In what ways you advance on the path? - is it by lowering the hindrances ? or your ability to notice them ? you get a greater ability to not attach and let go ? im trying to understand in what ways we advance - i mean before becoming a sotapanna what do you improve throw meditation and if you answer for example : " you have less ill will your less angry" do you mean we lower the anger levels - if so how - did i remove existing anger "seeds" or did i improve my ability to notice and let go of anger - and if so is this an ability which builds up from meditaiton to meditation ? i would appreciate everything you can expand on the subject of advancing in the path

I had this moment , when I was engaged in conversation of topic with my friend, which we both reveled. I enjoyed the talk and we discussed without inhibition as it was natural. My question is whether I should flow with the events in my natural state of mind/body or just watch the flow of events without engaging fully (because doing and watching are two separate activities,and I can't be doing both at the same time without loss of concentration). When I watch, this creates duality, am I the doer or watching the doer, who is also me. Who is real me?

For denourishing restlessness and remorse, code of discipline and principles of moral conduct are useful. http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/nyanaponika/wheel026.html#rest But what are exactly these principles of moral conduct and code of discipline for laymen? There are so many codes of discipline(five precepts, eight precepts) and principles of moral conduct. I am somewhat clear about the codes of discipline, but what are these principles of moral conduct? (some principles in my mind are ten skillful actions.http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an10/an10.176.than.html)

Dogen's zazengi says > Zazen is the dharma gate of great ease and joy What does the term "joy" mean here? And if I can feel something like that without zazen, should I cultivate it? As well as learning meditation, I mean.

I just finished a vipassana retreat and well, I am still confused with just observing and feeling, and holy **** that was a h**** of an experience.... a-bomb (more bad then good, but we all need it, I felt pain from others in distance, and well I need this pain to project later on metta bavahna, but annicca,annicca,. The day I left (today) I was crying and well spotted a sensation in the throat, observed it, crying, don't even know why, should I look for the why? And is the crying equanamously crying, or was I? Didn't feel like doing stuff for 3 hours. Is that generating new sankaras? Or it's just old sankaras coming up? It like a bad sensation makes me forget ANNICCA, but a good sensation makes me more ANNICCA... I mean I am still confused if I am allowed to get angry and observe, then cry and observe, and being sure that, I am equanimous.... I do not want to read books anymore on this lol, I had enough, so I continue the body scan, I mean I keep calling the people from vippa... and everytime everything is different, and I am confused with the emotions.... Thanks to anyone who can clarify and guide me better on the DHAMMA! Love to you all! May you all remain equanimous! alexei

See question above. So far I know to kickstart emotion : writing about emotion, boxing, put your awareness to bodily feelings(kind a hard if you just feel numbness)

I am searching for a precise understanding of what Buddhist authors mean by the "pair" of "knowing" and "object". For example > ...we see that what we call "self" is simply the pairwise progression of knowing and object. > A second example > In all perception, at each event of noting, there is always this twin > pair, the object and the mind, which observes the object. These two > elements of the object and the knowing mind always arise in pairs, > and apart from these 2, there does not exist any other thing in the > form of a 'person', an 'observer', an 'experiencer', nor any 'Ego', > 'Subject', or any 'Self'! No identity is present! Similarly is there > no 'observed object', or any 'substance' "out there" independent of > the mind! Can this "pair" of "knowing" and "object" be explained precisely? Or is it subject to many interpretations? What insight is gained from discussion of this pair of knowing and objects?

Is there a difference between Enlightenment and Nibbana?

Buddha tailored his teachings to meet the particular needs of his audience. What are the different audiences then? Here is a slightly related question: Should a beginner try to educate others about the benefits of Vipassana?

Religious groups are typically comprised of communities of practitioners who visit the temple/church a couple of times a week and practice together. Is this true of secular Buddhism? If so, Where are the largest communities?

The Buddha was said to have meditated 40 days and 40 nights in a single sitting which begs the question is it possible to sit this long without any physical or mental injury? As an example, my meditation sessions vary in discomfort. Sometimes when it's good, I wish the alarm hadn't rung and then sometimes my foot falls asleep in 5 minutes. There's this theory I have that when meditation is done properly (i. e. you are not fighting yourself), the body will begin to self-regulate itself and the mind will begin to heal. Elsewhere, I have read that its good not to sit more than 40 minutes. Is this more of a legal disclaimer to prevent novice meditators from injuring themselves? What I really want to know is that if you're comfortable and physically able to sit 40 days and 40 nights, is it OK to sit that long? I guess there's a chance you may be stuck in that meditative state. Have there been reports of meditators who don't return to their consciousness? Are there any reports of people who have tried it?

