Receiving blessings for a baby at a temple

The Supreme Buddha has said that each and everyone should be responsible for good and bad one does.  According to this we can imagine the plight of this monk (I should not be calling him a disciple of the Buddha).  Be it Monks or laymen, that kind of actions (because it is done in the name of Supreme Buddha’s dispensation) will amass enough demerit to suffer in hell.   This is his own making.  We can only have pity on him and hope that someone will try and show him the gravity of the mistake that he has already made and that he will correct himself, which is highly unlikely. That tells us that the robe or the shaved head do not make a monk, ie. By that I mean a disciple of the Supreme Buddha.


What is the difference between nama-rupa and the five skandhas?

Nama-rupa & the five aggregates are taught for different purposes.

The five aggregates are objects of insight.

  'Such is form, such its origination, such its passing away. Such is feeling, such its origination, such its passing away. Such is
  perception, such its origination, such its passing away. Such are
  fabrications, such their origination, such their passing away. Such is
  consciousness, such its origination, such its disappearance.' ...AN 4.41

Nama-rupa is a condition in Dependent Origination, where it serves as the 'control centre' for meditation. Either nama-rupa is overcome by ignorance or nama-rupa is controlled to end ignorance.

  He sits down folding his legs crosswise, holding his body [rupa] erect and setting mindfulness [nama] to the fore....MN 118

  He lives with attention to body [rupa] established, with an immeasurable mind [nama]...MN 38

Nama-rupa is 'mentality-materiality' & excludes consciousness (although includes internal contact, which includes consciousness one of three constituents but predominantly the mind/mano as a sense organ).

  What is mentality-materiality (nama-rupa)? Feeling, perception, volition, contact and attention — these are called mentality. The four great elements
  and the material form derived from the four great elements — these are
  called materiality.

  What is consciousness? There are these six classes of consciousness: eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, nose-consciousness,
  tongue-consciousness, body-consciousness, mind-consciousness.

  SN 12.2 & MN 9

Nama = mentality. It also includes another mental functions, such as mindfulness, zeal, energy, persistence, decision, etc (as listed in MN 111).

Why consciousness is kept separate is because consciousness is mere sense awareness, like a mirror. It is essentially 'passive' in nature.

Where as 'nama' is like 'intelligence'. It is a grouping of those functions of mind that discern, develop wisdom & makes decisions. Otherwise, if nama does not develop wisdom, it is controlled by ignorance (avicca paccaya...nama-rupa).

'Nama-rupa' is used as a word-compound to show nama & rupa are inseparably interrelated. For example, when nama becomes agitated, rupa simultaneously becomes agitated.

  His bodily disturbances & mental disturbances grow. His bodily torments & mental torments grow. His bodily distresses & mental
  distresses grow. He is sensitive both to bodily stress & mental
  stress.
  MN 149

