Lokavidu is one of the nine qualities of the Buddha.
Here is a definition of the quality:

LOKAVIDU

Lokavidu is the person who knows about the world. What do we mean by
Loka? As There are six worlds; the seeing world, the hearing world, the smelling world, the tasting world, the touching world and the thinking world. There are no other worlds than these six. The Buddha understands how they arise and cease. He knows how clashes and harmony happen in this world. He knows why people can be trapped in them or be free from them. That is why He is called Lokavidu. You are in harmony with the world only when you know about it and live accordingly accepting as it is.

Another quote from the book "The Great Chronicles of Buddhas", p. 1164 :

(ii) Āsayānusayan-ñāna:
Knowledge that discuss the natural bent and latent proclivities of individuals. (Ref: original text at pp 597 on the Lokavidu attribute of the Buddha.) The term ÈsayÈnusaya, a compound may be rendered as ‚the seed-germ of an individual’s mental makeup.‛ By this special knowledge, the Buddha knows discriminately that such and such a being has such natural bent of mind, such latent potential for defilements that are dominant in his mental makeup.
It was due to the possession of the above two special knowledges that the Buddha could deliver the right message to the right-hearer. Even the Venerable SÈriputta, being not endowed with these special knowledges, could not know the state of readiness of his hearers to receive the message, i.e. about the ripeness or otherwise of the mental makeup of his hearers, with the result that his discourses, in a few occasions, fell flat on the hearers.

Another quote on the term:

Gautama Buddha's explanation on 'World' or 'Loka'
A very significant word that comes in Gautama Buddha's Sutta discourses is the "Loka" or "Loke" that is commonly regarded today as the "World". One needs to have a proper understanding of what Gautama Buddha considered as the "World" or "Loka " since Buddha is "Lokavidu" , one of the nine qualities Gautama Buddha had been ascribed to. The meaning of the word" Lokavidu" is "knowledge of entire worlds" or "loka".

Another quote on the term from "The Qualities and Virtues of the Buddha" By Mithra Wettimuny:

V) Lokavidu means the seer of the world. He sees everything as it really is, with regard to this world. He sees all the conditions that bring about a situation, that bring about a dhamma, the root causes, the proximate causes, and the results that can come, that can flow from that situation. All that is his knowledge or his ability to see the world as it really is.


Ultimately, Time exists only conceptually, i.e. as a mental formation. Thinking about past, present and future are mental events, happening in the present moment.
We live only for one thought-moment at a time (momentary death).
The mind might be chasing after some object or running away from another object but that also takes place in the present moment, thus we are always in the present moment.
Conventionally, we can speak of Time as existing and exercising some kind of control over beings in conditioned existence. That can be seen in the workings of Kamma. Kamma is fourfold and one of its classifications are called "Time of Ripening"1, i.e. when the kamma is coming into fruition.
There are actions that might produce their effects in this very life, they are called Immediately-Effective-Kamma.
There are actions that might produce their effect in a subsequent life, they are called Subsequently-Effective-Kamma.
Then there are actions that might produce their effects in any life as long as one is in the conditioned realm, they are called Indefinitely-Effective-Kamma.
As seen here Time exists conventionally, as do beings and rebirth, since they are merely concepts, conventions and designations. Ultimately though, these concepts are not findable or inherently existing. In other words they fall under the doctrine of Emptiness (Śūnyatā).
To further illustrate the difference between Conventional and Ultimate reality let's take a look at a quote from the Milindapañhā2 where King Melinda discuss Time with Ven. Nāgasena:

“Nàgasena, when you say, ‘Time immemorial’, what does time mean? Is there any such thing?”
“Time means past, present and future. There are some for whom time exists and some for whom it doesn’t. Where there are beings who will be reborn, for them time exists; where there are beings who will not be reborn, for them time does not exist.”
“Well put, Nàgasena, you are clever in reply.”

As we see here Nāgasena explains that Time exists for beings that will be reborn, i.e. beings that are still wandering in the realm of Samsara.
Time does not exist for beings that will not get reborn, i.e. those who have won Nibbana.

1 Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma, Ch. 5: "Compendium of the Process-Freed", p. 201, by Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi
2 The Debate of King Melinda, Ch. 2: "Rebirth", p. 47, by Ven. Bhikkhu Pesala


i do seem to care about others who die though but not on myself

But that's the whole point. So if you already don't mind dying (that's how i understand your statement), then maybe you're an arahant?
I of course am not familiar with your background, but whether you mind or not can be found out in the life and death situation, when contingency of dying is very real.  Good health and safe environment are not the conditions to help to realize one's own mortality. An event which has a potential of causing a profound shift in one's attitude towards death is a death of a close relative, and especially a sudden and unexpected one, because it hits very close to home and with great impact due to suddenness.

Contemplation of death for development of samvega is described in Maranasati suttas 1 & 2
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an06/an06.019.than.html
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an06/an06.020.than.html

And here's how actual practice of perception of death is described in a Gandhari Samyukta Agama Sanna sutra (Andrew Glass, Mark Allon, 'Four Gāndhārī Saṃyuktāgama Sūtras: Senior Kharoṣṭhī Fragment 5')

  What is the concentration connected with the perception of death? In
  regard to this, a monk who is at the root of a tree, or in an empty
  house, or in an open space… thinks “I will die, I will not live long,
  I will perish, I will die, I will disappear. It is the undistracted
  one-pointedness of mind of a person so positioned, which is called
  “the concentration connected with the perception of death.


The position is something that your should choose to help in meditation, i.e., being able to be in the position for a long time without issue. Dwelling too much on what is the right posture is leaving the main task at hand and concentrating on auxiliary tasks. The danger in this is that this can lead to trying rights or ritual like practices which has been case in some schools of Buddhism and in India.

Also any your posture can be taken into practice of the 4 frames of mindfulness. The posture it self (sense through the outline of sensations) and the pain that results from being in it for a long time.


How to accept and surrender to the mind's non-acceptance of doubt and ill-will?

Any words, tips, or tools you guys have are so very much appreciated.

Does it help to remember that "doubt" and "identity view" belong together? If they eradicate together (at the same stage) then maybe they arise together.

  Even though I know in my heart to trust my own words and experiences, when doubt is strong enough, everything is deluded.

Isn't 'identity view' a bit deluded too?

So like, "I am doubting" and "here is myself experiencing doubt": just forget it. Experience it, recognize it, remember it's delusive, and put it away, do or be without it.

I (subjectively or as an analogy) experience some kind of brain storm that's like an electrical short circuit, that draws all the electric current and does nothing. If it persists and I recognize it then I deliberately blow the fuse on it: i.e. recognize it as a fault, switch off the current (stop feeding it), try to see a bigger, more stable, more useful picture.

I label/name that storm "a thicket of views", which the suttas say is associated with views about self.

In summary I'm trying to suggest that if you're experiencing "doubt" then maybe you're experiencing "identity view"; maybe you can already handle identity view, and/or recognize it as a cause of doubt.

  I would appreciate input on how to handle strong moments of doubt and ill-will towards that doubt.

According to the Wikipedia article I cited above, doubt and identity-view go together but ill-will may remain until later. So don't be surprised if there's ill-will.

I mean, you're saying "ill-will towards doubt and delusion". I suppose you have to be free of the doubt and delusion you talked about, first and foremost; and once you see things clearly then you can (perhaps literally) "sort out" the ill-will (maybe ill-will goes after delusion stops, like you say it comes after delusion starts).

This advice is partly based on the idea that "right view" is the first (or if it's called "right knowledge" then it's also nearly the last) factor on the path.


What does the Buddha mean by this quote?

There's an explanation of it here, on the Fake Buddha Quotes web site: “You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.”
It's not a quote from the Pali canon.
Buddhism probably does have things to say about "anger": but maybe not that. :-)
If I had to make sense of it I'd guess it's saying that anger is unpleasant and thus a kind of punishment (the consequences of angry behaviour might not be good either).
According to Buddhism, anger might be associated with aversion and perhaps with an unwise view of 'self'.

According to Bodhipaksa one of the earliest versions of this quote (from a non-Buddhist source) is,

They teach that he who hates shall be hated, and that the one who gets angry shall be punished by anger, and that all sin is punished by it and not for it. This is correct.

I guess this might also be Christian-like in origin, e.g. it reminds me of the aphorism, "He who lives by the sword will die by the sword."
Another original version of the quote is from a book about the Hindu (non-Buddhist) Bhagavad Gita,

Even more intriguing to me is the karma of our health. Again, let me illustrate one or two kinds of connection. For one, the Buddha says that we are not punished for our anger, we are punished by our anger. In other words, anger is its own karma.

Note the absence of quotation marks. Eknath is not quoting the Buddha, but paraphrasing his teachings on anger and karma.

So it's talking about, trying to say something about, karma.
That (karma) is something which the Buddha will have talked about; however starting here from a fake quote (a mis-quote) about anger probably isn't the easiest start to explaining karma, a difficult subject.


As per the 20 unsuitable women listed, it could break the precept, depending on if one or both are in care of parents/relatives/guardian or if the king/government prohibits such relationships or if it's prohibited by tradition.

But one should keep in mind that taboo & obviously vulgar behaviors are not discussed under the 3rd precept. That doesn't mean that they don't fall under sexual misconduct.


This Quora answer is an interesting story of a lady who was terrified of strange ghostly noises at night sounding like a woman wailing in pain. Later on, she figured out that this was the sound of cats mating. She gained insight into the nature of the noises, and this allayed her fear.

