text:
No aim. No perspective. Begin of 30y. Scared about political-decisions. Paranoid. What should I do?
Please make sure you read the whole text before giving me an answer.
I'm very serious about this and search a very good advise, something I didn't think before.
This year I'll become 30 years and I'm standing in the middle of nothing.
My boss fired me and all in all I feel I quitted more jobs in my life than changing my underpants.
I've no motivation to do something cause I've no aim for something.
When I started to do something (no matter what) I concentrate on it for a few days / weeks / months and than I left it and do something new or nothing, cause everything makes me bored from time to time or stressed me to much.
Then there are times I decided to do something very cool. These are the times I started to do something new for a particular time. But when I'm into it and I don't "throw it away" I think about all the political decisions (internationally) and get paranoid of a world war 3 or something like this. That's the reason why I don't want to do anything, cause I think "When I do something and the worstcase comes over us, there was no need to learn / do it."
I'm very deep in conspiracy theories and work sometimes hours, days, weeks and month to find out "the truth".
That's the reason why I think like I mentioned above.
And that brings me to another fact: I seriously hate this system of life.
I've the opinion we are not on this planet to work and pay taxes. In my point of view, both are waste of time --> Working for money, to make a low life - never become that successful, that I don't have to worry about the most money-cases.
In my opinion we are here to find a higher self.
Now there are 2 possibilities:

I want to stay in a monastery. Become a monk. But I can't cause of my girlfriend.
(But I think her thinking is right as well: "You just want to flee from everything".)
I don't want to build a future with making decisions with/for her when we broke up anyway someday.
(That's just my thinking)

My girlfriend is telling me, I should concentrate more on myself than on her.
I should do more what I want, not what she want or what is "best" for a common future. (Yes, she really loves me - no sarcasm here)
I've a handful of friends more or less but nothing I can work with for my personal life. It's not cause of them, it's cause of me, cause I don't like to talk about the most things.
And I've less than a handful of leisure activities.
I had no plan in the past and I don't have one right now.
In my carreer I developed a photography-eye so my references in photography are remarkable.
But I hate to stress myself out to search for some work for it (freelance) and I don't like to work with people at all (commercial studios who work for quantity, not quality).
The second thing I can do very well is solving computer problems of all kinds. Even when I've to search in the www for solutions I can solve every problem since I'm a child. Hardware & Software. No matter which kind of operating system. Just doing it like I never did anything before.
My actually situation is: I've safed a little money to survive for the next 1 - 2 month.
I could search for another job, but the possibility I really hate it is very high and will quit anyway.
And I feel myself is to old to do something totally different and become SO good in it, that I become very successful with it.
So what should I do generally?
I feel like "I just want to quit life and try something else." (if you understand what I mean)
Cause everything I do is making me bored.
Everything I aim on is not SO special (in my mind), that I would spend my life for it. (For example: Become a programmer: Oh no, it's not THAT cool ... and on and on)

<3 ........... <3 ^_^

Getting bored of everything, not interested in anything.

I've had my fair share of this feeling in life and would like to share some thoughts here that will help you reassess your life over a period of time with more perspective.
Let's face it. Most stuff in life is boring. It will interest you in the beginning and then it fades.
So first of all, my advice would be to accept this life as it is and be grateful for it. We need to be more accepting of the outside situation, whatever it may be and really face it. I can't stress this point enough. Live it consciously. Don't run away from it. Don't pay heed to your mind at those times. This is very important because if you are not conscious of your thoughts then you just get driven off the edge without you making any clear choices in your life. Please learn to value your life and do things consciously, as they ought to be done and not judge. You seem to be constantly living in your mind's complications, not living life for what it is.

In my opinion we are here to find a higher self. Now there are 2 possibilities:

Now, I am not here to encourage any goal of yours or anything. But I have a request. Do you really know what is this higher self you speak of? Do you truly know what it takes or what are the practices to reach that from where you are currently? Please don't bullshit yourself.
Again I'd like you to see your mind's pattern here. It may seem harsh but your mind loves to create these things out of nowhere, send you reeling in one direction and then drags you back down to nothing.
To be honest, you don't even want to take the time to respect/appreciate your gifts and your life, simply because it is "boring"? It takes good amounts of calm, discipline and commitment to do ANYTHING. Please see that I am not mentioning "enthusiasm or passion".
You said it yourself. You're just running away/fleeing from everything. How about you try not fleeing (or not judging and just do things as they are) for a change? Think about valuing your girlfriend. And do some small things for her now that you love her so much. Don't make life complicated because of something you read from somewhere. You wake up in the morning and brush your teeth. Why aren't you running away from that? Isn't that also boring? Or do you have reasons why you're not? Life is also not that complicated. It takes a certain nature of being. It will make itself available to you if you're available to it.
A couple points about your Fear. Fear is about something that may happen. Your fear is about something that has not happened yet. Your fear is of something that does not exist. And when you start fearing something that does not exist, then... I don't know really what to call that clinically. Over here, I'd like to say, let that happen to you. Let's get out there and face it. Be life affirming. What's a life without any problems or troubles? "Boring" right? ;)
As you're doing this questioning to yourself over a period of time, I would like you to try sitting on a chair or on the floor cross-legged, whichever you are comfortable with and just be there and breathe. Just watch your breath go in and out of you. Just sit peacefully and spine-erect, without your mind bothering you incessantly. Can you do simply do that much for 5 minutes? 10 minutes? 30 minutes? Congrats and keep going. You'll gain more perspective from 10 minutes of solitude than from my rant here.
Unfortunately, I won't come to everyone's favorite topic ;) monkhood here but first things first, assess your priorities. Calm down, get some perspective and start living life consciously. When you really understand death, you'll start to value your life. Moments of life and your breathing that link you to life as it is, tries to tell you something, but you don't want to listen. You're just tuned out from life because your mind is busy making all the noise. Don't trust me. Just practice living life consciously without judging.
Over the course of the answer I have made a few bolded out words. Pay heed to those as they are important for each and every moment of your breathing since it connects you to life.