Where as consciousness is just awareness or objectivity. Consciousness does not produce suffering where as an ignorant 'nama' produces & is afflicted by suffering; which also afflicts the physical body.

~~~

'Nama-rupa' is also a pre-Buddhist-Brahmanistic term that the Buddha adopted, redefined & thus debunked.

Brahmanism was concerned with 'creationism', of how the mind names forms. In Brahmanism, nama-rupa is 'name-form'. Where as the Buddha said 'nama-rupa' is 'mind-body' (mentality-materiality), which should be observed in meditation so to understand how suffering afflicts the mind-body & also can cease in the mind-body.

  Yet it is just within this fathom-long body, with its perception & intellect, that I declare that there is the world/suffering, the
  origination of the world/suffering, the cessation of the
  world/suffering and the path of practice leading to the cessation of
  the world/suffering... AN 4.45

There are many scriptures where the Buddha talks to Brahmans and the word 'nama-rupa' retains its Brahmanistic meaning as 'name-form'. This causes confusion to most Buddhists & scholars, who incorrectly translate nama-rupa as 'name-form' in all contexts.

When the Buddha teaches Buddhists, the translation is 'mentality-materiality'. When the Buddha teaches Brahmans, the translation is 'name-form'.

  The brahman Jata Bharadvaja went to the Blessed One and said: Gotama, I ask you this: who can untangle this tangle?

  Where name-&-form,   along with perception   of impingement & form, totally stop without trace:  that's where the tangle         is cut.

  When this was said, the brahman Jata Bharadvaja said to the Blessed One, "Magnificent, Master Gotama! Magnificent!

  SN 7.6


I think this is a question we all ask ourselves at some point
http://buddhism.about.com/od/basicbuddhistteachings/a/attachment.htm

  What Is Attachment?

  In order for there to be attachment, you need two things -- the
  attacher, and the thing to which the attacher is attached. In other
  words, "attachment" requires self-reference, and it requires seeing
  the object of attachment as separate from oneself.

  The Buddha taught that seeing oneself and everything else this way is
  a delusion. Further, it is a delusion that is the deepest cause of our
  unhappiness. It is because we mistakenly see ourselves as separate
  from everything else that we "attach."

  Zen teacher John Daido Loori said,

  "[A]ccording to the Buddhist point of view, nonattachment is exactly
  the opposite of separation. You need two things in order to have
  attachment: the thing you’re attaching to, and the person who’s
  attaching. In nonattachment, on the other hand, there’s unity. There’s
  unity because there’s nothing to attach to. If you have unified with
  the whole universe, there’s nothing outside of you, so the notion of
  attachment becomes absurd. Who will attach to what?"

  Because we think we have intrinsic existence within our skin, and
  what's outside our skin is "everything else," that we go through life
  grabbing for one thing after another to make us feel safe, or to make
  us happy.

Living without attachment is a lot like living without trying to get some outcome in the world. It is living life but not defining ourselves essentially as a companion or a worker or a studier or being just the body.

So not being attached or not having expectations involves loosening up our own self identity that is wrapped up in the world and how it appears. If we are totally comfortable in this moment it is far easier to accept the relationship we have with that person.

Keep practicing meditation every day and have meditation be part of your relationship could be a good start.

Thank you


Does drowsiness as a defilement only refer to a psychological state of mind? I know that emotions manifest also as physical phenomena, but how do I distinguish between physical exhaustion and psychological defilement?
Drowsiness depends both on the psychological state and physical state. There is nothing purely psychological or purely physical. Both psychological and physical changes can occur simultaneously depending upon the choices you make regarding your mind and/or body.
If I am done with my job or school I'm feeling sometimes exhausted. How do I know if I have this defilement in me? Now of course if I ate a lot then it's clearly a defilement.
Yes. It is a defilement. It is the lack of energy which is causing you to exhaust quickly.
Any thoughts or sutta references?
Yes. Buddha understood this problem and came up with a great solution.
Please go through what I discovered here.

Furthermore, a mendicant has wandered for alms, and they got to fill
up on as much food as they like, coarse or fine. They think: ‘I’ve
wandered for alms, and I got to fill up on as much food as I like,
coarse or fine. My body is heavy, unfit for work, like I’ve just eaten
a load of beans. I’d better have a lie down.’ They lie down, and don’t
rouse energy for achieving the unachieved, attaining the unattained,
and realizing the unrealized. This is the sixth ground for laziness.

Next he says

Furthermore, a mendicant has wandered for alms, and they got to fill
up on as much food as they like, coarse or fine. They think: ‘I’ve
wandered for alms, and I got to fill up on as much food as I like,
coarse or fine. My body is strong and fit for work. I’d better
preemptively rouse up energy …’ … This is the sixth ground for
arousing energy.

The point is to think positively. Think in what ways now is advantageous for rousing up energy to fulfill the urgent goal of focusing on Buddha , Dhamma and Sangha. The sutta I have quoted covers 8 grounds for arousing energy I am sure you will find the one suitable for you.


Fear is a reoccurring companion on the spiritual path. It doesn't mean that something has gone wrong. The particular fear that you describe seems fairly common, but fears can come in all sorts of shapes and sizes; all sorts of feelings and thoughts.
How can I overcome this fear?
The overcoming of fear happens when we become curious about it rather than adhering to its demands which generally push the practitioner towards form-based experiences or sensuality - that is the habitual response. This only serves to cover over the those fears and the practitioner loses sight of some critical knowledge. However, approaching fear with curiosity suggests that there is another way to understand those fears. Therefore, fear holds previously unseen knowledge... knowledge about uncertainty and not just the uncertainty of our mental faculties, but the uncertainty of every single second that passes by.
When one consciously choses to look towards those fears, slowly they lose their power over you. One does not need to analyse why they are there rather, just to notice that they are present. You see, fear is like a snotty-nosed child trying to play a sinister melody with a trumpet, but if we don't turn towards its comical absurdity, we perceive fear as something much greater, something that has much more substance; fear then continues as a deep intrapsychic governor giving determinations on how we live our lives.
Fear only perpetuates when there is an applied force. We can recognize those applied forces in our thoughts and if we buy into those thoughts fear quickly takes the upper hand. One common fear is the fear of going crazy.
Is this a fetter? In particular, is it caused or conditioned by belief in self? Are dispositions part of self?
It's not quite a fetter, but a pre-emptive response to the practice as a whole. The fetter model has its quagmires; it's not a solid base for practice, so I wouldn't hold that model too tightly.
The practice uncovers these deep fears and allows us the opportunity to view them in more healthy ways. It's time to start doing that now. This calls upon a certain degree of wisdom, perhaps some faith, and an ability to find some contextual awareness.
In an nutshell, the fear is the anticipation of its own ending, but it can only express this through negative thoughts. It is fearful because what lies beyond our internal conceptual world cannot be conceived by it, by the feelings it generates or by the thoughts it weaves.
The amazing thing is, we fear the loss of control but none of us ever had any control and never will.
How can I accept losing control of my mind and will?
Chiefly, you'll have to feel your own way with that. When you've accepted it, then you've cracked the entire thing!


Is there a comprehensive list of types of Samadhi?

I did an in depth research going through a digital search of the pali suttas and compiling a comprehensive list of every type of usage of
☂ Samādhi: broad umbrella term in every type of usage in EBT.
https://lucid24.org/sted/8aam/8samadhi/nuance/index.html


Has anyone claimed to have reborn in Pure Land, and later returned to earth to help other beings?

Usually the Bodhisattvas who vows to be born back to Earth to guild others will do so with the means appropriate to the culture, time and age.  In this age of Dharma descend, they would not display enlightenment or supernatural powers, but instead would display mindfulness of Amitabha Buddha and recitation of His name.  They would show signs that they obtain rebirth to Pureland.  And they will never reveal their true identity.  Master Chin King often said if the Buddha or Bodhisattva identity is revealed they would immediately depart from this world.
Namo Amita Buddha.


Theory of momentariness -- do things arise ex nihilo?

This is essentially the question: "Does X exist?"; "Does X not exist?" which are questions the Buddha puts aside as not being helpful towards achieving the goal. Whether or not X exists, there is pain (dukkha). This is the problem that is dealt with in the Buddha's system.

The idea of 'cause', as 'hetu' and 'nidana' and 'paccaya' and a half dozen other terms are translated (including 'ahara' food!), is an error. "Hetu" the most reasonable candidate for 'cause' means 'driving force' (something like the teamster's 'giddy-up!'). Cause remains a mystery that is not dealt with as it is irrelevant to the solution of the problem of pain.

What we get in the Paticca Samuppada (and other formulas dealing with the origin and ending of things) is not a description of cause and effect (no matter how often it is translated that way -- it makes no sense as a cause-and-effect description) it is a description of causal association (aka: Bhk. Thanissaro: requisite condition; aka: proximate cause, economic cause).

Causal association can be seen.

That is the point.

We deal in this system with what we can see and know for ourselves; what we can do something about ourselves.

"It cannot exist without it" does not equal "cause."

We cannot see the 'cause' for the appearance of aging and death from birth, but we can see that without birth there would be no aging and death.

So without needing to deal with 'cause', we can know for certain that the result, whatever the 'cause' may be, can be eliminated by eliminating birth. And so on for the other causal associations.


That "Electric Feel" body sensation during meditation

This feeling is Piti. It is also in sphere of the sensual world hence has the 3 marks of existence. It arises and passes away. You should try to look at it more and more closely until you see it. At some point this will also disappear and turn into either pain or a neutral feeling. When you get the neutral feeling you should be very careful as not to loose the balance of your mind as equanimity is easy in pain and pleasure but hard in this instance. If you examine closely this is also impermanent as you will see things arising and passing. If you see arising and passing of phenomena in each and every part of your body then you are experiencing bhanga-nana. You should see it in remote places in your body also like your earlobes.

This can result either due to Jhana or that through Vipassana where you have either suspended or eradicated (in case of Vipassana) some of you bad Karma which might give you birth in a lower realm for that stretch of time. (In Jhana there is a temporary suspension of the such rebirth linking karma. If you dies with your Jhana you are born in a higher existence.) This does not mean that you can keep them suspended always in Jhana or other periods where some old residual Karma giving you bad rebirth linking result will not surface in the future in the case of Vipassana. Through Vipassana you can eradicate all rebirth linking Karma starting from the lower realms and progressing to higher realm. When you have eliminated all rebirth linking Karma and mind comes to a state it does not acquire any new rebirth linking Karma then you will enter Nirvana. Even when you enter Nirvana you can still have non rebirth linking Karma. Also the present feeling are associated with Karma which you have done with attachment. (Interpretation as per my understanding according of Ledi Sayadaw linage.)

All being said don't get attached to it in any way nor wish for it to pass away.


Is the lotus position more prone to knee injury?

But, seeing some teachers with such injuries as well made me wonder if even with a correct posture one may still harm its own body.

Lotus position is not a "correct" posture. Correct posture has having the spine erect. The Buddhist scriptures instruct to meditation in four postures, namely, sitting, standing, walking & lying down. Lotus posture has no inherent benefit, apart from convenience. People have attained the deepest meditation states (called 'jhana') sitting on a backless chair. Because jhana is such a heightened state of mental alertness, there is no possibly of falling off the chair in jhana due to drowsiness. Lotus is useful for sloppy meditators who end to fall asleep in meditation; who pretend they are meditating but are, in reality, sleeping or day-dreaming.

  So, my question: given ideal conditions, such as correct posture and enough strength for it, is lotus position more susceptible to injury
  (in the long run) than other postures, such as burmese or half-lotus?
  Or, are all these injuries we see due to lacking necessary
  conditions?

This question is unrelated to Buddhist philosophy. The suitability of the Lotus Posture depends of the physiology of the individual. If a person can sit in lotus but does not have a natural erect & supple spine, sitting in lotus is both pointness & will probably cause physical damage.

