The Kusita-Arambhavatthu Sutta (AN8.80) provides eight grounds for the arousal of energy. In the original Pali version, it appears that the word used is "viriya".

  "There are these eight grounds for the arousal of energy. Which eight?

  "There is the case where a monk has some work to do. The thought
  occurs to him: 'I will have to do this work. But when I am doing this
  work, it will not be easy to attend to the Buddha's message. Why don't
  I make an effort beforehand for the attaining of the
  as-yet-unattained, the reaching of the as-yet-unreached, the
  realization of the as-yet-unrealized?' So he makes an effort for the
  attaining of the as-yet-unattained, the reaching of the
  as-yet-unreached, the realization of the as-yet-unrealized. This is
  the first grounds for the arousal of energy.

  "Then there is the case where a monk has done some work. The thought
  occurs to him: 'I have done some work. While I was doing work, I
  couldn't attend to the Buddha's message. Why don't I make an effort
  for the attaining of the as-yet-unattained, the reaching of the
  as-yet-unreached, the realization of the as-yet-unrealized?' So he
  makes an effort for the attaining of the as-yet-unattained, the
  reaching of the as-yet-unreached, the realization of the
  as-yet-unrealized. This is the second grounds for the arousal of
  energy.

  "Then there is the case where a monk has to go on a journey. The
  thought occurs to him: 'I will have to go on this journey. But when I
  am going on the journey, it will not be easy to attend to the Buddha's
  message. Why don't I make an effort beforehand for the attaining of
  the as-yet-unattained, the reaching of the as-yet-unreached, the
  realization of the as-yet-unrealized?' So he makes an effort for the
  attaining of the as-yet-unattained, the reaching of the
  as-yet-unreached, the realization of the as-yet-unrealized. This is
  the third grounds for the arousal of energy.

  "Then there is the case where a monk has gone on a journey. The
  thought occurs to him: 'I have gone on a journey. While I was going on
  the journey, I couldn't attend to the Buddha's message. Why don't I
  make an effort for the attaining of the as-yet-unattained, the
  reaching of the as-yet-unreached, the realization of the
  as-yet-unrealized?' So he makes an effort for the attaining of the
  as-yet-unattained, the reaching of the as-yet-unreached, the
  realization of the as-yet-unrealized. This is the fourth grounds for
  the arousal of energy.

  "Then there is the case where a monk, having gone for alms in a
  village or town, does not get as much coarse or refined food as he
  needs to fill himself up. The thought occurs to him: 'I, having gone
  for alms in a village or town, have not gotten as much coarse or
  refined food as I need to fill myself up. This body of mine is light &
  suitable for work. Why don't I make an effort for the attaining of the
  as-yet-unattained, the reaching of the as-yet-unreached, the
  realization of the as-yet-unrealized?' So he makes an effort for the
  attaining of the as-yet-unattained, the reaching of the
  as-yet-unreached, the realization of the as-yet-unrealized. This is
  the fifth grounds for the arousal of energy.

  "Then there is the case where a monk, having gone for alms in a
  village or town, does get as much coarse or refined food as he needs
  to fill himself up. The thought occurs to him: 'I, having gone for
  alms in a village or town, have gotten as much coarse or refined food
  as I need to fill myself up. This body of mine is light & suitable for
  work. Why don't I make an effort for the attaining of the
  as-yet-unattained, the reaching of the as-yet-unreached, the
  realization of the as-yet-unrealized?'1 So he makes an effort for
  the attaining of the as-yet-unattained, the reaching of the
  as-yet-unreached, the realization of the as-yet-unrealized. This is
  the sixth grounds for the arousal of energy.

  "Then there is the case where a monk comes down with a slight illness.
  The thought occurs to him: 'I have come down with a slight illness.
  Now, there's the possibility that it could get worse. Why don't I make
  an effort beforehand for the attaining of the as-yet-unattained, the
  reaching of the as-yet-unreached, the realization of the
  as-yet-unrealized?' So he makes an effort for the attaining of the
  as-yet-unattained, the reaching of the as-yet-unreached, the
  realization of the as-yet-unrealized. This is the seventh grounds for
  the arousal of energy.

  "Then there is the case where a monk has recovered from his illness,
  not long after his recovery. The thought occurs to him: 'I have
  recovered from my illness. It's not long after my recovery. Now,
  there's the possibility that the illness could come back. Why don't I
  make an effort beforehand for the attaining of the as-yet-unattained,
  the reaching of the as-yet-unreached, the realization of the
  as-yet-unrealized?' So he makes an effort for the attaining of the
  as-yet-unattained, the reaching of the as-yet-unreached, the
  realization of the as-yet-unrealized. This is the eighth grounds for
  the arousal of energy.

  "These are the eight grounds for the arousal of energy."

If you consider the ability to concentrate the mind, as a kind of mental energy, then according to the Mettanisamsa Sutta (AN11.16), metta or loving kindness is one way to gain mental concentration easily:

  "Monks, eleven advantages are to be expected from the release
  (deliverance) of heart by familiarizing oneself with thoughts of
  loving-kindness (metta), by the cultivation of loving-kindness, by
  constantly increasing these thoughts, by regarding loving-kindness as
  a vehicle (of expression), and also as something to be treasured, by
  living in conformity with these thoughts, by putting these ideas into
  practice, and by establishing them. What are the eleven?

  . 1. "He sleeps in comfort. 2. He awakes in comfort. 3. He sees no evil dreams. 4. He is dear to human beings. 5. He is dear to non-human
  beings. 6. Devas (gods) protect him. 7. Fire, poison, and sword cannot
  touch him. 8. His mind can concentrate quickly. 9. His countenance is
  serene. 10. He dies without being confused in mind. 11. If he fails to
  attain arahantship (the highest sanctity) here and now, he will be
  reborn in the brahma-world.


does all of buddhism depend on dependant co arising?

It's not like "buddhism" "depends" on a "law" - it's just that D.O. is the most fundamental observation about how things work.

It is an observation about how the world of representation develops, from complete nondifferentiation to having appearance of distinct sentient beings who are born, die, suffer, argue and fight with each other.

And it's basically like, "hmmm, this appearance of distinct sentient beings with all their troubles only exists in the world of representation, and outside of representation none of this is applicable!" and "therefore, if we learn to deconstruct our own representation, we can transcend its limits and griefs" and "so, it makes sense to study how representation develops, this might give us clues into how to deconstruct it".

But if you want to prove it false, you'd need to prove false the very idea of representation (aka subjective experience aka consciousness). As well as the idea that subjective experience is something that does not just pop out of nowhere but grows over time.

Both of these are obvious facts known first-hand. We all have subjective experience. And we all remember how it developed when we were children. Do you want to try and prove this false?


Does Ichinen Sanzen include "wishful thinking"?

Ichinen Sanzen isn't really wishful thinking, because it's not just hoping for a situation to get better— it's actually working for a situation to become better.
Wishful thinking implies that the subject expects the situation to change, whereas Ichinen Sanzen (3000 realms) implies that your own outlook  needs to change. This means not viewing oneself as victim of one's environment and basically that the concept of goodness and badness only exist in out head.
Here is a quote that Nichiren (a buddhist monk who propagated the 3000 realms) wrote in one of his letters to a follower that I think gives the gist of the idea of Ichinen Sanzen:

"The Vimalakīrti Sutra states that, when one seeks the Buddhas’ emancipation in the minds of ordinary beings, one finds that ordinary beings are the entities of enlightenment, and that the sufferings of birth and death are nirvana. It also states that, if the minds of living beings are impure, their land is also impure, but if their minds are pure, so is their land. There are not two lands, pure or impure in themselves. The difference lies solely in the good or evil of our minds.
It is the same with a Buddha and an ordinary being. When deluded, one is called an ordinary being, but when enlightened, one is called a Buddha. This is similar to a tarnished mirror that will shine like a jewel when polished. A mind now clouded by the illusions of the innate darkness of life is like a tarnished mirror, but when polished, it is sure to become like a clear mirror, reflecting the essential nature of phenomena and the true aspect of reality" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin   vol. I 4).

You'll notice that he is referring to perception of events and not just wishing problems away. That's the difference between The 3000 Realms and wishful thinking.
If you want a more technical definition of Ichinen Sanzen where I break down each part and say how it works, I'm happy to do so. Just add a comment to my answer asking me.
Anyhow, I hope this helped!
Edit: I'm not really sure about the specifics of Theravada Buddhism, but I know that both wishful thinking and Ichinen Sanzen aren't part of Theravada Buddhism.
Wishful thinking isn't a real practice in Buddhism regardless of the sect, and The 3000 Realms was developed by T'ien-T'ai, a Chinese, Mahayana monk; so, it's not part of Theravada Buddhism either.


Patisandhi citta is not conditioned by the Cuti citta. Cuti citta merely marks the end of that life. The Javanas that occur just before the Cuti citta determine the nature of the Patisandhi citta. Read more here: The mind at the time of death.


Actually it appears that the Buddha spoke positively of the use of legitimate wealth for performing oblations or offerings to the gods (who are not immortal or eternal) in the sutta quoted below.
From AN 5.41:

Furthermore, with his legitimate wealth he makes five
spirit-offerings:
Puna caparaṃ, gahapati, ariyasāvako
uṭṭhānavīriyādhigatehi bhogehi bāhābalaparicitehi sedāvakkhittehi
dhammikehi dhammaladdhehi pañcabaliṃ kattā hoti.
to relatives, guests, ancestors, king, and deities.
Ñātibaliṃ, atithibaliṃ, pubbapetabaliṃ, rājabaliṃ, devatābaliṃ—
This is the fourth reason to get rich.
ayaṃ catuttho bhogānaṃ ādiyo.


Is preparing eggs for a meal considered as sinful in Buddhism?

I think the idea of sinful or not doesn't apply to Buddhism. There are only wholesome/skillful actions and unwholesome/unskillful actions.  Karma = intention.

As long as you are mindful of what you're doing and your intention is to prepare a meal for nourishment, instead of causing harm in any way, cracking an egg during the meal preparation doesn't seem to be a cause for bad karma.


Anger management - How to manage bad temper?

I used to have a problem with anger.  I have found that mindfulness meditation (in my case, part Samatha and part Vispasana) works well but that the most powerful tool is compassionate meditation, also called Metta meditation.