please explain the downvote :)

it's not me, but i think the reason would be 'aversion'

I think I see your karmic situation very clearly. You have a very strong predisposition to become a serious Buddhist. As they say these days, "you are a natural".
At the same time, you're kinda late in your cycle being in your 30s. If you start now you may not finish by the end of this life -- and in a next life, while major karmic and mental dispositions carry on, the conceptual knowledge and practices have to be restarted from scratch.
My advice to you is to not go to monastery at this age, and instead do a 100% watertight saint-type practice in your daily life. I believe this is your only chance. Then by the time you're ~50 you'll hopefully make the breakthrough and still have enough time and energy left to take care of future lives.
The gist of the practice is, you have to be perfect. I'm not joking (you wish I would). Obviously, life is an optimization game against many mutually competing variables but in every daily situation there is always the point of best balance. Which means, for next decade or so, you have to remove yourself from the equation and focus on achieving the best objective outcome in every situation regardless of your personal feelings. That's all there is to it: remove yourself from the equation, be impeccable, optimize every single situation as perfectly as you can.
This obviously includes your sense of self-worth (connected with praise and reward). Part of removing yourself out of the equation includes dropping all worry about how you look in the eyes of others. Your sense of the right must not depend on praise and blame of others. When you act like a de-facto saint (externally AND internally -- including not having negative thoughts about others or self-praising thoughts), then you know you are 100% right so you don't need to depend on others' opinions anyway.
Does this make sense? It's a very simple practice conceptually, the only difficulty is to be sincere with yourself - in order to make it watertight. From what you told us I see that this should work very well for you, if you have the guts to follow it through.

I agree with the 100% watertightness. That's what I mentioned with the "not judging" and hence living consciously .

it seems to me the guy doesn't have samvega and a spiritual call so spiritual path may weigh him down and bore as much as everything else in life. one must see purpose, sense and meaning in spiritual life to be drawn to it and to benefit from it.
what he describes could be symptoms of psychological problems and disorders

According to the Buddha, Nibbana can be reached within 7 days, when practicing proper sati. I find your statement 'At the same time, you're kinda late in your cycle being in your 30s' very misleading.

Sometimes a little perspective would help. The truth is for anyone in your situation right now, there're hundreds others around the world who are suffering much worse. Just imagine, while you're sitting in a cozy home contemplating about directions in life, there're men in Syria, Aghganistan, Africa, etc.. frantically trying all they can to stay safe from the horror of wars, famine, natural disasters, diseases, etc. And a Buddhist shouldnt' be surprised, for suffering is one of the Three Characteristics inherent in life.
As you contemplate more on this truth, your thoughts will become clearer and more focus, which in turn allows you to make the proper decision for your life. The path of monkhood is the noblest and most conducive to the goal of ending suffering. Just notice it's not an easy path and certainly is not for the faint of heart. Then there's the path of lay life with its own challanges, like the many duties for one has to fulfill for his family, relatives, and society in general. By choosing this path, you simply can't just do whatever you want for you'll need a steady income to make sure your family have food to eat and shelter to stay. Afterall your situation is not unique. I'd think any good Buddhist would probably have similar thoughts at some point in their life. It's not easy and it'll take lots of contemplation and wisdom. So take your time to do the homework and wishing you all the best..
PS: check out Ven. Brahm's wonderful essay "Joy At Last to Know There Is No Happiness in the World" if you haven't read it.

You simply have to stop trying so hard to please this 'I'. Focus on being helpful to others. Focus on doing good deeds and gaining merits. Stop looking for new things to entertain yourself. Instead, keep looking for ways to help others, including your girlfriend, parents etc. Don't expect entertainment out of your job. Do it to earn money and use that money to do good.
Whenever boredom arises, meditate on it. Don't react. Boredom is simply a feeling(aversion) that rises and passes away. Boredom is neither you nor your's. So why be a slave of boredom?

