As per Buddhist teaching there are six realms in universe. Buddha,gods,demi gods,humans,animals,hell beings.Did Buddha explains extraterrestrial life or these are states of mind? Why did Buddha kept humans and animals separate?

What are the karmic fruits/consequences of speaking harshly to others?

The Pali suttas often refer to feelings or '*vedana*', as follows: > *There are these three kinds of feeling: a pleasant feeling, a painful feeling and neither-pleasant-nor-painful feeling. MN 74* > > *There are these six classes of feeling: feeling born of eye-contact, feeling born of ear-contact, feeling born of nose-contact, feeling > born of tongue-contact, feeling born of body-contact, feeling born of > mind-contact. MN 9* Are such feelings always caused by ignorance?

It appears that Buddhism depends on a central premise -- that all worldly existence = suffering / dukkha. Are there Buddhist teachers or traditions that teach a joyous approach to worldly life? Are there any teachings that profess existence is a joyous, if sometimes painful experience, or at least a tolerably pleasant experience? An eternal roller-coaster ride of birth-and-death, joy and sorrow, that one need not seek to escape?

For people who don't believe in literal rebirth as animals,(secular or non) how would they describe the mental state associated with rebirth in the animal realm? E.g, if stress is associated with hell rebirth, what mental state is associated with animal rebirth .

In what ways does the experience of "realisation of Sunyata" differ from the experience of "realisation of Anatta", for the practitioner? The two aims are apparently non confirming, as far as I know, at least that is what their respective schools believe. So in what ways does choosing one ideal over the other lead to a difference in experience for the practitioner?

I would like to pose a question to practitioners of the various diverse sects of Pure Land Buddhism and to those substantially knowledgable of the writings of Pure Land masters. There exists the notion that Pure Land style buddhānusmṛti, namely invoking the name of Amitābha in the interest of entrance into Sukhāvatī, absolves practitioners from moral obligations and removes morality from the Buddhadharma. I do not agree with this notion, but it does exist, and this in spite of the obvious and apparent reality that Pure Land practitioners are not any more immoral than any other group of people. Some Pure Land masters are popularly quoted as saying that even the unrepentant and evil gain access to Sukhāvatī via niànfó in this very life in which they are criminals or evil men. Does anyone have any context to offer for this and how it impacts morality in the dispensation of these masters, who clearly did not advocate for immoral behaviour? Where does morality and virtue sit contextualized within the Dharma in niànfó-centric practices of Pure Land schools, wherein salvation is potentially available to all through niànfó alone? Thank you all for your time.

I work in a highly competitive market, and often people around me only talk about money or finances or the global economy day in and day out. A few of my friends/interns were attracted to Buddhism after I told them about meditation recently. Some of them became lay practitioners, but are now questioning what seems to be a contradictory lifestyle. In short, is having a goal of seeking financial success and money considered an attachment to the world? Is this contradictory to the Buddhist path of humility? Thank you.

I need your kind suggestion regarding different terms in our Buddhism. I wanted to know: - What is the difference between Dhamma Diksha and Dhamma Parivarta? - If a person from Hindu religion is getting Buddha Dhamma Diksha then will he be Buddhist on documentary basis? Or is Dhamma Diksha a kind of vidhi that the person needs to go through?

According to *popular belief* of Karma, suffering is caused by oneself. I would like to know: 1. Is one's own suffering caused by oneself? 2. Is one's own suffering caused by others? 3. Is one's own suffering caused by both oneself and others? 4. Is one's own suffering spontaneous?