Here's an example from http://viewonbuddhism.org/Meditations/equanimity_compassion_meditation.html:

  Visualise in front of you three persons: at the left a good friend, in the middle a stranger, to the right an enemy or someone you cannot stand.
  - Concentrate on the friend in front and examine your feelings towards him or her.
  - Now concentrate on the stranger and examine your feelings towards him or her.
  - Now concentrate on the enemy and examine your feelings towards him or her.
  - Return to the stranger and realise that this person can easily become your friend or enemy in the future.
  - Next, look at the friend and realise that this person may become your enemy in the future when cheating or hurting you.
  - Now, look at the enemy and realise that this person may become your friend in the future when helping you.
  - Again look at your friend and try to strongly feel love and appreciation.
  - Now look at the stranger and try to hold this feeling towards this person.
  - Again look at your friend and try to strongly feel love and appreciation.
  - Now try to hold this feeling while looking at the enemy; is it really impossible to feel some love and compassion for this person?
  - Try to realise that all three, friend, stranger and enemy are completely equal in trying to become happy and trying to avoid suffering.

What I personally do is use a Loving Kindness Meditation (LKM):

  May you be happy
  May you be healthy
  May you be safe
  May you live with ease

First I focus on a loved one.  Then a friend. Then someone I feel neutral about.  Then someone I dislike.

In the moment if someone is verbally attacking me or being otherwise disquieting I think to myself, "This person is suffering. They think that what they are doing now will ease their suffering. But it won't."  And then I do the LKM silently to myself.

And at all times when I am in danger of losing my equanimity I focus on my breath.

Finally, I forgive myself if I fail and get angry.  I am not enlightened, I am just another traveler on the path.


Unable to sustain mindfulness on subtle breath

There is nothing wrong with losing your focus of the breath, as long as wherever the mind goes, you are aware of that moment. That is, in my view, perfect practice. You are not restricting yourself to the breath or anything. Which is correct! Wherever the mind goes, it goes... you can't control it. So by simply watching where the attention of the mind falls upon, you are fully focused in the moment. Just like watching a butterfly gently landing onto different flowers, being carried by the wind. We have no idea how strong the wind will blow nor do will know in which direction... but, you can still watch the butterfly attentively, as it lands.

But that's just my view. My understanding of correct practice.
Metta.


Nibbana: Not an Ultimate Reality or Ultimate Truth?

"Nirvāna has been described by the Buddha not as the ending of rebirth (jāti nirodho), but as the ending of the delusion of existence (bhava nirodho Nibbānaŋ), by awakening from the dream of existence (samma sambodhi)." Page 57 from here
"The paradigm shift (nirodha samāpatti) where the meditator withdraws from the paradigm of existence (bhava) and gets established in the paradigm of experience (nirodha), brings about the freedom or liberation (vimutti) from emotional excitements (tanhā) and accompanying suffering (dukkha), ending in the imperturbable serenity, Nibbāna. This means the mind that was purified will never become polluted again." Page 78 from here


Sure. Meditation is a mental activity which means it can be done anywhere at anytime. It doesn't matter if you're on a bus, in your room, or in a deprivation tank.

So is a deprivation tank valuable? Sure! People today and in ancient times have always used sensory deprivation techniques to further their mind. Today, people still use ancient forms of sensory deprivation techniques such as retreats into caves, living in dark rooms, living underground to avoid sound and light, sitting in one place for a pro-long length of time, etc... The only downfall for deprivation tanks is that you can't live inside them. Otherwise, I could see it being beneficial. Though long-term sensory deprivation techniques should NOT be used by beginner practitioners. Your mind will begin to hallucinate after 2 - 3 days of continues deprivation. If you're not trained to handle the mind under these conditions it can be scary, strange, and confusing if you're not prepared to face it. The only kind of teachers I would trust in doing such an extreme meditation practice (myself being a zen practitioner) would be the  Buddhist Lama's living in Tibet. They are very intelligent, hard-core, and specialize in matters concerning the subconscious mind.

Here is a video of a group of men and women Hallucinating after a few days of visual sensory deprivation.


Can you point me some Sutras on Buddhist Cosmology?

Kosala Sutta 1
Aggañña Sutta
Cakka,vatti Siha,nāda Sutta
Satta Suriya Sutta
Pāṭika Sutta
Saṅkhārupapatti Sutta
Brahma,jala Sutta Also see for introduction: An Introduction to the Brahma,jāla Sutta

Also Abhidhamma books contain a lot on this subject.


The true cognition in Buddhism is tautologically defined as directly knowing and seeing things as they are.

The explanation of this is threefold.

First, this means a mode of cognition without a contradiction, not prone to contradicting evidence.

Second, it means a mode of cognition which, when taken as a  basis for decision-making and action, does not lead to conflict or suffering, but to peace.

Third, it is cognition that is an extension of the ontological nature beyond words, beyond generalizations and concepts, beyond discrete representation.

This last point means, this cognition is so featureless that it may seem like there's none, and yet it is actually a lot more accurate than our naive crude models we take for the truth.


What is meant by setting the "wheel" of Dharma in motion?

You can read about the Dharma Wheel or Dharmachakra in the article "The Dharma Wheel (Dharmachakra) Symbol in Buddhism" by Barbara O'Brien.

In this article, it is stated that the Dharma Wheel is a chariot wheel and it is most commonly depicted as having eight spokes, representing the Noble Eightfold Path.

What happens when a chariot wheel is turned?

The chariot moves of course.

In this case, I suggest that it symbolizes that the chariot of humanity starts moving towards the end of suffering, towards Nibbana.


significance of buddhism in this age of terrorism tyrannies and insolence

It's all about money and power

In modern world , almost everything happens according to money and power. So people and governments try to have money and power . Some people try to get those by force. We call them terrorists . And there are terrorist governments as well. There is a huge competition nowadays to be the richest or the most powerful.

But why...

Let's ask why those things happen. There is one simple answer. Greed.
It is one of the worst qualities one can have , greed drives people crazy. Never ending desires , anger , jealousy and suffering , everything above is happening because of greed .

So according to Buddhism, we have to get rid of greed , then only we will be able to create a better world than this. We have to make ourselves better first, if everyone thought it that way , the whole community will be better eventually, we can't change government, we can't change the world, only way we can change the way world works is to change ourselves. To do that Buddhism will help a lot. Everyone should follow the path to nirvana. If we all did this , those cruelty, terrorism and rudeness will fade away.


When it comes to developing concentration modern technology is definitely a distraction as devices tend to seek your attention. This leads to being scatter brained. This is the reason many meditation centres don't allow you to have them.

Also modern life style has a lot of responsibilities, and leaves little time for spiritual practice.

The society as a whole is becoming materialistic and sensualised. This means that you are always in in the process of getting attached to different products and services as well as the more morally loose life style. This hinders development of insight as it is kāma-taṇhā, or "sense-craving".

Mode education and scientific thought has made people to be more inquisitive and skeptical towards traditional or unfamiliar teaching. This is a double edged sword as this can lead to Vichikicha also.

In a modern world our quality of life has increased due to these technologies. Hence the onus is on the user to use them for ones benefit. E.g. if there is a kitchen knife and you use it to cook you are getting utility. You can use it for a very negative cause like killing or committing suicide. It is the user who is to blame and not the knife.


Hereditary illness or not...the offspring you will produce will become old, fall ill and die. The dukkha is inevitable. We may as well say that dukkha is hereditary to all humans so  should we have kids?

If your intention in having a child is good, if the child is born out of love and not lust, if child is born not out of any form of sexual misconduct...then you will be fine...there will be no bad kamma.


A thought-experiment about the importance of Buddhist traditions

Would this result in loss of rank, social standing and credibility in his own circles? Or would this cause others around him to start looking up to him? What's your opinion?

It would undoubtedly result in loss of all of these. Particularly in the case of adopting the rites and rituals of a theistic religion. I'm trying to think of an example where this actually happened, but cannot. Nor can I find any examples on the internet. Lots of converts to Buddhism, very few high profile converts from Buddhism.

We might take the example of the conversion of the British academic Paul Williams from Tibetan Buddhism (back) to Catholicism. Williams is the notable author of a standard text on Mahāyāna Buddhism, which is now in a second edition and still used in many universities around the world. He had practised Buddhism in the Tibetan Gelug tradition.

This caused quite a stir when it happened, fanned by his writing a book and at least one article about the reasons for his conversion. Of course it did not affect his standing in academia which is based on his published works on Buddhism. Buddhist responses mostly seemed to be couched in polite terms, but to be quite dismissive of William's understanding of Buddhism. One comment which stood out from NewBuddhist.com was

  This exact topic was raised on another Buddhist forum and provoked more anger and rejection than almost any other, with the possible exception of vegetarianism, a topic which reduces some of those who value ahimsa to homicidal rage... In short Williams was seen as a turncoat, a traitor...a threat.

And remember that Williams was not a religious leader, simply a moderately prominent academic. If we were talking about a Buddhist leader apparently converting I think this would cause a great deal of upset.

The second part of your question is easier to answer

  Are Buddhist cultural habits and traditional ways of dress, behavior, speech etc. important for making spiritual progress?

The simple answer is "no". And the early Buddhists seem to have been aware of this. A number of Pāli texts admonish that a robe and a bald head do not make a bhikkhu. A bhikkhu is someone who exemplifies Buddhist virtues. See for example Dhammapada vs 264-266; e.g.

  na muṇḍakena samaṇo, abbato alikaṃ bhaṇaṃ.
  icchālobhasamāpanno, samaṇo kiṃ bhavissati. | Dhp 264|

  He is not a practitioner because he is bald.
  He is not a preacher who is immoral and lies.
  How will he become a practitioner,
  Who is given over to desire and acquisition?  [My translation]


I'm wondering whether the knowledge of the Buddhist path and participating in it would be the fruition of good karma.

First of all, it takes a lot of good Karma to attain human life, it is through human life only that one can work on oneself to attain Nibbana. Human life is a rare occurring. Then, of course, it takes a huge amount of intelligence, maturity and millions of lives of good karma to arrive at the true Dhamma and to arrive at the understanding that, 'desire is the root cause of sorrow'.

In other words, does accumulating a certain level of good karma promote or even ensure that rebirths will generate good karma as well?

This is something circumstantial. You might be reborn in brahma realm and you might do bad karma and then reborn in lower realms. There is no guarantee of rebirths generating good karma.


