text:
Why can't private buddhas just tell people what they did to achieve enlightenment
I mean I don't know if they do but apparently private buddhas don't put forth a teaching, so my question is why can't they just tell people what they did to attain enlightenment.

The 3 Types of Buddhahood

It's possible that some, controversially, do (and in great detail): http://integrateddaniel.info/book/

A naturally strong man took an ax, and with a single sweep fell a tree. Another man, having seen this, asked him how did he do that? The strong man said, this is what I did, and showed him what he did. The other man not being so strong, tried many times but couldn't. He asked the strong man again, and the strong man showed him again. After many unsuccessful attempts the weak man accused the strong man of being deceitful and miserly for not showing him how to fell a tree in a single sweep of an ax.

We prove, that no "private Buddha" shall teach you the dharma, with proof-by-finite-descent. Assume Bob and Alice are "private Buddhas". Because of reading this question Bob decides, to begin to teach, and thus to be no more "private". Next day, another Dude looks at Alice which is now the remaining "private Buddha" and is still not teaching. So what is, what he observes? That there is no "private Buddha" teaching... (Proof completed)

Because they themselves don't know. It's not like when you become enlightened you automatically understand what happened; the only necessary difference is that you no longer have any craving for anything. Actually understanding how you got there takes a much greater degree of wisdom.
It's much like having an epiphany - you realize something about your life, but you don't likely know what exactly you did to give rise to that realization.

They do know. They're just not comfortable with teaching.
In Chapter III, karika 94c of Abhidharmakosabhasya, Vasubandhu explains that Pratyekabuddhas do not teach others because teaching Dharma requires pushing the students "against the current" to "make them understand the profound Dharma", which "is a difficult thing" and causes "turmoil" to Pratyekabuddha, who finds pleasure in the peace of Jhanas and is averse to human contact with its trouble:

Why does he not apply himself to the conversion of others? He is certainly capable of teaching the Dharma: he possesses the comprehensions, he can remember the teachings of the ancient Buddhas. He is no longer deprived of compassion, for he manifests his supernormal power with a view to being of service to beings.  He can no longer say that beings are "unconvertible" in the period in which he
  lives, for, in this period—the period of decrease of life—beings can detach themselves from The Realm of Desire by the worldly path. Why then does he not teach the Dharma?
By reason of his previous habit, he finds pleasure in,
  and aspires to absence of turmoil; he does not have the courage to apply
  himself to making others understand the profound Dharma: he would have to make disciples; he would have to conduct the multitude who
  follow the current against the current, and this is a difficult thing. Now
  he fears being distracted from his absorption and of entering into
  contact with humans.

My commentary:
A Pratyekabuddha has understood and pierced through his/her own obstacles (defilements, obscurations). He does know how he himself achieved Enlightenment. But in order to teach others one must pierce through the veils of million other combinations of karma and defilements that other beings may have. That's the difficult part.
Plus, because Enlightenment is non-conceptual, explaining it with concepts may seem like heaping further B.S. on top of existing heaps of B.S. Very burdensome and not always rewarding. Effectively, for the time you teach you have to step out of Nirvana and back into the pain of Samsara or at least on the edge.
For Pratyekabuddha teaching is both difficult and a pain in the butt, so it is absolutely not worth the effort.

"True compassion is ruthless."

"Effectively, for the time you teach you have to step out of Nirvana and back into the pain of Samsara or at least on the edge."
How is this a thing? Isn't liberation irreversible?

You feel pain on behalf of others.

Also forgive me,I forgot where I read this but a pacekabuddha lacks the ability to teach like a supreme Buddha.Even the Buddha after his enlightened almost didn't teach the dhamma because he said it was too hard for us to understand.so I imagine it would have been much more difficult for a private Buddha to teach the dhamma.Especially when its never been heard before or not in a Buddha sasana.

There is another view on why private Buddha's cannot teach.

A disciple understands the fabrication pertaining to ones own aggregates
A private Buddha understand above plus fabrication of nature but not that of other beings (some private Buddhas realise Buddhahood through observing nature than oneself)
A fully enlightened Buddha also understands the fabrication pertaining to the aggregates of others also, hence is able to provide and set out proper guidance a tame others who are ready to be tamed.

If you do not understand how fabrication work pertaining to another being you cannot give advice on how to come out of the process of creating new fabrications and put a stop to it.
There are documented cases in what they did to realise Nirvana but many are not readily usable by any one who is not mature enough. E.g. looking at a leaf fall fall from a tree, looking at the flow of a stream, etc. It is unlikely anybody else utilise this kind of advice to gain benifit.

One difference between a Sammasambuddha and Paccekkabuddha is that, the former, at a point of been capable of achieving Enlightenment, postpones his Enlightenment so that he can become a Bodhisattva to instruct and inspire many beings during many life times, and thus help a large number of beings eradicate craving (the origin of suffering). Thus over the supposedly billions of lifetimes as a Bodhisatva the Bodhisatva gets to know and learns about the various tendencies of the multitude of beings  s/he instructs, and thus is able to preach the dhamma accordingly. The latter had no such intention, and no such training in teaching. That is not to say that Paccekabuddhas are incapable of giving any instruction or inspiring others. However, the body of teaching is not comprehensive or complete like a Sammasambuddha.

If I remember well, in the gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism, private buddhas are synonymous with "small arhats", that have attained the "small nirvana", if they renounce it, they can go on and remove the first veil, at which time they become "aryas", and then the three others, at which time they become buddhas, alias fully awakened, alias "great arhats".
Somehow private buddhas blocked their sufferings without removing the causes, and their state is an intermediary stage for those who want to reach buddhahood for the benefits of others and themselves.

Great question !
I once attended a lecture where a story was told about a private Buddha.
This particular one lived an entire life as a human, all the ups and downs of a normal average life for the time.
All for one encounter with another human on a bus, where in that encounter the private Buddha screamed angrily in the other persons face, and then got off the bus to live the rest of the life born into.
It was said that encounter led to a series of unfolding events that set the other human on the path towards liberation.
In contrast, if the private buddha had given a sermon on the bus it might not have had the same effects.

From a Mahayana perspective, the difference between a Pratyekabuddha private Buddha, (as well as the comparable Arhat) and a Samyaksambuddha (Fully Enlightened Buddha) is in the aspirations. Both already attained Nirvana and release from suffering, however the latter through their compassionate vows remained to teach others and further develop important skills in their ability to teach.
As the Sakyamuni Buddha stated, when he attained release he was initially content to rest and dwell at ease. If he had done so, he would be effectively a private Buddha.
If you look at the Paramitas:

Dāna pāramitā: generosity, giving of oneself (in Chinese, Korean,
  and Japanese, 布施波羅蜜; in Tibetan, སབྱིན་པ sbyin-pa)
Śīla pāramitā : virtue, morality, discipline, proper conduct (持戒波羅蜜;
  ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས tshul-khrims)
Kṣānti pāramitā : patience, tolerance, forbearance, acceptance,
  endurance (忍辱波羅蜜; བཟོད་པ bzod-pa)
Vīrya pāramitā : energy, diligence, vigor, effort (精進波羅蜜;
  བརྩོན་འགྲུས brtson-’grus)
Dhyāna pāramitā : one-pointed concentration, contemplation (禪定波羅蜜,
  བསམ་གཏན bsam-gtan)
Prajñā pāramitā : wisdom, insight (般若波羅蜜; ཤེས་རབ shes-rab)

All six paramitas are required for release, and both Arhats and Pratyekabuddha have completed these perfections.

In the Ten Stages Sutra, four more pāramitās are listed:

Upāya pāramitā: skillful means
Praṇidhāna pāramitā: vow, resolution, aspiration, determination
Bala pāramitā: spiritual power
Jñāna pāramitā: knowledge

The last four perfections are what make it possible for a fully enlightened Buddha to be such an incomparable teacher. Having the resolve to teach beings and cultivating the skills necessary to teach all beings. Recall that many Arahants like Sariputta and Maha Moggallana had different abilities, and were not able to develop their psychic powers to the same degree nor have the same level of knowledge and wisdom as the Buddha.
The goal of Mahayana Buddhism is to exhort people not to be content with the goal of attaining deliverance, but cultivate the skills necessary to teach the way to the deliverance. As such a true Bodhisattva can exist in both Theravada and Mahayana traditions. And within Mahayana tradition there are plenty of people who behave as if they are a Hinayanist despite the label.
At the end of the Amitabha Sutra, it is stated that while it is difficult to attain enlightenment, it is even more difficult to teach it. (This part of the text is usually not translated correctly and I haven't found a satisfactory English translation).


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If a Buddha exists then can a private buddha arise or exist somewhere in the same world system without having learned from the current Buddha?
The question is in the title.
Or is he just known as an arahant?

This can not happen. Only 1 Buddha can exist in universe. Lord Buddha himself said this.

MN 115 only says that it's impossible for 2 "fully" Enlightened Ones to arise in a world system. But anyway, a PaccekaBuddha arises only at a time when no Dispensation of a fully enlightened Buddha exists in the world (Ven. Bodhi's "Middle Length Discourses", note#1095). So no, they'd never meet. And a PaccekaBuddha isn't classified as an Arahant for an Arahant is someone who attained enlightenment through listening and practicing the teaching of the Buddha.

I don't remember where the story is mentioned, but if I remember right, there was a Pacceka Buddha in the world when the Bodhisatta was born as prince Siddhartha. He attained Parnibbana after hearing the news from the Devas that the Buddha to be has appeared in the world. So it would seem that a Pacceka Buddha wouldn't stay if a SammaSambuddha appears in the world.  Also, those who are capable of attaining enlightenment will be drawn towards the Buddha or the Buddha will see them when he scans the world system every morning.

The Buddha scans the world system every morning???

Yes, it's called the Maha Karuna Samapatti nana

If a Buddha exists then can a private Buddha arise or exist somewhere in the same world system without having learned from the current Buddha?