My thought would be to conquer your mind through your action. It is difficult to control the mind whereas it is relatively easier to conquer the action. I will say what you need to DO.
The first step is becoming a morning person. May seem to be unrelated, but Lord Buddha has preached that the best way for a person to deteriorate is to get up late. So get up early, a two or three hours before you can see the sun rays. It will make you a way more proactive giving you more control over thoughts and actions. You can get to bed early to get an enough sleep such that your mind is calm when awaken. After getting up early, you can study your domain or you can even read some sutta.
For being paranoid about political decisions, do not think much on politics, economics etc. Spend lesser time on them. Spend more time with the circle of friends and relatives, go for news just to have a grip. Politics and economics are having a downward trend although you may see random positive instances, that is what we are having, all of us are having, so do not think much on that. Lord Buddha preached about that deterioration. http://www.thebuddhism.net/2012/07/08/the-sixteen-dreams-of-king-pasenadi-kosol-and-their-interpretations-by-the-buddha/ Now as You know such bad politics are inevitable, you need to remove that variable from your life.
Socially, spending the time with the girlfriend and your parents can give you a boost. As a leisure activity, maintaining a little garden is fine in many ways, it can give enough physical exercise, can help the mind to stay focused and calm, and can give you tiny financial returns meanwhile. As you are good at photography, it can also be used as a hobby giving happiness and financial returns.
Job and personal finance, as it seems you have put enough hours on studying software and hardware. I think you need to get settled as a programmer or so, it can give you fine money. It can give you https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukha#Anana_Sutta four kinds of happiness a householder can get. I believe as you sound to be valuing personal freedom, independence etc, doing something entrepreneurial or getting self employed on what you know also can be great. And on personal finance, you need to save more!!!
"There we find advice to householders on money, friendship, sex, drinking, working, saving, popularity, family responsibilities, and so on. The advice on money boils down to this: One should divide one's wealth or earnings (since the Buddha's audience asking about these things was often often the merchant class) into four equal divisions:
With wealth acquired in this [harmless] way, a layperson fit for household life in four portions divides such wealth: thus will one friendship win:
The first portion is used for one's wants.
The second portion is spent on business needs.*
The third portion is also spent on producing more wealth.
The fourth portion goes into savings for times of need."
Taken from,
http://wisdomquarterly.blogspot.com/2010/08/4-steps-to-buddhist-money-management.html
You do not need to be in something special to be happy. The important things are mentioned in this verse.
"Health is the greatest gift, contentment is the greatest wealth, a trusted friend is the best relative, Nibbana is the greatest bliss."

30 is young and baby.
You need to meditate.
How? Under the proper guidance with rIght method.
You don't need to abandon your life or your girl friend.
If you have enough money for 1 to 3 months.
Go to South Korea temple (I know Kwan um internattional zen ceter or Musang sa offers some sorts program) or somewhere in USA temple where short retreat of 1 to 3 months are offered  to public.
1 to 3 months is not long time. Its just short time like a morning dew considering you will have 50 or more years to live.

Please make sure you read the whole text before giving me an answer. I'm very serious about this and search a very good advise, something I didn't think before.

Let me try to offer some advice then, but beware it's from my past experience.

Scared about political-decisions. Paranoid. What should I do?

Don't watch the national or international news:

... on TV,
... which people post (e.g. on Facebook or wherever),
... on google.com/news

IMO you should also switch off your connections to Anonymous and/or any other groups that are interested in politics or focused on conspiracies.
Why? Because they feed paranoia (see the story of Two Wolves).
How? Sometimes I edited the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosts_(file) on my computer to null-route a web site that began to take too much of my time.
Local news might (or might not) be useful. Good news might be worthwhile.

I'm standing in the middle of nothing.

Easy to say, but that reminds me of this story: Nothing Exists
People aren't immune from feeling hurt, from hurting other people; conversely they can help other people.

My boss fired me and all in all I feel I quitted more jobs in my life than changing my underpants.

That's hard to diagnose based on the limited information you gave. Do you have trouble with drugs, drink, sleep? Depression? Attention? Do you have a doctor? An employment agent? Can you look for better jobs? Stick with the job you have and try to work well?
I've heard that some people specialize in temporary / short-term jobs, but I don't know about that.
If you don't need much money then maybe part-time or self-employment could work for you (however beware of being 'self-employed' but having no customers and no income ... perhaps you shouldn't be self-employed except with a partner, e.g. if it's a good idea perhaps you could persuade someone to help and vice versa).

I've no motivation to do something cause I've no aim for something.

I guess my motivation is not to be a financial burden on other people, i.e. to "earn a living" of my own, to help "support" me and other people.

When I started to do something (no matter what) I concentrate on it for a few days / weeks / months and than I left it and do something new or nothing, cause everything makes me bored from time to time or stressed me to much.