According to Merriam Webster dictionary entry of "insight":

  Definition of insight

  the power or act of seeing into a situation
  the act or result of apprehending the inner nature of things or of seeing intuitively

From the ATI Glossary (below), we find that Buddhist insight (vipassanā in Pali or vipaśyanā in Sanskrit) refers to insight that leads to liberation from suffering. It's not creative insight, but it's insight into the nature of how things work.

  vipassanā:
  Clear intuitive insight into physical and mental
  phenomena as they arise and disappear, seeing them for what they
  actually are — in and of themselves — in terms of the three
  characteristics (see ti-lakkhaṇa) and in terms of stress, its origin,
  its disbanding, and the way leading to its disbanding (see ariya-sacca).

From Theragatha 6.6 (quoted below), we find in poetical proses, the story of the monk Sappadasa who, 25 years after going forth and undertaking the training of the holy life, failed to achieve anything. He then was about to take his own life, when in a moment of deep concentration, suddenly had awakening insight into the nature of suffering, and became liberated.

  Twenty five years since my going forth,
  and no peace of awareness
  — not a finger-snap's worth — attained.
  Having gained no oneness of mind,
  I was wracked with lust.
  Wailing, with my arms upheld,
  I ran amok from my dwelling —
  "Or... or shall I take the knife?
  What's the use of life to me?
  If I were to renounce the training,
  what sort of death would I have?"

  So, taking a razor,
  I sat down on a bed.
  And there was the razor,
  placed ready to cut my own vein,
  when apt attention arose in me,
  the drawbacks appeared,
  disenchantment stood
  at an even keel:

  With that, my heart was released.
  See the Dhamma's true rightness!
  The three knowledges have been attained;
  the Awakened One's bidding, done.

In the Bahiya Sutta (quoted below), we find advanced ascetic Bahiya impatiently seeking the Buddha's guidance to help him understand the truth. A short explanation from the Buddha helped him gain insight into the nature of suffering.

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

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

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


It's wise to say that Buddhism doesn't have any exclusivity on jhana type experiences thus they are naturally occurring events with the name 'jhana' appended to its experience. What I think may be unique about Buddhism is its ability to define the conditions for each jhanic experience. The Buddha describes this in the Jhana sutta

Yes, almost everyone has the potential to experience jhana. The identification with the word 'christian' does not diminish nor enhance that potential. However, the method in which you perceive yourself as 'being something' could hinder that potential. I take the example of 'being Buddhist' alongside 'learning to be a good person' - this doesn't seem to work as you are creating another mind concept to conform to. When you follow mind concepts in this way, misery looms.


What concordances are there for the Pali Canon?

Here's a list of terms in the Pali Canon that can be used to quickly find particular suttas:

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/index-subject.html


What is the difference between learning the Buddhist way and simply learning from life?

The main difference is time. Buddha shows the way in simple instructions, so that you don't have to discover the path to enlightenment by yourself.


1) In the aggregates, 'sankhara' are kammic formations.

Yes. Sankhara creates future results. So karmaic results are due to Sankhara. Sankhara is like the seed which germinates into the result.

  2) Kammic formations are any phenomena that have an underlying intention, and therefore create new kamma.

Intention decides which of the 121/89 mind states arise. Each mind has The 52 Mental Factors (cetasika). Out of the 52, 50 are Sankhara which results in conditioning future experiences which are also known as karmic results.

  Question: Is intention (cetana) a sankhara?

Cetana is a part of sankhara, which is 1 part out of 50 mental factors. There are 49 other factors which are considered sankhara. Cetasika has sanna and vedana also, excluding these factors the rest is sankhara out of which Cetana is one factor. As cetana is a Universal mental factor this always arising with the rest of the mental factors pertaining to a mind-state.

Cetana is also part of the phenomenon triggered by contact, as all minds arise with contact. With each mind-state all factors pertaining to vedana, sanna and sankhara arise out of which cetana is one factor.

Centana decides the wholesomeness or unwholesomeness of the mind and sankhara creates. E.g. For a positive mind, 14 of the Unwholesome mental factors will be missing. These 14 are sankhara which gives bad results.


The Pali scriptures (e.g. SN 12.2) define the word 'jati' ('birth') to mean the mental generation of the view, idea or thought concept of 'beings' ('satta') or 'self'. Please also refer to SN 5.10.

For example, in India today, the word 'jati' means 'social-self identity' or 'caste' rather than child birth from a woman's womb. To quote Wikipedia:

  Jāti (in Devanagari: जाति, Bengali: জাতি, Telugu:జాతి, Kannada:ಜಾತಿ, Malayalam: ജാതി, Tamil:ஜாதி, literally "birth") is a group of clans,
  tribes, communities and sub-communities, and religions in India. Each
  jāti typically has an association with a traditional job function or
  tribe. Religious beliefs (e.g. Sri Vaishnavism or Veera Shaivism) or
  linguistic groupings may define some jatis. Among the
  Muslims, the equivalent category is Qom or Biradri.

  A person's surname typically reflects a community (jati) association: thus Gandhi = perfume seller, Dhobi = washerman, Srivastava = military
  scribe, etc. In any given location in India 500 or more jatis may
  co-exist, although the exact composition will differ from district to
  district.

This contemporary Indian meaning of the word 'jati' is also found in ancient Pali scriptures, such as MN 98 (which describes the various social designations or 'jati' of people based on their kamma) and MN 86 (which refers to the life of a monk as a 'noble birth').

Therefore, what is called 'rebirth' in the Pali scriptures is the re-arising of this 'self-view' or 'self-social identity' within the mind (rather than reincarnation from life-to-life).

This 'rebirth' is caused ignorance & craving. Due to kamma (action), the mind develops more craving &, due to ignorance, the mind clings to that craving as 'self' or 'me'. This is 'rebirth'.

The famous Buddhist monk Ajahn Sumedho said:

  Or, we speculate about re-birth: what is it that carries on from one life to the next if there's no soul? If everything's anatta, how can
  'I' have been something in a previous life and have some essence that
  is born again?

  But if you watch the way things operate independently of yourself, you begin to understand that rebirth is nothing more than desire
  seeking some object to absorb into, which will allow it to arise
  again. This is the habit of the heedless mind. When you get hungry,
  because of the way you've been conditioned, you go out and get
  something to eat. Now that's an actual rebirth: seeking something,
  being absorbed into that very thing itself. Rebirth is going on
  throughout the day and night, because when you get tired of being
  reborn you annihilate yourself in sleep. There's nothing more to it
  than that. It's what you can see. It's not a theory, but a way of
  examining and observing kammic actions.

  Kamma & Rebirth

As for Krishna, his appearance in the Bhagavada Gita (composed around 200 BC) occurred after the Buddha therefore Krishna could not be a previous reincarnation of the Buddha. Such ideas are obvious Hindu rather than Buddhist because, in the Pali Buddhist scriptures, the only gods mentioned are Indra (Vishnu), Brahma & Prajapati.


How much time it takes to experience 4th jhana?

"Suppose a hen has eight, ten, or twelve eggs: If she doesn't cover them rightly, warm them rightly, or incubate them rightly, then even though this wish may occur to her — 'O that my chicks might break through the egg shells with their spiked claws or beaks and hatch out safely!' — still it is not possible that the chicks will break through the egg shells with their spiked claws or beaks and hatch out safely. Why is that? Because the hen has not covered them rightly, warmed them rightly, or incubated them rightly. In the same way, even though this wish may occur to a monk who dwells without devoting himself to development — 'O that my mind might be released from effluents through lack of clinging!' — still his mind is not released from the effluents through lack of clinging. Why is that? From lack of developing, it should be said. Lack of developing what? The four frames of reference, the four right exertions, the four bases of power, the five faculties, the five strengths, the seven factors for Awakening, the noble eightfold path.

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn22/sn22.101.than.html


Has anyone read Nagarjuna as claiming only that an effect is never its cause?

See "Mula-madhyamaka-karika" by Nagarjuna:

  Neither from itself nor from another,

  Nor from both,

  Nor without a cause,

  Does anything whatever, anywhere arise.

Later Chandrakirti wrote detailed explanations of these ideas.

The purpose was to demonstrate the middle way between extremes of eternalism and nihilism regarding causes.

Otherwise causes could be viewed as "substance of self" of phenomena.

For practical purposes, we can meditate thusly:

Realize that all things depend on causes,

and therefore they lack independent existence.

For example, my feelings depend on causes. All my thoughts depend on causes. Also my wishes and my actions all depend on causes.

Therefore, is there anything in "me" this moment, not dependent on something else?

Then realize also that causality itself is illusory.

For example, we can contemplate that causality is rather our assumption than reliably known truth.

We guess that this is the cause of that. But it's just our guess, conventional truth. In the absolute sense, we can not ultimately know it.

"Absolute truth" is understood here as something that appears directly (phenomena, dharmas). Any judgments - e.g. views about causality - are just guesses.

For practical purposes, we take such guesses to be "true", but we should realize that's just a convention in our mind.

This understanding helps to see the selflessness of phenomena, and thus to liberate from samsara.


That's a very common misunderstanding of what Buddhism is after.  Western authors (especially some of the early dabblers in Buddhism like Watts) had a very difficult time expressing Buddhist ideas in the parlance with which they and their audience would be familiar.  Consistently, concepts like "voidness" (e.g. shunyata) get mistaken for ideas like nihilism, inertness, or Stoicism.  You'd half expect the Buddhist ideal to more resemble Mr. Spock than Shakyamuni!   I think this is even further compounded by the Pali and Sanskrit languages which often use prefixed negations to express positive qualities (e.g. ahimsa or non-harming).  Based on that linguistic trope, it's very easy to think that Buddhism is only interested in a state in which negative qualities are absent.