What are Buddha-fields and Dharma-fields in Buddhism? What roles do they play in various lineages?

A Buddha-Field is another word for a Pure land, a realm associated with a Buddha. In the Pure Land Buddhism followers chant to a Buddha such as Amitabha in order to be reborn in his pure land where enlightenment is guaranteed thereafter.

To be honest I'm not seeing much about Dharma-Fields when I look. But if you are seeing the term used in the same context as Buddha-Field I'm going to go out on a limb and say they mean the same. I'd be interested if someone else knows otherwise.

The question about pure lands give more information.

I hope that helps some.


Your question is an interesting philosophical investigation, if you can break or crack a concept, it will bring you closer to enlightenment, at least. In fact the Gōng'àn (Jap: Koan) is doing the same thing but in the Eastern style, more intuition, and 觀.

I do not think that I can answer you with a word or few sentences to define what is tathata, or suchness. In fact no one has ever been able to do so, else why we left fumbling it but the Buddha not defined it definitely like he did to the aggregates, karma... or paramita?

But perhaps I can help to unknot the knot in your question.

  Is suchness, tathata, as a concept always something in addition to phenomena?

No. Parted from phenomena there is no tathata existed independently, parted from tathata neither phenomena. It's like, you cannot say the ocean or a droplet existed independently parted from the water, and vice versa.

Therefore you cannot say "something in addition to". Is the water in addition to the ocean that make the ocean an ocean?

  If not, when we talk about the suchness of phenomena we could mean what they are like, the qualitative experience of a taste e.g..

I do not know where does this "suchness of phenomena" phrase come from? Perhaps reading some bad writings on Buddhism by Teacher XYZ? At least, in the Chinese text materials this phrase doesn't exist; this phrase construct is invalid and ludicrous.

In Chinese Buddhism, tathata is 如, or 如如. The
Western civilization doesn't have equivalent concept, but I try to bring it closer for contemplation. The English words if, as it is, such as, as... could be close; or thisness/thatness the textbook one but really a bit misleading though. Hence, while your "the qualitative experience of a taste" is just an "as it is", "if", "as"; how more you can say about an "as it is" for giving the qualitative favor?

  But if, conceptually, they are different, then no experience of taste amounts to its "true state" -- the meaning of suchness.

Again, you cannot put this 'no experience of taste amounts to its "true state"'; same as, is the true taste of the ocean the amount of all the taste of all the water, or just a drop of water? If it's the former, no existing being has ever known the taste of the ocean (perhaps it's sweet with caramel and orange tang? )

  Specifically, when Buddhists say phenomena are empty of own nature, do they always mean phenomena as such and not phenomena considered as themselves?

I can only say, tathata and svabhava are closely related but they are not the same.

Again, you cannot say "phenomena as such and not phenomena considered as themselves", simply phenomena, or anything, cannot have two contradictory qualia(s). You cannot say the rat is in the mammal class also the mammal class is excluding rat.

This last paragraph quoted is clouded with bubbling blurbs perhaps is unhelpful to understand the core teaching. Suggestion, drop it. Sometimes words and the mind's ability to construct syntax is a hindrance.

To answer your real concern,

  I'm asking because I've seen it said that tathata means qualia.

This saying is an erroneous error. Tathata does NOT mean qualia. If it is that simple to define, why the Buddha has to spend another 20-30 years to teach the 2nd and 3rd Wheel Turning Sutras?


Mindfulness when on the train, underground and bus

I too am on public transport for a reasonable part of the day. When I look around at my fellow passengers it's always notable to me how many are not present. The majority of people are on phones, checking social media, listening to music, flicking through a newspaper, doing anything but being present. It is rare to see people just sat there. This isn't to judge these people - commuting is tough particularly on some routes and people do what they feel they must do.

But it's not just other people. I do it - listening to music, checking the phone etc... Recently I've challenged myself just to let go of these crutches to my commute. I don't listen to music etc.. etc.. I just sit there. I try to take notice. I wait and see what crazy thought pops into my head and try to spot where it came from. I try to be aware of my fellow commuters. I sometime play a game with myself where I wait and see how long it takes before I get bored. I never get bored. I get restless, frustrated but not bored.

Right now this is a good practice for me. My life is busy but I just add to it. There are moments in the day when I can take in a bit less information - commuting is one of them. Guarding the sense doors is an important (and difficult) practice for me. I truly believe that it's improved my mental state and is having a positive effect on my meditation practice. It's all conditions and if I spend my commute pumping extra information into my mind it's not surprising that at the end of the day I feel like I've poisoned my mind.

This answer is just my personal experience but I hope it's of some interest to you. Good luck with the practice on your commute.


In Tibetan schools the four seals are usually presented like this:

Everything that is conditioned (or "composite") is impermanent.
Everything that is stained (or "tainted") brings suffering.
All phenomena are empty and devoid of a self (or "of independent entity").
Nirvana or ("The Realization") is peace.

The first three look like paraphrases of the original Three Marks of Existence:

anicca vata sankhara (all assemblies are transitory)
sabbe sankhara dukkha (all assemblies are faulty / entail pain)
sabbe dhamma anatta (all phenomena are no-self or "coreless")

And here is a commentary by H.H. Dalai Lama from "The Gelug/Kagyü Tradition of Mahamudra."

[For non-Mahayana Buddhists]

  never separating the actions of their body, speech and mind from the behavior shaped by the vinaya rules of ethical discipline is karmamudra, the seal of their behavior.
  The realization of the lack of any true, unimputed identity of a person, specifically the total absence or voidness of a person existing as a substantial entity able to stand on its own – the coarse identitylessness of a person according to the prasangika-madhyamaka presentation – is dharmamudra, the seal of their preventive measures.
  The state of separation from disturbing emotions and attitudes, on the basis of the abiding nature of purity, attained through meditation on the identitylessness of a person is samayamudra, the seal of their close bond.
  The nirvana or total release that they attain without any remainder of aggregates is mahamudra, their great seal.

[For Mahayana Buddhists having taken the vow of Bodhisattva]

  never separating the actions of their body, speech and mind from behavior based on practice of the six far-reaching attitudes is the seal of their behavior.
  Based on their practice of the six far-reaching attitudes in general, and particularly of the joint path of shamatha yoked with vipashyana, their meditation on voidness, free from all mental fabrication and fabricating, seeing that all phenomena appear but without true, inherent existence, like illusion, is the seal of their preventive measures.
  Through the ethical self-discipline of a bodhisattva, restraining themselves from all selfish thought or action so that they are never tainted by any stain of working for their own purposes is the seal of their close bond.
  Having followed a path that has had as its essence the combination
  of compassion and the understanding of voidness, on which they have
  practiced method and discriminating awareness without one having
  ever been missing, but rather with method always apprehended within
  the context of wisdom and wisdom within the context of method, their
  single taste of compassion and voidness is their great seal. At that point, their ultimate combined vision of both the full extent of what exists and how it all exists, being of a single taste of compassion and wisdom, totally pacifies the extreme of remaining passively in a nirvanic state of total release from all suffering.

I do not know the original/earliest source of these.


How are Buddhist Sacred Texts used in practice and historically, given the questioned authenticity of some of them

From a more secular perspective the Pail Canon has the definite merit of being closer to the time of the Buddha so could (controversially?) be argued has the greatest authenticity. However there is an enormous canon of Mahayana literature that from a historic point of view was written hundreds of years after the time of the Historical Buddha. To the adherents of these forms of Buddhism these texts most certainly don't lack authenticity. In fact the ones that I'm familiar with go further and insist that they are higher teachings that build on more provisional early texts.

A couple of examples

The Perfection of Wisdom sutras are early Mahayana texts. The tradition goes that the Buddha entrusted the texts to the Nagas (water snakes or dragons). Hundreds of years later Nagarjuna rediscovered these from the nagas then redistributed them to the world. So according to tradition the texts are authentic although they were only available much later on.

Another Mahayana text the Lotus Sutra goes to great lengths to point out that the text is the authentic word of the Buddha even though it was written after his death. It asserts that it is a higher teaching that augments and to some extent supersedes the early texts. In this case the Buddha is still teaching the text but in this work the Buddha is seen more as existing throughout time and takes on a more cosmic aspect so the words been written afterwards become less of a problem. This quote illustrates the timeless aspect of the Buddha in the Lotus sutra

  Suppose all these worlds, whether or not a particle was left in them,
  were reduced to particles, and each particle represented a kalpa. The
  period of time since I became a buddha would exceed this by hundreds
  of thousands of myriads of koṭis of nayutas of incalculable kalpas.
  Since then I have constantly been residing in the sahā world,
  teaching the Dharma and inspiring sentient beings. I have also been
  leading and benefiting sentient beings in incalculable hundreds of
  thousands of myriads of koṭis of nayutas of other worlds.

Use of the texts

As to how people understand of use these texts - since the later texts are still seen as the authentic Buddhist text they will be used in that manner. Bear in mind also there are texts that do not make the claim to be the authentic word of the buddha such as Santideva's Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra. A huge number of people, past and present, find these texts hugely rewarding spiritual works in the same way as people have an enormous regard for Christian works such as An Imitation of Christ. It doesn't need to the the direct word of the the Buddha to be a valuable spiritual work.

I have personally read (a reasonable portion of) the Pali canon and the Mahayana works listed here (Diamond sutra and Heart sutra from the perfection of wisdom) and I would urge anyone who is interested to spend time with the Mahayana texts as well as the Pali Canon texts. It's my belief that these works aren't (just) instructional manuals - the reading of them is an act of devotion and Buddhist practice in and of itself. Read the Lotus Sutra and allow the great swirling cosmic vastness of it all transport you somewhere else.


If I can try to generalize, I would venture to guess that people who come to Buddhism on their own (as opposed to being born into the religion) -- are probably less happy than average, which is what pushes them to seek the way out to begin with.

The reference to suffering in the First Noble Truth is not meant as the final conclusion the Buddhists are supposed to live with, but rather as a starting point for one's spiritual journey. We are seeking an end to the painful wrongness: issues, troubles, hopeless social situation, messed up personal world etc. However, we don't believe in solving it by doing more of the same. We are tired of Samsara, tired of the rat race, we had enough of it. Buddhism promises an alternative to the rat race, this is why we like it, this is what we believe in.