I was fired from one of my first jobs (which was reading and sorting tax forms) because my mind found it so boring that it wasn't able to concentrate on the job for hours and days on end, and therefore made too many mistakes ... even though I wanted to have the job and keep the job. Another time I enjoyed (and kept) a job as a courier, delivering mail, because that was walking around and saying "hello" to people and left my mind free.
Since then I have worked as a software developer: and I've been bored or stressed sometimes. Part of learning to do the job is learning how to cope with that: e.g. how to work (with software and with people) in ways which minimize stress; how to stay motivated (e.g. for me that means keep a time-sheet and be interested in completing deliverables and not lying); how to fend off boredom (learn new things, repeat an activity I enjoy, take new responsibilities or challenges, take breaks and go for a walk when you can't concentrate, have other interests too other than only work).

I think about all the political decisions (internationally) and get paranoid of a world war 3 or something like this.

Well, try and cut it out: it doesn't sound helpful.
On a separate subject, if you were going to be a gardener for example you'd have to be interested in growing plants, even though you know that winter is coming.

I've the opinion we are not on this planet to work and pay taxes.

Really? There's a saying that, "We should eat to live, not live to eat." Does that help?

Working for money, to make a low life - never become that successful, that I don't have to worry about the most money-cases.

That's a definition-of-success problem. Maybe a low life is better than a high life.
Becoming rich (having enough savings that you wouldn't need to work any more) might take a lot of work and time. Until then, financial wealth might be defined as the ability to earn more than you spend. I kind of enjoyed this definition of success:
"People need Buddhism when their current raft has sunk. If there is food on the table, a comfortable place to sleep, and they have no complaints about their daily routine, then our jobs as Buddhists is to rejoice in their success (mudita)."

I don't want to build a future with making decisions with/for her when we broke up anyway someday (Yes, she really loves me - no sarcasm here)

Hmm.

I had no plan in the past and I don't have one right now.

Sometimes people feel awful being between jobs, and being fired is a set-back. Sometimes people advise that you should treat "looking for work" as a full-time job in itself -- get your CV right, etc.
I'm not sure I should tell you what to do with your life though.

Cause everything I do is making me bored.

It sounds like some kind of classic addiction.
Sometime[s] in the past, have you been not-bored? Did that change your perspective on what is 'boring', so that other things seem boring in comparison? Are you attached to that experience?
Are you suffering from a combination of thirst (for excitement or non-boredom), aversion (to boredom), fabrication (of pseudo-problems like WW3), ego (I'm too good and/or too bad to do this), identity-view ("Who is the 'star' of your narrative"), and ignorance (lack of insight into disatisfaction)?

Become a programmer: Oh no, it's not THAT cool

Being able to support youself seems pretty cool to me (but so does becoming a monk though, fwiw, although I won't presume to advise that).
Part of Buddhist practice (and of working) is apparently learning how to concentrate or focus on a task. There's a topic here about the experience of software development. Part of that experience was the ability to discard distracting (or chaotic) thoughts and emotions.

Well after i recovered from couple of life threatening health situations i felt the same way like you do now.
I was also not interested in common person's goals and i did not saw any importance in those stuff either. I was finally able to come over those things and these are my ways of getting over this situation. I hope this helps...

I think you feel like......

Life is going nowhere!
Reason :- Being lost among different pursuits
Answer :-
Stop, and now see what looks good at this moment and immediately you will see less favorable things and count them out. Now you are left with some good ones. Now it is time to sit down and go back to your memories of innocence, go to your childhood and see the world like that child for few minutes.
You will start to see how you and your wishes has changed and how some dreams have died while some still stays strong & hidden waiting to be chased.
What you feel is a direct outcome of not going after the things you actually wanted and feeling lost because you are not where you wanted to be.
If we let the "Rebel" inside you go to sleep for a while and see,i think we would see that child or that ambitious young man again. He might have a  much clear vision for the future.
I was a big fan of "Anarchy" or "Social evolution" some time ago too but then i learned some history. I saw how time and time again the system has failed and every time the people who pioneered the revolutions did everything to reach that social and economical "Promised land". After all i realized that "Rebooting the system" is nothing new and each time it has ended up being a "Lost cause". That realization is the very reason that made me walk away from "Conspiracy theories" and become a good Buddhist.

Am i choosing Myself vs Love
Reason :-What you want to be is who you are, this is yet to sink in.
Answer :-

If you want your Love you should choose your Loving partner
If you want just Peace then you should choose a monastery
If you want both look at option 3 (Keep reading.it is down there)

Make a choice and then go for it. If you are not sure this is what that will happen.
  You will loose your girl because as you said you are stuck & you will be going further into this dilemma.

Option 3
Well, no one said a good Buddhist can't be a "lay person" (a householder).
  Start again and don't look back. Stop resenting the years that you feel like wasted.
Know this that growing up is not your body growing old, it is your mind maturing. So if you look back and recent the time you have used to come to this point in life. You are wrong. Because today you are more mature than ever before and you already know many ways that you can fail. Use this to your advantage.
Drop the stupid theories about "Conspiracies", let someone else deal with that business. Go on with your life. Because the world will do just fine with you or without you.
As you see now it is all about bringing yourself to make decisions & and being brave enough to say that "I was once wrong" and move on with that knowledge. Do not be afraid to fail,be afraid to not to do anything while everything that you are is about to fall apart.
So my friend choose!

