How do Buddhists worship Buddha. What is the purpose of Buddhists in worshiping and making Buddha images?

One of the points of Buddhism the eight fold lists "proper speech," but does this propriety in speech include the ability to insult others or express yourself strongly through the use of curse words/ cursing if it's necessary to get the point across to someone who wouldn't get the point otherwise? Why/ why not?

My friend meditates daily (non-Buddhist). He finds that from time to time a very annoying person tries to seemingly drag power and energy from him like a magnet. Can any one explain how he can escape from this seemingly difficult situation? How can I advise him to emotionally cut free from this individual in his life?

A fundamental tenet of Buddhism is freedom from attachments. If that is so, what is the purpose of the Buddhist marriage ceremony? It seems to be a contradiction, a celebration of attachment within a philosophy that avoids attachment.

I'm going to join buddhist group which is in another city so I'll have few occasions to meet sensei especially because she is from USA and she arrives only few times a year to my country. So how should my practice look?

This question made me want to explain my belief / theory of rebirth. Does anyone ever at all even somewhat suggest that when we are "reborn" we do not inhabit the new birth in the sense of controlling or willing its actions. That (in a way UNLIKE being "reborn" into our future selves before death) people can only ever be responsible for e.g. their enlightenment - in this life? Or is there not such a profound difference between life now (- and just now) opposed to life after death ?

Is the Nihilism view (*natthika-dithi*) actually denying rebirths? In Fuller's [The Notion of Diṭṭhi in Theravāda Buddhism: The Point of View](http://www.ahandfulofleaves.org/documents/The%20Notion%20of%20Ditthi%20in%20Theravada%20Buddhism_Fuller.pdf) , in the translation of the Sāmaññaphala-sutta, _natthika-ditthi_ is formulated like this: > Nothing is given, nothing offered, nothing sacrificed; there is no > fruit or result of good and bad actions; no this world, no other > world; no mother, no father; no beings who are reborn spontaneously; > no good and virtuous recluses and brahmins in the world who have > themselves realised by direct knowledge and declare this world and the > other world. > > The person is composed of the four great elements; when > he dies, earth returns and goes back to the element of earth, water > returns and goes back to the element of water, fire returns and goes > back to the element of fire, wind returns and goes back to the element > of wind, while the senses disappear into space. [Four] men with the > bier as a fifth take up the corpse, the funeral orations last as far > as the burning ground, his bones are a dull white, his offerings end > in ashes. They are fools who teach alms-giving. The doctrine of > affirmation (atthika-vāda) is empty and false banter. Fools and wise > alike are destroyed and perish at the breaking up of the body, they do > not exist after death. The following statements are related to 'rebirth': 1. Denying the "fruit or result of good and bad actions" -- which, except this-life fruit or results, are rebirth-related. 2. Denying "the other world" -- if it's not rebirth-related then it would be interesting to understand what "other world" is actually supposed to mean. 3. Saying "they do not exist after death" -- description of death as complete destruction (without rebirth).

I was reading about the Cathars, and was really struck by the scale of persecution by Christians of Christian heretics. Obviously there are reasons for that besides not meditating well enough. But in the 2,500 year history of Buddhism all I can think of in those terms is some political manoeuvring in Tibet, and arguments. - Has there ever been a systematic persecution of Buddhist heretics

I asked my teacher how somebody should see for themselves that rebirth occurs, he (a Theravadin monastic) said that with great samadhi one should watch the twelve nidanas (the process of dependant co-arising) to see the eleventh nidana (becoming leads to birth). I can accept that if one watches the nidanas then one would see that becoming leads to birth. However, seeing birth occurring during our (biological) life is separate from concluding that (re)birth occurs after physical death. I think that the most simple way to put this is that the process of becoming leading to birth is not dependent on the body. If one can see the eleventh nidana then how would they confirm that the eleventh nidana does not require form? Perhaps I am on the wrong track entirely and the proper action is to watch some other process to see that the mind (instead of just the nidanas) does not require a body to sustain it.

I find it very difficult to practice metta because i can't find anyone who has been a benefactor.I don't know a lot of people.Most people i know i find it very difficult to send metta to as a benefactor as their either very dear to me or downright hostile.Can i just imagine a benefactor i never had .Or use a dead person, as my auntie was very kind to me but she's deceased now. How can i practice metta without a benefactor? How can i find a benefactor to practice metta to?

