Is the only thing stopping a non-Buddhist from practicing rightly the lack of exposure and conviction in the four noble truths? I believe, non-Buddhist are not short changed. If a Christian occupies his mind with thoughts about God and nothing else, that is ekagata (one pointedness), if he dies whe...

Hi.. Allow me to share what little I know.. Look at the Iphone, take it apart.. 1) The screen, battery, electronic components, casing, speakers, memory card are all all real 2) in the memory card, there is one file called handsome.mp3 , is also real 3) when you play the mp3 file, a sweet sounding so...

I remember seeing that before. And that highlights a common misconception of Buddhism -- that Buddhist philosophy aims to be "one with everything" in some sort of New Age way. now that you mention it, it's starting to make sense to me. I heard Christopher Hitchen made the same joke about Buddhism, ...

" Is it actually possible to notice a thought and keep watching it as it continues? If so why doesn't this happen to me? For me they are like bubbles that burst as soon as I see them. I have never even noticed the beginning of one." Greetings Leon-nl Precisely.. This point , in my opinion is extrem...

Hi subaru, the point I was trying to make was that volitional action makes the person. Your question seems to assume that in order for an action to arise there must be someone with volition but such an assumption puts the cart before the horse. best wishes, acinteyyo I won't argue because I am not ...

Which of these are considered working of subconsciousness: 1) Stopping at the red-light without thinking about it 2) dreaming in sleep 3) A memory or emotion arise without any known reason 4) being startled upon hearing a loud bang it's interesting to find out if our subconsciousness has conscience ...

How can one walk/talk without Cetana? This is a very good question in my eyes, because of the way it is framed. It shows a underlying misconception quite well. Due to the underlying assumption that there is a person in the first place, walking and talking is considered to be action of that person. ...

Although I do not kill, but I wanted to kill that mosquito, I had to refrain myself from doing it.. is that about right?

Does Arahants have Cetana? No. So they do not choose to act? How can one walk/talk without Cetana? One of these days I gotta give it an earnest attempt.. :tongue: As I understand it, the liberated ones do have the Cittas , Cetasikas even Cetana, Vendana and believe it or not even Sankharas lol... T...

This is what I understand.. The process of thinking is unavoidable. One is supposed to be aware of it when the process of thinking arises... as opposed to indulging in it.. only in the state of certain Jhanas the process is stopped temporarily. To indulge (or lament, take your pick) in the thoughts,...

I am in similar situation, I have asked myself similar questions. But I suspect that there is nothing to be proud about, because even if I am absolutely right, then I would be wrong if I am proud about it. My primary concern is the 227 rules which I think will be a burden for me rather than aiding m...

I find that if I have 2 smaller cushions to support each knees, I have less tendency to get the excruciating leg pain. Anybody feel the same way?

Hi Billy.. I am learning myself.. I am no expert but what I understand is this: If I dream about doing meditation in my sleep, do I get the real benefits of meditation? I suspect the answer is Yes and No.. you will never know because the objects of the 'meditation' might not be real. As opposing to ...

That is the danger of indulging in conceptual proliferation (papanca), the problem is it generates Kamma, even if all the thoughts are mere thoughts, and has little or no reality in it. The remedy is to apply mindfulness on paramattha dhamma to dispel papanca. If you observe carefully, you will noti...

How about a Bodhisatta, a person who made the aspiration to become a Buddha and has received confirmation by an existing Buddha.. I wonder if he knows he is a Bodhisatta in subsequent lives...Does people around him know ?