  If someone could point me to a reference, that would be great.

There are no Buddhist references for this matter. It is all a matter of physiology.


Would a wise and compassionate person advice one to figue things out by oneself?

If actually knowing the way to liberation, would one with ability to teach or knowing where to get taught, send another out to find out for one self?
If someone is doing so, send you into the dessert, what can be the reason for such?

"It's one thing when I tell you the answer, and it's a totally different thing when you figure it out by yourself." - a quote from my Zen Master. Indeed, liberation only comes from first-hand experience. The truth must be reinvented by every student. So a good teacher gives just enough instruction to set the student in the right direction, but never tries to give the final answer, because it would be meaningless. Just like a good father does not try to live his son's life but allows him to make mistakes and learn.
So good teacher does a lot of work: motivates, shows the nature of the mind, helps see obstacles, gives confirmation when things go well, says "no this is wrong" when they don't and so on.
There are some students that receive all explanations and instructions, and even understand all the logic, but still can't make the final jump. In this case the teacher sends the student away forever, to live, meditate, and recreate the teaching in one's life - until the truth is found.


My explanation of six realms of existence

Yes this is correct this is the way a mahayana views reality. And this is the reason a theravedan disagrees! LOL.

To the theravedan the six realms are not visible in the human world. Or rather with human eyes the six realms are not visible on earth.


Does Buddhism teach about "Parallel worlds"

Coming together of 31 planes of existance forms an universe. (At least when it is not collapsed.) Likewise there infinite universes1. Also there is view that each universe contains multiple humanoid planets which is called the human plane2.
Out of these universes there is only one universe a Buddha can appear. This is called the Mangala Sakwala  (The special universe or galaxy where lord Buddhas are born). This can be viewed in terms of the number line where there is infinite numbers but there is only one zero. Likewise in the infinite universe there is only one universe conducive for a Buddha to appear.

1Abhidhammattha Pradeepika By Amaradasa Rathnapala, Volume 1, page 27, paragraph starting at line 6.
2 Perhaps based on: Kosala Sutta: The Kosalan

"As far as the sun & moon revolve, illumining the directions with their light, there extends the thousand-fold cosmos. In that thousand-fold cosmos there are a thousand moons, a thousand suns, a thousand Sunerus — kings of mountains; a thousand Rose-apple continents, a thousand Deathless Ox-cart [continents], a thousand northern Kuru [continents], a thousand eastern Videha [continents]; four thousand great oceans, four thousand Great Kings, a thousand [heavens of the] Four Great Kings, a thousand [heavens of the] Thirty-three, a thousand [heavens of the] Yamas, a thousand [heavens of the] Tusitas, a thousand heavens of the Nimmanaratis, a thousand heavens of the Paranimmitavasavattis,  and a thousand Brahma worlds. And in that thousand-fold cosmos, the Great Brahma is reckoned supreme. Yet even in the Great Brahma there is still aberration, there is change. Seeing this, the instructed disciple of the noble ones grows disenchanted with that. Being disenchanted with that, he becomes dispassionate toward what is supreme, and even more so toward what is inferior.
"There comes a time when this cosmos devolves. When the cosmos is devolving, most beings head to the [heaven of] the Radiant. There they remain for a long, long time — mind-made, feeding on rapture, self-radiant, faring through the sky, abiding in splendor. When the cosmos is devolving, the Radiant Devas are reckoned supreme. Yet even in the Radiant Devas, there is still aberration, there is change. Seeing this, the instructed disciple of the noble ones grows disenchanted with that. Being disenchanted with that, he becomes dispassionate toward what is supreme, and even more so toward what is inferior.


These moments of doubt is exactly when you are making the choice to be happy or not. If you trust your own hope for the best and go for it, without reluctance, you will progressively arrive at a place when you get enough evidence that it works, and the doubt will melt away. Just don't cling to the pessimistic leg of the ambiguity fork, out of fear.


How to reconcile Mahayana ideas of "nama-rupa" with the Pali definition?

Unlike Theravada tradition, which passes down the words, Mahayana tradition passes down the meaning - using whatever words and images that are most fitting for the occasion and the recipient.

So in Mahayana tradition there is a large number of texts that explain the major points of Buddhism in a variety of ways. Some are written as poems, some are as formal treatises, some are as stories and anecdotes, and some are expansive comments elaborating on topics arranged in methodical sequence. Also, in Tibetan Mahayana tradition, it is customary for a tutor to go over an ancient (Mahayana) text, explaining the overall meaning and commenting on the points made, so that the next generation does not get stuck with a text they no more understand.

Many of these texts and lectures cover development and arising of the samsaric mind. Because Mahayana is more focused on the overall meaning than on the exact form, many of these teachings do not literally go point by point over the Twelve Nidanas, but they do describe the overall process, some in more broad terms and some in more details. One such example is Lamp of Mahamudra by Tsele Natsok Rangdrol which I quote in this answer. Another example is Thrangu Rinpoche's lecture on Madhyantavibhanga. Yet another example is Chogyam Trungpa's lecture that I quote in this answer.

Not a single of these explanations is 100% perfectly clear, but combined together they absolutely paint the coherent picture.

I have read and was exposed to enough of these learning materials on the topic of development and arising of the samsaric mind that I now have a very strong confidence that I do understand the overall meaning.

The gist of Dependent Origination (a better translation would be "Gradual Auto-Arising"), as explained in these texts and by these teachers, is progressive/incremental/gradual development of differentiation, or development of the mind of delineation and designation of entities. This process starts from complete non-differentiation, goes through a phase of vagueness or semi-ambiguity, then matures to the point when individual objects are designated, and all this time in parallel with development of object-thinking there is a growing separation of this vs that, or self vs world. As this idea of self matures it starts getting involved in progressively more active interactions with the world of objects, until through the act of formulating an intention, carrying it out, appropriating the result, and connecting these three steps together, it gets enough cohesion as to become self-aware. Most explanations understandably paint this process in dark colors by showing how the increased separation leads to fear, aggression, indulging in pleasures, and eventual imprisonment in a web of results, relationships, obligations and other karmic constraints.

It is rather clear to me from these explanations that Namarupa-Nidana corresponds to an early phase of this process, when the mind has just accumulated enough impressions and tendencies as to start differentiating something, but before this something gets integrated across all sensory modalities as to become an "object" we can "come in contact" with. So Namarupa is a phase when the mind builds its notions of objects as cohesive entities. Chogyam Trungpa, for example, describes this phase so:

  Things slowly escalate that way. ... When an object has a conceptualized name, it becomes significant. ... Names and forms serve as ... philosophical reinforcement. For instance ... you think that the title should fit the person.

From many such explanations, plus the very etymology of nama-rupa itself, plus my own years of meditation experience, it is rather clear to me that namarupa stands for some sort of information about an object's identity.

Or, perhaps, Namarupa stands for the entire collection of such information, comprising a single individual, what today we would call the "psyche". That is a possibility. It could even stand for both. (Remember the situation with the word Dharma which means phenomena, things, thoughts, a way of life, or the Buddha's Teaching - depending on the context.) In any case, Namarupa is definitely of the nature of information about entities and identities, names and forms.

Now, to answer your concrete questions:

  How does the Pali definition above about "feeling, perception, intention, contact and attention" describe the Mahayana idea of "a concept of form" and "an idea of form"? Particularly how do the Pali terms "contact", "intention" and "attention" operate as part of this Mahayana "a concept of form" and "an idea of form"?

The point here is that the Skandhas (MN 9 is about the only sutta that erroneously brings in the "contact") are a collection of information, they are nothing else but Namarupa. As was explained many times, e.g. in Questions of King Milinda, the distinct Skandhas are a product of logical analysis, not actually separate things. In actuality the "stuff" that is skandhas is not divided into the four or five neat "piles of brushwood", it is all mixed together into what's traditionally described either as burning fire or the ocean where all rivers' waters mix. So the skandhas are "made" from the same "material" as the previous nidana, just a bit more specialized by now. What used to be formations(tendencies,latencies) solidifies into ability to delineate stuff, which eventually matures into a collection of information about the world of objects and the corresponding "psyche" or the inner world. This is Namarupa.

  How is the Mahayana "a concept of form" and "an idea of form" different to the Pali "nimitta"?

Nimitta is what's known in cognitive sciences as identifying feature.

(Nimitta is not a "theme", that's a mistaken translation. The example of "a nimitta of beauty" speaks about a sign of beauty, such as for example long hair or big eyes or nice proportions or whatever.)

Instead, Nimitta is some basic clue that the mind uses to recognize stuff in the stream of raw sensory input. Namarupa is a more general concept, it is a notion of object, which may have one or more identifying features that (either individually or together) help us recognize the object.

Remember, according to Mahayana, objects do not exist, they are empty. Objects are constructs of mind; they are projections. Mahayana speaks about it all the time.

So, nimitta is just one part of this story, it is the sign by which an object is identified. When the sign is latched on, there come the chain of associative perception, the associated feelings, the associated impulses to do something in regards with the object etc. and all this information-about-the-object-and-the-mental-activity-it-enables is called Namarupa. I hope it's clear now.


A noobs balance. Where to go on my journey?

Where do I go from here? One thing I have learned about Buddhism is the danger of over-intellectualization.

That's not true at all. There is a sutta where monks specializing in absorption meditation (jhana) disparaged monks specializing in the study and teaching of the Dhamma (Buddha's teachings), and vice versa.

Here's what Ven. Maha Cunda eventually advised them to do in AN 6.46:

  “Thus, friends, you should train yourselves: ‘Being Dhamma-devotee
  monks, we will speak in praise of jhana monks.’ That’s how you should
  train yourselves. Why is that? Because these are amazing people, hard
  to find in the world, i.e., those who dwell touching the deathless
  element with the body.

  “And thus, friends, you should train yourselves: ‘Being jhana monks,
  we will speak in praise of Dhamma-devotee monks.’ That’s how you
  should train yourselves. Why is that? Because these are amazing
  people, hard to find in the world, i.e., those who penetrate with
  discernment statements of deep meaning.”

So, while AN 5.73 warns those over-intellectualizing to also practise meditation, AN 6.46 reminds us that learning and understanding the Dharma is quite important too.

There is nothing wrong for those specializing in being Dhamma scholars, and for those specializing in jhana meditation, as long as there is balance and moderation.

However, you must remember that these two suttas are directed at monks, not lay people. Lay people are generally advised to practise the five precepts, practise virtue (Right Action, Right Speech, Right Livelihood) and learn the Dhamma (to have Right View).

Right View is the forerunner of the Noble Eightfold Path according to MN 117. So, if you help others learn the Dhamma in order to help them have the Right View (assuming that you already have Right View), then you are giving them the supreme gift, for Itivuttaka 100 says:

  "There are these two kinds of gifts: a gift of material things & a
  gift of the Dhamma. Of the two, this is supreme: a gift of the Dhamma.

  "There are these two kinds of sharing: sharing of material things &
  sharing of the Dhamma. Of the two, this is supreme: sharing of the
  Dhamma.

  "There are these two kinds of assistance: assistance with material
  things & assistance with the Dhamma. Of the two, this is supreme: help
  with the Dhamma.

  "There are these two kinds of mass-donations: a mass-donation of
  material things & a mass-donation of the Dhamma. Of the two, this is
  supreme: a mass-donation of the Dhamma."

How do some of you find a balance between Buddhist practice (which aims to free us from our minds), and using your mind effectively (to learn about the teachings or follow your passion and calling in life)?

As mentioned above, having the Right View is the forerunner of the Noble Eightfold Path. So, it makes a lot of sense to learn the teachings.

