r/Buddhism • u/MeringueTrue7494 • Jun 20 '24
r/Buddhism • u/UsualAssociation25 • 20d ago
Request Would killing Hitler be a first precept violation?
r/Buddhism • u/tanaanjungle • Feb 03 '24
Request My beautiful cat passed away
My beautiful baby passed away on the 31st of January at 13 years of age. She had been struggling with IBD for the last two years, which ultimately changed into a lymphoma, and after several times been hospitalised, continuous medication that didn't improve her situation and the poor health she had during the last couple of months we decided the most compassionate thing was to help her go and be free from all suffering. I chanted to her om ami dewa hri and Amitabha mantras while she was alive and right after she was gone. I've been continually chanting mantras mentally for her since she departed and doing all god deeds I've been able to in these three days. I know I need to let go, but I'm in such deep grief... she was with me for 12 years and she was my first cat. I tried to give her the best life I could. I hope she felt how much I loved her. At the end I couldn't stand it and before she was gone (and after) I asked her to find me again. She was a pure soul and she showed me how to be a better person. I feel guilty because I only know the basics of Buddhism. I wish I could do more for her to have a prosperous rebirth. Please, pray for her to have a good rebirth. š Thank you all for reading me.
r/Buddhism • u/MeringueTrue7494 • Jun 12 '24
Request Please pray for this man. His name is John. He struggles with PTSD and a traumatic brain injury from childhood. Please send him loving kindness.
r/Buddhism • u/Bitemynekk • Oct 03 '22
Request My Buddhist girlfriend wants to release all of my cats. Iām not sure what to do!
Iām really at a loss what to do. My girlfriend who is a devout Buddhist keeps telling me that I need to keep the doors of my home open all of the time so that my cats can chose is they want to go outside or stay inside. My cats have always been inside cats only as I want them to be safe and healthy and donāt want them getting hurt or killed outside from fleas and ticks to coyotes and wild dogs. She keeps telling me that I have bad Karma from keeping them inside and that she will open the door when I am gone to help my Karma. I take care of my cats and love them as my children but she seems to not care if they are hurt or die horribly. She only says itās karma and they will die anyway. How is it good karma to be so heartless when you have the means and desire to make sure they have long and happy lives. I have a large house and plenty of space where they run around and play. She keeps telling me that freedom is the most important thing even if they die horribly.
Please help me to convince her!
r/Buddhism • u/MeringueTrue7494 • Jun 14 '24
Request Hello dear friends, thank you all for praying for me!
I know I am not a smart man. But I know true friendship when I find it.
r/Buddhism • u/Intrepid_Weight_4662 • May 03 '21
Request I am shattered
I live in India and pandemic has become a monster here. Everyday, I am seeing people dying on roads and at hospital doors because of lack of oxygen supplies. 24/7 pyres are burning.
I am unable to take it anymore. Unable to take anymore the helpless cries of people.
I need positive vibes or I might just collapse.
I don't know how this sub can help but just felt like posting here.
People are in shock and I dread will I be next.
Help.
Edit- Thank you all..I feel loved and it feels good to see such kind,helpful and insightful messages from all of you.
I have been meditating but somehow these days I am unable to focus but I continue anyways.
This morning,I came to know that one of my neighbors, with whom we have family like connections, died due to covid. I use to meet him everyday before covid. While writing this, I feel unable to contain my grief. But,I promise to stay composed.
I wish to go to place where for few moments I could escape this. But that would not help.
Maybe after covid, I would spend few days with nature to heal myself.
Anger is another emotion that I am feeling a lot because my govt inspite of being told that second wave will be dangerous didn't plan. Newspapers are reporting that people would have survived if only they were sick with covid but they are dying in large numbers due to extreme scarcity of oxygen supplies for which the reason is mismanagement.
I feel good writing to you because it helps me express my feelings. I feel heard .
Love to all.
( I have pasted the same in comment section )
Edit- thank you for giving hugz/ silver awards. Your concern and love gives me peace.
