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Health anxiety - how to deal with it?
Health anxiety is defined in the quote below. A person suffering from it may mistakenly believe certain fluctuations in bodily sensations to be dangerous or a sign of impending critical illness, and this may cause them to become anxious. When they become anxious, they may get symptoms of anxiety (like rapid heart rate and chest discomfort) which may lead to a positive feedback loop, resulting in a panic attack, where they may think that they have a heart attack and go to the ER. That's the worst case. The best case is frequent unnecessary visits to the doctor.
Based on Buddhist techniques, what could a health anxiety sufferer do to help himself or herself?
On the other hand, if he really did have some critical illness, but convinces himself that it's not really the case, then it's not good for his health. So, how could Buddhist techniques help him find the balance?
According to this article on health anxiety:

The False Alarm
Health anxiety is the misinterpretation of normal bodily sensations as
  dangerous. Healthy bodies produce all sorts of physical symptoms that
  might be uncomfortable, painful, unexpected, and otherwise unwanted —
  but not dangerous. Picture a car with an alarm system. It’s useful if
  your car alarm goes off when a criminal is breaking in, but it’s
  problematic if it goes off every time someone walks by. Your car alarm
  would be misinterpreting innocent pedestrians as dangerous criminals.
Normal physical symptoms that often produce fear and worry include
  changes in visual acuity, heart rate and blood pressure, saliva
  levels, depth of breathing, balance, and muscle tone, to name a few.
  These are normal and harmless. But when a person misinterprets them as
  symptoms of some terrible disease, it creates undue worry. This
  explains why medical tests come out negative: The physical sensations
  are real, but they are not symptoms of a disease.
Overestimating Danger
Misinterpretation may be due to assumptions about health and illness,
  such as, “My cousin died of cancer, so it’s only a matter of time for
  me.” Or, “Viruses spread quickly. Since people in Africa are dying of
  Ebola, it could easily spread to the United States.” People with
  health anxiety might hold rigid definitions of good health, perhaps
  believing that any discomfort means bad health.
If they hear a news story about a few cases of a serious virus, people
  with health anxiety might start scanning their own bodies for symptoms
  of the virus. Looking for symptoms makes you notice subtle sensations
  that you might otherwise ignore. With uncertainty, the imagination has
  room to create stories. And that’s when your body’s alarm sounds off
  as you imagine the worst.
It Gets Tricky
Symptoms of anxiety produce very real physical symptoms: Dizziness,
  stomachaches, rapid heartbeat, tingling in the hands and feet, muscle
  tension, jitteriness, chest pressure, and the list goes on. These
  symptoms add fuel to the fire. Now you have real evidence that
  something is seriously wrong. Or do you? Perhaps it’s anxiety. So how
  do you know if these symptoms are serious? You go to the doctor… and
  then to a therapist.
Health anxiety persists despite reassurance from the doctor. Seeking
  reassurance from doctors, insisting on repeated medical tests, and
  visits to the ER and urgent care are common if you have health
  anxiety. This habit leads you to rely on such reassurance to obtain
  relief from health worries. A vicious cycle develops of noticing a
  sensation or learning of an illness in the world, misinterpreting it
  as threatening, then becoming anxious, and finally going to the doctor
  for reassurance. Reassurance from the doctor reduces the anxiety and
  brings relief temporarily. Soon the cycle starts again.

Looking at Pali Canon... here is what I see. (It would take too much space to quote every idea, so I'm just summarizing it here.)

Look at your condition and check whether the medical situation is objectively improving or getting worse. If it's not getting worse - that's a reason to calm down. If it's improving - that's a reason to be glad. This should create a positive feedback cycle that will improve the situation.
If situation is getting worse, contact a doctor if you can. Otherwise, ask yourself if you have done anything bad that you regret, or whether you have done anything good that you can be proud of. If there are no major regrets and something to be proud of - that's a reason to be glad. This should create a positive feedback cycle that will improve the situation. If there is something to regret - you should repent and promise to yourself to learn from that mistake and not repeat again. A firm decision will make you feel inspired and create a positive feedback cycle that will improve the situation.
If you still feel bad, you should review the elements the person is made from and let go of any identification with them. Starting from physical, and then the information of the mind, and finally subjectivity (representation). Review how this works based on objective laws understood by science and let go of identification with self. Look at things philosophically and impersonally until you enter a detached state of mind.

In general, try to switch attention to objectively valid reasons to be happy and detached about things. There is always something you can find if you try.

When the patient feels sensation, he can practice Kayanupassana(mindfulness of the body) and Vedananupassana(mindfulness of feelings). When the thoughts of worry come to the mind the patient can practice Cittanupassana(mindfulness of mental activities) and Dhammanupassana(mindfulness of realities).
This technique will reduce the worry that leads to anxiety.

Reassurance from doctors or knowledge doesn't really work. I know it experientially.
Doctor's reassurance results in finding another doubt where the former one has been patched. It is temporary ease in the cycle of aversion and desire, typical samsaric, vicious cycle. Aversion from feeling anxiety and feeling ill that results in the desire of reassurance is the main agent that spawns endless knots, knots that have even aversions towards knots. Mind is quite crafty and will always try to find a hole in the new logic-driven defence line. It is, therefore, not through intellectual reassurance that one gets released from such trapping. Wisdom should arise naturally, through a mood change, when body and mind are calm.
Now, for being trapped in anxiety best you might do is to focus on breathing and note that you are feeling anxiety, if you are feeling pain, then note that you are feeling pain, all with kindness if possible. Then, thoroughly check your body reaction(s). Try to do mindfulness of scanning the body down and notice these tensions. For instance, typically you will have tense abdomen muscles and tense jaw area, mindfulness of the body will let you see it as its a fight or flight response. Muscles should then let loose after acknowledged, furthermore, combined with breath - worry will wane.
Another thing is not to cling or have aversion to anything and importantly, remember three characteristics, especially impermanence - everything will eventually die or dissolve. We should not feel aversion toward chronic, or terminal condition, illness.
We have to navigate through confusion to calm abiding, illuminating clarity and make peace with the bodily condition.

I found a very good answer to this question in the book "The Art of Disappearing" by Ven. Ajahn Brahm.
I quote the relevant section below from page 6 of the book.

It’s the same with the aches and pains in the body and with sickness.
When you meditate, remind yourself they’re none of your business;
they’re the body’s business — let the body look after them. Thinking
like that is actually a powerful way of keeping the body healthy. It’s
a strange thing that sometimes the more you worry about this body, the
worse it gets. If you disengage from the body, sit still, and just
allow the body to disappear, it tends to heal itself. It seems
oftentimes when you try to control and organize things they only get
worse, and it’s the same with your body. Sometimes, when you let it go
and just relax, the body becomes so at ease that it heals itself. So
just let go and forget about it.
I’ve known a lot of monks whose
health problems disappeared through the power of their meditation. The
first time I saw that was with Ajahn Tate. When I first went to
Thailand in 1974, he was in the hospital with incurable cancer. They
gave him the best possible treatment, but nothing would work, so they
sent him back to his monastery to die. He died twenty-five years
later. That’s one example of what happens when monks “go back to their
monastery to die.” They go back and then live a long time. So you
disengage from things — nibbidā arises — and the mind turns away. It’s had
enough, it doesn’t even want to look at them anymore, and you find
that they fade away.
This is the process you read about in the suttas,
nibbidā leading to virāga, the fading away of things. When you regard
something as none of your business, it fades away from your world.
Consciousness doesn’t engage with it anymore; it doesn’t see, hear,
feel, or know it. The way this works is as follows. Whatever you
engage with is what takes hold in the mind — it’s where consciousness
finds a footing and grows. you are building mental edifices. It’s very
clear to me as a meditator that we create our own world. But when you
disengage, you have no business there, and because you’re not
interested in it, the whole thing just disappears from your
consciousness. When you have nibbidā you’re really “un-creating” your
world.

Anxiety is clinging to a predictive model of the world which does not accurately predict sensory experience (wrong view).
The Buddha's prescription for all anxiety is the same:
Summon the courage to release your biases (āsava) and strive to see the world the way it actually is. (yathabhutañanadassana)
How?
Seek out worthy teachers and test their hypotheses thusly:
Does this hypothesis correctly predict my sensory experience?
To the extent to which it does, trust them and inquire more deeply.
My favorite teachers in the area of health include Doctors Steven Gundry, Sten Ekberg, Eric Berg, Robert Lustig, Thomas Seyfried, Robert Malone, Pierre Kory.


