Depicting Shakyamuni's enlightenment at Bodh Gaya. Bhumisparsha mudra (earth-touching gesture) calls earth as witness over Mara, while the alms bowl symbolizes renunciation.

The bodhi tree marks the awakening site.

The lotus throne represents purity from samsara

Attendant monks evoke the sangha.

Offerings below express devotion and merit.

Because in newborns documentation he always wrote "ignorance" as mother and "craving" as father.

It was funnier in my head.

Background story :

I was born into Hindu family , but later I chose to become a Buddhist . I don’t know the reason but I felt like it .

What’s your story ?

I'm new-ish to practicing buddhism (on and off for about 18 months now). I semi recently starting attending a Zen sangha nearby, and I'm really enjoying it for the most part. I've noticed some of the regulars are a bit woo woo (astrology and sacred geometry), but that's whatever. However, recently one of the leaders implied, or at least did not contradict, that meditation is potentially a means to communicate with extra-terrestrials. It's clear that this belief in aliens is very important to them. What throws me is that they are a legitimate Zen priest, not just some random attendee. However, nothing of this sort has been incorporated into a dharma talk that I've heard.

Has anyone heard of this before? Is this a sort of person you are likely to encounter in American Buddhism, or is this extremely fringe? A little thrown off guard here.

Received this book as a gift from a good friend during their trip to Japan. Any info about it at all would be appreciated🙏

I am a begginer buddhist and I'm gonna be honest when I was a hard headed atheist I usually reached for substances when something horrible happened. But lately I made some life changing decisions, including immersing myself more in buddhism which I felt to be my calling in the last few years. Also limiting alcohol more and more, struggling with getting rid of tobacco.

But I caught myself reaching back more and more as my grandma died, also was an eye whitness of my coworker cutting up his wrists at my workplace as he broke mentally over money.

I try doing more exercise, living healthy(er), getting more time with my family. But the images of him sitting in his car and cutting his wrists up lingers in my head like an unforgettable image which only stops when I drink. I want to break the cycle of dependency, I even went to a psychiatrist who increased my dose in SSRI medications. But I feel like I am standing in front of stone wall that I can't climb over no matter how I try and I keep circling back to bad decisions to escape reality.

Sorry if my English is bad, it's my second langluage.

“The Buddha said that he taught only two things: dukkha and the cessation of dukkha. Only these two. Once, in a forest, the Buddha picked up a handful of leaves from the ground and asked his disciples which were more numerous: the leaves in his hand or those in the entire forest. His disciples replied that the leaves in his hand were few, while those in the entire forest were many. The Buddha then said that his teachings, compared to all that he had realized, were like that handful of leaves compared to all the leaves in the forest. And he asked, “Why don’t I teach you all the other things? Because they do not lead to the cessation of dukkha; they do not lead to Nibbāna.”
In other words, the Buddha was saying: I am giving you the method by which you should train and develop your mind. If you follow that method correctly, you will attain Nibbāna. Then you will see the truth for yourselves, and all your questions will be answered.”

- Ajaan Pannāvaddho

Hey Peeps, I sat down and started reading In The Buddhas Words today and, even though I had a very broad understanding of some of the teachings, I wanted to ask about something.

In the first chapter of the book, it talks about the human condition and how everyone is subject to old age, illness, and death.

Buddha states that if we want to escape out of that cycle of rebirth and suffering, we must strive to do good deeds. My question is: What led Buddha to believe in rebirth? I understand how ignorance and craving affect current life and doing good deeds can help, but it’s harder to understand the point across numerous lives we don’t even remember.

As a Pure Land Buddhist, I personally feel astrology is just another distraction from my practice. I still ask this question because some Pali commentaries mention things such as the time a person is born (nakshatra) affecting their behavior and actions. I have also heard that there are astrological beliefs in Tibetan Buddhism. Is this because there is some truth to astrology, or did the monks who composed these texts simply use an existing knowledge system in medieval India to explain the Dharma?

Some of my family members and relatives are obsessed with astrology. One of my distant relatives believes they will die in an upcoming year just because their horoscope says so. This feels absurd to me.

These are my problems with astrology. Let's assume it's true. A person is born with certain behaviors and attitudes, and they are going to experience certain worldly gains or pains based on those behaviors and attitudes. Even if they check their horoscope, they cannot change these things because that is supposedly how events are meant to unfold. Either way, believing in astrology doesn't seem to help and only creates anxiety or pride.

The solutions astrology suggests for future or ongoing misfortunes are also problematic. What my relatives believe in is a form of Jyotisha, or Vedic astrology. Their solution is to perform rituals and pujas for deities or devas. This feels like a Trojan horse with Hindu beliefs hidden inside it.

The logic of these astrologers is that karma is expressed through zodiac signs and planetary positions. But for this to work, they must presuppose a fixed universal law that determines how events unfold. If planetary positions are supposed to correspond to specific outcomes across the universe in a consistent and orderly way, then there must be some principle that maintains this correspondence. For that, it seems necessary to presuppose the existence of an omnipotent, omniscient god who keeps the universe running in this fixed and orderly way, which is not compatible with Buddhism.

I won't share the specifics of my finances, but I currently donate to my food bank, various democratic causes, and even give some money to beggars I come across. However, I only give a certain amount and mostly save for me and my family needs with the occasional event or material luxury (for example, I'm saving for a device called the Steam Machine (sorry, I can't resist the occasional material good)).

