This is a companion question to this one . I've heard it said that Buddhism is the fastest growing religion in the West. Is that true? Does anyone have any statistics to support or refute this? It seems that this wouldn't be right in absolute terms but might be true in percentage growth for some countries. I appreciate that many people find the term 'The West' unsatisfactory. However for this could we use the definition from here : > cultures that are directly derived from and influenced by European > cultures so this include be Europe, North American plus Australia and New Zealand.

In the Five Mindfulness Trainings as presented in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh, the third one - called "True Love" - says: > I am committed to learning appropriate ways to take care of my sexual > energy. What do you think *appropriate ways* means here?

I wrote this article: [Do people leave in Matrix? Information, entropy, time and cellular-automata](http://vixra.org/pdf/1601.0024v1.pdf) . The article tries to prove that the visible world is an illusion or a "dream". My question here is, is "the visible world is an illusion or dream" the main topic of Buddhism? Also, the article includes a proof of the existence of a Higher Conscience. Is that in direct relation with Buddhism (i.e. the topics discussed here on this site)? Also, if you found any logical flaws in this article then please mention/list them.

What is meant by the phrase the "qualities of the Buddha"? Are these qualities to which unenlightened people can aspire or do these qualities emerge only upon enlightenment?

1. Is there any reference scheme for paragraph in Sutta? How it can be presented in numerical notation? 2. Is there any complete translation of all tipitaka into English language (not leaving any single Sutta without English translation)? And 3. Any good Pali-English online dictionary available?

I have heard about are couple of places in the Vinaya which discusses situations involving reanimated corpses. I want to find the exact locations and reference. Also are there any other in the Tipitaka and / or Commentaries this appear? In addition, p252, THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA THE INDIAN EMPIRE VOL II HISTORICAL mentions: > A collection of pretty and ingenious fairy-tales is the Vetala pancha vimsati, or ' Twenty-five Tales of the Goblin,' stories supposed to be told to king Vikrama of Ujjayini by a demon inhabiting a corpse. They are known to English readers from Sir Richard Burton's Vikram and the Vampire. Another collection of fairy-tales is the Simhasana-dvatrimsika, or ' Thirty two Stories of the Lion-seat,' supposed to be told to king Vikrama by his throne. **Both these works are of Buddhistic origin.** To the same class belongs the Suka-saptati, or ' Seventy Stories of a Parrot,' represented as narrated to a wife whose husband is away on his travels. In which Buddhist text does this appear? Particularly is there references to such in the Vinaya and commentaries or sub commentaries.

Did Buddha speak about the duration of lives in any way that related it to where one currently stands on the path? For example: "When one is closer to enlightenment, one will have shorter lives after each successive rebirth." This wouldn't make a lot of sense when following the literal doctrine of Rebirth, but maybe it would make sense as a metaphor. At any rate - is anything like this idea touched upon in the sutras?

I've eliminated many addictive fetters which deterred me from practising meditation. However, now I've noticed that getting into a meditative posture leads--perhaps because of the addictions such as social media which gave me dopamine are gone--to a kind of lethargy, a low energy. I have thus a few questions. 1) I've always had trouble with the breath as meditation object. I enter a state of less thoughts when I'm focusing upon it, and seemingly it diminishes my total experience of the body, mind, etc. Which meditation object would really increase my awareness and energy? Is it possible to achieve shamatha with outer objects, or even inner images? 2) Are there alternative ways to raise energy, such as physical exercise or other things like this. Will such activities increase my meditation energy specifically? 3) In terms of interior images, which seemingly arouse my mind slightly when I let myself visualize random things: are these recommended as meditation objects? I'm a very visual person, but I've been afraid of interior images as meditation objects for a few reasons. First, the images that arise during meditation, in my case, sometimes seem disturbing. Second, I have always had a difficult time separating my inner impressions from reality; although, to be fair, I always am conscious of what's real and what is not, but I am very superstitious and attribute a lot to images or impressions that arise in me. If any of my questions are answered, I thank you in advance.

From the upaseka precepts : > "He levies one sixth of people’s wealth as taxes." I used to just think this was prosocial advice, but for much of Buddhism's history, it has been state supported. Paying taxes mean supporting state Buddhism. But Buddhism isn't state supported anymore and even when it was, those taxes paid for military and government bureaucracy in addition to Buddhist temples. In Christianity, some sects have a policy of expecting 1/10 of income. So, other than a rhetorical dodge (It depends!), do we have any **modern** examples of recommended dana as a percent of income, or failing that, numbers on what constitutes a fair contribution towards the support of organized religion in modern, western (US or European) countries?

there is some text that speaks something related about, what would happen with a soul in a eventually case of succesfull cryogenic resucitation? i know this is a very new theme, but, if reincarnation is possible, what happens when that last body reach a reanimation?

I'm thinking that the presence itself, in sense objects, of ignorance, the first link, is never erased; that with final nirvana something has being, the absence of the 12 links. Can the absence of causation itself be present like sense objects are, in absolutely any Buddhist philosophy? Or is that silly, like saying that the there exists the non existence of a crow's teeth?