In MCTB (Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha), Daniel Ingram describes the following exercise. > I sit quietly in a quiet place, close my eyes, put one hand on each > knee, and concentrate just on my two index fingers. Basic dharma > theory tells me that it is definitely not possible to perceive both > fingers simultaneously, so with this knowledge I try to see in each > instant which one of the two finger’s physical sensations are being > perceived. Once the mind has sped up a bit and yet become more stable, > I try to perceive the arising and passing of each of these sensations. > I may do this for half an hour or an hour, just staying with the > sensations in my two fingers and perceiving when each sensation is and > isn’t there. What I found most curious about this, was the assumption that "it is definitely not possible to perceive both fingers simultaneously" and that this assumption is supported by "basic dharma theory". I understand that sensations arise and pass, but I feel like I have experienced multiple sensations simultaneously and/or the sensations of multiple body parts have formed a single sensation. I'd like to hear other people's thoughts on this. In the form of specific questions: I can feel tingling in all of my fingers simultaneously. Does this refute his assertion that "it is definitely not possible to perceive both fingers simultaneously"? Or am I not understanding something? I suspect the latter and am hoping to be enlightened. I'm also curious what "dharma theory" he is most likely referencing? Thanks in advance for any response.

Please note that i have no idea about what Zen is, and I mean no disrespect to anybody with this question. I have heard these words "Zen Buddhism", many times, and I'm curious: why it is called or attached to Buddhism, and how did it come to be? Can someone explain?

In this question [How to help non-Buddhists understand a young person's desire to be ordained as a monk?](https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/questions/137/how-to-help-non-buddhists-understand-a-young-persons-desire-to-be-ordained-as-a) , one of the "selling points" listed was: >5) Supernatural mental abilities (astral travel, reading minds, remembering past lives, etc.) Could someone explain this is more detail? I had thought this was more of a pop culture point rather than what seems to be a core concept. Do such "abilities" actually exist, and if so what is their implication in the practice of Buddhism or proceeding in one's daily life? Do monks or others actively practice them?

I read and learned many areas in Buddhism, for example the Seven Arya Dhana (Saptharyadhana - The Sevenfold Noble Wealth), the Four Noble Truths (Chathurarya Sathya) and the Eightfold Path (arya ashtangika marga). I sometimes feel in the time when Gautama was born, the Aryans had ultimate power because of the caste system. So Gautama needed to break that authority and misbehave and tell people that this is the way to be an Aryan (and not by family birth in the caste system). I admit that the teaching of [how to live] life is the basis of Buddhism. But rather than that i feel that there are some other things. (Sorry about the Sinhalese wordings. I don't know how to say it in English. Please correct if you know the exact English words). This is not a theory or something. This is something i feel when I am learning the philosophy. Thank you.

It looks like a loop. We know desires cause us suffering, however the desire to abandon desire looks like a desire too, right? I'm sure there is a trick, something to explain why it is different, so... who can help?

When the Buddha searched for truth in the world he used a method of empiricism. Empiricism is the precursor for modern science and although I believe that rebirth can be verified empirically I am not certain that is qualifies as a scientific theory. The exact theory I am referring to is that rebirth is a mental process which occurs during our life and continues after physical death. Although I do not think that rebirth is contrary to scientific evidence I do wonder if it is a theory which can be considered scientific. One requirement for theories in modern science is that they are falsifiable which means that if they are wrong then we can show that they are wrong. Usually theories predict things and we can test if those predictions are false, however, I cannot think of any predictions which can be tested in this life. This is assuming that one has a very still mind and can observe fundamental processes. I understand that this is related to the twelve nidanas and the stages when clinging leads to becoming which leads to birth. Is it possible for somebody to know what they should be seeing here before they see it?

I have been hosting people in my home recently, and I felt uncomfortable because they were being a little lazy for the common chores and sometimes even greedy when we had to pay for goods (eg. food, gasoil, etc.) by not proposing any financial participation (I wasn't asking anything though, but they are far from being poor), even though I was accepting them in my own house for a whole week and taking them with my car here and there. This was, considering my culture, a big disrespect not because I expected any money in return, but because the least they could've done is to show some gratitude. (Note : it is not the first time that this happens, we had them a few times and I felt the same way every time) I spoke with my wife, who doesn't feel the same way, and told her I wouldn't invite them for such a long period anymore because I was afraid this might eventually take my patience to its limits and consequently provoke the end of this friendship. I'd rather spend nice evenings with them or even weekends from time to time, but nothing more than that. I feel guilty for making my wife sad by not accepting those people that aren't being harmful objectively and that we really like, but doesn't the **Noble Eight-fold Path** specifies that one should avoid bad thoughts by cutting the source of them ? Did I do the right thing or am I overreacting there ?

Is masturbation a sin *in Vajrayana variety practiced in Bhutan as official state religion?* When performed by non-monk, for example, adolescent boy, divorced man, as part of wider sexual practices used by partners, etc.

First two truths are relate to "samsara". But how 3rd and 4th truths relate to Pratītyasamutpāda?