Conventional: Upasaka (male layperson), Upasika (female layperson) lit. "attendant", "those who serve" denotes the follower or disciples of the Buddha, who are not monastics. As an assembling or in mixed groups called parisa (gathering)

Ideal: The not monastic part of persons of the Noble Sangha, the fourfold assembling: Monks, Nuns, lay men, lay woman, who have already attained one of the stages of "saintliness" (eight persons, divided in path and fruit attaining)

More maybe here Upāsaka and Upāsikā on Wiki, although Atma knows well that wiki is a very not so trustworthy place or out of conflicts rather blank in regard of issues which are often wrong introduced from mainstream Buddhisms. Topics that supports or touch the ego.

A list of famous Laypeople found in the Canon:

AN 1.248 Chaṭṭhavaggo - male
AN 1.258 Sattamavaggo - female

For whom are certain teachings?

There is no such as "Dhamma for this and that kind of person" outwardly things, but of cause there have been teachings given to Laypeople and teachings given to Monastics and teachings given to other ascetics ...
So its always good to keep in mind the persons and the circumstance of certain talks. In matters of ideal, every teachings is of use and Dhamma for everyone nut not always of use if a person is bound to certain things. Useful source in regard of how to read the suttas: Befriending the Suttas, by Upasaka J. Bullitt:

  As you read a sutta, keep in mind that you are eavesdropping on the
  Buddha as he teaches someone else. Unlike many of the Buddha's
  contemporaries from other spiritual traditions, who would often adhere
  to a fixed doctrine when answering every question [AN 10.93], the
  Buddha tailored his teachings to meet the particular needs of his
  audience. It is therefore important to develop a sensitivity to the
  context of a sutta, to see in what ways the circumstances of the
  Buddha's audience may be similar to your own, so you can gauge how
  best to apply the Buddha's words to your own life situation.

  As you read, it can be helpful to keep certain questions circulating
  gently in the back of your mind, both to help you understand the
  context of the sutta and to help you tune in to the different levels
  of teaching that are often going on at once. These questions aren't
  meant to make you into a Buddhist literary scholar; they're simply
  meant to help each sutta come alive for you.

  To whom are the teachings directed?
  Are they addressed to a monk [SN 35.85], nun [AN 4.159], or lay follower [AN 7.49]? Are they addressed to one group of people, while someone else within earshot actually takes the teaching to heart [SN 35.197]? Is the audience a large assembly [MN 118] or an individual [AN 4.184]? Or are the listeners followers of another religion altogether [MN 57]? What is the depth of their understanding? If the audience consists of stream-enterers striving for arahantship, the teachings presented may be considerably more advanced than if the audience has only a limited grasp of the Buddha's teachings [AN 3.65]. These questions can help you assess how appropriate a particular teaching is for you...(and many more good advises)

And the Dhamma is timeless akāliko

  Sandiṭṭhiko akāliko ehipassiko |
  to be seen here & now, timeless, inviting all to come & see

As for the label(s) "Lay Dhamma", Lay-Buddhismus, Secular Buddhimus... such is a modern appearance which mostly rejects the necessary of the Sangha (monastic disciples) and believes on the maintaining of the Buddha Dhamma without the need and use of the Holy Life. Its a kind of Buddhism 2.0 and the main introduced way in modern and western countries where actually no real Sangha exists or have been established.

Becoming a lay person

With the refuge to the Buddha, Dhamma and the Sangha (of the Monks), people became and become lay followers. Although its usual suggested and more that good to take on the 5 precepts, it's not necessary to be called a Lay follower (Buddhist Layperson). Traditionally such a requesting/taking of refuge and precepts requesting/taking is made by asking Monks or Nuns who would recite and also explain the certain texts. If not available, one could also consulate a knowledgeable and virtuous lay person or do it for one self (how ever, it goes deeper and drives one more if made in the traditional way)

See also the stages of being a Lay-Buddhist: Mahanama Sutta: Being a Lay Buddhist

The practice of lay people:

The practice of laypeople is usually:
 - Giving or Generosity (Dāna): material giving, and meritorious deeds Transference of merit, and Rejoicing in other’s merit.
 - Moral conduct or Virtue (Sīla): Virtue, incl. the meritorious deeds Reverence, and Service.
 - Meditation or mental Development (Bhāvana): incl. the meritorious deeds Expounding (discussing) the Dhamma and Listening to the Dhamma.

All this deeds are supportive or include the main task: Correcting one’s view.

If one changes the way of live to somebody who lives from the alms of the country, then Dana - the material giving - is no more necessary (even not possible, since one has given up all unnecessary and does no more amass material possession) if practicing seriously and straight forward.

Vinaya for Laypeople

There is a Sutta where the Buddha taught a young man about the use of his ritual traditions he uses to perform. In this Sutta the Buddha described the good behavior, moral and duty of a lay person: Sigalovada Sutta: The Discourse to Sigala

What can be attained on this path?

Actually all path and fruits can be attained on this path, even to the highest attaining, Arahatship (AN 6.119-139). How ever, if one reaches the highest level, one is no more able to live and maintain an more or less normal live and would seek for the way of the Holy Live, homelessness. If such can not be attained, the Canon reports that people will leave there last body with a week.

Overview
Anagarika Isi Dhamma (before Monk) gives a nice and easy understandable explaining in general in his The laity practice

  Who is a lay person?

  Finally, among the people who adhere to the dhamma, all those who are
  not bhikkhus, or sāmaṇeras, or nuns are laity. We can divide lay
  people into three categories:

  There are some laity who, although approving Buddha's word, only dedicate their life a little, or not at all, to the practice of the
  dhamma. They like to claim that they are Buddhists, but do little else
  than run after pleasures and engage in business activities; if they
  observe one or two precepts, it is only because it is easy for them;
  they don't want to dedicate any effort to the rest. Even though they
  claim to be inclined to meditation, they convince themselves that they
  never have any time to practice it.
  There are also lay people who try to dedicate more time and effort to follow a way suitable to the development of knowledge (of reality).
  They more or less observe the five precepts (sometimes the eight),
  they like everything that concerns the dhamma aesthetically
  (monuments, statues, ceremonies), they readily spend time reciting
  texts dealing with Buddha's teaching, watching the quality of their
  actions, regularly making donations, attending meditation sessions,
  and sometimes, taking ordination for a short period.
  Finally, there are laity who, within their possibilities, try their best to progress quickly and effectively on the path to the cessation
  of suffering. These ones very regularly train in being generous, in
  being vigilant and in applying full mindfulness. Their observance of
  the five precepts, if not eight, is scrupulous. Some of them even
  intend to lead a monastic life permanently.

(Note: this answer has not been given with the agreement to be means of trade or the purpose of/for trade and/or keep people trapped and bound. How you handle it lies in your sphere, but does not excuse the deed here either.)


Between Gayā and the Place of Enlightenment the Ājīvaka Upaka saw me
on the road and said: ‘Friend, your faculties are clear, the colour of
your skin is pure and bright. Under whom have you gone forth, friend?
Who is your teacher? Whose Dhamma do you profess? I replied to the Ājīvaka Upaka in stanzas:
I am one who has transcended all, a knower of all, Unsullied among all
things, renouncing all, By craving’s ceasing freed. Having known this
all For myself, to whom should I point as teacher?
I have no teacher, and one like me Exists nowhere in all the world With all its gods, because I have No person for my counterpart.
I am the Accomplished One in the world, I am the Teacher Supreme. I
alone am a Fully Enlightened One Whose fires are quenched and
extinguished.
I go now to the city of Kāsi To set in motion the Wheel of Dhamma. In
a world that has become blind I go to beat the drum of the Deathless. - Ariyapariyesana Sutta

Having seen that there is no being in all the worlds who can be his counterpart let alone be his teacher, the Buddha appointed the Dhamma he realized as his teacher.


How does one escape suffering when they cannot provide for those they love

The real answer is that one cannot - it is the caring that causes the suffering:

Seek no intimacy with the beloved and also not with the unloved, for not to see the beloved and to see the unloved, both are painful.

Therefore hold nothing dear, for separation from the dear is painful. There are no bonds for those who have nothing beloved or unloved.

From endearment springs grief, from endearment springs fear. For one who is wholly free from endearment there is no grief, whence then fear?

-- Dhp 210-212 (Buddharakkhita, trans)

In fact worrying about others, or feeling depressed about our situation, doesn't help others or our situation to improve. This is how we reconcile with the Buddha's teaching; it seems callous and cruel to give up our concern for others, and it seems unproductive and negligent to stop caring about our worldly affairs. In actual fact, both our relationships and our worldly affairs improve when we give up our attachments to them.
Consider our concern for others; we worry, we fear, we cling to their happiness and suffering - does any of that improve our ability to work for their betterment? Clearly not. There is a difference between fulfilling one's worldly responsibilities and actually caring about their success or failure. Unfortunately, our culture (most cultures, in fact - even supposedly Buddhist ones) encourages us to care and looks with scorn on those who don't care. This doesn't make it any more useful to cry and moan when suffering arises or any less useful to be impartial and objective when dealing with problems no matter how personal they may be.
In brief, duty and responsibility should be what dictate our worldly affairs, not concern or care. As to what our responsibilities are, this differs from relationship to relationship; we don't have a duty or responsibility to teach our parents, for example, but we do have such a responsibility to our children. The point is, even if we fail in our responsibilities, we should not allow that to lead to sorrow or depression, neither of which is at all beneficial to self or others.


all EBT sutta references to thina middha / sloth & torpor & drowsiness

The commentaries follow the Dhammasaṅgaṇī in treating both as mental: thīna as sluggishness of citta, middha as sluggishness of cetasikas. But this is in the context of bhāvanā, in connection with the hindrances. Where the terms are used in non-technical everyday contexts the state may be physical, mental, both or unspecified. I think unspecified is probably the most common.
The word "hīna" is a past participle that's been made into a noun. The rules for forming past participles would allow both thīna and thina as the pp. of the verb thīyati.
As for vīriya vs viriya, it's not that they were once two different words that are now taken to be the same, but that they've always been variant forms of the past participle of the same verb, just as 'dreamed' and 'dreamt' have always been variant past participles of 'dream'.
Note that the sutta doesn't identify the nutriment of thīnamiddha with the five items themselves, but rather with frequent unwise attention (ayonisomanasikāra-bahulīkāro) to them. And so the immediate cause is wholly mental.
But as to the five, this is how the Vibhaṅga defines them:

Tattha katamā arati? Pantesu vā senāsanesu aññataraññataresu vā adhikusalesu dhammesu arati aratitā anabhirati anabhiramaṇā ukkaṇṭhitā
paritassitā: ayaṃ vuccati “arati”. Therein what is “tedium”? Tedium,
having tedium, displeasure, being displeased, dissatisfaction, dread
of remote abodes or certain higher skilful dhammas. This is called
tedium.