Basically, I'm trying to encourage your interest in having an academic career in Buddhist Studies, as a means to study the Buddha's teachings in-depth and convey its message, albeit in an academic form, to students, the scholarly community and people everywhere.


I personally would recommend insight meditation, learn the 3 universal characteristics- impermanace, suffering and non-self. Hopefully once you realise such insight, you might question yourself, and ask: In a 100 years times, when i am dead, will the things that are causing me stress today, will they mean anything?

One day,very soon, we will all be dead, and the stress, struggles and fighting through this life/existence will end. The reason why i'm saying this is because it will mean nothing!! Live your life, let go of things you can't change and let go of the things you can change... let it all go... just live and be happy, because one day, very soon, you will be dead and the only difference will be on your death bed, when you ask yourself... was i a happy person or an unhappy person? The choice is yours my friend!

Metta


Any further question? What best to ask on one's last chance?

You have the one final chance to ask one thing. What would it be?

That was Bahiya's problem in Udana 1.10 (quoted below). Bahiya, the advanced ascetic who was not enlightened, sought to understand in a short teaching the gist of the Dhamma that would free him.

This question would be like "What would be the shortest summary of the Buddha's teachings that is enough to liberate me from suffering?"

  Then Bāhiya, hurriedly leaving Jeta's Grove and entering Sāvatthī, saw
  the Blessed One going for alms in Sāvatthī — serene & inspiring serene
  confidence, calming, his senses at peace, his mind at peace, having
  attained the utmost tranquility & poise, tamed, guarded, his senses
  restrained, a Great One (nāga). Seeing him, he approached the Blessed
  One and, on reaching him, threw himself down, with his head at the
  Blessed One's feet, and said, "Teach me the Dhamma, O Blessed One!
  Teach me the Dhamma, O One-Well-Gone, that will be for my long-term
  welfare & bliss."

  When this was said, the Blessed One said to him, "This is not the
  time, Bāhiya. We have entered the town for alms."

  A second time, Bāhiya said to the Blessed One, "But it is hard to know
  for sure what dangers there may be for the Blessed One's life, or what
  dangers there may be for mine. Teach me the Dhamma, O Blessed One!
  Teach me the Dhamma, O One-Well-Gone, that will be for my long-term
  welfare & bliss."

  A second time, the Blessed One said to him, "This is not the time,
  Bāhiya. We have entered the town for alms."

  A third time, Bāhiya said to the Blessed One, "But it is hard to know
  for sure what dangers there may be for the Blessed One's life, or what
  dangers there may be for mine. Teach me the Dhamma, O Blessed One!
  Teach me the Dhamma, O One-Well-Gone, that will be for my long-term
  welfare & bliss."

  "Then, Bāhiya, you should train yourself thus: In reference to the
  seen, there will be only the seen. In reference to the heard, only the
  heard. In reference to the sensed, only the sensed. In reference to
  the cognized, only the cognized. That is how you should train
  yourself. When for you there will be only the seen in reference to the
  seen, only the heard in reference to the heard, only the sensed in
  reference to the sensed, only the cognized in reference to the
  cognized, then, Bāhiya, there is no you in connection with that. When
  there is no you in connection with that, there is no you there. When
  there is no you there, you are neither here nor yonder nor between the
  two. This, just this, is the end of stress."

  Through hearing this brief explanation of the Dhamma from the Blessed
  One, the mind of Bāhiya of the Bark-cloth right then and there was
  released from effluents through lack of clinging/sustenance. Having
  exhorted Bāhiya of the Bark-cloth with this brief explanation of the
  Dhamma, the Blessed One left.

  Now, not long after the Blessed One's departure, Bāhiya was attacked &
  killed by a cow with a young calf. Then the Blessed One, having gone
  for alms in Sāvatthī, after the meal, returning from his alms round
  with a large number of monks, saw that Bāhiya had died. On seeing him,
  he said to the monks, "Take Bāhiya's body, monks, and, placing it on a
  litter and carrying it away, cremate it and build him a memorial. Your
  companion in the holy life has died."

  Responding, "As you say, lord," to the Blessed One, the monks —
  placing Bāhiya's body on a litter, carrying it away, cremating it, and
  building him a memorial — went to the Blessed One. On arrival, having
  bowed down to him, sat to one side. As they were sitting there, they
  said to him, "Bāhiya's body has been cremated, lord, and his memorial
  has been built. What is his destination? What is his future state?"

  "Monks, Bāhiya of the Bark-cloth was wise. He practiced the Dhamma in
  accordance with the Dhamma and did not pester me with issues related
  to the Dhamma. Bāhiya of the Bark-cloth, monks, is totally unbound."


First off, you can't "see things for what they are", because "things" not "are" in any single way. The way things are is always context dependent. As much as we may want to see things from  superhuman objective perspective, we can't escape a point of view. Now, if we understand that there is no truly objective point of view then we may get close to seeing things as they are, which means accepting our necessary limited perspective as part of "how things are" -- but not being fooled by it!

IMO, your assuming that you currently see things as they are is conceit and delusion.

Now, individual points:

The symbolism of bowing is making yourself vulnerable to the person you're bowing to. This is like handshake in which you show you have no weapon, but taken to the next level. Basically, by bowing you're saying "my life is in your hands". It would seem like it makes no difference if you already have respect for the person, but you have no idea how deep the egoistic resistance runs its roots. Try laughing authentically in front of a group of people you don't know and you will see what I mean. Similarly, bowing sincerely requires breaking through our false pride. And if you don't have pride anymore, bowing becomes expression of your understanding of the significance of Dharma and how it is manifested by Sangha, along with your gratitude to the Buddha. Again, it's like you are saying: "Thank you Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha -- I'm glad to have you be the force that guides my life, and I would like to keep this connection alive"

Regarding beauty and pleasure, Buddha taught us to train to see pleasant in non-pleasant and non-pleasant in pleasant. Only then can we be free from the dictate of "things as they are". You will not hear monks finding beauty in what most people consider beautiful. Back in the day when nature was prevalent, and people praised castles and statues, monks praised a bird flying off a branch. This was expression of their ability to find beauty anywhere. These days the beauty of nature has been romanticized and became popular, which is why it seems like monks were simply indulging, but they were not.

To summarize, it is not about seeing things as they are, it's seeing things in a useful way.


I have heard that Metta Meditation is the fastest way to a samadhi mind. How effectively fast is it?

It depends on the practitioner. All beings have different Kamma. Some have sharp and balanced faculties and others must work more diligently on theirs.

The initial effort/goal of any (Samatha)meditator must be to quiet down the five hindrances. They are an obstruction to Samatha meditation. As long as the hindrances are present strong concentration (Jhana) cannot arise.

The two most influential hindrances are 1) sense-desire and 2) ill-will. The Buddha often talked about how ones faculties cannot remain sharp if one is prone to indulge in sense-desires, e.g. in MN 75 - Magandiya Sutta:

  "So too, Magandiya, in the past sensual pleasures were painful to
  touch, hot, and scorching; in the future sensual pleasures will be painful
  to touch, hot, and scorching; and now at present sensual pleasures are
  painful to touch, hot, and scorching. But these people who are not free
  from lust for sensual pleasures, who are devoured by craving for sensual
  pleasures, who burn with the fever of sensual pleasures, have faculties
  that are impaired; thus, though sensual pleasures are actually painful
  to touch, they acquire a mistaken perception of them as pleasant."

So the fastest way in any form of Samatha meditation is to ensure that the hindrances are kept in check.

This can be done in a number of ways; most importantly is to guard/restrain the sense-doors.

That can be done either by practicing

Morality (precepts)
Mindfulness (guarding the sense-doors, Right Mindfulness)
Attaining Wisdom (into the 3 sign of existence)
Patience and Forbearance (Khanti)
Effort (Right Effort from the Noble 8-fold Path).

If just one of these methods arises then one has fulfilled the goal of restraint.

  How is Metta properly cultivated as a meditation?

See my in-depth and detailed answer on how to pratice Metta Meditation correctly.

  As in how to develop the Vitakka Vicara on metta in meditation?

Vitakka and Vicara is practiced in the same way as in all other forms of Samatha meditation.

Vitakka means to apply the Mind to the object and Vicara means to continually keep the Mind on the object.

Vitakka is like striking a bell once.

Vicara is like striking a bell continually with a little pause between strikes so that the bell sounds will have a balanced and continuous flow.

Hope this helps. If you have any questions to the post feel free to ask.


The fourth path to attaining arahantship

How does the fourth path work? Please elaborate on the fourth path.

By attaining “anariya jhanas”, one can attain only ceto vimutti. Thus to achieve all of the four paths, one has to practice “ariya jhanas”. Only this second Ariya Jhana will lead to  magga phala with panna vimutti.

The fourth path does not involve samatha meditation. It is completely a  vipassana meditation. In Pali this fourth method is called **Dhamma Uddhacca Vigghahita Maanasan”. Unlike the other three methods, it takes only a very short time to come to realization through this method, but only a highly developed person can do this. This method is not for you and I. The only Ariya Meditation that may help the ordinary folk is the Savitakka/Savicara mode of meditation. For those who are more disciplined and wiser, there is the Avitakka/Avicara mode of meditation.

How does one practise that? Please provide details.

This question can never be answered. The scriptures tell us of only 14 people who have realized nibbhana by practising this method.  Few of them that come to mind are Bahiya Dharuciraya, King Pukkusati, King’s Minister Santhathi, Arahant Dabbamallatissa, and Bhikku Kumara Kashyapa.

Why is vipassana and samatha not required on the fourth path?

This answer is there within the above explanation. These few individuals came to panna vimutti, but to come to this they never did any kind of Jhana. They never had to do samatha or vipassana meditation. Within a matter of minutes, they achieved nibbana through **Dhamma Uddhacca Vigghahita Maanasan”.

To explain this Pali term…. Uddhacca  means the tendency to be high-minded (restlessness) - It arises because of high-mindedness. Uddacca remains as a cetasika and is removed only at the Arahant stage. Uddacca is the tendency to get at least irritated when not treated as expected. But it is to be noted that the levels of mana, uddacca, avijja that an Anagami has, are at much reduced level.

Uddhacca Vigghahita means the eradication of Uddhacca. This is the quickest way to remove all traces of the root causes - raga, dosa, and, moha. Or in other words Uddhacca Vigghahita  is the easiest way to remove lobha, dosa, and, moha (for akusala kamma), and alobha, adosa, and amoha (for kusala kamma).


What Buddha recommended was the right concentration (Samma Samadhi) a part of Noble Eightfold Path.
Wrong concentration (Mitya Samadhi) may be harmful.


Can a arahant recognize the spiritual attainment of others?

No.  It is a quality in Buddha among humans only. However, Tissa Brahma God has this quality too.  Ven Moggallana was curious about this and went to Tissa god and asked him if all beings in Brahma world had this quality.  Tissa Brahman said not all beings in the brahman world had it, but only few.  Tissa Sutta
Buddha said there is no measuring tool to measure others' attainment level (such as one Arahat in Buddha's time that used profanities- one may still use profanity after liberation because force of habit not mind with defilement, etc )
Another sutta I remember which do not remember the reference talked about one Arahat who had never met Ven Sariputta before.  They met for the first time and has conversation in form of question answers (Ven Sarriputta asked another answered).  After a few minutes, they both realized that each other reached some mile stone in their progress but they didnt know which level.  They knew each other by talking.  From that Sutta, Arahat may have a clue about the other but not 100% sure.

Dharma spoken by Buddha should lead us and Sangha world wide.


Theravada using mostly Vinaya and 4 Nikayas

Bhante Punnaji and Bhante Vimalaramsi (following Bhante Punnaji) and Bhikkhu Nanavira also teach this approach to Dhamma study. I also believe this is a good approach from the point of view of investigating an unknown doctrine. Go to the original sources as much as possible.

In really attemtpting to understand Psychology would it not make more sense to go to Freud first, then read those who came after with their modifications and perhaps misunderstandings? I'd rather generate my misunderstandings first hand.

There are those who say that reading the commentaries is helpful for understanding difficult positions. The reply is how can one be certain that the 'clarification' isn't mystification? You can only know by going to the original sources. Why waste the time going in circles like that?

Trust in the mind! To the clear, calm mind the solution to every problem will be seen.

