Developing mindfulness doing complex activities like learning or programming?

With a simple action we layman do vipassana like this:

feeling hunger
decided to eat
getting up (can be broken up into putting hands on desk, lifting butt, turning body, raising body, letting go of desk, etc.)
walking towards fridge

...and so forth

A layman computer-user could do the same thing like this:

thinking about project
realizing idea
moving (break apart the moving process step by step as in walking)
bring computer from stand by (break this apart)
typing password (this is not broken down into piece because it is automatic for most)
deciding what to do (vicara)
remembering goal (vitarka)
opening program (can be broken down to pressing windows, typing name, clicking program)
waiting for load
feeling: impatience
thought: wanting to check 9gag.com
thought: don't check, try to be focused
body awareness
noticing program loaded
deciding to continue project action

All of the above was less than a minute! *Making anything a meditation becomes a energy-creating, focused journey!*
One can definitely build up one's mindfulness power through daily activity while actually increasing the activity's focus level too! If there is some interference it is outweighed by the level of calmness, clarity, and focus brought to the project itself. It's a win-win.

So a few points to making it not impede efficiency itself:

notice your level of anxiety (and other hindrances) and use mindfulness to bring yourself back to present moment especially by breaking down automatic actions (break down the noticing to building blocks e.g. typing W-O-R-D, moving mouse left quickly, left-up slow, up slow)
notice when switching from one thing to another but don't get in the way of that switching by interpreting this meditation itself... just observe yourself accomplishing such things effortlessly! practice self-awareness meditation for this (also called cessation-contemplation). This can decrease your overall panic-level while working on projects and also help you stay off sites like 9gag and other distractions.
One should use a similar method as when one does mindfulness while eating and walking when it is noticed. Forcing oneself to notice everything is a type of anxiety and can be noted as well, vipassana style.


What is happening to Lord Buddha after "parinirvana"?

Nothing

Because there is no person to happen anything, and there is no samsara. So that's The End. When a person achieves nirvana , there is no person anymore. Death is not the end of a person, nirvana is. After achieving nirvana, 'he' can help others to achieve nirvana , and just wait for the physical death.


How would one recognise if a Buddhist group is a cult?

Some answers from the suttas (emphasis mine):

  Here, monks, a monk might speak like this: 'In a certain dwelling place live many elders, very learned, who have learned the traditions, who are bearers of the Teaching, bearers of the Discipline, bearers of the Tabulation, I have heard this directly from those elders, directly I learned it: "This is the Teaching, this is the Discipline, this is the Teacher’s Dispensation."' Those monks’ speech, monks, is not to be rejoiced over, not to be scorned at. Without having rejoiced over it, without having scorned it, after learning those words and syllables well, they should be laid alongside the Discourses, they should be compared with the Discipline.

  If, when these are laid alongside the Discourses, compared with the Discipline, they do not fit in with the Discourses, they do not compare well with the Discipline, you may here come to this conclusion: 'Certainly this is not the Gracious One’s word, it is not well learned by those elders,' and, monks, you should abandon it. If when these are laid alongside the Discourses, compared with the Discipline they do fit in with the Discourses, they do compare well with the Discipline, you may here come to this conclusion: 'Certainly this is the Gracious One’s word, it is well-learned by those elders.' This, monks, is the third Great Referral you should bear in mind.

  -- Mahāparinibbāna sutta, DN 16

and:

  [...] "What is the cause, lord, what is the reason, why before there were fewer training rules and yet more monks established in final gnosis, whereas now there are more training rules and yet fewer monks established in final gnosis?"

  "That's the way it is, Kassapa. When beings are degenerating and the true Dhamma is disappearing, there are more training rules and yet fewer monks established in final gnosis. There is no disappearance of the true Dhamma as long as a counterfeit of the true Dhamma has not arisen in the world, but there is the disappearance of the true Dhamma when a counterfeit of the true Dhamma has arisen in the world. Just as there is no disappearance of gold as long as a counterfeit of gold has not arisen in the world, but there is the disappearance of gold when a counterfeit of gold has arisen in the world, in the same way there is no disappearance of the true Dhamma as long as a counterfeit of the true Dhamma has not arisen in the world, but there is the disappearance of the true Dhamma when a counterfeit of the true Dhamma has arisen in the world. [...]

  "These five downward-leading qualities tend to the confusion and disappearance of the true Dhamma. Which five? There is the case where the monks, nuns, male lay followers, & female lay followers live without respect, without deference, for the Teacher. They live without respect, without deference, for the Dhamma... for the Sangha... for the Training... for concentration. These are the five downward-leading qualities that tend to the confusion and disappearance of the true Dhamma.

  -- SN 16.13


Feeling of Superiority and what to do about it?

This is perhaps due to seeing your journey on the path as "self improvement".  Chögyam Trungpa wrote a book addressing this exact issue: Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism that I have found to be very helpful in providing insight to this trap.

Ultimately, the spiritual path involves awakening the mind and eliminating ego.  "Bolstering" the ego may seem to help but often results in allowing the ego to use spirituality to reinforce its own power over your mind.

  If we become successful at maintaining our self-consciousness through spiritual techniques, then genuine spiritual development is highly unlikely.  Our mental habits become so strong as to be hard to penetrate.  We may even go so far as to achieve the totally demonic state of complete "Egohood".

Also from this book:

  Retreat to nature, isolation, simple, quiet, high people-- all can be ways of shielding oneself from irritation, all can be expressions of the Lord of Form.


Vajra Posture vs Lotus Posture -- the same or male vs female?

There is both no gender difference in the Lotus Posture and Vajra Posture or any other difference whatsoever as far as I'm aware. These are interchangeable terms for the same posture - the former has its root in Hatha Yoga and latter in Tibetan Vajrayana. There is, however, a gender difference in the Sattva Posture which is often recommended in Tibetan traditions if full lotus is not possible. This is maybe where the misunderstanding may have started? In the  'The Tibetan Yoga of Breath: Breathing Practices for Healing the Body and Cultivating Wisdom':

  Sattva posture is done differently for males and females, but both can begin by sitting cross-legged on the floor. Elevating the hips so that they rest above the knees makes the posture easier to hold, so we need to sit on a pillow or cushion. For males, the left leg is tucked in closer to the body and the left foot placed on the inner right thigh, while the right leg rests in the front. For females it is the opposite: the left leg rests in the front and the right leg is tucked, with the right foot resting on the inner left thigh. This posture is similar to a half lotus posture, except that one leg rests in front of the body for balance.


What is passed from life to life in the process of rebirth?

In the Pali suttas, I have not read anything about a "life to life" process of rebirth. In the Pali language, the word for "life" is "jiva". Where as the words often erroneously translated as "past lives" are "pubbe nivāsa", which literally mean "previous homes" & is often more accurately translated as "past abodes", as follows:

  Ye hi keci, bhikkhave, samaṇā vā brāhmaṇā vā anekavihitaṃ pubbenivāsaṃ anussaramānā anussaranti sabbete
  pañcupādānakkhandhe anussaranti etesaṃ vā aññataraṃ

  Bhikkhus, those ascetics and brahmins who recollect their manifold past abodes all recollect the five aggregates subject to clinging
  or a certain one among them.

  Any kind of aggregate, whether past, future or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near, all
  should be seen as it really is with correct wisdom thus: ‘This is not
  mine, this I am not, this is not my self.’

  SN 22.79 translation Bhikkhu Bodhi

Therefore, the many suttas that mention the Buddha recollecting his "past lives" are actually about the Buddha recollecting his "past homes/abodes", which, in respect to suttas such as the   Hāliddikāni Sutta & SN 22.79, may have an entirely different meaning to "past life times".

The above said, the general principles in the Pali suttas refer to the "death" ("marana") of one "body" ("kaya") and, if enlightenment does not occur, the "taking up" of (attaching/clinging to) another "body" ("kaya").

The words "marana" & "kaya" do not necessarily mean "physical death" & the "physical body". "Kaya", which also means "collection" or "group", can refer to a certain set of five aggregates (e.g. five aggregates affected by alcohol, which manifest as a happy person or happy being/satta). When those five aggregates or that state of 'being' ('satta'; refer to SN 23.2) ceases, one "kaya" & "satta" dies ("marana) & a new "kaya" & "satta" arises (e.g. a new collection of five aggregates & a new state of being that have a headache & sickness or addiction due to drinking too much alcohol).

In conclusion, in the same way an addiction to alcohol is developed, what passes from one "body" ("kaya"; "collection") to another "body" ("kaya"; "collection") is craving & its associated underlying tendencies/habits ("anusaya") & effects ("vipaka"). The short answer to the question is: "craving".

Thus the Pali suttas state:

  Vaccha, when a being sets this body aside and is not yet reborn in another body, I designate it as craving-sustained, for craving is its
  sustenance at that time.

  Kutuhalasala Sutta


How do we know numbers of past lives and rebirths?

Apparently in Buddhist cosmology, the universe of worlds begins and ends cyclically. That's called an aeon or eon or kalpa. The Visuddhimagga calls this a Maha Kalpa (Great Aeon).

This wikipedia page (without sufficient citations) gives some statistics on the duration of a Maha Kalpa:

  Imagine a huge empty cube at the beginning of a kalpa, approximately
  16 miles in each side. Once every 100 years, you insert a tiny mustard
  seed into the cube. According to the Buddha, the huge cube will be
  filled even before the kalpa ends.

  Imagine a gigantic rocky mountain at the beginning of kalpa,
  approximately 16 x 16 x 16 miles (dwarfing Mount Everest). You take a
  small piece of silk and wipe the mountain once every 100 years.
  According to the Buddha, the mountain will be completely depleted even
  before the kalpa ends.

I found that a tiny mustard seed could have a diameter of around 1mm. If I make it easier by assuming that it is a cube with the sides of 1 x 1 x 1mm, then it has 1 cubic mm of volume.

Meanwhile, a huge empty cube of 16 miles on each side has 17 billion cubic mm of volume. So, if this huge empty cube is filled up at 1 cubic mm per 100 years, then how many years does it take to fill up 17 billion cubic mm of volume?

