I recently attended a Tibetan Drinking Kagyu Buddhist retreat. During that time the visiting Rinpoche blessed several items, and I was told by His Eminence that one can renew the blessing of statues by placing them in a small bowl containing a little bit of saffron water, and then dribbling some of the water over the top of the statue. I neglected to ask how often this should be done. Does anyone know?

Are Brahmas and Devas the same thing in different levels or are they two entirely different beings. ---- I am asking this because if see the first teaching of Lord Buddha (Dhamma chakka pawaththana) there is a mentioning "Brahma Deva",yes both words used as a combination. Normally they are considered two kinds,here it is still the same but Brahmas have being attached to the Deva realm. Can someone explain?

Me text-book and dad(historian + buddhist) told me that the father of the indian constitution converted into buddhism towards the end of his life. Can anyone please tell me why he did so? Tnx for all the help

Tell you the truth, I joined Buddhism in search of peace and harmony. Not because I have mental issues. It is about admitting what I see and feel. I am not that much aware of stuff, but sometimes I aspire to be Buddhist; at other times, I am very emotional. At times I cry because the world is not aware of the basic values of humanity. When I choose to go to the Buddha for refuge, my family thinks that I am a psycho.. When I see others losing human morals, I suffer! Today I feel a bit better than yesterday, but when I look at myself during meditation, I feel like a person who suffers. It is not at all that I am different or I am trying to be different. I want to know the reason for this according to Buddhism?

Soren Kierkegaard [once wrote](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/S%C3%B8ren_Kierkegaard#The_Journals_of_S.C3.B8ren_Kierkegaard.2C_1840s) , > - *Det er ganske sandt, hvad Philosophien siger, at Livet maa forstaaes baglænds. Men derover glemmer man den anden Sætning, at det maa leves forlænds.* - It is perfectly true, as the philosophers say, that life must be understood backwards. But they forget the other proposition, that it must be lived forwards. - Journals IV A 164 (1843) - See Phenomenology: Critical Concepts in Philosophy, by Dermot Moran (2002) - Variants: - We live forward, but we understand backward. - Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards. How can we view this statement from a Buddhist Perspective?

Is enlightened cognition, in any Buddhist tradition, more than its parts? I'm asking cos: 1. (philosophical interpretations) they say that for Buddhists there is nothing more to a thing than its parts. But, 2. every part of anything (it seems) is conditioned and only of a practical value.

I recall reading a *sutta* in which the Buddha rises from meditation and says that while he was meditating, it occurred to him: Is it possible for a king to rule righteously without killing? If anyone knows the text I am talking about, it would be much appreciated.

I have meditated and come to the conclusion that the world never ends, that conciousness goes on infinitely. This was ok when I felt I had free will, when I believed I was helping other people, when I thought that even what was apparently nonsense had purpose and when I felt like I could at least to some degree affect the feelings I have and those of others; to make things better for everyone. But sometimes I feel like I can't, like everything is predestined and there's no control over anything. Like we're all trapped in a giant hamster wheel that runs around and around forever with no exit. What is the correct way to view this problem? (Also, you probably need an 'eternal return' tag.)

I am a student at Manhattan College. I am in a class on religious discrimination. For my class I must go to a religious service other than mine. I picked Buddhism. However I don't know what a service would be called, or what day of the weekend it would be. I am lucky I have a monastery around the corner from me; what am I looking for?

I had a friend who introduced me to Buddhism. He was very insistent I go to Buddhist groups, though I ended up going to a different one to the one he suggested (the leader was Theravāda not Mahāyāna). I haven't spoken to him in a long time, but he is the person I associate most strongly with Buddhism. He was very insistent that I chant the same mantras as him, and go to the groups he suggested. In any case, during the meditation (which took place immediately after the one where I resolved to check if the universe is eternal) I saw these things: 1. I remembered a dream I had two days ago in which my Buddhist friend had changed from how I knew him. He was usually friendly and cheery, if a little unusual in manner sometimes. However, in the dream he looked very different and was angry, seemingly not just with me, but with everyone, but with me also. He grabbed me by my collar and screamed at me and I was afraid. 2. I saw there was a world within my laptop, which became large and over-filled with information, then shrunk to become the size of my left foot, and hovered just below my knee. 3. I saw a bright light, which was powerful and pure white, but tinged at the edges with gold. The light appeared to come from a figure, whom I saw as bound but then released from his bondage, stepping down from the place where he was bound to walk on the earth and talk to the people there. Is it possible there is any meaning to these, which I am supposed to untangle? They seem to all be connected to my previous question, about the limits of the universe and the cycle of birth and death.

