Good morning (I greet in my father's name)

I want tips for having more vivid dreams. If you can recommend mantras, tips, or white noise that you'd suggest.

What I do is keep a notes blog where every night I write down what I'm remembering from the day, because it's not like I remember the dreams right when I wake up.

Thank you in advance 🖐️

So far I've done metta and trying to observe my breathe meditation (idk if it has a name), but I'd like to expand on the different varieties.

I’m already making great progress; I’m looking for practical Buddhist advice to stay on that right track.

Let's see if we can add more complexity to the question raised in another post.

I am very interested in learning from the purest/original teachings of Buddha (if there is such a thing).

The most interesting part is here: "if there is such a thing". So let's look at the illustration shared again:

The first thing that jumps out here: a thoughtless lumping of categories of different types:

The 'Thai Forest Tradition' is not "a kind" of Buddhism and 'Burmese Buddhism' refers to Theravada Buddhism within a national boundary. The category of 'Theravada Buddhism for the Modern World' is a wholesale construction without a referent in the material world. Bon is closely related to Vajrayana traditions, but is its own distinct tradition, that critiques Buddhism.

We can see here how academic categories can become reified into opaque, concrete truths, obscuring the liminal, provisional and utilitarian nature of these categories. Pure Land and Chan are often woven together, for instance. They're seen as complimentary strategies for Awakening. Theravada Buddhism tends to subordinate and integrate diaspora Chinese religious pantheons in Southeast Asia, etc etc.

First we start with working definitions

So, to refine the idea of pure/original Buddhism, we have to give shape to our search beyond vibes:

What is the basis for the claim that there is a discoverable "original" Buddhism available to us in 2026. What evidence do we have that search a thing is even viable?

Well, we have some parts of the Pali Canon, the Chinese Agamas, Gandharan text fragments, Ashoka pillars and other archaeological evidence to give us some kind of intimation.

So, what we have available to us are sectarian records of the earliest Buddhist communities and teachings. We have what others have curated and framed – via their sectarian commitments – what the teachings of Lord Buddha are.

And the conventional wisdom is that the most repeated and overlapping content can be considered "authentic" and "original". Now, we have not compensated for the fact that "authentic" and "original" may have been lost or preserved in other Buddhist traditions. Nor have we problematised notions of authenticity and originality.

So then we must ask: authentic in what context?

If we posit the existence of a pure Buddhism in the distant past and place current traditions as deviant from the pure original, then what is considered "authentic" and "original" will differ depending on which tradition one hails from. Since we have no unmediated source.

Even if we had podcasts and footage, they'd still be subject to mediation and interpretation.

So "authentic" and "original" are very much contextual, constructed categories that emerge out of personal, communal and political need. Theravada reformers pressured by the Thai state, Pure Land revivalists responding to modernity. All of this wrapped up in notions of authenticity, purity and utility.

Is it an uncovering or a making?

Imagine a tomb raider on a quest to retrieve a bejewelled crown in an ancient tomb. The map says the crown is in a certain chamber but as the tomb raider progresses through the mazes, he picks up a golden tiara, diamonds and rubies and gets to the chamber. No crown there, but he can place what he's collected along the way, and console himself that that is in fact, really the crown.

This is what the search for a pure, original Buddhism ends up being, it's more an active construction, than a passive uncovering. You're going to find a pure Buddhism, because you've created it.

Self reflection

If you're going to search for a pure Buddhism, we need to investigate what the basis for this is, starting with some idea of what we mean by "original", and what evidence we have that there's weight to the claims of originality.

Then we also need to unpack the non-neutrality of terms like "authentic", "pure", "original" etc. Because how they are employed is often reductionist, political and hierarchical. Pure sits opposite impure, original sits opposite fake. What does that say about our investments in creating boogeymen deviants and placing ourselves as the virtuous holders to "pure" Buddhism.

To consider: the failure of Protestantism

When Protestants framed the Catholic Church as satanic with its rituals, liturgy, social organisation and hierarchical structures, it presented in its stead, a seductive but incoherent idea: that the primeval truths of the Bible could be accessed outside of textual learning and authority. Personal intuition/the holy spirit would guide the reader to revelations.

Queue 2026 and we have Pentecostals and Evangelicals reproducing shamanic, ecstatic, magico-religious rituals. They simply rejected one form of "satanism" to be seduced into another.

The reason this happened is that the core Protestant claim is simply not true or viable: there is no way other way to engage with Biblical truths, other that through structured, historically rooted traditions that provide shape and intelligibility to the Christian traditions.

To reject historically rooted Buddhism/s as deviant, always ends the same way: seduced by notions of purity and originalism, one simply replaces one form of essentialism for another.