In my calculation, it would be 1.7 trillion years. So, the description is that this huge empty cube will be filled up before the aeon ends. Currently, physicists estimate that the age of our current universe is 13.82 billion years.

The same page also states:

  If you count the total number of sand particles at the depths of the
  Ganges river, from where it begins to where it ends at the sea, even
  that number will be less than the number of passed kalpas.

I'm not sure how many sand particles there are at the depth of the Ganges river from the beginning to the end of it, but I guess there must be at least trillions of particles based on this article. So, according to this description, we have had at least trillions of aeons in the past, with each lasting over 1.7 trillion years each.

In the Assu Sutta, it is taught that the amount of tears that we have shed in past lives exceed the volume of the four great oceans.

According to this article, the average amount of tears shed by a human being in a lifetime is 64 litres. And according to this article, the ocean has 321,003,271 cubic miles of water which is 1.34x10^21 litres. So, for one person to cry that much through all his past lives, he needs to have lived for 1.34x10^21/64 lifetimes, which is still in the order of 10^19, which is more than a quintillion lifetimes.

Based on these descriptions, I would say that the existence of the universe (with all its worlds) where sentient beings live, and the amount of past lives that we have had, is effectively infinite. The past lives recalled by the Buddha are only the last n lives, rather than ALL of it.


The simplest answer to this question, while not being informative would be to say 'Yes'. Buddhism covers many traditions, many cultures, over thousands of years, and some of those traditions have methods of meditation which are strongly related to a self-induced hypnosis.

However modern hypnosis has gone it's own way and it's not fair to say that the one is 'the same' as the other - but merely that there are overlapping areas of interest.

Of course, on the other hand, the answer is a definite 'No'.  The purposes of Buddhism and Hypnotism are completely distinct, and therefore regardless of the similarity of some methods of induction, they are heterogenous.

Within some of the Himalayan traditions, there are powerful methods of inducing particularly rarified states of consciousness which the hypnosis community is not yet found a way to tap into - probably because the training is too severe.  Hypnosis is primarily a profession - so the motive is generally money (or fame, or renown) - which, because they are derived from a worldview that is faulty, cannot act as serviceable motives for deeper training.


Where to concentrate exactly during meditation?

The instruction is to feel the touch or strike of the breath/wind/air against the flesh of the inner nostril, where it is most sensitive. If this touch in the nostril is not clear to your mind, then place your finger gently against your upper lip below your nostril and feel the touch of the wind/breath against your finger. Keep your finger there until you can feel the breath against the nostril & finger so the in-breaths & out-breaths are discerned/recognized clearly & unconfused. It is important that the mind here is unconfused about when the breath is coming in and when the breath is going out.

This practise narrows the awareness & thinking of the mind. By doing so, it also makes the breathing very fine & calm , which makes the mind calm. This is the purpose of the practise.

However, for the beginner, this deliberate narrowing of mental focus & refining of the breath can eventually make the mind sleepy.

A beginner can experiment with & practise this method of observing the touch of the in & out breaths at the nostrils. It can bring good results of calmness.

However, if the mind becomes sleepy or 'sinking', the beginner should open their awareness and return to observing the breath within the body, particularly the flow of the breathing & its movement in the throat, chest &/or abdomen.

Again, if the flow & movement is lost here, place a hand on the abdomen & another hand on the chest to clearly feel & know in-breathes & out-breathes in an unconfused manner.


What, besides karma, determines the future?

Since karma isn't the only thing that determines what happens to you what are the other aspects? Is there a sutta referencing this?

Yes, the following discourse is what you are looking for:

  On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling near Rajagaha in the
  Bamboo Grove Monastery, the Squirrel's Feeding Place. There
  Moliyasivaka the wanderer went to the Blessed One and, on arrival,
  exchanged courteous greetings with him. After an exchange of friendly
  greetings & courtesies, he sat to one side. As he was sitting there,
  he said to the Blessed One, "Master Gotama, there are some brahmans &
  contemplatives who are of this doctrine, this view: Whatever an
  individual feels — pleasure, pain, neither-pleasure-nor-pain — is
  entirely caused by what was done before. Now what does Master Gotama
  say to that?"

  [The Buddha:] "There are cases where some feelings arise based on
  bile. You yourself should know how some feelings arise based on bile.
  Even the world is agreed on how some feelings arise based on bile. So
  any brahmans & contemplatives who are of the doctrine & view that
  whatever an individual feels — pleasure, pain,
  neither-pleasure-nor-pain — is entirely caused by what was done before
  — slip past what they themselves know, slip past what is agreed on by
  the world. Therefore I say that those brahmans & contemplatives are
  wrong."

  "There are cases where some feelings arise based on phlegm... based on
  internal winds... based on a combination of bodily humors... from the
  change of the seasons... from uneven care of the body... from harsh
  treatment... from the result of kamma. You yourself should know how
  some feelings arise from the result of kamma. Even the world is agreed
  on how some feelings arise from the result of kamma. So any brahmans &
  contemplatives who are of the doctrine & view that whatever an
  individual feels — pleasure, pain, neither pleasure-nor-pain — is
  entirely caused by what was done before — slip past what they
  themselves know, slip past what is agreed on by the world. Therefore I
  say that those brahmans & contemplatives are wrong."

  When this was said, Moliyasivaka the wanderer said to the Blessed One:
  "Magnificent, lord! Magnificent! Just as if he were to place upright
  what was overturned, to reveal what was hidden, to point out the way
  to one who was lost, or to carry a lamp into the dark so that those
  with eyes could see forms, in the same way has the Blessed One —
  through many lines of reasoning — made the Dhamma clear. I go to the
  Blessed One for refuge, to the Dhamma, & to the community of monks.
  May the Blessed One remember me as a lay follower who has gone for
  refuge from this day forward, for life."
  -SN 36.21, To Sivaka


Your question might be considered a mixture of asking about sila (morality) and dana (giving). The reasons for doing each are a little different.

The most basic reason for acting with sila is to prevent remorse at our own wrongdoings which would make samadhi (concentration or meditation practice) far more difficult. Being able to practice proper samadhi leads to panna (wisdom). Sila, samadhi, and panna are all intricately connected and the whole thing breaks down when one is filled with remorse at wrong doing.

You should be interested in your own enlightenment. From What Buddhist Believe, by Dr. K. Sri Dhammanada. (page 266-267)

  You Have to Save Yourself

  ONESELF, indeed, is one’s saviour, for what other saviour
  would there be? With oneself well controlled the problem
  of looking for an external saviour is solved.
  (DHAMMAPADA 166)

  As the Buddha was about to pass away, His disciples came from
  everywhere to be near Him. While the other disciples were constantly
  at His side and in deep sorrow over the impending loss of their
  Master, a monk named Attadatta went into his cell and practised
  meditation. The other monks, thinking that he was unconcerned
  about the welfare of the Buddha, were upset and reported the matter
  to Him. The monk, however, addressed the Buddha thus, ‘Lord as
  the Blessed One would be passing away soon, I thought the best way
  to honour the Blessed One would be by attaining Arahantship
  during the lifetime of the Blessed One itself’. The Buddha praised
  his attitude and his conduct and said that one’s spiritual welfare
  should not be abandoned for the sake of others.
  In this story is illustrated one of the most important aspects of
  Buddhism. A person must constantly be on the alert to seek his or
  her own deliverance from Samsara, and ‘salvation’ must be brought
  about by the individual alone. One cannot look to any external
  force or agency for help to attain Nirvana.

Working towards our own enlightenment is clearly acceptable and expected.

The most basic reason for acting with generosity, is to reduce our own greed or attachment to our own resources. If we cling to anything, we suffer. If we give with wholesome intentions, we reduce our clinging to our own resources which reduces our suffering. That's different than giving with the expectation of receiving a good kammic effect in return. There are good kammic effects connected with acts taken with wholesome intentions, but we don't know the timetable on receipt of such kammic fruits. It could be a long way off.

So we do good things because it's good for our mind states, which is good for our eventual enlightenment. The importance of creating the conditions for our own enlightenment was stressed by the Buddha among his last words.


In how far does involvement in certain undertaking effects one, good or bad?

If:

rejoice in others' action - mental approval
partake in the activity

one accumulates common karma.

Also, being encouraged or not (sasañkhārikam / asañkhārikam) does matters. This reduces potency. In case of doing something as a group, not everyone will have the same motivation. If one is self-motivated karmic potential is high. If one loses motivation and seeds some self-encouragement it is lesser. If one needs external encouragement it will be even lesses.

If a group is taking some negative action. One should disassociate with the negative action and also not rejoice in that is being done. One should encourage others to disassociate. One should not encourage anyone to do what is negative.

If a group is taking some positive action. One should associate with the positive action and also rejoice in that is being done. One should encourage others to associate. If one's motivation lapses one should encourage oneself.

If one is a monk being suspected of doing wrong may discredit the institution/order of monks. So it best to be mindful of if this happens. For a layperson disassociating mentally is enough to prevent karmic repercussions, as karma is volition based, but wise even not to appear as associated as this will have social consequences.

Even if one does not have the means to participate or do a positive action if one mentally approved it then one partakes the merit. If one is indifferent or does not approve one does not get karmic results. Same is true for negative actions.


How to "attend to the perception of light"?