I have remembered at least 4 past incarnations, two being particularly influential throughout my current life before the memory of them. I had been cleaning my psyche and spirit during this time, but I still had a hard time keeping rooted in the present with all these different realities suddenly apparent. I thought I was ready, as I had been studying reincarnation and the possible implications for years before the memories started. Once they came, it was unlike anything I expected. They were visceral, real, encompassing and completely immersive. I could see so many parallels through them all, and deeply rooted throughout my current incarnation. It began to be too much, and I found it becoming hard to keep rooted in the present. I started to wonder if I really was just living the same mistakes again that I saw reflected in the most vivid life, and became scared I would suffer the same pain no matter what I did to stop it. I desperately wanted to seek advice, but had no one near me at the time that I felt would know any answers. So, even though it is years past now, I have found this forum, so I ask those who may know from experience: - How do you keep rooted in the now when all your pasts are constantly running through your mind, sometimes as clear as this moment? - How do you keep this present clear, and not let the other faces and experiences overlay everything?

I'm currently attempting to do shamatha and vipassana meditations in alternation, even though I'm unsure this is the best way to proceed. I noticed that generally, as a person, I am somewhat repressed in the sense that few thoughts, images or sensations seem to emerge. There are a few other peculiarities I experience, and I'm unsure if people could help me with that. I remember vaguely as a child having odd sensations / visions which arose without reason, in mandala form usually. And since a while now, I seem to be gaining insight randomly, sporadically. I've been happy for years, not in a strong pleasant sensation but in experiencing equanimity generally or lack of attachments. Yet, I'm feeling stuck in my practice because I don't seem to realize where I'm at. I don't know whether I have good or bad concentration, or whatever else. I seem to be unaware of my own mental states. Since I feel repressed and few images or feelings arise, I think perhaps vipassana would help, but ultimately, I dunno. Any kind of help on what I'm experiencing would aid me greatly, and I'd be willing to supply more details if necessary.

Would be interested to hear all similes about removing the difilments step by step What i vaguely remember is a simile about purifying gold - and maybe there was one on purifying silver ?

Since Buddhists believe that we shouldn't hurt animals, then would they kill one for survival?

My upper back muscles are not strong enough yet to support seated meditation, so I use supine/savanana posture sometimes. My mind falls into short dream states, like hypnagogia, very easily in this posture, however. Any tips for overcoming this laxity while doing supine meditation? I am only doing samatha meditation these days.

Are we not thinking of ourselves as either you're better than they are, or equal to them, or worse that they are?

I would like to understand this image. Can someone explain each part of this image? Not only the part in the middle, but also the figures all around.

It occurred to me that some human life has immeasurable value. Not just is very very valuable, but cannot, in principle, be contrasted with the value of another sentient life. I *think* that the term for this immeasurability is the ***dharmakaya***. Do any traditions claim that the dharmakaya is never manifest in a human being?

In this Sutta Buddha says there are three conditions meat can be eaten 1. When the animals are not seen to have been killed for oneself 2. When someone is not told by other people that an animal has been killed for himself 3. When one does not suspect an animal has been killed for oneself What if someone heard an animal was screaming when that particular meat is prepared, is this included in three conditions above or not?

What is the difference between modern atomic theory and the Buddhist atomic theory? Buddhism also employs certain technical terms such as Anu,Paramanu,Cunna,Kapala and so on at same time we can take following terms as counter part of Buddhist terms in modern science,atom,nucleus,electron etc.