In the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta the Buddha said "desire is source of all suffering". So we cannot avoid suffering in life. It is a part of life. However, he also said there was a path to the cessation of this suffering, which was following the eightfold path. The main point of this seemed to be ending that desire. Or clinging to that desire. But does this teaching work for real life? It is true that desire leads to suffering but desire ALSO leads to pleasure. As long as we are experiencing that pleasure in the moment without expecting more, is there anything wrong with desire? Like the Buddha, many monks live very detached lives of routine. They don't have jobs or families so essentially they dont form bonds with other people. Essentially they try to minimize desire in life and posssibly only have desire for the distant goal of nirvana. If another monk becomes sick or dies, there may be little suffering but it is accepted. If we want the human race to survive, everybody cannot live like the monks. They have to form lasting bonds which I admit is a form of clinging. At the very least don't mothers have to nurture their children at least for a while? Here is an example of a real world situation. How would it be approached using Buddhist methods? A child comes home from school and the mother sees he has bruises. He says a bully has beaten him up. The mother notifies the school and they notify the parents of the bully. But it turns out the bully is acting the way he does since he comes from a dysfunctional family and his parents have no wish to correct his behavior.

Extract from Ven. Nyanatiloka's Bio says > In 1920, after being denied re-entry into British ruled Sri Lanka, Nyanatiloka taught at Japanese universities for five years, including at Taisho University where he was assisted by the legendary eccentric Ekai Kawaguchi, and at Komazawa University where he taught with President Yamagami Sōgen (山上曹源), who had also studied Pali in Sri Lanka. **He also met with Japanese Theravada monks.** He lived through the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, which destroyed Tokyo, but was surprised to see universities reopen just two months later. To what extent is Theravāda followed in Japan? To what extent is it taught or studied there? Has Japan produced any Theravada Scholars or Meditation Masters? Which books have they written?

Chapter 16 of The Dhammapada seems to say that we should let nothing and no-one be dear. From this translation : > Practicing what one shouldn't, Not practicing what one should, Having > abandoned the goal, Clinging to what is dear, One comes to envy those > who practice. > > Don't get entangled With what you long for or dislike. Not seeing what > you long for is suffering; So also is seeing what you dislike. > > Therefore, do not turn anything Into something longed for, For then > it's dreadful to lose. Without longing or dislike, No bonds exist. Does this conflict with the idea of having friends and family? Or is it simply stating that we should avoid being overattached to any one person, experience, or thing?

I'm a bit confused by contradicting statements about the noting/labeling-technique. On the one hand, one teacher has once told me to note as fast as possible to not let anything else enter the mind, than the chosen meditation object e.g. the belly or the tip of the nose. On the other hand, this seems to make the practice very cognitive and another teacher suggested that one should have a few seconds of pause to become aware of other things and induce more calmness. So, what do you think? Are there simply two ways of handling noting? (one being to note very fast and the other one at a moderate speed) Or has it something to do with how advanced one is practicing? (the first teacher also pointed out, when I correctly remember that one needs to do that this fast to enter vipassana-jhanas or something like this...) Would be nice to hear your opinions and experiences on this topic. Kind regards Rafi

I am not sure what to focus on when practicing everyday mindfulness. For example, when washing dishes due we focus on what we notice in our current experience; like as I wipe the dishes I can focus on the feel of my hands on the plate or the view or sound of the wiping. Or do I decide to pick one thing(sense) and focus on that purpose for a few seconds? Or do I try to focus on everything in the now which seems like information overload?

I've read an introductory book written by Hsing Yun, about humanistic budhism. I meditate every day, and now I feel like taking the next step in my journey. I don't know people who practice budhism, and I have many doubts... There is a temple near my city, but I feel a little intimidate by the number of tourists that shows up there, and the only practices that I know of, are paid meditation courses. How do I start practicing with more people? And who do I look for when I have doubts?

I've been using [Mental Noting](http://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/books-articles/articles/mental-noting/) to improve my handling of anxious thoughts and emotions but I ran into a strange situation today. Most of my thoughts have been neutral or negative, and mentally noting such thoughts has allowed me to disassociate myself with any such passing clouds in my mind so that I can continue about my day. However, after a physically gloomy day today I saw the sun come out and light up the city. I initially felt very happy seeing the sun shine across the buildings but then my habit of noting came in the picture and I felt a distance between me and the emotion (just as I would an anxious emotion). From what I understand, this is what the practice calls for me to do in any type of event. Is there something I'm doing wrong or missing here? It seems that long-term noting will cause me to put a distance between pleasurable moments just as it would with negative ones? Why would I want this? I enjoy such emotions and whatever pain I experience from them being so fleeting is worth it. I'd rather maintain the duration by which I experience such moments, not shorten it with noting. I'm not sure what perspective to have in such cases and whether there is some greater benefit to continuing to do this for all situations?

When I first started to think of encouraging myself on the path I imagined that when I reach the moment of cessation that I would see and experience dharma in an all pervading way " omniscient " is this true or false ...to sum it up once reaching enlightenment there should be a connection made with some sort of unified reality.

How can I purify my mind so that I can gain confidence and believe that I can study and practice efficiently? The major hindrance for that, what I believe, is that my subconscious mind is strongly saying that I am incapable.