In the book "The Way Of Mindfulness" by Soma Thera it's described how to overcome to the hindrance of Sloth and Torpor. Here he writes about the perception of light. I have made highlights in the quote:

3. Sloth and Torpor
Through wrong reflection on a state of boredom and the like, sloth and torpor come to be. Boredom is just dissatisfaction. Lassitude is bodily laziness. Languidity of body is the bending of the body torpidly in getting up and in similar actions. Lethargy after a meal is a dizziness or slight faint which is due to eating a principal meal. It is also called the discomfort which follows such a meal. The mind's sluggishness is the dullness of the mind. An abundance of wrong reflection on boredom and similar states of mind produces sloth and torpor. Therefore the Blessed One said that much wrong reflection on boredom, lassitude, languidity of body, lethargy after a meal, and the mind's sluggishness, is a condition for the production of fresh sloth and torpor and the increase and expansion of sloth and torpor already come into being.
Through right reflection in inceptive energy and similar states of mind is brought about the overthrow of sloth and torpor. Inceptive energy is the effort first set afoot. Exertion is more powerful than the inceptive energy because it leaves indolence behind. And because of its assailing further and further of the destructive condition, progressive endeavor is more powerful than exertion. By the exercise of right reflection intensely on this threefold strenuousness sloth and torpor are cast out. Therefore the Blessed One said that the condition for keeping out new sloth and torpor, and for casting out sloth and torpor that is old, is abundant right reflection on the element of inceptive energy, of exertion and of progressive endeavor.
There are six things which lead to the casting out of sloth and torpor: The seeing of the reason of sloth and torpor in the fact of eating too much or gluttony; the changing of the postures completely; reflection on the perception of light; staying in the open; sympathetic and helpful companionship of the good; and stimulating talk that assists in dispelling sloth an torpor.
There is the following explanation of these six things: The bhikkhu who has eaten gluttonously is assailed by sloth and torpor while doing his recluse duty of meditation in his day or night quarters as by a mighty elephant pressing down on him, but that one who practices moderation in food is not troubled thus with these hindrances. In one who thus sees the characteristic of sloth and torpor in gluttony there is the casting out of sloth and torpor.
Sloth and torpor disappear in him who changes over from the posture which induces sloth and torpor to another; in him who reflects on the brightness or the light of the moon, a lamp or a torch by night, and on the light or brightness of the sun by day; in him who lives in the open; in him who associates with sympathetic and helpful companions, like the Elder Maha Kassapa, who have dispelled sloth and torpor; and by stimulating talk connected with a strict recluse-regimen.
Therefore it is said: Six things lead to the casting out of sloth and torpor. The yogi understands thus: sloth and torpor cast out by these six things are stopped from arising forever in the future by the attainment of the path of arahantship.
The bhikkhu who has eaten gluttonously after the manner of the well-known types of Brahmanical gormandizers mentioned in ancient Indian books. There are five kinds of these greedy eaters: (1) He who eats until he has to be raised up by the hand from his seat. (2) He who lies rolling just where he has eaten and eats as long as he likes. (3) He who eats until he slips off his waist cloth. (4) He who fills himself with food in such a way that it seems as if a crow could peck at the food in him. (5) He who having filled his belly full and vomitted eats more food again, or he who eats until he vomits.
On the light or brightness of the sun by day: The meaning should be understood thus: Sloth and torpor vanish in him, too, who at night is reflecting on the image of the perception of the brightness of the sun he got by day.
Here it may be helpful to state the eight ways of dealing with torpor taught by the Master to the Elder Maha Moggallana: (1) One should neglect to mind the thought which says that drowsiness is descending on one, or (2) one should reflect on the Dhamma, or (3) repeat or recite the Dhamma, or (4) pull both earlobes and rub or massage the limbs with the hands, or (5) getting up from the sitting position, apply water on and rub the eyes, and look into the distance, at the constellations in the starry sky, or (6) reflect on the thought of light, or (7) fix the thought on the ambulatory, aware of the ends of it with the controlling faculties of sense turned inwards and the mind kept in, or (8) sleep conscious of the time of waking and on awaking get up quickly thinking that one will not give oneself to the comforts of lying down, reclining and languor, when all other seven ways fail.

I think it is as simple as you mentioned, i.e. to just imagine a bright light or imagine the items described in the quote.


In short:

having Vipallasa (see: Vipallasa Sutta),

I.e., not seeing the three marks of existence

having the unwholesome roots

having craving and clinging due to the unwholesome roots arising
having defilements

having the 5 mental hindrances
having ignorance

not aware of causality (4 Noble Truths, Dependent Origination, Conditional Relations) due to ignorance (not knowing the 4 Noble Truths, Dependent Origination, Conditional Relations)
because ignorance also displaces the rights view no knowledge of the right view (not knowing or wrong understanding items mentioned in Samma Ditthi Sutta) or having know the wrong view.

Piya Tan has done a good detail explanation which I have quoted below:

  Ayoniso manasikāra, as such, means “not directing the attention to the roots of things” or “directing
  the attention away from the roots of things,” that is, not observing phenomena as they truly are, not noticing
  that they are impermanent, unsatisfactory and not-self. As a result, wrong view arises, and when this
  become a habit, wrong view is reinforced so that it remains as a latent tendency (anusaya). Let us examine
  a little more as to how this happens.

  “Unwise attention,” according to the Vibhaṅga, is the regarding of what is impermanent as being
  permanent, what is painful as being pleasurable, what is not self as self, what is foul as beautiful. 6 The
  Majjhima Commentary says these are the four “perversions” (vipallāsa). It explains unwise attention
  (ayoniso manasikāra) as attention that is unskillful in means (anupāya,manasikāra), attention shown the
  wrong way (uppatha,manasikāra), that is, by way of the four perversions, namely:

  what is impermanent is taken to be permanent (anicce niccan ti);

  what is painful is taken to be pleasurable (dukkhe sukhan ti);

  what is not self is taken to be self (anattāni attan ti); and

  what is impure is taken to be pure (asubhe subhan ti).

  The (Akusala,mūla) Añña,titthiya Sutta (A 3.68) says that the three unwholesome roots (akusala
  mūla) of lust, hate and delusion arise through unwise attention. Lust arises and grows through unwisely
  attending to a “beautiful sign,” that is, being captivated by what we perceive as attractive in a thing. Hate
  arises and grows through unwisely attending to a “repulsive sign,” that is, what we take to be unattractive.
  And delusion arises and grows through unwise attention itself. In other words, delusion is present when
  there is lust or hate. Delusion arises and grows because of the four perversions mentioned above.

  On a deeper mental level, as explained in the (Āhāra) Kāya Sutta (S 46.2), unwise attention gives
  rise to the five mental hindrances—sensual desire, ill will, sloth and torpor, restlessness and remorse, and
  doubt—which prevent us from attaining samadhi, that is, meditative mental focus, or any kind of wholesome
  attention.
  In short, we are hindered from our mental development.

  Unwise attention, in other words, is based on ignorance, which starts off the dependent arising of
  mental formations (saṅkhāra), which are karmic activities, and these lead on to a whole mass of suffering,10
  and the prolonging of the samsaric cycle (vaṭṭa) (MA 1:64 f). In short, unwise attention is the root
  of samsaric existence. Unwise attention is food for a lack of mindfulness and full awareness, which in
  turn increase ignorance and craving.

Introduction to Yoniso Manasikāra Sampadā Sutta by Piya Tan. The next section discusses what is wise attention.

Also see my other explanation in these answers.


Shikantaza means "just sitting" or "single-minded sitting". It is a state of being where you are present here and now, no matter on what you experience, in body or mind.

About losing your religion: the Buddha said that there are three marks of existence, one of them is impermanence of all compound things (anicca). In other words, anything that once begins to exist, one day ends (changes to other thing or ceases to exist). So your opinion about what is your religion, or even yourself and what you consider your religion, will certainly change and/or cease to exist.

About your annihilation when you die: one of main questions that buddhism bring to us is this: "What is this I?"? Because most of times we get identified with things that we bring with us, like the body that we carry or the thoughts and emotions that we have. We think that these things are "me", however, these also are compound things that began one day and that will cease to exist certainly. If you strip yourself of all impermanent things in yourself, what remains? Is there something that remains? So what is this that you call "I"? Before answering to where will you go when you die, you must answer what is this that you call "I" and answer what in this "I" dies with the death of the body.

Zen buddhism have quite diverse opinions about where are one going when s/he dies. Each master say one thing, but for certainly, the most important thing (and that's what shikantaza and enlightenment is all about) is to be totally in the present moment. This does not means that it's wrong to make plans for the future: on the contrary, it means that even making plans, you are totally conscious that you are in the present moment, and any plan may not happen, and even knowing that you are fine.

Suffering (dukkha) for buddhism is also inherent in all compound things, because when they cease to exist, if one haves desire or attachment for it, s/he will suffer. Buddhism says that there is a root, a cause for desire or attachment to exist, that is a kind of ignorance, a delusion, that prevent one of experiencing the reality as it really is. And that's what about shikantaza: experiencing the reality as it is, completely, here and now.


Is there any canonical descriptions of the physical characteristics of the Buddha?

From DN 30 - Marks of the Superman:

  There are thirty-two special marks of the Super-man, brethren, and for the Superman possessing them two careers lie open, and none other. If he live the life of the House, he becomes Monarch, Turner of the Wheel, a righteous Lord of the Right, Ruler of the four quarters, Conqueror, Guardian of the people’s good, Owner of the Seven Treasures. His do those seven treasures become, to wit, the Wheel treasure, the Elephant treasure, the Horse treasure, the Gem treasure, the Woman treasure, the Housefather treasure, the Adviser treasure making the seventh. More than a thousand sons will be his, heroes, champions, vigorous of frame, crushers of the hosts of the enemy. He, when he has conquered this earth to its ocean bounds, is established not by the scourge, not by the sword, but by righteousness. But if such a boy go forth from the life of the House into the Homeless State, he becomes Arahant, a Buddha Supreme, rolling back the veil from the world.

Also from MN 91 - Brahmayu Sutta:

  At that time the Brahmin Brahmàyu had a pupil, a young man named Uttara who had learned the three Vedas, knew the rites and rituals as officiating priest, the phonology and etymology of words and the marks of a Great Man. The Brahmin Brahmàyu addressed his pupil and said. 'Dear Uttara, approach the recluse Gotama, son of the Sakyas, who is said to be perfect, ... re.... enlightened and blessed, and find out whether these qualities are really so, or not. You should examine good Gotama for me,' 'Sir, how should I know whether good Gotama is endowed with these qualities or not,' 'Uttara, the two and thirty marks of a Great Man have come down to us in the sayings. One endowed with these marks has two courses of action and not another. If he leads the household life, becomes the Universal Monarch, a stable, righteous king with power in the four directions, endowed with the seven jewels. They are the jewels of the, wheel, elephant, horse, gem, woman, householder, and the advisor. He has more than a thousand sons, with heroic figures, clever and able to subdue foreign armies. He rules over the country bounded by the ocean righteously, without stick or weapon. If he leaves the household and becomes hermit, he will be perfect and all knowing and would remove the veil of darkness. I have given you this knowledge and you know that.'