That said, it's not that happiness simply comes as a passive side-effect of being a good Buddhist. Rather, deliberately cultivating happiness that does not depend on external circumstances is one of the core practices in Buddhism!

In Theravada, happiness is cultivated at the end of samatha stage, as the First/Second Jhana. In Vajrayana, this is practiced as Generation-Stage Meditation. In Mahayana, we achieve happiness by forgetting about our own problems as we take care of others.

All this is to say that happiness is not a second-class concept in Buddhism, far from it. In fact, in (Tibetan) Mahayana, one's capacity for lighthearted humor, affirming joyfulness and authentic warmth; one's capacity to be happy and to make others happy -- in the face of the most adverse circumstances -- is considered the most reliable indicator of one's spiritual progress.

So yah, it should absolutely be a fair claim to make, that Buddhists who practice well are happier than average, not because Buddhism is so awesome but because being happy is one of the main things we practice!


Where can I find the Chinese Canon Agama in English translation?

Dirgha Agama

Thanks to the reference contributed by ChrisW, I was able to find the following fragments:

DA 11, DA 12, and DA 30 translated by bhikkhu Analayo
DA 21 translated by Fan Dong Jing

The entire DA is available in print from BDK America (thanks for the link, Suminda Sirinath S. Dharmasena):

http://www.bdkamerica.org/catalog/indian-sources

Madhyama Agama

Online I was able to find the following sutras, translated by Charles D. Patton:

MA 1
MA 2
MA 10
MA 11
MA 17
MA 42
MA 45
MA 51
MA 186

There is also this BDK America version, containing the first 71 sutras:

MA 1-71

Samyukta Agama

According to the sutra commentaries in the Yogacara-bhumi Shastra, the Samyukta Agama was the earliest agama collection.

Turns out there are two version of Samyukta Agama, the long one (~1350 sutras), known by the scholars as T.99 or "ZA" and the short one (364 sutras), known as T.100 or "BZA". Most of the BZA is available in English translation by Marcus Bingenheimer either online or in one PDF. Most of the BZA sutras have almost identical counterparts in ZA.

Out of ~1350 sutras in the long Samyukta Agama, ~260 are available online so far, most translated to English by bhikkhu Analayo and some by an unknown translator at lapislazulitexts.com/tripitaka as well as by Choong Mun-keat:

SA1-32
SA33-58
SA59-87
SA103-110
SA111-138
SA139-187
SA188-229
SA 232
SA 236
SA 249
SA256-272
SA 273
T.100.6 / SA 275
(SĀ 276) “Attitudes Towards Nuns – A Case Study of the Nandakovāda in the Light of its Parallels”, (with an appendix by Giuliana Martini), Journal of Buddhist Ethics, 2010, vol. 17 pp. 332–400.  download
SA 287
SA 293
SA 296
SA 297
SA 299
SA 300
SA 301: Kātyāyana Gotra
SA 335
(SĀ 344 and SA 389) ” Right View and the Scheme of the Four Truths in Early Budhism, The Saṃyukta-āgama Parallel to the Sammādiṭṭhi-sutta and the Simile of the Four Skills of a Physician”, Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, 2011, vol. 7 pp. 11–44.  download
SA 371: The Nutriments
SA 374. The Nutriments
SA 379: Turning the Dharma Wheel
SA 383. Having Known
SA 451. The Realms
SA 474: Gradual Subsiding
(SĀ 505) “Śakra and the Destruction of Craving – A Case Study in the Role of Śakra in Early Buddhism”, Indian International Journal of Buddhist Studies, 2011, vol. 12 pp. 157-176.  download
SA 606. Bases of Mindfulness
SA 610. Correct Mindfulness
SA 615. Bhikṣuṇī Residence
(SĀ 619) “Protecting Oneself and Others Through Mindfulness – The Acrobat Simile in the Saṃyukta-āgama”, Sri Lanka International Journal of Buddhist Studies, 2012, vol. 2 pp. 1–23.   download
SA 620. The Monkey
SA 621. The Young Bhikṣus
SA 623. The World Beauty
SA 746. Ānāpānasmṛti
SA 801: Five Dharmas
SA 802. Knowledge
SA 803. Knowledge
SA 804. Cutting Off Thoughts
SA 805. Ariṣṭa
SA 806. Kapphiṇa
SA 807. Two Months
SA 808. Kapilavastu
(SĀ 1042) “The Saṃyukta-āgama Parallel to the Sāleyyaka-sutta”, Journal of Buddhist Ethics, 2006, vol. 13 pp. 1–22.  download
T.100 equivalents of SA 1062-1225
(SĀ 1249) “Exemplary Qualities of a Monastic – The Saṃyukta-āgama Counterpart to the Mahāgopālaka-sutta and the Need of Balancing Inner Development with Concern for Others”, Sri Lanka International Journal of Buddhist Studies, 2010, vol. 1 pp. 1–22.  download

Ekottarika Agama

Unless otherwise noted, translated by Dr. Thich Huyen-Vi and Bhikkhu Pasadika in collaboration with Sara Boin-Webb, for the Buddhist Studies Review.

EA 12.1 translated by Thích Nhất Hạnh, Annabel Laity
EA 17.1 — Mindfulness of Breathing
EA 18.4 — Brahmin
EA 18.5 — Elephant
EA 18.8 — Broad-minded
EA 18.9 — Authentic
EA 18.10 — Praise
EA 19.2 - EA 19.11
EA 20.1 - EA 20.13
EA 21.1 - EA 21.10


Shaolin Legandary Elders Great Power Comes with Great Responsibilty - Buddhism Zen

"Proper means" has nothing to do with the Buddha-Dhamma, good householder, as Shaolin hasn't. To call oneself Buddhas monk, yet not even serious in regard the precepts and dedicated to win and gain, actors for trade, is simply a thief. May no one get fooled by fools.
Wrong deeds stay wrong deeds, precepts are simple and no go, as well as kamma doesn't argue around.
But in regard whether a mass-murder could become a saint, Arahat, reaching Nibbana in present life: yes (as long as not killed mother, father or an Arahat). One may get familar with

Angulimala: A Murderer's Road to Sainthood, by Hellmuth Hecker (2007; 12pp./37KB)
A biography in the BPS's "Lives of the Disciples" series. A brief biography of Angulimala, the notorious bandit who was transformed by the Dhamma and eventually became an arahant.

Results of actions are still arising for Saints, but taken with ease, impersonal untouched by Arahts.
[Note that this isn't given for trade binding to the world, stacks, exchange... but for rekease from this wheel]


How to completely be aware of each moment?

You can still be aware of the breath. In case of working it is more easy to see the expansion and contraction nature / sensation of breathing process. In which case it might be an idea to look at your chest or abdomen for rising and falling sensation.

When you walk, talk or do anything else you need mindfulness to do the task right. In Buddhism this awareness is not too tied to being aware of what you do. What needs to be done is to be aware of the arising and passing of sensation (phenomena what is felt) with equanimity. In the case of breath any sensation pertaining to the breath like expansion contraction or touch at the upper lip or nose or length will be sufficient.


Who were the wise in the Buddha's discourses?

According to the commentaries:

  buddhādīhi viññūhi pasatthattā viññuppasatthāni

"The state of being praised by the wise, starting with the Buddha, [makes them] praised-by-the-wise."

In general, the word viññū just means someone with wisdom. The idea here is that the wiser the person is, the more likely they are to praise that which is worthy of praise and censure that which is worthy of censure.


Proper Meditation Upon A Physical Object

I cannot answer your original question, however, I second the comments above: stick to the breaths.

I would recommend using Buddhadasa Bhikkhu interpretation of the scriptures for the 1st step of your meditation: learn the long breath by controlling the flow of air coming in and out of your lungs, this will relax your body and help you move to the next steps.

Much more details here:

Mindfulness with breathing: Dhamma Talks
Mindfulness with breathing: full book


Attacking others with words such as they are weapons

There's a phrase like that Tittha Sutta: Sectarians (Ud 6.4):

And they kept on arguing, quarreling, & disputing, wounding one another with weapons of the mouth, saying,

"The Dhamma is like this, it's not like that. The Dhamma's not like that, it's like this."

This sutta contains the simile of the elephant.
The phrase is also in the next two suttas (Ud 6.5 and 6.6).


Does your lay Buddhist name follow you for life or does it change with different temples and masters?

Within the Triratna Buddhist Order, an order member is given a name upon ordination by his or her preceptor. This is part of the "private ordination" at which the practice of the ordinand is witnessed by the private preceptor as being effective. At the "public ordination", some time later, the name is made public and the ordinand is welcomed into the Order by a public preceptor (sometimes, but not always, a more senior order member than the private preceptor).

The name is both an aspiration and a recognition of something already present in the person, or one or the other (what may or may not be conveyed to the ordinand). The name may also hint at the individual path taken by the order member, as recognised by the private preceptor.

Some, but far from all, also change their legal name to the name given at ordination.

It happens that people leave the order for various reasons. I believe that some choose to keep their "Buddhist names". The name is, after all, actually not directly linked to them being member of the order, but to the recognition and witnessing of the effectiveness of their practice.

Regards,
Kusalananda


Are there Bad teachers? Is Mara in the Sanga?

There have always been bad men robed as monks. If we have clear moral discernment, we will avoid them.

  There are many evil characters and uncontrolled men wearing the saffron robe. These wicked men will be born in states of woe because
  of their evil deeds.
  It would be better to swallow a red-hot iron ball, blazing like fire, than as an immoral and uncontrolled monk to eat the alms of the
  people.

  Dhammapada


Are the bodhisattva vows better suited to the lay side of Buddhism?

As a practical observation, per AN4.99 there are four kinds of people found in the world:

  One who practices to benefit themselves, but not others;

  one who practices to benefit others, but not themselves;

  one who practices to benefit neither themselves nor others; and

  one who practices to benefit both themselves and others.
  ...

  And how does a person practice to benefit both themselves and others? It’s when a person doesn’t kill, etc. … and encourages others to do the same. That’s how a person practices to benefit both themselves and others.

The best is one who practices to benefit both themselves and others (see AN4.95):

  But the person who practices to benefit both themselves and others is the foremost, best, chief, highest, and finest of the four.

Note that this advice applies to all people, not just monastics. Therefore it would also apply to people who take Bodhisatta vows. It would also apply to people who have or do not have children.