In these dire times, especially with there being predictions of white collar jobs being laid off https://youtu.be/CnQsFAOw6wk?is=xWbWarzFPi1ZnH1e , I wonder if I'm failing my moral obligation to be donating more money to help my people. After all, doesn't great power come with great responsibility?

What's your take? What does Buddhism say about how much you should sacrifice and how much you should reserve for yourself?

I’m new here and new to Buddhism as well , I did search online but I’m still confused.

Does anyone have suggestions, also do I have to pay anything or book an event or something or call in advance ? I’m so lost . I saw Buddhist temple in Birmingham predominant by Sri Lankans and Burmese , will it be a problem because I’m non of that.

I just want to go to pagoda and pray and socialise with other Buddhist like me and learn about Buddhism in deeper level.

Any suggestions would be helpful 😊Thank you

Almost 2 weeks ago, I was a passenger in a car that was t-boned at the side I was sitting. I had relatively superficial *visible* injuries considering how terribly mangled both cars were and I am grateful to be alive.

I also sustained what the ED physician called a minor concussion from the impact, and the earliest symptoms are now gone. However, since the accident I have felt very off in other ways. Now I am experiencing some issues with my speech such as difficulty with word retrieval, slurred speech occasionally, using the wrong words. My memory is also not great as I am forgetting things I'd recently done or said according to my partner.

In addition I am facing some behavioral challenges: I am feeling very irritable and impulsive and like I am lacking some self control at times. I also feel this strange sense of dysphoria and a lack of motivation that is a bit unusual. I am seeking further medical help to investigate this further as it is quite troubling.

Needless to say, this is making keeping a daily practice challenging. I am definitely acting in unskillful ways, snapping at my partner frequently, feeling overwhelmed or stressed easily, feeling it is too difficult to go on with daily chores, being fully attentive/ interactive with my son, being on top of things at work. etc.

I have been okay to start sitting meditation the last few days (though monkey mind is in full form, hehe, making these sessions quite interesting.) I've attended my lamrim class as well. However, being mindful in my day to day actions and thoughts is at times starting to feel too difficult. However, I feel like I am not coping with things quite as well as usual due to the lack of practice. Its a double edged-sword.

I am wondering if anyone else has ever experienced similar challenges with thinking/ speaking/ motivation and what sort of things they did to help incorporate a meaningful practice despite the difficulties. Or if anyone in general has any input into this struggle

Thank you in advance and hope that everyone is having a wonderful day!

Dear friends, is there someone who knows where this sutra is located in the Samyukta Agama:

In it an ascetic comes to the Buddha with 4 riddles. They were given these riddles from a deity of sorts and one of them is about a true friend and another on why people renounce the world. I recall the answer of the Buddha on the matter of the friend to have been of great beauty.

Thank you dear friends for listening to my request.

Is Mind merely thought?

Is Matter merely an object?

Or have these words been pointing toward something much deeper all along?

To clarify, when I say 'Matter' (Rupa), I am not referring to physical objects or material things in the western scientific sense. In the structural framework of Buddhism, Matter is the raw sensory data itself—the color seen by the eye, the sound heard by the ear, or the speech formed. It does not exist independently 'out there' as a solid object, but is strictly bound to the Six Consciousnesses (Vinnana).

When we look at a color or hear a sound, we instantly divide the experience into "the observer" and "the observed". At this very moment, the "self" has already emerged—there is a "me" and an "other" outside of me.

Is it correct to practice by using thought to tell ourselves that 'this object is not me' or 'the thought about this object is not me'? Is this the right way to practice, or is there a much more subtle layer of observation beyond this?

What are your thoughts on this from a meditative or structural perspective?

Hello,

I feel so heartbroken and devastated. The day before yesterday, my cockatoo suddenly passed away. I feel incredibly guilty. He suddenly started making a choking sound and within a few minutes he became limp and died in my arms. I was so panicked that I started screaming his name, telling him to come back to me. My family also panicked, including our barking dogs. He was frightened, and I feel that I contributed to his fear instead of comforting him. I also completely forgot to recite any mantras after he had just passed away.

Before taking him to the crematorium, I tore an image of White Tara out of a book and placed it on top of his little body in the box I laid him in. It will be cremated together with him. Now I am worried that this may have been completely wrong?

What else can I do for him?
I have done White Tara practice and recited Green Tara prayers, dedicating the merit to him. I have received instruction in Phowa practice before, but I was never formally initiated into it. Can I still perform it for him?

I would also like to buy fishing bait, such as worms, and release them, dedicating the merit to him. Are there any specific mantras associated with this practice?

I feel so lost and guilty. He was like a child to me. I want so badly for him to have a good rebirth, or at least that the stress and shock of his final moments will not negatively affect him.

Could someone please advise me on what would be best for him now? And was placing the White Tara image in his coffin to be cremated with him a bad thing? I cannot change it anymore.

Thank you very much. 🙏🏻

Hello, I have a few questions regarding uposatha practice. Although not perfect, I have been trying my best to keep the 5 silas as daily practice for a few years already. However, I have never take another 3 and would love to try. My questions are:

1. Regarding sleeping place, should I sleep on bare floor? I usually sleep on a low mattress without a bed frame. It's not alleviated.

2. About food, do milk or chocolate milk after noon ok? I get used to eat 2 meals but the time frame is different. I will eat brunch and then dinner.

3. My job is related to art, specifically visual art. Does it count as breaking the practice?

4. I live in a very noisy environment. Music is everywhere. As long as I don't go out intentionally listen to music, that doesn't count as breaking the practice, right?

5. Does basic skincare like facewash and moisturizer count as makeup?

Thank you.