text:
Is it good for the mind to be excited?
Meditation can bring peace to the mind. And meditation doesn't end after leaving the cushion, so the peace of mind should be brought into daily life.
But I do not always want to feel peaceful, sometimes I seek excitement on purpose. For example, when I watch a movie, I know the characters on the screen are illusions, but I want to be deluded to enjoy the movie. Does this mean that I have strayed from the path of Buddhism?
I'm curious if true Buddhists watch movies, play video games, and listen to rock.

Serious practitioners of Buddhism do not watch movies, play video games & listen to rock. For example, the 7th precept is:

Nacca-gita-vadita-visukkadassana mala-gandha-vilepana-dharana-mandana-vibhusanathana veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami
I undertake the precept to refrain from dancing, singing, music, going to see entertainments, wearing garlands, using perfumes and beautifying the body with cosmetics.
The Eight Precepts

no it is not great for the mind to get excited. it causes the mind to become defiled or tainted like an old drinking glass. of course the glass is not for nothing. so you fill the mind with bubbly beer. when you have beer in the glass the glass is the body. when the glass is empty the glass is the mind. over time, the glass changes in appearance from crystal clear to dull and hazy.
People like excitement, they love it and enjoy it.


text:
did buddha accept astrology and other occult science?
what about buddhas view on occult science. did he accept or unaccepted these things ?
I personally know some monk also do this things.

buddha not accept or unaccepted occult science.
not said all occult science as true
not said occult science as frauds
BECAUSE HIS MAIN TEACHING WAS ABOUT NIRVANA...he said don't waste your time for anything and follow nirvana path soon as possible..

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text:
is jhana required to realize the four supramundane paths?
Where does it say jhanas are necessary (or not) to realize the four supramundane paths (stream-entry, etc)?

Jhanas are required to realize Non-Return & Arahant (AN 3.86); although lower jhanas are probably required for 'Once-Return' because AN 7.15 says the 'Once-Returner' has "crossed over" to/towards the further shore; but returns back (to sensuality; Iti 96).

Take the case of a mendicant who has fulfilled their ethics, but has
limited immersion and wisdom... With the ending of three fetters
they’re a stream-enterer...
Take another case of a mendicant who has fulfilled their ethics, but
has limited immersion and wisdom... With the ending of three fetters,
and the weakening of greed, hate and delusion, they’re a
once-returner...
Take another case of a mendicant who has fulfilled their ethics and
immersion, but has limited wisdom... With the ending of the five lower fetters they’re... spontaneously [arisen]... not liable to return from that world.
Take another case of a mendicant who has fulfilled their ethics,
immersion and wisdom....  They realize the undefiled [anāsava; asava-free] freedom of heart
and freedom by wisdom in this very life. And they live having realized
it with their own insight due to the ending of defilements [asava].
AN 3.86

And what kind of person rises up then crosses over? It’s the kind of
person who, rising up, thinks: ‘It’s good to have faith, conscience,
prudence, energy, and wisdom regarding skillful qualities.’ With the
ending of three fetters, and the weakening of greed, hate, and
delusion, they’re a once-returner. They come back to this [sensual] world once only [once-again; occasionally], then make an end of suffering. This kind of person rises up then crosses over.
AN 7.15

Bhikkhus, one bound by the bond of sensual desire (kāma) and by the bond of
being (bhava) is a returner, one who comes back to this state. One freed from the bond of sensual desire but still bound by the bond of being is a
non-returner, one who does not come back to this state. One freed from
the bond of sensual desire and freed from the bond of being is an
arahant, one in whom the taints are destroyed.
Iti 96

Piya Tan wrote in his commentary to AN 4.170 (quoted below), that samatha (serenity, implying attainment of jhana) and vipassana (insight) are both needed, but for the case of stream-winning, there are situations where neither is required.
(Jhana in Pali is dhyana in Sanskrit.)

6.1 From the teachings of the (Yuganaddha) Paṭipadā Sutta and related suttas, it is clear that both samatha and vipassana (or calm and
insight) are necessary as a complete practice fruiting in due course
in awakening to some level. It is also clear that there are situations
when streamwinning can be attained without either samatha or
vipassana, that is, by listening to the Dharma as taught by the Buddha
himself or by an experienced saintly practitioner [5.1.2]. However,
once we have become streamwinners (that is, we have attained the
path), we still need to keep a proper balance of samatha and vipassana
in our meditation, especially if we are to attain non-return or
arhathood. The reason for this is clear enough: to attain either
non-return or arhathood, dhyana is necessary. If the meditator who has
attained dhyana and found his balance between samatha and vipassana,
but he still has some mental restlessness on account of some dharma
(mental state or teaching), he would become a non-returner, but if he
is able to keep his mind calm and clear through-out, he would become
an arhat.
6.2 Nowhere in the suttas or the Commentaries is it ever stated that only samatha or only vipassana could or should be practised on its
own. On the contrary, as we have seen, we have numerous sutta teaching
and commentarial support to show that both samatha and vipassana must
be practised either one before the other, or together as a combined
practice. In this way, we are assured of awakening in this life
itself. Analayo ends his entry on “Yuga,naddha Sutta” in the
Encyclopaedia of Buddhism with  these cautionary words:

The Yuga,naddha [Paṭipadā] Sutta indicates that samatha neither leads
on its own to awakening, nor is it an absolute requisite that needs to
be developed up to a certain degree before undertaking the development
of insight...,  nor can its development be completely neglected for
the sake of insight. That is, the development of samatha is a
necessary companion to the development of vipassanā, but the way in
which this companion is related to the practice of insight is up to
the individual choice. Monoculture, however, should definitely be
avoided, in order to ensure that tranquillity and insight perform
their purpose of leading to final liberation. (2009z:817)

Hence, the distinction between the practice of calm (samatha) and of
insight (vipassana) is based on that between concentration (samādhi)
and wisdom (paññā), two very fundamental concepts of early Buddhism.
Naturally both are necessary for spiritual progress, their differences
being only partly a matter of degree and partly the order of
development. They are like the two wings of a flying bird (Dh 275).

He who has realized one or other of the Four Supermundane Paths without ever having attained the Absorptions, is called Sukkha-vipassaka, or Suddhavipassana-yanika, i.e. ‘one who has taken merely Insight (vipassana) as his vehicle’. He, however, who, after cultivating the Absorptions, has reached one of the Supermundane Paths is called Saniathayanika, or ‘one who has taken Tranquillity (samatha) as his vehicle (yana)’. (Majjhima-Nikaya, 44)

MN 44 appears to not mentioned the word 'samatha'. Sukkha-vipassaka & Suddhavipassana-yanika are terms found in the Commentary for the Visuddhimagga.

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Some people are not human?
I wouldn't have thought so in the 80's or the 90's, or maybe not so intensely. But nowadays, I frequently have to think: this person is behaving like this, like he or she is not human.
And then, I had the theory that, if the world had 2 billion people before, and then 4 billion, 6 billion, and 8 billion now, where do the extra 6 billion souls come from? Do they have to come from the souls of insects, reptiles, rodents, and other animals?
And then when I read the Six Paths in Buddhism, there are 6 paths of beings reincarnation:

God / Heaven path

Human

Demigod

Hell

Hungry spirits

Beasts

The first 3 are Virtue paths, and the last 3 are Evil paths, and Demigod is into fighting, so they are sometimes considered to be the Evil path.
So if the number of beings in each path is even, then it explains well: only 33% of people we see are the God / Heaven or Human path. The other 67% are Evil path. It could be the Hell path that would hurt people no matter what, the Hungry spirit path that are extremely selfish and always ponder how to take advantage of others, the Beast path who are apathetic to others and have sociopath personalities.
Can the Six Paths correctly explain it?

I doubt regarding the six realms as 'physical reincarnation' can explain the statistics of people because the Pañcagatipeyyālavagga of the Samyutta Nikaya says only a few from each realm will attain the status of "human".
If we read all of the very short suttas in the Paṭhamaāmakadhaññapeyyālavagga until the end of the Pañcagatipeyyālavagga, we may possibly gain the impression the word "human" does not refer to something biological & reincarnated but instead refers to something mental & behavioral. The very first sutta here, titled "Not Human", says:

In the same way, the sentient beings reborn as [having comparative status of] humans are few, while those not reborn as humans are many. Why is that? It’s because they haven’t seen the four noble truths. What four? The noble truths of suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path.