Tattha katamā tandī? Yā tandī tandiyanā tandimanakatā ālasyaṃ ālasyāyanā ālasyāyitattaṃ: ayaṃ vuccati “tandī”. Therein what is
“apathy”? That which is apathy, being apathetic, mental lethargy,
idleness, being idle, state of being idle. This is called apathy.

Tattha katamā vijambhitā? Yā kāyassa jambhanā vijambhanā ānamanā vinamanā sannamanā paṇamanā byādhiyakaṃ: ayaṃ vuccati “vijambhitā”.
Therein what is “stretching”? That which is twitching, stretching,
bending forward, bending backward, twisting, stretching upwards,
fidgeting of the body. This is called stretching.

Tattha katamo bhattasammado? Yā bhuttāvissa bhattamucchā bhattakilamatho bhattapariḷāho kāyaduṭṭhullaṃ: ayaṃ vuccati
“bhattasammado”. Therein what is “after meal drowsiness”? That which
in one who has eaten is dizziness because of food, fatigue because of
food, feverishness because of food, bodily unfitness. This is called
after meal drowsiness.

Tattha katamaṃ cetaso ca līnattaṃ? Yā cittassa akalyatā akammaññatā olīyanā sallīyanā līnaṃ līyanā līyitattaṃ thinaṃ thīyanā thīyitattaṃ
cittassa: idaṃ vuccati “cetaso ca līnattaṃ”. Therein what is “mental
sluggishness”? That which is indisposition of consciousness,
unwieldiness, drooping, sagging, sluggishness, being sluggish, state
of being sluggish, sloth, being slothful, state of consciousness being
slothful. This is called mental sluggishness. (Vibh. 17:10:1. U
Thittila's translation, with 'restlessness' changed to 'stretching' as
the translation of vijambhitā)

https://legacy.suttacentral.net/en/vb17

And from the Dispeller of Delusion:

The arising of stiffness and torpor comes about through unwise
bringing to mind in regard to boredom (arati) and so on. "Boredom" is
a name for dissatisfaction; "languor" (tandi) is a name for bodily
laziness; "stretching" (vijambhitā) is a name for bending of the body;
"faintness after meals" (bhattasammada) is a name for giddiness after
meals and feverishness after meals. And mental lassitude" (cetaso
līnattaṃ) is a name for the sluggish state of the mind.
Because of employing unwise bringing to mind much in regard to these
[states] beginning with boredom, stiffness and torpor arise.
(Dispeller of Delusion I 335)

So, it seems that arati is wholly mental; tandī is both bodily and mental (the Dispeller of Delusion later defines it as "bodily idleness due to defilement"); likewise vijambhitā, which is later defined as "bodily shifting due to defilement"; bhattasammada is wholly bodily; and cetaso līnattaṃ wholly mental.


i know of one sources on this which is the Agganna Sutta   from the digha nikaya 27

‘At that period, Vāseṭṭha, there was just one mass of water, and all was darkness, blinding darkness. Neither moon nor sun appeared, no constellations or stars appeared, night and day were not distinguished, nor months and fortnights, no years or seasons, and no male and female, beings being reckoned just as beings.827 And sooner or later, after a very long period of time, savoury earth828 spread itself over the waters where those beings were. It looked just like the skin that forms itself over hot milk as it cools. It was endowed with colour, smell and taste. It was the colour of fine ghee or butter, and it was very sweet, like pure wild honey.
‘Then some being of a greedy nature said: “I say, what can this be?” and tasted the savoury earth on its finger. In so doing, it became taken with the flavour, and craving arose in it.829 Then other beings, taking their cue from that one, also tasted the stuff with their fingers. They too were taken with the flavour, and craving arose in them. So they set to with their hands, breaking off pieces of the stuff in order to eat it. And [86] the result of this was that their self-luminance disappeared. And as a result of the disappearance of their self-luminance, the moon and the sun appeared, night and day were distinguished, months and fortnights appeared, and the year and its seasons. To that extent the world re-evolved.

http://www.palicanon.org/en/sutta-pitaka/transcribed-suttas/majjhima-nikaya/142-mn-88-bhitika-sutta-the-cloak.html


It should be verified through pratice by what you experience at the experiential level. If you experience something you know for a fact it is true.

Normal you should:

Learn the theory (Pariyatti)
Practice what you learned (Patipatti)
Experience what you learned why which you verify the teachings (Pativedha)

When you reach 3 your doubts will be cleared as you know for yourself.


Is it wrong livelihood to pick up cherries?

Picking cherries is not a wrong livelihood as long as you are not the one spraying the pesticides.

Spraying pesticides is a wrong livelihood as it harms others (by doing activities which do not fall under right action to earn a living). Generally, distancing yourself from this activity would be fine as long as you can say free from remorse. If you are not involved in any way and this is out of your control there is nothing to be remorseful about it. If you still feel remorseful maybe it might be wise to find another side job.

Maintaining the organic garden within the law and ethical norms are definitely right livelihood.

The main objective in morality is Buddhism is to develop all other elements in the Noble Eightfold Path. Morality (3. Right speech 4. Right action 5. Right livelihood) helps develop mastery over the mind (6. Right effort 7. Right mindfulness 8. Right concentration) which intern helps wisdom (1. Right view 2. Right resolve). Right livelihood should be practised as a connected whole with other parts of the path so that one is free from remorse which helps develop meditation. If one is not free from remorse one cannot develop mentation and intern insight which is the pinnacle of the path.

  (5) Bhikshus, for one with right livelihood, there is the withering away of wrong livelihood; and also
  the withering away of the many evil unwholesome states that arise with wrong view as condition,and the many wholesome states that arise with right livelihood as condition are fulfilled through cultivation.

Maha Cattarīsaka Sutta


Killing a mouse in the house with a third party

You are not responsible since the mouse came into your home upon its own volition. Also, you are not purposefully trying (wishing?) to create conditions in which a being would get killed.

But since you are aware of the situation, about a mouse and a cat roaming free inside your home. You should try to catch the mouse and then release it elsewhere in nature. In the meantime, you could try to prevent the cat from reaching this mouse.

The Buddha said: I declare that the mere arising of an intention of performing good deeds is productive of great benefits. - MN 8


You don't need to have sex to be healthy and well. Otherwise, most Buddhist monks should be sick. Cheating breaks the 3rd precept. That is bad Karma for you.

Whether your wife agrees or not, associating with prostitutes has many bad consequences. You and your family's reputation can be tarnished. Higher risk of catching diseases. Your wealth will decrease. You could be cheated in many ways as you have very little idea about the character of the other person. You could be blackmailed by those who get to know about your habit. Most of all, your lust will increase. After sometime, you will start developing unnatural sexual cravings. There's no end to it, if you crawl down that pit.

Nevertheless, sexual pleasures are not forbidden for lay people. So, as a Buddhist layman, you have several decent options available:

Try different socially acceptable methods like being romantic, changing the environment, buying presents etc. and see if she changes according to your liking.
Talk to her, let her know that you are not happy and take a decision on the future of your relationship, if she doesn't change.
Restrain yourself and try to focus on your spiritual development as having sex doesn't bring you true happiness.


Choosing Between Mindfulness and Compassion Meditation

In so far as your quesstion is about Meditation, I cannot say anything.
But if you were to mean Buddhist meditation, then I can say the following-
The meditation technique which Buddha taught, which is the teaching of the Buddha and the basis for all philosophical schools, is Vipassana. Other techniques serve as efficient and helpful techniques, depending on the individual. So for example, if someone is unable to meditate because they cannot concentrate their mind, they would be suggested some technique (like anapana or samatha {which in fact is considered as a pre-requisite for Vipassana by many schools}) or a skill in daily life (such as reciting a particular mantra or counting the number of beads in a mala) that would develop some concetration, which will allow them to practice vipassana. Or if a person were too obsessed with physical beauty, with lust- so much so that they cannot practice vipassana, they would be advised to meditate near the dead bodies.

Vipassana involves not only the establishing of the four-fold awareness and the insight gained from it, but also leads to one becoming more compassionate and more aware (mind-fullness). What I mean to say is that, the two aspects you have asked about, comapssion and mind-fullness are not seperate- they go hand in hand- one helps in developing the other which helps in developing the first. But it is possible that one may have some problem in developing mind-fullness or practicing compasssion. Therefore, in such cases, as per the understanding of the teacher (spiritual guide, elder monk) certain technique of meditation (like verbalization or visualization) which is not Vipassana, would be suggested in that particular case, so that the meditator can continue making progress.

Only you would know where you are in your progress and only you would know what problem you have with regards to you meditative practice. I suggest you read further literature so that you can understand in your own way of thinking and continue practicing. Do not get involved with questions to the extent that you stop meditating at all. Neither ignore the questions that have occurred to you- and if you cannot answer them, then consult a senior monk, or your guide.


I think the term for what you are describing is Samatha. On the Wikipedia page, you can find the "Nine mental abidings", a description of the process. There are also Zen teachings such as "The Ten Oxherding Pictures" that describe the process. Most of these teachings follow the idea of meditating "with support", using a focus (such as the mental image of a Buddha). There is also a practice of meditating "without support", as in the Essence Mahamudra of the Kagyu School.

I was also interested to see this in the above Samatha page: "

  ... samatha is not a strictly Buddhist meditation. Samatha in its single-pointed focus and concentration of mind is cognate with the sixth "limb" of aṣṭanga yoga', rāja yoga which is concentration (dhāraṇā). For further discussion, see the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali."

Just a note: Advaita (Hinduism) Meditation practice is very similar to the Buddhist Mahamudra practice. Since this is a Buddhist Q&A site and the question does not seek similar practices in other religions, I won't post Advaita links here. When one gets "stuck" in one's practice, I think it is sometimes a good idea to see how other practices  approach similar problems.


The Oldest Traditional Buddhist Lineage?

Every "official" Chan/Zen master (that is, a master recognized and authorized by an older master) keeps a list of his ancestral teachers going back all the way to the Buddha Shakyamuni. I have such list for my Zen Master for example.

Every Tibetan lineage keeps a list of teachers that goes to a Buddha (not necessarily Shakyamuni). Many Tibetan texts begin by listing the lineage of the author.

The question is moot, because every school will say its teaching is best and the most traditional.


What does "sandhāvitvā saṃsaritvā" mean in AN 9.12?

What does "sattakkhattuparama" mean literally and non-literally?

sattakkhattuparama = not more than seven times.

Why did he include rebirth into his translation?

Because of the context below which come before "sattakkhattuparama" and being on the same topic:

  There are these nine people who, dying with something left over, are exempt from hell, the animal realm, and the ghost realm. They’re exempt from places of loss, bad places, the underworld.

  Navayime, sāriputta, puggalā saupādisesā kālaṃ kurumānā parimuttā nirayā parimuttā tiracchānayoniyā parimuttā pettivisayā parimuttā apāyaduggativinipātā.

  ...

  With the ending of three fetters, and the weakening of greed, hate, and delusion, they’re a once-returner. They come back to this world once only, then make an end of suffering.