Im nearly 50 years old and so far in my life I have never found a sense of belonging or any sense of purpose. I haven't found a way to work that offers any sense of contribution or meaning. I have worked in low skilled low paid jobs struggling to make ends meet for over 30 years and going nowhere. Now I'm at a point where I feel I just cannot do what is required of me in this society any longer. It's soul destroying. I have no motivation or desire to get out of bed and go to some mindless crappy job just so that I can eat and pay my bills while other people make billions for doing nothing and live in the lap of luxury. There has to be more to life than this. I have tried to find other things to do that are more rewarding such as creative endeavours but failed to find the confidence and determination to go out and make it happen and so I just end up back in the same crappy jobs. So how does this relate to Buddhism you might be wondering. Well I guess I turned to Buddhism in desperation. I felt so bored and disenchanted with life that I thought there must be another way to see things. Buddhism seemed to offer that. So I begun meditating and went on some retreats. I begun learning how to watch the mind. I have had a lot of psychological insight into the how I am the way I am because of my family etc over the years but this is more from reading than from meditating. I thought that Buddhism would give me some sense of freedom and help me to push through and change my life in a positive way but after 6 years I haven't really changed much and now I feel disappointed and disenchanted with Buddhism because it seems to promise so much but deliver so little. The only thing I can say is that I have learnt to react a little less. To notice impatience, anger and other difficult feelings and not react to them. Isn't there more to it than this? I guess right now I am experiencing a range of difficult feelings and Buddhism would say notice how they are impermanent, notice how averse to them you are, notice how they are not self etc. So I do this but it doesn't make it any easier. They still keep arising and they are still really difficult, uncomfortable and painful and I still want to not feel this way. So then what?

I have noticed during formal meditation and also off the cushion that everything can be broken down into what seems like an infinite amount of moments. For example when swallowing I can notice so many things such as the saliva build up, the intention to swallow, the sucking motion drawing the saliva back, the swallowing motion etc. The same for walking. I'm not sure if this is insight or if/how it's helpful to see things this way. At the very least it's interesting to notice how much is going on that we don't usually notice or even need to think about. It all just happens automatically. If anything it helps me to appreciate the amazing miracle of life that we can just either blindly go through or notice what is actually happening and how miraculous it is. Is this what is meant by "Insight"?

is it the EARTH only Place that can give birth to a Buddha? isn't their any other Universes or worlds beside than Earth that Previously born Buddha or in the Future?

Does any one know what is the exact Age Limit that Buddha can live? i heard that one of previous Buddha lives His Life for 40,000 year.

I want to learn to in a sense control my mind. By this i mean focus on the thoughts and mindsets that are beneficial. And not focus on the harmful, negative thoughts. I always believe that we are who we are base on are thought patterns and it will be very helpful to in to learn to focus on the thoughts and gain the traits you want and become the person you want. I am learninf jhana meditation. But is this a good fit for this?

I grew up in Sri Lanka where we often hear > Gedara budun amma Which translates to > Buddha of the house is mother I also learned that this was to reinstate the lost value of a mother in the country back then due to discrimination of women. I'm positive there are proper references for this but I would like to know where in Tipitaka or other historical books this is documented.

I've decided to do I'm thinking if meditation would help me to concentrate my study(academic). Also would it help me to feel Buddha and Dhamma? Will my memory sharp? Currently I feel little bit depressed so would this be cured if I'll attend ten days of Vipassana meditation?

I have heard, therefore I am yet to discover in Tipitaka, that to achieve certain stream winner stages, one needs to fulfill paramithä. Could you please give me the names of some sutta which I can read further on this (or the Tipitaka vagga / section). Ten Paramithä 1. Däna 2. Sîla 3. Nekkhamma 4. Pañña 5. Viriya 6. Khanthi 6. Sacca 8. Adhitthana 9. Mettha 10. Upekka Thanks in advance!

For example if I have lied to my parents and can the bad kamma be deleted when I apologize to them? What is the difference between the bad kamma that are committed to parents and ordinary people?

From my understanding, The nimitta are signs you should be looking for during your jhana meditation. Like once your focusing on your visual object you will notice a white light. Thats a sign your entering acess concentration. Or you may notice your breathing becoming very faint. Thats another sign. Is this correct? Is there certain signs i should look for during my jhana meditation?