The strong impression above is the word "human" refers to "having seen (diṭṭha) the Four Noble Truths".
Again, suttas, such as SN 56.47, give the strong impression the word "human" refers to a mode of conduct rather than to a biological state from reincarnation. SN 56.47 says:

Sooner, I say, would that blind turtle, coming to the surface once
every hundred years, insert its neck into that yoke with a single hole
than the fool who has gone once to the nether world would regain the
human state. For what reason? Because here, bhikkhus, there is no
conduct guided by the Dhamma, no righteous conduct, no wholesome
activity, no meritorious activity. Here there prevails mutual
devouring, the devouring of the weak. For what reason? Because,
bhikkhus, they have not seen the Four Noble Truths. What four? The
noble truth of suffering … the noble truth of the way leading to the
cessation of suffering.

There are many suttas similar to the above, such as AN 6.39:

it’s because of deeds born of greed, hate, and delusion that hell, the
animal realm, the ghost realm, or any other bad places are found....
it’s because of deeds born of contentment, love, and understanding
that gods, humans, or those in any other good places are found.

Iti 93 gives the impression the lower realms comprise of "mortals". The Pali here is "macca", which means "a man"; and "pajā", which "this generation of people" or "mankind".

The fire of greed burns a mortal (macca), lustful, infatuated by sensual
pleasures; while, fallen in the fire of hate, a person kills living
creatures; and, bewildered by the fire of delusion, they miss the teaching of the noble ones. Not recognizing these three fires, people (pajā) are caught up in identity.
They fill the ranks of hell, of birth as an animal, or of demons and
ghosts, not freed from Māra’s bonds.

More relevant suttas can be read at this link: The five realms in the here-&-now.
While most Buddhists and many scriptures describe the realms as "physical", there are also suttas that describe the realms as "psychological". When the realms are regarded as psychological, illogical questions can be answered more logically & less speculatively.

Do they have to come from the souls of insects, reptiles, rodents, and other animals?

I have encountered talks that mentioned that there might be a mass transmigration from the animal (or beast) realm to the human realm. Considering the mass destruction of natural habitats of wild creatures and the extinction of many species in the past few centuries, this postulation may not be totally baseless. But this is beside the point. Regardless of which samsaric realms we are talking about, there is really no such definition as good or evil paths because it is all karma.
The Buddha pointed out that in our endless journey in samsara, we had experienced and taken on many existences/roles from kings to beggars, from devas to hell beings (see the Jakata tales for some stories of the Buddha's and his disciples' past lives as animals and other beings). Understanding this, we should be compassionate to all beings as we had been in their shoes and they had been in ours whether in the past, present or in the future. You may think you will never become that “not human” person you described. But there is no certainty in samsara except change, we have inevitably been the best and the worst of ourselves at some point in this long journey.
I recalled reading in the sutras about eras of wheel-turning monarchs (cakkavatti) and past Buddhas where the human population were very large but these eras were characterized by morality and virtues. My observation is that our era is characterized by the quest for freedom of desires and not the search for freedom from desires. You can see how society celebrate selfishness, ruthlessness and cunning intelligence as qualities necessary for success in life. Therefore, it is not surprising we see such qualities in our leaders (e.g. a certain ex-President of a powerful country who is rich and influential and whose mere words could incite a riot).

Can the Six Paths correctly explain it?

In short, my answer is no. What we are experiencing now is not only influenced by our past karma but also a result of our present choices and decisions. Unfortunately, we do not have a lot of good leadership models whether in politics or businesses or societies. Consequently, we had set up systems and processes that encouraged a winner-takes-all mentality. Look at the CEOs of huge multi-national companies and the leaders of large democracies. See how many aspires to fill those positions because they and their cronies can reap huge rewards if they succeed. This results in the poor getting poorer and the rich becoming richer. In such an environment, it’s no wonder those who are selfish, ruthless and cunning will excel just like in the animal realm. Measures had been taken to curb such detrimental winner-takes-all behaviour e.g. restricting the leadership term of a country to 2 or even 1 term. But I can’t help but feel it’s all patch work ala whack-a-mole approach with no effective long-term solution.
Some Buddhists had argued we should prioritize on attaining enlightenment before thinking of helping others. Their argument is that if you are drowning, you can’t even save yourself; how can you save others? Personally, I feel we should do more as Buddhists by proposing better and more holistic solutions that ensure human society progress in a more humane and sustainable direction if not for ourselves then for future generations of Buddhists. Who knows, we could be one of these future Buddhists if we fail to progress and come back again. We would not want to find ourselves living in a future world filled with strife and conflict, environmental pollution and climate disasters; where the rich and powerful takes the largest portion of resources while the poor eek out an existence worse than that of an animal.

In ultimate reality things, people, beings, entities don't exist. You are stuck in concepts.
There exists only seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, feeling and thinking and nothing more than that (except Nibbana).
Your question is just mental formations, just be mindful of the thoughts and your own reactions to it. Don't get caught up in concepts.
As my teachers teacher said: Delusion focuses on concepts. Wisdom focuses on Ultimate Reality.


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Progressive rebirth from one heaven to a higher heaven
Can devas in heavenly realms do good deeds and get a rebirth in other higher heavens and progress successively from one higher heaven to other?
Preferably, from Mahayana Buddhist or Theravada Buddhist sermons of the Buddha.

Sorry, the details of your question is a bit confusing, are they meant to be tags or are you looking for sermons or specific things?

The opportunities for doing good deeds are extremely rare in the deva realm. The deva realm is hard to imagine just as it is hard for the devas to comprehend the problems faced by human beings. The simple reason is that the physical hardships, pain and miseries that human beings have to endure is non-existent in the deva realm.
One way to understand the difference between a human and deva is the lack of physical bodies. Scientists believed our physical bodies evolved over billions of years beginning with prokaryotic cells. In the sutras, devas, on the other hand, appear spontaneously without the slow gestation/incubation period of animals (see the story of the son of miserly Adinnapubbaka). Therefore, theirs are not physical bodies. Fundamentally, theirs are far superior without the need to feed, drink, urinate and defecate like ours. If the devas eat or drink, it is merely for pleasure and not out of necessity. The sutras seem to indicate there are also no nights in the deva realm, strongly suggesting that devas also do not need to sleep or rest because their bodies do not tired like ours.
There are inherent problems with human existence such as the need for food, clean water, a place to rest and sleep, protection from the elements (rain, hot sun and wind), need to bathe, medicine and so on. All these activities to keep our bodies going, bring along associated problems like the need for money, possessions and power (to safeguard our wealth). This created other associated problems like conflict and strife, even wars. But everything in samsara has two sides. Along with all these issues of hunger, poverty, diseases and disasters in the human realms, there are opportunities to offer physical food, comfort, protection and safety to those who are on the unfortunate side.
Although there are almost no opportunities for doing good deeds in the deva realm, they do have an advantage when it comes to cultivation of the mind i.e. non-craving, non-aversion and heightened awareness as illustrated in the sutras. With the exception of the renunciants like those in the Sangha, the life of householders is, instead, a constant struggle with craving, aversion and delusion.
Appendix
Regressive rebirth from the deva realm appears to be the norm. Progressive rebirth from a lower deva realm to a higher realm seems to be very rare as mentioned in this story narrated by Sakka to the Buddha. Note the conditions that made it possible for the two devas to ascend to the higher realm; the advanced development of their minds (i.e. attainment of jhana), their ability to overcome attachment to sensual pleasure and the store of good karma from their past practice of virtues. The story also highlights the point that if a deva is able to recollect/resume or pick up the practice of the Dharma and meditation, the benefits are tremendous.

The Buddha himself renounced a life of luxury and relaxation as a noble prince to follow the dharma. Had he not done so he would not have become Buddha.
If it is hard to renounce such a life here on earth, how much harder must it be in the heavenly realms?

The Buddhas discusses this in MN49, in which the Buddha chats with Brahmā, who has been misled by Māra the Wicked. The Buddha says to Brahmā:

MN49:10.1: But there is another realm that you don’t know or see.

Here, Brahmā is attached to the heavenly realms, and the Buddha explains that Brahmā is basically climbing the wrong tree.
Please reed MN49 and see how this may address your questions.

I am not sure you have answered the question about climbing different heavenly realms.

According to traditional Mahayana interpretation, "another realm" here refers to Shunyata.


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What happened to Tanha, Raga and Arati?
Was re-watching the movie "Thus have I heard" and started to ponder about the 3 daughters of Mara? What happened to Tanha, Arati and Raga after they failed to enamour the Buddha post his enlightenment? Did they die and if they did, where were they reborn? Is there any information about them in the texts? Can someone please shed light.

Why was this downvoted? It seems like a simple request for academic information. What transgression was imagined?

If it is a simple request, why don't you offer an answer? Thanks

A relevant sutta is SN 4.25 (perhaps I can rewrite this as an answer later, several days from now).