Today Delhi High court rebuked the govt of completely failing to manage. The judge said that the govt could bury their head but they cannot. Such things are happening but situation for common men is still worse.
I am hearing the stories of kids losing both of their parents and my heart breaks to feel what they might be going through. I want to help all of them. I know what it feels to lose a parent for I lost my dad in 2018 but for these kids the pain and hopelessness is immense.
I wish I had financial resources to help all.
Friends, now I know why I shared this with you. Because based on the beautiful wisdom that you shared with me, I don't want to escape this sadness but I am hoping to transform into something positive.
To be honest, at this moment, I don't know what's in store.
It's hell here. The people who are left behind are unable to forget what their loved ones have gone through in their last moments. More than covid, it's scarcity of oxygen that's killing people. I am not exaggerating..just read about it and you will know.
My mom is my priority. Taking all the care to keep my mom and sis safe. But, to see other families collapsing is giving me nightmares.
I am not watching news but everyday I am getting to know from my neighborhood and friends.
Almost everyone is saying they have never been this frightened.
Doctors are crying on camera because they can't stand losing patients to lack of oxygen.
Anyways, I am full of gratitude to all of you. Reading your messages make me hopeful.
People have suggested to chant which I will do inspite of my faith becoming shaky.
Love to you all.
Give my regards to your family. Love to all of them.
r/Buddhism • u/Commercial_Ad686 • Mar 24 '24
Request Canāt pick a religion. Help?
Deep down I know Buddhism is the truth, and offers the most skillful way of living. But my wife is Catholic and I was raised Catholic, and weāre raising our kids Catholic. So we go to church every week and I read the Bible, until I feel my anxiety reaching its peak (usually day 20) and then I go back to Buddhism.
Iāll meditate instead of pray and study dharma instead of the Bible. While Iām at church Iāll mediate and block out the mass. And once Iāve found peace again (about 20 days later) I switch back to praying and reading the Bible. And the cycle repeats, and has been repeating the past 2 years.
I know itās madness, but thereās something inside me telling me I need to be Catholic to support my family and be the best father I can be. Like being Catholic is the most skillful thing I can do as a husband and father.
For context, my wife is extremely anti Buddhist for reasons I wonāt go in to. Both sides of our family are Catholic.
Any insight is appreciated!
r/Buddhism • u/Longjumping-Fun7785 • Dec 31 '23
Request This subreddit needs a mental illness resource megathread
I notice that a lot of posts on here are related to depression, ptsd, suicide, etc. as someone who has had mental illness I sympathize completely with everyone who is struggling. However most users here aren't professional therapists and aren't trained to help. we need well written buddhist inspired resources that victims can access. I'm talking posts, books, videos and the like
om namo buddhaya
r/Buddhism • u/3darkdragons • Nov 26 '24
Request Where do I go to learn to become enlightened?
Apologies if this seems redundant. I have read about the basics of Buddhism, even tried some meditation, and visited a temple. I find myself dissatisfied by what I find. I myself am not particularly mentally healthy, but I have an idea of what is closer to and further from enlightenment (although it may be misguided), I wish to use Buddhism as a means to free myself from attachments and illusions that work to worsen my mental health, and I find that the meditation Iāve tried hasnāt been particularly effective, and that the temples I visited seem to in some way contradict the dharma, with big grand displays of wealth, opulence, and rituals, and little focus on the practice of spiritual attainment. It almost makes me feel like the buddhas teachings have been lost in all practical sense.
As a westerner, where do I go? To find people who understand the meditations, who can teach me? I can hardly bring myself to do anything nowadays, nothing motivates me except for pursuit of this goal, but when I try practicing metta, and I canāt find any jhanas, I lose motivation even towards that. How do I know if Iām doing something wrong?
Any guidance is appreciated. I am willing to go anywhere, but the willingness goes down with the difficulty, and goes up with the subjective sense of ācloseness to attainmentā.