No, it is impossible. Lord Buddha himself said so.If you look at Lord Buddha's
very first teaching () you will see that it mentions this statement.
"Lord Buddha has rotated the wheel of dharma it can't be reversed by other monks,Devas or Mara." (Please note that this is a simple conversion.)
This means Before a birth of a Lord Buddha there is no previous teaching of Buddhist way left in any world / realm. A Lord Buddha release these teachings for the first time in that era and it can't be stopped by any person with any amount of force or influence.
If You want to listen to this Sutta here is the link:
https://soundcloud.com/mahamevnawa-lk/wjta3yay10kf
There is a special meditation method called "Buddhanussathi". It is all about the Lord Buddha's uniqueness. Here is the link:
http://mahamevnawa.com/Amadahara_FrnDw/Mp3_JeewanandaThero/51_Budhdhaanussathi_meditation.mp3
This example may not be convincing enough for some one.so listen to these:

http://mahamevnawa.com/Amadahara_FrnDw/Mp3_JeewanandaThero/13_Gothama_Sutta.MP3
http://mahamevnawa.com/Amadahara_FrnDw/Mp3_JeewanandaThero/48_Triple_Gems.mp3

Could you add a source for the statement in your answer?

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Can straight samatha ever lead to enlightenment?
Can you just do so much samatha meditation that you achieve enlightenment?

If you are asking about whether Samatha meditation alone can lead to enlightenment the answer is no.
Why is that?
In Vipassana meditation you have ultimate reality as your object of meditation. By having reality as your object you achieve insight into how reality functions i.e. the 3 signs of existence; anicca, dukkha, anatta. When penetrating into reality one can attain enlightenment through realizising one of these signs.
When one is doing Samatha meditation alone one can only gain tranquility i.e. a strong concentration and the jhanas. One cannot any achieve insights into reality and therefore not become enlightened. That is because in samatha meditation one does not have ultimate reality as an object. Instead one has a concept as an object e.g. one of the 10 kasinas. One is trying to keep that object static by keeping attention on the object through the means of applied and sustained thought.
You can think about it in another way. Lets say you had a big stone in front you and you want to carve out a figure from that stone. To do that you need an instrument, a tool. Concentration is your tool and the stone is reality.
In order for you to be able to carve into the stone you need the tool to be sharp. In other words you need to sharpen your tool. That is where samatha meditation is used. You use samatha meditation to train and sharpen your concentration so that you can use concentration as a tool to carve/penetrate into reality and then gain insights into how reality functions.
So back to the stone. If you only sharpen your tool will that ever lead you to enlightenment?
No its not possible. Samatha meditation is like that sharpening. By doing samatha meditation you are only making your tool sharper, better and more precise but you are never actually applying that tool to the stone. You are never actually carving the stone.
That is why samatha meditation alone cannot lead you to enlightenment.
Lanka

What I have learned from Vipassana retreats is that, Vipassana means becoming mindful of feelings and sensations which arise and fade away. So by that, you understand the nature of Annicca i.e. impermanence, you gain wisdom. The Vipassana retreat never once mentions getting into Jhnana, and you become Enlightened from the 8th Jhnana, so I think I am confused why Vipassana and not Samatha leads to Enlightened.

If I'm not mistaken, Samatha alone leads to attainment of Jhanas. With perfection in certain levels of Jhanas, one could get reborn in certain Brahma worlds, which by itself is a good thing, but as per Lanka's answer, it doesn't lead to enlightenment.
From here:

A group of laypeople who had studied the Abhidhamma together came to
  Ajaan Fuang to try out his version of mental training, but when he
  told them to sit, close their eyes, and focus on the breath, they
  immediately backed off, saying that they didn't want to practice
  concentration, for fear that they'd get stuck on jhana and end up
  being reborn in the Brahma worlds. He responded, "What's there to be
  afraid of? Even non-returners are reborn in the Brahma worlds. At any
  rate, being reborn in the Brahma worlds is better than being reborn as
  a dog."

Correct me if I am wrong, but from what I have read you attain Nibbana from the 8th Jhnana, so if Samatha is leading you to 8th  Jhnana is that not from where you take that final step?

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Equanimity, aversion and anatta
Equanimity is described as It refers to the equanimity that arises from the power of observation, the ability to see without being caught by what we see. The definition can be found here.
If i dig further at look at the concepts as set by Buddha at http://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/books-articles/dhamma-lists/, it confuses and muddles my understanding.
If i attempt to understand not rationalize the description of equanimity, i gather that if an emotion arises or is arising, i observe it. This emotion may be happiness, love, sadness, hatred, dislike, etc. As long as i don't interact or engage the emotion, i am mindful and aware.
Again because i tend to look to examples be it in nature or behavior, i will attempt to describe my understanding.
Example 1
Surrounded by children, in laughter, there is a sense of happiness and innocence. If i simply observe the emotion of happiness, should i not participate in it? Yes, it may be temporary but isn't that being in the present or moment all about?
If i am devoid of emotion and only an observer, am i not practising aversion?
How does this differ to physical interactions?
Example 2
Relationships are strained between 2 or more people. The fact that they have stayed away from one another reduces the strain as it does the thoughts that arise from remembering incidents. Over time, people sympathize as well as empathize. This leads to the belief that should they meet again, they will have better understanding.
Is staying away deliberately considered aversion? If someone had been
abused and they stayed away from their abuser, is it aversion?
Is not wanting to think about it aversion?
Is the 'loss' of memory and an understanding on the path of anatta?
Does this 'loss' of memory and thought as well as an understanding of the situation and experience lead to the path of equanimity?

Your motivation is much appreciated, but it's hard for anyone to answer you unless you separate these questions out into individual posts. Welcome to our site, by the way!

Could you improve the two last questions? It's not very clear for me.

It is very easy to flip-flop between the idea of zero or absence; and two, the idea of the self and the other. It can be very hard to sustain the idea of one, which is what reality is: it is and there is nothing which it is not. If you think of things more like dissolving the boundary between yourself and others, rather than the "two"ness of relation or the "zero"ness of absence, it might be easier. This is something best appreciated with experience (through meditation) than language, which relies on contrasts.

@Dan Sheppard - Do you mind if i dropped you an email to clarify your comment? My email address is motivatedgorilla [at] gmail [dot] com.

I would be inclined to keep it on the site to be of the most benefit for everyone, but mainly to enable others to contribute to my meager knowledge: I will happily keep an eye here. I found the classic koan collections useful, you may do too (or may not).

I'll try to answer as broadly as possible and I hope it becomes a little more clear. But if you want more detail or deepening in one or more of you questions, I suggest you to post new specific ones.

As long as i don't interact or engage the emotion, i am mindful and aware.

For me it seems the order is quite opposite. As long as I am mindful and aware, I don't get too involved with phenomena, and then no strong emotions takes over. If I don't get caught by what I see, what I perceive, my mood don't oscillate, my temper is even, there is equanimity.

If i simply observe the emotion of happiness, should i not participate in it?

You don't need to choose to participate or not. When they happen you only observe them.
So I think the question is not whether you should or not participate in emotions. But how is you attitude towards what you perceive and how and why these feelings emerge. When it is told to observe, it is not to perceive just the emotion happening. But it is to see the whole process, from its origin and development to its end.

If i am devoid of emotion and only an observer, am i not practising aversion?

It could be aversion, it could be disregard. If you can't feel, or you ignore your all feelings, how could you be compassionate? Equanimity isn't to be devoid of emotion, but to not have strong mood oscillations.

Is staying away deliberately considered aversion? If someone had been abused and they stayed away from their abuser, is it aversion?

Maybe yes, maybe no. It depends on how you feel about meeting the other person. You could feel disgusted by just thinking about someone and totally refuse to meet that person. You could feel sad about that person and prefer to not meet him/her.

Is not wanting to think about it aversion?

It really depends on the attitude towards the thought. Refusing it and fighting against it forcefully is one thing. Now, observing it while letting it be and letting it go is another thing.

Is the 'loss' of memory and an understanding on the path of anatta?

If I understood your question correctly, no. Anatta is about perceiving the ultimate reality, there is a QA about it: What is the precise meaning of anatta? It isn't about "losing" memories, but more about not clinging to them and not getting overwhelmed by them. Anatta is perceiving that apparently there is a self with memories, thoughts, feelings, and so on, but none of these even the self are permanent or absolute. And it isn't much about intellectual understanding, but about perceiving, observing.

Does this 'loss' of memory and thought as well as an understanding of the situation and experience lead to the path of equanimity?

Quoting the text you referred, "through the power of observation equanimity arises". Through observation you can stop feeding bad memories and undesirable thoughts, eventually if you stop feeding it, it won't be able to bear fruits.
Understanding the situation and experience is somewhat a dilemma. It could make you feel more comfortable, it would yield clearer understandings, but you are still feeding the memory anyways.
Equanimity happens when we don't cling on phenomena, when we relax our attitude towards phenomena - again - through the power of observation. When an emotion happens you observe it, let it be and don't get caught, don't get overwhelmed by it, don't let it take over. Stay calm and let it go away by itself.
Sheesh, I think you still got questions, so I suggest you to post specific ones, if you will. Try to find some key doubts that will help you lead your reasoning.

Thanks Eric and i do appreciate your reply although many of them raise more questions. I'll deal with the more specific ones. You note that through observation, awareness and mindfulness, one achieve equanimity. You also mentioned not needing to participate or not to participate. I look at it as a play. Either you participate as an actor or you observe as the audience (some of whom may also participate through emotions). If you are simply observing the start and end, how are you not devoid of emotion or are you suggesting that observation does not require emotion?

"Equanimity happens when we don't cling on phenomena, when we relax our attitude towards phenomena - again - through the power of observation. When an emotion happens you observe it, let it be and don't get caught, don't get overwhelmed by it, don't let it take over. Stay calm and let it go away by itself.". I like what you say although i would like to dig a little deeper. I'll use examples. If at work, you may be constantly surrounded by a barrage of noise created by emotions that people take on. If you are simply observing it, how do you draw demarcations?