"I just want to quit life and try something else."

this gave me a good laugh, really, but that's impossible because outside of life there's... normally another life
i don't know how long you've been feeling this way, but since you mention your age i'll take a risk to guess that it could be an age specific crisis, which for some comes about at around 29 years of age, when all aspects of a person's astrological map has come a full circle
so maybe as a first measure it would make sense to check with a competent astrologist, just to find out where you stand right now

I gave negative mark. Are we really on Buddhist stackexchange? What it has to do with astrology??? Sorry for being hard.

the person asks for help, and i think this is what can help him, i'm not going to lie to him and give cookie-cutter or flowery answers, i don't see how Dhamma can help him and find all other answers inadequate
aversion is one of three poisons
please downvote it to -509 )))))

authors: Баян Купи-ка


text:
I would like to become Buddhist
I'm a mathematics student and I want to become a buddhist because I've heard that they don't believe in any god.
How can I get in to buddhism?
What kind of books do you recomend to read for starters?
Can I be a Buddhist without joining any community?
Is there any kind of "secular" Buddhism?
I would like to learn about their vision of life without making any rituals. Is that possible?

Buddhists do believe in gods as beings who have higher living standards compared to humans. Not as creators or the ones who decide our destiny.  I don't think any reasonable atheist can refute the possibility of the existence of such beings.

i think americans, germans, canadians, ozzies and brits are gods, they have higher living standards than myself )))))))

@БаянКупи-ка "compared to humans". :)

I've heard that they don't believe in any god.

It depends on what you mean by God. Buddhism does not have the concept of a almighty, creator (deism), sustainer, creator plus sustainer (theism), destroyer, everlasting god, external controller or owner or creator of the soul, enforcer of karma or retribution and rewards for one's actions, etc. but does mention Deva who are better described as celestial being / deity but which is sometimes translated perhaps loosely or incorrectly into English as gods.
Also see God in Buddhism.

How can I get into buddhism?

Why don't you 1st take a course at a meditation centre. You can locate a centre close to you here: https://www.dhamma.org/en/index, http://www.internationalmeditationcentre.org/global/index.html, http://www.buddhanet.info/wbd/

What kind of books do you recommend to read for starters?

Start with In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon (Teachings of the Buddha) Edited and introduced by Bhikkhu Bodhi

Can I be a Buddhist without joining any community?

Anybody walking the path (The Noble 8 Fold Path) with a view to come out of stress can be considered a Buddhist. It will be helpful if you are part of a community as it can help you with learning and practice. But also if you join the wrong community it can be detrimental.
You can try https://www.dhamma.org/ or http://www.internationalmeditationcentre.org/. Also http://www.buddhanet.info/wbd/ has other groups which you can try out but be wary that not all forms of Buddist pratice give the same results.

Is there any kind of "secular" Buddhism?

Secular Buddhism as in the west may have gone too far in re integrating Buddhism but inherently Buddhism is secular. Also see answers to this question on Secularized Buddhism

I would like to learn about their vision of life without making any rituals. Is that possible?

Buddhism does have culture which has developed around it and the cultural significance change from country to country. There are not Rites and Rituals in Buddhism itself.

You mentioned "wrong community". What do you mean by that? I've been thinking about becoming a Buddhist by joining a community (I need guidance and motivation), but I'm very afraid of opening my mind to the wrong people.

There might be communities which do not pratice genuine Buddhism.

Very close to my home there's a "Kadampa meditaion center", would you say they fall in that category?

I would refrain from commenting if this is the right or worng community but why don't you try: http://dhamma.org/, http://internationalmeditationcentre.org/ to start with.

You don't believe in any God. Ok. You don't believe in rituals. Ok. Very likely you already don't. So why Buddhism? I'd like to make an important point here stating that Buddhism is anything but a religion. The right question to ask would be why would you want to follow anything at all.
You will find many answers here that will give you sources and some googling will give you additional reading. "Access to insight" is one place to read some suttas and translations.
But I would say some practical advice is worth it. Get a cushion, or a straight backed chair, or sit on the floor cross legged. With spine erect. Close your eyes lightly. Make sure you're comfortable. Take 3-4 deep breaths. This gets your system responding to you. Then start normal breathing. Watch your breath go in and out of you. You could start by observing the stomach going in and out with breathing. Don't force it. And then do a body scan top to bottom and bottom to top, loosening up any tight or tense areas. Come back to the breath going in and out. You could alternatively focus your attention on the breath at the tip of your nose. During this time you may find that your mind keeps on coming up with one thought after another. If it doesn't, you're my God ;) Ignore those thoughts and come back to the breath.
Try this for sometime and then gradually increase the time. And then go for additional reading sources gradually.
Apart from this, my advice would be not to get into any complicated concepts which is not yet in your experience. This is a pitfall. Because that will just send your mind into unnecessary spirals and get you nowhere.
Metta and good luck with your practice.