One needs to remember that what Buddhism is talking about is salvation from the eternal round of pain and misery. Are you going to trust your salvation to secondary sources?

The Buddha says over and over again that he has taught Dhamma in the best way to teach Dhamma. see http://obo.genaud.net/dhamma-vinaya/bd/an/03_threes/an03.123.olds.bd.htm At least until one knows for certain otherwise it seems wise to take the man's word for it. It is, after all, his wisdom one is studying.


One Sutta / Text which covers all of Buddha's Teaching

You'd be hard pressed to find a single sutta that covers everything.  The suttas really don't work that way.  To compound your difficulty, you'd be even harder pressed to find an English/Pāli version of any text!  If I had to pick one sutta from the original canon, however, I think I'd go with the Sāmaññaphala Sutta.  It does an excellent job of providing a bird's eye view of the gradual training in the least amount of space.  You can find the Pāli version of the text here.  It's in the Tipiṭaka under the Suttapiṭaka, Dīga Nikāya, Sīlakkhandhavaggapāḷi, Sāmaññaphalasuttaṃ.  (I'd appreciate if anyone can link that directly!)  A bound copy is available here - but again, no Pāli.  Bhikkhu Bodhi also did an excellent translation of the sutta and its commentaries.  That's available here.  If you are going to spend the money, go with his version.

There are other single, bound texts that are far more detailed, technical, and honestly, I'd say more helpful.  Key among these is the lengthy Visuddhimagga written by Buddhaghosa.  Seriously, that guy spares no expense on detail.  I swear he thought he was getting paid by the word!  It also meets your requirement in that it is written in the [supposed] language of the Buddha - Pāli.  Mind, it was written several centuries after the Buddha's death.  The original text is also available on tipitaka.org.  It's under Anya, Visuddhimagga.  A bound copy of this book weighs about five pounds.  I'm not kidding.  It's not something you'd want to carry around with you.  A dual language version would be enormous!


Why are pleasant feelings "stressful" & "unpleasant"?

This is what it says in MN 44 sutta.

"Pleasant feeling is pleasant in remaining, & painful in changing,
friend Visakha. Painful feeling is painful in remaining & pleasant in
changing. Neither-pleasant-nor-painful feeling is pleasant in
occurring together with knowledge, and painful in occurring without
knowledge."


This idea is elaborated in Dogen's work called "Uji" (The Time-Being).
Here I will paste some bits and pieces:

Time itself is being, and all being is time.
Each moment is all being, is the entire world. Reflect now whether any being or any world is left out of the present moment.
In essence, all things in the entire world are linked with one another as moments. Because all moments are the time-being, they are your time-being.
Time is not separate from you, and as you are present, time does not go away.
Do not think that time merely flies away. Do not see flying away as the only function of time. If time merely flies away, you would be separated from time.
The time-being has the quality of flowing. So-called today flows into tomorrow.
You may suppose that time is only passing away, and not understand that time never arrives.
People only see time's coming and going, and do not thoroughly
understand that the time-being abides in each moment.
Do not think flowing is like wind and rain moving from east to west. The entire world is not unchangeable, is not immovable. It flows. Flowing is like spring. Spring with all its numerous aspects is called flowing. When spring flows there is nothing outside of spring. Study this in detail. Spring invariably flows through spring. Although flowing itself is not spring, flowing occurs throughout spring. Thus, flowing is completed at just this moment of spring. Examine this thoroughly, coming and going. In your study of flowing, if you imagine the objective to be outside yourself and that you flow and move through hundreds and thousands of worlds, for hundreds, thousands, and myriads of eons, you have not devotedly studied the buddha way.

What does this all mean? It means there is no hidden essence or identity that  would pass from the past into the future. When milk goes sour and "turns into" yogurt, or firewood burns out and "turns into" ash, or spring ends and summer starts, or "a person dies" - we habitually assume that something, some entity, stays itself throughout all phases and gets transferred from point A to point B to point C. However in reality there is no such thing. Identity is our imputation.
The young person, the old person, and the corpse are not the same entity - they are like the dominos falling in succession, like a moving wave. Similarly, the spring and summer are not the same entity, they are phases of flowing like the dominos in a chain.
Entire world is flowing like that, and most importantly the illusion that "I am staying the same as the time flows" or "I am moving through time while staying myself" - is the illusion of self. Our mind and our experience is part of the flow.
This is why, in Genjokoan:

It is a custom in Buddhism not to say that life turns into death. This is why we call it “unborn”. And it is an established Buddhist teaching since Gautama Buddha that death does not turn into life. This is why we call it “undying”. Life is an instantaneous situation, and death is also an instantaneous situation.


I've had similar experiences. Though Buddhism doesn't directly talk about the Kundalini system or even use the terminology (though Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism has something close or maybe the same in Thummo), reading about it was useful from a systemic analysis perspective.

Regardless of any explanation I found, it was ultimately only for curiosity satisfaction.

I think the best approach is to continue to practice and to not get carried away by this. Especially not obsessively, as you state. Just observe, remain equanimous and go on about your meditation.

One could term it a nimitta in the  Theravada tradition, I suppose.

In any case, it is a good sign of powerful concentration, keep at it.


Sudden enlightenment & knowledge of the Abhidhamma

I already asked the permission from the question starter to answer this question.
According to reciting study system (Mukkhapātha), there is no actual sudden enlightenment in Theravada tradition.
The sudden enlightenment without practice is almost impossible in reciting study system. If enlightenment is easy like that, people must can enlighten without the Buddha. Actually, although the outsider Jhāna master before Buddha time can't enlighten by themselves. The outsider Jhāna mastes meditate more than 12 hours per day not a year but entire their life like Ārālatāpaso, etc.
But why there are many sudden enlightenment in Tipitaka and Commentary?
No, there aren't in reciting study system. Actually they were study and practice very hard before, but the stories were cut into other suttas or commentary to avoid of reciting too much long or to fit the Sutta for the target listener (who will enlighten at that moment).
Sutta was separated into many tiny sutta in Buddha's time because of human's memorizing ability. However, every Ariya try to append Sutta more and more through the time. Every Arahanta in KN. Thera-therī-gāthā attained 6 Abhiññā. Even Kassapa, Ānanda, or Moggallāna still go to study Sutta from Sārīpalutta in MN. MahāgosingasālaSutta.
So when people nowadays read  Tipitaka, they don't know how to connect (Sandhi;Anusandhi;PubbāparaSandhi) the various tiny Sutta and commentary together. Then these weird thinking are going inside you such as "we should cut Abhidhamma off", "we can enlighten immediately without practice", etc. These all sound weird because it's not compatible with Karma when people did uncountable times Karmas before, then all is purged in a moment without any practice. It's impossible.
Sariputta was a priest before meeting Assaji and enlighten. Aññākondañña practice with Siddhartha many years before enlighten in DhammajakkappavattanaSutta.
This is why there are many story Canons in KN and Commentaries. We tried to avoid suddenly enlightenment without practice.
If you recite Abhidhamma commentary, you'll see that they mentioned 24 Buddha in the past to show how hard  it was when Bodhisatta practice to enlighten by himself. The hardest part is about the reasons, relation, of everything. If Bodhisatta can't understand the reason of everything  as it is, truth. He will couldn't enlighten by himself, too.
It must happen to every practitioner as well (however there are various styles depending on each one's abilities, skill experiences, past attention, etc.) If the practitioner doesn't understand the relation of elements as it is, truth, he can't enlighten because 3 characteristics appearing when seeing the truth, right relations of 5 aggregate elements.


Doctrine to address or alleviate someone's sense of betrayal?

The reasoning is along these lines and where the answer diverges that is due to self view and one then questions on whether it is appropriate to hold that view.
"Who hurt you? Did the head hairs, body hairs, the teeth, the nails, the skin.. did the earth element, the liquid element, the wind element, the fire element or the space element hurt you?"
"Did the intellect element hurt you?"
"No but the person who has these elements hurt me:("
"What do you think, bro: Do you regard form as the person?"
"Not rly."
"Do you regard feeling as the person?"
"Not rly."
"Do you regard perception as the person?"
"Not rly."
"Do you regard fabrications as the person?"
"Not rly."
"Do you regard consciousness as the person?"
"Not rly."
"What do you think, friend: Do you regard the person as being in form?... Elsewhere than form?... In feeling?... Elsewhere than feeling?... In perception?... Elsewhere than perception?... In fabrications?... Elsewhere than fabrications?... In consciousness?... Elsewhere than consciousness?"
"Not really, no."
"What do you think: Do you regard the person as form-feeling-perception-fabrications-consciousness [taken together]?"
"Nah brah."
"Do you regard the person as that which is without form, without feeling, without perception, without fabrications, without consciousness?"
"Nope.."
"And so, Friend — when you can't pin down the person as a truth or reality — is it proper for you to declare, 'Friends, he/she betrayed & abused me:( '
"I guess not.."
In the end one can only think in terms of true elements and can delineate the elements of delusion as the corruption of intellect element which like the other elements can be grasped with wrong view to be personal for this or that being, corrupted knowledge can be shown to beget wrong resolve, wrong action etc
So one breaks this idea of a person being a true element and likewise with the idea of the self who got abused.


In no way alaya-vijnana is "eternal, unchanging". This is Buddhism after all and nobody will posit totally non-buddhistic concepts which could contradict basic teachings of Buddha. Unenlightened beings may mistakenly perceive alaya-vijnana as Soul, but they may perceive so about any skandha. (One interpretation of why skandhas are five is that it's five assumptions of Self.) Standard analogy for alaya-vijnana is violent current of a river (udakaugha), it may be perceived as solid (from a far) but it's highly changing (if looked closer). Alaya-vijnana is only remains to the end of sansara.


Is every Dhamma cause of suffering?

No: as mentioned in this answer, nibanna is classified as a dhamma (and as anatta) but not a cause of suffering.

The same source says,

  sabbe saṅkhārā dukkhā — "all saṅkhāras are unsatisfactory"

It's sankharas that are classified as unsatisfactory (and impermanent).

But the term dhamma is broad and can be used (in different contexts) to mean a lot of different things -- for example, Jayarava's essay on The Simile of the Raft identifies some of the different possible meanings of dhamma.


Someone has an illness which is inevitably going to kill them. Why?

The way my teacher taught me, he said most (but not all) illnesses are karmic results of attachments. In his explanations, these attachments are often tendencies that are passed from generation to generation - from parents to children. So most diseases have roots in attachments that ran strong in previous generations of the family.

In my teacher's explanation, a disease is always a way to get rid of attachment, either voluntarily - through spiritual growths, or forcefully - through loss and death.

If a given member of the family has a problem with attachments that were passed on, and this time can spiritually evolve enough to abandon the attachments and grow beyond them, then the karmic disease can be circumvented or quickly healed.


How does one experience or understand the experience of others?

I understood the question as, how to listen deeply, without imposing our will, our ego or impatience on the speaker.

First we must still our mind of all chatter and impatience, which isn't possible without daily meditation and mindfulness, so we must learn to practice properly.

If we are to be strong to help others, we must practice correctly.

Second, we develop compassion and loving kindness towards the speaker. When our mind is not caught in its own web of suffering, compassion comes easily.

Having developed the heart of compassion and loving kindness, we listen mindfully. Such deep listening, where we offer our true presence to our friend or partner will be much appreciated.

To be effective, we must practice deep listening regularly, by being present in the moment, and allowing our heart of compassion and kindness to open.


Is intention "conscious energy" in Buddhism?

I can only define this from a Theravada perspective, that being: intention is the energizing of action which comes about through sensory stimulation. In that way, it could be seen as 'directed conscious energy' because, in Theravada, they often use the six-sense consciousnesses model. For instance, an object impedes the eye, a feeling/perception initiates intention. The conglomerate (heaped mass) of these components is called consciousness, or in this instance 'eye consciousness', (Pali: cakkhu-viññāṇa). It begins with form, the first of the five aggregates. That's how the passage you have quoted reads to me.
