more ritual-based Mahayana traditions as they seem too much like organized religion to me. Essentially, my goal, if I admit that I have one, is to make progress, is to deepen my practice, to achieve profound states of peace and clarity, to experience impermanence directly, to gain this ultimate wisdom. I am not attached Goenka Vipassana, and open to different approaches that will help me to improve my concentration (samadhi) that will, in tern, allow for panna (wisdom). Thank you.

I notice I have practised meditation in a very biased way, in the sense that I contemplate my experience in a neither focused, neither supported way. Here, by support, I mean a contemplation supported by an object. So, basically, I am aware of my consciousness and the interaction of thoughts and impressions within it, although without a specific support. To me, a *focused* meditation would imply moments of consciousness unified by some specific centring focus. Similarly, *supported* meditation implies sensory, perceptual focuses rather than experiences which are bound to alter and vary. An actual object, whether material as a physical object or perceptual as the breath, would fulfill both these aspects. **QUESTION 1: What is the effect/consequence of meditating in such a vague way? Of simply attending to consciousness without an ongoing object of focus?** **QUESTION 2: Would such a way of contemplating actually *decrease* focus and energy (virya) in some cases?**

This answer by Suminda Sirinath S. Dharmasena noted the self-views, in the Tanhā Jālinī Sutta, that promote clinging to a self. I wish here to verify my understanding, namely that these views are divided into 5 parts: > (1) “I am” > > (2) “I am this [I am like this]” > > (3) “Thus am I [I am like that]” > > (4) “I am otherwise” These seem to relate to affirmations in the present, linked to affirming permanence of the self, e.g. "I am like this [always]." > (5) “I do not exist” > > (6) “I exist” Here the two views are about extremes of eternalism and nihilism. > (7) “May I be” > > (8) “May I be this [be like this]” > > (9) “May I be so [be like that]” > > (10) “May I otherwise” Here, the quality of yearning and attachment is involved, namely through fantasizing. > (11) “I might be” > > (12) “I might be this [be like this]” > > (13) “I might be that [be like that]” > > (14) “I might be otherwise” Here, it is speculation which is in question, and the contemplation of hypothetical realities which is the problem. > (15) “I shall be” > > (16) “I shall be this [be like this]” > > (17) “I shall be so [be like that]” > > (18) “I shall be otherwise” Lastly, projection into the future and imagining yet occurred realities is in question. **Are these last five conclusions correct? Or have I misunderstood certain elements?** Overall, I understand this sutta to be divided into sections 1-6 pertaining directly to *ignorance,* 7-10 as *attachment*, and 11-18 as linked to the hindrances of *doubt and worry*. **I wonder, though, how all these separate aspects are all considered 'self-views'; is it because all kleshas mentioned previously *come from* and are *manifesations of* the self?**

In daily life, I guess my self-grasping is not very salient; people tell me I'm considerate, open. However, I've written stories in the past, and in my fiction I project these fantasies that are incredibly grandiose and self-absorbed. I'm not sure what to conclude here. **Is it possible to have an unaware, unconscious self-grasping (which would here transpire in my stories)?** Or perhaps, **could writing down and elaborating grandiose, self-themed stories *exacerbate* self-grasping which would otherwise be much less?** I am somewhat confused about this as, as I said, these stories seem not to fit my day to day personality, but clearly possess important themes of self-grasping.

There's an excellent simile in the Theravada non canonical literature explaining the difference between piti and sukha in the first 3 jhanas, reminiscent of the lotus pond in this sutta MN 40. (citation?) As I remember it: - Piti = you're in a desert, dying of thirst, as you're approaching oasis/pond, you realize there's water in the distance, that you're not going to die, and you're going to drink that water soon. The thrill and excitement of that is piti. - sukha = you've arrived at the oasis/pond, now you're drinking the water. The pleasure from actually drinking the water is sukha. Three questions: 1. what is the citation of that piti sukha simile for the 4 jhanas from? 2. might this sutta, MN 40, be what inspired that simile for jhana piti/sukha differentiation? Should the words piti sukha appear in MN 40 lotus pond, but got lost in transmission? 3. What does the MN 40 lotus pond simile mean on its own terms, just for this sutta? What are the 4 directions referring to? MN 40 excerpt here: [MN 40: what is the meaning of the lotus pond simile?](https://notesonthedhamma.blogspot.com/2019/09/mn-40-what-is-meaning-of-lotus-pond.html)

I searched in the Apadāna part of Tripitaka..But couldn't find it...This includes a story of Nagitathera's previous life, and merits Nagitathera got for the god-deeds done in that life...

What makes a person believe in the idea of reincarnation? It can’t be “because the books/teachers say so”, given the Buddhist ideology of “come and see by yourself”

Here's the quote from Karaniya Metta Sutta : > "This is to be done by one skilled in aims
who wants to break > through to the state of peace:
Be capable, upright, & > straightforward,
easy to instruct, gentle, & not conceited,
> **content & easy to support,**
> **with few duties, living lightly,**
with peaceful faculties, masterful,
modest, & no greed for supporters." So one should be content and easy to support, unburdened with duties and living lightly. According to this standard, what is the best lifestyle for practicing Metta? How can one practice Metta in this [predominantly] materialistic world? Is Metta best practiced as a monk?

When I meditate on compassion, afterwards there is a post-meditative effect of making me kinder, but usually in a way that doesn't benefit me. It makes me want to rekindle friendships that were not desirable in fear that the others would suffer, or give others time and attention in ways that somewhat disadvantage me. **How can this be dealt with?** **Is compassion even linked with being friends, or is it distinct; i.e. how can one be compassionate yet retain distance with others?**

My question is what is the action each of the 5 aggregates perform. If I was not clear about the question please drop me a message here I will try to be much clearer. Please provide a Sutta as a reference.

Regardless of a meditation's perceived *quality*, I feel that finishing a meditation provides some sense of accomplishment. Nowadays, I am experiencing great lack of motivation, and when I set the goal of meditation as '30 minutes', I stop half-way and feel that I failed. Knowing how finishing things provides accomplishment, would it make more sense setting *shorter* times which I can finish? **Is there such a thing as the momentum of accomplishment in meditation or even in virtuous activity in general?** Or, is such a feeling of success a kind of attachment, and problematic? Thank you