Not to get caught in the weeds over what Buddhism is after (and you might want to stay away from words like "eternal" on a Buddhism Q&A site!), but let me assure your that liberation is anything but neutral.  There are positive states like the seven factors of enlightenment (of which "joy" is one!), the compassion, equanimity, etc. of the Brahmaviharas, the sweetness of meditative absorption, among many, many others that are of paramount importance and have to be cultivated with just as much zeal as one uses to overcome their negative views and behaviors.


Is there a way to "reset" all karmic conditions with immediate effect?

There is a very famous simile in the Lonaphala Sutta: The Salt Crystal. An excerpt:

"There is the case where a trifling evil deed done by a certain individual takes him to hell. There is the case where the very same sort of trifling deed done by another individual is experienced in the here & now, and for the most part barely appears for a moment.

The Buddha gives a simile of dropping a salt crystal into a cup and asking if the water was fit to drink and, of course, the answer is no. It would be too salty due to the small amount of water in the cup. The Buddha then asks if a salt crystal were to be dropped into the  Ganges River if it would be fit to drink and, or course, the answer is yes because of the large amount of water in the river.
So the same action does not necessarily lead to the same effect nor to the same length of time for the ripening of the effect. The Buddha then gave some very helpful details of what type of people may experience lessor effects of their bad karma.

Now, a trifling evil act done by what sort of individual takes him to hell? There is the case where a certain individual is undeveloped in the body, 2 undeveloped in virtue, undeveloped in mind [i.e., painful feelings can invade the mind and stay there], undeveloped in discernment: restricted, small-hearted, dwelling with suffering.   A trifling evil act done by this sort of individual takes him to hell.
'Now, a trifling evil act done by what sort of individual is experienced in the here & now, and for the most part barely appears for a moment? There is the case where a certain individual is developed in the body,[3] developed in virtue, developed in mind [i.e., painful feelings cannot invade the mind and stay there], developed in discernment: unrestricted, large-hearted, dwelling with the immeasurable. A trifling evil act done by this sort of individual is experienced in the here & now, and for the most part barely appears for a moment.

So while there may not be an immediate reset button to avoid the effects of past karmic actions, there is the idea of performing wholesome actions now and building merit to dilute "the salt" of past bad deeds and to become the type of person who experiences lessor effects of bad karma. Some people concentrate on building merit by giving offerings (dana), by practicing virtue (sila), and by practicing meditation (bhavana) in this effort.


Metta does make you physicaly beautiful. You don't go from being super ugly, to super gorgeous. But it can improve a lot more than you might think.

Using an analogy, have you ever noticed that when you are in a realy good mood, people are more enthusiastic with you? And have you ever noticed how when you're in a bad mood, the opposite happens? We all react instinctively to other people's moods, because these moods are "written" in the facial expression, even if we're not consciously aware of "reading" these facial expressions. It's just how the human animal reacts through instinct.

Metta cultivates such high spirits of kindness, happiness and love that your facial expression becomes pleasant, loving and happy. The bitterness, anger, frustration, depression, etc, all melt, day by day, with he practice of metta. Through continued practice, that makes you more and more beautiful.

But if you don't believe me, check these photos taken before and after a meditation retreat:

http://www.shambhalamountain.org/dathun-before-and-after-photos/


Considering other traditions than Goenka Vipassana for better Right Effort, Right Concentration and Right Mindfullness

I still haven't achieved a quiet mind or a fully absorbed mind. I am wondering if I should pursue a tradition that
  doesn't dismiss the dhyanas the way that Goenka Vipassana does.... different approaches that will help me to improve my concentration (samadhi) that will, in turn, allow for panna (wisdom).

The above has the path backwards; which is a common misunderstanding in Theravada Buddhism, due to the common preaching about 'sila, samadhi, panna'.

The Noble Eightfold Path starts with wisdom (called Right Understanding or Right View). It is wisdom that achieves a quiet mind (rather than samadhi). If the mind is not quiet it cannot achieve jhana therefore it is incorrect to believe jhana is required to make the mind quiet. Jhana itself is the quiet mind and what is required to reach jhana is wisdom. How the Buddha-To-Be used wisdom to make his mind quiet and reach jhana is described in MN 19 (the Dvedhāvitakka Sutta).

  am I supposed to observe thoughts as they arise, or keep my focus on my breathe (if pracaticing anapana) or sensations when doing
  Vipassana?

Per MN 19, the practise is using wisdom or wise reflection to remove thoughts.

  A final question: is bhanganana a type of dhyana?

Based on its name, "bhanganana" appears to be a "nana" or "knowledge" ("wisdom"); therefore it is not a type of "jhana" ("concentration"). Regardless, what various "nana" are is unimportant. What is important is to establish a quiet & calm mind.

"Vipassana" means "clear seeing" or "insight". "Vipassana" automatically arises when the mind is clear & quiet therefore it is not necessary to "practise" vipassana. What must be practised is making the mind quiet; which requires using wisdom to prevent & abandon unwholesome thoughts.

  And what is right effort? It’s when a mendicant generates enthusiasm, tries, makes an effort, exerts the mind and strives so that bad, unskillful qualities don’t arise. They generate enthusiasm, try, make an effort, exert the mind and strive so that bad, unskillful qualities that have arisen are given up. They generate enthusiasm, try, make an effort, exert the mind and strive so that skillful qualities that have not arisen do arise. They generate enthusiasm, try, make an effort, exert the mind and strive so that skillful qualities that have arisen remain, are not lost, but increase, mature, and are fulfilled by development. This is called right effort.

  SN 45.8

  One makes an effort for the abandoning of wrong view & for entering into right view: This is one's right effort. One is mindful to abandon
  wrong view & to enter & remain in right view: This is one's right
  mindfulness. Thus these three qualities — right view, right effort &
  right mindfulness — run & circle around right view.

  One makes an effort for the abandoning of wrong resolve & for entering right resolve: This is one's right effort. One is mindful to
  abandon wrong resolve & to enter & remain in right resolve: This is
  one's right mindfulness. Thus these three qualities — right view,
  right effort & right mindfulness — run & circle around right resolve.

  MN 117

MN 117 also describes how jhana (right concentration) leads to right knowledge (nana):

  Of those, right view is the forerunner. And how is right view the forerunner? In one of right view, right resolve comes into being. In
  one of right resolve, right speech comes into being. In one of right
  speech, right action... In one of right action, right livelihood... In
  one of right livelihood, right effort... In one of right effort, right
  mindfulness... In one of right mindfulness, right concentration... In
  one of right concentration, right knowledge... In one of right
  knowledge, right release comes into being


Popular culture portrayal of Buddha statues

The first statue is not Gautama Buddha (commonly referred to as "the Buddha"), but is Budai, a depiction of a loving and jovial Chinese monk, who is often considered a depiction of Maitreya, the next Buddha who will come into the world eons from now.

Even some of the "skinny" Buddha statues may or may not be an image of Gautama Buddha. It mostly depends on the mudras (position of the hands) and the symbols used in the depiction. For example, usually Gautama Buddha has at least one palm facing inward with his fingers pointed towards the ground, but often today, commercialized statues sold in the west depict him in any kind of way because they do not understand the mudras and symbolism.


Is peeking a "blind box" considered as stealing? Or breaking of any precepts?

The answer is that '''I want a Spiderman toy from a blind box set''   is the opposite of  samma sankappa (aspiration towards renunciation and good will) https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn45/sn45.008.than.html so you are not on the path and create karma once you act on this will, (creating karma is always the opposite of the path, even creating good karma), which in your post is speculating about how to get the right box, then later on executing your plan which is peeking, then choosing the box.

The way to respect the precept is not to compare each one of your activities with the precepts and then speculate whether or not your actions comply with them, in order to determine whether or not you are a good person. If you compare your actions with the precepts, it just means you are already on the verge of breaking the precepts.
The precepts are here to be an explicit border for your actions. If you wonder or not your actions break a precepts, like precept of taking what is not given,  then it just means you do not understand samma ditthi nor samma sankappa, which is normal for any puthujjana, especially a puthujjana who does not get the citta into samma samadhi.

THe way to respect the precepts is to first track and judge your thoughts and vedanna+sanna, to judge  whether the thoughts and vedanna are meritorious or not (for most puthujjanas, the vedanas, sannas and thougths experienced are demeritorious), to judge whether they lead to affliction to somebody, and then to strive to execute only good thoughts.
This way, you are guaranteed to never ever break a precept. The next step is to ''incline the citta towards renunciation'' by seeing the danger in lust for sensuality and ill-will https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an09/an09.041.than.html. At this point you get samma samadhi and you can make merit (respecting the precept and avoiding bad thoughts is more about avoiding demeritorious actions than generating merit) since well the samma samadhi is the way to get ''desirable contact'', meaning meritorious vedana, sanna and creating good karma.
THis is what the buddha explains here https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.019.than.html

Once you want to stop making karma, you really need to destroy the sankharas, so even abiding in the jhanas as a puthujjana is not enough. of course, in theory getting samma smadhi from samma ditthi already does not rely on sankharas, therefore only generates ''kamma that is neither dark nor bright with neither dark nor bright result, leading to the ending of kamma.'', from here https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an04/an04.235.than.html,  but in practice puthujjanas always rely on sankharas, especially at the beginning, because they have to force themsleves  to follow only the good thoughts.

in one sutta, the proper behavior is here https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an05/an05.200.than.html https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN45_2.html


What is a confident mind according to the Lord Buddha?

