I am subject to thoughts containing anger, hatred, resentment etc. which causes me lower back pain. I am using medicines but useless because the relief is temporary. I am a meditator but I watch breath at nose tip, which causes me more tension after the session is over by 2 -3 hours. I have read somewhere that watching breath at belly i.e. Dantian is also recommended. I have tried it once and found it more relaxing. What should I do? Watch breath at nose tip or belly button? I have been doing nose tip meditation for six months which took me sometimes to thoughtless awareness - but did not solve my problems of physical pain and irritability

I had been cruel to a cat before and it bothers me a lot that I had been unkind to him. He's been dead for more than a year but I still think about how he suffered because of my callousness at the time. Is there a way for me to send him love now, or any way I can make it up to him somehow?

It is my understanding that illusion, reality, rebirth and reincarnation are a result of the aggregates i.e. vision, taste, sound, emotions, smell and mind. - Source If one is am simply a composition of these aggregates, how does one refer to oneself in everyday conversation? For example, when using the term i, in sentences such as i am .. The reason for the question is to step away from being attached to one's identity which is generally reflected in i.

I vaguely recall that before he sat to meditate under the bodhi tree and was enlightened, he learned all the different techniques of meditation. Where does it say this?

I heard that when we settle our mind and focus in one thing, if we meditate we can go to Nirvana. In Buddha's time and many centuries after, people went to nirvana. So my question is, is it possible in this present time if we do all of these things: is it possible go to Nirvana?

We all know that Ananda Thero was Buddha's personal attendant -- [Wikipedia says](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ananda) , > In the long list of the disciples given in the Anguttara Nikaya (i. xiv.), where each of them is declared to be Prime in some quality, Ānanda is mentioned five times (more often than any other). He was named Prime in conduct, in service to others, and in power of memory. The Buddha sometimes asked Ānanda to substitute for him as teacher and then later stated that he himself would not have presented the teachings in any other way. So my question is: after Buddha's Nirvana, Ananda Thero became arahant before the The First Council; so what is the position of meditation that Ananda Thero became arahant?

The Dhamma says that not helping parents is evil and preaches to take care of the elderly parents. What can be some positive outcomes the children will get by helping the parents?

It seems clear to me that the Buddha's only intention throughout his life (after becoming a Buddha) was to help as many people as possible to reach Nibbana. But I think he gives different meditation instructions to different people with regard to the path to reach Nibbana. I would like to know what kind of meditation practice did the Buddha advise the monks to do, in contrast to lay people. Did he always teach them to practise Samatha first, and then Vipassana? Did he ever teach anyone to practice the 'dry insight' path, without ever doing Samatha meditation? As a general rule, were there any differences in the meditation practice that he advised between monks and lay people? I am aware that the Buddha prescribed basic morality for all, and that some people would reach Nibbana at the same time as hearing him speak about some aspect of Dhamma without doing any kind of formal meditation practice. But I am only interested in the kind of meditation practices that he taught. Please add references where the Buddha advises on meditation practice.