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Does the question further?
Sometimes, a lay person would approach the Buddha and ask a question, such as, "If I earn all of the money in the world, will she like me?" to which the Buddha would reply, "It does not further". As the answer would not further his ultimate purpose, which is to give. (The question frames the asker as a 'taker', or 'possessor', or 'manipulator', etc.).
Does the answer to the question, "What are the pitfalls to improvement?", further my purpose to improve?

Do you have any references for your quote?

Does the question "what are the pitfalls to improvement?" further the purpose (to improve)?
It depends. In the simplest case, yes of course - and Buddha talks a lot about this in the Pali Canon: For any obstacle Xi: what is the exact nature of Xi? what are the necessary and sufficient factors required for Xi to arise? which factor Xi-1 of these factors can we remove to prevent Xi from arising? (Repeat recursively as needed for the factor Xi-1 in place of Xi, and then its necessary factor Xi-2 etc. until X0) Finally, what is our exact plan of attack to uproot the whole chain?
Now, as Mahayana practitioners figured out, the desire to advance on the path can itself be a major pitfall. This is even recognized in the Pali Canon itself, which says that udhacca-kukkucca (restlessness and anxiety about one's Dharma practice) is one of the fetters that must be eradicated on the advanced phases (along with arrogance & conceit on the other extremum).
My favorite illustration of this is Dutiya Anuruddha Sutta (AN 3.128 or 3.130 or 131 depending how you count):

Then venerable Anuruddha came to venerable Shariputra and said:
  -- As much as I, friend Shariputra, look at things with purified Heavenly Eye, see things with thousandfold-superhuman vision, train in confidence unmovable, in awareness undimmable, in tranquillity imperturbable, and in focused mind unscattered, still I can't "having stopped feeding the asavas, achieve liberation of mind".
  -- All these dharmas, friend Anuruddha, of the kind "I look at things with purified Heavenly Eye, I see things with thousandfold-superhuman vision" -- this is your conceit.
  And the dharmas like "I train in confidence unmovable, in awareness undimmable, in tranquillity imperturbable, and in focused mind unscattered" -- this is your udhacca.
  And the dharmas like "still I can't "having stopped feeding the asavas, achieve liberation of mind" -- this is your kukkucca.
  You'd better, friend Anuruddha, these three dharmas abandon; To these three dharmas not attending, on the deathless aspect focus your mind.

In this scenario, worrying about one's improvement was actually itself an instance of "feeding the asavas".
Compare this with the following verses from Prajnaparamita-Ratnagunasamcayagatha which says:

Also, not the position of body, nor of feelings, nor thoughts, nor volitions,
  Nor of consciousness -- position even a little does not bother him.
  Thus, not getting stuck on any single dharma, without a "home",
  Not clinging, he attains Enlightenment of the Lucky Ones.
Having stopped again and again wavering searching for wisdom,
  "Whence?", "Why?" -- of such dharmas empty,
  Having stopped getting upset, caught up, or scared,
  Soon he can reach Enlightenment, such Bodhisattva.

So yes, inquiring into the pitfalls to improvement does further, including inquiring into these notions of "inquiring" and "improvement" themselves.
P.S. and what is that "deathless aspect" (amrita-dhatu) that Shariputra was talking about? As is said in KN Ud 1:10,

Bāhiya, you should train yourself thus: In reference to the seen, there will be only the seen. In reference to the heard, only the heard. In reference to the sensed, only the sensed. In reference to the cognized, only the cognized. That is how you should train yourself. When for you there will be only the seen in reference to the seen, only the heard in reference to the heard, only the sensed in reference to the sensed, only the cognized in reference to the cognized, then, Bāhiya, there is no you in connection with that. When there is no you in connection with that, there is no you there. When there is no you there, you are neither here nor yonder nor between the two. This, just this, is the end of stress.

Once I stopped focusing on how fast i was progressing through a book, i used more of that energy to read the book itself.

And the deathless aspect: if I started to calculate how fast I was reading, then there is a "me" there. When i only focus on reading the book itself, there is no "me"; i am totally immersed in the experience and in the present.

Yup, this is called "Zen"

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Non duality and eternal life
Is there really any evidence that anything goes beyond death ? By that I mean our self awareness.  That our awareness transcends death? I know there is absolutely no concrete evidence of reincarnation.  I'm not denying its possible.  Just denying there is any scientific evidence
However i have read claims that the self aware part of us-the part thats aware we are thinking goes beyond death and was here before birth ? Is there any hard evidence for this ?

Can you cite someone or some text that asserts the “self-awareness” goes beyond death?

For what it's worth, reincarnation is not really Buddhist concept in the way that you physically live again (Hinduism), and also, there is no consensus among Buddhism itself; some people choose to believe in it literally (like Tibetans), some not. For example, some Buddhist schools (Yogacara) say rebirth is just the everyday cycle of samsara and nirvana and there isn't much more after death than the seed of your actions and karma - the impact you've left.

I believe your statement “I know there is absolutely no concrete evidence of reincarnation” is arbitrary. Look up Dr. Ian Stevenson .. https://med.virginia.edu/perceptual-studies/

I know there is absolutely no concrete evidence of reincarnation. I'm not denying its possible.
First, you need to understand what is an Empirical evidance, with that, you have to understand that in the matter of the object of your question, an empirical evidence based on pure observation cannot be provided, no matter what.
The accounts of rebirths are purely subjective if you google about such matters, you will find that some authentic psychologists have indeed written books based on tons of interviews they have conducted. Now as a direct evidence cannot be obtained and all the data collected is subjective, all this research goes down the drain as 'pseudoscience' or worst 'woo-woo'.
So when you say the concrete evidence is not present, the problem is concrete evidence cannot be given in the first place. On similar lines even, 'human consciousness' has no concrete evidence, the only way I know you are conscious is because I am conscious and based on your activity and my experience I can only infer that you are conscious. This has led few scientists to say that consciousness itself is an illusion.  So lack of empirical evidence doesn't imply the non-existence of something.
the self-aware part of the us-the part that's aware we are thinking goes beyond death and was here before birth?
This is again the Hindu theory of eternal Aatman, but in the Buddhist context, the Buddha said in Assu Sutta,

This is the greater: the tears you have shed while transmigrating & wandering this long, long time — crying & weeping from being joined with what is displeasing, being separated from what is pleasing — not the water in the four great oceans.

So, he clearly indicated that part of you goes on living even after death, but where the Buddha contradicts with the Hindus is that He insisted that the self itself is an illusion, so what lives of you after the bodily death is an interplay of five aggregates, the exact dynamics has not been mentioned.
Is there any hard evidence for this ?
I will tell you a small exercise, do it for yourself, you will get a hard subjective experience.

Lie down and relax on your back, be completely relaxed, now try to
remember the memories early on your life as possible, do this for
2-3 days.
Next, try to remember and focus the memories of your life between 3-4 years of age, this is the time you would have just started feeling the sense of 'I', sense of separateness.
Now focus on all the memories where you are in action, where you are doing something, there will be memories where you will be motivated to do something unusual, there will be memories of you doing things instinctively which have not come from your parents or siblings or from TV or from any source possibly there. These are instincts you have followed from past lives. Mant things in our current life, we go on doing in oblivion.

Now, this is not a hard empirical evidence, it's solely your own worldview out of your own experience. There is an obvious ability of human mind to know things. Skeptics are mere Physicalists.

This equates the preposition to seek patterns with "just knowing". This can lead to false positives. There is good scientific evidence that false positives were an evolutionary benefit in early hominids (as in: better to think there's a lion in the bush behind you and be wrong). Science is a reliable method for eliminating false positives. You cannot just state "it 's mere physicalism" and go back to canon. The Buddha said "Do not accept anything on mere scripture, hearsay, inference, etc.". Any satisfying answer to the OP's question must be testable and confirm-able by scientific methods.

As I explained in my answer an empirical evidence cannot be given in every case. A testable and confirm-able scientific method cannot be applied in this case. This is where science has started becoming dogmatic.

Progress has been made to, for example, develop a series of scientific methods to quantify consciousness. It is far from complete, but it does deal with unitary preconceptions and outlines a realistic approach fully based on the empirical method.

This work https://www.bernardokastrup.com/p/papers.html is complete and has pretty solid arguments about idealism.