Is it possible, having been taught meditation by a zen master, to **naturally** enter the 1st three jhanas. By that, I mean through mental effort which is not really meditation as we normally think of it (seated or walking, *all* effort being applied to that). I ask because the 1st three jhanas seem, *potentially*, much more mundane than the rest, worldly. e.g. I feel pretty strong sensations of pleasure *most of the time*, as long as I'm not there and then planning to *do* something. If that second paragraph seems *super* delusional, then how close is dhyana to a pleasure in which you can't identify *why* you feel good?

Recently I have started meditating on my own, by observing my breath and rise and fall of abdomen. Half an hour in the morning and half an hour in the night before going to sleep. Sometimes sleep takes over and I go to sleep immediately after meditation. But when I try to concentrate more during meditation, my mind becomes charged and even when I sleep, my mind is awake , although body is resting. I aware that my mind has not shutdown. Is this normal? am I doing correctly? This wakefulness is there till next day. Is this some kind of alpha state of mind? Please help.

if believe we can escape the suffering of this world and the limits of our material existence by observing and practicing a set of practices. for Christian, we know that the way of “escape” is only through faith in Jesus Christ as they are spiritually reborn with God’s life through the Holy Spirit? what about Buddhist?

In *A history of Indian Buddhism: From Sakyamuni to Early Mahayana*, Professor Hirakawa states: > Both nirvana and space were considered to be unconditioned dharmas. This fundamental classification of dharmas into conditioned and unconditioned is found in the Agamas. In what passage from the agamas (and/or pali?) we read *space* to be unconditioned?

When reading through the Maha Nidana sutta I came across the three types of becoming: Sensual becoming, form becoming, and formless becoming. I am trying to understand what the different forms of becoming are. This sutta does not explain how they are different, it only says that birth occurs if any type of becoming occurs. To try to understand the differences I read the Bhava sutta ; this sutta says > "Ananda, if there were no kamma ripening in the sensuality-property, would sensuality-becoming be discerned?" > >"No, lord." > >"Thus kamma is the field, consciousness the seed, and craving the moisture. The consciousness of living beings hindered by ignorance & fettered by craving is established in/tuned to a lower property. Thus there is the production of renewed becoming in the future. This is repeated replacing "sensuality-property" and "sensuality-becoming" with "form-property" and "form-becoming", and likewise for formless property/becoming. Ven Thanissaro Bhikkhu mentions in his notes on the Bhava sutta that the Buddha never defines becoming, the Buddha just splits becoming into these three types. From these suttas it appears that knowing what sensuality-property, form-property, and formless-property mean is all there is to knowing the differences in the types of becoming but I haven't been able to find information on what they are.

Does 'right speech' prohibit expressions which "hate" anything at all? So, not an individual, or even really a point of view, but to ex-press the sensation of intense (if not actually visceral) *dislike*?

Buddha and others repeatedly says that those that have genuine samadhi can easily cultivate the Six Paranormal Powers--if they have not experienced them by accident already. The Path of Purification even outlines the step-by-step method to cultivate them after obtaining concentration attainment. In the Taoist tradition there are plenty of stories of such immortals and super-powered people, some of them even very modern, such as the Youtube video of John Chang emitting fire through his hands . [The books that are based on him are very awesome and interesting, like The Magus of Java.] **What are some modern accounts in the Buddhist tradition?** When I meet Buddhist people and others, they often say they have samadhi but they seem quite ordinary to me. Oftentimes, I am convinced that they make claims of samadhi merely to gain a following--however small it may be.

If our present existence is the result of something we could not control (from a prior life), what hope can we have related to our present situation in this life?

Two questions about Auto-suggestion : 1. What is buddhism's view on Auto-suggestion? What does Auto-suggestion affect? 2. How to use Auto-suggestion? You can answer one question or both: the more you explain the better, but all answers and links are appreciated. I would like people to expand on the subject, because I couldn't find much about it Edit : i mean to use it not for meditation itself or to affect it - but on all other aspects like "i will meditate a lot" "i wont do things for fun" ect ... To be even clearer : I know how to meditate - im not asking about how to improve my meditation with autosuggestion but how to use it to make myself meditate more and act better in daily life what i wonder is : can i say "meditate" or "dont do stuff for fun" and "brainwash" myself somehow to help advance my practice somehow ?

Sometimes we feel nervous, afraid, or anxious while doing something. So, How can we attain peace in afraid mood or anxious mood?