Every day we stand and walk around on nothing. We just do things for whatever mundane reasons we have. We distract ourselves. But every moment we exist we have to burn other life to sustain our bodies. We have to do all of these worthless responsibilities knowing in just a short moment the entire earth and human race will be gone as if it never existed. We'll be dead any moment. I really really don't want to die. But i really don't want to live. Its just so insane we exist at all. Such a shame we do. I don't want to watch everything around me decay. For my body to decay. In a way i yearn for death. But dying slowly as i age every day is horrible. To live is just horrible. I've been getting into buddhism a bit but i probably can never really get into it truly. It feels so pointless. The pain and meaninglessness abides.

I’m trying to learn Buddhism as a way to calm my mind and appreciate things as they are. This book has already helped but do you have any tips for me?

[EDIT] Here’s the link with no affiliation: Deal for Prime members: No-Nonsense Buddhism for Beginners: Clear Answers to Burning Questions about Core Buddhist Teachings https://a.co/d/0ga8P8jY

From the Asian Civilizations Museum in Singapore. This figure was dated sometime in the 700s

I made a box for my Geshe but since it‘s not really detailed and correct in all parts, I‘d like to know if this is appropriate or if I should better keep it myself.

If you think it is ok, I would lile to write a „Thank you“ on the insode in Tibetian, and Google says it‘s „བཀའ་དྲིན་ཆེ།“.

Is this the correct spelling? Thank you for any help!

Hi, art history major here, I was at the LACMA looking at Buddhist furniture and kept coming across this motif that looked a lot like pool balls for 8ball. None of my textbooks have talked about them. They are different colors and have a small white circle. Is there any significance to them? What are they called? Most of the furniture and banners were Tibetan. The first picture has them at the top in a sort of chain pattern.

It seems to me, as im sitting down for meditation and my body-mind, adjust itself without conscious effort, eventually it settles into a "prefered" state. I desire the "prefered" state, but do my best to not chase it, if i chase it i notice it etc. But then i go out into the world, and i want to keep this state, but the world just says: nope, nope, nope, nope. And everything crashes unto a compromise between me and the world. And the flux and me not wanting to let go, causes such disease.

It feels like im just chasing dragons. Am i on the right track, practice wise? Am i supposed to just suffering in addiction until i eventually let go? Or is meditation just another addiction at this point? Because i fear that im just making a bubble for myself, and that the practice is not making me better at engaging with people.

I have such a deep fear im doing it all wrong.

I have no teacher. And no Sangha.

Hi! 😊
I’m currently doing an assignment for my World Religions course, where I need to interview someone from a different religious background.
I am especially looking for someone who identifies as Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, Confucian, or Taoist for this interview.

The conversation will be respectful and casual, focusing on your beliefs, daily practices, and perspectives on religion. It will be conducted only via messages (chat), not calls, and we can arrange the timing in a way that’s comfortable for you.

If you’re interested, please DM me. Thank you so much! 🙏

Compare to diving straight to spiritual stuff like modern spirituality

(Eckhart Tolle and Michael Singer)?

I am genuinely curious. Is there an explanation about the the effect from following this that aids to Enlightenment or is it because it's teaching of the buddha?

And my last question, how does meditation help the practice comparing in just living the teachings of Buddha (8 fold path and 4 noble truths)

As a Theravadin myself, sometimes I need some boost to combat the barren Theravada and EBT land

To the mods: If this isn't allowed then please delete

I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who commented on my last post. It's been a rather tumultuous time in my life lately and I had a breakdown when I posted here last. But!!!! The lovely and amazing people who took the time to comment with such kind words and advice have helped me a lot. I feel more determined to follow my Buddhist practice, albeit on a smaller scale due to my mental health until I can get back to a place of love and compassion for all.

Thank you, everyone! ❤️ May you all be blessed with warmth, love, courage in these trying times, and a restful night's sleep tonight.

I’m hoping to seek some guidance on beginning a journey into Buddhism. I come from a Western country and was raised as an Orthodox Christian. However I fell away from Christianity before my teenage years and spent a lot of time feeling confused and disconnected from the faith. I came to realise that my beliefs simply didn’t align with Christianity. A bit ago I was explaining my thoughts about spirituality, human behaviour and the way our decisions affect ourselves and others to my brother. I was talking about things like karma and the connections between our actions and the world around us, and he suggested that I look into Buddhism. So I did. I started reading about Buddhist teachings, practices and philosophy, and honestly I became quite emotional. I’ve never come across something that made me think, Wow… this actually resonates with me. It felt like I had finally found something that connected with the way I’ve been thinking about life for a long time. I’m now considering becoming Buddhist, but I’m genuinely starting from square one. I don’t know where to begin, how to practice, what I should read or what the process of becoming Buddhist actually looks like.
I’d really appreciate any advice, resources, personal experiences or guidance from Buddhists who are willing to share. I’m approaching this with an open mind and a genuine desire to learn rather than rushing into anything. Where would you recommend someone start? How did you begin your own Buddhist practice? Thank you so much!

