This is a paragraph of [Cula-sunnata sutta](https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.121.than.html) ; > **(Nothingness)** > > "Further, Ananda, the monk — not attending to the perception of the dimension of the infinitude of space, not attending to the perception of the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness — attends to the singleness based on the perception of the dimension of nothingness. His mind takes pleasure, finds satisfaction, settles, & indulges in its perception of the dimension of nothingness. > > "He discerns that 'Whatever disturbances that would exist based on the perception of the dimension of the infinitude of space are not present. Whatever disturbances that would exist based on the perception of the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness are not present. There is only this modicum of disturbance: the singleness based on the perception of the dimension of nothingness.' He discerns that 'This mode of perception is empty of the perception of the dimension of the infinitude of space. This mode of perception is empty of the perception of the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness. There is only this non-emptiness: the singleness based on the perception of the dimension of nothingness.' Thus he regards it as empty of whatever is not there. Whatever remains, he discerns as present: 'There is this.' And so this, his entry into emptiness, accords with actuality, is undistorted in meaning, & pure. This sutta is little confused to me. What is the purpose of this sutta? What is the meaning of, "His mind takes pleasure, finds satisfaction, settles, & indulges in its perception of the dimension of nothingness"? Can some one explain this sutta in simplified way?

As a child I remembered being born, being in the womb, and the death that preceeded this birth. I recalled the time between the death and the womb. I recalled the act I dying. I recalled the act of taking a blade to my own throat and the process of dying. I still recall many of the things I did which caused suffering in my previous life, but I do not recall those whom I helped, or loved. It is a heavy load to bear. Is there a purpose to this ? Am I meant to work to relieve the same suffering I caused in others ? *** "Danuka Shewantha asked (2018-03-07): If you don’t mind can you explain your experience with us. Are you recalling past life memory?" Being born: Very young I had a recurring nightmare, and it would follow me when I woke up. It was a dream of being huge in a small space and suddenly extremely small in an infinite space. The size of the space I came to realize was being defined by being squeezed from all sides and then the contact disappearing. When all the surface of my skin was in contact with the "squeezing" it felt like I was a giant and the space around me was too small for me, it panicked me, and then when the surface in contact with my skin withdrew I felt myself floating without any sense of being touched -therefore I had no size, it felt like being infinitely small in an infinitely large space. This felt like relief. This is what I later came to understand (perhaps wrongly, but it felt correct), as the memory of being born. The squeezing of the uterus against me, and then, when the contraction subsided, the feeling of the liquid around and no contact. When I was young I asked other children if they had the same nightmare and several told me they had it too. The memory of it seems to fade, like all nightmares. My suicide: One day a friend of one of my aunts, in a (very successful) effort to endear himself gave me a present for Easter (I was raised in a Catholic home). It was a huge rabbit standing like a person. It was wearing clothes like a person (a blazer and short pants). He was taller than I was. I would have been maybe 6 (?), not much older (we moved from that house when I was 7), but maybe younger. The rabbit was upstairs, there was a downstairs play area in this house. There was a moment when everything went black (no sight memory, just missing time). Then I felt like I was in a different place. I ran to the kitchen and in the utensil drawer I dug through the knives. I looked at them and kept touching them to find the one my hand remembered. I chose a short knife with a wooden handle. The knife had been washed so much the wood was rough, but it had once been smooth, the wood felt weathered, like the outside wood of an unpainted house. The surface changed by the rain. The blade of the knife had been sharpened many times on a stone. It was a knife my mother used in the vegetable garden, so my father sharpened it regularly because it was often made dull by the labour. I recall the blade shape, but I don't know how to describe it. I recall the knife as clearly as if it were before me now. I can see the lines from the sharpening reflecting light, the colour of the handle. The small rivets that held the wood to the blade were blackened. I held the knife in my hand, the butt of the handle against the middle of my palm. I knew the knife as familiar in that moment because of the place the handle fit into my palm, the length of it. It was "correct". I ran downstairs with the knife. I leaned the rabbit against a door frame to hold it vertical. Standing in front of it I looked for the place in its neck, and I sliced into it with the knife. At that moment everything went black. I felt myself different. I felt my right arm, pressed against my body, reaching for my neck on the left side, and the knife in my hand. I felt the tip of the blade against my skin. I felt the moment before the blade cut into my flesh as the blade pushed, and then the moment the skin broke. The flood of heat of my blood flowing from the wound. I felt the heat of the blood as it poured over my skin. I felt the pushing, pulsing of my heart, beating loud, and the increasing heat of the blood as my skin became cold. It (felt as though) it burned my skin. I felt everything. My eardrums hurt as though there was such a huge silence my heartbeat was crushingly loud. The memory continues from that, but I don't know if you really want to know what happened afterwards. It was quite horrible. Before birth: I recalled from that event forward and being sent into the womb. I recalled that someone/something sent me, like being pushed by a voice. As though the voice were wind and I was dust. There were many voices, not all agreed with my birth. Someone advocated for me. I did not have voice. I did not speak, I listened, involved, but not desirous (not against either) the outcome. when the vision broke I awakened on the ground, next to the now 'dead' rabbit, the small styrofoam pellets all over the floor. I could not explain to my mother why I had destroyed such a lovely gift which I loved so much. She thought it ungrateful of me. Which it was, in many ways. There are many other such moments. I recall being widowed (that pain is still searing now). I recalled my attachment to wealth and what I did to amass it. I recall the pain I brought to others through my actions, and I recall their blaming me for their suffering. I have met many of them in my life now, and I see them act on the experiences we shared. I see them continue to struggle with the experiences, but they don't seem to recall them. They are just blindly acting on the pain. Some I have helped, but many are living in a fog. It is very like watching a person you knew as a child and knowing the reasons for their current actions is their past experience. *** "Sankha Kulathantille asked (2018-03-08): Do you remember the names of your parents in the past life or at least the place they stayed? That is an interesting question, I never wondered about the names of parents. I chastised myself severly for not recalling the names of my children, but parents never occured to me. I recall young being very upset to be called by the name which I was given. I could not understand why they called me that and it upset me greatly. I knew it wasn't my name and I concentrated very hard to recall my real name. The name I have now is Michele, and when I focused I could recall my name as something very different that I had never heard before. It was something like Mishcoot. I tried to reason with myself that the first part of the name sounded like the first part of this name and it should not be so important. I cried myself to sleep and each time my name bothered me I reminded myself it was not so different. I am still uncomfortable with my name and I avoid its use as much as I can. I try not to think about what I lost. "My name" now is not mine, it is just what people call me. I know when I hear it that I am being addressed, but I feel no attachment to it. It could just as easily be a sound like a whistle or a grunt. Where: (very young) I cried inconsolably at the sight of Jewish cemeteries and when asked I explained I could not be buried on sacred ground. I was raised Roman Catholic in a homogenous area, and had never met anyone Jewish at that time. When I was first in school and learning letters I kept insisting that they also had a numeric value and words could be added. Frustrated teachers insisted I was wrong and to stop insisting. It would be decades before I learned that Hebrew does this. The first time I traveled to NYC (New York city USA) I knew where things were without maps or street names. I ran down a street and closed my eyes as I reached a street corner. With eyes closed I (gleefully) lifted my left arm and pointed. With eyes still closed I said "Grand Central Station" and when I opened my eyes it was there. It wasn't a surprise, it just was where I knew it would be. I continued this game that first day, and then I just settled into the familiarity. It was very pleasant, and it felt safer there than anywhere else. Like a well loved child in their familial space.