Edit: To be clear, I'm not necessarily looking for an easy way, just a way that shows I am making progress that i can feel. I usually feel so physically and mentally fatigued that literally even standing up is difficult, so to go from temple to temple, website to website, text to text, searching for things to provide insight, without finding something that at least provides motivation, a lightening of the load, compulsion, etc, it makes it more difficult. Idk if anyone else relates, its not so much sensual crraving, but the alleviation of mental distress (anxiety, depression, loneliness, etc).
r/Buddhism • u/Intelligent-Pain-466 • Oct 10 '24
Request Pray for my fatherās soul
My dad passed away tonight. He wasnāt Buddhist and my family isnāt but I know your prayers will aid him in the next life. Please pray for his soul. Thank you all.
Edit: you guys are so compassionate thank you. This has prompted me to learn more about Buddhism. I was reading on Wikipedia about therevada and Iām actually really interested.
r/Buddhism • u/MindfulHumble • Nov 05 '24
Request Can everyone chime in with a short answer what is Mindfulness?
I am really curious what everyone thinks Mindfulness means to them. I think it will be a nice way for everyone who reads the responses to connect and learn from our different and/or similar point of views.
Feel free to answer as many words as you need to, but I'll just start out and say:
Mindfulness to me is being self-aware of the laws of nature at all times.
r/Buddhism • u/barneyfan1 • Aug 18 '23
Request This sub makes me sad
I am simply a dude looking for some solace with a deep worry that I have. I wanted something that will help me feel ok in my being and let me live my life all right. So I turend to the one thing which has helped me feel peaceful in the everyday for years. Instead simply humoring me I'm met with "you're on the wrong sub" "your question doesn't align with our branch of buddhism" "your question is off topic". I could care less if in the wrong sub, I'm suffering I just wanna be able to converse with some people about it. But no, you guys care more about rules than the suffering of a fellow human being, that's messed up for sure. Don't turn down someone asking for help
r/Buddhism • u/gerieniahta • Nov 28 '22
Request Just one trick for depression.
I'm losing my faith on getting better. Medicine, psychotherapy, meditation, exercising, gratitude, altruism, reading countless books on meditation, Buddhism, Stoicism, you name it, nothing seems to help. All spiritual paths seems so uncertain and vague. Buddha promised liberation from suffering, yet there are no people claiming to be enlightened besides himself that are not clearly cult leaders.
It's almost like nothing on my conscious mind or nothing I can do can stop my subconscious from feeling bad. I just want to try one trick, one practice, one book, one principle, etc etc with guaranteed results and clear instructions. Something that is not vague and uncertain. Something that will surely make me have inner peace.
Maybe that is too much to ask, but I'm going to throw this question as an alternative to always suffering, always unsure. But just being sure that nothing is permanent and nothing is sure just doesn't cut it. I'm not seeing any proofs and my life sucks too much to constantly keep an open, skeptical and curious attitude.
EDIT: I wasn't probably clear enough, but I am already taking antidepressants and have been in therapy before.
EDIT2: After pondering things with the advice I got from here and some insights from elsewhere and a good night's sleep, I have come to realize that the "trick" is keeping the Four Noble Truths and the Three Marks of Existence, and their logical outcomes in "my" mind; in short, being skillful. The one practice that I need is to practice to constantly keep these in my mind and see everything through these insights. The one principle is that "enlightenment" is really just being skillful with this. The one "book" I need are the reminders in the experience and the environment of "mine" to do this, while keeping an open and curious mind towards everything. To paraphrase Marcus Aurelius, I have wasted time stressing about how to be good instead of just being. When I try my best that is enough.
I'm grateful for Buddha, Sangha and Dharma for having shown me this wisdom.
r/Buddhism • u/Liberty-Prime-Reddit • Dec 22 '23
Request Is there any living person in the world right now who has actually attained Nirvana/liberation?
r/Buddhism • u/1_Brilliant_Pickle • Jul 21 '24
Request Buddhist music. Anyone know of a song or references to Buddhism in a song?
There is Christian rock for Christians. But is there any songs referencing Buddhism or the Buddha?
My Wife and I have a debate about Bob Marleys: Three little birds. I say it sounds like he's referencing the three jewels and awaking. She says no.