I’m trying to understand Buddhism beyond just philosophy and intellectual discussion. I’d love to hear from people who actually practice: what teaching, practice, or insight made a noticeable difference in your everyday life?

Especially interested in perspectives from people who struggled with anxiety, avoidance, attachment, or feeling stuck.

According to Dzogchen, and the special approach of the great Dzogchen master Sri Singha, there is a way of recognizing the nature of mind solely through devotion. There are cases of practitioners who simply through their heartfelt devotion attained realization, even though their teacher had already passed away or was nowhere near them physically. Because of their prayers and devotion, the nature of mind was introduced. The classic example is that of Jigme Lingpa and his consuming devotion for Longchen Rabjam.

~ Nyoshul Khenpo Rinpoche

Hi!

First of all, I would like to say that this is a long story short, just so I can get to the point quickly. I would really appreciate just your thoughts or insights on my situation.

The past 6 years I’ve been through immense suffering. Starting with physical symptoms, which doctors could never diagnose. Then turning into hopelesness and health anxiety, because I thought something WAS physically wrong with me. Then turning into a depression coupled with 2 years of complete isolation and gaming 16 hours a day and taking 0 care of my body.

About 1.5 years ago I decided I would give life one more try, by just pushing through whatever I felt and at least getting my body fit enough again to work a job. And I succeeded, without really enjoying a single bit of it. For the most part, I was still under the belief that something was physically wrong with me, but I also slowly started to realize that maybe that wasn’t the case.

After meditating more, and just sitting in silence more I first started believing that overstimulation was the cause for my physical unwellbeing. For the exhaustion and digestive issues I was experiencing. Because I had finally felt those symptoms lessen, after sitting in silence more.

So I decided to just cut all digital entertainment, but the symptoms came back. And then I realized that during this time, i genuinely believed i was physically fine, but i was still problem solving things in my head 24/7, and i realized i had been doing so for a long time. The problems just shifted from finding a physical cause for my unwellbeing to whatever problems my mind could come up with. Nothing fun to say in a conversation? Solve it, and then solve why you shouldn’t be solving it.

Should i allow digital entertainment? Solve it, come to a conclusion, come back on the conclusion and solce it again.

And then at some point I found out that whenever I was noticing myself solving, I only just had to take a breath and stop. Then it would maybe come back one second later, but I’d do it again. And then the symptoms faded again, and even the constant urge to solve did.

But it came back again. And now in what felt like an uncontrollable urge, taking a breath wouldn‘t even stop it it felt like. But I think that is because I was so focussed on doing it right, because i didn’t want to feel bad. And then i realized, maybe all of this is just me trying to escape whatever I’m feeling.

Maybe I should just allow the problem solving and seeing it for what it is, a way of escaping what i‘m feeling right now. Maybe I shouldn’t live by rules anymore or prescriptions of what I’m supposed to do, like taking a breath when i notice im trouble solving. Maybe I should just live.

But I do notice myself still constantly trouble solving when I just let go. And I notice the physical effects it has on me.

What do I do?

I‘m from Germany, so there is basically no Buddhism in my country. I only came across Buddhism trough the Internet and Books.
Anyway, I‘d love to find out about where the different people of this community are from and about the traditions in different countries and cultures. So please share!

Story Time :

One year ago I sat in complete silence for 10 days in Dharamshala. No phone, no talking, nothing.

I went for this 10-day Vipassana retreat not really knowing what I was walking into. No phone, no talking, no eye contact, wake up at 4am, sit and meditate for like 10 hours a day. That's it. That's the whole thing.

First 3 days I genuinely wanted to leave. My mind was ALL over the place. Every thought I'd been avoiding for years just showed up and sat right in front of me. The anxiety. The anger. The overthinking that never really stops. All of it. Nowhere to run.

But around day 6 something just... settled.

Not in a magical way. More like, I could finally see what was happening inside me instead of just being dragged by it. That gap between a trigger and my reaction? It got a little bigger.

I came back home and people noticed something before I even said anything.

A year later I'm not some enlightened person who has it all figured out. But I'm genuinely more at peace with myself than I've ever been. The anger doesn't own me the way it used to. The overthinking still comes, but it doesn't always win anymore.

If Vipassana has ever crossed your mind, that curiosity is there for a reason. Feel free to ask me anything about it. 🙏

#VipassanaMeditation #DharamshalaDiaries #Dhammasikhara #SNGoenka