What is the nature of a ? How does one incorporate a refuge tree(s) into their practice?

Physicists are scientist who study the reality and draw conclusions about it scientifically. After studying what Buddha said it appears to me that Physicists are trapped in a wrong world. They believe in Newton's Law. They believe in Einstein's Universe. They believe in Quantum Mechanics. All the above laws fail to lead to any conclusion about Dhamma as taught by Buddha or other religions worldwide. They do not find any suffering inherent in the Universe because they failed to connect their theories with the beings. For physicists, non-conscious Universe can lead to the emergence of consciousness on its own. For physicists , something which feels Nothing can lead to emergence of feeling on its own. To illustrate imagine a piece of matter kept in the space. According to science that matter will become conscious over a period of time on its own because it will create a juggling of chemicals and that juggling of chemicals is called life and consciousness. That juggling of chemicals produces suffering in the Mankind and by giving appropriate chemicals the suffering can be removed. And that is what happening in the west.Similarly they believe that the mind is a result of chemical juggling and when the chemical juggling stops the mind ceases to exists. My question is : Due to the above wrong view , do you agree that Physicists are suffering or going to suffer? And briefly what can a Buddhist do to help them?

I came to know about Buddhism very late in my life. It is the time for me to relearn the fundamentals of life. But I struggle with everyday activity. I lack energy. In fact I have a diabetes. My past Karma has been bad enough to get me a disease. My question is: How can Buddhism help me get rid of this disease? If I fix my Karma then will the suffering due to the disease will disappear ? If yes, how can I repent and to whom ?