Another song about mediation (I think) is the song: Here comes a thought from Steven Universe. A beautiful song.
Does anyone know any others? I'd appreciate it! šš¼š§š½āāļøšŖ·
r/Buddhism • u/younglikeafetus • Mar 06 '22
Request Looking for more book recommendations to deepen my practice. Thank you all!
r/Buddhism • u/GOOMBAWOO • 20d ago
Request Is there anyone willing to be friends or help me on my path? 19F
Hi! Iām not really that new to buddhism but there is still a lot of things to learn. A lot of things I can learn from others. I wonder if this is the right thing to do but I feel like the world is so vast. There has to be beautiful beings to connect with, right? For us to help each other? So please, iād love to connect and talk. Hope to hear from you.
r/Buddhism • u/jalapenosunrise • 22d ago
Request Whatās your favorite thing about Buddhism? š
Could be a practice, experience, belief, whatever. Just curious what people think
r/Buddhism • u/jalapenosunrise • Nov 20 '24
Request Nuns who give dharma talks?
Iād like to find some nuns who give dharma talks that are recorded on Spotify or YouTube and Iām having a hard time finding them. Itās mostly monks and Pema Chodron lol but Iād like to hear more perspectives. Thanks!
r/Buddhism • u/earth222serenity • Nov 11 '24
Request (modern) Buddhist musicians?
I'm looking for some musicians that might be buddhist/preach Buddhism. I've found lots of spiritual artists, Willow, Erykah Badu of course, Raveena, etc., but none are specifically Buddhist. For clarification, I'm looking for something besides chants, mantras, and related (non English songs/musicians welcome as well!) thank you šŖ·
r/Buddhism • u/No-Illustrator4964 • Aug 15 '22
Request I came home from camping and my husband got me two new baby goats for my upcoming bday. Help me think of a short Buddhist name for these two girls? Taking suggestions!
r/Buddhism • u/easternhorizon • Sep 22 '20
Request In 3 hours I will be taking our old dog to be euthanized. Asking for prayers or chants I could offer to her both before or after her death.
I realize that premature taking of life is not considered a good action in Buddhism, even if that being is suffering. But I'm not the only one making this decision, and, to be honest, it's hard to disagree. Regardless, I will accept the karmic consequences of this decision.
But since we're going through with this. I wanted to ask those of you wiser and more knowledgeable in Buddhist practices for prayers and other practices that I could do in the hopes of easing her transition from this life to the next (assuming you believe in such a thing). In the meantime, I will be here with her, just petting her. Anything is welcomed. Thanks.
r/Buddhism • u/say-what-you-will • Sep 14 '24
Request Learning from Reddit
I just joined this online community and there seems to be a lot of very kind people here. But I couldnāt help but notice that Iām getting different opinions from different peopleā¦ so Iām realizing that I need to reach out to a Buddhist mentor (which I will do soon) and canāt really go by what the people here are saying unfortunately. Which I knew already but forgot that I knew, it happens (I mostly stopped using social media).
I just wanted to reach out to a community of like-minded people but I guess we all have to learn from the teachers and the teachings and not each other. Or that is my conclusionā¦
Iām not saying thereās no value to being here but I think we all have to be careful where we get our information. If Iām getting different answers from different people it doesnāt seem like Iām learning anything and itās actually quite confusingā¦ š«¤ and potentially dangerous and misleading.
Just sharing my bit of wisdomā¦ Anyone else having these thoughts?
r/Buddhism • u/TroopRobato • Sep 17 '23
Request My cat was just killed by a coyote and Iām really struggling with his death due to the violence he endured. Any prayers or thoughts to help with inner peace?
My favorite cat was sadly just killed this AM by a coyote. I got him so randomly from a guy that was just going to let him go on the street because the shelter couldnāt take him. He was so sweet and loved our neighbors and neighborhood. However this AM three large coyotes got him and then dropped him as we ran out to try and get him before they did. It was a terrible site, he struggled to breathe and then died shortly after. Is there any thoughts or prayers I can think about to help with his loss?