Paths of Buddhism & Possibility of Compassion

I always feel guilty giving interpretative answers with no references, but since that's exactly what you seem to be asking here, here we go.

Sure, there are people of different skills and capacities. I wouldn't blame it on them, it's just a matter of circumstances, previous lives karma, old ignorance, we all were ignorant at some point.

But yeah, as my teacher explained, there are people who get it immediately, people who never seem to get it and just keep worshiping it as religion, and most of us in between, who get it with enough instructions and practice. As Buddha said, it is for this category that we teach.

Enlightenment is feasible in one lifetime if one makes it a priority and stays honest with oneself. I can't say some people are hopeless, that would not be fair. But yeah, for some it's more difficult, because of conceptual stereotypes, karmic inertia, or emotional blockages.

Traditionally, it is said that Buddhist path does not always result in awakening of compassion. Traditionally, you can be an isolated Buddha, who just can't stand the pain of engaging, and keeps to the peaceful abiding at all times.

However in practice, I just don't see how someone who really gets it can help but develop grand,  immense compassion for all sentient beings. So if you ask me, I'd say, if you're honest with yourself, compassion always arises. But then again, I'm a Mahayana guy, maybe it's my bias, maybe I should learn to feel less pity for everyone :))


Is attachment to the word "Meditation" a problem?

You'll grow out of it eventually.  What you are experiencing right now is the honeymoon period.  Everyone goes through it.  It's no different than the start of a new relationship.  Everything is fresh, exciting, captivating.  The word discipline is meaningless.  How could you not want to sit!  There is absolutely nothing wrong with this.  Use this opportunity to learn as much as you can.  Sit as much as you'd like.  Work on developing your concentration.  Just like working out, the gains that come in the beginner phase have no equivalent at any other point in your practice.  Things are easy now.  Take advantage of them.

But everything fades in intensity.  Eventually, you are going to come to a point in your practice where maybe your sits aren't going so well.  Maybe progress isn't coming as fast as it was.  Perhaps you want to jump over and try a different tradition.  Who knows.  You might even find yourself getting bored from time to time.  All of this is also normal.  In fact, it's where the real practice begins.  From here on out, you will learn that while sitting reaps unimaginable rewards, they don't come without work.  Here, you get to stare face to face with the obstacles that are holding you back.  This is where you truly understand why one Zen koan calls "sitting long and getting tired" the heart of Buddhism.  These difficulties are all to be embraced.  They are what cause real transformation to occur.


Mindfulness and Awareness is not a concept only to be practiced during Meditation. Practicing Mindfulness and Awareness during the day, with Parents, Teachers, Customers ... and all other Beeings is a powerfull and healthy practice. It is a tremendous challenge,

The Buddha spoke of the power of mindfulness in a very emphatic way:

  Mindfulness, I declare, is all-helpful.
  SAMYUTTA, 46:59

and

  All things can be mastered by mindfulness.
  ANGUTTARA, 8:83

and

  Further, there is that solemn and weighty utterance opening and
  concluding the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, the Discourse on the Foundations
  of Mindfulness:
  This is the only way, monks, for the purification of
  beings, for the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, for the
  destruction of pain and grief, for reaching the right path, for the
  attainment of Nibbana, namely the four foundations of mindfulness.

See THE POWER OF MINDFULNESS

and A Guide to Awareness

There is no sense in not beeing mindfull and aware during your carmic activities, you know Buddhism ... it is not all about your breath, it is all about your awareness and mindfullness during the day, the week.

If you feel you need more help, teaching or instructions, look for a good teacher with a solid reputation and established traditions along a respectable linage.

Addendum:

Perhaps the publication Essentials of Insight Meditation Practice is of some aid and section OTHER DAILY ACTIVITIES a good introduction.


Does Buddhism have anything to say about forming such habits? Is there any knowledge -- whether in the scriptures or from personal experience -- suggesting the ideal frequency of meditation (to form a habit)?

I realize you are asking about forming habits, but sometimes the road to effortless habits goes through eliminating hindrances. If we're talking satipatthana, a big deal is actually investigating hindrances to overcome these obstacles, as it is also conducive towards further cultivation of your meditation regime.

Generally speaking (vitarka), the five hindrances are:

Sensual Desire
Ill-will
Sloth and Torpor
Restlessness and Remorse
Doubt

Insights regarding hindrances are most likely not only beneficial for your meditation practice, but can likely be generalized to life as a whole.

More reading, and not least suggested antidotes to the hindrances:

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/nyanaponika/wheel026.html

  Also, does consistency relative to the hour of the day of meditation matter at all?

You may benefit from looking at prolonging the time for meditation rather than increase the frequency or timing during the day. It will expose you to important observations for deepening dhyana.

I'd argue that the more overall time spent in dhyana the better.


Do people in the Narakas (or non-human realms) remember their past lives?

Yes, they do know the kamma that lead them there. In fact, the governer in hell (king Yama) is regarded as a nice person who tries to help them recall any of their past good deeds before throwing them away to torture. If they happen to recall any good action, they'll be turned away to be born again in a higher realm. Such an instance is given in Devaduta sutta where king Yama tries to remind a new entrant of the five deva messengers that instigate people to do good in the human world.

There's a nice background story to a Dhammapada verse where king Pasenadi consulted Buddha on hearing some weird sounds at night and this turning out to be four of his former friends now in Lohakumbhi hell trying to convey him a message on consequences of their sexual misconducts.

  Meanwhile, King Pasenadi, obsessed with sexual desire, could not
  sleep, and kept thinking out how he would get rid of the husband in
  the morning and take his wife. At about midnight, he heard some eerie
  sounds; actually, these were the doleful voices of four persons
  suffering in Lohakumbhi Niraya . Hearing those weird voices, the king
  was terrified. Early in the morning, he went to the Buddha, as advised
  by Queen Mallika. When the Buddha was told about the four voices the
  king heard in the night, he explained to the king that those were the
  voices of four beings, who were the sons of rich men during the time
  of Kassapa Buddha, and that now they were suffering in Lohakumbhi
  Niraya because they had committed sexual misconduct with other
  people's wives. Then, the king came to realize the depravity of the
  deed and the severity of the punishment. So, he decided then and there
  that he would no longer covet another man's wife.
  http://what-buddha-said.net/Canon/Sutta/KN/Dhammapada.Verse_60.story.htm

As for other realms, hungry ghosts and devas are also said to recall the kamma  that brought them there. Petavatthu and Vimanavatthu provide a number of stories of monks who encountered such beings and heard their stories.


Which is the easiest of the four paths for a novice lay practitioner?

The sutta was spoken by Ananda. It is not the words of the Buddha. The Buddha taught samatha & vipassana are developed in tandem (MN 149; Dhp 372); as demonstrated in MN 118 (when it is properly understood). In short, given the path is the Eightfold Path with Three Trainings, how can there be a path that separates wisdom from the development of the path?

  Any view belonging to one who has come to be like this is his right view. Any resolve, his right resolve. Any effort, his right effort.
  Any mindfulness, his right mindfulness. Any concentration, his right
  concentration: just as earlier his actions, speech, & livelihood were
  already well-purified. Thus for him, having thus developed the noble
  eightfold path, the four frames of reference go to the culmination of
  their development. The four right exertions... the four bases of
  power... the five faculties... the five strengths... the seven factors
  for Awakening go to the culmination of their development. [And] for
  him these two qualities occur in tandem: tranquillity & insight. MN
  149

Also, insight cannot occur without tranquility because true insight, as described in many suttas, results in dispassion (viraga). A mind with dispassion will naturally have tranquility. Wrong concentration can lead to developing some degree of tranquility, but genuine insight cannot exclude tranquility. The fact the Goenka & Mahasi (Yutadhammo) paths rarely discuss tranquility shows the "insight" ("vipassana") they preach is not genuine vipassana but just a form of indoctrination.

As for the idea of "novice lay practitioner", this is contrary to the teachings of the Buddha. For example, Sariputta & Moggallana were novices yet the Buddha immediately knew they would be his chief disciples. Also, the Buddha rarely taught meditation to lay people. Most lay people do not have the conditions to develop jhana. Therefore, the questions here are not realistic. Lay people should develop morality so to avoid unnecessary problems with their lives.


What is the meaning behind the concept of "gods" in Buddhism?

In his commentary of MN 49, Ven. Thanissaro wrote:

It is a play on the word brahma, which is not only a noun denoting the
highest levels of devas, but also an adjective meaning "of great or
high power."

MN 49 is entitled the "Brahma invitation", so Ven. Thanissaro says that it means firstly an invitation by the Brahma, but it also means (through a word play) an invitation of great power or high power, which is an invitation by the Buddha to Mara (the personification of the temptation of sensual enjoyments and becoming) to refute the Buddha's claim that he has put an end to becoming once and for all.
An allegorical use of the term "Brahma" can be seen elsewhere. For e.g. parents are like the "Brahma" to their children in Iti 106 and the Buddha himself is like the "Brahma" to his disciples in Iti 100, who are "born from his mouth".
In Iti 112, we see the statement "he set the Brahma-wheel going". What is Brahma wheel? Ven. Thanissaro comments that it refers to the Dhamma wheel of SN 56.11:

The Brahma-wheel = the Dhamma-wheel, the name of the Buddha's first
sermon, so called because it contains a "wheel" that lists all twelve
permutations of two sets of variables: the four noble truths — stress,
its origination, its cessation, and the way leading to its cessation —
and the three levels of knowledge appropriate to each truth: knowledge
of the truth, knowledge of the task appropriate to the truth, and
knowledge that the task has been completed. This wheel constitutes the
Buddha's most central teaching.

Here, calling the Dhamma wheel "Brahma wheel" denotes that it is the Great Wheel.
The most interesting use of this phrase comes in Iti 68:

One whose passion, aversion, & ignorance
are washed away,
is said to be
composed in mind,
Brahma-become,
awakened, Tathagata,
one for whom fear & hostility
are past,
one who's abandoned
the All.

Here's the Pali version from here:

“Yassa rāgo ca doso ca,
avijjā ca virājitā;
Taṃ bhāvitattaññataraṃ,
brahmabhūtaṃ tathāgataṃ;
Buddhaṃ verabhayātītaṃ,
āhu sabbappahāyinan”ti.