For instance, there may be activities you are affected by since it has direct or indirect cause and effect on your work. You may raise it. You may discuss it. Yet nothing passes. Come one day, you are 'told' that you cannot do x and y because you 'don't' have the authority. Yet you are required to 'perform'. How do you simply observe and participate with the 'reality' of your job? If i tell the person to go and stuff himself or herself, is that participation? If i don't do anything, is that non-participation?

If i simply observe the emotion, and don't follow by any action, what does that mean?

It would be best to not QA here in the comments, and open specific questions to people answer. Though, stage and audience are not so separate as you might think. How can you be devoid of emotions when you are observing them? How can observation occur when there is nothing to be observed? And how can someone act without observing first? Why should someone stop acting because he/she is observing? Isn't non-action also a kind of action?

When we say to "simply observe" it doesn't mean you shouldn't do anything at all. In meditation it really means to try not moving and to try not feeding emotions or thoughts. But when it comes to daily activities, it means to try not reacting automatically and mechanically to everything happens around you, but observe calmly and act calmly, without hurry or uneasiness.

Equanimity is being devoid of aversion and craving towards what every sensory input you get.
You can also be devoid of ignorance by keeping your focus of arising and passing of phenomena.
You have to practice equanimity towards sensory input as it is Anatman. You cannot control it. Since you cannot control it, i.e., you cannot create, prolong or prevent any sensations. All sensations are in a flux of change. If you try it will be stressful as you will either seek continues sense input hence Dukka.


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Is it considered against standard Buddhist doctrine to meditate with music?
Two slightly related questions:
Is it considered against standard Buddhist doctrine to meditate with music? In particular, "meditation music" - where it's calm, relaxing, peaceful, etc. I'm fairly new to all this; my meditation practice is hardly a year old, although getting stronger and more consistent; I don't have an overwhelming urge to meditate to music, but wondered what light could be shed on the subject from the perspective of the teachings. I am committed to undertaking this path as purely as possible, as it was laid out by the Buddha himself. But I enjoy music and find it draws me into certain mental states that could be useful to cultivate.
What should I do when the inevitable song pops up in my thoughts? This is something I've noted for years (I'm quite musically inclined)...I always seem to have some sort of tune running through my head. Now, when I sit, it becomes much more noticeable than when I'm doing something more secular...say, standing in line at the store, or performing some task at work. I suppose that the tune could become the focus of some mindfulness meditation and help develop concentration. OTOH I can see how it would be considered yet-another-thought, and one that should be avoided dwelling on (unless it happened to be the focus of the meditation). I don't know how useful it would be for insight meditation however. Is there an official stance in the teachings on this?
I hope this is not considered a useless question.

No its not a useless question : -)

It is OK if you did not choose the music and the person who put it on is not aware (or cares) that you are meditating. Especially if it is annoying country music blaring from the garage next door, with commercials interspersed. Lawn mowers on Sunday morning, good. But personally, I find incessant dogs barking to be more conducive. Mosquito flying around your deeply silent room... even better!

The basic Buddhist rules of morality for lay people are called the Five Precepts (they are to abstain from killing, from stealing, from sensual and/or sexual misconduct, from lying, and from alcohol).
There's an extended version of these called the Eight Precepts, of which one precept is to not go to listen to music.
These eight (instead of five) precepts are especially for Uposatha days,

The Uposatha (Sanskrit: Upavasatha) is Buddhist day of observance, in existence from the Buddha's time (500 BCE), and still being kept today in Buddhist countries.[1][2] The Buddha taught that the Uposatha day is for "the cleansing of the defiled mind," resulting in inner calm and joy.[3] On this day, lay disciples and monks intensify their practice, deepen their knowledge and express communal commitment through millennia-old acts of lay-monastic reciprocity. On these days, the lay followers make a conscious effort to keep the Five Precepts or (as the tradition suggests) the Eight Precepts. It is a day for practicing the Buddha's teachings and meditation.

According to the three Suttas identified at the bottom of this page, the purpose of the eight precepts is to "emulate the arahants".
The eight precepts aren't only practiced on Uposatha days but also, for example, by people who visit a centre such as this one.

My experience of group meditation includes a little bell (ding!) at the beginning, then silence, and then the bell again at the end of the sitting.

Strangely/exceptionally, this page includes the following quote,

How do the Acariyas include listening in watching?
According to the Acariyas, the breaking of the precept lies in the effort exerted in going to watch shows. If we are standing, sitting or lying down in our own place, that is, if we do not put forth the effort to go and watch, and if such shows or entertainments come to us or pass by, it is not a breach of the precept for us, though the sila would be tarnished. But in any case, not to listen or watch is the best. The listening to or singing of songs is a breach of the precept, except with such ballads as contain Dhamma that causes faith to arise as well as arousing weariness with the suffering of our life. For example, one Thera (senior bhikkhu) heard a slave woman singing about life's troubles. When the Thera heard this, he saw the tediousness of suffering and achieved attainments on the Path. This type of song can be listened to and is not detrimental.

FWIW Buddhists' attitude to music may vary with tradition, circumstance, age, etc. For example, this is from a Primary school (the song titles and lyrics quoted later are of 'teaching' songs):

Monks and nuns from the Thich Nhat Hanh collective, in Plum Village, France, pay our school a special visit
Today we welcomed a group of five monks and three nuns from Plum Village. They spent
two hours with our pupils this afternoon singing songs, sharing stories and teaching us some
simple but powerful mindfulness exercises.
Sister Peace reminded us how effective the ‘inviting’ of a bell can be in bringing us back to
focused awareness and the children discussed the various ways we use a ‘mindfulness’ bell
at the school, as well as suggesting other occasions etc.

That is very interesting information, ChrisW. Thank you for posting it. For my particular purpose I won't listen to music while sitting, and will endeavor to note any arising tunes in my head and return to my focus of attention.

I am aware of some studies that suggest that "noise" can be an aid to concentration - i.e. people who doodle at meetings tend to be more attentive, people who chew gum in class tend to remember more, and people who listen to classical music write more fluently.  In preliminary stages of meditation, you might even find it easier to gather your mind when there is an outside stimulus.  Guided mediation is just one example of this.  That being said, all four of those activities refer to modes of thought that are distinctly different from what you are aiming at in deeper meditation.  When sitting in a Buddhist sense (i.e. for jhana meditation, vipassana, koan practice, etc.), you need to work towards developing applied and sustained thought in a way that is as free from distraction as possible i.e. "Quite secluded from sense pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states of mind..."  MN 4.  This also infers that the influence of the five hinderances needs to be limited.  It goes without saying that listening to music is fairly antithetical to that end.
Regarding your experience that you hear music more readily when sitting - that's a fairly common occurrence.  You are just becoming aware of another level of your mind that was previously obscured by grosser thought (for what it's worth, I have the same experience when I'm backpacking or doing any other activity that isn't thought-intensive).  You do need to get beyond that state, however.  As you apply concentration, you will eventually push past that boundary and into deeper, more silent layers of the mind.

+1 for: "You are becoming aware of another level of your mind that was previously obscured" I would say that this is the entire path, and defines nonduality exclusively. But then, I am an idiot.

Based purely on my experience -- i.e. I don't know what any of the Buddhist literature says -- music is a two-edged sword.
On the one hand it doesn't at all help develop concentration or insight. It may feel like it is, but I think it is nothing but a feeling.
But on the other hand, it did serve to get me meditating at all. I found (still do) meditation to be difficult, and it wasn't something I enjoyed doing. Music made it a bit easier and got me on the cushion. However, once I'd built meditation into my routine, I stopped using music. So it served as "training wheels", and was best discarded as soon as possible.
Of those two effects, I think the first is the stronger. And with hindsight, perhaps a better approach for me would have been to join a local sangha, and used simple camaraderie to get me over the initial hump of starting to meditate. Then music wouldn't have been needed at all.

Total +1 for that last paragraph.  That is excellent advice!

Listening to music for entertainment and music in a meditation technique are two different things. Tibetan Buddhists use sounds of gongs a lot to facilitate disciples to enter deeper state. But it cannot be classified as music as it does not build up excitement. Modern music excites therefore it is incompatible with Buddha's path. But many other paths exist which rely on music and dance of certain kind (not modern music) to facilitate meditation. But if you are a disciple of Buddha you can check out through your experience if commonly available meditation music (like sound of gongs,nature etc) helps you or not. But eventually you will come to a point where all such things will become irrelevant. There will be a silence within which is not affected by anything outside.

The biggest issue with music is:

you can get attached to it
can created mental recitation of the lyrics which in turn creates verbal fabrications

Hence best is to resort to more conservative meditation pratice. Having said tha as an alternative meditation pratice Richard Shankman teachers mindfulness of sound. This is not necessarily all modern "music" but may be something like the sound of a Gong.

Alternative Meditation Practices
The breath is commonly taught as a universal meditation subject, suitable for everyone. But for some people the breath is not a good object to work with. I knew a man who had a choking incident as a child, and paying attention to his breathing brought up feelings of anxiety. Another person with asthma found that she became tense whenever she focused on the breath. If you are one for whom the breath does not work well, there is nothing wrong; this will not hinder your ability to meditate. It’s just a matter of finding the right practice in these early stages to substitute for breath meditation.
Here are some techniques you can try if you think mindfulness of breathing is not a good practice for you. These common alternatives are not the only methods that can substitute for mindful breathing, but the full range of possibilities is beyond our scope here.
Mindfulness of Sound
In the instructions for mindfulness of breathing we let all other experiences stay in the background of our awareness, not forcing or pushing them away but bringing a gentle sense of allowing them to be in the background while giving some preference or predominance to awareness of our breathing. In the same way, with this practice we allow other experiences to stay in the background and we give preference or predominance to the experience of sound. You may feel a natural draw or pull to awareness of hearing, and this practice can be very calming and settling. Those for whom mindfulness of sound works well commonly report it as an easily accessible and even compelling meditation object. You may be drawn to awareness of the sounds themselves or you may be more naturally aware of the act or the process of listening or hearing.
Mindfulness of sound entails working with either inner or outer sound. Even though it may be very quiet where you are meditating, you may feel drawn to rest your awareness in listening to however many or few sounds may be present at any time. Other people hear an inner sound, a clear perception of ringing or some other sound, experienced not through the ears but in the mind. You can see if you have such an experience and if you are drawn to rest in awareness of inner or outer sound.
If you are working with mental noting, you can mentally repeat hearing or sound if that helps keep you stay connected and centered with the auditory experience. If you practice mindfulness of sound, just substitute hearing every time I use the terms breath or breathing.