Now, occasionally I write my own suttas and as I was responding to this, one of my suttas came to mind. Here is an excerpt that may strengthen my interpretation of the passage you quoted.
...Furthermore, monks - form, feeling, perception and volition are to be observed as they are. Imagine four town pigeons in place of these four aggregates wondering loosely in the same vicinity. When food is thrown down, they swarm towards that food, they gather around that food and, in doing so, they appear to create a single mass. That single mass makes up the fifth aggregate of consciousness. In the same way, when a sense object is thrown into the range of the eye organ, form, feeling, perception and volition gather and contract into a subjective experience brought about by contact with that sense object. That very subjective experience is known as consciousness. Monks, this is birth...
In other spiritual fields, conscious energy might be given a different interpretation. For example, conscious energy could be confused with mindfulness in Buddhism and I think this answers your second question.
From a Theravada perspective, (using the six-sense consciousnesses model) directed conscious energy can be seen to produce one of three actions from which their corresponding results occur - vipaka:  wholesome, unwholesome or neutral or kusala, akusala and avyākata respectively.
To conclude, it might be best to relinquish the narrowing down of any interpretation of 'directed conscious energy' and keep it within the wider scope of the previous paragraph.


Why do so many traditions and religions have saint men who claim having attained enlightenment?

The Buddha's teaching are unique in certain respects but their essential message is found in teachings from all over the world throughout history. The reason why so many claim enlightenment is that it is and always has been available to those who seek it. Were it otherwise the Buddha could not have become a buddha. There have been countless buddhas.

So there is no problem raise by the many people who have claimed or been assigned enlightenment and wisdom. One would not need to be a Buddhist. It seems that the Buddha delved deeper and wider than most and there is no doubt he was a unique teacher, but we find the same essential message hidden in the Philokalia, the Corpus Hermeticum, the Upanishads, the Tao Teh Ching, the teachings of Al-Halaj and Rumi, the Kabbalah and elsewhere, the same claims of transcendence, no-self, formlessness and so forth.

Beautiful Painted Arrow, a shaman of the Pueblo Indians, writes that in his tradition there are two states of consciousness available to human beings. In translation these are 'Believing we exist' and 'Awakened awareness'. Those who attain the latter state would claim some form of enlightenment regardless of whether they have heard of Buddhism. Truth is universal and the facts are the same for everybody.

Enlightened beings are not uncommon but the Buddha is usually considered to trump most of them for his depth of understanding, knowledge and communication skills. If there were no claims of enlightenment from anyone but the Buddha then his teachings would be implausible and contradictory. He teaches that enlightenment is our birthright.

It is up to each of us as students to assess the claims of all these teachers and 'saints' and examining the level of agreement between them would be a good indication of their knowledge. The diversity of these 'saints', once we have sorted the wheat from the chaff, is not a problem but a proof of the Dhamma. The Buddha was not a Buddhist when he attained his complete enlightenment.

EDIT: The story as I have heard it is that while with his father he was instructed by Brahmins. Later, from Arada Kalama, who had three hundred disciples, he learned how to discipline his mind to enter the sphere of nothingness. Though Arada Kalama asked him to remain and teach as an equal, he recognized that this was not liberation and left. Next he learned how to enter the concentration of mind which is neither consciousness nor unconsciousness from Udraka Ramaputra. But neither was this liberation and he left his second teacher.


Courses conducted by

http://dhamma.org/
http://www.internationalmeditationcentre.org/

Are done solely on donation basis without commercial interest. It is best to take such a course as there will be lesser distraction including people.

There are multiple centres worldwide and has the best out reach. Also you can watch some testimonials and experiences to build some confidence in the technique.

In addition you can try to find a teacher and course through:

http://www.buddhanet.info/wbd/

And also online material on meditation.

But in doing so be careful. Even choosing any online guided meditation instruction see if it adheres to the following principles: Any sensation is unsatisfactory this is the link to understand the 4 Noble Truths and also with sensation, according to dependent origination, arises craving which fuels the vicious cycle which keeps you in misery. If this is missing, you will miss the path and benefits of meditation. Also make sure any instruction in these online retreats are not contrary or tangential to the right view as mentioned in the Samma Ditthi Sutta.

In addition you can try building you knowledge further. Some resources website:

http://dharmafarer.org/
http://www.vridhamma.org/Research-Index
http://www.vridhamma.org/Research
http://www.vridhamma.org/Online-Books-and-Pamphlets
http://www.dhammasukha.org/
http://www.dhammatalks.org/
http://www.dhammatalks.net/
http://www.ahandfulofleaves.org/Library.html
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/
http://www.abhidhamma.com/
https://suttacentral.net/

Also another beginner to intermediate book that might be of help to further your knowledge might be: In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon edited by Bhikkhu Bodhi


Is it ok to watch a media that promote homosexuality?

Buddhism deals with suffering and how to become permanently free from it.
Superficial and conceptual things like sexuality are useless in that regard, hence the focus merely on ultimate reality.


Bad physical habits are stopped by adhi-sīla, physical observe.

Then, bad mental habits are stopped by adhi-samādhi, concentration-meditation.

Then, whole, future, bad habit's root-causes, avijjā-root & taṇhā-root & dosa-root, are vanished by adhi-paññā, insight-meditation.


I am finding myself being unable to enjoy things, my mind keeps going to meditation

Skill at anapanasati means being able to read & work with awareness of breathing. Here, the tempo or pace of reading & work adjusts to conform with the rhythm of the breathing.


Where does the Buddha describe suffering as being like a person who is hit by two arrows?

Probably this: Sallatha Sutta: The Arrow (SN 36.6)

The Blessed One said, "When touched with a feeling of pain, the uninstructed run-of-the-mill person sorrows, grieves, & laments, beats his breast, becomes distraught. So he feels two pains, physical & mental. Just as if they were to shoot a man with an arrow and, right afterward, were to shoot him with another one, so that he would feel the pains of two arrows; in the same way, when touched with a feeling of pain, the uninstructed run-of-the-mill person sorrows, grieves, & laments, beats his breast, becomes distraught. So he feels two pains, physical & mental.
As he is touched by that painful feeling, he is resistant. Any resistance-obsession [etc.]


Does the actions of one's ancestors pass down?

People, beings find together of cause their inclinations. Relations usually as well. And grandchilden are often rebirth of their anchestors as well. Don't one forgeth that as well. So it would be not correct to say that there is no connection as there is a long time feed each other behind. So take care with whom you chose to associate. At least the smell will be on you.

That goes also toward your own behavior. Others, with similar origin may suffer from your possible behavior or benefit from your reputation according to their individual kamma in addition. There are no such as innocent phenomenas, people, as well as there are no "guilty" ones. Causes have effects and they lead all back to ones past and present deeds on touch.

But the fact that people, beings, are after the same food, certain conditions, does not mean that they act always equal. What ever one does identify oneself with it, is sooner or later suffering. So that's the reason why best possible relations are seeked to go beyond relations. It's not possible to say that you are lucky or in big misfortune to ever asked here, whether you get touched physical, or mental, right or wrong for your best, who could decide for you where to put attention on? Who could prepare your required foundation to receive what gives liberation?

See also Why beings take birth, even in most worse existences and circumstances?

So it's good to think on: Darkness here as well. "May all beings make the right choices to gain happiness for themselves with ease", is a good thought to leave it.

(Note that this is not given to leave one in trade, exchange, stacks bond, but as a tiny door for an exit.)


Do you become unhappy when happiness disappears?

When you are hungry and you take a first bite of your favorite meal, the happiness in the aspect of a pleasant feeling that you experience is not actual happiness, it is not in the nature of happiness: it is contaminated happiness. That pleasant feeling you experience is merely a relief. You experience the first bite as [contaminated] happiness only because it relieves you from a greater suffering (i.e. hunger), not because it is in the nature of happiness. It is actually in the nature of suffering; it is suffering of change (a quiet subtle form of suffering).

As Tsongkhapa puts it in the Middle-Length Lam Rim:

  At present most of the happy feelings that increase our attachment are
  minds of happiness that arise with respect to a relief of suffering.

If you eat when you are not hungry, there is no such relief, no such pleasant feeling, no such experience of "happiness in the aspect of a pleasant feeling", and it is experienced as suffering  of suffering (a quiet gross form of suffering). You are not mislead to conceive of the object as being in the nature of happiness.

There are three types of equanimity. The first of the three is 'equanimity feeling', which his neutral feelings.  Furthermore, when pleasant feeling arise, you wish to associate further with it. When suffering arises, you wish to be separated from it. Tsongkhapa writes further:

  That which is neither pleasant nor suffering is that which, when it
  arises, neither of the two wishes occurs.

You can think of it this way: you enter a crowded room, you look at people and you immediately have “I like this one... I like that one... I don't like this one... and so forth” in dependence upon pleasant and unpleasant feelings. There also will be plenty of people you will not have really noticed, you are indifferent to, your attention wasn't drawn towards, because of neutral feelings.

Another more abstract examples of arising of neutral feeling (which is other than neither-pleasant-nor-unpleasant feeling arising in the 4th concentration of the form realm) is: the conception of the body as permanent , that produces neutral feeling and increases ignorance. Tsongkhapa also adds in the Lam Rim Chen Mo that:

  In the case of [these] neutral feelings, ignorance ceases when you see
  that they are impermanent, permanent, exhaustible, and perishable in
  nature.


Impermanence (Anicca) and Mindfulness in general

That is two questions. I'll answer the second.

Things are not unsatisfactory in themselves because they don't have selves. Anicca is the flip side of Anatta (non-self). Because things are made entirely of other things and aren't independent self-entities if any one 'thing' in the universe changes then everything changes because it all interpenetrates. This is the middle way between existence and non-existence - a big debate in Buddha's time and ever since!

Dukkha (third of the three marks of existence) is what arises when we deny Anicca-Anatta. If we truly see/embrace/understand/know Anicca-Anatta then we are in Nirvana - which is nice not nasty.

So in practice we look deeply and see Anicca-Anatta which feels good. Nothing changes. Ice-cream still tastes yummy but we can see that it, along with our tongue, is impermanent and is also a product of the whole universe. Without impermanence the ice-cream would never have frozen and wouldn't melt. Without non-self the ice-cream couldn't become part of us. i.e. Wholesome pleasures increase in breadth and depth as we see them deeply.


You won't find one single answer which covers all traditions. Different Buddhist traditions have different interpretations of the mechanism of rebirth.

I think you are looking for something material which facilitates a movement of something from one life to the next. However, Buddhism doesn't require that the world governed by materialism. We can consider a world which is entirely driven by mental ideas or "the mind" as we call it.

Buddhists are not in agreement about how the world exists, some would say that the world doesn't exist. If you consider one of these traditions then you have to ask if it even makes sense for something to move from one body to the next life's body. Bodies can also be considered as being entirely constructed by the mind. Yogachara is an example of a Buddhist tradition which is "mind-only".


Attention to itching makes me unable to focus on anything else

Here's the canonical answer:

In this way he dwells contemplating feelings in feelings internally,
or dwells contemplating feelings in feelings externally, or dwells
contemplating feelings in feelings [both] internally and externally;
or dwells contemplating in feelings [their] nature of arising, or
dwells contemplating in feelings [their]  nature of vanishing, or
dwells contemplating in feelings [their] nature of [both] arising and
vanishing.  Or else his mindfulness that ‘there are feelings’ is
established simply to the extent necessary for bare knowledge, for
repeated mindfulness. And he dwells independent, and does not cling to
anything in the world. Thus also, monks, a monk dwells contemplating