Upvoted. The idea that these things can be determined by 'scientific methods' is exactly the Buddha's message, and more generally that of the Perennial philosophy, But these methods would extend beyond mere empiricism. To imagine we can test Buddhist doctrine by examining only the evidence of our senses is incoherent. As usr13135 notes, there is not even an empirical test for consciousness. Either we test these things in experience or in logic. Empiricism is forever trapped in the theory-laden world of our physical senses.

I have no idea how would one be able to prove that.
Near death on the other hand can be researched scientifically. And even research in that area can be sketchy, depends of course on the research method and so on.
Anyway. If you find NDE acceptable as proof of existence beyond death, then I could advise books by Pim van Lommel. A Dutch cardiologist who did a few studies.
See:

https://www.iands.org/research/nde-research/important-research-articles/464-dutch-nde-study-attracts-worldwide-attention.html
https://www.amazon.com/Consciousness-Beyond-Life-Near-Death-Experience/dp/0061777269

Hope it helps.

The Mulapariyaya Sutta deals extensively with questions of "our self awareness".

Perceiving earth as earth, he conceives [things] about earth, he conceives [things] in earth, he conceives [things] coming out of earth, he conceives earth as 'mine,' he delights in earth. Why is that? Because he has not comprehended it, I tell you.

The sutta goes on to describe an alternate perspective:

Directly knowing earth as earth, let him not conceive things about earth, let him not conceive things in earth, let him not conceive things coming out of earth, let him not conceive earth as 'mine,' let him not delight in earth. Why is that? So that he may comprehend it, I tell you.

That perspective is extended to assert:

Because he has known that delight is the root of suffering & stress, that from coming-into-being there is birth, and that for what has come into being there is aging & death. Therefore, with the total ending, fading away, cessation, letting go, relinquishment of craving, the Tathagata has totally awakened to the unexcelled right self-awakening, I tell you.

In other words, the sutta invites us to consider such questions through the evidence of our own practice.

I'm not sure how much emphasis you place on the "self" in self-awareness. I'm also not sure what you think of as "hard evidence." However, I do think it is possible to arrive at the conclusion that mere awareness cannot be extinguished with the break up of the body through pure reason alone. Is this what you are interested in?

It was reading about various people’s experiences of recalling previous lives and experiencing consciousness outside of the body that helped me to shake my materialistic world-view. Some of the descriptions are so convincing. It was the motivating factor that made me try to get establish how consciousness could arise from purely physical sources, such as exist in our brain. I used a thought-experiment where I compared our brain to a computer and tried to establish how my direct experiences such as creative reasoning could arise from a combination of hardware and software. Certain scientists claim that artificial intelligence is possible that can directly mimic the functions of the mind, but they are just claims. AI can appear to be very clever, but it always requires human programming and interpretation.

How is this answer related to Buddhist philosphy, teaching and practice?

Lanka, by using our own direct experience and reasoning to try to establish the existence of the mind beyond the end of this life.

You'll never establish how consciousness could arise from purely physical sources. It would be like trying establish how smoke causes fire. This should be obvious from the literature of 'scientific' consciousness studies.

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Lying In Expression
I had previously asked a question about lying in fiction, but I feel I had omitted some important elements which I recently realized. I often write theoretical statements I am unsure of.

Does writing (not fiction) something untrue in itself, even if not shown or deleted, cause one to have uttered a lie?
Does speculation about something, where ideas are asserted without certainty, consist in lying as well?

I am mainly asking because I had recent intuitions that the way I wrote could be a form of lying, and that symptoms in myself -- such as inconsistency and great uncertainty -- could perhaps be linked to this form of false-like expression. Since the Buddha advised against lying even in jest, I wonder if my expression's closeness to lying is detrimental.
Thank you.

Does writing (not fiction) something untrue in itself, even if not
  shown or deleted, cause one to have uttered a lie?

Writing fiction and non-fiction text is not bad if your intention for writing is pure and with accordance to Buddhist ethics and precepts. Example, if your end goal isn't deception of the audience or personal gain, or lust - writing is fine. There is Buddhist art, poetry, stories and many architectonically beautiful temples which are also pieces of art. You shouldn't get carried away by signs in Buddhism, but you should also use them skilfully. There is the Chinese phrase of seeing the mountain, not seeing the mountain and then seeing the mountain again.
There are statues of Buddha and paintings that arouse great joy when needed, and that is definitely not negative. Ajahn Sumedho in his Four Noble Truths wrote that we shouldn't be those nagging old people that deny woman's beauty because its the fruit of conceptual mind - instead, we should marvel in women's beauty, there is vast ocean of multitude of shapes and that is joy.

Does speculation about something, where ideas are asserted without
  certainty, consist in lying as well?

If you presume that there will be no rain today, your are not doing anything strictly negative. So, speculation is not per se negative, but it is not the idea of Buddhism. Lack of complete knowledge is not lying, it is unintentional. There is in fact, numerous Buddhists among Physics community. All we do in Buddhism in the end is spiritual pursuit born of not knowing and wanting to find out. We do not know how it is at the end of the road, we can only guess. On absolute truth, Buddha said that any speculation of finding the absolute is not within the scope of Buddhism. Also, Buddhism doesn't have a take on standards and political organisation of society either, or crime and punishment in society, etc. Such speculations and ideas are beyond Buddhist's scope, though many Buddhists embrace feminism, vegetarianism - and many not.

'On absolute truth, Buddha said that any speculation of finding the absolute is not within the scope of Buddhism', can you please reference this? I think He didn't say that.

From Questions of King Milinda: "Not far from here do you need to look!
Highest existence — what can it avail?
Here in this present aggregate,
In your own body overcome the world!"
Also in Tevigga Sutta, Buddha says that given none of the brahmins ever seen Brahma face to face, the whole pursuit of the absolute is futile, i.e. "foolish talk".

...and that symptoms in myself -- such as inconsistency and great uncertainty -- could perhaps be linked to this form of false-like expression
Not an answer to your exact question but an answer to your overall dilemma. I see you are worried that, there are some karmic repercussions to your possible act of lying.
I would like to point out that Buddha advised,'Samma Vacca' if you read the whole page you will know that outright 'lying' is not advised but mainly the gist of Buddha's words is 'beneficial and wholesome speech which do not cause harm and suffering to others as well as your self'.
Now an imaginary scenario which I read in the book 'Buddhism: Plain and Simple', suppose you have your friends hiding in the basement of your house and an SS officer knocks at your door and asks if you have anyone hiding in your house. Now, what will incur more bad Karma on you? outright lying to SS or handing over your friends by telling the truth?
The ways of the Karma are very complex, it's not a linear cause-effect relationship.
In summary what I am trying to say is, don't worry about the trivia, the path to Nibbana has to be balanced between many things 'Right Speech' being one amongst them.
Remember Buddha advised 'Middle way' above all, so don't get paralyzed by travelling to extremes of moral behaviour.


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Need some pointers about the current phase
I know this is a big letter but it is important. Would really appreciate your help.
My spiritual path very much goes along with my career.
I knew since my school days that I never wanted to be part of the herd. I never took an interest in studies. I recall one day – it was an exam day. I did not complete my answer sheet only because I was busy watching a bird through the window. It felt more important to me. I spent most of my time wandering in Babul Jungle near our house along with my dog. I used to get beatings from my teachers everyday, sometimes so vigorous that the bruises lasted for weeks with pain. Now I look back and feel the suffering my teachers were going through. After such violence, they were to stand up and teach Gandhi’s nonviolence and the laws of physics. My parents told me to at least complete my tenth year.
I also had keen interest in drawing and painting. I wished I could do nothing but just paint in nature, but to survive in this society we need to have a source of income so decided to make my hobbies my career. Hence, after my school, I left the house and went to learn drawing for animation with a teacher in Pune. It was fun – we were only 9 students who were taught drawing for three years. While I was studying I also started to work: there were only 600 animators in India as the field was new to the country.
Anyways, after finishing the studies in Pune and after that in Mumbai, I went back to Baramati where I established a studio. I had only one employee at that time, but on our first day of work I found a book by Osho in Hindi on his desk. My only employee was a seeker. I was impressed by the thoughts of Osho about society and spirituality etc. After reading many books after that in the years that followed he became my go-to place to find answers. Once I read that “Questions will lead to answers and answers to new questions”. I was left with a question mark: then what is suppose to be done? I figured out that Osho is pointing towards meditation. I had never done meditation before in my life.