So the Tathagata is awakened (buddham) and became Brahma (brahmabhūtaṃ).
In other words, he became great, like a god to us.
Returning back to MN 49, the opening verse states:

Now on that occasion an evil viewpoint had arisen to Baka-Brahma:
'This is constant. This is permanent. This is eternal. This is total.
This is not subject to falling away — for this does not take birth,
does not age, does not die, does not fall away, does not reappear. And
there is no other, higher escape.'

Ven. Thanissaro's footnote reads:

Baka Brahma here appears to be referring both to his Brahma world and
to the state of mind that enables one to inhabit his Brahma world.

So, this points to Brahma as referring to states of mind and being (or becoming - bhava) which are of great and high power.
The sutta shows that such a mind state and state of being is not permanent or eternal, and there are even higher states of mind and being.
So, we can say that this is the "subtle" interpretation of Brahma.


U Ba Khin and his reference to Parajikan Atthakatha

This (Parajikan Atthakatha) is available within Samantapāsādikā more particularly the part called Parajikakanda Atthakatha. The original is published by PTS and available in Pali at the Pariyatti Store. As for an English translation there is: The Inception of Discipline & the Vinaya Nidana: Being a Translation & Edition of the Bahiranidana of Buddhaghosa's Samantapasadika, the Vinaya Commentary (Sacred Books of the Buddhists). (Link to Inception of Discipline N.A. Jayawickrama at Pariyatti Store) I am not sure if this is complete and thorough thought as the original is a 8 volume set which seems to be condensed to 1 volume in the English translation. If you are looking fro free editions both (Pali and english) are available in https://archive.org/ which I have given the links above.

Probably U Ba Khin is referring to the following passage (PDF from Parajikakanda Atthakatha, page 160):

  Evaṃ nāmarūpaṃ vavatthapetvā tassa paccayaṃ pariyesati, pariyesanto ca taṃ disvā tīsupi addhāsu
  nāmarūpassa pavattiṃ ārabbha kaṅkhaṃ vitarati. Vitiṇṇakaṅkho kalāpasammasanavasena tilakkhaṇaṃ āropetvā
  udayabbayānupassanāya pubbabhāge uppanne obhāsādayo dasa vipassanupakkilese pahāya upakkilesavimuttaṃ
  paṭipadāñāṇaṃ ‘‘maggo’’ti vavatthapetvā udayaṃ pahāya bhaṅgānupassanaṃ patvā nirantaraṃ bhaṅgānupassanena
  bhayato upaṭṭhitesu sabbasaṅkhāresu nibbindanto virajjanto vimuccanto yathākkamaṃ cattāro ariyamagge
  pāpuṇitvā arahattaphale patiṭṭhāya ekūnavīsatibhedassa paccavekkhaṇañāṇassa pariyantappatto sadevakassa lokassa
  aggadakkhiṇeyyo hoti. Ettāvatā cassa gaṇanaṃ ādiṃ katvā vipassanāpariyosānā ānāpānassatisamādhibhāvanā ca samattā hotīti.

That turns out to be a quote from Visuddhimagga (viii-224 and viii-225), part of a commentary on the first tetrad of anapana meditation. The English Bhikkhu Ñánamoli’s translation is the following:

  Having defined mentality-materiality in this way, he seeks its condition. With search he finds it, and so overcomes his doubts about
  the way of mentalitymateriality’s occurrence in the three divisions of
  time (Ch. XIX). His doubts being overcome, he attributes the three
  characteristics [beginning with that of suffering to mentality and
  materiality], comprehending [them] by groups (XX.2f.); he abandons the
  ten imperfections of insight beginning with illumination, which arise
  in the first stages of the contemplation of rise and fall (XX.105f.),
  and he defines as “the path” the knowledge of the way that is free
  from these imperfections (XX.126f.). He reaches contemplation of
  dissolution by abandoning [attention to] arising. When all formations
  have appeared as terror owing to the contemplation of their incessant
  dissolution, he becomes dispassionate towards them (Ch. XXI), his
  greed for them fades away, and he is liberated from them (Ch. XXII).
  After he has [thus] reached the four noble paths in due succession and
  has become established in the fruition of Arahantship, he at last
  attains to the nineteen kinds of reviewing knowledge (XXII.19f.), and
  he becomes fit to receive the highest gifts from the world with its
  deities.
  At this point his development of concentration through mindfulness of breathing, beginning with counting and ending with
  looking back (§189) is completed.


Buddhism is not the answer. Buddhism is not the problem, either.

You turned to Buddhism looking for a quick fix to your life, and now that you haven't found that quick fix after 6 years you are lashing out. I get the impression there is a lot of pent up anger in you. Anger at the world, anger at your job, anger at the so-called "better off" people who earn millions for doing nothing, and now anger at Buddhism for not fixing it for you.

Buddhism is not a quick fix. It is not the answer.

Buddhism is merely a toolkit which enables you to fix yourself.

Meditation is not Buddhism. Going on retreats is not Buddhism. Reading the Pali Canon is no Buddhism. You can meditate all day every day for the rest of your life and not find happiness. You can read every Buddhist work ever written and not find happiness.

Turning to any religion or philosophy and expecting it to put right everything that is wrong is not how to make things better. All you are doing is finding a new target to point the finger of blame at when it doesn't "do it for you".

Meditation doesn't create happiness. It merely calms and clears the mind washing away the unimportant cares of the world and allow you to focus it on what really matters. The mind is "like a rampaging elephant". Only when it is calmed and tamed can you sit on its back and make it go where you want. Meditation calms and trains that elephant.

You can read and learn every bit of musical theory you can get your hands on, but it won't make you a concert pianist. Only practice will do that for you. It's like that with Buddhism. You can know all about it, but if you do not practice it (and by that I don't mean meditating every day), Buddhism will not do anything for you.

The majority of people's problems with the world - not finding their place in it, not being happy with their role in life, not liking what they are doing, etc - is not because the world is at fault. It is their view of the world that is wrong. "With our thoughts we shape the world" is one of the truest phrases ever uttered. You cannot change the world. You cannot even change other people. The only thing you can change is yourself, and that starts with changing how you view the world.

No, it's not an easy task. But that's what meditation is for - to help you keep focused on that task.

As an example:

"You have been in a succession of low-paid menial jobs and don't earn enough to make ends meet."

There are two things wrong with that statement, and both highlight the problems of your world view - of your perception of life. You are not in a "menial" job. You have the good fortune to be in a job that is free of stress and responsibility. Do you really want to be paid lots of money for doing next to nothing? No one is paid lots of money for doing next to nothing. They are paid lots of money to take the fall when things go wrong. They are paid lots of money to make the business decisions that affect the lives of thousands of employees. I for one wouldn't want the stress and responsibility that rests on their shoulders, not for all the tea in China.

You don't have a menial job. You have an easy, care free, job.

If you aren't happy with where you are it is through a desire to be something you are not. A desire to be someone else. You are who you are, not who the media says you ought to be. In the words of Crosby, Stills and Nash: "If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with". Most misery in life comes from wanting what you can't have - and if/when you get it you then want something more. That wanting, that craving, is, as Buddha taught us, the cause of all suffering in the world. When you let go of that craving for something else and accept who and what you are, that is when peace and happiness begins.

And you can't make ends meet? So move the ends. Some people get a longer piece of string, and you know what happens to long pieces of string: they always end up in a tangled mess. Some steal someone else's string and tie it to their own.

Or you can try tying it around something smaller. Do you really need a new fancy mobile phone? Do you need that pair of earrings?

A Buddhist Monk has nothing except a razor and a spare robe. My favourite teacher, Ajahn Brahm, tells a story (one of many, he does love his stories. You should look him up on Youtube, his way of teaching will open your eyes). I forget if it was actually about himself or another monk, but it basically goes like this (I am no story teller, so forgive me):

A monk, it may have been Ajahn Brahm, or his teacher, Ajahn Chah, or someone else, I forget, had been giving a talk to the lay people. It was a good inspiring talk, and afterwards one of the lay people came up to the monk full of gratitude and wanting to do something in return. Monks aren't allowed to have money, so he said to the monk "I have $100 here for you. I know you can't have it, but if you tell me what you'd like I'll go and buy it for you."

So the monk starts thinking: what would I like? The first thing that comes to mind is "a piece of paper to write a list on". Then he thinks "And a pen to write the list with". It starts to get dark, so he thinks "a torch so I can see at night would be good too". Before long his list has grown and grown and grown, including such things as a cushion to sit on while meditating, a new bowl for the alms round, etc.

The next day the lay person comes back to see what the monk would like him to buy. The monk says to him:

"Don't you ever do anything like that to me again! I was in torment all night, tossing and turning, making a list of things to get. It was hell!"

... Or something to that effect anyway. The point is, when you start becoming attached to the world like that it only breeds more attachment. And that attachment breeds suffering. It leads to a desire to have more, a desire to change who/where you are through the accumulation of "things".

It is only when you start being a Buddhist, instead of learning about Buddhism, that your life will change - and that change will be instantaneous and surprising.

I myself rarely sit and meditate. However I am almost constantly meditating. Meditation isn't just about sitting in the lotus position going "Om". It's about being still within yourself. I am meditating right now whilst writing this. My mind is calm, my thoughts are clear. I'm financially broke. Both Trump and Kim Jong-Un have silly hair. Life is great.


Examples of religious experiences in Buddhism:

traveling with one's mind to other worlds
speaking with supernatural beings, like Devas
remembering past lives
witnessing an enlightened person flying, being in multiple places at once
having an enlightened master read your mind and respond directly to your thoughts


We cannot integrate Metta practices in the 5th and 6th stages of the Anapanasati Sutta because the 5th and 6th stages of the Anapanasati Sutta arise naturally from the calming of the breathing at the 4th stage. Metta practises can be done separately.


Do all conditioned things arise from ignorance?

That is why it is called ceto- & pañña-vimutti... and not vimutti-pañña (althought most translated as such).

How ever, to actually understand (see for "oneself") it requires the fundation: right view... till right livelihood while the rest would come by "itself". Also wisdom arises from ignorance, yes. One is given to see for him/herself following the right path.

There are some heartwood similes to be found in the text, if after investigation to increase Saddha.

And the general "paradox"'s solution is broadly known: certain food is used to go beyond the requirement (of food), and so with all used conditional things as well. Wisdom is used for liberation, like the whole path's paccayas (requisites, foundations, fundaments, bases...)