> **Buddhist Prayer of Forgiveness** > If I have harmed anyone in any way either knowingly or unknowingly through my own confusions I ask their forgiveness. > If anyone has harmed me in any way either knowingly or unknowingly through their own confusions I forgive them. > And if there is a situation I am not yet ready to forgive I forgive myself for that. > For all the ways that I harm myself, negate, doubt, belittle myself, judge or be unkind to myself through my own confusions I forgive myself. I love this prayer. It is found on many sites on the Internet as the Buddhist Prayer of Forgiveness. Can someone guide me to the origin i.e the sutta where this prayer can be found?

I will try to get my situation across without going into too much detail. About a year ago I moved with my mother to the other end of the country. For me it was an adventure and a good opportunity to progress in my career. For her it was the realization of a childhood dream. Growing up in the southern part of Germany she always longed for the north and the sea. She thoroughly enjoys her new life. For me, however, this was the worst year of my entire life. At the beginning I thought I merely had a bad case of homesickness but as the year progressed, I again and again slid into prolonged depressive episodes. I have been treated for depression before and I usually cope quite well with it, but now again, my situation has worsened to such a degree that I am convinced that I only have two possible courses of action: Get back to my hometown at the next opportunity or have my condition deteriorate until I am either hospitalized or until I harm myself. For the second time since my move to Hamburg, I get back to my hometown on a business trip. Last time I was there, it felt as though I had waken up from a bad dream. Nevertheless, I made the trip back. This time, I am sure that I will be unable to return. On the one hand I am filled with joy at the idea of returning home for good, on the other hand I cannot put into words how bad I feel about having to tell my mother that I am not going to come back to her. I have to emphasize that she is dependend on me in a way that is certainly to be considered out of the ordinary. She has lost a lot in her life which is why she clings so badly to our relationship. I know that the announcement is going to leave her devastated. I have about five years of buddhist practice and even though I think I have made a lot of progress and I know that I should aim to achieve upekkha, this is too big for me. This adds to the conflicting state, I am in at the moment. It feels as though, as if to add insult to injury, I am not only betraying my mother, but also failing in my endeavor to quite simply be a good person and to live according to the Noble Eightfold Path. I am not sure what kind of counsel I expect or want to receive in response to this post, but in any case I am heartfelt grateful for everybody who took the time to read through this. (And maybe has a few lines of her or his thoughts to share.) This has gotten longer than I intended it to be but I want to make sure to make my feelings understood as precisely as possible. By the way: I know that, quite apart from my feelings of spiritual shortcoming, depression constitutes a serious psychiatric condition. I do take medication and I have an appointment with my old Stuttgart-based psychiatrist two days from now. So I have taken care of that side of the coin. I would just like to try to evaluate and get feedback on my situation from a spiritual/Buddhist point of view. Thank you again!

Buddha said the following are unskillful verbal action : > He engages in divisive speech. What he has heard here he tells there to break those people apart from these people here. What he has heard there he tells here to break these people apart from those people there. Thus breaking apart those who are united and stirring up strife between those who have broken apart, he loves factionalism, delights in factionalism, enjoys factionalism, speaks things that create factionalism. He engages in abusive speech. He speaks words that are harsh, cutting, bitter to others, abusive of others, provoking anger and destroying concentration. He engages in idle chatter. He speaks out of season, speaks what isn’t factual, what isn’t in accordance with the goal, the Dhamma, & the Vinaya, words that are not worth treasuring. I have a question about this. When someone has wronged us or others, it is very helpful psychologically to speak about it to someone to "let off" steam. For example : if going through a divorce a woman speaks about why she is getting divorced and the wrongs her husband has done her to her best friend. This helps her work through it and offload some steam. Does this sort of comfort seeking with someone qualify as " unskillful verbal action"

I currently don't have a teacher and I'm looking for good study guides for the sutta's. I mean I'm reading them but when it comes to interpretation often I'm at a loss. Is there a source(s) or book(s) that can help with this? I know they're is no substitute for s teacher but until such time I'm working on my on.

I am currently exploring why Buddhism declined in my country India. Most of internet sites tell me that it was because of islamic invasion, but then hinduism survived it. In my opinion, it is easy to follow Hinduism where you just have to worship a diety for material gains. However to understand Buddhism itself you need certain amount of intelligence and life experience. So the Indian kings must have found it easy to back Hinduism to reign as it bolsters desires to rule and perpetuate. What is your opinion on this?

My students' formal feedback about teaching makes me feel defeated. What would be a Buddhist view of this pain?

For about two years now I have been reading about Buddhism (Theravada) and have been trying to meditate and contemplate the Buddhist teachings. From this I have experienced some calm and a feeling of well being in my life but sometimes I feel doubt in this and fear that maybe I am deluding myself. I have been skeptical of religions for a long time but for past couple of years I have "experimented" with Buddhism since I found some agreement between Buddhism and positive psychology. How can I deal with these moments of doubt?