One of my friends suggested I should do Vipassana, so I went to do 10 days' meditation in Goenka’s Vipassana centre in Gorai, Mumbai. The noble silence for 10 days and peeping inside myself revealed many things. The most important as Osho said was “Knowledge is the most deceiving thing”. I came to know why he said so. It was a hurdle between me and silence. The overwhelming Himalaya of thoughts did not seem to melt, no matter how long I watch. I also went to the Osho Ashram to see if I could try some other forms of meditations, but i was denied admission there. (I don’t know why.) Then I tried some meditations like Naadbrahma and Sufi whirling, from the internet. Work became more stressful. I needed to work without sleeping for two or three days to deliver on deadline, and so it also affected my meditation. I used to take out time however – an hour whenever possible. But it was done like work too, doing something.
I literally went mad. Needed psychiatric help (lol). But this was the time when I had to take break from everything. I realised why I started this journey and why I had made my hobby a career: Only because I could drop this someday and do what I like. I decided to drop everything, to end this quest of becoming something I never signed for. Even in meditation I was doing something. Watching this, watching that. Fortunately, I did some financial investment which allowed me to finally stop working.

I went to back to nature: Started spending time in Sahyadri to drop all this gathering of knowledge, this quest to become someone and somebody, proving and trying to please others against my own nature, stopped planning things for the future, forgetting the past to be present in the present.
Meditation:
I just started to sit, sleep, and relax. Not to meditate on something, for something. Thoughts about career were gone long back.
And after 1 year passed, something beautiful happened: “Nothing happened”. I was thoughtless for a moment. I just followed to be alert, just alert and witness. It came into my day to day activities, like walking and washing and so on. I now started to sit in meditation and it is enjoyment, effortless, no more a work to be done. Thoughtlessness came more often. Even though I had active or passive thoughts, I don’t get cling to them, as I don’t cling to silence either. Just witness.
Meanwhile I also experienced some intense moments. My head would be pushed back, and it felt like I was plugged to something. It usually happened mostly while listening to music. The body would curve in shape of a half-moon pose. I could feel intense strain in neck and head, but after that I used to be fine. This happened 6-7 times in two months.
Currently:
Then I came back to the town where I roamed in the jungles of Babul. Here I am more relaxed. I had the same episode last month, so I read more books, watched videos, and listened to audio books by spiritual teachers. In one of them, Moojiji explains that after these awakenings you should not try to cling to anything, even the experience itself, and sail with complete trust without leaving any chance to hold back.
That that night on the 2nd of July when I slept the same intense feeling happened. I did let it go. Everything relaxed: I would say I slept awake. I was sleeping but I could see that it was sleep. The next morning I was wide awake. There was a kind of confusion. I was feeling so fresh and still not wanting to do anything, not even get out of bed. Why act? I felt like richest and poorest man at the same time. A billionaire who can’t spend, if you like. In the days that followed I had these intense experiences for like 5-6 days.
Time just flies, but I am so still with now. I sit on the balcony starting at trees and hours pass by. Sometimes I don’t remember what happened this morning, but when the time is right the past experience or incidence pop up, just for a reference. Situations in which I would generally be very angry now don’t have a affect on me. When I am challenged by the situation, the alertness grows with it. I won’t say anger or irritation don’t come, but I can see it coming and not react. In fact their very doer seems to have gone somewhere. Yesterday night, a dog was dying in front of my door and I witnessed it, just like the movement of the trees. There was sensitivity, but acceptance at the same time. Everything I see seems like it's for the first time. I couldn’t recognise my body at night.
Now:
Today I feel a certain energy in my head moving towards the chest and from my guts to the chest, a constant undercurrent. I can feel lag while I walk, like the body is following me or visa versa. It seems like my mind is far away, like you can see a monsoon cloud pouring far away on a plains.
I also spoke to my childhood friend who is also a seeker and a better reader than me. He told me to write to you to find pointers of what's next. This is the best what I can put the experience in words right now.
The question:
What do I do? Do I stay witness? or do something?
Thank you very much.

What do you mean by "the body is following me", you feel space between body and mind, is that what it feels like? I'd be slightly concerned about your "body would curve in shape of half moon pose" and "strain in the neck", are you sure it is not some physical condition? Did you get yourself checked at doctor's? I am just asking to rule out some things, I don't mean to frighten you or anything.

Dear Dhamma4life, Thank you for your concerns. Be assured there isn't any medical attention needed.

About separation of mind and body; As far as I know space between body and mind is Hindu goal, so here I would typically ask of the type of meditation you are doing, although I see its Vipassana. Try to find unity of body and mind, maybe mindfulness of the body and breath while walking and performing everyday activities.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=up-CUjh4NsI

@Pasquale Perhaps you should post that as an answer and not as a comment, with some explanation in your own words of how or why it's relevant to the OP's question.

Good story. Maybe a bit too focused on your life (almost no mentions of other people) – but good nevertheless. My overall impression can be summarized with this allegory:
Imagine, Mowgli always wanted to be a human, despite his upbringing as a wolf. After much struggle and hesitation, he accepts his own human-nature and gets up to walk on his two feet.
Now, here is what happens: When he walks into a human house he has no idea what all that stuff is around him. He does not know how to sit on a chair, how to eat at a table, or how to use toilet. He is completely wild, untrained. Even though he is an adult man, he needs to go through a basic training, starting from scratch like a child.
This is the situation with you. You got into the house through the back door. You can walk on your two feet. By "walking on two feet" I refer specifically to your state of non-judgmental effortlessness. But, at the same time, you have no idea who you are, what you are, where you should go, and what you should do. Now you must learn all that. However (to continue my funny allegory) because most training was designed for "Mowglies who are sure they are wolves", it assumes you still "walk on all fours" – correspondingly much of the teaching and instructions speak about "taking the weight off your front paws" etc. – the kind of stuff you have already mastered. At the same time, the teachings have other elements that you need to get, for example the idea that you don't have a "tail" (standing in for the subject/object duality).
Without overstretching my analogy, let me just tell you that your best bet at this point would be to go into Dzogchen. This is a sub-school within the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism (yes, Tibetan – I hope you don't have ethnic prejudices at this point already; if you still do, perhaps we should go down a few levels)... that focuses specifically on what I referred to as "walking" and that you have already learned how to do, more or less. There I think you will both feel at home AND learn a bunch of other things that you skipped by walking in through that "back door". If Osho is high-school-level, and regular Buddhism is college - Dzogchen is like a PhD.
This is as much advice as I can give because of the distance. I suggest you look around for a couple of years until you find a suitable Dzogchen master. There should be some in Northern India. Finding a teacher is not an easy problem, but if you have faith and know the key word (which I just taught you: Dzogchen) – you can find what you need. Good luck.
P.S. Everything you said above, about not becoming, not clinging, all your experiences make sense to me. They are good and they are indications of a realization. On one hand, you don't need anything more – just live like this, keep trusting it, and let it unfold naturally by itself. On the other hand, because you don't have conceptual understanding of Enlightenment, the seeds of ignorance are still there. As you keep interacting with the world of people, they will regrow. Which is why I say you need to get conceptual understanding of how everything works. I understand to you it sounds like going back but, trust me, you need it. For one, resistance against going back indicates clinging to this realization of yours. For two, if you don't get a conceptual foundation, you'll lose it anyway.

Thank you very much, Andrei. Have found one monastery in Karnataka. Following the inclination. Thank you.

Dzocghen even transmitted from a Ngagpa will have a bunch of inner/outer preliminaries and also empowerments of Mahayoga and Anuyoga. It, therefore, isn't as reverse-way or non-gradual as it might seem from my experience.

The analogy seems very apt but where you write "he accepts his own wolf-nature and gets up to walk on his two feet" did you mean something like "human-nature"?

Oh, yes, you got me. Let me fix that!

Dzogchen? Reading the OP's question made me think of Zen. Not that I know either Dzogchen or Zen very well. Perhaps I think Zen does not require too much conceptual foundation, compared to all other subschools of Buddhism.

Today I feel certain energy in head moving towards chest, from guts to the chest. A constant under current. I can feel lag while I walk,
  like the body is following me or visa versa. It seems like mind is far
  away, like you can see monsoon cloud pouring far away on a plains.
The question: What do I do? Do I stay witness?