Before the Buddha attained enlightenment, Mara sent his three daughters to tempt the Buddha and prevent him from reaching the final goal which Buddha was very close to attaining. The three daughters of Mara are Tanha (desire), Raga (lust), and Arati (aversion).
Mara becomes a representation for internal vices. His attack on the Buddha represents internal impulses towards violence and rage that can be overcome by following the Buddha's teachings of cultivating compassion, detachment and gentleness.
The daughters of Mara represent lust, desire and aversion, which the Buddha overcame by recognizing their true nature as emptiness. Mara's own attack on the Buddha's pride was defeated by the Buddha's denial of the self since there was no "I" (ego) left to feel pride.
Thus, the story of Mara's temptation can be interpreted symbolically there is no death or rebirth of Tanha, Raga and Arati, instead
these same daughters Tanha, Raga and Arati are also our companion; meaning, his three daughters are tasked to become obstacles to enlightenment to us as well.
This is why we must constantly be mindful of our thoughts to see the play of Mara’s three daughters and constantly debate with them with wisdom.so mindfulness and awareness is a skill we are often encouraged to develop on our spiritual path.


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How to persuade my mother to stop her infidelity?
I am beginner in journey of way to truth, and life in general, through Buddhism. It's not long since I discovered Buddhism, and it really gives me insight in life.
My question is that I'm having really hard time, and I'm in confusion about what to do, in that my family is tearing apart because
my mother is cheating on father with another married man, and I don't know what to do about it.

This question might be on-topic on the (non-Buddhist) "Interpersonal Skills" site -- see for example here and here.

The Buddhist scriptures say a faithful householder has four qualities:

A faithful householder
who has these four qualities
does not grieve after passing away:
truthfulness, principles, steadfastness and generosity.
SN 1.10

The above says any member of a household (family) should ideally speak openly, truthfully & honestly to other members of their family.
Also, the Buddhist scriptures say a disciple of the Buddha speaks in praise of not practicing adultery. SN 55.7 says:

Furthermore, a noble disciple reflects: ‘If someone were to have
sexual relations with my wives, I wouldn’t like it. But if I were to
have sexual relations with someone else’s wives, he wouldn’t like that
either. The thing that is disliked by me is also disliked by others.
Since I dislike this thing, how can I inflict it on others?’
Reflecting in this way, they give up sexual misconduct themselves. And
they encourage others to give up sexual misconduct, praising the
giving up of sexual misconduct.
SN 55.7

In many places, the Buddhist scriptures say adultery & consorting with prostitutes (pornographic actors are, in essence, prostitutes) leads to harm & downfall, even to 'hell'.

Not content with his own partners,
he debauches himself with prostitutes,
and with others’ partners,
and that leads to his downfall.
Snp 1.6

Bhikkhus, possessing... qualities, one is deposited in hell as if brought there.
(3) He engages in sexual misconduct...
AN 10.211

Misconduct is a woman’s stain. A giver’s stain is stinginess. Bad
qualities are a stain in this world and the next.
Dhp 242

Four misfortunes befall the reckless man who consorts with another's wife: acquisition of demerit, disturbed sleep, ill-repute, and (rebirth in) states of woe.

Such a man acquires demerit and an unhappy birth in the future. Brief is the pleasure of the frightened man and woman, and the king imposes heavy punishment. Hence, let no man consort with another's wife.

Dhp 309 & 310

If a female has the powers of attractiveness, wealth, relatives, and children, but not that of ethical behavior, the family will send her away, they won’t accommodate her.
SN 37.30

In summary, what the above means is your mother committing adultery with a married man can being great harm upon herself & the married man. These harms include:

divorce in both families/marriages
great loss of wealth in both families/marriages; because divorce is often very costly, including legal fees & division of assets/wealth.
your mother ending up alone & having to financially support herself.
depending on the country you live in (in the West there is generally 'no-fault' divorce), if your country has 'fault-divorce', it means your mother committing adultery may result in a bad legal/court decision against her.

As said, your mother committing adultery not only endangers her own life but also the life and family of the married man she is engaging in adultery with.
While it requires you to be very courageous, a Buddhist daughter would truthfully explain the above realities to their mother who is having an extramarital affair.

I am sorry that you have such a troubled family life while growing up. Sadly, selfishness is a destroyer of relationships.
By causing so much hardships to his wife, your father had set in motion bad karma. It is likely the catalyst that drove his wife to have an affair and now threatens the breakup of his family. Similarly, I had seen men who cheated on their wives, gambled the money meant for sustaining the family, steal and sell their wives’ possessions to feed their gambling habits. When these men grew old and are in need of care and support, they find themselves deserted by their wives and children. Whether they are remorseful or not, it is often too late to change their fate.
Do you feel resentment, bitterness and anger towards your father? That is because bad karmic forces had already been set in motion. It is important to see this process in the light of karma. Seeing how karma arises and bears fruits is the best guarantee we will act in ways that will protect ourselves and others from long lasting harm and sufferings. By understanding karma as a natural force arising from wholesome or unwholesome intentions, we can then learn how to act or react to secure long lasting happiness for ourselves.
Perhaps, you can ask your mother if she feels any resentment towards her husband. Guide her to see how his selfish actions had generated this resentment and how it had come back to hurt his family and himself. Point out to her that she too, by her present choices and actions, had set off bad karmic causes just as her husband had. Remind her how it feels like to be a victim and how ironic she might end up victimizing others. And those hurt by this affair will be motivated to act against her and those she holds dear. This will be bad karma coming full circle. Express your love and concerns for her so that she knows that her past sacrifices in raising her children is now being rewarded. You are the testament that there is good karma and she can cause good karma instead.
Just a sidenote, I realized that we need to be honest and take ownership of our actions in order to see and understand karma. Unfortunately, this is not always true. So don’t be too disappointed if you tried your best but still failed to change your parents’ ways, it is still anatta.
Seeing, understanding and making use of karma to secure our future well-being and happiness is the first step. In the distant future, the "future us" may be enjoying our good karmic fruits so much that we forget about karma, becoming reckless and selfish. We may even find ourselves behaving like the people we resent now. The Jakata tales of Devadatta’s first grudge against the Buddha is a good precautionary story. In our long journey through samsara, we had revisited old mistakes many times. We had been in the shoes of people we admire or hate just as often as they had been in ours. Knowing this might yet awaken an urgency in us to put an end to this stupidity. With Metta.


text:
How to create awareness of the present moment
how to control the mind and create awareness of the present moment.

I have a question. You mentioned that you do breath meditation, can you share something on your technique? Specifically, when a thought or something pulls your mind away from your breath or meditation object, what do you do next?

Can I suggest you make a slight change the next time thoughts distract you from your breath. I have added an additional notes section to my answer, please take a look.

There is very little info here. I suggest you put up another question and try to give a bit more details, like where was your mind before you felt this anxious quivering energy. Was it drifting somewhere for example. Try to be as accurate and detailed as possible about what was happening just before, while it was happening and afterwards. Details like your breath, body posture and where is your attention.

Why do you want to delete this question? You can't delete the question if the question is valid, on-topic AND it has already been answered.

I can only share some insights as a fellow practitioner, please let me know if I have gotten anything wrong. I think you are letting your desire to be on top of things, events and relationships in your life gets to you. Through meditation, we can get insights into what happened in our life and see the mistakes that occurred due to our habitual ways of viewing, perceiving, thinking, feeling, speaking and acting. This results in a realization that we could have avoided these mistakes if only we could be more aware, alert, focus and so on.
Whether this is a desire to avoid sufferings, to be a better person or to achieve more success is beside the point. The important thing is we can either make use of this desire to goad us into doubling our effort or allow it to bash us up. We use it in the former by understanding that these feelings, emotions and thoughts too will eventually change but right now we can harness them for further progress (right view). Ultimately, our aim is to be kind and compassionate to ourselves and achieve long lasting happiness and well-being (right intention).
What pulls us away from awareness of the present moment is usually greed, aversion and ignoring. The ignoring part is when there are cues, hints and information in the environment (internal or external) that goes against our desires or we averse to. So, we push this information out of our consciousness by dimming our awareness and losing the present moment. This is usually habitual and requires constant watching and observations of our feelings, perceptions, mental formations (thoughts/emotions) and consciousness in order to overcome i.e. right mindfulnesss. We must be willing to let go of these unskillful habits and prevent new unskillful ones from arising. Similarly, there are skillful habitual ways of feeling, perceiving, thinking and cognizing that helps support our present awareness such as a constant reflection of our state of mind e.g. level of consciousness, current emotions and feelings and so on. If these skillful habits are not present, we try to cultivate them, in short, this is right effort.
I think you get my drift by now. The genius of the Buddha is that he understood that for true progress in our mental and spiritual practice, we need to work on all the 8 factors of the Noble Eightfold path. Otherwise, our progress will begin to slow down and perhaps come to a standstill. It is tough grappling with all the 8 factors simultaneously. I think we can start with one of the factors we are most comfortable with as an entry point. Ajahn Chah, the famous forest monk, worked on right view and he said the rest of the factors just followed.