You don't need to join any community to become a buddhist.
You can start by taking five precepts.

To abstain from evil (Sila - Morality)
  To do good (Samadhi - Concentration)
  To purify the mind (Panna - Wisdom)
  These are the teachings of all the Buddhas.
Dhammapada, verse 183

Sila (The Precepts)

Right Speech
Right Action
Right Livelihood

Samådhi (Tranquillity of Mind)

Right Exertion
Right Attentiveness
Right Concentration

Paññå (Wisdom, Insight)

Right Aspiration
Right Understanding

A. Sila. The three characteristic aspects of sila are:

Sammå-våcå: Right Speech
Sammå-kammanta: Right Action
Sammå-åjiva: Right Livelihood

By Right Speech is meant: speech which must be true, beneficial, and neither foul nor malicious.
By Right Action is meant: the fundamentals of morality, which are opposed to killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, and drunkenness.
By Right Livelihood is meant: a way of living by trades other than those which increase the suffering of all beings— such as slave trading, the manufacture of weapons, and traffic in intoxicating drugs.
You can read about Buddhism in this book: Dhamma Texts by Sayagyi U Ba Khin

I noticed that you mentioned that you were studying mathematics.
I myself am wired to view the world with mathematical/logical eyes, so maybe I can relate to your questions, and its source.
I would like to suggest reading Nagarjuna's writings.  Some might disagree and say that it is not for beginners.  If your brain craves structure and meaning, then this might be a path to aim for.
Logic of Buddhist Philosophy
I would also suggest that you remember that Buddhism is referred to as the Middle Way in which extremes are considered "bad".  This might help you in better coping with the ideas of "god vs. no god", or "x vs ~x".
Suerte en el camino!

Forget about what everyone else says. Traditions are just obstacles. Read up on Bankei and just stay in the Unborn mind. That's all you have to do.
It's so simple, but people just want to inflate their egos by telling you there are 1000 different difficult things that you have to do.

This is a good read: "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse.

I feel to be at least qualified for answering basic requests.
Since no one else has already mentioned it, I would recommend to start with reading the Four Noble Truths. An arguably complete treatment can be found in The Four Noble Truths: A Study Guide from Access to Insight. I would not only recommend it because it was my very first exposure with the subject, but also because, generally, it is considered one of the most fundamental teachings of the Buddha, and as a consequence also one of the most present in introductory buddhist texsts. If you would like more a book recommendation, my suggestion is to give a read or acquire an overview only after the Four Noble Truths from What the Buddha Taught: Revised and Expanded Edition with Texts from Suttas and Dhammapada, a most famous text and apparently a highly reviewed one. I too read it and can say good things about it.
There are certainly other valid entry points, some of which have already been recommended (such as learning the five precepts, a prerequisite often advocated by the Buddha himself), but since it is easy to fall into an information-overload trap nowadays and only basic instructions are being asked for here, I would limit myself to suggesting only the most essential material.

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8 causes of Earthquake - Maha-parinibbana Sutta
Buddha as part of the noble eightfold path preached that killing any organism is an unskillful action which results in bad karma. He also preached that every buddhist monk's final aim should be nibbana. In the Maha-parinibbana Sutta, it's mentioned that one cause for earthquake is a monk attaining enlightenment. Earthquakes result in the killing of atleast few organisms. So that should mean a monk should not pursue enlightenment. How does a practicing buddhist monk address this apparent contradiction?
Thanks.

There are instances where the earth trembled due to certain significant event or a very meritorious person. But I do not think these are not very serious tremors. In recent times also these have happened. E.g.

Sometimes, even in this unhappy atmosphere, there would be a ray of hope. Sayagyi had said that on my arrival in India, nature would give a sign of my future success. I travelled by air from Yangon (Rangoon) and, as it happened, when I descended from the plane in Calcutta there was an earth tremor. The next day I read in the newspapers that it had affected a large area of northern India. To me it was as if the country was thrilled to regain the long-lost jewel of the Dhamma.
Signs of this kind had occurred in the time of the Buddha. Was this nature’s way of expressing joy at the rebirth of the Buddha’s teaching through the return of Vipassana? However, when I recalled the present difficulties, I felt that perhaps the earthquake had just been a coincidence and that it was senseless to give it importance. I needed to understand and accept the existing situation, which was bleak.

Source: First Vipassana Course In India
Killing many beings who a meritorious may cause natural disasters. In the past there is a Tsunami which hit Sri Lanka when an Arahat was killed. In such cases life may get harmed.
Being enlightened is beneficial to oneself and others. Generally as far as I know earth tremors arising from this do not harm beings.