Why is real magic not a good illustration to realize Truth?

If Monks have compassion , which they have , then why don't they show us or show me the magic which they perfected?

It is out of compassion that the magic is NOT shown to you. I am just not finding a right reference for this sutra but I have read that the Buddha once admonished a monk showing magic to lay people saying;

  Monks, attracting people to Dhamma by showing magic is like a
  prostitute attracting clients by pulling up her skirt.

This is a very important thing to understand, that people should come and follow the Dhamma for all the right reason and that right reason is 'to end suffering'. If monks would have started showing magic to preach Dhamma, the whole purpose of Buddha would have defeated because people should have come to Him to gain powers.

Because if they show me some real magic then my belief on the permanence of physical laws will vanish.

No that will not happen. If I will show you I can fly in the air, you won't think that gravity is impermanent, your mind will make a new idea about some physical law that was helping me levitate.

Mostly I believe in the permanence of physical laws like no person can go through a wall or that what will go up will come down or that if slapped I will be in pain...and so on... This belief in the permanence of physical laws came into existence in my consciousness as given the exact causes exact similar things were happening since I took birth. Real Magic will break that belief.

This is the same question you were asking about Gravity. No, with seeing real magic your belief in permanence will not fade, you will, in fact, start believing in some other strange things, and this time they will be strange. And further you will start craving for that magical power instead of the Dhamma.

And once I my faith in the absoluteness of the laws of Universe is broken I will start questioning the reality. I will start asking what all in not permanent ? I will start wondering if Universe doesn't work by those laws then which laws ? Should I conclude there is no permanent law ? Desire for investigating will develop as desire of investigation is one the 7 factors of awakening.

You have already known that things around you are not permanent, is that not enough for you to develop the desire of investigation into Dhamma?

Further, I will state that the laws of physics that you are pointing out is not something you can ascribe the quality of being permanent or impermanent. I will like you to read the book called The Science Delusion nu Rupert Sheldrake. In that, he has shown that even the speed of light that is held constant is in fact not really constant. That book has answers you are looking for and not levitating monks.

Therefore for the sake of humanity why don't Monks show magic and convert the lay people into Buddhism?

For the sake of humanity, they are NOT showing the magic. That's not how you convert people and convert into what?

In short, why real magic is not a good illustration to make one realize the Truth of impermanence of all physical Truths.?

You are misunderstanding 'physical truth' with the description of processes. The physical truth like a gross body can be clearly seen as impermanent and the truth like 'law of gravity' is a description of the process which itself is proof of impermanence. The law is the proof you are asking proof of the proof.

Real magic will lead you astray, it's for the street shows not for the Dhamma.


Mild and severe forms of the three poisons

Mild versions of Lobha would be the weak sensual desire of a Sakadagami or the Lobha of an Anagami

lust for material existence, lust for material rebirth (rūparāgo)
lust for immaterial existence, lust for rebirth in a formless realm (arūparāgo)

Mild version of Dosa would be the mild aversion that may arise in a Sakadagami.

Mild version of Moha would be the conceit, restlessness and ignorance of an Anagami.


That's one of several translations of this

Karaṇīyamatthakusalena,
Yanta santaṃ padaṃ abhisamecca;
Sakko ujū ca suhujū ca,
Sūvaco cassa mudu anatimānī.

They all translate it with the same word, "upright".
The Pali word are ujū (straight), sakko (able/capable), and su- (good).
Here is a dictionary definition: https://suttacentral.net/define/uju
The dictionary has cross-references to other suttas where it's used. Curiously the first of these is DN.iii.150 i.e. DN 30 where it seems to be used literally/physically -- e.g. a straight, well-formed body -- but there it's also used to describe eyes, behaviour, demeanour:

Mendicants, in some past lives the Realized One was reborn as a human being.
When looking at others he didn’t glare, look askance, or avert his eyes. Being straightforward, he reached out to others with straightforward intentions, looking at people with kindly eyes.


What are the reasons why people equate suicide with Nibba>

Because they do not understand what Nibbana means.

  Why is Nibbana totally different to suicide?>

In Nibbana there is no re birth.


We should really have a rule on here not to provide koan answers!  It's so important that you figure them out for yourself!  Written out, the answers become hollow and never approach their true 'meaning'.  That said (and no spoilers follow!)...

Mu does mean no, but it also can translate as blankness, voidness, or absence.  That should ring a bell regarding the concept of emptiness or shunyata.  The koan really doesn't have anything to do with dogs or whether or not they have a Buddha nature.  It has more to do with this idea of emptiness - what it is and the initial experience of it.  The monk in this koan is all caught up in scholasticism and conceptualism.  He's using his small mind to try and understand a concept that it's just not capable of of apprehending.  Zhaozhou's answer is an attempt to shake that monk out of his smaller way of thinking and point him instead to mu - the true essence of Zen.


It seems like you're viewing buddha nature as essence. Freedom from imputations, conceptions, conventions, perspective, etc is buddha nature. But don't view it as essence, which would be a perpetuation of imputation of self and precisely what we are trying to avoid. Hope this helps.


Immediate Remedies to Judgmental Thoughts

I have this problem myself  but it is getting better. The first thing I do is to spot the first movement of the mind toward judgment and I send the person metta (May you be well, happy and free from suffering).  This then changes my attitude to a more accepting and more opened mind. One other thing which I find helpful is to remember their faults are mine, I have a potential to do what I disapprove and judge. This brings me back to earth and to a forgiving attitude.


2 words/phrase like mantra chanting (Bud- dho) to strengthen contemplation

Try,

Let--go
Pad -- me
Maha -- Muni (Great Sage)
Gate -- Gate


Attention to the breath: sensations at the nostrils vs sensations at the abdomen, as they relate to serenity and insight

It really doesn't matter which location you meditate on. The only big difference between the two is that the movement of the abdomen is a very apparent thing while the movement near the nostrils is much more subtle and harder to catch.

The thing that determines if you are practicing Vipassana-Bhavana versus Samatha-Bhavana isn't the location of what you are meditating on but rather the way in which you are looking at the object of meditation. This is clear if one looks carefully at the instructions in Chapter 18 of the Visuddhimagga. Paragraph 5 of said chapter describes Vipassana according to the four elements saying:

  But one whose vehicle is pure insight, or that same aforesaid one whose vehicle  is serenity, discerns the four elements in brief or in
  detail in one of the various ways  given in the chapter on the
  definition of the four elements (XI.27ff.). Then, when the  elements
  have  become  clear  in  their  correct  essential
  characteristics...there become plain ten instances of materiality
  (rupani) with the body decad...

Later in the chapter it is described also in terms of the 18 Dhatus, the 12 Ayatanas, the 5 aggregates, and again the four elements. All of these different categories are classified as being ultimate realities within the Theravada school, whereas everything else is classified as Paññatti, or concepts, meaning that they are mental representations of experiences rather than the experiences themselves.

Thus the only thing that really makes a practice Vipassana meditation is that one is meditating on the object as an experience rather than as a concept. If one is meditating on the abdomen and sets their mind on the physical feelings of the movement themselves, then one is practicing Vipassana meditation but if they are meditating on the stomach itself as being an object, then that is not Vipassana meditation.

Similarly if one is meditating at the nostrils and one is meditating on just the feelings of the air that happen at the walls of the nostril or the lip, that can be Vipassana, but if one is meditating on it just as air moving in and out, that is not Vipassana


What are the teachings in Buddhism for good social Social Health?

I think the Sangaha Sutta would be helpful here, It gives the following as the basis for the bonds of fellowship

  Generosity,  kind words,  beneficial help, & consistency in the face
  of events,

Also the Sigalovada Sutta has a lot of advice concerning ones social relationships. Advice is given to 6 groups corresponding to the six directions of worship. The groups are

North - Friends
East - Parents
South - Teachers
West - Wife
Down - Workers
Up - Ascetics

Advice is given for each direction. I think this gives a good coverage of ones social obligations and interactions even today. The text is not too long and gives specific advice on each categories of interaction. Also wikipedia has a useful summary chart.

There is a lot more advice from the Buddha. The book The Buddha's Teachings to Laypeople: Practical Advice for Prosperity and Lasting Happiness is a useful jumping off point if you want to go into more depth. It goes into social relationships, business relationship, conflict etc... and gives the Buddha advice from the Pali canon. It makes one appreciate the depth of the advice the Buddha gave his lay followers in such matters,


Buddhism is practiced in many countries by many different peoples. How do Buddhists in America differ in their beliefs, values

The transmission of Buddhist teachings to the United States (and the West in general) can be described in three general categories: migration, appropriation, and adoption. The last category is, in my opinion, the most interesting to explore, but for sake of completeness, let's discuss the other two first.

Migration

The most direct and obvious transmission of Buddhism to the US is through the immigration of practitioners from Buddhist majority countries. As these communities grew, they established temples. These temples are largely a direct continuation of whatever tradition the immigrants adhered to. As a result, a wide variety of Buddhist traditions have some representation in the US.

Appropriation

I acknowledge that "appropriation" is a loaded term. I have no intent to demean or antagonize anyone, but I do feel the word adequately describes how some Americans have borrowed specific Buddhist practices while ignoring the rest.

In particular, mindfulness meditation is following a path similar to yoga. When Western psychologists studied meditation extensively, they discovered genuine, tangible, scientifically verifiable benefits for practitioners. Mindfulness meditation is now being promoted and even prescribed as means of improving mental and emotional health, much in the same way that a doctor might recommend yoga as a form of exercise.

The beliefs of such practitioners would be difficult to summarize as there is presumably little that ties them together. It would be like asking about the personal beliefs of weight lifters or tennis players; the only common thread is an appreciation for a shared activity.

Adoption

The third category of American Buddhists are those who've adopted the teachings as a supplement or (more likely) an alternative to predominant Judeo-Christian traditions. Though these individuals are often white and educated liberals, the truly unifying factor is their shared appreciation of what makes Buddhism distinct from other major world religions and a desire for spiritual enrichment. These distinct elements tend to be emphasized in the beliefs and practices of what I refer to as "American Buddhists."

