Search found 186 matches

by jackson
Sun Apr 23, 2017 5:33 am
Forum: Sīla
Topic: Online game: Am I stealing?
Replies: 8
Views: 2558

Re: Online game: Am I stealing?

Hi Digity, It seems like this is having a negative impact on your mind, if the action was pure there wouldn't be this doubt. These grey areas can be tricky to navigate so when I encounter one I find it helpful to recollect the Buddha's saying from the Karaniya Metta Sutta "Do not do the slighte...
by jackson
Sat Apr 22, 2017 1:05 am
Forum: Wellness, Diet & Fitness
Topic: How to love myself?
Replies: 33
Views: 9368

Re: How to love myself?

Hi No Mind, There are a few things I have found beneficial for cheering for oneself in life, as opposed to the self destructive tendencies some of us can fall into. Keeping the precepts is tremendously important, and reflecting on one's moments of kindness and generosity can uplift the mind. Also on...
by jackson
Wed Dec 21, 2016 11:48 pm
Forum: Lounge
Topic: Why I write the way I do
Replies: 39
Views: 6898

Re: Why I write the way I do

I think it's important to see how our experience lines up with the texts, otherwise we may end up deluding ourselves and wandering down a long road which leads to a dead end. We cannot say our hearts are pure unless the five hindrances are removed, otherwise we may have good intentions, but they may...
by jackson
Wed Dec 21, 2016 5:21 am
Forum: Lounge
Topic: When you look at a human being...
Replies: 2
Views: 980

Re: When you look at a human being...

I try and look at people from their perspective,get a sense of where they are coming from and empathize with the difficulties they may be facing. Most people are generally good people, but I also think that all beings have the potential for goodness, they just need to see the value in it for themsel...
by jackson
Sun Dec 18, 2016 8:42 pm
Forum: Lounge
Topic: was anyone here bullied?
Replies: 34
Views: 5391

Re: was anyone here bullied?

Hey anthbrown, I was reading the Samyutta Nikaya today and this particular sutta stuck out to me. "Arañña Sutta: The Wilderness" (SN 1.10), translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to Insight (Legacy Edition) Standing to one side, a devata addressed the Blessed One with a ver...
by jackson
Wed Dec 14, 2016 6:53 pm
Forum: Lounge
Topic: How to deal with rejection
Replies: 13
Views: 3393

Re: How to deal with rejection

Hi gpessa, Whenever I'm going through a tough time I find it helpful to remember the Buddha's definition of suffering; wanting things to be other than they are or wanting things to stay the same. This can help the mind open up to what is present and can be very helpful in allowing oneself to process...
by jackson
Wed Dec 14, 2016 3:43 am
Forum: Lounge
Topic: Being Religious or Spiritual Is Linked With Getting More Depressed
Replies: 86
Views: 14178

Re: Being Religious or Spiritual Is Linked With Getting More Depressed

If I may give a bit of personal experience, I found the early years of practice to be filled with mistakes, and lines in the Dhammapada such as "The evil-doer grieves here and hereafter; he grieves in both the worlds. He laments and is afflicted, recollecting his own impure deeds." (Chapte...
by jackson
Fri Nov 11, 2016 7:19 pm
Forum: Lounge
Topic: Quitting cigarettes
Replies: 29
Views: 5494

Re: Quitting cigarettes

I smoked throughout my teens and early twenties, haven't had a cigarette since 2007. I think the addiction was weakened by quitting cold turkey for a year here, a year and a half there, but eventually I would give into the craving and end up right back where things started. The turning point was whe...
by jackson
Fri Oct 07, 2016 2:50 am
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Humble but honest words of faith
Replies: 5
Views: 1884

Re: Humble but honest words of faith

Hi Sumana, I hope you're doing well, and would just like to say that your faith will grow considerably as you take the practice deeper and deeper. Life can be quite difficult at times, but sometimes difficulty can set one on a path which turns out to be beneficial in the long run and makes the pain ...
by jackson
Sat Jul 16, 2016 1:14 am
Forum: Sīla
Topic: What to do when a precept is broken
Replies: 12
Views: 7909

Re: What to do when a precept is broken

Thank you for the replies, they've all been helpful.
:anjali:
by jackson
Fri Jul 15, 2016 9:16 pm
Forum: Sīla
Topic: What to do when a precept is broken
Replies: 12
Views: 7909

What to do when a precept is broken

Hi everyone,
Did the Buddha give advice for what to do when we break a precept? And if not, what is the proper way to discipline ourselves and also not end up beating ourselves up over it?
Thank you for your replies,
Jackson
by jackson
Tue Jul 05, 2016 12:51 pm
Forum: General Theravāda discussion
Topic: Dharma Talks or Videos
Replies: 142
Views: 238892

Re: Dharma Talks or Videos

phpBB [video]

This is an excellent talk from Ajahn Amaro, covering Hiri and Ottapa, and the proper attitude to having done something wrong. Highly recommended.
by jackson
Mon Jul 04, 2016 1:20 am
Forum: Connections to Other Paths
Topic: the great vegetarian debate
Replies: 5693
Views: 970266

Re: Does been a vegetarian mean gods are with you?

No worries Jackson. If you have easy access to the Majjhima Nikaya, you will find some of the suttas where the Buddha refutes the Niganthas ideology on kamma there. From memory, Helmut Hecker's biography of Devadatta (edited by Bhikkhu Bodhi and published in 'Great Disciples of the Buddha') is exce...
by jackson
Sun Jul 03, 2016 9:52 pm
Forum: Connections to Other Paths
Topic: the great vegetarian debate
Replies: 5693
Views: 970266

Re: Does been a vegetarian mean gods are with you?

Yes, very good scriptural support and quite a bit of it, as well. I suggest you research suttas on the Buddha's refutation of the Nigantha's view on kamma and also research the origin of the schism led by Devadutta. Thank you kindly Ben, it's always humbling to see where I'm lacking in understandin...
by jackson
Sat Jul 02, 2016 3:52 pm
Forum: Connections to Other Paths
Topic: the great vegetarian debate
Replies: 5693
Views: 970266

Re: Does been a vegetarian mean gods are with you?

Perhaps you can look at it in a more generalized way. Feelings like "the gods are with you" probably stem from the good kamma you develop by not eating animals that have been killed. Soon. The idea that there is good kamma from being vegetarian is wrong view - and wrong view is akusala. H...