  So tiṇṇaṃ saṃyojanānaṃ parikkhayā rāgadosamohānaṃ tanuttā sakadāgāmī hoti, sakideva imaṃ lokaṃ āgantvā dukkhassantaṃ karoti.

  ...

  With the ending of three fetters, they’re a one-seeder. They will be reborn just one time in a human existence, then make an end of suffering.

  So tiṇṇaṃ saṃyojanānaṃ parikkhayā ekabījī hoti, ekaṃyeva mānusakaṃ bhavaṃ nibbattetvā dukkhassantaṃ karoti.

  ...

  With the ending of three fetters, they go family to family. They will transmigrate between two or three families and then make an end of suffering.

  So tiṇṇaṃ saṃyojanānaṃ parikkhayā kolaṅkolo hoti, dve vā tīṇi vā kulāni sandhāvitvā saṃsaritvā dukkhassantaṃ karoti.

Next question:

  What is the meaning of the phrase "sandhāvitvā saṃsaritvā" in this quote? How does it relate to "sattakkhattuparama"?

saṃsaritvā is the synonym of sandhāvitvā. sandhāvitvā means transmigrate, transport, move next.

Translation: Person (puggalo) moves next(sandhāvitvā saṃsaritvā) not more than seven times (sattakkhattuparamaṃ) in deva [bhava] and human [bhava] (deve ca manusse ca) and then make the end of suffering (dukkhassantaṃ karoti).

  Is the phrase "sandhāvitvā saṃsaritvā" used in other suttas, without being connected to "sattakkhattuparama"? What does it mean there? What is the context there?

Comepare with "sandhāvitvā saṃsaritvā" in MN Sandakasutta. It's context means "move to next life (rebirth)":

  There are 1.4 million main wombs, and 6,000, and 600. There are 500 deeds, and five, and three. There are deeds and half-deeds. There are 62 paths, 62 sub-eons, six classes of rebirth, and eight stages in a person’s life. There are 4,900 Ājīvaka ascetics, 4,900 wanderers, and 4,900 naked ascetics. There are 2,000 faculties, 3,000 hells, and 36 realms of dust. There are seven percipient embryos, seven non-percipient embryos, and seven embryos without attachments. There are seven gods, seven humans, and seven goblins. There are seven lakes, seven winds, seven cliffs, and 700 cliffs. There are seven dreams and 700 dreams. There are 8.4 million great eons through which the foolish and the astute transmigrate before making an end of suffering.

  Cuddasa kho panimāni yonipamukhasatasahassāni saṭṭhi ca satāni cha ca satāni pañca ca kammuno satāni pañca ca kammāni tīṇi ca kammāni, kamme ca aḍḍhakamme ca, dvaṭṭhipaṭipadā, dvaṭṭhantarakappā, chaḷābhijātiyo, aṭṭha purisabhūmiyo, ekūnapaññāsa ājīvakasate, ekūnapaññāsa paribbājakasate, ekūnapaññāsa nāgāvāsasate, vīse indriyasate, tiṃse nirayasate, chattiṃsa rajodhātuyo, satta saññīgabbhā, satta asaññīgabbhā, satta nigaṇṭhigabbhā, satta devā, satta mānusā, satta pesācā, satta sarā, satta pavuṭā, satta papātā, satta papātasatāni, satta supinā, satta supinasatāni, cullāsīti mahākappino satasahassāni, yāni bāle ca paṇḍite ca sandhāvitvā saṃsaritvā dukkhassantaṃ karissanti.

Next question:

  Can I say that "sandhāvitvā saṃsaritvā" supports the interpretation of "sattakkhattuparama" as "seven lifetimes" or "seven rebirths"?

Actually, it is just a sign of many signs. Actually, the whole context of sutta supports the interpretation of "sattakkhattuparamo" as "person who has seven lifetimes left" or "person who has seven rebirths left". There are many signs to translate like that for the example:

  With the ending of three fetters, they’re a one-seeder. They will be reborn just one time in a human existence, then make an end of suffering.

  So tiṇṇaṃ saṃyojanānaṃ parikkhayā ekabījī hoti, ekaṃyeva mānusakaṃ bhavaṃ nibbattetvā dukkhassantaṃ karoti.

Above quote's link is liking with many other suttas which force the translator to translate "ekaṃyeva bhavaṃ nibbattetvā" as "will be reborn just one time".
When the previous context translated "ekaṃyeva bhavaṃ nibbattetvā" as "will be reborn just one time", the next context have to translate follow it, too.

  Person (puggalo) moves next(sandhāvitvā saṃsaritvā) not more than seven times (sattakkhattuparamaṃ) in deva [bhava] and human [bhava] (deve ca manusse ca) and then make the end of suffering (dukkhassantaṃ karoti).

I have to add 1 more question to complete this answer:

  Why the buddha didn't use "nibbattetvā" with all person? Why the buddha used "sandhāvitvā saṃsaritvā" instead?

"Ekabījī (one-seeder)" will be reborn just one time (ekaṃyeva bhavaṃ nibbattetvā), but the next others will reborn multiple times. "sandhāvitvā saṃsaritvā" often use in multiple time rebirths.

Saupādisesasutta:

  With the ending of three fetters, they’re a one-seeder. They will be reborn just one time in a human existence, then make an end of suffering.

  So tiṇṇaṃ saṃyojanānaṃ parikkhayā ekabījī hoti, ekaṃyeva mānusakaṃ bhavaṃ nibbattetvā dukkhassantaṃ karoti.

  ...

  With the ending of three fetters, they go family to family. They will transmigrate between two or three families and then make an end of suffering.

  So tiṇṇaṃ saṃyojanānaṃ parikkhayā kolaṅkolo hoti, dve vā tīṇi vā kulāni sandhāvitvā saṃsaritvā dukkhassantaṃ karoti.

  ...

  With the ending of three fetters, they have at most seven rebirths. They will transmigrate at most seven times among devas and humans and then make an end of suffering.

  So tiṇṇaṃ saṃyojanānaṃ parikkhayā sattakkhattuparamo hoti, sattakkhattuparamaṃ deve ca manusse ca sandhāvitvā saṃsaritvā dukkhassantaṃ karoti.

MN Sandakasutta:

  There are 1.4 million main wombs, and 6,000, and 600. There are 500 deeds, and five, and three. There are deeds and half-deeds. There are 62 paths, 62 sub-eons, six classes of rebirth, and eight stages in a person’s life. There are 4,900 Ājīvaka ascetics, 4,900 wanderers, and 4,900 naked ascetics. There are 2,000 faculties, 3,000 hells, and 36 realms of dust. There are seven percipient embryos, seven non-percipient embryos, and seven embryos without attachments. There are seven gods, seven humans, and seven goblins. There are seven lakes, seven winds, seven cliffs, and 700 cliffs. There are seven dreams and 700 dreams. There are 8.4 million great eons through which the foolish and the astute transmigrate before making an end of suffering.

  Cuddasa kho panimāni yonipamukhasatasahassāni saṭṭhi ca satāni cha ca satāni pañca ca kammuno satāni pañca ca kammāni tīṇi ca kammāni, kamme ca aḍḍhakamme ca, dvaṭṭhipaṭipadā, dvaṭṭhantarakappā, chaḷābhijātiyo, aṭṭha purisabhūmiyo, ekūnapaññāsa ājīvakasate, ekūnapaññāsa paribbājakasate, ekūnapaññāsa nāgāvāsasate, vīse indriyasate, tiṃse nirayasate, chattiṃsa rajodhātuyo, satta saññīgabbhā, satta asaññīgabbhā, satta nigaṇṭhigabbhā, satta devā, satta mānusā, satta pesācā, satta sarā, satta pavuṭā, satta papātā, satta papātasatāni, satta supinā, satta supinasatāni, cullāsīti mahākappino satasahassāni, yāni bāle ca paṇḍite ca sandhāvitvā saṃsaritvā dukkhassantaṃ karissanti.


My guess is that a Sotapan would look into alternative removal of the worm but eventually probably get rid of it one way or another.


What is the role of karma in the wheel of becoming?

On traditional bhava-chakra images, the center of the wheel shows pig, snake, and peacock - these are the three intoxicants of Want, Hate, and Confusion (really, Reification). In the next outer layer from the center are shown human figures: half of them going up and half falling down. This is karma, good and bad. Then the next outer layer shows the six realms. And the outermost layer shows 12 Nidanas.

The relationship between layers is, the inner layers serve as causes or engines for the outer layers. So the three intoxicants, mixed like paints in various proportions, give rise to various karma classified generally in the two types, and then the fruits of karma arise as experience of one of the realms. That's from the perspective of a sentient being looking from the inside out.

From the perspective of Buddha, looking at the wheel from the outside in, the whole thing is manifestation of the spontaneous individuation (bhava) aka pratitya-samutpada, represented by 12 Nidanas.

So the role of karma within the wheel itself is to create experience of one of the six realms. Meaning, the world that you experience at any given moment is a projection of your mental/emotional state, which in its turn comes from your karma and the intoxicants. So if you make effort to not act under influence of the three intoxicants, then over time your reality will change.


Do Buddhists believe Buddha to be God? Do Buddhists practice idolatry?

Old fashion hindu, brahma, was begun before buddhism, so people in buddha time usually worshiped to  their god, before they change to be the buddha-follower.

Buddha just change them from god-believer/random-result/suffering-still-remain
 to cause&effect-professor/best-advantage/suffering-perfectly-vanishing.

So, if they normally worship god with incense, candles, flower, etc, buddha just change them to worship the cause&effect-professor, buddha&dhamma&saṅgha, instead.

Because idol and statue are what the follower try to imitate to do and to be the same. If they were still paying the worship to god, they will be god-believer, but if they change their habit to pay their worship to buddha/dhamma/saṅgha, they will be cause&effect-professor instead.

Example, can you change the homeless habit immediately? If you can't, how can you use their daily habit to change themselves?

This is the reason why the buddha is the best teacher, anuttaro purisadhammasārathi&bhagavā, because he can change the illogical homeless/illogical king/illogical people to be the perfect cause&effect-professors.

Another, Worshiping, offering, giving gift, donating, making statue, naming the road as the people name, and investing are just an exchange. We are acting like that because we expecting some effects.