And it is not so that "by arising of wisdom the great mass of stress ends" but by total uprooting, destruction... of avijjā ("not understanding").

One may remember also that the boat, Dhamma, eg. "knowing", has to be abounded after having crossed to finally go beyond: unbond.

[Note: This here is not meant to be used for trade, exchange, stakes... and what ever ordinary gains. If not given to give so, it should be deleted]


How, if at all, does karma exist in the form and formless realms?

Taking a Theravada view, the immaterial realms - what you call formless - occur when a practitioner dies whilst dwelling in one of the four arupa ayatanas:

The dimension of the perception of space
The dimensions of the perception boundless consciousness
The dimensions of the perception of nothingness
The dimension of neither perception nor non-perception

Because these states still contain figments of conditionality, after death the mind (citta) gravitates to those figments thus perpetuating the continuation of that respective consciousness. As I currently understand, the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception is considered to be at the very prelude to the finality of reality in the grand scheme of dhamma: the figments of consciousness that exist there are too tenuous to cause any major form-based re-becoming disturbances. The task here is traversing the pleasure of being relinquished from those form-based consciousnesses.
I have a long held a contention about the commonly held view in Theravada concerning rupa jhana and arupa ayatanas. The contention concerns the progressive models from jhana to ayatana that are often touted. In my view they are very distinct and either set doesn't necessarily inform the other set.
Back to the question: what we could say is that the practitioner, working in the sensuous domain, having previously developed his mind in accordance with dhamma, and having passed away, now finds himself dwelling in some heightened pleasurable state; one of the four arupa ayatanas. This could be said to have happened because the cause of that final state was due to the practice: due to this karma the practitioner traversed from the form state to the formless.


Why is Nibbana referred to as "The destination and the path leading to the destination"?

The Nibbana page at dhammawiki.com states:

  33 synonyms for Nibbana:

  .....

  The destination and the path leading to the destination

  (from Samyutta Nikaya 43)

I found the original quote in SN 43.44 and it actually says:

  “Bhikkhus, I will teach you the destination and the path leading to
  the destination. Listen to that….
  “Parāyanañca vo, bhikkhave, desessāmi parāyanagāmiñca maggaṃ. Taṃ suṇātha…

  “And what, bhikkhus, is the destination? The destruction of lust, the
  destruction of hatred, the destruction of delusion: this is called the
  destination.

  “And what, bhikkhus, is the path leading to the destination?
  Mindfulness directed to the body: this is called the path leading to
  the destination.

  “Thus, bhikkhus, I have taught you the destination and the path
  leading to the destination. Whatever should be done, bhikkhus, by a
  compassionate teacher out of compassion for his disciples, desiring
  their welfare, that I have done for you. These are the feet of trees,
  bhikkhus, these are empty huts. Meditate, bhikkhus, do not be
  negligent, lest you regret it later. This is our instruction to you.”

  Each to be elaborated in full as in §§1–12.

So, the dhammawiki page appears to be incorrect.


What are the differences between "Nirvana" in Buddhism and "Moksha" in Hinduism?

Moksha and Nirvana are the same in that:

The cycle of live, death and rebirth is broken
once attained, one is free from Samsara
It's attainable through practise
Meditation techniques are employed in attaining both

They differ in that:

Moksha tends to explained as a merger with Atman, or Brahma which Buddhist don't believe.

Their main philosophical difference is found in the wiki quote:

  Nirvana, a concept common in Buddhism, is the realization that there
  is no self nor consciousness; while moksha, a concept common in many
  schools of Hinduism, is acceptance of Self, realization of liberating
  knowledge, the consciousness of Oneness with all existence and
  understanding the whole universe as the Self. Nirvana starts with
  the premise that there is no Self, moksha on the other hand, starts
  with the premise that everything is the Self; there is no
  consciousness in the state of nirvana, but everything is One unified
  consciousness in the state of moksha.

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moksha


I was wondering about deep meditation and out of body experiences

I suddenly looked down and saw myself sitting, I was out of my body, I
  tried to look around and I saw what I can only describe as many beautiful places/doors

This is an effect of certain Samatha meditations. It is called out of body experience. I remember reading something similar in a book by venerable Ananda Maithriya thero. He would start the meditation(Samatha) while lying on the bed and after sometime he'd be standing next to the bed looking at his body.

At one time he wandered out of the room and started exploring. Then he came to a gate/door that was guarded by a huge demon like figure. It told him something like "What are you doing here? Go back!". So he went back to the body. Later he discussed this experience with the head monk of the monastery. The head monk advised the Thero not to do that without proper preparation. Because if something else gets in while you are out, you will be locked out of your own body. People have died trying to do that.

Venerable Yuttadhammo also speaks about a similar experience in this video

  is 3-4 hours, deep meditation or beginners meditation? Could this be any beginning to becoming realized

No, this has nothing to do with Nibbana. You have to do Vipassana meditation for insight knowledge. But being able to sit for 3 hours and focus on one object is good progress in terms of Samatha meditation. Also, having such focus is a good starting point for Vipassana.


Bhikshus, no other single thing do I see, on account of which unarisen ill will does not arise, and
  arisen ill will is abandoned, as on account of this, bhikshus, namely, the liberation of mind through
  lovingkindness.

Nīvarana,pahana Vagga

  (2) And what, bhikshus, is food for the arising of unarisen ill will (vyapada) and for the growth
  and abundance of arisen ill will?
  There is, bhikshus, the sign of the repulsive (paigha,nimitta). Frequently giving unwise attention to it
  is food for the arising of unarisen ill will and for the growth and abundance of arisen ill will.

Āvaraṇa Nīvaraṇa Sutta

  Furthermore, brahmin, when one dwells with a mind seized by ill will (vyapada), overcome by ill
  will, then one understands not, as it really is, the escape (from it), one neither understands nor sees, as it
  really is, , one’s own benefit, …nor others’ benefit,…nor the benefit of both—so, too, the mantras that
  have been recited over a long time do not come to mind, let alone those that have not been recited.

  Brahmin, just as when a person with good sight, looking for the reflection of his own face in a
  bowl of water, heated up by a fire, keeps boiling over with hot water, would neither know nor see it, as it
  really is—even so, brahmin, when one dwells with a mind seized by ill will, overcome by ill will, then
  one understands not, as it really is, , the escape (from it), one neither understands nor sees, as it really is,
  one’s own benefit,…nor others’ benefit,…nor the benefit of both—so, too, the mantras that have been
  recited over a long time do not come to mind, let alone those that have not been recited.

(Nīvarana) Sangarava Sutta

  Bhikshus, the four focusses of mindfulness are to be cultivated for the abandoning of these five
  mental hindrances.

(Satipaṭṭhāna) Nīvaraṇa Sutta

Also see: The Five Mental Hindrances and Their Conquest: Selected Texts from the Pali Canon and the Commentaries compiled and translated by Nyanaponika Thera

In relation to general thoughts linked in thinking and pondering on unwholesome thoughts Vitakka Saṇṭhāna Sutta mentions the following:

turn his attention to a different sign connected with the wholesome
should examine the disadvantage [the danger] of those thoughts
one should not mind them, he should disregard them
should attend to the stilling of the thought-formation
with clenched teeth and the tongue pressing on the palate

In addition, Vyāpāda an essay by Piya Tan might be also of interest.


What advice should i give for a person with self destructive thoughts?

Metta meditation can help as it subdues hatred which is a major cause for suicide.
Other Samatha meditations like Anapanasati can help to attain extremely pleasant states of the mind like the Jhanas where there's no depression.
Vipassana can be practiced to make one not react to unpleasant feelings or thoughts and eventually achieve lasting peace.


If Sabbe Dhamma Anatta then is there hope?

Nobody attains Anatta. Everything is Anatta to begin with. It's just an aspect of all realities. I think you have Anatta confused with Nibbana.


For Theravada sutta study is considered part of the overall practice. It is an important part that goes along with practicing Sila and meditation. So I'm not sure if it is considered " a meditation" but it is a large part of the practice which includes more than just meditation.

Across time and location meditation has been stressed over sutta knowledge, or sutta knowledge stressed over meditation, but there is one Sutta I am failing to find in which the Buddha basically shows that one who listens to dhamma(aka learns the suttas) and practices is one who is developed in dhamma.

"And how is a monk one with a sense of Dhamma? There is the case where a monk knows the Dhamma: dialogues, narratives of mixed prose and verse, explanations, verses, spontaneous exclamations, quotations, birth stories, amazing events, question & answer sessions.[1] If he didn't know the Dhamma — dialogues, narratives of mixed prose and verse, explanations, verses, spontaneous exclamations, quotations, birth stories, amazing events, question & answer sessions — he wouldn't be said to be one with a sense of Dhamma. So it's because he does know the Dhamma — dialogues... question & answer sessions — that he is said to be one with a sense of Dhamma. This is one with a sense of Dhamma.

"When, on observing that the monk is purified with regard to qualities based on delusion, he places conviction in him. With the arising of conviction, he visits him & grows close to him. Growing close to him, he lends ear. Lending ear, he hears the Dhamma. Hearing the Dhamma, he remembers it. Remembering it, he penetrates the meaning of those dhammas. Penetrating the meaning, he comes to an agreement through pondering those dhammas. There being an agreement through pondering those dhammas, desire arises. With the arising of desire, he becomes willing. Willing, he contemplates [lit: "weighs," "compares"]. Contemplating, he makes an exertion. Exerting himself, he both realizes the ultimate meaning of the truth with his body and sees by penetrating it with discernment.

"There are these five rewards in listening to the Dhamma. Which five?

"[1] One hears what one has not heard before. [2] One clarifies what one has heard before. [3] One gets rid of doubt. [4] One's views are made straight. [5] One's mind grows serene.

"These are the five rewards in listening to the Dhamma."


Possibly. For example, MN 4:

Before my Awakening, when I was still an unawakened Bodhisatta, the
thought occurred to me ... If anyone, when speaking rightly, were to say: 'a being not subject to delusion has appeared in the world for the benefit & happiness of many, out of
sympathy for the world, for the welfare, benefit & happiness of human
& divine beings,' he would rightly be speaking of me.