I had meditated Vipassana for about 8 years up to about an hour and a half a day, had an experience, and for no reason related to the experience, I stopped meditating for about the last 10 years. Within the last year (after about 10 years) I started meditating again. My practice has gone from about a half an hour to about 2+ hours a day for the last several months. Not long after ramping up to about 2 hours a day I had several experiences, one didn’t really fit the mold of anything I have read about with Jhanas, etc. So I was hoping someone experienced might offer a few words on what it might be. I understand I am not supposed to grasp or try recreate this, and though I know I had this tendency for a week or two following it, I’m long over it – if I never have another experience again I’m just fine with that. I’m content just sitting and going nowhere as that’s a great place to be in itself. But I still would like some context to understand what it was. I think not having had a real knowledge of jhanas or other altered states until AFTER the second experience happened (I’ve read a few books since then) gives the “uneducated” brain some latitude as my experience hadn’t read those books either. I had read Ajahn Chah say not to worry about what the books say as it never happens that way anyway, from what he said he didn’t know much about jhanas or altered states either until it happened to him and what he described. Though Ajahn Chah’s experience sounded like a far more powerful and deeper experience than mine, there were some similarities. He never described (named) his experience into any traditional Buddhist context in his narrative, and I have none for mine as the closest thing I am aware of is the 5th Jhana – but from what I’ve read you can’t “jump” Jhana’s more than one or two levels. I had been doing samatha meditation, unlike the more normal long slow quieting of my mind, I got into a deep concentration quickly. I found that unlike normal, I was tight; I had to continuously make a conscious effort to relax my arms, hands, and legs. I began rocking and turned my concentration from breath to my mind and the peace that was there. I made a mental effort to remember that all of the small very quiet thoughts and images left (vapors of thoughts) were just mental constructs and were not real until the thoughts were vapors of vapors. I knew intuitively that absolute peace was almost uncovered and made a very slight mental exertion to push into it.. The state was very near total quiet and peace. It was at the most peaceful place a consciousness could be within the realm of my experience. I sensed a piece material comprising a wall, and they started vibrating very hard and as it vibrated it cracked and intuitively I pressed on that and it shattered. . I know the material, pressing, and shattering I experienced was also a mental construct and not real.. I think it was my thinking mind trying to create something to make sense out of something that doesn’t work in a thinking world, a portal to something beyond thinking. Things completely flat lined, absolute peace, incredibly vast space, just a consciousness in space without limit. I had a meditation timer on and it made a chime so I know that I was in this state for about 20 minutes which I did hear from what seemed a great distance away. I had no sensations of my body, no pain, physical sensations, no breathing, and almost no sound. Then my mind just took itself back, I made no effort to stay or go. This experience was almost identical to the one that happened to me about 10 years before. The difference was with the ten years old experience I remember coming out if it with a powerful epiphany “It’s all true” about the dharma as I had experienced some doubt that “all this Buddhist meditation stuff” could be some clever parlor mind game and that I had wasted years practicing.. I had no doubt of the truth. This time I didn’t have that epiphany, but a whole lot of the permanent deep seated stress (PTSD) of many events events of the last 10 years were gone (2 long term unemployment experiences, complete loss of wealth, near homelessness, the drug addiction of one of my kids, and divorce). The persistent stress that was a part of my identity had vanished and has now been gone for months. Knowing where you are on the path and to put things into some type of context, are good to know. If you have some wisdom to share about this I would appreciate it.

There's an enlightened buddhist figure I remember reading about a year or two ago, but I am failing completely to search him up. I would like to find his name and story again, could you help me identify him? These are the details I remember: * He was enlightened (I think), and the head of a monastery. * He was known to say quite profound things (of course!), but forbade anyone from writing down what he said. * A couple of his disciples thus resorted to wearing paper robes and carrying ink with them, so that when they were within earshot of him and heard him say something impressive, they could write it down immediately. * He was quite angry at people who wrote down what he said in his presence. I remember reading he once chased a disciple out of his meeting room in fury, shouting "You'd sell *me* if you could!". * I think books/scrolls were sold of his teachings by those disciples; which is what frustrated him (it seems he was concerned some people were only there to make money by doing this) and is what compelled him to forbid people to write down what he said and chase that person out. * I think he may have been from Japan. This man contrasts very well with one popular image of enlightenment (outwardly serene, all the time, and completely unable to be messed with in any way) and I would like to show this to a friend who might be struggling with unrealistic self-expectations in their path to enlightenment.

In the 6th council changes have been made to the Disclosure in Establishing Mindfulness in the Middle Length Discourses according to Ven Sujato and Ven Analayo where the section on the 4 Noble Truths was expanded. 3rd Council the Abhidhamma as made officially part of the canon. Is there other known instances where changes to the Pali Canon happened either at this council or elsewhere?

Are these conditions mutually exclusive? Is complacency a form of sloth/torpor? Sloth/torpor is a hindrance, but to say that one must not be satisfied seems contrary to the spirit of contentment and non-doing. My guess is that sloth is inertia rooted in avoiding challenge, but not sure. Please define sloth/torpor, comparing it to contentment.