From your quote, confidence is translated from the pali word pasannacitta. Pasannacitta literally means devoted mind, and can be interpreted as a person having faith (saddha).

https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/pasannacitta

  Why we must have a confident mind?

It is considered one of the five mental faculties/indryas that aids progression towards enlightenment.

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn48/sn48.010.than.html

  What are the differences between confident and conceit

Conceit (mana), is a cetasika with attachment/lobha as base. Mana means that we are attached to the misconception that there is a self that is superior to others.

  What are the differences between confident and clinging to a view

Primarily the difference is the fruit of their karma. Besides being a mental faculty mentioned above, AN 5.38 also lists five benefits of saddha for laypersons, for instance.

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an05/an05.038.than.html

Clinging to a view, on the other hand is simply not beneficial, and perpetuates dissatisfaction. Your comparison with conceit seems like an appropriate example.


Ledi Sayadaw -Vipassana movement pioneer. Extremely influential in spreading Vipassana Meditation among lay people. Considers the whole Tripitaka when formulating the meditation instructions of which many have their roots in the Abidhamma.

Mohnyin Sayadaw
Saya Thetgyi
U Ba Khin - Lay student of  Saya Thetgyi (student of Ledi Sayadaw) but highly influenced by Webu Sayadaw

Mother Sayama Gyi
S.N.Goenka -lay teacher that has many meditation centers worldwide that offer 10 day retreats on a Dana basis.,
Ruth Denison -Elder lay teacher and former student of U Ba Khin

Webu Sayadaw -believed to be an Arahat
Mogok Sayadaw
Pa Auk Sayadaw - Most orthodox in following the Visuddhi Magga and commentaries. Course starts with Anapana or the 4 elements. If starting from Anapana the course covers all 40 meditation objects and covering all the Jhana. (A course may take upto 3 1/2 years to complete at the monastery.)

Nauyane Ariadhamma

Thai Forrest Traditions

Ven. Mun
Ven. Cha student of Ven.Mun

Achan Bram -big help in the resurrection of the theravadin bhukkhuini order.
Ven. Sujato -Dhamma Scholar. Began practice in the Mahasi tradition but is now a critic of the Mahasi appoach
Achan Munido

Ven. Maha Boowa student of Ven. Mun
Achan Lee

Thanisaro Bikkhu

Sun Lun Sayadaw
Mahasi Sayadaw

U Pandita -Former student if Mahasi Sayadaw
U Silananda -Former Student of Mahasi Sayadaw
Chanmyay Sayadaw (U Janaka) -Former Student of
Mahasi Sayadaw
Oo Min Sayadaw - Taught cittanupassana rooted in Mahasi Style meditation
Sayadaw U Tejaniya -student of Shwe Oo Min Sayadaw
Sunlun Sayadaw -Vipassana movement pioneer
Mingun Sayadaw -Vipassana movement pioneer
Mogok Sayadaw -Vipassana movement pioneer
Jack Kornfield
Bhante Yuttadhammo -Teaches Mahasi method online and offline
The Arahat Daniel M. Ingram -Teaches a radically western approach. Studied many traditions and recommends the Mahasi approach above all

Buddhadasa Bikkhu
Banthe Vimalasiri former student of Ven. Mahasi Sayadaw but devised his own technique after considering that technique to be flawed


How are the three marks of existence experienced through Samadhi meditation?

The question is loaded with erroneous doctrines that epitomise this other question.

There is no such thing as "dry vipassana". Since the suttas (SN 22.59) say vipassana results in dispassion & nirodha, obviously any vipassana-dispassion-nirodha will contribute to calmness & samadhi.
Vipassana means 'clear seeing'. Since 'vipassana' is 'seeing', it is 'non-conceptual'. When the Burmese teach the practise of "mental noting", such mental noting is not vipassana. Instead, it is a crude form of 'sampajjana'.
Samadhi means the mind is not distracted; which is the meaning of 'one-pointedness'. 'One-pointedness' does not mean have narrow awareness upon a tiny object or point.
Vipassana is a result or fruit of samadhi (AN 4.41; AN 11.2; MN 149). Samadhi & vipassana are not "two different approaches".
When the mind is not distracted, it naturally automatically knows the breathing.
When the mind naturally knows the breathing, it also naturally automatically experiences the breathing is impermanent and also experiences the body breathes rather than the self breathes. Seeing this not-self of the breathing is what the suttas mean by "alien". This is the beginning of vipassana.
"Dukkha" in relation to impermanence has a different meaning to "dukkha" as a noble truth. In relationship to impermanence, "dukkha" means "unsatisfactoriness", i.e., the incapacity of an impermanent thing to bring lasting reliable happiness.
Suttas about how vipassana is a result of samadhi include AN 4.41, AN 11.2 and MN 149.
In summary, the Buddha taught one path (Noble Eightfold Path) which culminates in samadhi and has two fruits (samatha & vipassana) that occur in tandem.

  Having thus developed the noble eightfold path... for him these two qualities occur in tandem: tranquillity & insight.

  MN 149


During the beginning of the 4th century CE, Buddhist scholars began composing a new series of Sūtras with the purpose of synthesizing and organizing concepts from earlier Mahāyāna Sūtras, a task which the authors viewed as the third turning of the wheel of Dharma.  Three Sūtras from this period left a major impact on the intellectual endeavor of Mahāyāna monastics: the Avatamsaka Sūtra, the Lankāvatāra Sūtra, and the Sandhinirmocana Sūtra.  The underline theme found in these three Sūtras, including the Avatamsaka Sūtra is the experience of the universe formed by consciousness detailed within epic narratives.1

The Avatamsaka Sūtra is also know for expounding the  teaching about the ever-abiding Buddha-nature that constitutes ultimate reality.2  However, some scholars believe the Avatamska Sūtra was composed earlier between 200 BC and 200 CE and played a major formative role in the development of  Buddhist thought.3   Nonetheless the Sūtra played an important role in the formation of Mahāyāna Buddhist teachings, which cannot be down played.

  "The Avatamsaka Sūtra or Flower Garland Sūtra was translated into
  Chinese by Buddhabhadra between 408 and 410 CE.  It gives a very
  detailed account of Shakyamuni/Vairochana’s quest for enlightenment,
  and offers the view that existence is the combination of individual
  identity and interdependence, a crucial theme in the development of
  Indian Buddhist thought.  The Avatamsaka Sūtra became influential in
  the late sixth and seventh centuries through the works of monks such
  as Fashun (557-649 CE) and Zhiyen (602-668 CE), and later was the
  central text of the semi-esoteric Huayen order in China, which is
  known as Kegon in Japan.”4

The mandala principle found in the Avatamasak Sūtra, “conveys the most extraordinary visions that engage the audience in creating a setting and developing a receptivity that makes it possible for them to receive the Universal Vehicle teaching of the profound freedom and magnificent destiny of all living beings.” 5

  An example of this found in the Avatamsaka Sūtra,  "the Buddha is
  surrounded by an enormous host of visitors, many from other universes,
  who sit in flower towers thousands of miles high, flown at more than
  warp speed across the reaches of space from worlds beyond as many
  worlds as there are grains of sand in sixty-two Ganges riverbeds.  The
  towers are arranged in the cardinal directions, intermediate quarters,
  and at the zenith and nadir in a classical mandala formation.  During
  the teaching, Shakyamuni Buddha now and then transforms himself into
  the sapphire-blue Vairochana, radiating magic light rays from his
  forehead that temporarily bestow on each member of the audience the
  intensely accelerated vision of all their past life experiences and
  all their future life attainments, up to and including attainment of
  perfect buddhahood in a future universe and performance of buddha
  deeds for the sake of all beings.  At the end of the teaching, the
  Bodhisattva Maitreya introduces the hero of the tale, the
  pilgrim-seeker Sudhana, a banker’s son, into the magical tower of
  Vairochana.  There Sudhana beholds the entire evolutionary history of
  Maitreya from a self-centered, unenlightened being to a functioning
  buddha.

  At the same time, the panorama unfolds in infinite resonant variations
  in every atom of the universe, each containing infinite
  micro-universes, which contain infinite worlds where infinite living
  Sudhanas enter infinite Vairochana towers and behold infinite
  evolutionary panoramas of infinite living Maitreyas.”6

The Avatamasak Sūtra utilizes a narrative mandala principle for the reader, in which Buddha transports his audience into a new dimension of consciousness exploring the potentialities of their possible destiny.

The Buddhist Religion: A Historical Introduction page 91
The Buddhist Religion: A Historical Introduction page 182
Manadala The Architecture of Enlightenment page 32
Manadala The Architecture of Enlightenment page 23
Manadala The Architecture of Enlightenment page 135
Manadala The Architecture of Enlightenment page 135


Do Buddhist monks live an ascetic life style?

Roughly 3 categories of buddhists could be seen: the lay, the monastic, and the ascetic. Monks usually live in a monastic community but some do live in a more solitude/ascetic way.

I've never seen ascetic life condemned in the suttas. The rhinoceros sutta is commonly brought as praising ascetic life and I understand that in the Theravada vinaya there's the practice of Dhutanga. I believe it can be beneficial when the monasteries available present too much obstacles for the practice. But asceticism when living alone can be harder without community support.