In our practice we must have ''right view'' (sammā-ditthi). If our view is right then everything else is right: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right recollection, right concentration - the Eightfold Path.

With Metta.

Additional notes:
During meditation, when you catch hold of yourself being pulled away by thoughts instead of just going back to your breath, pause for a moment. Try to take note of the desire or intent that prompted those thoughts. If you failed to identify it, never mind, just go back to your breath. If you do manage to identify the desire, try to see the allure or attraction behind it. Once, you see the attraction, the desire will usually weaken or fade away. If you failed to identify, it is OK as it will tend to stay at the back of your mind and attempt to pull or push you away from your breath with more thoughts. Just repeat the steps again when that happens. Sometimes, we fail to identify the true desire. You will know this because the same pattern or type of thoughts will appear again, just repeat the above steps.
The mind as @Andriy Volkov pointed out, is constantly hiding its intentions and desires in order to trick us. By doing the Vipassana technique above we are training our mind to be sensitive to the mental and emotional activities that is happening within. When we are not meditating or concentrating, these activities push and pull us away from the present moment without we realizing it. By training our mind to be sensitive to these activities, be quick to identify the intent/desire behind them and see the allure in the desire, we will grow dispassionate and the mind will quickly quieten down and settle back to the present moment.
To be honest, breath meditation is traditionally a Vipassana technique from my understanding. So, I am not sure what is happening. If you are comfortable with your practice, just ignore me. If not, perhaps you can ask another question with more details about your meditation technique in the forum. I believe there are experienced practitioners in the forum who will be willing to help spot any issue or give advice, if necessary. With Metta.

There's no magic way to become aware. Awareness is something we practice intentionally, because we decided to.
Why are we not aware to begin with? Because we are naive. We think our mind is honest, we assume it's honestly telling us the truth about what's going on. We trust our mind and so we never question it, and most of the time we don't really pay attention.
Once we realize the mind is tricking us, the ego is tricking us to its advantage, then we become motivated to watch it, to pay attention, and to become aware.
Then it boils down to constantly paying attention, every second of every minute of every hour. Are we fooling ourselves, are we trying to rationalize our fears or our prejudices, are we defending our ego, are we pursuing a selfish agenda, - - versus being objective, authentic, truthful, open, and so on.

So my real question is how can I create the awareness of the present moment totally and let go of the delusion that is keeping me from seeing things just as how they really are.

You're on the right track right there, realizing that you experience suffering and that there's something better waiting if you view things correctly.
As long as you never forget that, and you work on that every moment, then you'll be heading in the right direction and not retrogressing.
Everyone has different skill and potential, so there's no time table for success.
The real key, is developing strong samādhi (undistractible-lucidity). Training the mind to be super relaxed, super clear, with meditative practices that focus on deep calming (such as breath meditation, metta, etc.). Without that, you'll have a low ceiling, because the ordinary mind, without samādhi, will never see things truly clearly, just as muddy water is not clear until it's calm and settled.

Awareness of the present moment is crucial.
most of us usually do not live in the present moment; we spend our time dwelling on the past or dreaming about the future. A day consists of 24 hours, which is common to all of us. But if someone lives in the present moment, they can feel as if they have much more time than others. Some people can’t even imagine how quickly time passes.
Living in the present moment is important to Buddhists. If we live in the present, it means we are aware of our every action, so we can measure it, control it, and utilize our time efficiently.
Meditation can help to relax our mind and body, making it easier to live in the present moment with a good awareness of our own actions and thoughts.
Specifically, the “Samatha” meditation technique is helpful for this.

Yes, a willingness to be aware and be in the present moment is important. Being aware of the desires and aversions that pull and push us away from the present moment and their originations is the constant work we need to engage in.

Awareness of the present moment is created practising the Noble Eightfold Path, which starts with:

Right View: understanding sufferings are caused by craving, attachment & unwholesome thoughts; and understanding suffering ends when craving, attachment & the unwholesome end.

Right Thought: distinguishing between wholesome & unwholesome thoughts in a way that generates the effort to give up unwholesome thoughts & to maintain skillful wholesome thoughts.

Right Speech & Action: distinguishing between wholesome & unwholesome actions; so to understanding certain types of actions are wrong actions; so we can give up attachment to those past actions we did or others did in relation to us. Often people cling to other people who perform harmful actions towards them rather than learn to let go of people who performed harmful/unskilful/unloving actions towards them.

When the mind can purify itself of wrong views it can be abide in the clarity of the present moment.


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What is sleep paralysis in Buddhism view?
Sleep paralysis is a condition which occurs up to as many as 4 out of every 10 people according to some statistics. Sleep paralysis happens when one is about to fall asleep or while waking up during the transitional states between wakefulness and sleep. In the course of sleep paralysis one will experience temporary paralysis that makes it unable to move or speak. The paralysis may last usually only few minutes. In addition the individual might also perceive terrifying hallucinations that are made worse with the inability to move or speak.

Some things are just psychological, but there are interactions with petas (ghosts), yakhas, etc. where one can experience sleep paralysis, getting high pressure/ force applied to chest, body parts feeling like you're suffocating, a cold chill going down your spine preventing you from sleeping, or just outright possession of your body/mind for periods of time by other beings (much less common).
Most people have no experience with any of the above, but if you've spent enough time in serious forest monasteries or living alone in the wilderness, you and/or people around you are going to have those kinds of interactions. Read Ajahn Mun biography for many examples.
I myself was on a retreat near the himalayas with monks and nuns, and at least 10 of us were disturbed by yakkha(s). I didn't have sleep paralysis in that ocassion, and I'm not sure if the other monks and nuns did either. But we experienced the typical ghost/yakkha things of cold chills, getting pressed with great force into the bed, weird or terrifying visions and dreams.
The more interesting question IMO, is how do you prevent these kinds of problems from happening?
What I've found, is that the stronger your internal energy gets, not just your biological immune system gets stronger, but your psychic immune system against mental stress, ghost and yakkha interacitons also strengthens greatly.
The way to build up internal energy, is a proper combination of meditation and physical exercise, healthy eating, every day.
P.S.
It's important to keep in mind not everything we have not personally experienced can be casually dismissed as hallucination.
Encouraging people to be kind to new (and old users) alike is important to establishing a good culture on Dhamma (and any) forums.

If Someone punches Dhamma Dhatu in the face, he's also just experiencing mental formations. So what's your point? Normal physical assult and assault by yakkhas don't matterr?

DDhatu wronte: > " if you've spent enough time in serious forest monasteries....Read Ajahn Mun". Ajahn Mun passed away in 1949. Frankk responds:   The Buddha died 2500 years ago, so whatever he said must be hallucination also.

As a moderator I agree with DD that polemics (addressing other answers and their authors) is beyond the intended usage of Q&A platform like this one.

If you're going to insist on that, then nothing I can do. But that's clearly not a rational policy since one's answer and others' answers are dealing with the same topic and it's expected there would be overlap and redundancy.

@frankk This site's Introduction says that it "is a question and answer site", and "It's not a discussion forum. There's no chit-chat." So we have a convention to avoid commenting on other people and other answers. Instead write an answer of your own, which addresses the question and doesn't address another answer -- you might say something different than what's written in another answer, but without referring to it. This should help minimize arguments between users, let people state their view without being contradicted or drawn into an argument.

The reality you see is created by your mind. It's like a robot vacuum that builds a map of the room based on what it encounters. If you stand in its way it will think there's a wall there. It doesn't really know, it figures it out from what it picks up with its sensors.
Similarly, our reality is based on what our mind picks up. If you focus on negative things, you see hell. If you focus on competition you see the world of jealous demons. But the real world is infinite and includes all of these words, we just don't see all of them at the same time.
The way we maintain our focus on our favorite world, is by thinking about it all the time, talking about it, watching movies about it, and so on - feeding our mind with thoughts about a particular world. A world is a story the mind keeps telling itself.
But when we are falling asleep, we stop feeding our mind with our favorite stories, and for a brief moment of time it stops reproducing our favorite world, and picks up other stuff. And that's when you see other "layers of reality", for a lack of better word.
It's not bad per se, and not good, just a glimpse outside of our regular world. It's not real, but then our typical world is not strictly real either. It's not completely fake, it's just the robot vacuum of our mind trying to make sense of things beyond our normal focus, things it doesn't understand.