It's worth noting that the communities of American Buddhist practitioners vary considerably. I have personally seen everything ranging from a small group of college kids with little knowledge or connection to the large Sangha to temples with clear, official ties to existing Asian schools. (An example of the later is the Rochester Zen Center in Upstate New York.)

Some of the beliefs and practices that are more unique to American Buddhists include:

Personal Practice: Americans generally adopt Buddhism as a means to personal moral and spiritual growth. Many are isolated or in small communities and have limited knowledge of the varied traditions within Buddhism. As a result, many practitioners are apt to emphasizes practices aimed towards individual growth - particularly those suited for novice, lay practitioners. There is a general belief that the true value of the practice is the tangible effects it has on practitioners.
Secularism: Mainstream religious traditions in the US tend to promote literal interpretations of the bible quite vigorously, even when in direct confrontation of established science. Buddhism is seen as a more "science friendly" religion and thus attracts those who are skeptical of or completely reject the existence of the supernatural. As a result, American Buddhism handles concepts such as reincarnation, karma, and merit as metaphors.
Egalitarian Communities: The ratio of ordained to laity among American Buddhists is significantly skewed towards laity when compared to Asian countries. It's no surprise, then, that communities often rely on lay people to operate. However, this is also in part a reaction to how heavy-handed mainstream religious communities can be with authority. American Buddhists value ordained members for their wisdom, experience, and dedication, but won't necessarily expect them to assume all leadership responsibilities.
Engaged Buddhism: American Buddhists are quite likely to adopt Engaged Buddhism where they are actively involved in charity, politics, and society at large. There are numerous reasons for this. First, anyone who choose to adopt a "foreign" religion are apt to be free thinkers willing to challenge societal norms that they disagree with. Second, Americans generally believe that one's values should be expressed through action; someone who chooses to withdraw from the world is likely to be seen as apathetic, cowardly, or insincere. Third, American Buddhists don't have the advantage of being part of an established majority; they are more likely to find themselves at odds with majority opinion and may feel compelled to act in order to protect and preserve their values. Forth, values such as empathy and compassion are arguably lacking in American culture so there are many instances of personal or institutional greed, intolerance, and apathy to address.

Naturally, these are all generalizations based on personal experience. I am not aware of any research to understand how the beliefs of those who adopted Buddhism compares to those of Asian Buddhists.

For more on this subject, see my answer on Quora to: How is American Buddhism different from the different versions of Buddhism in Asia?


Yes. 'Momentum' requires a succession of non-distracted states. 'Momentum' is a product of purification & samadhi.

Dry vipassana itself will not result in momentum because dry vipassana uses 'noting' or 'mental labeling', which are essentially 'distractions' or 'speed bumps'. It is only when the mind 'lets go' that 'momentum' will develop.

It is like letting go of a boat to flow down a river. Dry vipassana keeps the boat attached to the bank.

That said, dry vipassana is useful for developing 'sampajanna' ('clear comprehension'; 'applied wisdom'), which is a very important factor for samadhi development.

'Sampajanna' is necessary for negotiating speed-bumps but, naturally, when a speed bump is experienced, this results in a loss of momentum, however temporary.

The scriptures describe four kinds of meditative results (AN 4.41), the 3rd being the development of sati-sampajanna, for which dry vipassana is helpful.


Observing fever and Not taking medicine?

Kucchivikara-vatthu includes,

A sick person endowed with five qualities is hard to tend to: he does what is not amenable to his cure; he does not know the proper amount in things amenable to his cure; he does not take his medicine; he does not tell 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 not 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 hard to tend to.
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.
A nurse endowed with five qualities is not fit to tend to the sick: He is not competent at mixing medicine; he does not know what is amenable or unamenable to the patient's cure, bringing to the patient things that are unamenable and taking away things that are amenable; etc.


Is there a Buddhist equivalent to Marcus Aurelius' "Meditations"?

It is not a diary, but There are the letters by Nanavira thera, where he tries to understand the dhamma.
https://www.nanavira.org/pre-sotapatti-stp

he is a famous bikkhu who claimed to have reached stream entry, then commited suicide. SO his letters are seprated according to the date of the alledged stream entry.


What's the ordering of 6 realms of rebirth?

The Pali scriptures say:

Mendicants, there are five destinations. What five? Hell, the animal
realm, the ghost realm, humanity and the gods. Nirayo, tiracchānayoni,
pettivisayo, manussā, devā—
AN 9.68
And what is the diversity in kamma? There is kamma to be experienced
in hell, kamma to be experienced in the realm of common animals, kamma
to be experienced in the realm of the hungry shades, kamma to be
experienced in the human world, kamma to be experienced in the world
of the devas. This is called the diversity in kamma.
AN 6.63

Other examples of the above ordering are here.
Therefore, the ordering of the five realms in descending order is:

Gods
Humans
Ghosts
Animals
Hell

However, it appears one sutta, from thousands, namely, Iti 93, includes a separate asura realm and places asura below hungry ghosts.

Being unaware of these three fires, humankind (pajā = people) delights in personal
existence.
Unfree from the bonds of Māra They swell the ranks of hell, existence
in the animal realm, asura-demons and the sphere of ghosts.
Iti 93

Therefore, based on Iti 93, the descending order is:

Deva gods
Humans
Hungry ghosts
Asura gods
Animals
Hell


When an experienced monk meditates how much does their mind wander?

Case 38 of the Mumonkan An Ox Passes Through a Window

  Case

  Goso said, "For example, it's just like an ox passing through a
  laticed window. Her head, horns, and four legs have passed through.
  Why is it that her tail can't pass through?"

  Mumon's Commentary

  If in regard to this you are able to turn yourself upside down,
  attain one single eye, and utter a turning word, you will be able to
  repay the four obligations above and help the living beings of the
  three realms below. If you are still unable to do this, reflect again
  on the tail; then you will be able to grasp it for the first time.

  The Verse:

  If it passes through, it will fall into a ditch;
  If it turns back, it will be destroyed.
  This tiny little tail-
  What a strange and marvelous thing it is!

I'll let you in on a little secret - the mind never stops wandering.  Oh sure, the mind of an experienced meditator looks nothing like that of a novice, but to say that it's 99% focused on the breath is a pretty romantic view.  One thing that becomes apparent over the course of one's practice is that our illusions are depthless.  Unless you are the Buddha himself, there will always be imperfections in your awareness.  The only difference between someone who is experienced and someone who is just beginning their practice is the nature of these delusions.

To give you an example, when one first starts their meditative practice, the small mind is pretty much it's own master and it will drag itself around in limitless ways.  There is internal narration, irritation at discomfort, plagues of doubt, and an assortment of other defilements affecting the mind.  The mind of someone who has been sitting consistently for, say, ten years is much more spacious.  One's internal narration almost completely disappears.  Discomfort more or less vanishes.  Doubt has mostly been cured.  Those defilements that remain are much, much more subtle.  Most of them are completely beyond the realm of language.  Here, imperfections in awareness are dealt with in a way comparable to a master craftsman who knows how to apply his file just so to get the wood to respond in the way he wants.  Just how he could never describe the feel he uses to apply his craft, the skilled meditator simply cannot vocalize the feel they have for keeping their mind applied to a counter-point sign, for instance.

More to the point, the deeper one engages with emptiness, the more likely they are to discover a veritable ecology of subliminal mental obstacles, habitual patterns, and other phenomenon arising from the personal unconscious (e.g. those issuing from the alaya vijnana or store-house consciousness).  These subtle, unconscious phenomenon merely "perfume" the experience of the novice.  Their presence is so pervasive - like an odor from an old, soiled couch that lingers in a room - that they are mistaken as being fundamental to the nature of experience.  For the the experienced practitioner, on the other hand, these phenomenon are seen for what they are and become the fodder for much of his practice.  They are also the very things that will give rise to most of the subtle distraction he experiences in meditation.

Off the cushion, the experience is mostly the same albeit it is much, much more difficult to maintain a deep level of mindfulness with so much going on in the world.  The mind is far less stable off the cushion than it is on it.  Because of that, any disruption makes  a much larger splash.  Because there is so much going on, it is also much harder to really see the much more subtle defilements (like those arising from the alaya).  One might think that they are free from disturbance, but the truth of the matter is that their mind isn't quiet enough to see the torrents raging just underneath the surface of consciousness.

In short, no matter how experienced you are, there's always that tiny bit of tail.


Did the Buddha say anything about bullying?

There is this story about a bhikkhu killing a swan in the commentary to dhp393;

Once there was a bhikkhu who was very skilful in throwing stones; he could even hit fast-moving objects without fail. One day, while sitting with another bhikkhu after having their bath in the Aciravati River, he saw two swans flying at some distance. He told his friend that he would get one of the swans by throwing a stone at it. At that instant, the swan, hearing voices, turned its neck and the bhikkhu threw a pebble at the bird. The pebble went through one eye and came out of the other eye of the bird. The bird cried out in pain and agony and dropped dead at the feet of the young bhikkhu.
Other bhikkhus seeing the incident took the young bhikkhu to the Buddha. The Buddha reprimanded him and said, "My son, why have you killed this bird? Why especially you, a member of my Order, who should be practising loving-kindness to all beings and who should be striving ardently for liberation from the round of rebirths? Even during the period outside the Teaching, the wise practised morality and observed the precepts. A bhikkhu must have control over his hands, his feet and his tongue." https://www.tipitaka.net/tipitaka/dhp/verseload.php?verse=362

I recall hearing or reading another story about a person from a low caste being abused, iirc people were throwing stones at a guy for no particular reason other than him being from the bad caste and the Tathagatha intervened by placing himself inbetween the abusers and the abused. Unfortunely i can't remember the origin and couldn't find it. Perhaps someone else will post it, i guess it's also from the Dhp commentary.


Welcome to the site.

I can't give a complete answer; but maybe an outline of an answer in note form. Please feel welcome to ask follow-up questions (using comments or separate questions) when you want any further details.