Here, I am trying to differentiate the buddhist ascetic practices from ascetic practices performed by other religions (such as extreme fasting, self-mortification, etc). From the point of view of these extreme practices, a buddhist ascetic has a moderate life style. Also, english translations of the suttas have the Buddha referred to as "the ascetic Gotama", where "ascetic" translates samaṇo.

The Buddha praised a life of freedom and few belongings: a robe, something to help gathering food on alms round, and a proper location to meditate and sleep (e.g caves, under trees, etc).

I think it's problematic to reduce the eightfold path as a teaching on "balance". First, because it's a very rich and detailed system. Second, because anyone can perceive their own life as balanced. If anything, "balance" might be taught to laity because it's hard to be fully committed to the practice while also committed to normal life.

The problem of perceiving buddhism in that way (which is the way it is frequently exposed in the west) is that it leads people into think their indulgences are moderate, and that renouncing them is an extreme that should be avoided. Moreover, it has the strange effect of creating the perception of the monk's life as an extreme austerity (and, if buddhism was teaching that, no one should ever be a buddhist monk).


What was the 1st Buddhist Council about?

The account of the first and second councils is found in the Cūḷavagga of the Vinaya Pitaka (Cv XI and XII). The first council (Cv XI) was held in Rajagaha, at what is known as the monastery of the seven caves, on the mountains above the city. Five hundred bhikkhus were in attendance.

The idea for a council began with Mahakassapa relating to his fellow monks the story found in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta (DN 16) wherein Mahakassapa finds out about the Buddha's passing. He relates how he encouraged the monks to remember that everything we hold dear must pass, so they shouldn't mourn, and how an old monk named Subhadda said they shouldn't mourn because they were now free to ignore the Buddha's words and do what they wanted. He then requests that they rehearse the dhamma and vinaya together, "before what is not the dhamma shines and the dhamma is rejected; before what is not the vinaya shines and the vinaya is rejected; before those who speak what is not the dhamma become strong and those who speak the dhamma become weak; before those who speak what is not the vinaya become strong and those who speak the vinaya become weak."

At this, his fellow monks requested he select monks for the council, which he did - 499 of them, all arahants. The monks suggested he select ananda as the 500th, since he was a sekha, unable to give rise to such defilement as would lead to the states of loss and of course because he had heard much of the dhamma and vinaya in the Buddha's presence.

The elders asked themselves where they should meet, and agreed upon Rajagaha as being a great place to find the support they would need in terms of alms and dwellings. They proposed to stay there for the rains and hold the council there, and to agree that no other monk should stay in Rajagaha for the rains., Mahakassapa proposed it as a sanghakamma - any against should speak, those for it should stay silent - and it passed unanimously.

They spent the first month making repairs to their dwellings, then began the council.

The events of the council itself are, in brief, as follows:

Ananda, an arahant by this time, arrived just as the council was beginning.
Mahakassapa questioned Upali on the vinaya, beginning with "The first parajika, where was it laid down?". He asked about the story behind, the person behind, the issue behind, minor issues related to, what was an offence, and what was not, in relation to each of the precepts from each of the two codes of discipline and Upali responded.
Mahakassapa questioned Ananda on the dhamma, asking about the story behind and the person behind every sutta in the five nikayas, starting with the Brahmajala sutta and Ananda responded.
Ananda related the Buddha's permission to discard the minor and lesser precepts; they asked him if he had gotten specification on what were the minor and lesser rules and he admitted he had not. They couldn't agree, so in the end, Mahakassapa made a formal proposal that they keep the rules as they were, since it was known to lay people what was proper for them and what was not. If they were to change the rules, it would be spread about that they were going against the Buddha while his funeral pyre still smouldered. There was unanimous consent.
The elders questioned Ananda on several points where they felt he was deserving of rebuke, including that he didn't ask about the minor and lesser rules. He replied in defence, but accepted his actions as wrong doings out of faith in the elders.
The venerable Purana arrived and was told they had recited the dhamma and vinaya and that he should recite it with them. He replied by saying that while the dhamma and vinaya was well recited by them, he preferred to hold to the dhamma and vinaya as he had heard it from the Buddha himself.
Ananda related the Buddha's injunction that Channa was to receive the brahmadaṇḍa (God's or highest punishment) - that no one should speak or teach or advise him. They told him to tell Channa himself, and he asked what to do if Channa was harsh and abusive in response. They told him to bring many monks with him. The council seems to have ended there, as the text then follows Ananda to a meeting with King Udena and eventually Channa. Either that, or the council ender before this and Ananda related the injunction regarding Channa to the elders on a later date.


Whether you contemplate death of self or your immediate loved ones, if you could make sure that (when death come to you) you will face it as a disciple who have attained path-fruition and not as a lay person with false-views, then you have done what is right. When doing it, try to do the ‘Nava Sivatika’ (Nine cemetery contemptations). This is the last exercise in mindfulness of the body. You could do this contemplation of the body's disintegration after death either imaginatively, or with the aid of pictures. Then this clear mental image of this decomposing body, you apply to your own body, or that of your loved one, considering:

  "This body, now so full of life, has the same nature and is subject to the same fate. It cannot escape death, cannot escape disintegration, but must eventually die and decompose."

If there is one single word that is more important than any other in the whole of the Dhamma of the Supreme Buddha, it is URGENCY. In whatever way, if one could develop a sense of urgency, and in your case what you have stated above, then by all means stick to it. Do you think that everyone in this world will develop a sense of dismay (samvega) with what is happening around you? Who would ever see the other side of life -  the universality of suffering?  Of those who see life in this way, what is the percentage that will develop an attitude of heedfulness (appamada) to avoid being duped by types of desires that come our way?  How many will have a sense of urgency towards the practice of Dhamma? So whatever means that you will employ to instil a sense of urgency, then that is the way to go.

What the Buddha has said is patisotagami or against the current of conventional thinking. Buddha knew this well. That is why He said, “Dear Bhikkhus, ones who would not realize this Dhamma is like this earth (in amount). Ones who realize this is like this small amount of soil on my finger nail.”


The teachings has always been about detachment.

Therefore, assuming when you mention Buddhist means "one who understands the true context of the Dharma AND practice the teachings skillfully", then the answer will be No. There will be no case for such one to want to attach.

And to clarify any doubts - practicing something does not equal to attaching to something.


Would 10 days Vipassana a waste of time, if not practised afterwards?

Anything we strive to attain in life takes practice. Mastery signifies being able to perform not only in ideal circumstances, but amidst the chaos of everyday life. Ironically, one can become attached to the feeling of being (or striving to be) detached. This can become a serious obstacle if we start dividing practice opportunities into preferences.
How do we counter this? Though from another tradition, I can think of no better quote than one of Dogen Zenji:

we do not sit in order to become enlightened; we sit as an expression of enlightenment.

What he meant was the Buddha did not require any external factors for his enlightenment. Once he realized that trying to force his mind and body into attainment was not the way, he found the Middle Way, a balance between discipline and natural flowing.
Thus, Attainment is not something we can forcibly will or strive into existence. Like mastery in any art, it needs to flow naturally from practice. The mind being subtle is still just the mind. The mind being rigid is still just the mind. Learning to see within those two states is equally worthwhile and necessary.


First, congratulations on your year of practice. Sometimes we overlook the most basic principles of our practice, as such I am referring to the first noble truth: there is suffering. Note that it is not stated, "I suffer". By being stated this way it can be understood that suffering is not, "yours" or "mine". As opposed to viewing these experiences as, "I am embarrassed" or "I am feeling awkward" reflect upon these moments as, "there is embarrassment" or "there is fear". Know they are not yours but emotions that result from a particular experience. Also, bear in mind that as you reflect upon this experience you are being mindful and in the moment (meditating). Being mindful does not in itself guarantee happiness. Mindfulness combined with skillfulness will move you toward your goal. These principles are found in the Eightfold Noble path. Try noting your experience. Saying to yourself for example, "fear" or "embarrassed" as you would during formal or seated meditation, allowing for the physical response to dissipate.

"To let go of suffering, we have to admit it into consciousness. But the admission in Buddhist meditation is not from a position of: "I am suffering" but rather, "There is the presence of suffering" because we are not trying to identify with the problem but simply acknowledge that there is one." - Ajahn Sumedho


Does the Theravada canon have such ideas anywhere at all?

This is a far-fetched example which barely answer your question but IMO the Buddha himself kind of returned to the market-place: not as a tradesman nor even a customer, but he did leave his solitude.

The description could almost fit him:

  In the World

  Barefooted and naked of breast, I mingle with the people of the world.
  My clothes are ragged and dust-laden, and I am ever blissful.
  I use no magic to extend my life;
  Now, before me, the dead trees become alive.

  Comment: Inside my gate, a thousand sages do not know me. The beauty of my garden is invisible. Why should one search for the footprints of the patriarchs? I go to the market place with my wine bottle and return home with my staff. I visit the wineshop and the market, and everyone I look upon becomes enlightened.

Any resemblance can't be entirely accident, presumably, to the extent that he was ever a role model for Buddhist enlightenment.

A few things seem to me anachronistic.

Magic

"I use no magic to extend my life" -- is that a reference to (rejection of) some Taoist-immortality-magic or -obsession: which, I'm not acquainted with, but might have been important when it was written?

Wine

The "wineshop"?