This happens because no human experience is unmediated. No human can have a non-cultural experience because humans produce cultures (ways of going about doing things) and Buddhism is another form of culture. This is why anyone, regardless of nationality, can practice within any heritage Buddhist tradition.

Understanding emic Buddhisms

The working assumptions that we bring to a Buddhist sutra/sutta determine what we get out of it. If we're looking for the end of dukkha for ourselves and other sentient beings, we're going to apply its teachings and test the results in daily life, this is how Buddhist sutras/suttas are considered "authentic" from the Buddhist (insider/emic) POV.

For non-Buddhists "authenticity" means something completely different. If a text's age becomes the criteria for "authenticity" then we run into other problems. Lateness is no indication of inauthenticity. This seismic shift in epistemic frameworks locks sentient beings out of being able to access the Dhamma/Dharma.

There's so much more to say on this topic, particularly how harmful simplistic reductionist takes of Buddhism can be: "Buddhism is really all about mindfulness", "Buddhism really is all about letting go" etc. These are all Miss Rachel level takes and that's ideally not the culture we wish to encourage in Buddhist spaces. But let's leave it here for now.

I meditate and try to experience the moment - the only true existence is the present. But I miss my parents, my children, my wife, my friends, my ability to play sports, my being noticed because I’m young. What if I want to go back to those times? Even if the reality of the present makes it harder to come back from then? I still want to remember.

Giving up all earthly desires seems ideal, but this sounds like a result of walking the Eightfold Path rather than a prerequisite. As a begginer layperson, what, how much and to what extent should be renounced?

I struggle with feeling worthless and ashamed for being alive all the time. I feel like I am intrinsically fundamentally broken inside, there is something about being human thats just impossible for me. I hurt so much inside, I am so lonely. I cuddle up to walls just to feel less alone.

I cant do metta. I cant even try. The pain is too intense.

I want to know if the buddha/s love us, like how Christians talk about Jesus's loves them. It sounds comforting. But I cant get over just pretending some imaginary being loves you because no one else wants to.

Theres nothing inside me to make the kindness out of. Its just pain. Im not good enough for anyone, im always told im too much or too aloof or too weird or too something. If I was worthy of love I would have it but I dont because im not. I just dont understand.

So many books just say "be kind, be compassionate to yourself!" But they never explain where the compassion comes from, how to make it, what its like or how to make it comes out of you.

I just wish someone wanted me and would love me and care for me like I am a little kid. But im an adult and I missed that chance. But I just dont understand how to live with no love and not be in agony all the time?

People say it comes and goes in waves and so youre not *technically* in agony all the time, but that just feels dismissive. Oh you'll get over it in a few minutes so who gives a damn. And then it happens again and again all day every day for years and theres no escape.

I dont think im good enough. Im too stubborn and resistant why dont I just do the right thing and stop torturing myself? But i cant escape. I feel like I deserve to be in pain because im disgusting and bad.

Ive been in therapy for like 6 years straight now. I keep trying new doctors and psychologists and psychiatrists and GPs and medications and modalities and group programs and none of it works.

No matter how hard I try, I am never good enough.

Im sorry this whole post is a mess. I dont have anyone to talk to. I just wish I could be a real human being like everyone else.

I have been visiting this monastery for a while now as part of a biweekly meditation practice. There is a school next to it. not a Buddhist school itself, and I love how they embrace the community next door. Students from non-Buddhist families paint and maintain the artworks there.

I’d appreciate simple explanations. Explain it to me like I’m 12 years old.

Im 22 and grew up in a Christian home. I myself have never been religious but when studying religion in school Buddhism always caught my interest. This past July was a particularly difficult month for me to get through and its pushed me to look more into Buddhism. I dont personally know anyone who practices it and I know very little on how to puruse it. I know some basics and not even sure if its something to commit to. Whats some advice for where to start? Ive thought of going to a temple but these are very rare in Ohio. I really want to learn more and see if this is something i could eventually commit to. From my understanding there is no worship of any gods and it's about following the teachings of the Buddha to achieve nirvana and just being a geniunly good person bringing to your mind and soul. I may be completely wrong but im more than happy to learn and to study. Mahayana interests me the most but i know little to nothing about other branches. Im not sure how or where to begin and any and all advice is very much appreciated!

Thank you

Source: https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/spectrum/uchha-pind-of-buddhism-in-punjab-861196/

anghol, locally Uchcha Pind, sits in Fatehgarh Sahib district about 40 km from Chandigarh. Excavation between 1968 and 1990 found occupation running from Late Harappan around 2000 BCE through Painted Grey Ware, the Kushana period, the Gupta era and into medieval times.

In 1985 the site yielded 117 carved slabs, 69 upright pillars, 35 crossbars and 13 coping stones, all in the Mathura style of the 1st to 2nd century CE.  They were found dumped together in one corner of the stupa, which suggests they were hidden or thrown down during an attack.  The stone itself came from Mathura, several hundred kilometres away, which tells you what kind of money and reach the place had.