feelings in feelings. (Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, MN10 translated by Aggacitta Bhikkhu)

Take note though that feelings here does not refer to the itch, but how you feel about it.


Can Buddhist practice make you more emotionally volatile?

From my own experience i can say that this has happend to me before. I think its due to the fact that when one sits in insight meditation one does not have a "filter". One wants all phenomena to come up in order to observe them, learn from them and understand them.

So when one practices a lot and thereby having extended periods in ones life where there is no filter then when one returns to everyday life and is not being mindful about what phenomena arises (e.g. emotions) one can easily react to them.

So it seems that if one practice a lot and is used to things comming up in meditation then one should make an even greater effort to guard oneself with mindfulness in everyday life. Because the filter is still not there. The suppression is not there.

That might be one of the reasons why these emotions can seem to have a greater intensity because there is no suppression or filter to affect them or "cloud" them. They are experienced "clean and bare". While non-meditators may have layers of filters and concepts limiting the intensity of the emotions that is not the case for insight-meditators.

This is my own experience and view on it. I do not know if information about your question can be found anywhere in the texts.


What is the attitude of Buddhists to "repulsive animals"?

The most skillful way would be to ordain as a monk, foregoing the ownership of a house and not having to worry about it. Aside from that, the most you can probably hope to do is keep a clean house and don't let the conditions arise for  them to come to you.

Here's a good video on this issue: Ask A Monk: Dealing With Pests

This video includes advice that there are three Buddhist ways to deal with a problem:

Avoid the situation (e.g. shave head to avoid lice)
Find alternative non-violent solutions (e.g. repel ants using talcum powder or butter instead of poison; catch rats using humane traps; catch mosquitos in a cup and carry them outside)
Accept the situation and let go (mental well-being is more important than physical well-being; and mindfulness often leads to being able to resolve a situation)


Ancestor worship, or veneration of the dead, is more of a cultural phenomenon than a religious one (though religions can also influence culture, so it can be difficult to pinpoint the source of different religious/cultural elements).

The practice is most common in countries that also happen to have a larger share of Buddhists, though there's not a huge connection between Buddhism itself and the practice.

Śrāddha is referenced in the Pāli canon, though in a Buddhist context the word has a meaning closer to the notion of "faith". But the word itself has an earlier meaning in the Hindu context, where it was more specifically applied to ancestor worship:

  In the Hindu religion, it is the ritual that one performs to pay homage to one's ancestors (Sanskrit: pitṛs), especially to one's dead parents.

Given Buddhism's origins in India, it's easy to see the connection between the cultural practice of ancestor worship and the linguistic fluidity of a single word used to describe both the practice and an early Buddhist concept. Ultimately, though, there doesn't appear to be any direct call for ancestor worship within Buddhist doctrine (which makes sense, given the overall emphasis on our present actions and not clinging to the past).


Is there a benifit to "wishful thinking"?

Is there a benifit to “wishful thinking”?

I would not exactly call that wishful thinking but rather the results from practicing the path correctly (in this life or previous lives).

Wanting to meditate or wanting to aid other beings spring from wholesome intentions, i.e. right intentions of good-will. These are path factors.

Right intentions-> actions that are based in non-greed, non-hatred, non-delusion, are bound to create wholesome future resultants.

So the benefit would be the fact that wholesome actions lead to wholesome results. Experiencing and undertanding that through the practice of insight meditation is a huge benefit. When the mind experiences this over and over it begins to understand causality and how suffering comes to be.

If you observe how craftsmen build a house you will see that they lay the bricks layer by layer. The first layer is the foundational layer. The layer everything else has to be based upon.

In the practice one of the foundational bricks is right intentions.


How does the Bhavanga State relate to the Jhanas?

Jhana is more than just the giving up of the five senses. Each of the jhanas is the result of very strong samadhi, and has specific factors that go along with it. For example, the first jhana has five factors: rapture, pleasure, initial application of mind, sustained application of mind, and oneness of mind. As one goes deeper into the second jhana, one leaves behind initial application and sustained application of mind, and so on.

Bhavanga is very different than this however. Bhavanga is like a blank slate. All it has are the mental factors that are necessary for mind to be there and nothing else. It only occurs in the space between other kinds of mindstate. None of the jhana factors are present at all, and there isn't even any meaningful degree of awareness in it.


What is the best of Jhanas and breathing meditation?

At the start of practice, it helps to cultivate concentration, so focusing on one object single-pointedly, whether it's the breath, a sound, or something in the visual field. The manners in which this concentration is developed can give different results for different people, so I'd say to experiment and see which works for you.

I will say though, that focusing on the natural arising and passing of the breath can lead to a subtle realisation that the breath is arising and falling all by itself, utterly disconnected from the noticing of it. It's very interesting to 'catch' your body breathing, independent of your control.


Is there a distinction between "ego identity" and "craving/hating"?

The three poisons, greed, anger, and delusion, constitute the base-causes for beings stuck in samsara. Of these, delusion is the root cause from which greed and aversion arise. Avidya (delusion) is the root chain of the Twelve Nidanas , from which all other conditions for continued becoming arise.

Through the arising of these twelve nidanas, based on ignorance/misapprehension of reality as it is, the constituent parts of what we consider an "ego" arise ( consciousness/perceptions of the sense organs, feelings, sensations, etc.)

From this misapprehension of reality (ignorance) as either pleasant and something worth possessing, or unpleasant and unfit to endure, desire and anger arise.

I hope this helps clear this up!


Places offering samatha retreats / training

There is Pa-auk Forest Monastery in Myanmar (Burma). A good friend just spent a year there. He did a fair amount of research before settling for Myanmar and he also spent months in a temple in Thailand beforehand. According to him, various monks from Korea as well as Sri Lanka, etc. go to Myanmar thinking that qualified Dharma teachers are difficult to come by in their countries. It seems likes "The place to be." He also said that "Most practitioners require between three and eight years of dedicated effort to obtain the full set of jhanas."

I do not know much about Pa-Auk though. For instance, I do not know whether they train lay people as well.


in Budhism, what would happen with a soul in a eventually case of succesfull cryogenic reanimation?

This is not possible. Once you die the stream of consciousness arises in another body. This is another person. You cannot bring back this stream of consciousness to the same / previous body.`

Once the consciousness has left the body regardless of it being frozen or not the body is dead. The body cannot be made alive again. In believe in the process of freezing the body would at some point die as heat is needed to sustain life.

Also in Buddhism there is concept of no soul. So what question like what happens to the soul is irrelevant. I believe once procedure is done you are simply dead and just a lump of matter devoid of any life faculty.

There are stories of dead getting reanimated, but this is due to other entities repossessing the body and not that the person has become alive again. This appears in the Vinaya, exact location I forget, but there is a rule not to take clothes from a fresh dead body for robes until some lapse of time, if I remember right. See note on Vetala-panka-vimsati BRAHMA-GALA SUTTA and p252, THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA: THE INDIAN EMPIRE VOL II HISTORICAL.

In case of these possessions the body does not live again as the entity which walks in does have a own subtle body but is controlling the dead body. For this to happen is very rare as you have to be a very powerful entity to do something like this. There are some less powerful entities which can do an illusion of being actually moving. That is why when you are meditating on a corpse it is advised to concentrate also on position of the corpse relative to objects around the corpse before starting so you can reassess that this is not the case such illusion comes to your mind.

Also following question might be of interest: Where in the Pali Canon are there Discussions on Reanimated Corpse?


Do Buddhists put any stock in feng shui, particularly crystals?

My question relates to the view of and position on feng shui harmony by Buddhist traditions in general

On a first impression of feng shui (which I know almost nothing), they seem unrelated.

As far as it concern disposition of things in space through some kind of theory and not with ethical and religious doctrines, there is no relation. In that respect, feng shui is unrelate to Buddhism as much as architecture is unrelated to it.

In other words, the metaphysical aspects of feng shui and its theory being correct or not will only provide one with a correct or incorrect understanding of its domain (as much as a physics theory will only provide one with a correct or incorrect understanding of its domain).

  and specifically in gemstones (which some believe have physical/metaphysical properties).

That might be more controversial, as might be seen as lucky charm or similar.

The problem with lucky amulets, I think, is that they add to the explanation of why something -- otherwise unrelated -- good or bad happened: say, because one was wearing (or not) such amulet. Therefore, wearing an amulet start to become a religious practice, something one does for his or her good fortune and spiritual well being. Then, it slowly obscures the ethical nature of the mind (specifically, of intention), and the laws of kamma, ultimately substituting real practices (meditation, study, striving for good/virtuous behavior) for mere usage of amulets -- it is so much easier after all.

As a religious practice, then, it might figure as Wrong View, specifically "attachment to rites and rituals". In Buddhism, the rituals, carry its own usefulness and practical purposes, but have no spiritual value by themselves. However, attachment to them is considered very harmful to oneself, likely because rituals may end up substituting the real practice  (by looking like it's something important), and because clinging to it opens the door to all sorts of bad mental qualities.

Now, reading about that feng shui energy, Qi, I found the following:

  The retention or dissipation of qi is believed to affect the health, wealth, energy level, luck and many other aspects of the occupants of the space.

The claim to affect physical health might be OK (and we are all too familiar with invisible things to the eye that actually exist and causes harm) but luck, as I discussed above, might be problematic.

  How do Buddhists regard feng shui;

I imagine chinese buddhists probably dig it.

  at any rate, practically speaking, would a belief in the Chinese philosophical system by the meditator potentially enhance his or her meditation practice?

"enhance meditation practice", in Buddhism, is understood as something that is effective in bringing one closer to permanent destruction of suffering, to nirvana. This may involve, for instance, attaining absorption concentration (jhana), but ultimately is concerned with:

understanding and seeing the rising and cessation of body/materiality, feeling, mind and dhammas.
penetrating the three marks
eradicating the ten fetters (belief in a self, doubt or uncertainty, especially about the teachings, attachment to rites and rituals, sensual desire, ill will, lust for material existence, lust for material rebirth,
lust for immaterial existence, lust for rebirth in a formless realm,
conceit, restlessness, ignorance [of the four noble truths])

  My understanding is that Buddhism is not a belief system but rather an education, and I lean towards an integral philosophy which integrates in a pragmatic way the best each culture and tradition has to offer, so I would appreciate answers without a binary, dualistic perspective, unless of course Buddhists are wholly antagonistic towards feng shui, then I can accept that as accurate

While Buddhism doesn't fit well as a "belief" (in general, it does not promote faith and the act of believing to any distinguished role as in other religions, though some schools assign more importance to it), there are beliefs, however provisional. Its virtue lies not in absence or presence of beliefs, but in instrumenting one with skills to investigate and see clearly beyond deceitful appearances. Thus, the full responsibility to not be fooled by one's mind and the world rests entirely in oneself.


How should one practice Dhamma in order to overcome loneliness?

Samatha (tranquility) meditation using anapanasati (meditation with in & out breathing) can be used as a method to overcome loneliness & distress.

  I tell you, monks, that this — the in-&-out breath — is classed as a body among bodies, which is why the monk on that occasion remains
  focused on the body in & of itself — ardent, alert & mindful —
  putting aside wanting & distress with reference to the world.

  Anapanasati Sutta