Source: Beginning Meditation Instructions: Excerpted from “The Art and Skill of Buddhist Meditation”.
Also see my related answer: What did the Buddha say about music?


text:
What are the benefits of practicing Sila?
I need incentive; what's in it for me? Also please don't answer with there's no self or I or me to get incentive, its just that I'm not enlightened yet.
This is a selfish question but I need to know what's in it for me if I do practice sila?  I heard that you  can get wealthy? Is that true? Because I noticed that I saved more money when I started practicing sila. Any other benefits?

Just like a house needs a strong foundation to last a long time, one would need sila as the foundation upon which the entire Path is built:

"Thus in this way, Ananda, skillful virtues have freedom from remorse as their purpose, freedom from remorse as their reward. Freedom from remorse has joy as its purpose, joy as its reward. Joy has rapture as its purpose, rapture as its reward. Rapture has serenity as its purpose, serenity as its reward. Serenity has pleasure as its purpose, pleasure as its reward. Pleasure has concentration as its purpose, concentration as its reward. Concentration has knowledge & vision of things as they actually are as its purpose, knowledge & vision of things as they actually are as its reward. Knowledge & vision of things as they actually are has disenchantment as its purpose, disenchantment as its reward. Disenchantment has dispassion as its purpose, dispassion as its reward. Dispassion has knowledge & vision of release as its purpose, knowledge & vision of release as its reward.
"In this way, Ananda, skillful virtues lead step-by-step to the consummation of arahantship." ~~ AN 11.1 ~~

The benefits of morality are many.
According to the Buddha, the main purpose of morality is non-remorse (AN 11).
Or, there are five benefits, including attainment/guarding of wealth:

“Householder, there are these five benefits
  for the virtuous in the perfecting of virtue. What five?

Here, householder, one who
  is virtuous, possessed of virtue, obtains a large fortune as a consequence of diligence;
  this is the first benefit for the virtuous in the perfecting of virtue.
Again, of one
  who is virtuous, possessed of virtue, a fair name is spread abroad; this is the second
  benefit for the virtuous in the perfecting of virtue.
Again, whenever one who is
  virtuous, possessed of virtue, enters an assembly, whether of khattiyas (warrior-
  nobles) or brahmans or householders or ascetics, he does so without fear or
  hesitation; this is the third benefit for the virtuous in the perfecting of virtue.
Again,
  one who is virtuous, possessed of virtue, dies unconfused; this is the fourth benefit
  for the virtuous in the perfecting of virtue.
Again, one who is virtuous, possessed
  of virtue, on the breakup of the body, after death, reappears in a happy destiny, in
  the heavenly world; this is the fifth benefit for the virtuous in the perfecting of
  virtue”

-- DN 16 (Nyanamoli, trans)

The Milindapanha also gives a nice description of the virtue of a moral individual:

"A moral individual, great king,

is like an antidote in destroying the poison of defilements;
is like a medicine in curing the sickness of defilements;
is like water in taking away the dirt and mud of defilements;
is like the jewel treasure (a gem said to grant wishes) in bestowing all attainments;
is like a ship in helping beings go to the far shore of the four floods;
is like a caravan-leader in helping beings cross over the wilderness of birth;
is like wind in extinguishing the threefold fire and heat;
is like a great cloud in replenishing the mind (as with rain);
is like a teacher in causing beings to train in wholesomeness;
is like a good preacher in causing beings to see the path to security.

Morality is considered to be the foundation of the holy life, along with right view (SN 47.3).
As Buddhaghosa says,

Dare anyone a limit place
  On benefits that virtue brings,
  Without which virtue clansmen find
  No footing in the dispensation?
-- Vism I.24 (Nyanamoli, trans)

As for needing incentive, sometimes it is important to distinguish between moral precepts and actual morality. Keeping the precepts is important, as it serves as a general frame of reference in corralling the mind, like fence posts. It is not enough, though, and the mind will still tend to rebel against the precepts if one does not build a fence of true morality, which entails mindfulness. Through mindfulness, true morality is attained at every moment.

“The currents in the world that flow, Ajita,”
  said the Blessed One,
  “Are stemmed by means of mindfulness;
  Restraint of currents I proclaim,
  By understanding they are dammed”
-- Sn 1035 (Nyanamoli, trans)

Your entire relationship with the world changes.  Interpersonal activities turn out more positively as they approached with discretion and honesty.  As you meet success in your relationships, your overall demeanor improves.  You grow happier and your quality of life is enhanced.  Furthermore, reflecting on your actions makes it much more difficult to engage in activities that you may regret later.  Sila also builds on itself.  The more you discipline body, speech, and mind, the easier these actions become to maintain and engage in.  As you grow in practice, the benefits become more obvious and pervasive.  Mindfulness improves and concentration is more stable.
And if you want some more mundane benefits - you'll probably lose weight, sleep better, and more often find yourself in beneficial circumstances.  People tend to like nice people.  :-)

To offer a more personal answer -- about 6 and a half years ago I decided to begin keeping the 5 lay precepts scrupulously, as an experiment. Not that I was in the habit of, say, killing, lying or getting drunk prior to that. But my temperamental tendency was to be flexible and not want to make others uncomfortable socially. Specifically, I adopted a strict vegan diet, gave up alcohol altogether, and began being more careful about speaking truthfully and not taking anything not freely and obviously given.
The results? The words stability and clarity come to mind. I am less wishy-washy, a sense of integrity supports my practice. And there is more of a sense of self-respect now. I know I can be trusted and I think others sense this, as well. Try exploring the precepts both in their explicit and implicit meanings and try keeping them scrupulously for a few weeks. You will see the benefits for yourself.

First of all, keeping precepts will help lead one to a good rebirth because it is good karma. Secondly, having good sila is necessary to provide a basis for success in meditation.

Sila provides protection (from bad outcomes and consequences) according to the Atta-rakkhita Sutta.

Those who engage in bodily misconduct, verbal misconduct, & mental
  misconduct leave themselves unprotected. Even though a squadron of
  elephant troops might protect them, a squadron of cavalry troops, a
  squadron of chariot troops, a squadron of infantry troops might
  protect them, still they leave themselves unprotected. Why is that?
  Because that's an external protection, not an internal one. Therefore
  they leave themselves unprotected. But those who engage in good bodily
  conduct, good verbal conduct, & good mental conduct have themselves
  protected. Even though neither a squadron of elephant troops, a
  squadron of cavalry troops, a squadron of chariot troops, nor a
  squadron of infantry troops might protect them, still they have
  themselves protected. Why is that? Because that's an internal
  protection, not an external one. Therefore they have themselves
  protected.


text:
Why is Metta Practice so Hard?
I find it very difficult to practice metta. I feel completely agitated when I sit to do metta even for a short period of time.is this normal? First I can't feel any metta being generated and I feel like I'm just repeating empty words to people I'm really not quite fond of to be honest.metta practice is unbearable i feel the urge to  rub my face on sand paper when I do it.I use to think metta was an easy meditation to do as I hear people do it before their main meditation but how can this be,when it so difficult..I don't buy it. Also i found out metta means friendliness and i think this is the problem as I may not be born with this quality.My question is Is metta supposed to be hard? If yes then why is it hard?

oftentimes I find that doing metta after having done concentration or insight meditation for awhile helps. simply doing metta meditation as a rote/ritual isn't helpful. metta isn't the same type of meditation as insight or concentration but if your mind is darkened or blurred by other things its hard.
not to sound sanctimonious or anything but the mind works in mysterious ways. its easy to get agitated and not know why - but for me, at least, that's usually because there's things in the back of my head nagging and conflicting. so doing concentration first helps. maybe you can try

Gave an answer below but also must note: 1) You were not born unfriendly, don't carry that burden. It's not made up feel good talk, it just doesn't happen, barring borderline personality disorder.  Everyone here has negative thoughts that don't define us.  2) It sounds like you've sat enough to know meditation is not terribly easy in any form. We all have difficulties. 3) If ultimately metta is not for you that's fine, however please don't blame yourself for what you've done or haven't be able to do.  Nothing to feel bad about in what you've written here.

A lot of people find metta practice hard. I find metta practice hard. Where I practice they have even run day retreats called 'I hate the metta bhvana' to try to address this.
If I can maybe address some of you points with what I've been told and maybe my own experience

I can't feel any metta being generated

It does feel like the task is to pump out as much metta as you can but I was told by a very experienced practiconer that this is an unhelpful way to think about it. Rather than trying frantically to be a metta generating machine he said the task is to be with whatever comes up when you bring people to mind. That might be metta, it might be irritation, it might be a big aching feeling of numbness. If it is then that is what it is and the task is to be open to that. Perhaps being sensitive to metta if it is there but being sensitive to it's absence if it isn't.

I feel like I'm just repeating empty words

The traditional formulations can feel very fake. If they do then maybe don't do them and just try to have an awareness to that person. Someone said of the formulations that they are like a submarine pinging a sonar out and seeing what if anything comes back. Personally I don't often do them but sometimes I will say them to myself after another (breath) meditation and that can give other mediation a more metta-ful quality.

metta means friendliness and i think this is the problem as I may not
  be born with this quality

Not knowing you but knowing human beings I'm going to say you do have this quality but it can be just numbed out of you by day to day living,. I think this is where faith (śraddhā) comes in. Have faith that you do have this quality and it is a universal human quality that everyone can connect with.

metta practice is unbearable

Be kind to yourself. The beginning of the practice is have metta to yourself. Give yourself a break during practice by coming back to the breath or take a break from the practice for a time. If at all possible, don't give up completely.

it so difficult.