Yes. Stay witness. Whatever happens with internal mental/physical/energetic experience; stay witness. The freedom or liberation of Dhamma is staying witness; without attachment & without clinging.
Also, if you can find a monastery with experienced practitioners, this can help the mind to stay grounded and learn how to live with other people in a spiritual state of mind.

I read most of what you wrote. Not every word, but I am really impressed that you found Goenka. Was he the instructor? You must really have very good karma, to be rejected by the Osho group. The Sufi Dancers are o.k. , but from my experience, in Northern California, they were some drug dealers acting as teachers.
I think Dzogchen is worth the time, but I really want you to get grounded. I suggest very gentle yoga. My main point is, spiritual skill and awakening, come more from genuine effort done over a very long period of time. Here is my formula. Relaxation conjoined with awareness, when developed can lead to clarity. This clarity, when used appropriately, can lead to wisdom, and compassion. The entire idea is there must be mental health, emotional health, and spiritual health. About having many thoughts ... that is not a problem. you must unify body and mind. This includes the emotions. Mostly, you must have a group and a teacher that you can relax with and feel respect and admiration for. You must feel accepted. Of course, there are rules of conduct. True friendship is very rare, but goodwill is not rare. One of my teachers gave a talk on finding and picking a Guru. He was a Nyimapa Master. In short, he said taking every 13 years was not too long to decide on working with one main teacher. I never made progress until I realized that I must totally accept my current situation, within my meditation practice. The point that needs to be understood, is that total acceptance, first, then working with the actual experience one is having, but applying the instructions of your teacher. I recommend a teacher Ajhan Jeoff at Metta Forest Monastery, in San Diego County. On Youtube, you can see and listen to a great Sufi, Guru Bawa Mahyadyin. He told someone, who asked about Sufi Dancing, He told the questioner that Sufi dancing, is just dancing, not spiritual. Even though
Guru Bawa was not a Buddhist, to me he taught the True Dharma all the time. He had no books, and he lived to be over 100 years old. He ever said once that Dharma is greater than Alla. Even without enlightenment, if you practice correctly, you can find true peace and happiness, by proper concentration based on these four foundations. I really recommend finding a teacher, and not trying to practice just from reading the sutta.https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/nyanasatta/wheel019.html, copy and paste to read this Sutta. I really recommend practicing the Brahma Vihara. Loving-kindness, compassion, Unselfish Joy and equanimity. You must realize that the words are not the experience. You can learn to feel all these higher order qualities within yourself for yourself. Please have a very good life. Don't go crazy. Be happy. Feeling the pain, within one's own life is normal. The better you are at actually feeling the actual pain and dissolving the suffering. Some pains cannot be dissolved. Therefore we need the great strength of character. I don't have all the answers, but you should never give up to find true enlightenment, which I have explained before, has very strong components of mental health, emotional health, and a stress-free physical body.
In short, don't try to practice by using your intellect as the main focus and starting point. You have to understand your teachers' advice on what practice they are telling you to do. Try doing the practice, accepting your actual conditions. Tell the teacher your experience, and listen to what they say.
Awakening is a lot different, then we imagine, but complete and total awakening must be wonderful. I believe in the Buddha, his teaching and the Real awakened disciples, who show the Dharma in every step, every breath and every moment.

Thank you, Pasquale, for taking out time to read and respond. I have noted your suggestions. Thank you very much.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=up-CUjh4NsI

I am still reading some of your communications with the other on Stack Exchange. This people are giving you very good advice. I just want to add one idea, that might help you to apply the correct medicine to the difficulty you are experiencing.

The point is these words, these teachings are words. These words have great meaning. You can think for yourself. Don't obsess with the letters or the sounds of the words,or the simple meaning. Get the idea, and then start helping yourself, with these teachings. Simple is always better, but what ever works is best for you. From my experience one needs to let go , often.
Give yourself time and space, Relax as much as possible. Some time very simple strategies are the best. An enjoyable , Hot or cold shower, a long bath. A

Walk on the beach. A child's smile. Your kindness to a mother or lonely stranger. Forgiveness, for a real or imagined slight. You are the King. learn how to be the King. Become a Wonderful Leader. Always remember to forgive yourself. Some times the medicine should be taken everyday , sometimes once in a while, or just when you need the treatment. I am referring to your "Practice" what every is wholesome and good. Develop that , in your life. Message me any time. To take time out to see a Sun Rise or a Sunset, and feel that there is a very great being, who loves you and all being, Totally.

Andrei has given you the best answer but alternately I will also suggest you to read the book, 'Mindfulness, Bliss and Beyond' by Ajahn Brahm.
You will learn the technique to enter into Jhanas. May be you already experienced one of them but its from the Jhanas we experience No-Self & No-Doer the first time which is a strong reassurance. Then we proceed to something real and lasting that is Enlightenment since Jhanas are unsustainable.

Friedrick, Thank you very much. I have found the book, have started reading it. Thank you.

I would rather say that from Jhanas we experience No-Self & No-Doer the first time which is a strong reassurance. Then we proceed to something real and lasting that is Enlightenment since Jhanas are unsustainable.

@dhamma4life edited....thanks for improvement.

My teacher would say: Don't make more out of it than it is. It's just experience (seeing, hearing, thinking, and so on). It has nothing to do with nibbana.
Just keep objectively observing.


text:
How to chant the mantra Nam Myoho Renge Kyo?
I am a Hindu by birth. I am a huge devotee of Lord Buddha as he is considered a god in Hinduism. I wanted to know more about the Buddhist mantra Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. What is the best way to chant it? Can I chant it anywhere and at anytime? I have previously been chanting the mantra at least 108 times a day for the past 4 months but I have yet to see any of my desires fulfilled. Is there a specific count when desires are fulfilled? I apologise, I am new to Buddhist methods of worship, but I want to do so with Buddha. How can I have my desires fulfilled by that mantra?
Thank You.

Devotion can permit focus and accrue kamma, but I would imagine one place to start would be to have some foothold on what the words you're saying mean. It's uncommon to have Hindus speak fluent Japanese; while the mantra may be helpful, it's likely more helpful to understand (and express in your own native language) that you're devoting yourself to the Lotus Sutra and to dwell upon its lessons as you chant your devotions.

Using Buddhism as a form of magic to fulfill one's desires also seems rather self-defeating. Most of its leading practitioners abjure all desires and certainly wouldn't be disappointed (or even surprised) if those they still held were not satiated. At minimum, you'd need to push towards a selfless direction with your wishes.

@lly I guess that what the words "mean" may include what you've been told about them, what you've read about them (e.g. here). I think that practitioners will explain it if you ask them.

@lly There are other views. Notably Tiantai's (T'ien T'ai) teaching that "earthly desires equal enlightenment." Nichiren used many of Tiantai's teachings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTld8JlC83E do this prayer 2 times  day for 40 days, there is a pdf that explains the meaning. And chant for 10-30 minutes a day. You will see a difference after 40 days. https://www.sgi.org/about-us/president-ikedas-writings/gongyo-and-daimoku.html

As a longtime practitioner of chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo and as a member of SGI, I will attempt to respond to some of your specific questions. My responses will be based as much as possible on the words of Nichiren, the 13th century buddhist monk and scholar, since he established the practice of chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. Organizations, both temple and lay based, that promote chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, all derive from his teachings. I also recommend ChrisW's answer.

What is the best way to chant it? How can I have my desires fulfilled by that mantra?

Nichiren wrote, As a lay believer, the important thing for you is to chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo single-mindedly and
As you crave food when hungry, seek water when thirsty, long to see a lover, beg for medicine when ill, or as a beautiful woman desires powder and rouge, so should you put your faith in the Lotus Sutra. This quote is usually understood to refer to Nam Myoho Renge Kyo since Nichiren often used Lotus Sutra and Nam Myoho Renge Kyo interchangeably.

Can I chant it anywhere and at anytime?

Yes, you may chant anywhere and anytime. Nichiren wrote, This passage implies that we ordinary people, whether we are walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, should chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Most of the time chanting is done at an altar in someone's home.  Many people chant other places, for example, while driving a car or while walking. Nichiren even wrote that chanting during sex is okay. "Chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo during the physical union of man and woman is indeed what is called “earthly desires are enlightenment,” and “the sufferings of birth and death are nirvana.”"
Normally chanting is done out loud in a normal voice. However, to avoid bothering other people, chanting quietly, or even silently within, is acceptable.

Is there a specific count when desires are fulfilled?