I've looked for, but I haven't been able find, information related to your question -- i.e. I haven't found Buddhist meditation teachers saying that they have experience of teaching people with psychosis (I have found teachers who said they don't have that experience).

I don't know where you live or who you're in contact with: but I hope it might be worth your while to ask some 'professionals', for example asking ...

Your psychiatrists
Local meditation teachers

... whether they know any suitable meditation classes/programs, and/or teachers with that experience.

For example I found this video, Enlightenment, DP/DR & Falling Into the Pit of the Void.

Buddhism is also known as the threefold training:

Virtue (morality)
Mind (concentration or meditation)
Insight (wisdom)

Virtue (morality)

The first of these is virtue/morality.  In Buddhism, morality might be summarized as "harmlessness" or (in slightly more detail), the "five precepts" which are:

Avoid killing
Avoid stealing (or "taking what is not given")
Avoid sexual misconduct
Avoid lying (or "false speech")
Avoid alcohol

There are many benefits to keeping the five precepts.

Note that "keeping the precepts" was the sum total of Dean's answer, and it's not a bad answer.

There's a sutta, Kimattha Sutta: What is the Purpose?, which begins with,

  ... he said to the Blessed One: "What is the purpose of skillful virtues?
  What is their reward?"

  "Skillful virtues have freedom from remorse as their purpose, Ananda,
  and freedom from remorse as their reward."

  "And what is the purpose of freedom from remorse? What is its reward?"

  "Freedom from remorse has joy as its purpose, joy as its reward."

I recommend you read the whole thing.

My point is that that skillful virtues, i.e. "virtues" or being harmless, which is called sila, result in a "lack of remorse".

My experience is that this is very, very important. Even if psychosis means that you can do nothing else, at least knowing the difference between right and wrong, and doing no wrong, will mean that you have no reason to feel remorse, no reason to 'feel bad' about yourself. It makes a world of difference to you and to those around you.

So even if nothing else, do no harm: that's the beginning (of 'peace and happiness').

Mind (concentration or meditation)

The second part of the training includes concentration.

There are many, many types of concentration meditation. I'll mention two:

Breathing meditation ("mindfulness of breathing")
Loving-kindness meditation (called "metta bhavana" in Pali, this chant is an example)

The ability to "concentrate" might ultimately be developed into the jhanas,

  Jhana is a meditative state of profound stillness and concentration in which the mind becomes fully immersed and absorbed in the chosen object of attention. It is the cornerstone in the development of Right Concentration.

Maybe this too is what you're looking for, when you're asking about how to attain "peace and happiness".

Some people warn though that it's possible to get a little lost in "concentration" meditation, and that you ought to practice "insight" meditation. I think that's what's meant in the last paragraph of Suminda's answer ("excessive concentration is not advisable").

Insight (wisdom)

Suminda advocates a form of meditation called Vipassana. I think that the purpose of this form of meditation is to observe everything (including body, mind, feelings, and ideas) and to experience the fact that they're impermanent, that they come and go, arise and disappear.

I think that's connected with the so-called "four noble truths" of Buddhism, including the 3rd truth i.e. "cessation".

You'll find more about "Vipassana" if you search for it (I won't try to explain it in this answer), and/or maybe you can find someone who teaches it in person.

Equanimity

I think that one of the states-of-mind which people try to develop using Vipassana (or to put it more impersonally, a state of mind which is developed as a result of Vipassana) is equanimity.

I think that too is related to the four noble truths.

You say, "how can I end my pain and fear" but part of the point of Buddhism is that wanting something makes it worse; for example:

"I'm feeling pain and fear, and that's so bad, I wish it would stop, but it's not stopping, I don't know how to make it stop"

... compared with ...

"Oh that's an experience of a feeling, which in the past I used to label as 'pain and fear' ... there's the feeling ... oh, there's another feeling now, the previous feeling has gone (was impermanent, has ceased)"

I suppose that (equanimity, and knowledge of impermanence) is a result of insight or wisdom.

Love

Actually equanimity is one of the four Brahmaviharas -- of which, the other three are various kinds of love (called metta, mudita, and karuna in Pali).

Here's an essay about the Brahmaviharas.

Someone like the Dalai Lama recommends these kinds of attitudes towards other people. Not only can it be a skillful way to behave with other people (it may be better to feel compassion than anger, for example), but caring about people means caring less about yourself, and/or caring about yourself in the same way that you care about other people. The Dalai Lama has said that he would feel "imprisoned" within himself if he only cared about himself, and that he prefers to see himself as "like other people".

Maybe that's why meditations like the metta gatha include equally "may I be free from suffering" and "may each and every other person be free from suffering".

Psychosis

The OP doesn't mention what the specific symptoms of psychosis are.

Here are some of them as described in Wikipedia:

Hallucinations
Delusions
Thought disorders

Here is some of what I know about these symptoms and some guesses about how Buddhist meditation might be able to help with them.

Hallucinations might include the classic "hearing voices" which means "hearing" or perceiving a thought as if it were a voice. A simple example might be, you're waiting at a bus stop, and you hear a voice saying "that bus isn't coming" but there's no-one else there. So that "voice" was just a thought.

From a mundane point of view, this might be a symptom to discuss with your psychiatrist. I take it you know that there are anti-psychotic drugs, that they're more-or-less effective, that they have unwanted side-effects, that there are many types of them, and that it's guess-work or trial-and-error to find a prescription that suits a specific patient. For some people, the right drugs can relieve symptoms such as hallucinations: so if you experience hallucinations that might be something to tell your psychiatrist, in case they're able to (more or less harmlessly) adjust your prescription.

From a Buddhist point of view, I'd like to suggest that as long as you're able to do no harm, then it doesn't matter. For example, hearing a voice is harmless, whereas hurting someone would be harmful. If you hear a voice but don't hurt people then you're doing very well (and I respect and admire you).

In other words, that may be connected with the "virtue (morality)" part of the path.
Delusions might be, for example, paranoid (believing that others want to harm you), or grandiose (believing you have special power or skills).

To counteract paranoid beliefs, I guess that metta bhavana ("cultivation of loving-kindness") might be helpful. If you don't want to hurt others then they shouldn't want to hurt you. If you see others as suffering (or being freed from suffering) you're less likely to see yourself as suffering (or being persecuted).

To counteract grandiose beliefs, well, I guess I recommend "virtue" again. For example it's alright to see yourself as virtuous if you are virtuous, and alright to see yourself as helping people if at least you are not harming them.
Thought disorders are difficult to talk about, because it means for example that your ability to understand words (speech and writing) is disorganized.

It may or may not help you to know that Buddhism identifies like 12 links in the chain of existence, and that "words" are only one of these links (i.e. sankharas or "fabrications"), and they're arguably the least important and/or the most easily misunderstood link. People tend to be deceived by their own "fabrications". If you can't follow what they say then maybe you will be seen as disabled (and I think maybe you would be 'disabled', because it's typically better if you can say things that people understand) but it's not the end of the world: there are other aspects to reality (e.g. senses, consciousness, feeling, etc.).

I think it's possible to communicate even when there are thought disorders, for example, by being kind to people.

There's a story I remember of the Dalai Lama's meeting someone in the crowd who was disturbed, and holding his hand until he calmed down and found some peace.

Again, anti-psychotic drugs might be able to alleviate the symptom of "thought disorders", which then makes other forms of communication (and/or healing, helping, employment) possible.

Finally it would be amiss to talk about Buddhism without mentioning friendship and community.

One of the Three Jewels of Buddhism is the Sangha,

  Sangha is a word in Pali and Sanskrit meaning "association", "assembly," "company" or "community" and most commonly refers in Buddhism to the monastic community of ordained Buddhist monks or nuns. This community is traditionally referred to as the bhikkhu-sangha or bhikkhuni-sangha. As a separate category, those who have attained any of the four stages of enlightenment, whether or not they are members of the bhikkhu-sangha or bhikkhuni-sangha, are referred to as the ariya-sangha or "noble Sangha".

Related to that is the "noble friend", for example the Upaddha Sutta. I'll quote it in full:

  Upaddha Sutta: Half (of the Holy Life)

  I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was living among the
  Sakyans. Now there is a Sakyan town named Sakkara. There Ven. Ananda
  went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down to the
  Blessed One, sat to one side. As he was sitting there, Ven. Ananda
  said to the Blessed One, "This is half of the holy life, lord:
  admirable friendship, admirable companionship, admirable
  camaraderie."[1]

  "Don't say that, Ananda. Don't say that. Admirable friendship,
  admirable companionship, admirable camaraderie is actually the whole
  of the holy life. When a monk has admirable people as friends,
  companions, & comrades, he can be expected to develop & pursue the
  noble eightfold path.

  "And how does a monk who has admirable people as friends, companions,
  & comrades, develop & pursue the noble eightfold path? There is the
  case where a monk develops right view dependent on seclusion,
  dependent on dispassion, dependent on cessation, resulting in
  relinquishment. He develops right resolve... right speech... right
  action... right livelihood... right effort... right mindfulness...
  right concentration dependent on seclusion, dependent on dispassion,
  dependent on cessation, resulting in relinquishment. This is how a
  monk who has admirable people as friends, companions, & colleagues,
  develops & pursues the noble eightfold path.

  "And through this line of reasoning one may know how admirable
  friendship, admirable companionship, admirable camaraderie is actually
  the whole of the holy life: It is in dependence on me as an admirable
  friend that beings subject to birth have gained release from birth,
  that beings subject to aging have gained release from aging, that
  beings subject to death have gained release from death, that beings
  subject to sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair have gained
  release from sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair. It is
  through this line of reasoning that one may know how admirable
  friendship, admirable companionship, admirable camaraderie is actually
  the whole of the holy life."

  Notes

  As AN 8.54 points out, this means not only associating with good people, but also learning from them and emulating their good
  qualities.

I hope that suggests another way to "end my pain and fear, and get peace and happiness": i.e. have a friend, have several friends, be a friend, seek and be with friendly (harmless) people.

See also Kalyāṇa-mittatā or Friend who is the same in happiness and sorrow.