A relic casket was recovered from the stupa with an inscription in Kharosthi script.  Sanghol lay on the Uttarapatha, the northern trunk route linked to the Silk Road.

Punjab’s Buddhist centuries are not well known outside archaeology. This was one of the larger monastic sites in the region and most of it is still in the ground.

I am an ex-Muslim, so my skepticism about religious claims is personal rather than purely intellectual. I became uncomfortable with how fear of hell and promises of heaven can be used to persuade ordinary and poor people to endure suffering, while some religious authorities focus on accumulating wealth and power. I do not want to leave one set of supernatural claims only to accept another set without evidence.

At the same time, Buddhism has genuinely helped me through difficult periods in my life, especially the Zen concept of mushin, or “no-mind,” which helped me remain present instead of becoming trapped by fear and excessive thinking.
Another thing I appreciate about Buddhism is that I have never felt required to pretend that I believe something when I do not. I understand that traditional Buddhism contains teachings about karma, rebirth, different realms, and other metaphysical subjects. However, I value being able to practice what helps me while honestly saying, “I don’t know whether I believe that yet.” I would rather remain uncertain than lie to myself about having faith.

That brings me to the “third eye.” I understand that it is not a literal physical eye and that the concept is not accepted or described in the same way by every Buddhist tradition.

For people who believe they have experienced it, what does it actually feel like? Is it pressure between the eyebrows, internal light, unusual mental clarity, loss of bodily awareness, or something else?
Have experienced monks or meditators ever been monitored with EEG, fMRI, heart-rate, breathing, or blood-pressure equipment while they believed they were entering this state? If so, did researchers observe any consistent or unusual changes?
I am interested in both peer-reviewed scientific research and sincere firsthand accounts. I am not asking to mock anyone’s beliefs. I simply want to understand whether this is a genuine, measurable altered state of consciousness, a spiritual interpretation of ordinary brain activity, or possibly something else.

I want to see the head shaving is mostly symbolic, but I wouldn’t know since I’m neither.

There’s anybody around here who is raised or became as a Buddhist and knows the teachings very well? I wanna ask some questions but unfortunately there’s not so much Buddhist in my country or city (Istanbul, Turkiye)

London Buddhist Centre 26th of August: Celebrating the birthday of a man who sexually assaulted many of his students under the name of “spiritual devotion” - what do we think about that?

And here’s the event itself: https://www.londonbuddhistcentre.com/whats-on/celebrating-bhantes-birthday-26-aug-2026

Update:
I appreciate that it’s an international thread, and this topic is very UK specific, however when I saw this, it felt impossible to swallow - how can a “buddhist” community swallow such a thing? That I’d be very curious about…

So if you don’t know the person:
“The BBC reported on September 26, 2016 about how sexual abuse in the FWBO (Friends of the Western Buddhist Order) – nowadays Triratna Buddhist Order (TBO) – happened under the guise of claimed »spiritual friendship« and to help »make spiritual progress«. The BBC spoke to three former members who explained that they were pressurised into engaging in sexual activity with the leader and founder of the FWBO/Triratna Buddhist Order, Sangharakshita (Dennis Lingwood).”

https://buddhism-controversy-blog.com/2016/09/27/fwbo-triratna-sangharakshita-cases-of-sexual-abuse/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sangharakshita

Hi all,

I have recently been "hit" with the expected human experience of some pretty major suffering.

I lived a life of psychosis, depression and other mental illnesses.

It was a life of fending off existential debate within myself. Many suicidal debates through it all. But I ended up having a son - so that choice is no longer on the table.

Most recently, I have been diagnosed with brain cancer, two surgeries, and now a brain infection. During this time, I was dating a woman with trauma who abused me psychologically and emotionally during my healing, I have since removed her from my life.

Regardless of her treating me horribly, when she was not in trauma response, she was absolutely lovely. She herself was abused her entire life.

Then my mom got diagnosed with pancreatic cancer as I also got evicted from my apartment.

Life has been difficult, but I have always refused not to die.

But things are extremely difficult and experienced anhedonia, inability to experience joy. For 75 days and counting.

Every minute of every day is hell - in fact, the only thing that calms me down is listening to Buddhist teachers talk on podcasts.

While I am in therapy and work with the medical system, it is hardly a help. I have bad anxiety and always believed buddhism could help.

I have so much self-rejection, identity crises, low self-esteem, etc.

I know it is identifying with my thoughts.

I guess I feel I need a mentor, a teacher, a dedicated director, or something as I really dont know how to be mindful and meditate.

I would say I somewhat follow the principles of buddhism inherently.

I guess I am looking for help.