No, there is no specific count. Sometimes Nichiren chanted once. I immediately placed it as an offering before the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law, the single vehicle, and chanted Nam-myoho-renge-kyo just once. I have done this so that your beloved son may “assuredly and without doubt”1 be escorted to the pure land of Eagle Peak.
Other times he chanted much more. For the sake of your son’s repose, I have recited the entire Lotus Sutra once and the verse section of its “Life Span” chapter several times, and chanted the daimoku hundreds or thousands of times.
At all times Nichiren emphasized that chanting is powerful. For example, he answered yes to the following question. Question: Is it possible, without understanding the meaning of the Lotus Sutra, but merely by chanting the five or seven characters of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo once a day, once a month, or simply once a year, once a decade, or once in a lifetime, to avoid being drawn into trivial or serious acts of evil, to escape falling into the four evil paths, and instead to eventually reach the stage of non-regression?

What is the best way to chant it?
I think that:

Chanting that mantra is a characteristic of a form of Buddhism (a school, a tradition of Buddhism) called "Nichiren" (see Nichiren).
There aren't many users on this site who know about Nichiren, so it might be difficult to answer your question.
The most widespread Nichiren-oriented society outside Japan is called SGI
(Soka Gakkai International) -- I expect you can find more from their web site and/or by finding a group of SGI people near you.
For example:

Daily Practice
The core Buddhist practice of SGI members is chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and reciting portions of the Lotus Sutra (referred to as gongyo), and sharing the teachings of Buddhism with others in order to help them overcome their problems.
The practice of chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo was established by Nichiren (1222–82), a reformist Buddhist monk who identified the Lotus Sutra as the core teaching of Shakyamuni Buddha.
Applying the Teachings
Practice is supported by faith and study. SGI members study the teachings of Nichiren in order to deepen their understanding of the principles of Buddhism and the processes of inner transformation. Study strengthens faith and conviction, which finds expression in practice.
Faith, in Nichiren Buddhism, is grounded in  the experience of applying Buddhism and seeing improvements in the quality of one’s life. Faith could be described as the ongoing effort to orient one’s heart toward the ideal of Buddhahood—the continual unfolding of one’s inherent potential for good, the ability to transform any negative circumstance into a source of growth and benefit, and a life dedicated toward helping others do the same.
(etc.)

Their web site in India seems to be https://www.bharatsokagakkai.org/
My experience (in Canada) was that they are happy to have you join them their group, to meet to chant with them, and to explain their doctrines to you.

How can I have my desires fulfilled by that mantra?
I'd like to (but I'm not sure I can) explain that, in a way that's simple and accurate -- perhaps someone else will, who knows more about that form/school of Buddhism than I do.
I suppose it's easier to practice than it is to teach.
Or you may find an answer by reading the web pages I referenced -- see also for example Buddhist Concepts.
I'm referencing SGI's web site, because I think they're the biggest organisation of practitioners outside Japan whose practice depends on the mantra that you asked about.
There are other forms or schools of Buddhism too, which don't use that mantra. It's said there's a unity, that all schools of Buddhism have a lot in common with each other, perhaps it is all relevant to the "Buddhist method of worship".
I also recommend these topics, on this site:

What "technically" happens when we chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo?
Question about Nichiren Buddhism
What is meant by Namu Amida Butsu and also Nam-myoho-renge-kyo?
How does chanting work in Nichiren Buddhism?

I suppose that it's important to hear, understand, and practice Buddhist doctrine (i.e. "dhamma" or "dharma"), possibly with other Buddhists -- and that mantra is connected with that, part of that.

As a long time member of SGI, I wish to compliment you on your answer. I would only add that specific instructions and examples on how to chant are on the SGI website and on Youtube in both audio and video. One place to begin on Youtube is with the singer Tina Turner chanting and this will lead to other helpful videos. Also the Tina Turner biography movie, What's Love Got to Do With It?, shows her beginning to chant. It is particularly well done since the director was also a Nichiren Buddhist.


text:
Is there a sutta which answers where a nirvanaised consciousnesses is after death and comapres it to a fire going out?
Is there a sutta which answers where a nirvanaised consciousnesses is after death and comapres it to a fire going out?
I thought there was, but can't find it. Sounds like Vacchagota mashed up with the fire sermon.
I'm asking because I like the image, and it almost appears in some modernist poetry.
Failing a sutta, any zen discourses.
Failing that, anywhere in the canon.
Failing that, any important Buddhist, living or dead.
Failing that an academic.

You're probably thinking of Itivuttaka 44:

This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have
  heard: "Monks, there are these two forms of the Unbinding property.
  Which two? The Unbinding property with fuel remaining, & the Unbinding
  property with no fuel remaining.
And what is the Unbinding property with fuel remaining? There is the
  case where a monk is an arahant whose fermentations have ended, who
  has reached fulfillment, finished the task, laid down the burden,
  attained the true goal, ended the fetter of becoming, and is released
  through right gnosis. His five sense faculties still remain and, owing
  to their being intact, he is cognizant of the agreeable & the
  disagreeable, and is sensitive to pleasure & pain. His ending of
  passion, aversion, & delusion is termed the Unbinding property with
  fuel remaining. (Note1)
And what is the Unbinding property with no fuel remaining? There is
  the case where a monk is an arahant whose fermentations have ended,
  who has reached fulfillment, finished the task, laid down the burden,
  attained the true goal, ended the fetter of becoming, and is released
  through right gnosis. For him, all that is sensed, being unrelished,
  will grow cold right here. This is termed the Unbinding property with
  no fuel remaining." (Note2)
Note1 and Note2 (commentary by Thanissaro Bhikkhu):
  With fuel remaining (sa-upadisesa) and with no fuel
  remaining (anupadisesa): The analogy here is to a fire. In the first
  case, the flames are out, but the embers are still glowing. In the
  second, the fire is so thoroughly out that the embers have grown cold.
  The "fuel" here is the five aggregates. While the arahant is still
  alive, he/she still experiences the five aggregates, but they do not
  burn with the fires of passion, aversion, or delusion. When the
  arahant passes away, there is no longer any experience of aggregates
  here or anywhere else.


text:
About the vipassana jhana
When the mind cease and breathing appear automatically ;means the experience  of knower ?in which jhana the consciousness is expanding?

i think "knower" is a term used by contemporary meditation teachers especially if this "knower" is used in a context outside of 5 skandhas then it might be problematic.   (tho not 100% sure, if anyone can provide pali for knower then i would look it up).  Unless "knower" from your question means vinnana, consciousness.
according to pali texts, mind temporary ceases (while still alive) at cessation meditation level. Mind still exists even at neither perception nor non-perception level.
from what i read, consciousness expands to infinite space at non-form perception (above 4th jhana). "the sphere of infinite space perception"..

I notice in satipatthana that two distinct terms are used in connection with the different contemplations: "he knows" and "he understands". I think a disparity between the two terms is somewhat greyed-out because one can be used as a synonym for the other and visa versa. I often wonder from what they were translated from and why distinguish them as "he knows" and "he understands". There is another way to look at this: after watching the aggregates persistently, the 'knowing' faculty takes on a different form such that it cannot really be known as knowing. I guess words diverge at some point.

Anapanassati Jhana enter the Access Concentration State when these all happen together for many sitting period continually...

The mindful is stronger and stronger. It could has only breath for 2-3 hours without any other objects and
the  light is so strong and stable at the same point of breath mark (inside nose tip normally) and
No any five hindrances could arise.

This is the first state we could feel the right knower in the concentration meditation before the Absorption in Concentration.
see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eYC003WYZA&t=4s


text:
How did the Buddha subdue fear and terror while standing, sitting, etc.?
The Bhaya Bherava Sutta (MN4) states the following:

...I stayed in the sort of places that are awe-inspiring and make your hair stand on end, such as park-shrines, forest-shrines, & tree-shrines. And while I was staying there a wild animal would come, or a peacock would make a twig fall, or wind would rustle the fallen leaves. The thought would occur to me: 'Is this that fear & terror coming?' Then the thought occurred to me: 'Why do I just keep waiting for fear?
What if I, in whatever state I'm in when fear & terror come to me,
were to subdue that fear & terror in that very state?' So when fear &
terror came to me while I was walking back & forth, I would not stand
or sit or lie down. I would keep walking back & forth until I had
subdued that fear & terror. When fear & terror came to me while I was
standing, I would not walk or sit or lie down. I would keep standing
until I had subdued that fear & terror. When fear & terror came to me
while I was sitting, I would not lie down or stand up or walk. I would
keep sitting until I had subdued that fear & terror. When fear &
terror came to me while I was lying down, I would not sit up or stand
or walk. I would keep lying down until I had subdued that fear &
terror.