> The Twelve Nidānas are explained in detail in the Visuddhimagga of > Buddhaghosa, the central text of the Mahāvihāra commentarial > tradition. Buddhaghosa recounts four methods to interpret the Twelve > Nidanas: > > Working from "bottom to top", > Working from the "middle to the top", > Working from "top to bottom", > Working from the "middle to the source". Seems a bit like you might claim these four are *in turn* the four noble truths in turn > idam dukkham, "this is pain" > ayam dukkha-samudayo, "this is the origin of pain" > ayam dukkha-nirodha, "this is the cessation of pain" > ayam dukkha-nirodha-gamini patipada, "this is the path leading to the cessation of pain" Has anyone ever claimed this?

What does the genjo-koan means? Especially: > To study the buddha way is to study the self. To study the self is to > forget the self. To forget the self is to be actualized by myriad > things. When actualized by myriad things, your body and mind as well > as the bodies and minds of others drop away. No trace of realization > remains, and this no-trace continues endlessly. and > A fish swims in the ocean, and no matter how far it swims there is no > end to the water. A bird flies in the sky, and no matter how far it > flies there is no end to the air. However, the fish and the bird have > never left their elements. When their activity is large their field is > large. When their need is small their field is small. Thus, each of > them totally covers its full range, and each of them totally > experiences its realm. If the bird leaves the air it will die at once. > If the fish leaves the water it will die at once. > > Know that water is life and air is life. The bird is life and the fish > is life. Life must be the bird and life must be the fish. > > It is possible to illustrate this with more analogies. Practice, enlightenment, and people are like thi What does it mean to say that these are life and that there's no realisation?

**The Sallatha Sutta** (SN 36.6) in the Pali Canon is well-known in the Theravada and MBI (mindfulness-based-intervention -- MBSR, MBCT, etc) worlds for the **two-arrows paradigm**. The first arrow is a physical pain (or in modern readings, also primary emotional pain such as loss of a loved one). The second arrow, which ones shoots at oneself, is the emotional reaction to the first-arrow pain. The first arrow is inevitable -- it's part of being in samsara; the second arrow is not inevitable and is preventable dukkha. It's sometimes expressed in the aphorism -- pain is inevitable; suffering is optional. **My question -- is this paradigm, aphorism or sutta discussed anywhere in the Mahayana?** I cannot find it in the Gelug Lam Rim (via Pabonka ), but maybe it's elsewhere, or subsumed under something else? But perhaps this sutta is not included in the Tibetan canon (the Kangyur ) at all. Below is the two-arrow (dart) excerpt, Bikkhu Bodhi's translation. (But you might want to read the whole sutta; even though it is fairly short, there is a lot more to it than what's covered by most contemporary teachers and commentators.) > Bhikkhus, when the uninstructed worldling is being contacted by a > painful feeling, he sorrows, grieves, and laments; he weeps beating > his breast and becomes distraught. He feels two feelings a bodily one > and a mental one. Suppose they were to strike a man with a dart, and > then they would strike him immediately afterwards with a second > dart,so that the man would feel a feeling caused by two darts. So > too, when the uninstructed worldling is being contacted by a painful > feeling ... he feels two feelings—a bodily one and a mental one. >
>... >
>Bhikkhus, when the instructed noble disciple is contacted by a painful feeling, he does not sorrow, grieve, or lament; he does not > weep beating his breast and become distraught. He feels one feeling > a bodily one, not a mental one. Suppose they were to strike a man with > a dart, but they would not strike him imme­diately afterwards with a > second dart, so that the man would feel a feeling caused by one dart > only. So too, when the instructed noble disciple is contacted by a > painful feeling ... he feels one feeling—a bodily one, not a mental > one. Thanks! --David

Is it possible to become enlightened without realising it? My question is prompted by the thought that if your progress is very gradual and you do not have a measuring stick (or any labels), you might, after years of meditation become enlightened but only realising it when you read the works of enlightened masters writing about their own experiences.

Is it possible to do breath meditation during daily activities ?

Which are the best books and/or articles for practicing the jhanas?

I am looking for books that go beyond the usual introduction on how to do various form of Buddhist meditation practice but rather, in addition to describing the practices themselves, discuss various difficulties that may arise during various stages of meditation practice and what can be actively done to address these difficulties.

Are domesticated animals able to generate their own karma, or is it down to their masters to ensure that they are set on the right path? I am talking particularly in regards to Pets, here. My dog, Bronson, has epilepsy and fits on a regular basis, perhaps as a result of bad karma? To what extent can he help himself, and to what extent can I?