It is difficult. You are doing a difficult thing. You and everyone that does this are heroes for even trying it. Own the difficult. It's difficult because it's difficult and celebrate yourself for engaging with it. You are amazing for doing it.
Good luck.

Last time I went on retreat we did some metta practice everyday and I found it very difficult in the same way you are describing. I didn't feel any genuine friendliness, I just felt irritated. One particular day I was feeling especially averse to it. The teacher gave a talk on metta and it made made me feel nothing but anger. After the session I begun doing some walking meditation and I started to cry. Waves of grief came over me and I sobbed for a good hour. Once the anger and grief had passed I felt the most exquisite peace and pure joy and a friendliness to all beings. What I learnt is that the metta is there but I couldn't connect with it because it was covered over by anger, pain and sadness etc. It was being blocked. I think it's easier for some people but for those of us who have maybe been hurt more or suffer from a lot of difficult afflictive emotions it's much harder but all the more reason to try.  You don't start out trying to send metta to someone who you feel no fondness for at all. Start by sending it to someone you like, a friend or loved one.

I think there are different reasons why it can be difficult to practice Metta meditation. What could those reasons be?
First of all there is the 5 hindrances. I am sure you already know them so i will not go further into them here.
The second hindrance which is ill-will (hatred, anger, resentment towards oneself/others, hostility towards one self/others/the meditation object etc.) can be a hindrance for metta meditation.
As with most of the spiritual work we do one has to begin with oneself. One has to develop oneself, care about oneself, forgive oneself for the things one has done to others and what others have done to oneself.
If one cannot be there for oneself then how can one expect one to be there for other people? Yet alone send metta towards other beings.
Im not saying you are not there for yourself because i do not know anything about that. I am here coming with suggestions for you to further falsify/validate by yourself.
It could be that you have some unfinished business with yourself or that you have some hostility towards yourself. In metta meditation one begins with wishing metta for oneself. Oneself is first base, the foundation. So if one finds it difficult to sent metta to other people it can be helpful to take a look at the sender, the giver - oneself.
How can you do that then?
There are different methods. The purpose is to wish for example; "may i be happy, peaceful and free from mental and physical suffering". Thats one way to wish metta for oneself.
Another way is to try to look at the deeds you have done in your life and see if any of them is worth respecting. You can look at it as if the deeds where done by another person and then ask yourself; is that deed worth respecting? Is that deed helpful to other beings? If you can answer yes to any of these questions then you can use the metta from that deed to sent to yourself.
Next step in the metta meditation is to sent metta to loved ones for example parents or family in general. Then comes friends, then neutral persons, then persons who are your enemies/people who consider you their enemy/people who just dont like you etc., then comes all beings in this world.
You dont even have to follow that order i just wrote. You can sent metta to the aforementioned people in any order you want. Although most people find it the easiest to begin with sending metta to family or loved ones and then use that generated metta to sent to other people. So when you reach hostile persons and find it difficult to generate any metta for them then you can go back to sending metta to your family or loved ones and when metta is generated then go back to the hostile persons and sent it to them.
Its important that the metta is there or else it will be like you said; just empty words one is sending forth.
An important note:
a) dont be too hard on yourself. It serves no purpose. If there arises emotions or other of the 5 aggregates, use your vipassana to observe them, note them and let them go.
b) in my message when i use terms like "oneself, you, people etc." im only speaking on a conventional level. Im not dealing with ultimate reality here.
Lanka

My experience, and those of some (but not all) of the people around me is that some people /do/ find metta meditation easier outwardly first, at least to a few of those they already profess love, before addressing themselvesand from there further outward. The general opinion of teachers seems to be that this is much more common in the Western mind, and is often related to depression: obviously this discrepancy is something that seems to often get raised with teachers because the conventional description is just as you say.

I agree that this is mostly a western phenomena. I think it is closely related to the extreme level of greed, money and constant production there exists in the west. A lot of people feel bad even when relaxing at home on their couch. They feel they are not even entitled to that and that they should really be working or in another way doing something "useful". I hope that the increased focus on meditation and spiritual work in the west can somehow balance it out sooner or later. It is not healthy for people to have this "bad consciousness" perspective on things.

Hi All, hopefully everyone on this topic able to read this. Was just wondering, can one just skip all and go straight to the neutral party? Wouldn't the coverage be much more wider? It will probably goes like this, may all beings be happy, may all beings be peaceful.......Instead of starting with May I be happy, may I be peaceful...I suppose the "All" includes yourself too. Would it work?

@sunset_limted. I do not have the sufficient knowledge to answer that absolutely. I can tell you my own understanding which is that one must begin with oneself before one can help other beings. I might not be right about this. You should ask a person who is experienced in Metta meditation.

When u meant sending the Metta to others including the one u dislike, I assume they will become the benefactor of ur Metta practice? Don't u at least for 1 sec find it irony to send Metta to those u dislike, to those who once hurt u?Do u think they deserve to be beneficial from ur practice? To wat extend?

I would like to especially develop loving-kindness towards a hostile person. Why? Because Metta meditation is the antidote for "ill-will", which is the 2. of the 5 hindrances. The 5 hindrances are what stops one from developing in meditation and thereby develop the ability to see reality "clearly" and do away with ignorance. Also there exists no "Self" or "I" so there is noone to be hurt in the first place. You can learn more about Metta practice here: http://www.buddhanet.net/metta_in.htm

I feel your pain, can recognize alot of what you wrote. I am forturnate to have found some guidance early because metta meditation is now very valuable for me
The Four Immeasurable Minds
First i like to say that it will be easier to have metta (love) if we have karuna (compassion), mudita (joy) and upeksha (equanimity and non-discrimination) so if you can improve one of these three that will help you with metta as well since these four all support each other (together they are called "the four immeasurable minds")
Starting with a non-difficult person
Another thing is to not start with difficult people but instead start with yourself or with someone you like. One setup can be like this for example:

Oneself
Someone we like
Someone we dislike
Someone who we are neutral towards
Someone we love
Someone we normally cannot stand thinking about

I usually stay with one person until feeling metta and this may mean that time actually runs out and i only get to 3. (Quitting on 3 or on 4 there is at least a balance, that's how i'm thinking)
Using this setup we are able to use the positive emotions that we get from 2 for 3 and from 5 for 6
Calming the mind first
My experience (and also from what i've read) it can be useful to first spend some time calming the mind and then switching to metta meditation. For example we may want to count ten breaths, starting over if we loose track

Book recommendations:

Teachings on Love by Thich Nhat Hanh
Compassion by Christina Feldman

Can we just skip all and go straight to the neutral party? I think the coverage will be much more wider. It will probably goes like this, may all beings be happy, may all beings be peaceful.......

Yes, like in the Metta Sutta. I've also experimented with including myself when sending loving kindness, so instead of saying "may she be well" i could say "may we be well" (meaning us two), this helps me alot for allowing my own needs to be included in interactions with this person

I actually benefited from Metta a lot. I wasn't always sitting down to practice it. The way I did it was, whenever I got irritated about someone, I would flush away the irritation by forcing thoughts of Metta about the person.
Lets say person 'X' angered you.
The mind will always try to keep justifying your anger, giving various reasons.
ex: "but X is wrong!", "X is jealous of me!", "X doesn't deserve kindness!", "X is arrogant!", "X is ugly!", "X is ugly and arrogant!", "X is stupid!", "X is ill-mannered!", "X embarrassed me!", "X insulted me!", "X is stingy!", "X is worthless!", "X deserves punishment!", "X is persistent", "I'm supposed to get angry!", "Who wouldn't get angry?", "People will think I'm a coward" etc.
Whatever the reason the mind comes up with, don't agree to it! The attitude should always be "So what? Whatever you(the mind) tell me, anger is not what I want! What I want is Metta. So may X be happy, may X be well, may X be devoid of anger, suffering, grief, may X's riches grow etc.". It's actually a mixture of Metta, Karuna and Muditha.
After practicing this for a while, the mind comes up with less reasons to justify anger and X starts to disappear. Now when you get irritated, you are not focussing on a person. You are focussing on anger itself. Because the qualities of the person become unimportant at this stage. And the moment you notice anger, you push it away with Metta. It becomes easier and the mind starts getting less and less angry as you practice it. As a result you will feel the comfort of not getting irritated. It'll boost your confidence and fill you up with joy. You will feel like a soldier wearing a strong armer which cannot be pierced by any weapon.
At this stage, you can also convert this into Vipassana and do Dhammanupassana. Just observe any irritation including the subtle ones without reacting or trying to suppress them like you did earlier. Observe them arising and passing away without your consent.

When u r mad at A, then u go may A be well and happy n etc. Wat if the heart dun mean it but u just said it for the sake of Metta?Isn't it exactly wat the question said so, it's really hard.

Yes, it can be hard at the start. But that doesn't matter. Two thoughts can not occupy the mind at once. So just keep suppressing the stream of hatred with thoughts of Metta. It's similar to a married man trying to keep out thoughts of lust when he interacts with a woman prettier than his wife. Just keep suppressing the thoughts. It becomes weaker with time.

I thought we are taught not to suppress it?Aren't we suppose to accept and confront it?

That's Vipassana. This is a Samatha meditation.

Even in Vipassana you don't confront it. You simply note it.

Each of us has a image of oneself and others. When there is a disparity on how you see the attributes you attach with the person and the perceived relative differences you react either positively or negatively.
What you have to do is when doing Metta note mental reaction and the sensations it brings. Do not react to the sensations. As you do this the reaction becomes lighter and lighter and actual Metta will sink in.
Ideally you should calm the fabrication before doing Metta to be effective. No harm doing this to start with also but end with Metta and the latter will be more effective.