'Sleep paralysis' sounds like the manifestation of 'mental formations'. 'Mental formations' are emotions, images, volition & thoughts.
'Sleep paralysis' sounds like the mind is in a sleep dream state (the emotional creation of mental images & stories) however a part of the mind believes it is awake & attempts to exercise volition to escape from the bad dream created by the emotion of fear.
Buddhism explains there are five aggregates, namely, the physical body (rupa), feeling (vedana), perception (sanna), mental formations (sankhara) & consciousness (vinnana). Buddhism says all experience is a manifestation of these five aggregates.

Sleep paralysis is a just a simple biological function. What you see, hear, taste, smell, feel of think it's just the 5 aggregates working fx regarding the sense faculties there are the 6 senses and their 6 corresponding objects.


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When to retaliate when someone abuses us?
In the Kakacupama Sutta, the Buddha says the following

"Monks, even if bandits were to carve you up savagely, limb by limb, with a two-handled saw, he among you who let his heart get angered even at that would not be doing my bidding. Even then you should train yourselves: 'Our minds will be unaffected and we will say no evil words. We will remain sympathetic, with a mind of good will, and with no inner hate. We will keep pervading these people with an awareness imbued with good will and, beginning with them, we will keep pervading the all-encompassing world with an awareness imbued with good will — abundant, expansive, immeasurable, free from hostility, free from ill will.' That's how you should train yourselves."

I always believe in the value of 'healthy anger' as a way of defending yourself and protecting your boundaries. Many times, abusers will keep abusing you and escalate if you remain unaffected. They see your lack of retaliation as a sign of weakness, or a signal to escalate the abuse. The only thing they respond to is consequence. Yet this teaching seems to imply that you should remain unaffected 'even if bandits were to carve you up savagely'.
Shouldn't I demonstrate some aggression or anger to make the abuser back off, rather than allowing him to accrue even more negative karma by abusing me? Isn't it a lose-lose scenario to allow myself to be 'carved up savagely'?
I know there is also the parable of the Buddha giving up his body to feed a starving tiger out of compassion in one of his past lives.
I'm far from reaching the Buddha's level of compassion. This means I still suffer, even if a bit, from the abuser's words and actions. In such a situation, shouldn't I retaliate (skillfully)?

I think the scenario painted with the bandits is when there is no escaping death. The victims are facing misguided bandits who are bent on carving them up. In that scenario, rather than waste time generating hatred, I think the advice is to practise the Brahmavihara instead as it would help the victims to achieve rebirth in the Brahma realms.
I couldn’t find the links but in other occasions, there were errant monks who refused to be taught and reform their pride. The Buddha instructed the Noble Silence to be given to these monks. One such monk was formerly a relative of the Buddha and more senior (a granduncle if I recalled) to the Buddha while he was a prince. He was proud and arrogant could not be taught. The Buddha instructed to the Sangha that if this monk refused to change his ways after his Parinibbana, they will give him the Noble Silence.
I agreed that in certain situations continuing to engage with misguided people can be both harmful and dangerous to those people and ourselves. Harmful to those people because it encourages them to indulge in their wrongful ways. In such situations, I think giving them the Noble Silence is an appropriate approach. Even if these people threaten bodily or verbal abuse, there is no point getting angry with them. There are laws for harmful and anti-social behaviour, rules/regulations and punishments in companies and schools for unacceptable behaviour. Just stay calm and report them to the appropriate authorities for actions.
The question is our anger going to change the abuser’s ways? If not, what is its purpose? To let us have an outlet and let off some steam is good but what is the next course of action? I think eventually we realize that bashing someone into a pulp will not change their ways. Yes, they will be very afraid of us and may change in our desired manner. But inside their mind, nothing changed. Sooner or later, they just go back to their old ways.

In such a situation, shouldn't I retaliate (skillfully)?

It is difficult to see skillful options when our mind is suffering and filled with hatred. I would suggest create some space and time to let the mind settle down first before acting, to react from a position of hurt and anger usually causes unskillful actions.
When our mind is calmer, we can then consider; if the abuser doesn’t change, can we change instead? By asking ourselves this question, suddenly we find ourselves regaining control again. There could be many options depending on the situation. First, we could disengage and remove ourselves from the antagonist. This maybe difficult if they are in the same household or classroom or company, in such cases, we can still give them the Noble Silence without anger or hatred; with the understanding this is the best option for everyone. Second, can we change the abuser’s way? That depends on the abuser’s motive for their abuse. From here, it gets complicated and depends on your motivation too.
When our mind is peaceful and equanimous, we might sometimes catch a glimpse of reality; an aspect of reality where all difficulties in life are actually opportunities to grow ourselves mentally, emotionally, spiritually and develop our paramitas. With Metta.

There's this rule from the Vinaya

Monks’ Expiation (Pācittiya) 74

Whatever monk, angry, displeased, should give a monk a blow, there is an offence of expiation.

It's a rule for monks but perhaps it's good advice for everyone: "don't hit someone because you're angry or displeased."
It goes on to say:

There is no offence if, being in some difficulty, he gives a blow desiring freedom

I understand that to mean, for example, if your person is seized by a bandit.
This means I still suffer, even if a bit, from the abuser's words and actions. In such a situation, shouldn't I retaliate (skillfully)?
Maybe anger cannot be skilful.
"Retaliation" puts me in mind of the Akkosa Sutta: Insult (SN 7.2).
See also What is a wrathful Buddha?
I found that being shouted at makes me suffer after a while i.e. hurts my ears -- at that point I wasn't angry, I was "desiring freedom" i.e. to be able to leave the room.

I think the question needs to be asked why we (personally) find ourselves in the company of 'abusers'?
In the stories about the Buddha, when people were attempting to kill the Buddha, the monks wished the Buddha to have a guard, but this he refused, saying that it was impossible for anyone to deprive a Tathāgata of his life.
Above, the Buddha is different to us because the Buddha had supernormal psychic powers (as described in MN 86) & could foresee the proposed plans & actions of others. Here, the Buddha was always able to avoid the intended abuse of others.
For us, this is an example. The scriptures (DN 31; Snp 2.4) refer to Buddhist laypeople avoiding:

bad friends
foolish people
residing in an unsuitable locality
having a non-peaceful occupation.

The Kakacupama Sutta is for extreme scenario as painted with the bandits; is when there is no escaping the abuse.
To conclude, as modern lay people, we try to avoid bad friends, bad people & bad situations, which can also include invoking law enforcement, the civil & the criminal law when necessary.
When if the law cannot help us, we have no choice as Buddhists but to fall back on the principles of the Kakacupama Sutta (which is good for us to envisage practicing because our social world is growing in totalitarianism).


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Stiffness in body during vipassana
I am undergoing a strange period during vipassana meditation (sn goenka guruji tradition). When I am scanning my body there is an extreme stiffness that travels almost throughout the body as my attention shifts and stays in that body part till my attention stays. My body part visibly gets tensed while this happens. e.g. foot and toes are all visibly tense and toes are bent.
In the core of the body I have slightly different stiffness experience. I feel like stiffness wants to rise through the spine and gets stuck in multiple spots and puts lot of pressure on that part as if trying to break away. But then I realize I am not breathing as core moves if i breathe and i am stuck focusing on this rising stiffness. If I breathe at this stage, I get out of this and then stiffness goes away and I stop feeling this and other sensations in my body for sometime. Then as I start scanning again the same stiffness comes back. If I don't breathe this goes till neck and throat region gets stuck in neck and leaves me in pain afterwards.
I am assuming this is usual sankhara coming and trying to observe with equanimity but unlike other sensations that come and go after observation,  this one is increasingly capturing my entire body part by part. This has been happening for last one week. Not sure if I am doing something wrong.

Are you controlling your breath as you scan you body? I think when you breathe again the stiffness goes away indicate a sign of stuck breath energy. The body cannot do without the energy generated by our breath. Can you try something, the next time you fell stiffness in any part of the body, imagine energy flowing up or in through that body part as you breath in and energy flowing down or out through as you breath out. Just see the energy as a warm sensation. Once the stiffness disappears continue your practice and repeat the same breath energy technique if it appears.

Thanks for your response. I am breathing most of the time. It's only when core (chest and stomach) becomes too stiff and I focus on it and breath gets forgotten for a while as core needs to move a bit during breath. In this situation when I forcefully breathe the stiffness goes away with that breath.

Can I suggest that instead of just focusing on the stiff bodily part, try using your breath to “breathe” through those parts like I mentioned above. BTW, if it is not too intrusive, may I ask if you are suffering from any constant physical ailments?

Thanks fir your response.  Understood on breath thing. Will try this. I do have some unexplained pain and numbness in feet and hands. Some of it came up during the practice. Some of it was present fro earlier.  But all that is gradually reducing with my vipassana practice.