However, it does not say how the Buddha subdued the fear and terror while standing, sitting, etc. How could a practitioner understand and use this method?

Because the tag is personal-practice I must ask; why are asking such question, are you trying to find a "self-help" solution in Buddhism ?

I marked the question down because the sutta actually says the method Gotama used. The method is when fear & dread arose in a certain posture, Gotama did not change the posture or the activity. In other words, Gotama simply endured it, until it passed away. It knowing it passes away, the fear was no longer feared.

@Dhammadhatu You can add that as an answer.

@dhamma4life Indeed, everything about Buddhism is "self-help". According to DN16, "Therefore, Ananda, be islands unto yourselves, refuges unto yourselves, seeking no external refuge; with the Dhamma as your island, the Dhamma as your refuge, seeking no other refuge."

@ruben2020 That is no what I meant - it was a standard question of type "Are You Looking to Buddhism When You Should Be Looking to Therapy?" sort of a question.

There is another sutta in SN (very hard to find, so not giving a reference) in a group of suttas that speak about Four Right Exertions. In that sutta Buddha speaks about unwholesome states and how the bhikkhus should not let the unwholesome states linger, but subdue them right there and then, on the spot. He then gives a very similar elaboration to that in the Bhaya Bherava Sutta, saying that if a bhikkhu is standing he should subdue it while still standing, if he is sitting - then while still sitting etc. To me it looks like this emphasis is about focus: putting 100% of one's attention onto dealing with the problem at hand rather than "kicking the can down the road".
My teacher(s) taught me the following methods for dealing with fear and anxiety:

If fear and/or anxiety is very strong (to the point of vomiting) - one should dissipate it by doing any physical exercise. Jogging or sit-ups or push-ups or pull-ups work well for this.
When fear/anxiety is medium - one should repeatedly tap one body in those areas where the fear is felt: abdomen, solar plexus, chest, throat, sides of the head etc. - trying to relax corresponding muscles and through that let go of the preconceptual fabrication. An intermediate practice in this vein is spontaneous dancing a-la qi-gong with focus on one's emotional projections in and around the body.
When student becomes relatively stable and can deal with strong fear/anxiety directly, he or she should stare directly at fear, trying to go "as close" to it as possible and even "go inside". When this is done, through gazing at fear it can be "transmuted" into its pure form, that of energy, without being colored by an attitude.

Buddha has given a detailed answer to handling fear and trepidation in the Sutta SN 11.3. Below I quote the relevant part:

“But, bhikkhus, I say this: If you have gone to a forest or to the
  foot of a tree or to an empty hut, and fear or trepidation or terror
  should arise in you, on that occasion you should recollect me thus:
  ‘The Blessed One is an arahant, perfectly enlightened, accomplished in
  true knowledge and conduct, fortunate, knower of the world,
  unsurpassed leader of persons to be tamed, teacher of devas and
  humans, the Enlightened One, the Blessed One.’ For when you recollect
  me, bhikkhus, whatever fear or trepidation or terror you may have will
  be abandoned.
“If you cannot recollect me, then you should recollect the Dhamma
  thus: ‘The Dhamma is well expounded by the Blessed One, directly
  visible, immediate, inviting one to come and see, applicable, to be
  personally experienced by the wise.’ For when you recollect the
  Dhamma, bhikkhus, whatever fear or trepidation or terror you may have
  will be abandoned.
“If you cannot recollect the Dhamma, then you should recollect the
  Saṅgha thus: ‘The Saṅgha of the Blessed One’s disciples is practising
  the good way, practising the straight way, practising the true way,
  practising the proper way; that is, the four pairs of persons, the
  eight types of individuals—this Saṅgha of the Blessed One’s disciples
  is worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, worthy of offerings, worthy
  of reverential salutation, the unsurpassed field of merit for the
  world.’ For when you recollect the Saṅgha, bhikkhus, whatever fear or
  trepidation or terror you may have will be abandoned.

To answer the question How did the Buddha manage fear? I would say that he recalled Dhamma. If anyone recalls Dhamma, all the fear will vanish or fade away.

Gotama was not yet enlightened when the fear & dread happened therefore he could not recall the Dhamma.

"then you should recollect the Saṅgha thus"

@OyaMistAeroponics There is no need to recollect Sangha when you have faith in Dhamma.

@DheerajVetma Yes. Faith in Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha per the sutta. And I was responding to Dhammadhatu, who pointed out that Gotama had no access to the Dhamma at the time of his need. I was suggesting that the sangha of Gotama's fellow seekers might have offered solace. Sorry for the confusion, I tend to be stingy on keystrokes. I upvoted your answer and was not requesting a change.

There're a series of repetitive paragraphs at the beginning of MN 4 that list the reasons why fear and dread arise, starting with unpurified bodily conduct and ending with lack of wisdom. Purifying those aspects is the way to subdue fear and dread:

I considered thus: ‘Whenever recluses or brahmins unpurified in bodily conduct resort to remote jungle-thicket resting places in the forest, then owing to the defect of their unpurified bodily conduct these good recluses and brahmins evoke unwholesome fear and dread. But I do not resort to remote jungle-thicket resting places in the forest unpurified in bodily conduct. I am purified in bodily conduct. I resort to remote jungle-thicket resting places in the forest as one of the noble ones with bodily conduct purified.’ Seeing in myself this purity of bodily conduct, I found great solace in dwelling in the forest.

I'm not sure this is well reasoned, since the Buddha ends each of those mistaken or idiotic reasons for fear and dread with his own immunity to those reasons. The passage continues to the section quoted by OP, at which point the Buddha nevertheless does feel dread. It may be the case that he faltered in some way and takes mental stock to the checklist that began the sutta; assuming he was already perfected, however, the order implies that there are (in addition to the brahmins' various mistakes and idiocies) some additional well-reasoned or proper further sources of fear and dread.

He is still able to overcome them, but the method would be something different from his answers to the list of unskillful problems at the beginning of the sutta.

Notice at the very beginning, the Buddha mentioned He was still an "un-enlightened bodhisattva", so of course even with a purified physical and mental state, certain level of fear and dread still arise and one still has "more work to be done" to completely abandone them once s/he's attained enlightenment.

In vipassana terms one would simply acknowledge 'fear, fear, fear' and observe in an objective way.

While acknowledging fear as you have described is an appropriate method, this is not "vipassana". It is merely a form of clear-comprehension (sampajanna).


text:
"..but don't become attached" Do we have control whether we attach or not?
Often I hear above mentioned phrase in regards to sex, music, entertainment and basically everything else that is or seems important.
Now the question is: Do we really have control whether we get attached to something or not?
Isn't a little attachment good, i.e., attachment to the Dhamma or the five precepts in order to elicit faith and confidence?
Regards

Isn't a little attachment good, i.e., attachment to the Dhamma or the five precepts in order to elicit faith and confidence?

Ven. Ananda's "going to the park" simile might be helpful in addressing this topic.
Regarding the question about control, of course there is for without it there'd be no Stream-enterer, Once-returners, Non-returners, nor Arahants.