My guess would be that you are making it harder than it might otherwise be. I don't mean to imply you are "doing it wrong". Persisting and seeking feedback as you are doing here is already such an important milestone.
May I ask how you are guiding yourself?  Are you are working with a teacher (so many times we don't have that luxury)?  Are you learning from dharma talks, or if reading, what material are you studying?
It'a such a personal journey. It's hard to say why it seems so difficult to you, yet seems life changingly blissful and beautiful to me (with some rough spots of course!). How can this night and day difference between us in experience be explained?
 Especially if I confide to you that by nature I'm not a spiritual person, fairly cynical, and not a people person to the point I would prefer not to receive an invitation to a great party?  The point is, although we can't know for sure why you are struggling, it seems intuitive that if I could find a path, you have it in yourself to find one as well.
Some points that may or may not be relevant to you:

I believe having a motivating life situation, combined with a teacher (or learning material) you connect well with is critical.  I had no teacher available, and started by reading the Salzburg book.  It instantly resonated, made perfect sense to me, and was highly motivating. Some authors are equally well reviewed, yet I finish their book and think, meh.  How confident are you that you've found your best ways to learn and train that fit your brain in particular?
.
Have you modified the recitations to be something other than the verbatim, defaults that everyone tends to talks about when explaining things? I spent a fair amount of time trying different variations and refining them, trying to make each iteration closer to something that I could feel strongly inside myself, and that reflected the direction I knew I most needed to move toward.
.
The idea of having any connection with an enemy, hated person, or worse, someone innately evil, kind of scared me as far as worrying I'd never even be able to come close to achieving it.  Consequently I dwelled on the easy levels for a long time, for months, just trying to improve as much as I could on the basics.  Is it possible this (dumb luck) strategy somehow allowed a lot of positive reinforcement before getting to the hard stuff?  I'm not sure.  How long did you study and practice before you tried the some of the difficult stuff?

I know it's not easy to give more time to something that doesn't seem to be working.  And maybe you shouldn't.  Who's to say taking some time off and trying again later won't allow a refreshed perspective and more productive practice?
Whatever the case, I sincerely hope you'll be able to find an approach that's a good match, because I'm somehow sure you're capable of it.

Metta is something for monks so they have good social relationships with the few people they meet in their uncomplicated social relationships.
For lay people living in the complicated world, in my opinion, it is best to primarily develop equanimity.
Once equanimity is well developed, it can be spiced up with some convenient metta.

Do you have any basis for this other than off the cuff opinion?  I'm worried this is tragically incorrect, and could prevent someone from preserving to a positive outcome. How much time did you invest in metta practice before coming to your opinion?

I don't intend to criticize or offend you.  I would simply like to ask if there is any basis in the teachings for. 1). Metta is for monks. 2). It's best to focus on equanimity rather than metta.

Sorry, I will not stop commenting, and you are incorrect, polite debate is acceptable here.

I did not say debate is the purpose here, rather that it is allowed when polite.  if you disagree I would suggest a couple of options. First, you may provide a citation or link supporting your assertions of the rules and etiquette.  Alternatively,  you may start a meta.stackexchange.com topic where a more complete discussion about the spirit and letter of rules may take place. Until then, you simply have no right to instruct anyone here to stop commenting.


text:
Is surrounding yourself with good people a form of aversion?
I am unsure the definition of 'good' in Buddhism. My assumptions are of 'good' are;

Caused no bodily harm intentionally
Caused no mental harm intentionally
No expectations when help is offered
Willingness to help and support to those who need it
Willingness to provide guidance to those who need it

If there is a different definition of 'good', it would be appreciated if it can shared.
Now assuming, you are surrounded by 'good' people, is that not a form of aversion?
For example, if i am constantly hounded by a person's presence and this person has caused mental harm e.g. suffering and i opt to keep my distance and not participate in any activity or relationship with the person but to surround myself with 'good' people, is that not a form of aversion?
What if the person has caused bodily harm?
What if the person has not provided you with help when you have needed it?
In Buddhism, if i choose to avoid such people, is that aversion?

An analogy, in martial arts, when one needs to train and toughen up their knuckles, he wouldn't just start out punching bricks right away. He has to start with punching paper stacks, then move on to punching beans, then to sands, etc. Only after a period when his knuckles become strong enough then he'd practice on bricks. Similarly, your mind isn't conditioned to handle bad evil people with peace and equanimity. So first you have to start with good people to build up the needed strength. This doesn't mean you should completely avoid bad people. Try your best to treat them kindly and compassionately until the day your mind is strong enough to handle any kind of person or any kind of situation with peace and equanimity.

Interesting analogy. If avoidance of 'bad' people aversion though? For example, if i have formed views about them e.g. cannot be trusted, likely to back stab you, etc that aids my intention to stay away and reduce suffering of my mind so that i don't hold ill against them, is that aversion? Will me staying away allow me to build 'immunity' against the same person years after?

You don't stay away from the bad person just to relax and have a good time but to work hard on building a stronger mind so that when you're ready, you'll be able to handle the situation much better. And again, no one except yourself would know the strength of your knuckles, whether you're ready to handle the paper stack, the beans, the sand grains, or the bricks, right?

The intention isn't to relax and have a good time but rather avoid tension and stress. These are based on opinions and interactions. Now if i attempt to avoid this person and only surround myself with people who don't attempt to cause tension or stress, is this aversion?

Next question, i agree on strengthening the mind. However what is the intention? To be at peace? To protect myself? If i use the analogy of martial arts, am i practising to protect myself and others? Am i practising to be stronger and not fearful? In some martial arts, the rule of thumb is run from conflict? Is that aversion?

True but not quite. The intention is to be at peace even under very bad situation. If one could run away from a conflict to protect oneself and others from harm, then that's not aversion. That's wisdom. And if one has no choice but to fight, then one will do his best to inflict minimal harm to the opponent.

So if you have the foresight that someone will undoubtedly cause tension and you choose to stay away, that's wisdom? So how do you test yourself and how do you know your strength? For example, you may be able to punch a brick, it doesn't say though how good you are at it.

Do you mind if i dropped you an email? I am very keen to learn and understand. Alternatively you can drop me an email at motivatedgorilla [at] gmail [dot] com as i don't see an email address in your profile.

In my opinion, staying away from harmful people is not aversion. It's merely protecting yourself from bad consequences. After all, everyone desires happiness for themselves. If you practise Buddhism because you want to overcome suffering (dukkha), it's not because you have an aversion towards suffering, rather, it's because you want to solve the problem of suffering.
That said, after staying away from harmful people, if you continue to bear a mental grudge against them, and speak ill of them to others, then you have an aversion against them.
IMO, aversion is a mental thing, not a social concept. Karma works in such a way that it is primarily related to your intentions. If your intention is to avoid suffering, then it is not aversion. If your feeling of them is negative and continues long after their presence is removed, then it is aversion.

Good answer. I agree about the "intention" as being the key word here.

@ruben2020 - When you say mental grudge, what do you mean? For example, if i have a conflict with person x, i attempt to stay away. I am however keen to understand their behavior e.g. why would they do that, or say that, etc. Next i may form mental judgements of them e.g. i don't trust them, i don't like them due to their behaviors, etc. I may not wish them ill e.g. death, sickness, etc. however i have now formed mental models of them. My intention is clearly to stay away.

"I am unsure the definition of 'good' in Buddhism."
In general, "good" is that which leads to the welfare of beings, leads to nibbāna. The precepts and the eightfold path present examples of "good".  The hindrances, poisons, fetters, etc. are examples of "bad".
"Now assuming, you are surrounded by 'good' people, is that not a form of aversion?"
It is aversion if aversion is present in the mind and/or it's the main driving force producing the influence. By aversion, it is meant a specific unwholesome state. An aversion born of conceit, hate, delusion, ...
Not all "aversions" (in the conventional sense) are aversions (in the buddhist sense). Otherwise, all kinds of avoidances would be unwholesome. Like avoiding walking towards a pit.
Renunciation (eg. avoiding unwholesome states and circumstances that promote unwholesome states) is a prime concern in Buddhism.
"In Buddhism, if i choose to avoid such people, is that aversion?"
Not necessarily. Your state of mind while you're inclined to avoid certain things or people could be any, including compassion for yourself. Moreover, regardless if one perceives aversion in ones mind or not, it's frequently encouraged to associate with good people, and avoid associating with those whose relationships raise or increase hindrances.

I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was living among the Sakyans. Now there is a Sakyan town named Sakkara. There Ven. Ananda went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down to the Blessed One, sat to one side. As he was sitting there, Ven. Ananda said to the Blessed One, "This is half of the holy life, lord: admirable friendship, admirable companionship, admirable camaraderie."
"Don't say that, Ananda. Don't say that. Admirable friendship, admirable companionship, admirable camaraderie is actually the whole of the holy life. When a monk has admirable people as friends, companions, & comrades, he can be expected to develop & pursue the noble eightfold path.
-- SN 45.2

What is the definition of welfare of others though? What about personal welfare? The precepts set out as well as the path are vague to me. It may be my limited knowledge. So forgive my naivety. I will use an example. I am currently confronted by an individual who is negative on all levels i.e. negative about others. This individual also in my opinion makes attempts to make work difficult. I attempt to stay away from this person as much as i can. If my opinion of this person is that of tension and someone who plays 'office games', is my aversion of this person bad?

Like I said above, I don't think avoiding people who become a problem to ourselves is a bad thing. I cannot address your questions about what is welfare, precepts, the noble eightfold path and ethics in general in this comment, but you could post these questions in the site so people here can answer.


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When should you put on your robes?
My question is going to be almost to "profane" for this area of SE, about it is a serious concern of mine.
I have just started out zen meditation. One of the suggestions that was given me was that to wear robes while meditating. No problem. But when should I put them on? Should I already wear them on the way to meditation practice (that is, put them on at home, and then take the bus, etc. with them on) or should I start wearing them at the temple?
I apologize again for the type of answer, and thank your for your time.