In view of the symptoms described, I am sharing a technique in breath meditation that might be helpful. Please use the comment section if you have any queries.
After you are positioned comfortably (cross legged, lotus position or whatever as long as you are comfortable), do three slow and deep breaths through the nostrils. With the inhalation, feel the breath going all the way down and your abdominal expanding before exhaling completely. After the initial 3 breaths, just breathe normally (no need to force the air down or till your abdominal expand) but try to follow the in-and-out breath closely. Adjust your breath to make it soft and comfortable. Feel yourself refreshed as you inhale and all your body muscles relaxing as you exhale. For the next 5 to 10 minutes, keep doing this. I usually do a mental “Oooo…..” as I inhale softly to be in tune with the refreshing sensation and a mental “Yeaahhh…” as I exhale to feel my body relaxing totally. Once, in tune you can drop this mental noting and just focus on the soft in-breath and out-breath.
If you do it correctly, you should feel an increased saliva secretion in your mouth and a continuous sense of physical ease in your body. There are days when done well and proper, every in and out breath will be “delicious”. Again, if you feel any discomfort (like stiffness or pain) in any part of your body, softly and gently breath through those parts. Mentally, you are directing your breath energy to flow in and out through those parts as you breathe. Physically, it is relaxing the tensed-up muscles and improving the blood circulation in those parts. As you do so, the discomfort will gradually fade into the background (it may not disappear totally, just not enough to be distracting anymore). At any time, if you are not noticing an increased in saliva secretion or general physical ease, then it is not done properly, just keep adjusting till you are in-tune.
This is a really simple technique aimed at sensitizing ourselves to the breath and body with the side effect of being more aware of the mind. With Metta.

I cannot give any direct advice here because the Buddha or the Buddhist scriptures never teach what Goenka teaches.
I guess if one practices what Goenka instructs, the mind will become very stiff because the mind is always doing the same thing of directing its intent & energy 'downwards'; possibly suppressing the sankharas; causing the sankharas to get stuck in the body; rather than allowing the sankharas to loosen up, rise up & dissolve or depart. This would also make the body very stiff. Its like trying to pacify a bird in a cage; compared simply opening the door of the cage & letting the bird go to fly away.
The Buddha taught letting go of 'doing' in meditation. The Buddha taught (in SN 48.9; at the end of MN 118) that meditation depends on 'letting go' (vossagga). When the mind 'lets go', the mind becomes very flexible (mudubhūta) & flowing (kammaniya).

Thanks for your response.  I have only learnt from Goenka guruji. Never read any buddhist teachings. Goenka ji taught to scan body head to feet and then feet to head in a loop . So I didn't understand what you mean by downward. Sorry about my ignorance though. Also he taught to observe sankhara as they come up with equanimity so the way I understood it it was not essentially suppressing but letting them do what they want without reacting.  I will go through the links you shared to understand your point more. Thanks a lot.

your  answer is definitely wrong. goenkas technique may or may not be in align with buddha. but it works like magic. people get rid of their habits like anger, addiction etc. many health problems goes away. health improves. they need not to understand buddha dhamma to depth. they dont know how it works but it works. So please do not discard his teaching. its a boon to mankind.


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Too much awareness to the body
I attended goenka course recently.
When I got to day 5 in which we practiced vipassana body scan meditation.
pretty soon i would get my brain really sensitive to sensations making them really strong. After a short time it will become painful and make my head dizzy and then would feel strong sickness, painful over sensitivity and confusion for the next 2 hours until the body sensitivity lowered. It even happened to me after going back to only focusing on my breath.
This makes it no possible to meditate.

Have you ever experienced over sensitivity that made you feel physically bad? Why is that happening?

Can this be somehow overcome?

Thank you!

Lately, I realized that meditation for some people can actually be difficult and painful. I never had this problem so for the longest time I couldn’t empathize or understand what was going on. But a question raised in this forum and this one makes me recalled a story told by another. Someone went on a 7-day meditation retreat. After the first day, he described that he never felt so much pain in his life and quit the retreat immediately. I tried teaching meditation in the past to others and failed just as bad. They usually described it as a very painful experience.

Have you ever experienced over sensitivity that made you feel physically bad? Why is that happening?

I think meditation is about getting the mind sensitive to what is going on within. To those who are not used to introspecting or reflecting on their internal state, it can be a painful affair. Perhaps, for some it is shocking to perceive the chaotic and compulsive state of their mind. For others, the sensitive mind is suddenly made aware of long suppressed or ignored bodily ailments and feedback and they find it overwhelming. However, there are some who actually went into meditative bliss on their first try like the Buddha.

I recall once, when my father the Sakyan was working, and I was sitting in the cool shade of a rose-apple tree, then — quite secluded from sensuality, secluded from unskillful mental qualities — I entered & remained in the first jhana: rapture & pleasure born from seclusion, accompanied by directed thought & evaluation.

I, myself, had a good time when I started so I am not sure what caused such vast differences in experiences.

Can this be somehow overcome?

I am suggested using a breath technique please see my answer to the similar question above. You can try this technique along with other meditation techniques. Hopefully, you find it useful. Frankly, I am beginning to appreciate why the Buddha taught meditating on the breath. Breathing is something that we do naturally. Using the breath to become sensitive to the body and sensitivity to the body to then train the mind to be more aware, is a gradual and gentle process. Lastly, I am not convinced that everyone is suited to a X day meditation retreat where X can be 3, 7, 10, 14 or 21 days. This puts a lot of stress on some participants. We all learn at a different pace. Meditation is a life long practice, go for techniques that you find gentle, comfortable and suited to your pace. With Metta.


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Did I violate the fourth precept?
I am a Theravada Buddhist. I got selected to a government university in my country. I got a message saying “Your online registration under Additional Intake for Special Subject for the A/Y 21/22 is available at…”  When I went to the website I saw a notice regarding special intake, which is not related to me. So I thought the message I got must have been about the special intake. So, I didn’t search any further. Some time went by. Later I got to know that we could make appeals to enter a university. Then, I discovered that I had actually been selected to the university I wanted to enter. By then, the time to register had passed. As a result of confusing the message I got with the special intake, I lost the chance to register on time. I also got to know that in order to appeal to enter that university it would be better if we gave a medical reason justifying our inability to register on time. I wasn’t willing to do that because saying that I couldn’t Register due to a medical reason would be a lie violating the fourth precept. However, at the time I got selected for university and missed the chance to register, I was taking treatment for OCD and  secondary depression. At the time I missed this chance, I was studying in another institute and I wasn’t mainly focusing on entering a government university. Later I sent a request to register late at the university. I was told that giving a medical reason would ensure the success of the process. In my request I mentioned that I couldn’t register initially due to a shortcoming, which from the above, was the case. To give the medical reason I said that I was taking treatment for OCD and secondary depression at this time and was less concerned about entering a university. I said that I was under treatment and believed I was in a fit state to enter, therefore I asked them to grant my request. I felt guilty that I might be violating the fourth precept by lying, but nevertheless I sent the request. It worked and I got selected to the university. My question is, considering the above facts, did I violate the fourth precept by lying? I feel guilty about it at times. I would appreciate your opinion

do you have some reasoning for how you might have not broken the fourth precept? this seems pretty cut-and-dry to me, however at least it was a breach of your precepts that was unlikely to cause much suffering or potential suffering

I couldn’t register on time due to a shortcoming as mentioned. This is true. Also, I was receiving treatment at the time. I thought of myself as being in a fit condition to enter. I mentioned these facts which are true. Therefore I might not have violated the precept but I’m not sure.

If you lied, don’t make it a habit especially if it arises from selfish greed, fear, anger or any unskilful intentions. Therefore, examine your motives if your intention was less than noble just resolved not to do it again.
The important thing is to understand the Buddha’s intention (for this precept) which I believe is to ensure our long-lasting well-being and happiness and to prevent us from long-lasting harm and suffering. The following is based on my observations.
Although we learn to lie even as toddlers, most of us are not very good liars. But lying has its attraction, it allows us to gain something for seemingly nothing. There is also an immediate thrill (or mental reward) when people believe in our lies which is addictive. This can motivate us to become increasingly dishonest and escalate our lying behaviour.
However, there is a pain or punishment when we are caught lying. Instead of refraining from lying, some people are motivated to improve on their lying abilities to avoid getting caught and to continue being rewarded for their successful lies. But these people eventually realized that the best liars are those who believed in their own lies. So, they convince themselves with make-up storylines, hiding their true intentions and convincing others that their actions were due to some other motives instead.
All would be good if not for the problems lying created. Years ago, there was a researcher who faked the dengue virus X-ray structure. Potentially, hundreds of researchers around the globe rushed to create a drug that would attack the virus based on its elucidated X-ray structure. They tried for many months to find a cure for dengue but all failed as that structure was just a figment of someone’s imagination. Potentially, decades of man-years were wasted, not including the resources and money expended.
As mentioned, we make ourselves believe in our own lies by twisting reality and ignoring facts that don’t fit into our make-believe story. The consequence is that our mind becomes less sensitive, quick, sharp and clear to changes that are happening. If the shepherd boy realized that the first time when he cried, “Wolf” there were lots of villagers who turned up but there were less and less subsequently; he should have knew things were not the same anymore. But his mind had become clouded and less sensitive to the changing reality. Sadly, many habitual liars never understand what they are sacrificing i.e. this auto-correcting ability to reflect and analyse changes in their internal and external environment and self-correct their own behaviours and avoid adverse consequences. They cannot because:

They don’t see or recognize their true intentions anymore.
The make-up reality is more important than the actual one.