Wine is forbidden in Islam too, but apparently some Sufis use "wine" as a metaphor for a divine love and loss of ego. That's esoteric (and orthodoxly a heresy) in Islam (it also reminds me of a family story: that when my grandfather bought a house in Morocco he met a "hereditary saint" there who was allowed to drink wine because the wine would turn to water in his mouth), but really I don't know anything esoteric especially about Buddhism. Apparently there was a Sufi doctrine which said that, "Drinking 'wine' depends: on how much, and who with", but beware I think that advice is Delphic.

Another idea is that some of the versions of the ten bulls talk of carrying a "gourd", depicted as (or, who knows, perhaps mistaken for) a wine gourd: but which (a gourd), someone else wrote, is a metaphor for emptiness.

Sunyata might be a bit anachronistic too, i.e. a tenet developed in slightly later schools.

Non-duality

It's a bit difficult to imagine the Buddha pulling a pint in the pub with his friends. If I see someone doing that though, then as long as they're not doing harm I'm conditioned not to say something like, "You're a bad man: you shouldn't be drinking."

Is that what "everyone I look upon becomes enlightened" means, i.e. non-duality, and to whatever extent I hope to become enlightened, other people become so too? I mean there are two ways to see that: being "looked upon" (or talked with) helps to lead the seen person to enlightenment; doing the looking helps the seeing person see there is enlightenment (perhaps some "Buddha nature") already.

On the other hand maybe drinking is harmful, and if I were wise and kind and selfless then I would mingle with them there?

Anyway that leads to this other answer about non-duality which I think you already know, which says there are real differences between Theravada and Mahayana practice. And so I present that answer as saying, "No, I don't think you'll find exactly the same 'returning to the marketplace' within the Theravada Sangha."

  It is reinforced by the belief that one who has such attainment will leave the family

One of the Zen stories I admire is Nothing Exists. I like it because it reminds me that it's not to do with theorizing about the nature of external phenomena, but it's more about being prepared to behave myself.

There's a quote I read once, I haven't found it again since, someone was asked "Why won't you become a Christian?" and replied, "If you mean 'Christian' like your Christ, it's because I don't have the courage. If you mean 'Christian' like you, it's because I wouldn't want to be."

Does that make sense, assuming you know the Christian metaphor for marriage? I don't know whether you are or have ever been married, but how could you expect to control two people if you don't even control one?

Actually I have the belief that Siddhartha left his family, not because he had such attainment but because he desired that attainment.

Conversely, Is That So? might be a story of someone who already has some attainment and subsequently acquires a family.


I think it is more accurate to refer to "wrong concentration" rather than "too much concentration" because right concentration is a factor of the path. Wrong concentration is pushing the mind with too much effort/craving. Where as right concentration is lead by right understanding (per MN 117).

Is like have some rocks near a cliff that need to be disposed of. Wrong concentration & wrong effort are taking a hammer & smashing up the rocks. Its hard work. Where as right effort is simply pushing the rocks off the cliff and right concentration is watching the rocks fall off the cliff.

Right effort is the effort to let go, which arises from right understanding of & faith in the four noble truths, which explain letting go is the way to end suffering. Right concentration is the clear stable aware mind arising from letting go. Of course, there must be the constant mindfulness (non-forgetfulness) to engage this path of letting go.

This is how the five faculties interact in noble path meditation. SN 48.10 states:

  The noble practitioner develops concentration & attains jhana by making letting go (vossagga) the meditation object.


These are pictures I took at the Laotian temple (in the US) I've been attending. I'm told the monks make the decorative parts of the buildings and the statues. I thought this was very interesting so I looked it up and apparently these traditional artistic skills are passed down among the Theravada monks in Laos.
 more information


Why does one suffer because of ignorance if ignorance is unintentional?

I don't know, I'm not sure what your background is -- I think the question would make sense, if you assume that "suffering" is a punishment imposed by God for sinning, i.e. for deliberately breaking (for "deliberately choosing" to break) one of God's commandments when you should have known better -- perhaps you're arguing that if you don't know then you are innocent and therefore shouldn't suffer.

I think a better analogy is something more like cancer, or any other apparent misfortune -- e.g. people suffer and die because they don't know how to cure it -- it isn't a question of whether it's fair (nor of divine punishment), it's a question of whether you've learned the insight and skill, maybe the habits, to undo the cause or to not do it in the first place.

Do people not have any freedom or autonomy?

I think they have a little. There's a sutta -- Chiggala Sutta: The Hole (SN 56.48) -- which suggests that we are fortunate to have been born human and in a time or place, where we can learn the Buddha's Dhamma.

Some people teach not only that the opportunity (to learn to practice) is rare, and nt only that we're fortunate to have access to the Dhamma, but also that it (i.e. the opportunity and the liberating effects) is a reason in itself for us to be happy.

Perhaps that's somewhat debatable though, a matter of perspective. Some people argue against the doctrine of "free will", saying that the physical world just does what it does and continues to do that, and that "people" are just conditioned i.e. that everything they do or think is just conditioned by one thing or another. I think that "free will" probably isn't a Buddhist doctrine -- but other people say (e.g. here) that an "exercise of free will" is "what makes Buddhist practice possible".


You can take one of the Pariyatti-Patipatti courses at Vipassana Research Institute (VRI). You can contact them for more longer and intensive courses done in partnership with universities. Some additional contact details are available in: Pali Study Program.


Earth covered with water in the beginning?

I recently discussed this in my blog. Here is a quote:

  The Buddha proceeds to tell Vasettha a cosmogony, a myth about the
  origin of the world and life. The earth was originally entirely
  covered by water, and everything was blinding darkness. There were no
  sun, moon, stars, night, day, months, fortnights, years, seasons, or
  gender. Interestingly, scientists believe that the earth was
  originally a “waterworld,” almost entirely covered by water, about 2.5
  billion years ago. The only life on earth at that time was sexless
  algae and bacteria. After a very long period, a skin formed on the
  surface of the water like the skin that forms over hot milk as it
  cools. In this passage, the Buddha demonstrates that he understands
  that the cause of the one world ocean at that time was the deep mantle
  of the earth, which was 200 degrees hotter than it is now, and also
  that it was cooling. As the deep mantle cooled, the continental crust
  formed must have been as described in the sutta.

  During the waterworld era, any oxygen produced by photosynthesising
  bacteria would have been quickly used up through reactions with
  decaying organic matter in the oceans.

  When the newly emerged land eroded, it produced sediment that washed
  into the oceans and buried the organic matter, preventing further
  reactions with oxygen, the scientists believe. As a result, oxygen was
  allowed to build up in the atmosphere and enable oxygen-breathing life
  to evolve and flourish.

  The eroded sediment would also have fertilised the oceans with
  phosphorous, an important nutrient for living things.[1]

  The Pali Canon calls this phosphorus “skin” rasa-pathavi (lit.
  ‘earth-sap’). Interestingly in view of the subsequent reference to
  luminance, phosphorus emits a faint glow when exposed to oxygen. It is
  also an essential element of the human genetic material, DNA and RNA.

http://palisuttas.com/2015/04/26/aganna-sutta-dn-dn-27/


Yes, concentrate on the sensation of the breath and nothing else.

This will develop samadhi & but also vipassana because the breath is impermanent.

While samadhi is developed, seeing clearly the impermanence (appearance, disappearance, appearance, disappearance) of each breath is vipassana.

Thus the primary goal is to develop samadhi but a side effect can be vipassana.


What are good resources to study the Abhidhamma of Central/South Asia Schools (e.g. Sthaviravāda, Sarvāstivāda, Dharmaguptaka, Mūlasarvāstivāda, etc.)

Here is what I found:

Series of audio lectures on Sarvastivada Abhidharma with
accompanying slides by Bhikkhu Dhammajoti.
Sarvastivada Abhidharma, book by Bhikkhu Dhammajoti.

Also see this question and answer by RobM for a link to Bhikkhu Bodhi's "Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma" downloadable as PDF.


Where can i find buddhist chanting and music?

I found a couple of videos for you that you might like:

Thai monks chanting healing mantra: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDCS19EOsrA
Tibetan monks chanting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9P8fNQ0fqSI
Tibetan monks chanting with singing bowl: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIRJMESl4U8
Buddhists chants & peace music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl-m7VrqqaY
Tibetan Buddhist Chants of Namgyal Monastery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0IvWX2pmQM


Strengthening dis-identification in normal life

We should try to see everything as "impermanent, unsatisfactory and uncontrollable"

When you see and contemplate that you can not control anything, not even your body, then you will understand that nothing is really yours.

I mentioned the body because the Buddha used to give this example, as you cannot control it, you cannot prevent it from getting old, sick or die... then what is really yours to control?

Another good technique, very common in Mahayana Buddhism, is to see "emptiness". When you see that everything comes from something else you will understand that everything lacks a self, a true identity, our bodies are just pieces of this planet, combined in a certain way based on the DNA of our parents... See dependent origination

In Theravada Buddhism, they would probably recommend you to focus on anatta (non self), as the Buddha used to say: "This is not me, this is not mine, this is not my self". There is no soul, a permanent soul would contradict impermanence, there is only a everchanging mindstream, so where is the identification? Hope it gives you something to think about!


prior life what hope can we have related to our present life?

Our present 'existence' (state of mind) does not have to be related to a prior life. The scriptures explain having such a view results in having no hope & leaves one stuck in inaction.

  When one falls back on what was done in the past as being essential, monks, there is no desire, no effort [at the thought], 'This should be
  done. This shouldn't be done.' When one can't pin down as a truth or
  reality what should & shouldn't be done, one dwells bewildered &
  unprotected. One cannot righteously refer to oneself as a
  contemplative. This was my first righteous refutation of those
  brahmans & contemplatives who hold to such teachings, such views.