You mean like these? http://www.zabuzabu.net/

I'm curious as to who told you wearing robes was beneficial.  There are specific ways of wearing robes (as outlined in the vinaya) that can aid in mindfulness, but the simple act of having them on isn't beneficial on its own.  Be that as it may, I wouldn't put them on until you reached the meditation hall.  Wearing them in public has a bit of a "look at me" quality to it.  Taking the more humble approach is almost always best.  (Cue the folks who are going to say that I'm calling monks immodest or saying they shouldn't wear robes! - there is a distinct difference between lay practitioners and monastics on this subject.)

The main reason due to its being beneficial I suppose is the feeling of inclusion in the sangha, as everybody wears robes. However, it was the owner of the temple, he who leads the practices who told me. Thank you for the answer, by the way, I am of the same opinion.


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How do we focus on stress for the first noble truth?
Do we focus on suffering as the suffering we're experiencing in the present moment or do we focus on suffering how the Buddha and Sariputta put forth and analyzed the four noble truths like: "Now what, friends, is the noble truth of stress? Birth is stressful, aging is stressful, death is stressful; sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair are stressful; not getting what is wanted is stressful.[2] In short, the five clinging-aggregates are stressful."
Do we just have to notice the actual mental experience of suffering as cause by craving or can we notice all its different manifestations, like the stress of the body or the stress of impatience?

The first noble truth is realized at the moment of anuloma-ñāṇa - the moment before attainment of nibbāna. So, you don't actually contemplate it before that point. Up until that point, you are practicing what is called pubbaṅgamagga or the preliminary path.
There are four basic ways of understanding suffering:

dukkha-vedanā - suffering as a feeling
dukkha-sabhāva - suffering as a fact of life
dukkha-lakkhaṇa - suffering as a characteristic of phenomena
dukkha-sacca - suffering as a truth

Ordinary people see suffering as a feeling, and thus try to escape it by running away.
Eventually, some people begin to see it is a fact of life, not to be avoided but to be understood.
Some such people actually undertake to do so and, as a result, begin to see that suffering is actually an intrinsic characteristic of arisen phenomena; not simply because certain phenomena are painful, but because all phenomena are impermanent.
Finally, some who see thus will proceed accordingly until realizing in a momentary flash of insight that all arisen phenomena, even those one has not yet experienced, are suffering. This is what it means to realize the truth of suffering. The next moments involve the attainment of nibbāna.
So, to directly answer your question, all phenomena are to be seen as they are (yathābhūta), rather than focussing on those phenomena that are stressful. In the end, one comes to see objectively that no phenomenon is sukha (satisfying), and lets go of them all.

The noble truth of unsatisfactory nature is called noble as anyone who looks at the unsatisfactory nature of all experiences will become a noble one eventually.
Any experience we perceive as pleasant, neutral or unpleasant has unsatisfactory nature in it.


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Can you actually focus on how birth leads to aging, death, suffering, stress as direct experience in dependent co-arising?
Can I focus on the link between birth and aging, death, suffering, in dependent co-arising in my own mind? Or do I have to know how birth leads to aging etc. intellectually.
Does birth in dependent co-arising appear in the mind?

Dependent origination is the truth that the Buddha himself saw under the Bodhi tree at the moment of his enlightenment in the third watch of the night. This after recollecting countless past lives in the first watch and observing countless beings being born and passing away in the second watch. So yeah, it probably entails a lot of abstract thought about past and future.
This is controversial, though - many Buddhists would have you believe that DO is an entirely momentary teaching to be understood as referring to a single moment in time, rather than multiple lifetimes. This seems unwarranted given the context mentioned above.
So, if you want to become a Buddha, then full understanding of DO is essential. Unfortunately, it seems to come after (at least) four uncountable aeons plus 100,000 great aeons (great aeons being the smaller of the two types and perhaps equivalent to a big bang).
Ordinary individuals are not required to understand DO in its entirety, though it is useful as a framework for understanding reality intellectually. In terms of practice, it is enough to understand that all arisen phenomena are impermanent, suffering, and non-self. This removes any craving for arisen phenomena and frees one from ignorance, thereby severing the connection to becoming and birth.

As a average practitioner it might be see this at the level of physical birth and death. But this can be seen at the level of momentarily birth and death.


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Where can I find video Dharma talks?
I'm looking for videos with Dharma talks and am hoping that the community here can help me. Grateful for any links to online talks and DVD recommendations.

SE is a lousy place for open ended solicitations for recommendations. Some sites allow requests for highly specific literature, product or whatever recommendations.

@MatthewMartin I think that is what the "Community Wiki" mod is for... by making it a wiki, rep rewards are nullified, and multiple answers become okay. I've seen this on other SE sites, and it seems to work fine as a wiki.

Yuttadhammo, one of the moderators on this site has done a lot of youtube videos that people find very useful and you might too. All freely available.

Answering my own question here, these are the major places i know of for the Plum Village (Thich Nhat Hanh) tradition:

Plum Village Online Monastery on youtube Years: 2012 - present

Blue Cliff Monastery channel

Plum Village Online Monastery on Vimeo Years: 2010 - 2012

Also in the same tradition there are these:

SourceOfLightMon on youtube (has videos overlapping with the topmost link)
Dharmacloud monastery on youtube

Kind Regards,
Tord
PS Please edit if you know of more video resources for the PV/TNH tradition

Here are some links you might find useful:

Ven. K. Sri Dhammananda: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8Sq_tAHjwk
Ven. Yuttadhammo: https://www.youtube.com/user/yuttadhammo
Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi: http://birken.ca/audio_collections
Ajahn Brahm: https://www.youtube.com/user/AjahnBrahmRetreats/videos
The Dalai Lama on Nature of the Mind*: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gO7RQi55asY

The American Zen College has a bunch of Dharma Talks videos posted up on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEsxt0ZaRw0ng6_u3aPm4EA

Also Ven. Bodhi's Middle Length lecture series at: http://www.noblepath.org/audio.html

Highly recommend For The Benefit of All Beings, a film about Garchen Rinpoche
http://www.forthebenefitofallbeings.com/
May all paths lead you to the great love.

Google video search or Youtube search: "Ask a monk" OR "Monk Radio" OR Yuttadhammo...life changing and very in harmony with the Buddha's teaching

The "right" teacher depends on who's style and teaching you jive with.
My favorite is from the Thai Forest Tradition -- Ajahn Thanissaro
There is no fluff or BS with Ajahn Thanissaro. He calls it like it is, and challenges listeners to deeply question their practice. I appreciate this approach.
He is a westerner, studied for 20+ years in Thailand. He has videos on YouTube, but his audio talks, which he gives daily, are well worth the listen.
On top of that, he has many books. with several translations of some of Thailand's most revered Therevada Forest monks.
dhammatalks.org

For furthering your knowledge in Buddhism please refer this link:

http://mahamevnawa.lk/inenglish/
http://mahamevnawa.lk/inenglish/dhamma-talks/

Please note these are Theravada teachings...

Try collective teaching of Ajahn Chah.
http://www.amaravati.org/series/the-collected-teachings-of-ajahn-chah/
There are videos on youtube and also available as podcasts.
He is from thai forest tradition and is a great teacher of western monks.

Maybe you could add some links to Ajahn Chah. That would increase answer-quality.

Sorry about that. I was adding on my phone and Internet wasn't great at that time. I will add


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What Buddhist Software is there?
I'm a programmer who is also interested in Buddhism and right now I'm in the planning stage for creating software inspired by Buddhism.
I would like to know what Buddhism-related (or -inspired) software is already out there (including simple web apps, mobile apps, etc.) since this can help me with my own project.
I'd be grateful if the community can answer this and hope that many others will benefit from software helping to put the teachings into practice.
Kind Regards

I remember hearing about one game that was actually a meditation in disguise.  I can't remember the details though.

Also, could you provide some more context on what you're trying to create?  Is it non-Buddhist software that's influenced by Buddhist ideals/aesthetics, or is it something specifically for Buddhism?

@R.Barzell: I'm really early in the planning stage so any and all types of software is interesting. I just wanted to give some context to why the question was important to me, but if it's unclear feel to remove part of the text in the question

Got it.  I would recommend steering clear of any mindfulness reminders, as I imagine there are a ton of those (and it's easy enough to get one's computer/watch/phone to chime at intervals).   I wonder if an integrated "path" software product would be suitable? It would consist of mindfulness reminders, meditation timers (that increase the duration of meditation as time goes on), daily sutra readings, and so on. Maybe it's leanings would be influenced by the person's temperament (certain sutras for those who suffer more anger than anything else, etc...)?

@R.Barzell: I'd love to talk about this, could you contact me on my email address? (You can find it in my profile description)

Just emailed you.

Have you looked at the Buddhist Geeks podcast? As the title suggests, they often cover the overlap of Buddhism and technology. Examples: Game Design for Meditation, Enlightenment Engineering, Contemplative Computing, and Contemplative Technologies (to name but four).

You could also look into working on the Chattha Sangayana Tipitaka 4.0 by the Vipassana Research Institute(VRI).