Leaving out the "Isn't a little attachment good" part, since that's kind of obvious, let me address "Do we have control whether we attach or not?"
Yes of course - and that is what Buddha has called "right attention" vs "wrong attention" or "upadana".
Say, you have a girlfriend. Let's assume that you like several "signs" (as Buddha called them) about her: you like how her eye whites shine when she looks sideways, you like how her hair curls around her ears, you like the movement of her hips when she walks, you like the raspy quality of her voice and her raising intonations, and perhaps you like her smell.
The wrong attention would be to keep reviewing these signs when she's present and remembering them when she's not, enjoying and taking pleasure in them. This will quickly lead to attachment.
The right mundane attention would be to NOT review the signs and instead to look at the entire situation objectively: yes sometimes there is attraction between some men and women; we two seem to enjoy each other's company, here are the PROS- and here are the CONS- for us being together, here are the positive and negative elements of this situation, here are good things that may await us in the future if we stay together, and here are the bad/problem/painful things that may await us if we stay together. Here are the potential joys and here are the potential sufferings. Here is how my spiritual path would look if I'm with her, and here is how my spiritual path would look like if I'm alone. -- This is the right mundane attention.
The right supramundane attention would be to not review either the signs, nor think objectively about the PROS- and CONS- of you two being together, but to look at the situation from the perspective of the Ultimate: Here is life, here is energy and information, here is time, here's gradual reification of entities, here's action based on that reification, here's identification with something as "self", here is attachment and suffering, here are the sentient beings getting born and dying, here's the path leading away from attachment, reification, identification, from suffering, from getting born and dying; here is enlightenment, here is suchness, here is peace. Looking at things this way is called the right supramundane atttention.
To the extent you have control over your attention, your perspective, and your frame of mind -- you have control of whether you get attached or not.

yes if you must desire something, it is only to reach nirvana. THe point is that basing your actions, ie thoughts, fantasies, ideas, rationality, ''reason'', talks and acts, on desire (of anything) is a very bad idea, however for puthujjanas it is a very natural behavior and this behavior is what keeps them as puthujjanas.
And of course, the more you care about ''sex, music, entertainment and basically everything else that is or seems important.'', the less you will be successful at stopping caring about those, or more generally about the ''6 senses''.
So on what can you base your actions in order to stop being unhappy, if it is not desire (of anything)  or fantasies? Well you base your actions on right view about what you experience, about what is felt. What you experience is typically through the senses and later on it will be about the rupa and arupa jhanas..
So first, you must know ''what happens'', which means you must be ''mindful'' about each of the 6 senses. Once you can keep track of what goes on through the senses, you must apply a filter, you must discriminate between experiences, between what is felt, because it turns out that not all experiences are good, not all experiences are bad.
[Typically, the 6 senses are always bad, the jhanas are always good but still ''anicca'' so you must strive for something else to stop being ''unhappy forever'', which is nirvana.]
There are good actions, good talks and good thoughts, and these good experiences must be cultivated. there are also bad actions, bad talks and bad thoughts and those experiences must be avoided at all cost.
As a puthujjana, you do not know what is good to experience and what is bad to experience [puthujjanas love to believe they are good people and love to believe that  they know what is wrong and right, what is worth striving for and what is useless, but they really are just bad people so deluded that they believe to be good people] , so first you have faith in the buddha about what filer to apply in order to stop being unhappy, then you must remember at all times what the buddha said about what is detrimental to your happiness (typically, at the beginning, before the rupa jhanas and the arupa jhanas, it is about the lack of sense restrain), this is called ''sati'', in the meantime, of course you continue to live so it is time to apply the teaching.
Here  a sutta about that
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an07/an07.063.than.html
This sati is the beginning of the method to ''cool you down'' when you become upset. You notice the bad thoughts and emotions and you remember that acting on  the desire or thoughts that you feel when something makes you mad is really a bad idea, so you do not do it. You do not do it, but then you must feel something else than this desire or thought, you must experience something positive, and this is what the buddha did when he had is imagination running wild
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn54/sn54.008.than.html
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.019.than.html
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn12/sn12.065.than.html
Now to catch up with the ''desire to reach nirvana'': the problem with desire (of anything) is that it does not last long, perhaps a few hours or a few days at best, and even worse, as soon as there is something else going in your life, like something big, like some pain, it will become the new focus of your imagination, of your intellect. So if you base your action on desire and imagination, you will train a few days at best and then you will get bored or you will have something else to do and you will stop.
You must base your actions about nirvana on something else, in order to still train for nirvana even when you  are tired, hungry, mad about something, completely bored, even when you have something else to do that you love to believe is more important, even when you love to believe that you can defer your progress towards nirvana for a few days, because ''a few days off won't change anything'' like some people say...
So besides desire and imagination, on what can you base your culture of the good actions, good talks and good thoughts and your rejections of bad actions, bad talks and bad thought, even when you do not feel like doing all that ?
THat's when you recall what the buddha said, about how miserable you still are even though, for so many years, you cared about and acted through ''''sex, music, entertainment and basically everything else that is or seems important.'''' and perhaps it is time to do something else in your life, about your faith in the buddha on what is unhappiness and how to stop being unhappy.

Now the question is: Do we really have control whether we get attached to something or not?

delight is the root of suffering & stress

I.e., you can't control the suffering and just have the delight.
However, you can choose to understand the delight without coveting (note: the sutta is long and mentions many more things besides "earth")

let him not conceive things coming out of earth, let him not conceive earth as 'mine,' let him not delight in earth. Why is that? So that he may comprehend it, I tell you.

Choose "awareness" over "control". Control is perilously close to grabbing.


text:
Buddhism type by country
Could someone give me a breakdown of the form of Buddhism likely to be represented by Vietnamese and Cambodian?
We have six Buddhist churches/Organizations near us and I've contacted them but because of a communications barrier I am unable to determine what form three of them are.
There are two Vietnamese called Phuoc Vien & Tu Vien Hong Duc - and another one representing Cambodia just called a Buddhist Society.
Thanks. :D

Wikipedia says, about Vietnam:

Followers in Vietnam practice differing traditions without any problem or sense of contradiction. Few Vietnamese Buddhists would identify themselves as a particular kind of Buddhism, as a Christian might identify him or herself by a denomination, for example.

... and goes on describe aspects of Vietnamese Buddhist practice.
It also says:

The overall doctrinal position of Vietnamese Buddhism is the inclusive system of Tiantai, with the higher metaphysics informed by the Huayan school (Vietnamese: Hoa Nghiêm); however, the orientation of Vietnamese Buddhism is syncretic without making such distinctions. Therefore, modern practice of Vietnamese Buddhism can be very eclectic, including elements from Thiền (Chan Buddhism), Thiên Thai (Tiantai), Tịnh độ Pure Land Buddhism, and popular practices from Vajrayana.

... and:

The central and southern part of present-day Vietnam were originally inhabited by the Chams and the Khmer people, respectively, who followed both a syncretic Śaiva-Mahayana (see History of Buddhism in Cambodia) and Theravada Buddhism.

And about Cambodia:

Theravada Buddhism is the state religion of Cambodia, which has had been presented since at least the 5th century.

Tu Vien Hong Duc is described as:

While Tu Vien Hong Duc is therefore best classified as a Pure Land Buddhist temple, it is much more a Vietnamese Buddhist temple.

According to Google Maps, Phuoc Vien and Tu Vien Hong Duc are located in the same building.

Thanks for the reply. Wished I would have found the Comparison project link a month ago. Would have saved me a lot of time. :)


text:
Two types of satipaṭṭhāna - which has jhana?
In Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond,  Ajahn Brahm writes -

The Buddha taught two types of satipaṭṭhāna. The first type is supported by jhāna and leads to enlightenment in a short time.

Which satipaṭṭhāna is the first type, and where can it be found ? (By "two types" does he mean the two versions DN 22 and MN 10?)  Please reference both types and specify which is the "first type".

There is some explanation here, as in Jhanas of the present moment mindfulness: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAt3J3-wEOI

Which satipaṭṭhāna is this, and where can it be found?
This is the direct path for purifying of beings, for overcoming sorrow and distress, for vanquishing pain and distress, for attaining the right approach, for realizing Nirvana – namely, the four applications mindfulness’
Was this the satipaṭṭhāna which led to the Buddha's awakening?
My heart, thus knowing, thus seeing, was released from the fermentation of sensuality, released from the fermentation of becoming, released from the fermentation of ignorance. With release, there was the knowledge, 'Released.' I discerned that 'Birth is ended, the holy life fulfilled, the task done. There is nothing further for this world.'

The idea of Ajahn Brahm sounds strange to me. I imagine there is only one type of Satipatthana, which means to "establish mindfulness". What this means is whatever body, feelings, mental states or Truth/Reality is/are experienced; the mind 'remembers' ('sati') to not have covetousness & distress towards those bodies, feelings, mental states or Truth/Reality.
Jhana (Appanā Samādhi) is merely a higher level of feelings (2nd satipatthana) and mind (3rd satipattana) than experienced with the lower Neighborhood Concentration (Upacara Samadhi) of Anapanasati. Therefore, mindfulness is established towards jhana the same as towards any other experience, as explained in many suttas, such as below:

Whatever qualities there are in the first jhana... he remained unattracted & unrepelled with regard to those qualities, independent,
  detached, released, dissociated, with an awareness rid of barriers.
MN 111