In the second of the eight parts what the Supreme Buddha said was, that if an Arahant so wishes, he/she can create an earth quake, but these kind of earthquakes do not create any harm to any being. There are a couple of examples of Arahants doing such at the request of kings, to show their powers.
In the Maha-parinibbana Sutta , The Blessed One states:
When an ascetic or a Brahmin or a deity of great power, of great majesty, has, through spiritual power, attained (complete) mastery of the mind, and has developed even a (slight) perception of this earth, or an unlimited perception of water, that individual who encompasses such spiritual powers has the ability to make this Earth move, waver, flutter, and shake. This is the second reason, the second cause for the occurrence of a great earthquake.
When the Bodhisatta (person striving for Buddhahood) The being (satta) heading for Awakening (Bodhi).descends from the heavenly abode of Tusita, and mindfully, with full awareness, enters his mother's womb, this earth moves, wavers, flutters, and shakes. This is the third reason, the third cause for the occurrence of a great earthquake.
When the Bodhisatta, highly mindfully, with full awareness, leaves his mother's womb, this earth moves, wavers, flutters, and shakes. This is the fourth reason, the fourth cause for the occurrence of a great earthquake.
When the Tathāgata attains the supreme state of Sammāsambodhi (unsurpassed and perfect Awakening), this Earth moves, wavers, flutters, and shakes. This is the fifth reason, the fifth cause for the occurrence of a great earthquake.
When the Tathāgata sets the unsurpassed wheel of the Dhamma rolling (expounds the Four Noble Truths to the world), this Earth moves, wavers, flutters, and shakes. This is the sixth reason, the sixth cause for the occurrence of a great earthquake.
When the Tathāgata, highly mindfully, with full awareness gives up the “Ability to determine to live further” (Ayu Sanskara) this Earth moves, wavers, flutters, and shakes. This is the seventh reason, the seventh cause for the occurrence of a great earthquake.
When the Tathāgata reaches Parinibbāna, leaving no basis for aggregates to continue remaining, this Earth moves, wavers, flutters, and shakes. This is the eighth reason, the eighth cause for the occurrence of a great earthquake.
These are the eight reasons, the eight causes, Ānanda, for the occurrence of a great earthquake. -                                                              (Maha-parinibbana Sutta-DN)

The Buddhist scriptures explain the physical body ('rupa') is composed of the elements of earth, wind, fire & water & this 'rupa' is inseparable from mentality ('nama').
Therefore, when the mind shakes with rapture (joy), so does the physical body (which is made of the earth element) shake with joy.
The Maha-Parinibbana Sutta states:

What causes life, unbounded or confined  — His process of becoming  —  this the Sage Renounces. With inward calm and joy he breaks, As
though a coat of mail, his own life's cause.

This reality is most well-known by ordinary people when they experience sexual orgasm & also when women complete (the trial of) childbirth.
Mystics can also use psychic powers to send thought messages & emotions into the minds of other people. This will also cause the earth element within the bodies of those other people to shake.
Many reputed arahants have passed away in Thailand yet Thailand does not have earthquakes.
Sorrow is often connected to joy. When ordinary people think of the passing of enlightened beings, both the joy & sorrow in their minds causes the earth element in their physical bodies to shake.
The above said, if what is written in the Maha-Parinibbana Sutta is literally true then Jesus Christ must have also been a Buddha because the Bible states:

Jesus again gave a loud cry and breathed his last.
Then the curtain hanging in the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split apart, the graves broke
open and many of God's people who had died were raised to life.
Matthew 27:50-53

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text:
Some daily-life examples to help explain what 'mindfulness' and 'mindless activity' are?
In Buddhism there is a concept of mindful activity. But what actually is mindfulness? How does it differ from mindless activity?
Please help me to understand that: I've googled it a lot, but failed to gain insight into it.
I hope that some concrete examples from daily life might be the best way to explain it.
I am really bad at understanding theory, so if you can please give examples is daily life: for example, is watching a movie categorized as mindless or mindful? How to make it a mindful activity?
EDIT:
After receiving various kind help, I gain more insight into mindfulness. There are 4 types of mindfulness of phenomenon of the living:

the awareness of existence of the phenomenon of body
the awareness of existence of the phenomenon of feeling. such as pleasant, unpleasant, neutral feeling that arise
the awareness of existence of phenomenon of mind
the awareness of existence of phenomenon of mental quality according to buddha teaching. (i have not fully grasp of the last part)