So, the buddha just let them do the right exchange by leting them change their common action, god-worshiping, to the new right habit, cause&effect-worshiping, such as in Sutta. Ma. U. mahācattārīsakasutta, that the buddha taught the listener to worship to right reason, right relation of causes&effects, instead of god:

  sāsavā puññabhāgiyā upadhivepakkā[saṅkhāra, kamma-bhava] right view depending on kilesa-vaṭṭa-paṭiccasamuppāda [kāma-āsava (kāma-upādāna), diṭṭhi-āsava (diṭṭhi-upādāna, sīlabata-upādāna), bhava-āsava (attavāda-upādāna), avijjā-āsava], right view that is kammavaṭṭa-paṭiccasamuppāda, right view that give vipākavaṭṭa-paṭiccasamuppāda.atthi dinnaṃ [sukatadukkaṭānaṃ kammānaṃ phalaṃ vipāko],There is given-gift-action['s fruit and result of good and bad given-gift-actions].atthi yiṭṭhaṃ [sukatadukkaṭānaṃ kammānaṃ phalaṃ vipāko] , There is worshiped-action['s fruit and result of good and bad worshiped-actions].atthi hutaṃ [sukatadukkaṭānaṃ kammānaṃ phalaṃ vipāko], There is given-oblation-action['s fruit and result of good and bad given-oblation-actions].atthi sukatadukkaṭānaṃ kammānaṃ phalaṃ vipāko, There is fruit and result of good and bad actions.atthi ayaṃ loko [sukatadukkaṭaṃ kammaṃ], There is this-aggregate (=cause) [loka sutta].atthi paro loko [phalaṃ vipāko], There is another-aggregate (=effect).atthi mātā [imā lokā sukatadukkaṭā kammāikā], There are benefactor mother (=cause).atthi pitā [imā lokā sukatadukkaṭā kammāikā], There are benefactor father (=cause).atthi [imā lokā sukatadukkaṭā] sattā opapātikā,There are benefactor deva (such as died mother, died father).atthi loke samaṇabrāhmaṇā sammaggatā sammāpaṭipannā ye imañca lokaṃ parañca lokaṃ sayaṃ abhiññā sacchikatvā pavedenti.There are teachers who have done right path then have clearly viewed this-aggregate (=cause) and another-aggregate (=effect) by themselves.


How compatible are (Theravada) Buddhism and the Western life?

I woud say Theravadan Buddhism is compatible with the West because it is already happening. Jack Kornfield studied with Ajahn Chah and then went on to found the Insight Meditation Centre which is partially inspired by this practice (though doesn't wholly identify as Theravadan). Ajahn Chah's lineage itself has come to the West with the  Thai Forest Tradition and to quote from here

  They provide centres for monastic training, as well as, teaching and
  practice for the lay community.

So you don't need to be a monk to practice. My own group the Triratna Buddhists are also very influenced by Theravada Buddhism and we have no concept of monks. Even order members are considered to be lay followers.

As Buddhism moves Buddhism changes. As it moves into the West and as Western culture influences into the East then (Theravada) Buddhism will change. But Buddhism will always teach liberation - how could it be any other way. So I would humbly say that yes you can practice but the practice might not be quite as it was before.


My experience with "formal" zazen comes from meditating at a local Korean Zen meditation center, for about two years, twice a week, two hours each time. Plus some meditation at home.

In my experience, counting breaths is useful on those days when the mind is very distracted with mental chatter / inner gossip.

There seems to be a progression here: from counting by mentally saying the numbers, to counting on phalanges, to simply watching the breathing, to watching the mind, to just sitting.

For beginner, "just sitting" is an impossible feat. So rather than lying to oneself and pretending to "just sit" while instead indulging in thinking, one is advised to watch the mind ("don't go with thoughts, don't go against the thoughts"). If that still does not work, one should watch the inhales and exhales, in the hope to see the emotional disturbances that the thoughts come from, and let those go. If the mind is so disturbed that one can't even follow the breath, then counting breaths is used as last resort to tie up the discursive mind.


There is a large body of texts of discourses of the Buddha touching on lay life issues. Below, I paste a (probably not exhaustive) list of suttas compiled by a user from dhammalwheel forum. There's also an upcoming book from Bhikkhu Bodhi presenting a collection of suttas of discourses of the Buddha dealing with lay life themes: The Buddha's Teachings on Social and Communal Harmony: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon.

DN 31: Sigalovada Sutta — To Sigala/The Layperson's Code of Discipline
https://suttacentral.net/en/dn31
MN 14: Cula-dukkhakkhandha Sutta — The Lesser Mass of Stress
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.014.than.html
MN 41: Saleyyaka Sutta — The Brahmans of Sala
https://suttacentral.net/en/mn41
MN 52: Atthakanagara Sutta — To the Man from Atthakanagara
https://suttacentral.net/en/mn52
MN 53: Sekha-patipada Sutta — The Practice for One in Training
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.053.than.html
MN 54: Potaliya Sutta — To Potaliya
https://suttacentral.net/en/mn54
MN 56. Upāli, the Householder
https://suttacentral.net/en/mn56
MN 57: Kukkuravatika Sutta — The Dog-duty Ascetic
https://suttacentral.net/en/mn57
MN 58: Abhaya Sutta — To Prince Abhaya (On Right Speech)
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.058.than.html
MN 59: Bahuvedaniya Sutta — Many Things to be Experienced/The Many Kinds of Feeling
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.059.nypo.html
MN 60: Apannaka Sutta — A Safe Bet
https://suttacentral.net/en/mn60
MN 97: Dhanañjani Sutta — To Dhanañjani
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.097.than.html
MN 99:  To the Brahmin Subha
http://awake.kiev.ua/dhamma/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/2Majjhima-Nikaya/Majjhima2/099-subha-e1.html
MN 143: Anathapindikovada Sutta — Instructions to Anathapindika
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.143.than.html
SN 3.19: Aputtaka Sutta — Heirless (1)
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn03/sn03.019.than.html
SN 3.20: Aputtaka Sutta — Heirless (2)
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn03/sn03.020.than.html
SN 22.1: Nakulapita Sutta — To Nakulapita
https://suttacentral.net/en/sn22.1
SN 22.3: Haliddakani Sutta — To Haliddakani
https://suttacentral.net/en/sn22.3
SN 22.80: Pindolya Sutta — Almsgoers
https://suttacentral.net/en/sn22.80
SN 41.3: Isidatta Sutta — About Isidatta
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn41/sn41.003.than.html
SN 41.4: Mahaka Sutta — About Mahaka
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn41/sn41.004.than.html
SN 41.6: Kamabhu Sutta — With Kamabhu (On the Cessation of Perception & Feeling)
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn41/sn41.006.than.html
SN 41.7: Godatta Sutta — To Godatta (On Awareness-release)
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn41/sn41.007.than.html
SN 41.10: Gilana Sutta — Sick (Citta the Householder's Last Hours)
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn41/sn41.010.than.html
SN 47.29: Sirivaddha
https://suttacentral.net/en/sn47.29
SN 47.30: Manadinna
https://suttacentral.net/en/sn47.30
SN 55.30: Licchavi Sutta — To the Licchavi
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn55/sn55.030.than.html

Discourse to a Householder
https://suttacentral.net/en/sa107

AN 3.65: Kalama Sutta — To the Kalamas/The Buddha's Charter of Free Inquiry
https://suttacentral.net/en/an3.65
AN 3.66: Salha Sutta — To Salha
https://suttacentral.net/en/an3.66
AN 3.70: Muluposatha Sutta — The Roots of the Uposatha
https://suttacentral.net/en/an3.70
AN 3.92: Urgent
https://suttacentral.net/en/an3.92
AN 4.32: Sangaha Sutta — The Bonds of Fellowship
https://suttacentral.net/en/an4.32
AN 4.55: Samajivina Sutta — Living in Tune
https://suttacentral.net/en/an4.55
AN 4.60: The Layperson’s Proper Practice
https://suttacentral.net/en/an4.60
AN 4.62: Anana Sutta — Debtless
https://suttacentral.net/en/an4.62
AN 4.258: Kula Sutta — On Families
https://suttacentral.net/en/an4.258
AN 5.38: Saddha Sutta — Conviction
https://suttacentral.net/en/an5.38
AN 5.41: Adiya Sutta — Benefits to be Obtained (from Wealth)
https://suttacentral.net/en/an5.41
AN 5.43: Wished for
https://suttacentral.net/en/an5.43
AN 5.57: Upajjhatthana Sutta — Subjects for Contemplation
https://suttacentral.net/en/an5.57
AN 5.175: Candala Sutta — The Outcaste
https://suttacentral.net/en/an5.175
AN 5.176: Piti Sutta — Rapture
https://suttacentral.net/en/an5.176
AN 5.177: Vanijja Sutta — Business (Wrong Livelihood)
https://suttacentral.net/en/an5.177
AN 5.179: Gihi Sutta — The Householder
https://suttacentral.net/en/an5.179
AN 5.180: Gavesin Sutta — About Gavesin
https://suttacentral.net/en/an5.180
AN 6.16: Nakula’s Parents
https://suttacentral.net/en/an6.16
AN 8.25: Mahanama Sutta — Being a Lay Buddhist
https://suttacentral.net/en/an8.25
AN 8.26: Jivaka Sutta — To Jivaka (On Being a Lay Follower)
https://suttacentral.net/en/an8.26
AN 8.43: Visakhuposatha Sutta — The Discourse to Visakha on the Uposatha with the Eight Practices
https://suttacentral.net/en/an8.43
AN 8.54: Vyagghapajja (Dighajanu) Sutta — Conditions of Welfare/ To Dighajanu
https://suttacentral.net/en/an8.54
AN 10.92: Vera Sutta — Animosity
https://suttacentral.net/en/an10.92
AN 10.93: Ditthi Sutta — Views
https://suttacentral.net/en/an10.93
AN 10.94: Vajjiya Sutta — About Vajjiya
https://suttacentral.net/en/an10.94
AN 11.11: Mahanama Sutta — To Mahanama (1)
https://suttacentral.net/en/an11.11
AN 11.12: Mahanama Sutta — To Mahanama (2)
https://suttacentral.net/en/an11.12
Dhammapada — The Path of Dhamma
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/index.html
Ud 8.8: Visakha Sutta — To Visakha
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/ud/ud.8.08.than.html
Ud 2.5: Upasaka Sutta — The Lay Follower
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/ud/ud.2.05.than.html
Ud 2.6: Gabbhini Sutta — The Pregnant Woman
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/ud/ud.2.06.than.html
Ud 2.7: Ekaputta Sutta — The Only Son
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/ud/ud.2.07.than.html
Ud 2.9: Visakha Sutta — To Visakha
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/ud/ud.2.09.than.html
Ud 5.6: Sona Sutta — About Sona
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/ud/ud.5.06.than.html
Sn 1.2: Dhaniya Sutta — Dhaniya the Cattleman
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.1.02.than.html
Sn 2.1: Ratana Sutta — Treasures
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.2.01.piya.html
Sn 2.4: Maha-mangala Sutta — Protection
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.2.04.nara.html
Sn 2.14: Dhammika Sutta — Dhammika
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.2.14.irel.html


How to get someone to the good path who is not leading a good way of life?

The only way to influence others' behavior is through example. Your question presupposes that your friends have a desire to change.  Not everyone wants to change, or wants your help in modifying their behavior. You might consider expanding your friendship base (i.e., find new friends) if your current friends' behavior is not to your liking.  We cannot assert ourselves or our beliefs onto others.  We can only influence by example.


The wise endowed with virtue shine forth like a burning fire,
  gathering wealth as bees do honey and heaping it up like an ant hill.
  Once wealth is accumulated, family and household life may follow.

  By dividing wealth into four parts, true friendships are bound; One
  part should be enjoyed; Two parts invested in business; And the fourth
  set aside against future misfortunes." - Singalovada Sutta

This kind of dilemmas can occur when you confuse lay life with monk's life.


Why do I learn the most from people that suffer?

Suffering is like the fertilizer for our spiritual growth. It is what drives people into religion and spirituality.
If one is happy and content in life one sees no reason to change anything in ones life.
If one experience pain and suffering one naturally wants to seek a solution. For a lot of people that means coming to religion or spirituality to find a way out of their problems.
When meeting a spiritually developed being one knows that this being has gone through suffering and come out on the other side.
Regarding "bad" people or obstacles as vehicles for developing knowledge. It might be because these phenomena obviously show the suffering inherent in them, thereby making them good teachers.
"Pleasant" phenomena can be teachers too but here the suffering is masked. This makes them important to reveal and understand. The Buddha called this "flower-tipped arrows". Picturing a bhouket of flowers with arrow heads underneath so when one tries to pick a flower one is stung by the arrow. In the same way pleasant phenomena cause suffering when they change and disappear due to their impermanent nature. If one had attachment towards them one is left with suffering and a craving for more. That is how addiction is born.
For references to the texts we have The Four Noble Truths. They are briefly:

"The Truth of Dukkha is that all conditional phenomena and experiences are not ultimately satisfying;

The Truth of the Origin of Dukkha is that craving for and clinging to what is pleasurable and aversion to what is not pleasurable result in becoming, rebirth, dissatisfaction, and redeath;

The Truth of the Cessation of Dukkha is that putting an end to this craving and clinging also means that rebirth, dissatisfaction, and redeath can no longer arise;

The Truth of the Path Of Liberation from Dukkha is that by following the Noble Eightfold Path—namely, behaving decently, cultivating discipline, and practicing mindfulness and meditation—an end can be put to craving, to clinging, to becoming, to rebirth, to dissatisfaction, and to redeath".


Is Buddhism a reduced version of Samkhya philosophy?

According to the wikipedia page on Samkhya:

The earliest surviving authoritative text on classical Samkhya
philosophy is the Samkhya Karika (c. 200 CE or 350–450 CE) of
Īśvarakṛṣṇa. There were probably other texts in early centuries CE,
however none of them are available today. Iśvarakṛṣṇa in his Kārikā
describes a succession of the disciples from Kapila, through Āsuri and
Pañcaśikha to himself.

So, Samkhya philosophy as known today, came almost 700 years after the Buddha (c. 563-483 BCE) based on the date of Samkhya Karika. But as stated above, it is attributed by Iśvarakṛṣṇa to Sage Kapila, who obviously predated the Buddha.
It is possible that the Samkhya Karika had experienced influence from Buddhism.
What about Alara Kalama?
Apparently, the only source stating Alara Kalama as following Samkhya is the Buddhacarita, composed in the second century CE by Aśvaghoṣa. This too was written at least 500 years after the Buddha.
There is no mention of the Samkhya philosophy by name in the Pali Canon. The Pali Canon also never explicitly attributed any teachings to Sage Kapila. The only mention of Kapila is in the Jataka Tales, dated at least a century after the Buddha.
In any case, whatever doctrine or teachings that was taught by Alara Kalama to the Buddha, did not bring him enlightenment, as we see in MN 26:

"In this way did Alara Kalama, my teacher, place me, his pupil, on the
same level with himself and pay me great honor. But the thought
occurred to me, 'This Dhamma leads not to disenchantment, to
dispassion, to cessation, to stilling, to direct knowledge, to
Awakening, nor to Unbinding, but only to reappearance in the dimension
of nothingness.' So, dissatisfied with that Dhamma, I left.

So, the question is - did the Buddha copy and reduce Samkhya, or did the Samkhya Karika copy the teachings of the Buddha and tried to reconcile Buddhism with the teachings of the Vedas and the Upanishads?
Based on the dates of the writings, I would say the latter is more likely. So, you've got it in reverse.
But did the Buddha copy Sage Kapila? Well, this is impossible to say, because we don't have any authenticated pre-Buddhist writings of Sage Kapila remaining, in which he taught Samkhya.

Based on the following statements from the Samkhya Karika, the definition of Spirit (Purusha) is in violation of sabbe dhamma anatta (all phenomena is not self). There is no single Self or Spirit that is the pure witness or controller in Buddhism.

The Spirit exists because (a) the aggregate is for another's sake; (b)
of the absence of three guṇas and other properties; (c) there must be
some controller; (d) there must be some experiencer; and (e) of the
tendency of activities towards final beatitude. - Samkhya Karika
17
The multiplicity of the Spirit is verily established (1) from the
individual allotment of birth, death and the instruments, (2) from the
non-simultaneity of activities, and (3) from the diverse modifications
due to the three guṇas. - Samkhya Karika 18
And from that contrast it is established that the Spirit is the pure
witness. He is solitary, neutral, spectator, and non-agent. - Samkhya
Karika 19


True. Individualism, self-achievement & success are strong features of Buddhism. The Maha-mangala Sutta & Sigalovada Sutta are excellent examples.

What mitigates blind & excessive material pursuit in Buddhism is the emphasis upon duty ('dhamma') towards the well-being of one-self & others and thus not pursuing what is excessive, harmful &/or unnecessary.

The scriptures always praise materially successful people who earn their wealth blamelessly (eg. Anana Sutta) and share their wealth with others, without being attached to it (eg. 41.1.12.).

My impression is Thai Buddhists have been particularly shrewd & successful as a nation, at least historically (rather than currently). The following link, whilst listing teachings from the ancient Pali scriptures, has a particularly Thai bent in its explanations. The focus on 'success' is very apparent.

A Constitution for Living: Buddhist Principles for a Fruitful and Harmonious Life


How to maintain a Buddhist practice through dark times?

I am in your state. I am sick as well. I want to be a monk but I can't.
The difference is I don't feel bad because I can see my effort when looking back to check what I did.
I can say I never sit  as much as you, and I can say if I can practice as much as you doing, I am going to be very happy and proud of it surely.☺
I understand the chance to meet Dhamma is extremely difficult, every practitioner doesn't want to miss this chance. However, you are trying and you still not giving up, so don't count your chickens before they hatch.
Samatha is for happiness, Vipassana is for serious considering. Both are helping each other, but Worry is for lost.
Relax. ❤♡♥


I get rapid eye movement as soon as meditation starts

In short this can be due to:

past fabrications surfacing rapidly and creating uncommon experiences
perhaps less likely but a possibility is Piti which sometimes create vibrating and / or pulsating experiences

Also see: eye movement during meditation

These experiences are neither good nor bad. Also do not get attached or averse to them. In additions concentrate on the task at hand than giving importance and distracting your self when there experiences do arise in your meditation session.


Let's separate this out. If you watch a recording of a crime on a website, does it impact the victim of the crime? Not in itself.

It DOES give a "view" to the video, and thus you are, in a sense, giving your tacit support to the recording, and publishing, of the event. THAT is, for me, the reason not to watch such events, as far as the world impact is concerned. I guess one needs to attempt to assess the motive of the publisher - was it to shock? Or to educate?

As far as impact upon oneself is concerned, this is another question. Are we adding to our own karma? It depends entirely upon the intent with which we are watching. Sooooo much consumption of internet material is quietly mindless - which means we are blindly watching with no concern for what impact it might have on us: because someone has published it, it must be okay. This attitude allows others to have control over our minds! As a meditator, I'd rather that weren't the case!

Thinking about karma is tough - does it affect my Karma? Can I ever experience my karma as a tangible sensation? I'm not sure I ever have.

Can I see impacts on my experience that demonstrate that certain kinds of actions have noticeable impacts on my experience? For sure, and some have impacts on my experience in meditation. Some I can learn to work with. For others, I just practice "guarding the gates of the senses" and avoid that stimulus.


Pitisukha or delightful/beautiful breath not arising?

If you are getting bored after a half an hour, ya ain’t even close to fully sustained attention on the breath.  When our attention is fully sustained, there is no room for boredom.  It’s akin to how engaged your mind is in an engrossing movie or during sex.  And just like either activity, you get pulled into fully sustained attention.  You don’t provide full sustained attention.
You aren’t going to reach jhana sitting like that.  First of all, it requires many years of practice.  Secondly, true jhana is only ever reached in a retreat setting and after multiple days of 10+ hours of sitting.  Finally, even outside of a retreat setting, your practice times really need to exceed an hour or more (90-120 minutes is ideal) of unbroken sitting in order to effectively train samatha meditation.  You can’t expect to run a marathon by practicing sprints.
This may sound like a lot, and it is.  But nothing good comes without effort.  People learn to play a pretty mean piano without ever needing to lock themselves away in a monastery.  You can likewise develop a deep meditation practice in lay life.  But expect it to challenging.  There is only the hard way.


AN 7.64 kodhana (anger), case 3 of 7 unclear what is meant by "profit" or "loss", and how exactly that sabotages what angry person wants

In AN 4.55 for example there is:

  When both are faithful and kind,
  Ubho saddhā vadaññū ca,

  disciplined, living properly,
  saññatā dhammajīvino;

  then wife and husband
  Te honti jānipatayo,

  say nice things to each other.
  aññamaññaṃ piyaṃvadā.

  They get all the things they need,
  Atthāsaṃ pacurā honti,

  so they live at ease.
  phāsukaṃ upajāyati;

  Their enemies are downhearted,
  Amittā dummanā honti,

  when both are equal in ethics.
  ubhinnaṃ samasīlinaṃ.

  Having practiced the teaching here,
  Idha dhammaṃ caritvāna,

  both equal in precepts and observances,
  samasīlabbatā ubho;

  they delight in the heavenly realm,
  Nandino devalokasmiṃ,

  enjoying all the pleasures they desire.”
  modanti kāmakāmino”ti.

The word in AN 7.64 is pacurattho which suttacentral's dictionary says is a compound:

  pacura (abundant; various; many) + attha (aim, purpose, goal; advantage, profit, benefit)

The translation as "profit" appears to have come from picking one of the meanings of the latter word.

I too can only guess at specific examples. From AN 4.55 I'd guess it includes all the requisites at least, and what they have to live at ease (phāsuka -- pleasant, convenient.), maybe heavenly pleasures too.

Reading the rest of AN 7.64, I think the whole sutta is a polemic against anger -- not a detailed explanation of how specific types of wealth are gained or lost. Looking through the verse at the end, anger seems to cause the loss of everything -- sleep, wealth, friends, reputation, conscience, life, etc.

So becoming angry may cause a person to lose anything and everything.
And perhaps it's easy to see why such a loss might please an angry person's enemy.

But I'm not sure why it points out that it would please an enemy ("what would please an enemy" doesn't seem to me a usual or recommended view-point of the suttas) -- maybe it's just meant as a synonym of "misfortune".


I don't find earmuffs or ear plugs effective enough for blocking sounds so I use earphones and white noise. I'm not pushing these particularly but this is what I use for blocking noise while mediating. I've bought these Sennheiser ear canal head phones and I play white noise through them via this android app. That pretty much blocks all sound out and I don't find the white noise distracting during meditation. The ear phones also have the advantage of being comfortable enough to sleep in so if you suffer from insomnia or snoring bedfellows then it can be a godsend.

It's not the cheapest solution but it does work for me. There are cheaper in ear head phone such as these but i don't find these as comfortable to sleep in but they do work fine for meditation so that would cheapen this up. Also there is a free version of the white noise app which would make it even less expensive but I'm a believer in paying for software if I like it even if the free version is almost as good (which it is). I don't know versions for other phones but there are also white noise cds as well if you don't have access to a smart phone.

Hope that helps


What is the relationship between Bon and Tibetan Buddhism?

Part of the trouble is that the term Bon has been used historically to refer to several rather different groups and traditions. It is used to refer to the pre-Buddhist religion of Tibet which is depicted in the Tibetan histories as being barbaric and based on using evil spirits to defeat their enemies. Traditionally, Padmasabhava, one of the main figures credited with establishing Buddhism in Tibet, is regarded as having subdued these spirits, converting them to Buddhism and getting them to act as protectors instead of violent beings.

Obviously these texts were written by Buddhist scholars and show the pre-Buddhist religion in a quite negative light, so we probably can't rely on them too much.

Bon is also used to refer to another separate religion in Tibet that exists even today that has very strong similarities to Tibetan Buddhism, particularly the old Nyingma school, in that it also has treasure texts which claim to have been secretly written many years ago and then discovered, and also shares the Nyingma teachings on dzogchen, a type of meditation based on direct observation of the mind.

These are very different from one another, and the influence goes both ways. Old Bon had a strong influence on developing Tibetan Buddhism with many of its figures being appropriated as protectors and many religious folk customs simply being mixed in with Buddhism, and the New Bon essentially drawing its doctrines from Tibetan Buddhism and giving it a new name.


What is the "meditation on emptiness" in MN 121?

The process of gradually flushing-out of various subjects from gross to subtle as detailed in paragraphs 4 - 12 of MN 121

  What does "emptiness" refer to in this sutta?

Per Ven. Bodhi's note: SunnataVihara, the fruition attainment of voidness/sunnataphala samapatti, fruition attainment of arahantship that is entered by focusing upon the void aspect of Nibbana.

  Also, what does "oneness dependent on the perception of ..." mean in this sutta?

Ven. Thanissaro's more straightforward rendering: "attends to the singleness based on the <objects...>", which Ven. Bodhi cited Comy's explanation:

  MA: He attends to the perception of forest dependent on the single forest itself, thinking: “This is a forest, this a tree, this a mountain, this a grove.” In the next sentence I read with BBS and SBJ adhimuccati, as against PTS vimuccati.


What does the one taste of the dharmadhatu really mean?

In his commentary to Maitreya’s Mahayanottaratantra-ratnagotravibhanga, Gyaltsab Je says:

  Because just as every drop of water is of one taste with the ocean, so every phenomenon is of one taste within natural emptiness.

Geshe Jamphel Gyaltsen's explains:

  The absence of inherent existence of the mind of an ordinary sentient being, an arya or buddha is the same [in nature].

And:

  The final reality, the tathagata essence, the emptiness of inherent existence of the mind, is inseparable in the sense that all conventional phenomena are of one taste in emptiness. They are all inseparable in emptiness.

It does not mean that all phenomena are one and the same thing, for this would not be a Buddhist tenet. It means that phenomena are identical in that they lack inherent existence. Their lack of inherent existence can not be a basis for distinguishing them. In the same way, we say that sentient beings are identical in that they are subject to suffering while they want happiness. It is important to add “in this or that respect”, for we do not mean that they are one and the same objects.

A phenomenon and its final nature (its emptiness) are one entity. They are inseparable. Just like you can not separate heat from fire, you can not separate emptiness from its basis.

In a commentary to Maitreya's Distinction, it says:

  "All phenomena are of one taste in that they are without arising ultimately."

A second interpretation is that it means that, in the perspective of the wisdom directly realizing emptiness, no conventionality appear. A wisdom directly realizing emptiness does so in a non-dualistic manner. Since conventional phenomena are not experienced by that wisdom, we say that such a wisdom does not taste them.

This second interpretation is clearer in the visualization at the end of the Confession Prayer:

  Then reflect on emptiness. In emptiness there is no I, the creator of
  negative actions. In emptiness there is no creating of negative
  actions. In emptiness there are no negative actions created. Even
  though there are infinite phenomena, in emptiness nothing exists at
  all. There is no this and that, no me and you, nothing. In emptiness
  everything is one taste. From this emptiness, everything comes into
  existence. Whatever exists is the manifestation of emptiness.

By looking for "phenomena are of one taste", and "in emptiness, everything has one taste", you might find additional material.


A question regarding the level of worldly participation for a buddhist monk

The main role of the monastic community is to preserve the Buddha's teaching, but I don't think that the Buddha gave a prescription on how exactly to do that. It's been left to each community to set rules of teaching and the level of community interaction. I don't think you're going to find one magic answer. In my tradition, you're expected to have some mastery over the subject matter before giving Dharma talks. It also helps to practice the Eightfold Path enough to where you are without reproach when you enter the community with instruction.

I don't believe it's wrong to participate and reach out to the community at any time. It just may not be helpful. Maybe like this post ;-) Then again, mastery is hard to see from the outside.

"Before Enlightenment chop wood, carry water.  After enlightenment chop wood, carry water."


Is Scientific Realism/Materialism and/or Historicity compatible with Mahayana?

What follows is not an "answer", but just some ideas or frames of interpretation from discussions with fellow Buddhists with a Western scientific background. So please don't crucify me :-) but tell me if I'm wrong.
The Scientific Method is Compatible with Mahayana Buddhism
Let's first appreciate the success of the western scientific method to explain certain parts of conventional reality that were previously within the religious domain. There is no need to believe in a god of thunder anymore in order to explain certain meteorological phenomena. I believe that this success was just extrapolated to the metaphysical realm somehow unintentionally or without much thinking, so that "scientific materialism" just formed once there was no need for specific divinities anymore. Scientific models just don't talk about metaphysics (for exceptions see below).
Scientific models used to fail completely to deal with "mind" (as the structure of a perceiving subject), at least until a few years/decades ago. Psychology is either considered "unscientific" (early psychology with Freud, Jung etc.) or doesn't actually talk about the mind anymore (focusing on what is measurable). So I would argue that "science" is actually not talking about the mind or any metaphysical concepts like Karma or Sunyata. So I don't see any hard incompatibility here with early Buddhism. This would also hold for most Buddhists schools, if you'd strip of the mythological elements and/or interpret them as psychological images.
Neuroscience, Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence
A few decades ago things have started to change, and that is where I believe things get interesting with respect to (in-)compatibility with Buddhism. The disciplines start to talk about the mind and the structure of the perceiving subject. However, current models are very basic and typically limited to specific brain functions. For example, there has been quite some progress to model the processing of images from the eyes in the visual cortex, and artificial intelligence (AI) has become successful performing such tasks automatically, as everybody can see first-hand when using the image processing functions of recent mobile phones. We can expect further progress in this area.
The current results imply that "thoughts" and other cognitive states are represented in the brain as patterns of neuronal activity. This is a pure materialist view of the mind. There are philosophical and religious schools that deny this, but given the success record of the scientific method and the amount of resources invested in this research area, I predict important advances in the upcoming years that will make this view more and more popular.
Areas of Conflict
It may be interesting to examine the specific areas or concepts that might conflict with such material view:

Karma: Maybe we could live with "Karma in this one life"? Karma could also be seen as related to neuroplasticity and neural pathways that accumulate/aggregate habitual reactions.
Devas, Nagas and other divinities: I interpret them as personification of states, traits or properties.
Nihilism: Nihilism gets in the way of Sunyata. There is no answer on this one yet.
Mind: See below.
Other areas? Let's discuss.

Materialist View of Mind Preserving Buddhist Properties?
I'm an active researcher in the area of AGI and have published a very technical paper on the subject.
Here is a summary using a simile: The mind relates to the neurons of the brain like a YouTube video on a computer to the silicon logic that only works with 0's and 1's. You can't explain the quality of the video on the level of silicon logic. You will have to talk about applications, libraries, operating systems, programming languages, microprocessors, digital logic and many other "layers" that build on each other in order to produce a video. In a similar way I could imagine that the phenomena of "mind" appear at the highest layer of the "layer cake" of the brain.
Is ... Materialism ... compatible with Mahayana?
To summarize these views: The wealth of mental phenomena in and outside meditation is perfectly compatible with a materialist base of the mind. The physical laws governing the simple neural building blocks don't limit the mind in any way. Nihilism may be a problem. We also may have to "tweak" the interpretation of some concepts in order to avoid conflict. Strict followers of certain Buddhist schools may find this not acceptable.


The Vanishing of Greed, Hatred, and Delusion ~ Nyanatiloka

Bhikkhus, I will teach you the taintless and the path leading to the taintless.

Bhikkhus, I will teach you the truth and the path leading to the truth.

Bhikkhus, I will teach you the far shore and the path leading to the far shore.

Bhikkhus, I will teach you the subtle and the path leading to the subtle.

Bhikkhus, I will teach you the very difficult to see and the path leading to the very difficult to see.

Bhikkhus, I will teach you the unaging and the path leading to the unaging.

Bhikkhus, I will teach you the stable and the path leading to the stable.

Bhikkhus, I will teach you the undisintegrating and the path leading to the undisintegrating.

Bhikkhus, I will teach you the unmanifest and the path leading to the unmanifest.

Bhikkhus, I will teach you the unproliferated and the path leading to the unproliferated.

Bhikkhus, I will teach you the peaceful and the path leading to the peaceful.

Bhikkhus, I will teach you the deathless and the path leading to the deathless.

Bhikkhus, I will teach you the sublime and the path leading to the sublime.

Bhikkhus, I will teach you the auspicious and the path leading to the auspicious.

Bhikkhus, I will teach you the secure and the path leading to the secure.

Bhikkhus, I will teach you the destruction of craving and the path leading to the destruction of craving.

Bhikkhus, I will teach you the wonderful and the path leading to the wonderful.

Bhikkhus, I will teach you the amazing and the path leading to the amazing.

Bhikkhus, I will teach you the unailing and the path leading to the unailing.

Bhikkhus, I will teach you the unailing state and the path leading to the unailing state.

Bhikkhus, I will teach you the Nibbana and the path leading to the Nibbana.

Bhikkhus, I will teach you the unafflicted and the path leading to the unafflicted.

Bhikkhus, I will teach you the dispassion and the path leading to the dispassion.

Bhikkhus, I will teach you the purity and the path leading to the purity.

Bhikkhus, I will teach you the freedom and the path leading to the freedom.

Bhikkhus, I will teach you the unadhesive and the path leading to the unadhesive.

Bhikkhus, I will teach you the island and the path leading to the island.

Bhikkhus, I will teach you the shelter and the path leading to the shelter.

Bhikkhus, I will teach you the asylum and the path leading to the asylum.

Bhikkhus, I will teach you the refuge and the path leading to the refuge.

Samyutta Nikaya 43.14 to SN 43.43 translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi


Scriptural evidence for the role and compatibility of polytheism within Buddhism?

Is polytheism dharmic or adharmic? Dhammic
If it is dharmic, what is its role within Buddhism? Different level of consciousness leads to different rebirth.
If it is adharmic, why is this the case? NA
What is the scriptural basis for your answer? There are many suttas with the Buddha encountering Deva (Gods) in Samyutta Nikaya, such as in the Devata Samyutta and the Brahma Samyutta etc.
Also refer to the popular blog about the 31 planes of existence.


What are the paṭiccasamuppāda theory and it's products?

Dhamma Greetings Gawesaka, the answer is: No. The first word is Pāḷi and second and third are just different English renditions of that expression. Best Wishes


Here in this answer I am going to give some resources I found in the web and not going to copy and past anything here as the process is quite lengthy and detailed. You could learn about Kasina meditation from "Visuddhimagga (Path of purificaiton)". If your refer page 117 and onwards describe the details about "Earth kasióa". If you need a shorter version please refer here.

Further you could refer this page which describe how the create "Earth Kasina"(object) and describe how to do the meditation in details. Hope this helps.


In essence, this is about the self wanting control, or more precisely, the illusion of self and control. I think this is exactly what Khenpo Sherab Sangpo meant when saying that teaching and experiencing are different things: nobody can just tell you that self and the control the self wants are illusions, it's something you need to experience.
This sounds extremely esoteric, but if you think about it, it's really not. You can't really convey any human experience to anyone else who hasn't had that experience, even something extremely simple like what coffee tastes like. You can only use words to try to convey the experience, but words are limited and often have associations unrelated to the experience you're trying to convey.
The first step I would recommend you to take is to stop labeling the process as a mistake, as this gives cause to negative feelings. Try to observe the chain of mental causation that leads to procrastinating or "mistakes". Do not judge or try to analyze, just become aware of the process. After a while, you will see that there is "space" between the arising thoughts and the feelings they invoke. Again, this is something you need to learn to experience, not just be told. The first phase of meditation is, in essence, to become aware of this process and learn to observe it without judging or reacting to it from those spaces in arising thoughts. Only after you've become comfortable with this can you turn to the "why" behind this process.
Hope this helps.


Why do Buddhist Stupas have various shapes?

According to "Buddhist Art & Architecture" by Robert E. Fisher, the stupa is one of three main types of Buddhist buildings. (The other two are the residence hall (vihara) and the hall of worship (chaitya).
Early stupas were solid inside and patterned after Hindu burial mounds. They were typically a dome set upon a low platform with a single pillar emerging from the top which had 3 umbrella-like discs covering the pillar. The pillar and it's umbrellas would be surrounded by a small fence; a miniature version of the fence that surrounded the stupa itself. The pillar represented the "world mountain" or axis mundi; the pivot of the universe. The 3 umbrellas came to symbolize the Three Jewels of Buddhism. (Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha) Inside, the stupas were arranged into geometric, magical designs and generally housed sacred relics. Buddhist worship included circumambulation (moving clockwise) around the stupa and the sacred object contained inside.
With the emergence of Mahayana Buddhism, the practice of circumambulation was not prevalent (with Mahayanist Buddhists) as sacred items were placed in the worship hall and worshiped from the front only as the back of the hall would be blocked off for secret rituals. Robert E. Fisher notes the following regarding a change in style of stupa at Ajanta, India:

The stupa continued to be the focal point of the worship hall, and was now embellished and extended with carvings and additional motifs in keeping with the increased complexities of Mahayana worship. The body of the stupa, the anda, is moved upwards and the base extended to accommodate a large image of the Buddha. The figure is placed between richly carved pillars and surrounded by subordinate figures and elaborate, decorative motifs, typical of the Gupta taste. The pillar and umbrella at the top also gain in complexity, assuming greater prominence, nearly doubling the stupa's height in Cave 19. The once simple, earthbound stupa has evolved into a complex of images and symbols, not only attached to the earth, but also extended vertically. The older empasis upon the historical, earthly Buddha is giving way to the celestial, mystical realms of esoteric belief.

As Sri Lanka was established as a stronghold for Theravada Buddhism, a change in stupa shape (from the original Indian stupas) was noted, as in the stupa in Anuradhapura, in that the body of the stupa became bell shaped and the traditional spire became enlarged and was compared to the graceful tower of a medieval Hindu temple. Robert E. Fisher writes that "according to some" the enlargement of the traditional spire was an effort by Singhalese builders to join two symbols, the pillar of the world and the heights of Mt. Meru.
Mr. Fisher writes regarding the Sri Lankan style:

Similar proportions, the dominant bell-shaped andas, prominent harmikas (small platform with railing) and tapered spires are retained in later stupas in Burma, Thailand, and Cambodia.
Theravada Buddhism, with its more limited pantheon and emphasis upon direct action, unlike the salvationist beliefs and spectacular heavens of the Mahayana is perfectly served by the clean, uncomplicated forms and geometric harmonies of the Sri Lankan stupa.

The book notes across Asia, the stupa assumed a variety of regional forms. Thai and Burmese stupas were tall and graceful. In Vietnam and Cambodia, separate stupas rarely appeared as temples were built into mountainsides; but sometimes small "votive" style stupas were build inside those temples. In Java, small stupas decorated the terraces of the temples.
The book does go on in quite a bit more detail regarding changes in the look of stupas including the change to open, wooden stupas in the Far East, where they were called pagodas. It was also noted that later styles of stupas typically did not contain sacred relics and were not always built inside walled enclosures. They became more decorative and less sacred.
Hope this sheds some insight. :)


Buddhist views on talking with the dead? Is it possible?

According to Theravada, you will be reborn immediately after your death. So if you communicate, you are communicating with the new being.


Can an answer, while sakayaditthi is present, be intentional free of bias?

There are two kinds of bias, in relation to this question.

The first is deliberately answering a question in a way that serves the self-interest of the one who answers, but not necessarily the questioner's self-interest.

An example of this is that a salesperson, when asked some questions about the product he's trying to sell, would try to hide the disadvantages of the product and instead, highlight the advantages.

Indeed, there are people in the world, with identity view, who are not stream winners, who can act selflessly, and answer in an objective way without the above kind of bias. After all, an unenlightened person can selflessly act with altruism and compassion (karuna), to help another person.

The second type of bias is a deep-seated collection of biases, prejudices and stereotypes that lies deep within a person's mind. These are related to more than one of the ten fetters.

An example of this is that a person who identifies with a religion that's against homosexuality and abortion, might answer general questions about these topics in a way that is aligned to his bias, even if any kind of answer to these questions do not bring him any profit or loss.

This kind of bias is very deeply ingrained and it would be very hard for a person with identity view to avoid this kind of bias.


Do any Buddhists say that everyone's Buddha nature repeats an infinite number of times?

Infinity is surprisingly complicated, so let's look at what the Buddha said:

SN15.14:1.2: “Mendicants, transmigration has no known beginning. …  It’s not easy to find a sentient being who in all this long time has not previously been your mother.  Why is that? Transmigration has no known beginning. … This is quite enough for you to become disillusioned, dispassionate, and freed regarding all conditions.”

Given this understanding of transmigration leading back to "infinity" (or more precisely, "with no known beginning"), it is natural to ask about all the various Buddhas. So let's see what the Buddha says about the Buddha:

DN1:3.73.1: The Realized One’s body remains, but his attachment to rebirth has been cut off. As long as his body remains he will be seen by gods and humans.  But when his body breaks up, after life has ended, gods and humans will see him no more.

In this way, Buddhas appear and disappear, never to be seen again.
Regarding "Buddha-nature", one might perhaps refer to this:

MN121:13.1: Whatever ascetics and brahmins enter and remain in the pure, ultimate, supreme emptiness—whether in the past, future, or present—all of them enter and remain in this same pure, ultimate, supreme emptiness.


Need advice on how to handle my emotions

Every unenlightened person has metal issues. The reasons are the defilements: craving, aversion and ignorance.

I would recommend doing Vipassana meditation in your daily life:

If you dislike something or someone's behavior, simply note it as 'disliking', 'disliking', 'disliking...' before it gets to crying. If you are too slow and already started crying, simply note it as 'crying','crying','crying...' instead of thinking while crying.

If you want the world to be in a certain way or want others behave to your liking or to think about you in a certain way, simply note it as 'wanting', 'wanting', 'wanting...'

Don't drop the ball no matter how tough or exciting it gets! Simply keep noting.

For more instructions: http://www.sirimangalo.org/text/how-to-meditate/


What is the meditation benefits of jhana?

Jhana is supernormal happiness & also perfect mental clarity in the 4th jhana.

As supernormal happiness, those that reach jhana do not have to depend on anything sensual or worldly for happiness again, such as TV, movies, sex, drugs, music, alcohol, wife, husband, family, fame, money, etc. The mind becomes completely emotionally independent.

As mental clarity, it allows the mind to see more easily through the self-illusion. The self-illusion is the cause of all suffering, whether major or minor. Thus, jhana is the foundation for perfect insight.


Buddho : The one who knows which is above the mind? A Dhammatalk by Ajahn Chah

The key idea here is not whether there is "someone" who is above the mind. The key point is that it is possible to go beyond mind or above mind.

We are so caught up in the experience created by the mind that we are completely overwhelmed by it. We are completely absorbed in the bubble of experience it creates.

Here, "mind" is the self-constructing, self-perpetuating principle of endless proliferation of "this vs that" and the entire universe of subjective experience that emerges from iterative application of this principle.

But it is possible to cut through the bubble - through the mutually supporting combination of detachment and insight. Being outside the mind means we are not taking its drama seriously anymore. We are dispassionate, disenchanted, disillusioned, grown cold - to all its passions and games. When we see through its tricks - we can watch them from the outside of the illusion.

Watching from the outside of the illusion is "that which is above the mind".


OP: I have noticed that it seems Nibbana has been described as "the peaceful".
Nibbana is peaceful of blissful because it is not dependent on sensations/feelings.
The whole Shere of sensation regardless if it is present, unpleasant or neutral is unsatisfactory (dukkha).

pleasant feeling is pleasant when it persists, painful when it changes;
painful feeling is painful when it persists, pleasant when it changes;
neutral feeling is pleasant when there is
knowledge of it, painful when there is no knowledge of it.

Cūla Vedalla Sutta
OP: I have had the impression that Nibbana is neither joyful nor delightful.
In terms of sensations, this is not pleasant, unpleasant or neutral. But since is it not dependent on the sensation it is not unsatisfactory.