  Tittha Sutta


Is it wrong to watch fight events like boxing, MMA, judo etc.?

In one instance a head of a group of actors asked from Buddha if his profession is a good one and whether he could go to heaven because he provides entertainment. Buddha refused to answer this question three times. But when he insisted on, Buddha's answer was,

  Any beings who are not devoid of passion to begin with, who are bound by the bond of passion, focus with even more passion on things inspiring passion presented by an actor on stage in the midst of a festival. Any beings who are not devoid of aversion to begin with, who are bound by the bond of aversion, focus with even more aversion on things inspiring aversion presented by an actor on stage in the midst of a festival. Any beings who are not devoid of delusion to begin with, who are bound by the bond of delusion, focus with even more delusion on things inspiring delusion presented by an actor on stage in the midst of a festival. Thus the actor — himself intoxicated & heedless, having made others intoxicated & heedless — with the breakup of the body, after death, is reborn in what is called the hell of laughter. But if he holds such a view as this: 'When an actor on the stage, in the midst of a festival, makes people laugh & gives them delight with his imitation of reality, then with the breakup of the body, after death, he is reborn in the company of the laughing devas,' that is his wrong view. Now, there are two destinations for a person with wrong view, I tell you: either hell or the animal womb.

So I think this applies to such sports as well because they are not devoid of passion, aversion and delusion. So technically, any action or intention with desire, anger and delusion should create bad karma.


There is no universal Buddhist funeral but some customs have developed in Buddhist countries around Buddhism. Following may be of some help:

Ceremonies and Funeral Rites for the Dead
Funeral (Buddhism)
A Guide to a Proper Buddhist Funeral


There is are few incidents mentioned in Buddhism about egg consuming leading to bad karma.

Explanation - "How could eggs be bad"

Recognition of life in Buddhism is not only walking talking life,it also includes potential life(like an egg).An egg is not a creature,true.But if correct conditions are given it turns to life,So it is potential life.And killing things alive or killing potential life is recognized as bad Karma.

People mentioned to have suffered from bad karma(From the consumption of eggs)when Lord Buddha was alive.

"One day a prince invited  Lord Buddha to his new castle.He laid a carpet thinking if i will have children Lord Buddha will enter my palace walking on this carpet.When Lord Buddha arrived no such thing happend.Lord Buddha skipped the carpet and set foot on the ground.In the end the price asked why.Lord Buddha said i knew your wish,unfortunately you two will have no children so i didn't used the carpet.And Lord Buddha went on to describe why.

Lord Buddha said once in a previous life you were a merchant sailing across the sea to do your business.One day a storm took your ship and you were washed up to a beach of a small island.there was nothing but bird nests.
You,fearing for your life consumed eggs of those birds.Because of that Karma you generated you will have no children"

This prince never had children as Lord Buddha said!

If you look you would find many tales of such incidents,we are Buddhists from birth in my country (Sri Lanka) and we are not in a common understanding about Farmed eggs (the white eggs you see in the market) because they supposedly have been modified to not to give bith.But most of us keep away from eggs unwilling to take the risk.


Well there are more than one meaning to the lotus image. It is a multi-layered symbol.

http://buddhists.org/buddhist-symbols/the-meaning-of-the-lotus-flower-in-buddhism/
the meaning of the muddy waters, physicality being the ground out of which the nirvana experience grows.

  The lotus flower represents one symbol of fortune in Buddhism. It
  grows in muddy water, and it is this environment that gives forth the
  flower’s first and most literal meaning: rising and blooming above the
  murk to achieve enlightenment.

and the second meaning refers to how the pure flower is when its roots are in the mud and the earth

  The second meaning, which is related to the first is purification. It
  resembles the purifying of the spirit which is born into murkiness.

Rather than faithfulness to a doctrine, what it implies is faith in the process so that at all points of development from a shoot out of the mud, to blooming, it is the process of awakening.
The third meaning refers to faithfulness. Those who are working to rise above the muddy waters will need to be faithful followers [of the process] (note added by soulsings)

Each color implies a different quality of the buddha mind.

  The color bears importance in the meaning of the lotus flower in
  Buddhism. A white lotus flower refers to purity of the mind and the
  spirit. If a lotus flower is red, it refers to compassion and love.
  The blue lotus flower refers to the common sense; it uses wisdom and
  logic to create enlightenment. The pink lotus flower represents the
  history of Buddha and the historical legends of the Buddha. A purple
  lotus flower speaks of spirituality and mysticism. Finally, the gold
  lotus flower represents all achievement of all enlightenment,
  especially in the Buddha.
  and regarding colors also see
  http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/history/b_lotus.htm

and the symbolism of the stages of growth.

  The stage of growth the lotus flower is in represents a different
  stage of enlightenment. A closed lotus flower represents the time
  before a Buddhist follower found Buddha or enlightenment. A lotus
  flower fully bloomed and open represents full enlightenment and
  self-awareness.

Rising out of the mud of materiality into the emotions (represented by the water)
the path of awakening eventually leads to the opening of the lotus flower before the sun of compassion and wisdom.


Do Paramittas need to be part of Theravada Buddhist training?

The Pāramitās, are "perfections" or ideals of different wholesome aspects of character that can be worked on (perfected) over the course of many lifetimes. A Buddha has already perfected all of these virtues in previous lives according to Theravada teachings.
Just for background information there are 10 Pāramitās in the Theravada tradition:

Dāna pāramī : generosity, giving of oneself
Sīla pāramī : virtue, morality, proper conduct
Nekkhamma pāramī : renunciation
Paññā pāramī : transcendental wisdom, insight
Viriya (also spelled vīriya) pāramī : energy, diligence, vigour, effort
Khanti pāramī : patience, tolerance, forbearance, acceptance, endurance
Sacca pāramī : truthfulness, honesty
Adhiṭṭhāna (adhitthana) pāramī : determination, resolution
Mettā pāramī : loving-kindness
Upekkhā (also spelled upekhā) pāramī : equanimity, serenity

There are 6 Pāramitās in the Mahayana tradition:

Dāna pāramitā: generosity, giving of oneself (in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese, 布施波羅蜜; in Wylie Tibetan, sbyin-pa)
Śīla pāramitā : virtue, morality, discipline, proper conduct (持戒波羅蜜; tshul-khrims)
Kṣānti (kshanti) pāramitā : patience, tolerance, forbearance, acceptance, endurance (忍辱波羅蜜, bzod-pa)
Vīrya pāramitā : energy, diligence, vigor, effort (精進波羅蜜, brtson-’grus)
Dhyāna pāramitā : one-pointed concentration, contemplation (禪定波羅蜜, bsam-gtan)
Prajñā pāramitā : wisdom, insight (般若波羅蜜, shes-rab)

As you can see, there is a lot of overlap with such things as the 5 Precepts (sila parami, sacca parami), the 4 Brahma Viharas (metta parami, upekkha parami), the 5 Spiritual Faculties (viriya parami, panna parami) and other Buddhist teachings.
So the perfections aren't something you work on separate from other things. They are intertwined with daily life and seeing opportunities everywhere to perfect your qualities. Stuck in a long line at the market? An opportunity to improve khanti parami. Feeling discouraged about your meditation practice? An opportunity to improve adhitthana parami and viriya parami. Realizing the tough things that arise in daily life are opportunities to perfect your qualities makes them easier to bear; even a challenge of sorts.
I remember an awesome story from a dhamma talk about the Buddha (while he was still a Bhodisatta), finding himself buried up to his neck in the ground with a band of hungry jackals coming at him. He used this opportunity to perfect some of his, as yet to be perfected, qualities. Similar story here.
So you can see there is nothing that can't be turned into an opportunity to work on Pāramitās! :)


Buddhist References about Space and Time

The Sutta that I referred to in my earlier comment was:
(S.22.46.) Dutiya-aniccasuttam

Savatthinidanam.  “Rupam, bhikkhave, aniccam.  Yadaniccam tam dukkham; yam dukkham tadanatta; yadanatta tam ‘netam mama, nesohamasmi, na meso atta’ti evametam yathabhutam sammappabbaya datthabbam.  Vedana anicca…sabba anicca…savkhara anicca…vibbanam aniccam.  Yadaniccam tam dukkham; yam dukkham tadanatta; yadanatta tam ‘netam mama, nesohamasmi, na meso atta’ti evametam yathabhutam sammappabbaya datthabbam’.

“Evametam (CS:pg.2.38) yathabhutam sammappabbaya passato pubbantanuditthiyo na honti.  Pubbantanuditthinam asati, (S.22.46./III,46.) aparantanuditthiyo na honti.  Aparantanuditthinam asati, thamaso § paramaso na hoti.  Thamase § paramase asati rupasmim…vedanaya sabbaya…savkharesu…vibbanasmim cittam virajjati vimuccati anupadaya asavehi.  Vimuttatta thitam.  Thitatta santusitam.  Santusitatta na paritassati.  Aparitassam paccattabbeva parinibbayati.  ‘Khina jati, vusitam brahmacariyam

Thus seeing it as it is with correct wisdom, the views
about the prior limit do not become, the views about the
prior limit not being, the views about the posterior limit do
not become, the views about the posterior limit not being,
obstinate misconstruing does not become, obstinate
misconstruing not being, his mind turns away from form,
feeling, notion, volitional compositions, consciousness, and
is liberated from the cankers by not grasping.