In my mind, amongst the five precepts, failure to refrain from lying is the most insidious because its effect does not manifest immediately unlike killing, stealing, sexual misconduct or taking intoxicants. So, a person can keep on lying for a long, long, long time. Usually, they only realized they did something wrong when their lives are badly screwed up. Unfortunately, they would have lost this auto-correcting ability by then, just when they needed it most. The Buddha knew he wouldn’t be around to constantly check on his followers, so this ability is very important if his followers want to progress in the Dharma. That’s why I think the Buddha proclaimed that deliberate lying is a grave transgression (Iti 25). With Metta.

Technically, it was a very small lie. Your actual reason for missing the original registration deadline was not medical. Your medical condition was real, but it was not the reason you missed original registration. You know this.
Be honest with yourself. Being honest with yourself is very important. You cannot be fully self-aware if you are not honest with yourself at all times. So at least admit to yourself that you lied.
Now, let's go back in time when someone told you that specifying a medical reason would guarantee admission. You said you had an inner conflict back at that time, trying to decide if you should just write you had no good reason, or to write a tiny convenient lie. You felt guilty at that moment and you feel guilty after, at times.
Why did you decide to lie? Was it because you really wanted to get into that government university, or was it because you were afraid you'd look stupid if you tell them the truth? It's important to know your inner motives. Knowing your inner motives creates awareness. When you are aware, you never do something without knowing why you did it exactly.
When you know your inner motives you can see your attachments. If you are attached to the idea of success. Or if you are attached to what people think about you. When you see your attachments you can grow beyond them. When you grow beyond attachments you become more free and more wise. You create less bad karma. People respect you.
So being honest with yourself is a very powerful practice. Then, when you get good at it, you will see that being true to yourself, being authentic, extends to your relationships with the world. When you build your relationships with the world honestly, based on the actual truth - you are building on a strong reliable foundation. When you build on reliable foundation, it's going to be strong.
When you build on lies, even small lies, you are compromising your authentic being, your true nature. When you do that, your life will be weak and shaky. It will not have power.
Therefore, always be honest with yourself, and always be true. It's not only a precept, it is the foundation of your life. Lie is a seed of conflict, a seed of dukkha. Tathata has no conflict between representation and reality, it is as it is. The absence of deception is a part of Enlightenment.

I mentioned that I couldn’t register because of a shortcoming on my part, which was the case. But yes, I wanted to enter the university.

There's no blame. It's like not washing your hands, it's not bad by itself, it's about the problems the germs can create for you.

Let's assume that you violated the precept of not speaking untruth.
What comes next?
Should you feel guilt and remorse?
From The Abhidhamma in Practice by N.K.G. Mendis:

Worry (kukkucca) is remorse, brooding, and repenting over evil acts
done in the past or good acts left undone.
Shame of evil (hiri) and fear of evil (ottappa) are the opposites
of the second and third unwholesome mental factors, already discussed.
Shamelessness of evil (ahirika) is lack of conscience, not as a
mysterious inner voice, but as an abhorrence towards evil.

Kukkucca is remorse or regret over wrongdoings in the past. It's not wholesome. You're meant to learn from your past mistakes then move on. You're not meant to cling to them.

“Mendicants, without giving up six things you can’t realize
perfection. What six? Dullness, drowsiness, restlessness, remorse
(kukkucca), lack of faith, and negligence. Without giving up these
six things you can’t realize perfection.
AN 6.66

Hiri is shame of future wrongdoing. Ottappa is fear of future wrongdoing. Both are wholesome.

..... so too, venerable sir, for one who has faith in wholesome
states, a sense of shame of wrongdoing (hiri), fear of wrongdoing
(ottappa), energy, and wisdom, whether day or night comes only
growth is to be expected in regard to wholesome states, not decline.
SN 16.7

Ahirika is lack of shame of future wrongdoing which is not wholesome. Ahirika is translated as "lack of conscience" below by Ven. Sujato. However, it is essentially the opposite of the shame of future wrongdoing, based on the same word hiri.

“Mendicants, without giving up six things you can’t realize the fruit
of non-return. What six? Lack of faith, lack of conscience (ahirika),
and lack of prudence;
laziness, unmindfulness, and witlessness. Without giving up these six
things you can’t realize the fruit of non-return.
AN 6.65

So kukkucca is about the past and ahirika is about the future.
We shouldn't cling to remorse over past evil deeds but we should have shame over committing future evil deeds.
It's about keeping the mind positive and joyful. To have joy, one must be free from remorse. In order to be free from remorse, we must learn from past wrongdoings and move on, while avoiding future wrongdoings.

"Skillful virtues have freedom from remorse as their purpose, Ananda,
and freedom from remorse as their reward."
"And what is the purpose of freedom from remorse? What is its reward?"
"Freedom from remorse has joy as its purpose, joy as its reward."
AN 11.1

So, let go of your past wrongdoing. Don't cling to guilt and remorse. Keep your university enrollment. But learn from your mistakes and avoid repeating them in future.
Avoid telling lies, and submit your future applications before the deadline. Those are the lessons that you can learn now.

Your mind was not clear. You did not intentionally lie. You were offered a place at university before other applicants. Now you are applying for that offer. Please take the offer. Your education is important. The Buddha praised education.

A lie by definition is an untruth with an intention to deceive.
The information as presented is that you suffered from and were being treated for OCD and depression at the time the invitation to attend the university should have been accepted. This is also a plausible reason for having missed the deadline. Clearly, the university accepted the explanation. I will also accept your explanation at face value.
Therefore, as presented, you have not broken the fourth precept.
Yet, you have self-doubt. The truth you appear to be struggling with is perhaps one of the most difficult, being true to yourself. Buddha says, “know thyself” and “be a light to thyself”. Only you know if your medical condition was the real reason you failed to complete the acceptance in a timely manner or if it was a convenient untruth meant to deceive and only you can learn from this experience.
Under any circumstance, you appear to be treading lightly on the road to enlightenment.
Congratulations on your acceptance!


text:
Meditation to simulate Near-death Experience
Namaste, Namo Buddhaya.
I'm here in my personal pursuit to understand death and soul from various perspectives.
A few days back I was reading texts on life, death, and reincarnation and got to know that there exist some meditations that cause OBEs (Out-of-body Experiences), an important part of NDEs (Near-death Experiences).
Biologists and doctors while simulating NDEs in labs concluded that a very large portion of people recall OBE experiences. The official Wikipedia page on NDEs does mentions that:

A three-year longitudinal study has revealed that some Buddhist
meditation practitioners are able to willfully induce near-death
experiences at a pre-planned point in time. Unlike traditional NDEs,
participants were consciously aware of experiencing the
meditation-induced NDE and retained control over its content and
duration.[58] The Dalai Lama has also asserted that experienced
meditators can deliberately induce the NDE state during meditation,
being able to recognize and sustain it.[59]

So there are certain medications that can induce OBEs (or roughly, NDEs) too. In the meantime to further research I found a few links on such meditations, one by a Hindu Guru Swami Sivananda:

During the course of practice, one day you will feel that you have
separated yourself from the body. You will have immense joy mixed with
fear, joy in the possession of a new, light, astral body, fear owing
to the entry in a foreign, unknown plane. At the very outset, the new
consciousness is very rudimentary in the new plane, just as in the
case of a pup with newly opened eyes in the eighth or tenth day on the
physical plane.

where he tells the experiences of OBEs.
Unfortunately, he doesn't elaborate on the details of the meditation. I assumed it was particularly meditation on a point between eyebrows and after a month of practice, I don't see any progress particularly here.
I just wish to know what form of meditation in Buddhism (apart from Yoga Nidra Tantra in Hinduism which is basically just hypnosis from sleep) causes OBEs? If my efforts are in the right place.

I’m voting to close this question because this question does not appear to be about Buddhist philosophy, teaching, and practice, within the scope defined in the help center.

May I know what is it that you are fascinated or curious about? Is it the nature of the soul?

@DhammaDhatu Apparently I'm asking for the idea about the particular meditation that Buddhists do for NDEs that has been quoted from Wikipedia in the above question.

@DesmonicaSin I'm curious about the meditation technique that was used to simulate NDEs that I quoted in the question from Wikipedia. I'm afraid that totally seems Buddhist philosophy/meditation-centered question to me. Thank you.

A meditation technique to achieve NDEs that I understand. What I can't figure out is what do you hope to achieve after you are in near death or out-of-the-body? We don't just hop on a plane to an unknown destination, there is/are thing(s) we want to achieve, what is/are your objective(s)? Can you list them down?

I don't think there is any Theravadin meditation technique that induced NDEs. In my opinion, the closest to understanding what NDEs using traditional Theravada meditation would be the jhanas. But the traditional objective for attaining the jhanas in Theravada is different from yours. Different objective, belief and mentality results in different experiences and interpretations just as two tourists can go to the same place and see, observe and experience very differently.

@DesmonicaSin Yes, that I perfectly understand - two people can have different non-physical realms with completely different things. The thing is - I wanted to understand what happens after death, what people see it and what is the experience aftermath. I came to know there are meditations that have similar experiences. So I just wanted to know about the meditations that can help me experience death closer. I don't have any objective or any hope to achieve anything, but to experience death as closely before death.

@DesmonicaSin Okay, so meditations for NDEs differ from meditations for OBEs? In that case I wish to know about both - NDE and OBE meditations to compare things and later evaluate myself how they are different/same/related.

Let us continue this discussion in chat.

In case you didn't know, HH the Dalai Lama is a Tibetan Buddhist; and it's the Tibetan Buddhist tradition that's responsible for e.g. The Tibetan Book of the Dead. So then, I suspect the form of meditation which the Dalai Lama may have been referring to would have been Tibetan -- not Theravadin.

@ChrisW I too suspect he must be referring to Vajrayana Meditation practices, they too have a lot of overlap with Hinduism because of historical reasons. Unfortunately, the Hindu side doesn't have any documentation of such practices, partly because most of them are esoteric, so I came here to know about it.

Buddhism explains when the mind is free from conceiving self-view, there is no 'death'. This is the goal of Buddhism, namely, the 'Deathless' state. Therefore, there are no meditations in Buddhism to simulate Near-Death Experience because the meditations in Buddhism have the goal of directly experiencing the Deathless.

The greatest of all gains is health,
Nibbāna is the greatest bliss,
The eightfold path is the best of paths
For it leads safely to the Deathless.
MN 75

Heedfulness is the path to the Deathless. Heedlessness is the path to death. The heedful die not. The heedless are as if dead already.

Dhammapada

Bhikkhu, ‘I am’ is a conceiving; ‘I am this’ is a conceiving; ‘I shall
be’ is a conceiving; ‘I shall not be’ is a conceiving; ‘I shall be
possessed of form’ is a conceiving; ‘I shall be formless’ is a
conceiving; ‘I shall be percipient’ is a conceiving; ‘I shall be
non-percipient’ is a conceiving; ‘I shall be
neither-percipient-nor-non-percipient’ is a conceiving. Conceiving is
a disease, conceiving is a tumour, conceiving is a dart. By overcoming
all conceivings, bhikkhu, one is called a sage at peace. And the sage
at peace is not born, does not age, does not die; he is not shaken and
does not yearn. For there is nothing present in him by which he might
be born. Not being born, how could he age? Not ageing, how could he
die? Not dying, how could he be shaken? Not being shaken, why should
he yearn?
MN
140

… “Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu develops right view … right
concentration, which has as its final goal the removal of lust, the
removal of hatred, the removal of delusion….” …
“Here, bhikkhus, a
bhikkhu develops right view … right concentration, which has the
Deathless as its ground, the Deathless as its destination, the
Deathless as its final goal….”
… “Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu develops right view … right
concentration, which slants, slopes, and inclines towards Nibbāna….”
SN
45.139

thanks for a beautiful question. I can understand why it is disturbing some established buddhist.
After 2500 year human kind had found new terminologies and we struggle to find its root or pointer in tipitak. e.g subcobnscious/unconscious.
Near death is also also one such word. that we can not quote a sutta directly. hence people will try to  oppose you. but thats not right approch.
with my limited knowledge let me try to attempt this.
6 Sense field and Panca upadan Khanda are discussed frequently in tipitak. and what I suggest is what  we call Body is nothing but 6 sense field.  and in meditation, probably after 4th Jhana. you feel similar experience  or death. but actually it is nothing but pacification of 6 sense faculty. mainly the body consciousness is very important because that what we call body. and when it pacifies we feel Death.
There is no speciasl practice for doing this. However extensive practice of samatha will give you this experience. particularly tibetan and hinduism has more answer in this regard.
I had a  series of long discussion with a buddhist who was vedantist earlier and had naturally gone thr  OOB/NDE both.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTaop2T6VYw

Just to point out, by the first jhana the five senses are no longer perceivable....not until the fourth jhana. In the fourth jhana, the mind sense still exists.

I find this to be a puzzling question in a Buddhist forum. After struggling, I decided to try answering it to the best of my ability.
Most NDEs (be it involving OBEs or not) described by the media tends to be those with wonderful experiences but there are NDEs that are scary, horrible and frightening. Even in the same individual who had two NDEs years apart, the experiences could be vastly different. Therefore, it is quite certain that every NDE is unique and different people have different NDEs. This is the first puzzling aspect of the question.
The question asked for Buddhist meditation techniques to induce NDEs. Traditionally, jhanas do allow a person to experience meditative bliss where the five senses are no longer perceived. In a way, it is like NDEs as your physical seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching are gone. But it is a blissful and happy state of mind. However, there is no guarantee that a person will experience this joyful state of mind in the actual death experience because there is the element of karma. It will be misleading if a meditation teacher teaches the student that both experiences are similar. This is the second puzzling aspect of the question.
How we deconstruct our experiences affects the way we interpret it. If you read accounts of NDE, it is easy to interpret that something good or bad happened to the soul during NDEs. For Buddhists, we are supposed to train ourselves to understand seeing is merely the seen, hearing is merely the heard…..feeling is merely the felt, perceiving is merely the perceived and so on. The result is that we end up interpreting NDEs very differently.
The moment of death is an important event for Buddhists. All the meditating, practicing and following the Dharma culminate with the goal to understand the craving-to-be i.e. the desire for more experiencing (feelings, perceptions, mental formations and consciousness) as it unfolds during the dying process. As a Buddhist, I understand this craving-to-be as the permanent soul/Atman/self that non-Buddhists keep harping on. It is this that is with us as we wander through the cycle of death and rebirth and even as I am typing and you are reading. If we penetrate it at the point of dying, an opportunity opens up and we can put an end to it once and for all. But putting an end to the soul/Atman/self would seem ridiculous to a non-Buddhist especially when they are trying to understand it through the perspective of NDEs. This is the last part that I struggle with. With Metta.

If it is impossible to know what is the experience of NDEs for a person, then how did the wiki article claims that the practitioners were able to induce NDEs?

@AbhasKumarSinha What makes you think the actual death experience will be similar to that of induced NDEs? Can any meditation teacher that teaches you induced NDEs make this guarantee to you?

No. I don't claim that actual death experience would be similar to meditation induced NDEs. My question is how the wiki authors/Dalai Lama concluded the experience by meditators were NDEs? If it is so in their properties (which I see by comparison), I wished to know that particular meditation so that I can induce those NDE property in a controlled state.

@AbhasKumarSinha I can only answer from my understandings. The similarities between NDEs and the experience of deep meditation is that your physical senses are no longer perceived. But that is as far as the similarities goes, everything else will likely be different. In meditation everything is under your control. However, both NDEs and accidental deaths are not planned, they happened suddenly.

@AbhasKumarSinha You have certain pre-conceived ideas about NDEs, do some research on the Internet, you can see for yourself the varieties and differences in NDEs. Lastly, no one can guarantee what you will experience in death or near death. Whether you agree or not to this point, may you be happy. With Metta.

Makes sense. The jhana is similar to meditation in the void in Hinduism using Om, where senses, bodies, and thoughts aren't active. My basic hypothesis is that is is probably the stage when the breathing stops - oxygen level drops below a certain threshold, NDE-like conditions are artificially made, and whatever the thing happens. A lot of meditation pioneers seem to have mastered that stage: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramakrishna's_samadhi