~~~

  So if a monk should wish: 'May neither my body be fatigued nor my eyes and may my mind, through lack of clinging, be released from
  fermentations,' then he should attend carefully to this same
  concentration through mindfulness with in-&-out breathing.

  If a monk should wish: 'May my memories & resolves related to the household life be abandoned,' then he should attend carefully to this
  same concentration through mindfulness with in-&-out breathing.

  Dipa Sutta


It means to incline your mind towards dispassion, dispassion towards the sense objects, dispassion towards craving for existence and dispassion towards craving for non-existence.
Inclining your mind toward dispassion means to incline your mind towards disenchantment, no longer being enchanted with sense objects, craving for existence and craving for non-existence.
To incline your mind towards disenchantment, you must see reality as it is by observing any/all of the three marks of existence:

changing nature of reality
selfless nature of reality
unsatisfactory nature of reality

By observing these qualities of existence, the mind gradually loses its interest in grasping to such unreliable things for a source of lasting happiness, thus inclining towards disenchantment, thus inclining towards dispassion, thus inclining towards Nibbana.

Does this mean concentration with no object?

No - It means concentration of any object while noticing its changing nature, selfless nature and/or unsatisfactory nature.


I do not know about any translations but there is this book called "The Great Chronicles of Buddhas". It's a book only about the different Buddhas and the life of them.

It's a very interesting book with lots of material on them such as daily life, teachings, characteristics etc.


What are the salient differences between the Pāḷi Nikāyas & Chinese Āgamas?

Venerable Analayo through the University of Hamburg has given online courses in 2012 and 2013 comparing MN suttas and MA sutras. So far not the whole collection has been covered but in the material covered in those courses, as I can recall, there are some minor differences here and there but nothing that would put in question the central teachings as we know better from the Pali Canon. In 2014 there was a course about bhikkhunis, and maybe next year there will be another course about MN/MA.

You may also want to check http://suttacentral.net/.


Guidance in practical aspects of buddhism and meditation

There is a good primer on Buddhist training, it is called Sutta Pitaka and it is basically a collection of discourses attributed to the teacher and the foremost disciples.
It's pretty good and i recommend memorizing it.
You won't go wrong by familiarizing yourself directly with the teacher's message before seeking out teachers & methods as it will equip you with the discernment to see which teachings are based on texts known to be true and whose teachings are worthless.

https://suttacentral.net/sn20.7/
... in a future time there will be mendicants who won’t want to listen when discourses spoken by the Realized One—deep, profound, transcendent, dealing with emptiness—are being recited. They won’t pay attention or apply their minds to understand them, nor will they think those teachings are worth learning and memorizing.
But when discourses composed by poets—poetry, with fancy words and phrases, composed by outsiders or spoken by disciples—are being recited they will want to listen. They’ll pay attention and apply their minds to understand them, and they’ll think those teachings are worth learning and memorizing. And that is how the discourses spoken by the Realized One—deep, profound, transcendent, dealing with emptiness—will disappear. So you should train like this: ‘When discourses spoken by the Realized One—deep, profound, transcendent, dealing with emptiness—are being recited we will want to listen. We will pay attention and apply our minds to understand them, and we will think those teachings are worth learning and memorizing.’ That’s how you should train.”


The creation or non-creation of the universe is among of the unanswered questions of the Buddha i.e.

Is the world eternal?
...or not?
...or both?
...or neither?

The answer is not to concern yourself with such matters. The Buddha teaches one thing and that thing is liberation.

BUT

Interestingly there is a creation myth in the Aggañña Sutta. But it don't think it should be taken too seriously as I believe it is a satire on the caste system.


What are the other Theravada Councils held between the 4th and 6th

What are these other councils? Where were they held? What was their significance?

I am going to try to answer this to the best of my abilities.

I do not know the specifics of where they were held, but I do know what they are & their significance.

All the Buddhist councils are meant to preserve the Dhamma the Buddha formulated & to discuss the Tipitaka & its interpretations.

Buddhist councils have not consisted of all schools unified, although in some cases they have been.

I hope my answer suits you well! :)

May you be well.


I think you mix up pain with suffering.
Pain is something that happens. Suffering you do to yourself, a second arrow

And from what I understand Buddhists view being born human to be lucky, as you get the chance to have influence on your own fate. You can get the chance to hear about and perhaps understand the Four Noble Truths and start following the Eightfold Path that leads to an end of suffering (but not pain(1)). And perhaps even an escape to the cycle of rebirth.

So Buddhists don't really have a reason to not have children.

(1)Be happy, you have done the first steps.


Is there any advice in the Buddhist scriptures that would help a leader balance a safe economy with people's concerns about sickness & death?

The government and leaders should provide just protection and security to its citizens. Basically, they should undertake the right measures to take care of their people.

From DN 26:

‘But sire, what are the noble duties of a wheel-turning monarch?’
‘Well then, my dear, relying only on principle—honoring, respecting,
and venerating principle, having principle as your flag, banner, and
authority — provide just protection and security for your court,
troops, aristocrats, vassals, brahmins and householders, people of
town and country, ascetics and brahmins, beasts and birds. Do not let
injustice prevail in the realm. Pay money to the penniless in the
realm.

The lay Buddhist should play the role of a good patient and heed the advice of competent authorities.

From Kucchivikara-vatthu of the Vinaya, the Buddha taught:

"A sick person endowed with five qualities is easy to tend to: he does
what is amenable to his cure; he knows the proper amount in things
amenable to his cure; he takes his medicine; he tells his symptoms, as
they actually are present, to the nurse desiring his welfare, saying
that they are worse when they are worse, improving when they are
improving, or remaining the same when they are remaining the same; and
he is the type who can endure bodily feelings that are painful,
fierce, sharp, wracking, repellent, disagreeable, life-threatening. A
sick person endowed with these five qualities is easy to tend to.

Buddhist leaders should set a good example as the Dalai Lama had done (from this article).

The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama has
received his second dose of the Covishield vaccine at his residence on
Monday, according to CTA run Tibet.net. He received the first jab on
March 6 at Zonal hospital in Dharamshala.
“The vaccine was administered by a medical team of Delek hospital led
by Dr Tseten Dorjee, personal physician to His Holiness,” Tibet.net
reported. The entire staff and security details of His Holiness,
including those living in the residence, were also vaccinated, the
report further stated. ...
The Nobel laureate wrote that he has been following the alarming news
of the pandemic across the world, especially including in India. “May
I take this opportunity to express my deep appreciation for all the
efforts that are being made to tackle this devastating pandemic,
especially by those courageously working on the frontline. I pray that
the pandemic threat will end soon,” he wrote. ...
The Dalai Lama cancelled all his public engagements since February
last year and engaged with the pubic through virtual platform for
teachings and other interactive dialogues with students, Buddhist
followers, and various organizations from all across the world. The
Buddhist leader’s only public appearance since the lockdown was during
his first Covishied jab at the local hospital last month, where he
urged others to take the injection, “I want to share that more people
should have the courage to take this injection.”


I hate to sound too critical, because you appear to have a healthy meditation regime, so kudos for that. Having said that, adhering too strictly to a specific routine runs the risk of being silabbatupadana, i.e. clinging to a ritual for it's own sake.

Based on contemporary learning theory, more frequent meditation is likely more favorable for developing the dhyanas, over a strict routine, or having few session with longer duration, for instance. I wouldn't be surprised if the suttas reflects these findings.

To sum up: a scheduled routine helps, as well as meditating often, even when it's outside your regular routine.


Long Discourses of the Buddha (Digha Nikaya)