I read in Ajahn Brahms book that you pass through 4 immaterial realms after jhanas and before enlightenment. I want to know more about them. Where can I find the suttas in the Tripitaka?

Please correct me if I'm wrong. From what I read, the purpose of Vipassana meditation is to get insight, and wisdom about one self, in order to achieve a better life and eventually nibanna. The way I have been taught to practice Vipassana, is to focus on the present moment, feeling the sensations or emotions as they appear and disappear, observe the changes in the mind, and so on. However, in order to get insight, am I not supposed to analyse what is going on, looking for answers ? In order to think in that way, isnt'it necessary to break the focus on the present moment and therefore break the meditation ? Maybe it is part of the meditation ? **As an example**, suppose that I am meditating. Suddently a feeling of anxiety arises. I turn my focus to this feeling, gathering informations, feeling it for what it is, seeing the impermanence in it, etc. Then the anxiety disappears or some other thing arises, so I need to switch my focus in order to stay in the present moment. Instead, I would like to investigate this feeling, trying to guess why it happened, seeing if there is a way I can prevent myself from feeling it again, or if there is a way to prevent myself from the suffering I create by repeling this feeling. Experience as shown that I can get to great insight by interrupting the focus on the present moment to investigate the feeling. However on some other occasions it distracted me. In addition I imagine that the insights I get may be sometimes incomplete or false views ? How I am supposed to go about this ?

I have a major problem in my practice. When things are going well in life ,doubt rarely raises its head and I practice diligently. However , when something bad happens , I feel, how could this happen , I practiced so much. I start losing faith in the Dhamma and start to question whether it is real or helpful. This is a very painful position to be in. There are things causing doubt; frequently giving unwise attention to them — that is the nourishment for the arising of doubt that has not yet arisen, and for the increase and strengthening of doubt that has already arisen. — SN 46:51 When in the midst of painful emotion , this is what revolves in my head. How do I take this advice of the Buddha on a practical level. How do I stop giving "unwise attention" to the events that arise doubt like when accosted with suffering even though I practice so diligently. I would like to hear you own practical experience or links to any meditations out there. Furthermore, for denourishing of doubt , there are the five antidotes: 1. Knowledge of the Buddhist scriptures (Doctrine and Discipline); 2. Asking questions about them; 3. Familiarity with the Vinaya (the Code of Monastic Discipline, and for lay followers, with the principles of moral conduct); 4.Firm conviction concerning the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. 5. Noble friendship; 6. Suitable conversation. In addition, the following are helpful in conquering Doubt: Reflection, of the factors of absorption (jhananga); Wisdom, of the spiritual faculties (indriya); Investigation of reality, of the factors of enlightenment (bojjhanga). How do I apply these antidotes practically , I read Dhamma books almost everyday , chant everyday and meditate. But when I am suffering , I feel anger and disbelief at the Dhamma . Even though I am practising so much ,I am still suffering. How can I overcome this very toxic and negative wrong-view to continue my Dhamma practice?

As a lay Buddhist, I know it is almost impossible for me to attain Enlightenment in this life. So if I keep enlightenment as a goal in mind it creates frustration, as I am not progressing in meditation and, life seems hopeless as Enlightenment is an impossible pursuit. However, if I don't think of enlightenment then I don't have any good motivation to do meditation and keep the precepts. How should I get out of in this confusion? Life as a Buddhist seems almost unpracticle. Any advise?

In Buddhist forums where I had asked this question, there are always "advanced" practitioners who say that there is no benefit for a lay person to be celibate. So every time i read that, I stop trying to be celibate, although I see some benefit from it (though I'm not sure of it). I would like to hear the opinions of different users on this subject. Are there any benefits from practising celibacy or is it not useful? (I mean full time celibacy, not only on retreats or at Uposatha days) If the answer is that it's useful, then why is it not more recommended in Theravada Buddhism? Also monks do not recommend celibacy to lay people outside of Uposatha and retreats. Why not? I am mainly interested in the view of Theravada Buddhism, but I appreciate all views on this subject also from other sects of Buddhism and other religions like Hinduism etc. All answers are more than welcome. Please specify which tradition of Buddhism or Hinduism that you are basing your answer on.

I thought I'd just ask here: did the Buddha die in absorption / any of the dhaynas?

Is Sakyamuni a "higher power"? I know what I mean, by "higher power" but it may still be opaque, to you. I don't mean a substance, or all powerful personality. But something *like* that. So, I mean to ask, is he *like* the Abrahamic God?

I see two Pali words which are translated into English as "intention": - [Cetanā](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cetan%C4%81) used in the definition of karma - [Sankappa](http://www.vipassana.com/resources/8fp3.php) used in the definition of the Noble Eightfold Way. Do these two words mean exactly the same thing? If not, what is the difference?