Life wants to promote life. That too a very special life . A life which is free of diseases and dirt. A life which is holy. But if your house is infested with termites then probably you have karmic problems.
For example , there was a locust attack in Saudi Arabia, Africa , Pakistan , India etc ..millions of hectares of crop  got eaten by those insects. Why do you think that happened ? It was our karma in some ways.
Life would generally not interfere in your holy pursuit but if it happens then it means you may have become impure in some ways.
So what should be done? As a layperson you will obviously kill those insects for survival and if you are serious about Dhamma then you will commit to 8 fold path and never intentionally kill any insect.


Does Vajrayana accept the idea that Buddha placed Lord Yama (a supposed Bodhisattva) in charge of the hell realms to ensure karmic retribution?

Yama is a known God of the lower realm in all forms of Buddhism, I am not knowledgeable about particularly Vajrayana, but I guess they do accept him, there is no reason why not, when he mentioned in all of the sutras
Yama is the God that humans meets when they die, because he rules Karma
I am not sure whats your issue with that
Hope this help


sure here is the way to set the citta into  right samadhi, contrary to whatever wrong samadhi you have developed,
with this sutta https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn55/sn55.040.than.html, it is first physical seclusion, which means less distraction, fewer objects cognized, then it is mano which has piti and the kaya has passambhati then sukhaṃ vediyati, and the citta has sukhha then samadhi.

the way to get piti with mano is to sort out your Vitakkas with sati, ie satisampajanna, Satipatthana, ie knowing when a Vitakka arises, then judging it as either wholesome or not, and  knowing when it vanishing , and if it is unwholesome dropping it  by thinking of something good [instead of letting the bad thought proliferate] and when you have wholesome thoughts, you get glad to have wholesome thoughts. Same thing with feelings and perceptions.

In other words, when you have good thoughts, you are happy and when you are happy the citta is calm and enters samadhi.

Of course, before that, you must learn what is wholesome and not wholesome, because puthujjanas do not know what is good and what is bad, and buddha explains that here https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.009.ntbb.html


As you mentioned, Chapter IV of the Sangaha describes citta vithi. The Visuddhimagga includes many partial references (look under "cognitive series" in the index) but no complete analysis. Clearly, the material in the Sangaha is a later development of what is found in the Visuddhimagga (perhaps 500 years earlier). The material in the Visuddhimagga is a later development of sporadic references found in the Patthana (Conditional Relations). For example, on page 72 of PTS Conditional Relations Vol II, it says, "advertance (avajjana) is related to five-fold consciousness through proximity condition". On page 74, it says, "Life-continuum (bhavanga) without applied thought but with sustained thought is related to advertance by proximity condition." Proximity condition (and contiguity condition) imply a process. In summary, the fully-worked-out version found in the Sangaha was developed from fragments found in the Visuddhimagga (and commentaries) and these were developed from even earlier (and much more primitive) fragments found in the Patthana.


I think all these descriptions -  meditation on non-attachment, meditation with no goal, "just sitting", Diamond Samadhi etc. all refer to the type of meditation where your goal is to learn to be at peace with whatever happens in your phenomenal field - without either suppressing it or getting carried away by it.

One metaphor I heard to describe this, is the touch-and-go practice of the airplane pilots. You let the free-floating thoughts/emotions emerge and take shape just enough to get a flavor of each, but not to take over your awareness completely. You don't get attached to either the thoughtless state, or to any individual thought (or emotion) hence meditation on non-attachment.


Why can't private buddhas just tell people what they did to achieve enlightenment

Because they themselves don't know. It's not like when you become enlightened you automatically understand what happened; the only necessary difference is that you no longer have any craving for anything. Actually understanding how you got there takes a much greater degree of wisdom.

It's much like having an epiphany - you realize something about your life, but you don't likely know what exactly you did to give rise to that realization.


Do we indulge or take pleasure in jealousy or the feeling and sensations associated with jealousy?

The Dhammapada says,

  Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world. By non-hatred alone is hatred appeased. This is a law eternal.

If or because that's so, I'm not sure that you can even want to view or analyse jealousy.

The "opposite" of jealousy is Mudita.

Perhaps the four immeasurables should be studied, not jealousy?

I admit that I experience some anger occasionally, and then I have to view/analyse that.

From what I remember of jealous-feeling in the past, I don't see how you could take pleasure in it. I think it's a form of (i.e. it arises from) craving, i.e. a craving to gain what you don't have, and/or a craving to hold on to what you are losing.

I have't watched the "ode to envy" you referenced in the OP.
If you want to find something good/complimentary/encouraging to say about envy, if you want to say how it's constructive, perhaps there's an example of that in Bhikkhuni Sutta: The Nun,

  "'This body comes into being through conceit. And yet it is by relying on conceit that conceit is to be abandoned.' Thus was it said. And in reference to what was it said? There is the case, sister, where a monk hears, 'The monk named such-and-such, they say, through the ending of the fermentations, has entered & remains in the fermentation-free awareness-release & discernment-release, having known & realized them for himself in the here & now.' The thought occurs to him, 'The monk named such-and-such, they say, through the ending of the fermentations, has entered & remains in the fermentation-free awareness-release & discernment-release, having known & realized them for himself in the here & now. Then why not me?' Then he eventually abandons conceit, having relied on conceit. 'This body comes into being through conceit. And yet it is by relying on conceit that conceit is to be abandoned.' Thus was it said, and in reference to this was it said.

Very young children are said to go through (i.e. become capable of) different developmental stages as they get older, including:

Parallel play
Simple social play
Cooperative play

I suppose that perhaps envy in adults might be like that too, an early (unskillful) stage of development, for example the following progression from less to more developed/skillful:

I want their toy!
I have my own toy.
Everyone has their own toy.
We share.


Perhaps you should augment your vipassana with other meditations intended to cultivate virtuous minds. I would suggest meditations on the four immeasurables : https://thubtenchodron.org/2002/11/love-compassion-equaminity-joy/


Buddhism concerns itself with the behaviour of people rather than birth status. Refer to MN 98.
In other words, an ethical person who was an illegitimate child is regarded to be superior or happier than an unethical person who was a legitimate child.


Is there an online copy of English translation of Pramanavarttika of Shri Dharmakirthi?

Here is a chapter.
I didn't see any full translations, but you can find bits like this, also like the second chapter you found.
https://www.academia.edu/30822030/Dharmakirtis_Pramanavarttika_An_annotated_translation_of_the_fourth_chapter_Vol_1_k_1_148_


Audio guided meditation recommendations?

The "How To Meditate" YouTube video playlist by Yuttadhammo Bhikkhu is highly recommended. It includes both sitting and walking meditation. This is more like vipassana meditation based on the four foundations of mindfulness.

Another good YouTube video is "Guided Breath Meditation" by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. This is more like a body scanning meditation.


I think it's conventionally useful to identify 'the agent' of an action, for example, "Whose turn is it to wash the dishes?" implies there's a someone who'll be doing that (more or less reliably).
People (or people's feelings) are also nouned when they're used as the object of a sentence, for example, "I hurt him."
Personal identity (including family) are also important (in law/jurisprudence) in assigning ownership of property, for example, "Who owns this land?", and inheritance etc.

Having nouns in sentences is partly grammar. For example, Chinese sentence structure allows sentences without verbs (Wikipedia calls it "to some degree pro-drop or null-subject language"),

Today hike up mountains, tomorrow camp outdoors.

Perhaps similarly, a nounal subject is optional/implied/unecessary in Latin, where the suffix of the verb is conjugated to indicate the person. So for example amo, amas, amat is (or must be) translated into English by adding pronouns (required by English grammar) as "I love", "You love, and "He or She loves"; but maybe you can think of it without a noun (or with less of a noun) as "first person loving", "second person loving", and "third person loving".
I might have heard that linguists have theorized that there's a correlation between grammar and reality, but I haven't heard any details about that.
I don't know Pali well enough to include it in this answer, but look at an example of some Pali at the top of this page (which starts with the Pali atta for "self", from which we then get anattā or "non-self").

I found a comment about Sanskrit -- Jayarava said,

There’s nothing wrong with creating new verbs from nouns. We do it all the time. There’s even a technical term for such verbs: denominative. We also go the other way and create verbal nouns.
And it’s not just English that does this. Sanskrit is full of denominative verbs and verbal nouns.


In advance stages of Buddhist mediation the exercise is to reduce non conducive notions (see: Girimananda Sutta for such notions). The notion of self or not self is a notion, and it is these preconceived notion you should eliminate as clinging to them causes misery when reality does not match with you notion.

If you have a self image that I am so and so and when this gets shattered it causes pain. If you do not hold into such notion then there is no pin.


Do Mahayana Buddhists explain birth and extinction in the same way?

There is no difference in manner or extent between the rebirth we experience from moment to moment and the rebirth we experience from life to life. To misunderstand this is to misunderstand the subtlest meaning of the Buddha's teachings on emptiness or anatta.

Therefore, think about what this means for your question. When an enlightened one first becomes enlightened and reaches nirvana does an enlightened one continue to exist from moment to moment? Does he not exist from moment to moment? Both exists and does not exist? Neither exists nor not exists? Whatever the answer... then to that exact same extent and manner an enlightened one will continue to exist from life to life. To say otherwise is to assert that something has materially changed such that after nirvana an enlightened one continues in that very life, but utterly ends or is annihilated at the end of that life. This cannot be the case. It would mean an enlightened one substantially existed or inherently existed in some way and that this ended or was annihilated at death.

It is important to know the manner in which the three poisons end. The real liberation comes through knowledge or the extinction of ignorance. From this, the other poisons are extinguished as they rely upon ignorance to sustain them. Nirvana is nothing more than waking up to the knowledge of reality as it really is rather than by perceptions and conceptions clouded by ignorance.

Think about what Nagarjuna is saying here:

  It is not asserted that the Blessed One exists after his passing away; nor is it asserted that he does not exist, both exists and does
  not exist, or neither exists nor does not exist.
  Even while he is living, it is not asserted that the Blessed One exists; nor is it asserted that he does not exist, both exists and
  does not exist, or neither exists nor does not exist.
  There is no distinction whatsoever between samsara and nirvana; and there is no distinction whatsoever between nirvana and samsara.
  The limit of nirvana and the limit of samsara: one cannot even find the slightest difference between them.