Should there be? https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/questions/34485/is-the-path-of-zen-compatible-with-computer-science

Here are some apps that you might find useful:
Meditation and Mindfulness Apps:
Buddhify Mindfulness and meditation app.
"With over 11 hours of custom meditations for 15 different parts of your day including traveling, being online, taking a work break and going to sleep, buddhify 2 gives you a simple but effective way to bring more mindfulness and calm to your busy day".
Bodhi Timer
"Bodhi Timer is an elegant, minimalist countdown timer. It is designed mainly for use as a meditation timer but can easily be used for any similar purpose."
Equanimity - Meditation Timer and Tracker.
"The elegant meditation timer times your sittings, provides a beautiful journal for sitting notes, and displays graphical tracking giving you clear feedback on your meditation practice. It's carefully designed to be the ideal companion for anyone who meditates".
Insight Timer Meditation App.
In general its a meditation app that lets you keep track of sessions. I use it sometimes like when i do not have the possibility to sit in meditation as long as i want. Then the timer is great and it has some nice singing bowl sounds which gently brings you out of meditation. There are also some guided meditations in there but be aware that most of them are non-buddhist as are many of the groups in there, although there are buddhists groups in there that one can join.
Meditation Plus
"This is a companion app for our online meditation community at http://meditation.sirimangalo.org/"
ZenFriend.
"Change your life by starting a daily meditation practice. ZenFriend helps you to build this habit by offering a beautiful timer, a worldwide community and a way to keep a record of how much you meditate all in the one place".
Buddhist Text Apps (tipitaka, commentaries, books):
Access to insight - ATI app.
Portable ATI edition. One can read the sutta translations in the app. I dont know if its easier or "better" than the real deal on the internet. I didnt really use it.
Buddha Thoughts.
"Buddhist Thoughts is a great iPhone application that enables you to follow daily Buddhist readings what are based on the Sacred Literature of Buddhism and Buddha Dharma Education Association".
Buddha Vacana App.
"Buddha Vacana is a daily readings app that automatically bring a verse of the Buddha’s teachings to you daily on your Apple iPhone, iPad, iTouch, facebook, PC and other supported devices".
Dharma and the 5 precepts training.
"This free app enables you to carry enlightenment and spirituality wherever you may be. Aimed to support beginners and intermediate level students of the Buddha in the attainment of knowledge and truth, this app provides quick and easy access to the teachings of Buddha and the Dharma".
Digital Pali Reader
"The Digital Pali Reader (DPR) is a tool in the form of a Mozilla Firefox extension, much like a hard-copy language reader, facilitating study of the Pali language at an advanced level."
Eight Verses app.
It says that this app is composed by Buddhist Master Langri Tangpa and that its a highly- revered text from the Mahayana Lojong (mind training) tradition. "Along with the original text in Tibetan and English, the app contains text commentaries in English and audio commentaries aswell".
Pali Tipitaka iOs Web App.
"This is a work in progress. The Tipiṭaka (Mūla) is available for all the scripts, and the Aṭṭhakathā is available for the Roman script."
Songs by Milarepa app.
"Milarepa was an eleventh-century Buddhist poet and saint, the Greatest Ever to Appear in the History of Tibetan Buddhism. He was a yogi who wandered from village to village, teaching enlightenment and the path to Buddhahood through his spontaneously composed songs".
This comment is from a customer review of the app: "I came across this app whiles searching for any sort of media on Milarepa. I was hoping that the app would contain the audio in addition to the written text, but that was not so. Nonetheless, it is a beautiful App and I thank the developer for his efforts. It would be nice to actually here those amazing poem being sang".
Theravada Buddhist Text App.
"This app is meant to allow the user to read Pali Buddhist texts with side-by-side English translations, including the four main nikayas and the Dhp and Jataka commentaries as well as the Visuddhimagga".
The Ultimate Buddhism Library app
"A Unique Collection of 50 Buddhism Books. This book gives you the complete knowledge of Buddhism, this are the best collected books written on Buddhism. The people who are new to Buddhism or who don't know about the Buddhism. This is the best book for you".
28 Lord Buddha.
"This app lists 28 Lord Buddha described in Theravada Buddhism with details".
Buddhist Dictionaries Apps:
Buddhist Dictionary App
"This dictionary features entries on the history and doctrines of the major Buddhist schools, information on the spread of Buddhism in Asia and the West, and coverage of issues of contemporary concern such as human rights, abortion, euthanasia, engaged Buddhism and the role of women in Buddhist teachings".
Buddhist TV/Radio & Media Apps:
Buddhist Channel.
"This app has many nice Buddhism videos that you will definitely love. They are relaxed meditation music, great Buddhism mantras, Buddhism lessons from great teachers (Thubten Zopa Rinpoche, Gyalwang Drukpa, Thich Nhat Hanh)".
Buddhist Geeks.
"Buddhist Geeks is a weekly audio show that presents groundbreaking interviews and discussions with Buddhist teachers, scholars, and advanced practitioners. Combining ancient wisdom with modern technology, Buddhist Geeks aims to catalyze a community of practitioners committed to awakening. Discover the emerging face of Buddhism".
Buddha Inspirational.
"Get inspired by Buddhist meditation music, songs, wisdom, chants, teachings, images, quotes, history, mantra, compassion, and nirvana".
iShrine.
"Shrine is a realistic and interactive Buddhist altar in the palm of your hand, you can now practice meditation wherever you are even while away from home.
You can choose the way your Buddhist altar is composed by keeping only the items you wish, just go the layout menu and pick up the items you want. All items were scanned from a genuine Buddhist altar.
Real-looking candles and incense are part of your altar, you may choose to light them up when you feel by touching them with your virtual match".
Tibetan Wisdom for Living and Dying - Sogyal Rinpoche.
"With the Tibetan Wisdom for Living and Dying app, Rinpoche presents a grand and transforming vision of life and death, introducing you to Tibetan practices that can help anyone live fully while preparing for the extraordinary adventure that death offers each one of us".
"The Tibetan Wisdom for Living and Dying app features:
- A nine-hour course on core Buddhist teachings that invite us to face death without fear (9 hours, 14 minutes of audio)
- A Good Minute—video selections that offer concentrated wisdom to inspire you anytime
- A relaxing slide show
- An interactive vine garden to enjoy while listening (iPad only)
- Bookmarking to help you easily find your favorite content".
VajraTV Online Radio app.
"VajraTV Online radio was started as a pilot program through VajraTV: Buddhist Television Network".
Buddhist Chanting & Prayer Apps:
Buddhist Chant app.
"buddhist pali sutta chanting app".
Buddhist To Pray Tools.
"This application will provide you with information about Buddhism and Buddha traditions and you can try some religous customs on your mobile virtually. Pro version includes 10 tools such as hand bell, incense, cymbals, damaru, prayer wheel, candle, conch shell trumpet, prayer beads would be available".
Daily Buddhist Prayers App.
"Learn daily Buddhist prayers. This application provides basic daily Buddhist prayers in Wylie transliteration format so anyone can read them, also provided are the English translation/descriptions of the prayers.
Along with the texts, this app also provides audio guide for all the prayers. The audio guide was recited by a former Drepung Gomang Monastery monk and provides word by word audio guidance, like a guru teaching a student".
Buddha Quotes Apps:
Buddha.
"Buddha quotes 500".
Buddhist Meditation.
"App Features: Chants for Meditation, Introduction to Buddhism, Beautiful Image Gallery, Quotes under 11 Categories".
Words of Buddha.
"In this application, we picked  more than 150 Buddha quotes that can change the our view of the world. Besides these thoughts, there are one great bonus: more than 350 Buddhist quotes from various authors".
Buddhist Calendar Apps:
Tibetan Buddhist Calender.
"Tibetan lunar calendar combined with Western calendar, specifically designed for practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism".
Buddhist Game Apps:
Buddhist Memory Game.
"Beautiful Buddha images are used in this game of pairing cards. Very relaxing game for both adults and kids, you get to play this game over and over again because of the calming Buddha smiles as well as getting a quote from the Dhammapada every time you complete a game".
Important note to all Buddhism-SE users:
In this answer all users can add buddhism-related apps.
If you would like to add an app please file it under the appropriate category, add a link so that the app is easily located and a short description of the app or other information that you think other users might find useful.

It would be nice if we could expand this answer to include all sorts of apps and such, alphabetized and categorized...

@Yuttadhammo. Hello Bhante. That is a great idea. I have now changed the text so that there are categories and the apps are listed in alphabetical order. It should now be easier to get a quick overview of the apps.

Not answering the question up there, but just to point out that there is a lack of triple A high quality good Buddhist games in the market.
So I have created a facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/544037955951458/
It’s called Buddhist game developers. Here is what it is about:
This group serves as a platform for game developers to gather and develop a Dhamma themed game. A Dhamma themed game is more than just re-labeling conventional games with Buddhist culture, but has core dhammic lessons within the game and learning dhamma is a core part of playing the game.
This group allows Buddhists who are gamers or who has these good Dhammic game ideas to present their ideas, gather their team of game developers and make a game on their own secret group platform. This can also be a place for game developers to seek out employment/free lance project if there is budget from the project proposer. It can also be a place where Buddhist game developers donate their time and effort to making a Dhammic game, but it’s far better to secure funding.
Just as a Buddhist movie is not made by all volunteers, a most realistic expectation of success comes with funding, so there can be a role of the sponsorship seeker, and sponsors are welcomed in this group as well to select which projects are worth funding.
So I need your help to spread the word, identify the game developers, sponsors and idea guys. It can hopefully produce something which is worthy of being promoted at Sunday Dhamma schools and even common temples and commercially successful. Thanks!

Hi and thank you for this information, i am myself working on mindfulness practice software at the moment, and may know programmers who can help you. Please feel free to contact me at tord (dot) dellsen (at) protonmail (dot) com

I recently made a non-commercial VR app to help perform Color Kasina Meditation:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Buddhism/comments/6ly19h/color_kasina_meditation_app_free_download/

Answering my own question here are some that support mindfulness and meditation practice that i've found:

Zenify
Zendo at dailyzen.com
(List) Mindfulness Software at plumvillage.org

I have taken refuge with the Venerable Master Hua (Mahayana) ...and found out to some extent that despite my various mistakes and unfortunate events in life, I have been protected by my master.
It is said big disasters become small ones, and small ones gets eradicated.
I am a test engineer. If there was some software that I would like to have. It is:
A CRM software indicating time of taking refuge, taking 5 precepts, participation in major Buddhist events. Also, whether plaques have been put up or not.

The best electronic Buddhism is the Pali & English suttas and related search functions at Sutta Central. These can help greatly discerning the true meaning of the Teachings (which are often corrupted by the mainstream Buddhist establishment).

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/