In the Tirokudda Kanda food and drink are given for dead relatives. Is this a superstitious scripture most likely not uttered by Buddha?

Tirokudda Kanda (as well as dharmafarer.org's traslation of Tirokuḍḍa Sutta) mentions doing this for the benefit of the dead. Meritorious acts cause positive telepathic vibes which can help betterment of the dead especially if the see and rejoice in the meritorious acts we do.

So this does not look out of place as a later composition. It is the merit that is given not the food.

Also even if you leave out food this can be of some enjoyment to the spirits. Say a person liked a certain type of food and you leave it out. His spirit would naturally be attracted to it through he cannot physically partake it. As I see this is not what is mentioned in the Sutta, but the transfer of merit.

Transfer of merit works in two way:

Positive vibe associated with the positive through having a positive externality on the person concerned
The entity rejoicing at good action creating positive karma and betterment on its own


Few suggestion I can give.

Don’t set the goal to get Jhana, No goal at all.
Don’t change the methods, Every methods was right it just a tool make you focus.
Do consistently. At least once a day and same time of the day.
Do anytime when you regcognize, Not just sit and shut your eyes.
Do when sleep until last moment you slept and do at very first moment you wakeup. This is an indicator that your meditation is progress. If you can continue the meditate from slept this indicate you are likely near Jhana.

Jhana is nothing special.
It's a state you can really control your concentration.

At initial step it's quite hard for people who are high skeptic or thoughtful with everything.

You don't need to take many hours everyday to sit and meditate.

You should try to take every seconds as meditate without distracting your work life.

Do until familiar then you reach Jhana.

Even it take 10 years still worth.


Metta meditation ever taught to householders?

Here's one about householders and the four pleasant mental abidings. But I think this refers to the four rupa jhanas rather than the four brahmaviharas.

From Gihi Sutta (AN 5.179):

  Then Anathapindika the householder, surrounded by about 500 lay
  followers, went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down
  to him, sat to one side. So the Blessed One said to Ven. Sariputta:
  “Sariputta, when you know of a householder clothed in white, that he
  is restrained in terms of the five training rules and that he obtains
  at will, without difficulty, without hardship, four pleasant mental
  abidings in the here & now, then if he wants he may state about
  himself: ‘Hell is ended; animal wombs are ended; the state of the
  hungry shades is ended; states of deprivation, destitution, the bad
  bourns are ended! I am a stream-winner, steadfast, never again
  destined for states of woe, headed for self-awakening!’

Not metta specifically but I can find a sutta where the Buddha recommended some lay people to allocate some time to practice jhana meditation.

From the Piti Sutta (AN 5.176):

  Then Anathapindika the householder, surrounded by about 500 lay
  followers, went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down
  to him, sat to one side. As he was sitting there the Blessed One said
  to him, “Householder, you have provided the community of monks with
  robes, alms food, lodgings, & medicinal requisites for the sick, but
  you shouldn’t rest content with the thought, ‘We have provided the
  community of monks with robes, alms food, lodgings, & medicinal
  requisites for the sick.’ So you should train yourself, ‘Let’s
  periodically enter & remain in seclusion & rapture.’ That’s how you
  should train yourself.”


What will be the situation of the world when every beings will attain Nirvana?

The Buddha explicitly declined to answer:

Whether or not the cosmos is eternal
Whether or not the cosmos is infinite
Whether or not the Tathagata exists after death

Cula-Malunkyovada Sutta

  And why are they undeclared by me? Because they are not connected with the goal, are not fundamental to the holy life. They do not lead to disenchantment, dispassion, cessation, calming, direct knowledge, self-awakening, Unbinding. That's why they are undeclared by me.

He seems to imply that both views are wrong view (or at least, not "right" view):

  It's not the case that when there is the view, 'The cosmos is finite,' there is the living of the holy life. And it's not the case that when there is the view, 'The cosmos is infinite,' there is the living of the holy life. When there is the view, 'The cosmos is finite,' and when there is the view, 'The cosmos is infinite,' there is still the birth, there is the aging, there is the death, there is the sorrow, lamentation, pain, despair, & distress whose destruction I make known right in the here & now.

If not, where is the fallacy in the above argument?

If you don't mind me saying so, a fallacy seems to be to be that you're postulating something good (i.e. "cessation of suffering"); and then proposing your attachment to and your imagination of something (i.e. "the picture of the world" and "the entire world" and "a land of the dead" and "a desirable goal") as a counter-argument; for example the following are meant as some absurd examples:

Suppose nobody needed to die anymore: how could grave-diggers then earn their living?
Suppose everyone's basic needs were magically taken care of, with enough food and shelter and protection from violence for everyone: society would collapse! Who would go to their jobs anymore? We'd be living in a world without slaves and without armies.


Why can't the Dalai Lama be a vegetarian?

According to this article, Is the Dalai Lama a vegetarian? on a web site named "Reasonable Vegan",

When the Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 he took residence in India, the birthplace of the Buddha and a region with a rich tradition of vegetarianism. Here he adopted a vegetarian diet which he has described as being rich in milk and cream[2]. After 20 months of vegetarianism he succumbed to a Hepatitis B infection [3] and was encouraged by his doctors to resume consumption of meat to aid his recovery.

The web site's opinion is that meat-eating isn't necessary (which contradicts his doctors' advice):

It’s quite possible that doctors advised this change in diet, but it is unnecessary advice since usually acute hepatitis B infection in adults is overcome by the patients own immune system. If the Dalai Lama’s infection was severe (which from his description it sounds like it was, jaundice causing yellowing of the skin is seen in patients suffering severe hepatitis B) he may have required antiviral treatment. Some studies have been published assessing the potential effects of nutritional supplements or adjustments on Hepatitis B patients none of which suggest consuming meat as either a remedy or therapy[5]. Eating healthily is advised for all patients especially those with liver inflammation so perhaps the advice to change his diet was appropriate ‘lay off the cream’ but returning to regular consumption of meat is unlikely to have had any effect on his recovery.
Since recovering from his illness the Dalai Lama has remained convinced that he is unable to be vegetarian, let alone vegan. It is hard to understand how he can maintain this belief when brief research into hepatitis B or the nutritional adequacy of a well balanced vegetarian or vegan diet reveals etc.

Also FYI, here's a different article which may give some background information or insight into the prescriptions of Tibetan doctors: Medical advice from the Dalai Lama's doctor.


"..but don't become attached" Do we have control whether we attach or not?

Isn't a little attachment good, i.e., attachment to the Dhamma or the five precepts in order to elicit faith and confidence?

Ven. Ananda's "going to the park" simile might be helpful in addressing this topic.
Regarding the question about control, of course there is for without it there'd be no Stream-enterer, Once-returners, Non-returners, nor Arahants.


Did lord buddha preach not to get angry even if a leg is cut?

Supreme Buddha said that even if someone were to cut you to pieces with a two-handed saw, if you got angry you wouldn’t be a true disciple of his -- Kakacupama Sutta: The Simile of the Saw, MN 21:

  “Dear Monks, if a person does not get angry or form a hateful mind even when he is dragged, placed upside down, moved his legs to sides, and cut with a saw, he is indeed a disciple who recalls my advice.”

In this Dhamma article the Mahamevnawa Theravada Buddhist Monastery once elaborated on this as:

  Thus the Supreme Buddha always preached and praised about living free of hatred. He preached that there is one circumstance in which a person cannot realize the Dhamma; that is when the Sangha is not peaceful. If the Sangha is not peaceful or someone acts to break their unity/peace, then one cannot practice the Dhamma since they blame each other. They blame one another saying that each person is wrong. In such situation, they cannot recall the Dhamma and instead they accumulate bad karma. These unwholesome deeds bring great misfortune. So remember that a hatred is formed in a person when he is either in an office, a house, a temple, or in any other place, it is not for the good of any person at all. It is a universal truth. It is because hatred never ends any quarrel. It is ended by not being hateful. It is a universal Dhamma. This Dhamma of the Supreme Buddha is a universal truth. What is this Dhamma? It is the spreading of loving-kindness. Ending hatred by not being hateful (a universal truth). The Supreme Buddha’s Dhamma is no longer exists in India where the Buddha’s Dhamma was born. What is the reason for the Dhamma to disappear from India? It is the hatred that formed in that time. As a result of hatred that formed in the people at that time, they argued and disgraced and insulted on each other. They further used governmental power for that. This resulted in hatred. Hatred is the reason for the Gautama Supreme Buddha’s Dhamma to vanish from India. Therefore, we should not practice to hate for one another. We shall spread our loving-kindness to all beings in all ten directions. One first spread loving-kindness to oneself and not give into being hateful. He dislikes to be angry or hateful and get rid of it quickly. He frees himself from hateful mind and practices the loving-kindness mind.


The rites of marriage and death are a significant part of most religions

In supramundane Dhamma (Lokuttara Dhamma) marriage (sensual desire) and "rites" are fetters, which stall progress to experience nibbana. Clinging to rites and views is called silabattupadana, which the stream entrant (sotapanna) has shaken off.

Marriage however is endorsed for lay practitioners, given they're at least undertaking the five precepts.

Above said, it is evident that the Buddha rather talked about which qualities husbands and wives should have, and not necessarily how these customs are celebrated.

  "In five ways, young householder, should a wife as the West be ministered to by a husband:
  (i) by being courteous to her,
  (ii) by not despising her,
  (iii) by being faithful to her,
  (iv) by handing over authority to her,
  (v) by providing her with adornments.

  "The wife thus ministered to as the West by her husband shows her compassion to her husband in five ways:
  (i) she performs her duties well,
  (ii) she is hospitable to relations and attendants
  (iii) she is faithful,
  (iv) she protects what he brings,
  (v) she is skilled and industrious in discharging her duties.

~

Parents, on the other hand, have the duty to arrange a marriage, but this has to be understood in the historical context.

  "In five ways, young householder, the parents thus ministered to as the East by their children, show their compassion:
  (i) they restrain them from evil,
  (ii) they encourage them to do good,
  (iii) they train them for a profession,
  (iv) they arrange a suitable marriage,
  (v) at the proper time they hand over their inheritance to them.

~

Concerning death, I believe that most Buddhists choose to be cremated (especially monks).

But there is probably no definite answer, since the are a lot of sectarian Buddhisms out there, which are strongly interwoven with i) current society and its customs; ii) " non-canonical customs & teachings not spoken by the Buddha, which have been inherited since forever, to make Buddhism fit into everything; iii) The Dhamma is only concerned about stress (dukkha) & its cessation:

  And so, Anuradha — when you can't pin down the Tathagata as a truth or reality even in the present life — is it proper for you to declare, 'Friends, the Tathagata — the supreme man, the superlative man, attainer of the superlative attainment — being described, is described otherwise than with these four positions: The Tathagata exists after death, does not exist after death, both does & does not exist after death, neither exists nor does not exist after death'?"
  "No, lord."
  "Very good, Anuradha. Very good. Both formerly & now, it is only stress that I describe, and the cessation of stress."