Do not think that one of those four as the ultimate awareness. All of those awareness make whole awareness.
mindlessness is like being a robot that fully functional. mindfulness is like being a fully functional robot that gain awareness of itself. please excuse me with the example
reference: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.010.than.html

being mindful means to at all times observe oneself in order to discern arising of unwholesome qualities and preferably nip them in the bud or, if they through one's mindlessness have managed to develop into full scale ideas, bodily and verbal acts - engender intention and resolve to refrain from them in the future
example: your co-worker receives bonus to his salary and you don't. a tide of jealousy starts building up inside your heart, then it reaches the point when you feel urge on this account to deliver sarcastic remarks at his expense and you do so, or you turn passive-aggressive and make ironical remarks about your own ostensible lack of merit. from unwholesome mental act to unwholesome verbal act: harsh speech in the first case and idle chatter - in the second
this is a snowball of unwholesomeness: from emotion/idea, to act of speech and to a possible act of body
now when you are mindful
A. the moment you start feeling jealous, you notice, acknowledge
this and restrain yourself to inhibit jelousy's further growth and try to evoke an antidote quality, which in this case would be mudita or appreciative joy/cheerfulness towards that person
B. if you allowed jealousy to grow nonetheless, you acknowledge its presence, refrain from acts of speech and body driven by it  and still try to replace it with an antidote quality
C. if you gave in to jealousy and, being driven by it, spoke or acted spitefully, you acknowledge the wrong-doing, repent, make resolve to not behave this way in the future, and in the future you recall this resolve of yours in
similar circumstances
you also make a mental note to start developing an antidote, a wholesome oppostite quality
in the Vitakkasanthana sutta (MN 20) the Buddha advises on several strategies for warding off unwholesome thoughts and urges, and although they seem to be intended for a meditator, they can be applied to routine mental activity as well
same with the wholesome qualities only with the opposite sign:
you notice when it's lacking, try to galvanize it inside your heart right then and there or make a resolve to have more of it in the future
and when you do possess a certain wholesome quality, you notice this fact and make an effort to not lose it, and enhance and develop it further
the Teaching of the Buddha is moral and ethical in nature first and foremost, where the object of mindfulness is practitioner's own behavior and psychic activity
Mindfulness is not an end but only a means of virtue cultivation.

if you kind enough to make it a little easier to understand by providing daily life example.

hi, i expanded the answer

thank you. let me summarize it, the object of mindfulness is 'arising of unwholesome quality'. I am being mindful if I notice the 'arising of unwholesome quality'. I am being mindless if I didn't notice it at all when it happens.

that's correct, same with wholesome qualities, you notice their presence or lack in you, because without regard to the positive aspect the practice would be one-sided and incomplete

When your Buddhism teacher tells you: "don't get irritated in daily life, don't get frustrated, be the master of your mind"
-- and then you come back next day and say, "I really wanted to be a master of my mind... but then I got carried away and yelled at my wife"
and teacher says: "but this was supposed to be your main practice, to not get irritated, didn't I give you instructions?"
and you say: "somehow, in real life, when we started arguing with my wife, it looked so real and so important, and your instructions seemed so far away and so naive and irrelevant"
and the teacher says: "this means you lack mindfulness. You must hold your practice assignment in front of you at all times, it must be the main thing on your mind - whatever else you do in daily life. Develop mindfulness. Do not get carried away."

So that moment when "it looked so real and so important, and your instructions seemed so far away and so naive and irrelevant" - is when your perspective (and with it, your perception of reality and hence your judgement) has shifted by the external circumstances. If you had mindfulness, you would be able to hold your perspective the way your teacher has set it up, regardless of external pressure. So mindfulness is really a basic form of jhana, being able to control your perspective, instead of you being a slave of perspective. Mindfulness is predecessor to meditation.

In this case, 'arguing with wife' belong to mindless or mindful activity?

It's not arguing per se that is mindless, it's the getting carried away and having your perspective shift. You could argue with full mindfulness if that's what's needed in that situation.

the 'perspective' is the 'objective' that have been set by me or someone else. so being full of mindfulness is to keep executing the objective throughout daily routines. is it correct?

For beginner, yes, that's a good simplification. Mindfulness of objective. Eventually it is mindfulness of perspective though.

Sati means it aids remembering. So if you are mindful you are aware of what is happening. So in this aspect if you pay close attention and absorbed in the movie you have mindfulness with perhaps no fantasising or other though proliferation then you are mindful.
Right mindfulness is to be mindful of the 4 Satipatthana. The essence is that you have to experience the arise of passing off sensation resulting from what you see in the movie is to your liking, disliking and neither.

I am so absorbed in the movie that I am not aware of what's going on around me. And I also can easily relate to the movie's character feeling  during the movie scene. Is this being mindful?

No. Here you are in fantasy hence not mindful. Mindful is the be aware and knowing everything happening. Maybe even fly buzzing around. This is not the mindfulness in meditation though. Here you are mindful of your expectations and the sensation arising from these expectations.

authors: Баян Купи-ка


text:
I am having hyper vigilance issue in my daily life
I self diagnose myself of having hyper vigilance, maybe as a result of having psychological trauma in the past. It is a condition where I can't really trust other human being. Often perceiving other human being around me as a threat. I am completely relax near animals or very-close person.
My condition is not severed, only fired up if certain condition arise. For example when speaking to new business acquaintance, I am in alert condition frantically trying to gather and analyze as much information as possible before giving out comment or response. Somehow I have feeling that I will be doomed if I didn't give a perfect response.
what kind of buddhist teaching that can ease this symptom?

First and foremost, you must establish mindfulness of the body. Your mind should always be in your (lower) