I have seen Buddhists worship Gautam Buddha, a great personality, a great philosopher, a great social reformer and spiritual master, with incense and candles. They would offer flower to his idol made of up of rock, marble, metal, wood, etc and also offer bowls of water and eatables in front of him, like the Hindus.

The Nanamoli and Bodhi translation of MN9 states in 2 excerpts: > With the arising of the taints there is the arising of ignorance. With > the cessation of the taints there is the cessation of ignorance. ..... > > With the arising of ignorance there is the arising of the taints. > With the cessation of ignorance there is the cessation of the taints. The same 2 excerpts from the Thanissaro translation of MN9 reads: > From the origination of fermentation comes the origination of > ignorance. From the cessation of fermentation comes the cessation of > ignorance. ..... > > From the origination of ignorance comes the origination of > fermentation. From the cessation of ignorance comes the cessation of > fermentation. When I took a look at the Pali version of Sammaditthi Sutta (MN9) , I'm guessing that these phrases refer to: > Āsavasamudayā avijjāsamudayo, āsavanirodhā avijjānirodho ..... > > Avijjāsamudayā āsavasamudayo, avijjānirodhā āsavanirodho How does this logic work? When A arises, B arises. When A ceases, B ceases. When B arises, A arises. When B ceases, A ceases. Does this imply a cyclic causation (similar to chicken and egg)? Why is this the case? How does it work? How can the cycle be broken?

I recently visited Japan and went to see a Nicherin Buddhist monastery and temple in Tokyo. There they were preaching that Buddhism is not just for the Japanese or Chinese or some particular race, it is for the entire humanity. The chief monk their would barely speak English but he said he is a follower of Buddha, Nicherin and Tanaka Chigaku. Then he invited me to his home and his wife served fish sushi and chicken meat balls for both of us! I ask, 'You are a Buddhist and an ordained monk, do you eat meat?' He replied that even Buddha and his followers ate meat!

How exactly does that go down because I know male devas have nymphs.

Does drowsiness as a defilement only refer to a psychological state of mind? I know that emotions manifest also as physical phenomena, but how do I distinguish between physical exhaustion and psychological defilement? If I am done with my job or school I'm feeling sometimes exhausted. How do I know if I have this defilement in me? Now of course if I ate a lot then it's clearly a defilement. Just for convenience I was thinking that the next time I'm feeling physically exhausted I am going to meditate even if just for 5-10 minutes to give myself the chance to have a sense of achievement and well.. maybe the sleepiness disappeared by then. Any thoughts or sutta references? (I am aware that the Buddha advised to combat drowsiness and if everything fails one can take a nap)

Is eating fish eggs that we normally find in sushi dishes the same as kiling? Is there any life terminated when we eat them?

I am somewhat curious, following an answer to a previous question of mine, as to why understanding a person's background might inhibit judging them in a stereotypical way. I perceived this in my practice and I have found it somewhat effective in my own case, but I am unsure why this is so. I feel as if such awareness of background is a bit superfluous, yet then again I feel empathy is less frequent when we don't understand a person's motivations. Consequently, I wonder: 1. Why is understanding motivations effective against judging others according to Buddhism? 2. How can this idea be best applied in meditation? For example, how would meditating on the causes of suffering--to arouse compassion--be achieved? Thank you

What did Buddha say about dysfunctional families for novice practitioners? What advice did he give for novice practitioners in order to have a good practice as being a novice such impediments as a dysfunctional and painful family can impact practice in a negative manner? What precautions should one take? Should one go no-contact, is that skillful? Elsewhere, Buddha has mentioned that one cannot repay the debts of the parents and even in the Mangala Sutta it is mentioned that one should be helpful to relatives. However, if being in contact with dysfunctional families makes us lose our faith in ourselves and makes us angry and hateful all the time, this is a huge impediment to practice especially as a novice. I know that one should learn to have compassion for these people and see them as afflicted by delusions. However the transgressions are so huge and the fact that I am a novice makes me feel guilty that I cannot feel the compassion. I have tried Metta meditation and also analyzing them using the 5 ways to overcome hatred. At this point nothing is helping. I am just filled with this ball of anger and hatred inside me constantly. I am afraid that I am generating more negative mind-states by being in contact with this dysfunctional system. There is a lot of dysfunction and its so painful, to the point that I am losing my self-esteem and have started doubting my worth as a human -being. There is constant lies, manipulation, slandering... I am losing my faith in myself as a human being. All advice to deal with this situation from the Suttas, and practical advice from personal experiences, will be appreciated. Please remember, this is for a novice. High spiritual ideals like compassion etc are great, but they are not helpful for me right now.

I was reading that both the Dalai Lama and Karmapa are both rebirths (emanations) of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara . Also there are other lamas who are also emanations of Avalokiteśvara. So is Avalokiteśvara reborn into more than one body and if so is every being that is Avalokiteśvara the same in some way? Or is that just different Tibetan traditions? Generally is rebirth restricted to one body or can it be split across more than one? I appreciate that this will be different across branches of Buddhism so can I restrict my question to Tibetan Buddhism.

Am completely new to the practice. What is the custom/proper etiquette when meeting a Venerable, in this instance for the first time but still applies overall? Further, is one to bow to the Buddha first and then greet? Please be as detailed and specific as possible. Example, If one is to bow, how and how many times, when, etc.

I feel like a very cold and sensual person. Easily attracted to sensual pleasure but very cold and numb when it comes to bonding with other human beings. I want to change, and therefore I want to make a meditation plan in order to develop empathy, love and compassion for other human beings, and possibly extend it to all sentient beings in general. However, I'm not sure about how to make such a meditation plan. Based on your experience / knowledge, which meditation techniques are most effective to develop these emotions?

This question leads on from the comments on this post What is the minimum amount of time that one could productively sit in meditation? For instance if I only had five minutes to sit should I do it or would the time be so short that I should just not delude myself with the pretense of a 5 minute meditation. What about 10 minutes does this change it? Or the other extreme could I sit for a minute - would it be worth it? I would be interested if anyone could give references from established teachers past or present on recommended guidelines, practices around this.

We are all suffering. This knowledge results in compassion. Buddha was compassionate. And courageous too. My question is : Is there any aspect of knowledge which results in courage?

Is Buddhism in conflict with manliness? I don't mean macho manliness but being a real man. To be man we have to compete, obtain resources and protect our families. Could it be all achieved reasonably and with compassion? Could a man following Dhamma be a real, good man? This is a question I ask myself for a very long time. Thank you for your responses :)

Are there any Suttas that explain how to deal with (unexpected) life obstacles? It seems that in this regard Buddhism seems to be a bit passive? I might be wrong.

Finally everyone who meditate comes to a single point **"Enlightenment"**. So anybody have any idea about how the enlightenment feels like. How it helps a man. How their mind works and reacts to the situations. How important is enlightenment to a man. Do we need to meditate more hours to gain enlightenment or Meditate effectively to get enlightened.

Do Buddhist ancient scriptures/texts record or comment on: 1. The then-prevalent varna system? or 2. The then-prevalent caste system (clan-like system)? I understand that Buddhism is based on equality, i.e. I am not saying that Buddhism accepted the caste system. In particular, what I am asking is whether buddhist text: - Records any wrong-doings based on caste system or varna system - Records whether or not the varna system was birth-based at that time - Explicitly says that it rejects birth-based varna system/caste system. Please provide references from such text.

I am looking for sutta text where the Buddha says something like... > The ways of the world will never be finished find your own salvation > with diligence... Meaning, all the politics, hatered, war in this world will always continue you need not heed them and instead you should work towards your own salvation...

According to Mahayana doctrine (at least within Nyingma linbeage), different incarnations of body, mind and/or speech of a same sentient being are possible. By which I deduce that a sentient being of a lower realm could also be reborn into a human realm having, say, two bodies of opposite sexes. Hence, given the conditions listed, my questions will be: a) Can a same sentient being be reborn in a human form in two or more body incarnations having opposite sexes? b) If yes, would a sexual union between, say, two such body incarnations of a same sentient being having opposite sexes in a human form count as a sexual misconduct, provided the other requirements for a proper sexual conduct are met? Any reference to a sutra and / or abhidharma text would be of a great help.

It seems that when I process information, be it at work or with people in general, I struggle to not be swept into a cerebral/cognitive space. How can this be remedied/avoided?