(Evam etam yathabhutam sammappaññaya passato pubbantanuditthiyo na honti,
pubbantanuditthinam asati aparantanuditthiyo na honti,
aparantanuditthinam asati thamaso paramaso na hoti, thamase
paramase asati rupasmim vedanaya saññaya sankharesu
viññanasmim cittam virajjati vimuccati anupadaya asavehi).

"But, Kaccana, let the past be, let the future be (titthatu
pubbanto titthatu aparanto, literally: let the prior limit be,
let the posterior limit be). Let there come an intelligent
man, guileless, honest, straight, and I instruct him, if he
follows my instruction, he will before long know by himself,
see by himself." MN, II, 44 (80), MA, 209, 787b-c.
The above Pali "titthatu pubbanto titthatu aparanto"
(literally: let the prior limit be, let the posterior limit
be) can also be understood as: put down the past, put down
the future, drop the past, drop the future, leave them alone,
don't touch them. The Buddhist path is unloading, whereas
all concerns about the past and future are loading. So to
put down all those extraneous concerns and to concentrate
on meditation is how views, frameworks or whatever else can
be set aside temporarily, until they can be set aside
definitively, with no remainder, at arhatship.
The Buddhist ideal is to leave the past and the future to
themselves and live strictly in the present instead. The
Buddha is told of the monk Sthaviraka who dwells alone
(eka-vihari), has him called up and tells him: When the
past is cut, the future is let go of, and lust and
passion (chanda-raga) for present existential states
(atta-bhava-patilabha) are well controlled, then the
dwelling alone is perfect in details. SN, II, 283 (21,
10), SA, 1071, 278.
Whether rebirth is factually true or not, it is not a
matter of concern to the Buddhist cultivator, who would
rather shed past and future and pay attention to what
happens in the present.


Can someone point me the Sutra that explains the fall of Human civilization?

This is found in Cakka,vatti Siha,nāda Sutta


According to the Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi's book A Comprehensive manual of Abhidhamma, Chapter 3 Guide to §8 :

  The word bhavanga means “factor (anga) of  existence (bhava),” that
  is, “the indispensable condition of existence.”  Bhavanga is the
  function of consciousness by which the continuity of the individual is
  preserved through  the duration of any single existence, from
  conception to death.  After the paṭisandhicitta  has arisen and fallen
  away, it is then followed by the bhavangacitta, which is a resultant
  consciousness  of  the  same  type  as  the  paṭisandhicitta  but
  which  performs  a  different function,  namely,  the  function  of
  preserving  the  continuity  of  individual  existence. Bhavangacittas
  arise  and  pass  away  every  moment  during  life  whenever  there
  is  no active cognitive process taking place.  This type of
  consciousness is most evident during deep dreamless sleep, but it also
  occurs momentarily during waking life countless times  between
  occasions of active cognition.

In other words the Bhavanga-Citta is a mindstate that has all the necessary features of consciousness but is otherwise blank. It occurs in between all other mindstates and also during what we would now call being unconscious.

In the same section the Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi explains Javana thus:

  “Javana” is a technical term of Abhidhamma usage that is best left
  untranslated. The  literal  meaning  of  the  word  is  “running
  swiftly.”    As  a  function  of consciousness, it applies to the
  stage of the cognitive process that immediately follows  the
  determining stage 76  and consists of series of cittas (normally
  seven, all identical in kind) which “run swiftly” over the object in
  the act of apprehending it.  The javana stage is the most important
  from an ethical standpoint, for it is at this point that wholesome or
  unwholesome cittas originate.

The Javana is one step in a series of things that occur after having a sense experience. A sense experience starts with the Bhavanga vibrating for one moment and in the next moment is cut off. Then a mindstate arises which turns towards the sense object; This turning is called āvajjana, or adverting. Then you have the appropriate sense consciousness arise that is aware of the sense object. If the sense object is one of the physical senses then you also have a mindstate of receiving, then a mindstate of investigating, and then a mindstate of determining that follow the sense consciousness. For a mental consciousness these three mindstates don't happen.

After this happens there arises a series of seven mindstates called the Javana. I think the best way to think of it is that in the earlier phases the mind is becoming aware of an object, and in the Javana phase the mind is actually reacting to the object. After the Javana you have some other phases, but they aren't that relavent to this discussion.


The only truly important lineage is the lineage of the Buddha. Unfortunately, everyone has their own idea of what that means. Even the eightfold noble path (described by the historical Buddha himself as the indication of a true lineage in DN 16) is interpreted differently by different schools. As a result, lineage becomes somewhat important, in that it determines which interpretation of Buddhism you subscribe to; they can't all be right, after all.

Further, even with mutually compatible interpretations, it is unreasonable to suggest that one could progress according to two divergent paths (e.g. become a bodhisatta and an arahant) at once, so choosing a school is likely to be beneficial in terms of maintaining focus. On the other hand, it may be that such schools can work in serial cooperation. It is said (MN 141) that Sariputta and Moggallana worked in this way, Sariputta teaching students up to sotapanna and Moggallana leading them on to arahantship.

The danger I can see in not choosing a school is that one may become a "jack-of-all-trades and master of none"; in other words, wandering from path to path and never really climbing the mountain.


When you are an enlightened Buddha do you have no more worries or fears and desires?

The term buddha is also used in Theravada to refer to all who attain
  Nirvana.

please let me make a correction, in Theravada a term used to all who attain nibbana is arahant

Buddha is one who only attained nibbana on their own having discovered the path to nibbana for themself without reliance on anyone else

  But does this all mean that fe Siddartha Gautama never worried about
  his health

i think it means that as a Buddha he didn't

  or was never doubting about hisself whether he was doing good or not?

as a Buddha he could do nothing BUT good, because with awakened beings virtue and skill are natural, it's like a compass hand which points at only one directon

Doubt is one of 10 fetters, which is abandoned at as early as the sotapanna stage not to speak of the arahantship


Is it ethical to develop software for financial company?

I assume you're looking for an answer based on this definition:

  A lay follower should not engage in five types of business. Which five? Business in weapons, business in human beings, business in meat, business in intoxicants, and business in poison.

I'd guess so (that it is ethical or not inethical to develop software for a financial company).

Consider telecommunications or telephony software, for example: theoretically the internet and telephone system is also used for trading meat, but, that's not exactly your responsibility: the same is true for anything -- making cars, for example: a few cars, too, are used in the trade of meat.

I think I mostly just avoided employment with aerospace (i.e. defence, weapons) manufacturers.


What to do after becoming free from suffering and attachments?

If nothing is left for attainment. Why would you ask anyone else to tell you to do , is this still not a form of an attachment to views of others ?

If someone is not interested in enlightenment or if it is not achieved then in particular ,  they would consider to promote and propagate  compassion and kindness amongst beings so that it could lead to path of partial fulfilment of end of suffering.


What is meant by "possessed by spirits" in Buddhism?

In my tradition, the Shambhala line of teachings by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, ascending to Jamgon Kongtrul and ultimately Milarepa, the "spiritual" and the "material" phenomena are understood to be two narrative explanations of the same underlying reality. So when we talk about supernatural stuff like spirits etc. we always refer to phenomena that actually happen in everyday life but lack adequate representation in the mainstream narrative.

In modern language, spirits are semi-stable configurations of information-causation that inhabit the noosphere and sustain themselves through behavioral patterns mediated by sentient beings.

To give an example you can relate to, you send your child to a summer camp and they come back intoxicated by the camp spirit. They act funny, and when you point it out, they say we don't get it and insist their gestures and attitude are their own, while you clearly see they've picked it up. After several days home the camp spirit rubs off.

...In the adult world there may be a spirit of organization that influences all employees in certain ways etc...

Another example is campaign spirit - your teen daughter goes to a Greenpeace lecture and comes back possessed by the Greenpeace spirit. She donates her money to the ecological causes, spends her summer washing the birds caught in the oil spill etc.

If you look at it this way, you will see the world full of spirits, large and small. Your husband purchases a new camera, and feels obliged to spend his weekend taking pictures - he is possessed by the camera spirit.

These all seem harmless, until you remember all harm and violence incurred by religious and political fanatics - possessed by their respective spirits.

I don't know why late Theravada's Pratimoksha discounts misdeeds done while possessed by the spirits. From my perspective, guarding the doors of the senses is responsibility of the practitioner, and it is due to incorrectly applied attention that possession by spirit occurs. In the highly competitive world, where we are constantly bombarded by ads, campaigns and other forms of spirits, we must be very selective when it comes to which ones we give our attention to. As said in that Native American folktale, whichever wolf we feed is getting stronger. So is with spirits.

We can let ourselves be driven by spirits that correlate with greed, hatred, and confused values -- or we can feed useful spirits, conducive to health, peace, harmony, and informed, educated, strategic attitudes.

Buddhism itself can be seen as a spirit, and as any spirit can only take us this far until we become its pawns. So in the advanced stages of Vajrayana practice, our game becomes to liberate ourselves from the spirit of Buddhism, just like we've worked to come out of influence of worldly spirits. Once we are past that phase, having awakened (bodhi) from the spirit dream, we can use spirits as tools to pay our student dues forward and save the rest of sentient beings from the matrix into the real world.


What are some good sources to know more about the Buddha and his teachings

Some introductory online resources are listed in the Useful resources section at the top of the Help page.


There are 5 kinds of Maras in Buddhism.

Khandha Māra - The five aggregates of clinging
Kilesa Māra - The defilements
Abhisankhāra Māra - The Karmic force
Maccu Māra - The death itself
Devaputta Māra - The god Mara who leads a faction in the Paranimmita-Vasavatti heaven.