Verse 17 and 18 assert that there is no distinction between the way an enlightened one exists from moment to moment as compared to life to life.

Verse 19 and 20 draw on the prior verses to show there is no distinction between nirvana and samsara. Nothing has materially changed except where before there was ignorance now there is knowledge.

It is like waking up from a dream even as the dream perceptions continue... there is no longer any doubt that one is perceiving a dream. Not one iota of doubt. The ignorance of the dreamer has been replaced with the sure knowledge of an awakened one.


How did this teleportation happen in DN 16?

Piya Tan's translation and commentary of DN 16 has two footnotes:

The various texts differ regarding the details of the Buddha‘s crossing the Ganges. They however agree that he
uses his psychic power to teleport himself and the order across the river. The redactors added this episode despite
the Vinaya rule against the public display of psychic powers (Pāc 8 = V 4:25): see Kevaḍḍha S (D 11) = SD 1.7
Intro (3.3). The Pali texts apparently regard the episode as ―symbolic of the Buddha‘s attainment of the  ̳other side‘
of transmigration, ie extinction (nirvana), by the power of meditation‖ (Warder 1970:71).

According to the Sarvastivada account, only the Buddha crosses the Ganges by his own power. The monks
swim across while other disciples build a raft (Waldschmidt 1950-51:158). The imagery here is obvious: the Buddha
has crossed the ocean of suffering; his immediate disciples, the monks, crosses the river of suffering using their own
effort; and the lay disciples are working at their own means of the salvation, the raft. On this verse, cf Dh 85.


simplest possible teaching on the four Satipatthana

One of the simplest renderings of the 4 Foundations of Mindfulness is:

And what, bhikshus, is right mindfulness?
Here, bhikshus,
a monk dwells  exertive, clearly knowing, mindful, observing the body in the body,
   removing covetousness and displeasure in the world;
a monk dwells exertive, clearly knowing, mindful, observing feelings in the feelings,
   removing covetousness and displeasure in the world;
a monk dwells exertive, clearly knowing, mindful, observing the mind in the mind,
   removing covetousness and displeasure in the world;
a monk dwells exertive, clearly knowing, mindful, observing dharmas in the dharmas,
   removing covetousness and displeasure in the world.
This, bhikshus, is called right mindfulness.

(Magga) Vibhaṅga Sutta similar passage in Sacca Vibhanga Sutta

"removing covetousness and displeasure in the world" means you are to be equanimous without getting attached to the pleasant or averse to the unpleasant. You have to see impermanence also to remove ignorance.


I think you are confounding Buddhist principles with Japanese culture - of which veneration of the dead is an important part.  If there is one thing you can say about Buddhism, it's that it doesn't exist in a vacuum and often takes on the cultural customs of its practitioners.

Besides, it's a poem.  He's trying to capture a moment for an audience, not make a statement about the dharma.  ;-)


Growth, increase, landing, establishing of consciousness

I think that what you quoted is the converse of SN 12.64 -- which describes how consciousness doesn't grow or become established, i.e. as a result of not "landing".

I guess an analogy is if you have a seed or seedling which lands somewhere then its roots become involved and it grows -- or, it is doesn't land, then it doesn't.

  Suppose there was a bungalow or a hall with a peaked roof, with windows on the northern, southern, or eastern side. When the sun rises and a ray of light enters through a window, where would it land?” “On the western wall, sir.” “If there was no western wall, where would it land?” “On the ground, sir.” “If there was no ground, where would it land?” “In water, sir.” “If there was no water, where would it land?” “It wouldn’t land, sir.” “In the same way, if there is no desire, relishing, and craving for solid food, consciousness does not become established there and doesn’t grow. …

I think I agree with what you said, i.e. that you attach to what's cognized, make plans based on whats's cognized.

But perhaps it's saying the converse too, i.e. that when attaching (or on attaching) to something then the consciousness lands there and evolves -- e.g. glimpse something, feel attracted, then gaze at it, further resolve details of it and fit those into the idea of what's attractive, etc.

I think that's called "grasping signs" -- I don't know the best example of that, but one is e.g. SN 35.235

  You’d be better off mutilating your eye faculty with a red-hot iron nail, burning, blazing and glowing, than getting caught up in the features by way of the details in sights known by the eye.
  Varaṃ, bhikkhave, tattāya ayosalākāya ādittāya sampajjalitāya sajotibhūtāya cakkhundriyaṃ sampalimaṭṭhaṃ, na tveva cakkhuviññeyyesu rūpesu anubyañjanaso nimittaggāho.

  For if you die at a time when your consciousness is still tied to gratification in the features or details, it’s possible you’ll go to one of two destinations:
  Nimittassādagathitaṃ vā, bhikkhave, viññāṇaṃ tiṭṭhamānaṃ tiṭṭheyya, anubyañjanassādagathitaṃ vā tasmiñce samaye kālaṃ kareyya, ṭhānametaṃ vijjati, yaṃ dvinnaṃ gatīnaṃ aññataraṃ gatiṃ gaccheyya


How to cure "if I blamed someone who we should not blame"?

There's no completely escaping the consequences of a bad deed unless the Karma becomes defunct. But you can do much to mitigate the effects.

If the monk is alive, apologize in person. If he is dead, think of him and apologize.
Do good deeds. ex: offering alms to the monk you insulted or to the Sagha as a whole.
Do meditation. ex: Spreading Metta to all beings, practicing the four foundations of mindfulness etc.

All of the above will help a great deal, but only a Buddha would know what exactly you should do to make a Karma defunct, if it is possible.


I think it is akin to going to town for alms for monks. One should be aware that by doing so one might come into contact with various perceptions which may be agreeable or disagreeable and are a danger to the training. One should resolve on guarding the senses and maintaining the perception of abandoning (not tolerating arisen thoughts associated with ill-will, greed, delusion) so that one does not regret it later.

One should also reflect on one's intentions before, during and after doing a deed with mind, body or speech. Thus one should remain mindful of the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha in general, not only when using the internet.


Is "nāma" an equivalent of the Western concept of "mind"? Is it used alone?

In the Theravada (mostly in the abhidhamma and commentaries), "nāma" is used to describe those dhammas that are mental, i.e. the last four aggregates. Also, three of the four ultimate realities (nibbana is considered a nāmadhamma, though that's a bit of a technicality).
e.g., in the Yāmaka:

ye keci nāmā dhammā, sabbe te nāmamūlā?
Whatever nāma dhammas, are they all rooted in nāma?

They're also referred to as "arūpadhamma", i.e. not physical, as in the Visuddhimagga:

yathā yathā hissa rūpaṃ suvikkhālitaṃ hoti nijjaṭaṃ suparisuddhaṃ, tathā tathā ... tadārammaṇā arūpadhammā sayameva pākaṭā honti.
For in proportion as materiality becomes quite definite, disentangled and quite clear to him, so the immaterial states that have that [materiality] as their object become plain of themselves too.


Is there any information in Buddhism on mundane mental contemplation (if any)? Is there a benefit for un-concentrated contemplation on a virtuous topic?

Mental contemplation can be useful for training in Morality, but not for training in Concentration or Wisdom. It is good to contemplate your current karmic state, and deduce what actions can be taken or stopped to generate more good karma. That being said, training in Morality is only the first step. Without training in the other two, your chances of becoming free of samsara is very low.

I don't really suggest doing compassion meditation unless you really feel like you generate a lot of bad karma from a lack of compassion. As to weather or not your compassion meditation brings more results than contemplating day to day, only your experience can speak to that.

Contemplation can not replace concentration meditation. Training in concentration is something that requires effort and time for it to be cultivated properly. You can not think your way to stronger concentration skills. You have to actually practice concentrating.

  How would a Buddhist fare without formal meditative skills?

Spontaneous enlightenment is possible, but I would not put your chips in that basket if you want to be free this lifetime. All 3 trainings work together in order to help you be free from ignorance, suffering, and samsara. If your goal is to be free, it is essential to pay all three trainings an equal amount of attention. To do that, formal concentration and insight meditation is a must.

It is not possible to think your way to Enlightenment. It is something that must be discovered and felt at the source of your being. At some point you will be required to abandon thought to move further. That can be done easier once you have learned to concentrate, and have found the wisdom present in what you observe.

I hope this was helpful my friend and I wish you nothing but love.


if rebirth/reincarnation is true then what is your first birth/incarnation?

Do you think someone might have asked that question before?
According to Access to Insight, many of the suttas include the following quote,

At Savatthi. There the Blessed One said:

"From an inconstruable beginning comes transmigration. A beginning point is not evident, though beings hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving are transmigrating & wandering on.

In other words the "first" is not evident (or, I'd read that as, it's not evident that there is a first).


Here is an alternative translation up on Sutta Central: https://suttacentral.net/en/snp2.5

However, the sentence you are looking for is translated as so:

  Friend, I am not afraid of you, but your touch is evil.

The word "evil" here translates Pali pāpako - bad, malignant, evil, wrong, sinful.

I suppose the meaning is that, although Enlightened One is not afraid to come in contact with demonic influences, even for Buddha the close contact with them is not beneficial. As poisonous food may upset the stomach, so poisonous thoughts may upset the mind.


When there’s interaction with other people, and as you focus more carefully in that present moment, you begin to realize that you choose where to focus and how you want to shape the situation. You could let yourself suffer, fall victim to these things, or you could make a change. But if for instance when you’re being mindful, say, of feelings, you just watch whatever feeling comes up and don’t make any changes. Don’t meddle with it. Just be non-reactive, allowing whatever’s happening to happen. What this attitude does, though, is to drive underground some really important sources for insight: the ability to see to what extent you’re shaping your feelings of pleasure and pain right now. This applies to physical pleasure and mental pleasure, to physical pain and mental pain. So the way you think, the way you interpret, filter, make choices about how to shape the present moment is a purely internal matter. Mindfulness is to remind you that you can make choices, and that you want to learn to make them skillfully. You can learn how to think in a comfortable way, to fashion your thoughts and your perceptions so as to shape a greater sense of wellbeing. Just take time and use your powers of observation.