How do you take responsibility for your actions if you don't see them as your actions but just a process happening?
A medical doctor has more than one medicine, for example one to make you vomit and another to stop you vomiting, one to make blood clot and another to stop blood clotting, and so on.
With various medicines which they can use, the point of being a doctor is knowing when to use them, how to use them skillfully, what (purpose and symptoms) to use them for.
Similarly I think there are several Buddhist doctrines, some maybe seem contradictory, and it's good to know when to use them.
Firstly I guess in Buddhism there's the notion of doing things "skillfully" -- see for example Does 'kusala' (skillful) also mean 'wholesome' and 'morally good'?
I assume that, broadly speaking, a "skillful" action (or view) is one which tends towards the cessation of suffering, whereas unskillful is the opposite (tends towards suffering).
If you were an alcoholic then I think you might think you have (cling to) several reasons for being alcoholic, for example:

I like alcohol
I am not alcoholic
I am an alcoholic
My mother and father were alcoholic
My friends are alcoholic
My being alcoholic hurts no-one but myself, it's my personal right to drink like this
Nobody else cares about me, I might as well drink like this
It makes me feel good

I think that any or all of these could be considered "views" or "self-views" (and/or possibly conceits).
If views like this are a reason why you're alcoholic (remain attached to alcohol), then Buddhist doctrine such as,

This is not mine,
This is not me,
This is not my self

... could be a helpful remedy (perhaps a prescription to take whenever you find views like the ones listed above).
More generally I think that Buddhism teaches than any "view of self" at all is a cause of dukkha -- How is it wrong to believe that a self exists, or that it doesn't?
Conversely though there's a lot of Buddhist doctrine which encourages "taking responsibility":

Everyone seems to recommend sila (virtuous behaviour) as the basis or first part of the Threefold Training (and, possibly, the only part of the training that's essential for laypeople).

The Buddhist doctrine of kamma teaches that each person is "heir to their own action":

I am the owner of my actions (kamma), heir to my actions, born of my actions, related through my actions, and have my actions as my arbitrator. Whatever I do, for good or for evil, to that will I fall heir'.

Schools of Buddhism tend to emphasise personal responsibility, in contrast with (for example) the notion of a saviour deity (some forms of Christianity, for example, might teach that people are "saved" by God and not by their own efforts).

Buddhism has Right Intention and Right Effort as factors of the Noble Eightfold Path

Suttas teach that one should "be islands unto yourselves":

Therefore, Ananda, be islands unto yourselves, refuges unto yourselves, seeking no external refuge; with the Dhamma as your island, the Dhamma as your refuge, seeking no other refuge.

How do I integrate the Buddhist view into my life and take responsibility for what is occurring at the same time without kind of denying stuff by saying "it's not self"?
Obviously a teacher might help. I find it extremely helpful to interact with (to see and converse with, learn from) people who set a good example.
Without my being a teacher though, to try to begin to answer your question here and now, I think that Buddhist doctrine can be summarised as:

Both formerly & now, it is only stress that I describe, and the cessation of stress.

It's important to know that things cease ("things" including views, causes, and effects).
They arise and cease. Cease, and maybe arise again. Things arise because of causes, conditions. If that's a recurrent pattern (see also samsara) then you may want to change that by controlling the causes.
One of my friends had PTSD after (among other things) having been attacked, and bleeding in the shower. She subsequently had "flashbacks" (i.e. vivid unwanted memories, reliving the traumatic event), maybe dissociative disorders, and so on. The (non-Buddhist) therapy which she reported as having been most effective (antidote to flashbacks) was "mindfulness": e.g. when in the shower, remain conscious of being presently in the shower, of what you could see and feel now, and so on.
I mention that as an illustrative example because "mindfulness" (albeit maybe a different kind of mindfulness) is a feature of Buddhist "therapy" too.
I'm just beginning to become aware of some very entrenched personal emotional issues regarding relationships stemming from childhood etc and in order to find a way to heal I need to admit I have a problem and seek help but wouldn't the Buddhist view be - it's just stuff happening, passing and arising and not self?
Maybe?
I think my view is that if it's pathological, if it causes suffering, then you ought to (it's your responsibility to) do something about it if you can -- and so to seek help perhaps (as well as taking responsibility).
I think there's some dichotomy in the doctrine: on the one hand, Buddhism attempts the salvation of sentient beings, on the other hand an enlightened view avoids attachment to the view that there is "a being".
admitting to yourself that you are an alcoholic and stand up in AA meetings and say "I'm an alcoholic"
I think "I'm an alcoholic", meaning that I can view myself as a habit-forming creature. My view (my summary of my experience) is that if I start to drink alcohol then I'll tend to do the same (drink alcohol) again and then again; ditto if I start to smoke, start to read, start to bicycle, etc. (most any other activity).
Being alcoholic isn't "who I am" though: it's not essential, it's a habit I can change or get rid of, grow out of, be and do without, drop, put aside, or (hopefully) "make like a palmyra stump" as the suttas put it.
It's maybe part of "what I am" though (if I resumed the activity I expect I might find it habit-forming again): so when the occasion to think about it arises, then I now try to avoid it (and to the extent that that avoidance is now a "skillful virtue" that is maybe no longer a cause for remorse).


Did Buddhism ever go through a period of relatively high violence?

Buddhism experience some very harsh periods. E.g.

The destruction of Nalanda
Decline of Buddhism in India due to many factors
Kalinga Magha's invasion
Persecution of Buddhists

Buddhism would have gone through some violent times in the Malay Peninsula also as it was predominantly Buddhist before.

Following may also be interesting:

Decline of Buddhism in Thailand
Buddhism in the World Today


Who is that "we" which is trapped?
It seems to me that these questions are based on the assumption of an "I" who can be found separated from the conditions that made the perception of "I" or the constituents of beings possible. There seems to be a differenciation between the "we" and the "trap".
If the conditions are not there, no phenomena [whose arising and persistence depends on those conditions] will come to be.
As the Buddha said, there's a middle way between the extremes of existence and non-existence, namely, dependent origination.
SN 12.15

“Kaccāna, this world mostly relies on the dual notions of existence
and non-existence.
But when you truly see the origin of the world with right
understanding, you won’t have the notion of non-existence regarding
the world. And when you truly see the cessation of the world with
right understanding, you won’t have the notion of existence regarding
the world.
The world is for the most part shackled to attraction, grasping, and
insisting.
But if—when it comes to this attraction, grasping, mental fixation,
insistence, and underlying tendency—you don’t get attracted, grasp,
and commit to the notion ‘my self’, you’ll have no doubt or
uncertainty that what arises is just suffering arising, and what
ceases is just suffering ceasing. Your knowledge about this is
independent of others.
This is how right view is defined.
‘All exists’: this is one extreme.
‘All doesn’t exist’: this is the second extreme.
Avoiding these two extremes, the Realized One teaches by the middle
way:
‘Ignorance is a condition for choices. Choices are a condition for
consciousness. … That is how this entire mass of suffering originates.
When ignorance fades away and ceases with nothing left over, choices
cease. When choices cease, consciousness ceases. … That is how this
entire mass of suffering ceases.’”

EDIT: I think a big part of this issue arises from confusion in the use of language. From reading the question, it seems to me that two problems are present: assigning human-like features to processes and entities which are not human (for instance, when stating that "truth is playful"); and taking metaphors as explanations or descriptions of reality and its parts and processes (for instance, when stating that "suffering is a trap", maybe suggesting that "we" are inside something, which can be a reification
of the perception of identity).
I'd suggest to keep analysing your own question, trying to clarify to yourself the words you use and the implications underlying such meanings. Clarity of the use of language can dissolve problems, a lot of times.
Kind regards!


What does Buddhism say about polyamory?

Buddhism is not conserned with the title of the romantic relationship or the sexual orientation of the partners in it.

Buddhism goes much deeper than that, it looks instead at the defilements that are connected with romantic relationships, e.g. "lust, craving, desire, jealousy, hatred etc."

  Is it any different than a romantic relationship between two people?

It is not. The above mentioned defilements, are the same no matter what kind of romantic relationship we are talking about.

  Is it wholesome, unwholesome or neutral?

According to the Abhidhamma, there are 52 mental factors (cetasikas). 14 of these are unwholesome mental factors, among those are "hatred, jealousy, avarice, craving". They are of course also part of the 3 root defilements, i.e. greed, hatred and delusion.

If one or more of these mental factors are present, it becomes unwholesome.

  Do different branches or traditions have different views on this subject?

Good question. I do not have an answer to that. I would think that it's the same opinion, since we are dealing with the root defilements. I might be wrong about this though.


What is meaning of Buddha and how he called Buddha?

Definition of Buddha based on Pali Dictionary is here:

Buddha Skt., Pali, lit., “awakened one.”

The Wikipedia entry is here:

The word Buddha means "awakened one" or "the enlightened one".
Hypothetical root budh "perceive" 1. Pali buddha – "understood, enlightened", masculine "the Buddha"; Aśokan (the language of the Inscriptions of Aśoka) Budhe nominative singular; Prakrit buddha – ‘ known, awakened ’; Waigalī būdāī, "truth"; Bashkarīk budh "he heard"; Tōrwālī būdo preterite of bū, "to see, know" from bṓdhati; Phalūṛa búddo preterite of buǰǰ , "to understand" from búdhyatē; Shina Gilgitī dialect budo, "awake"; Gurēsī dialect budyōnṷ intransitive "to wake"; Kashmiri bọ̆du, "quick of understanding (especially of a child)"; Sindhī ḇudho, past participle (passive) of ḇujhaṇu, "to understand" from búdhyatē, West Pahāṛī buddhā, preterite of bujṇā, "to know"; Sinhalese buj (j written for d), budu, bud, but, "the Buddha".

Buddha means one who understood or awakened. This understanding / awakening is based on intelligence gained.


Getting out of a rut when your sick and dying

Buddha once visited an infirmary for monks and advised to practice satipattana (Maha Satipattana Sutta, Deega Nikaya)

Bojjangha Sutta is well known to be contemplated by monks who are sick and known to have already practiced dhamma (hence being able to cultivate them when recited to them)

There is an instance where Nakula pitha (anagami) visits Buddha and related he's sick where Buddha reminds him it's the body that gets sick and not the mind.

There is an instance Arhat Maha Sariputta visits a dying person who has proper faith in Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. The priest asks the dying person to think of different realms of birth, starting from animals all the way to brahma realms.

I hope these help.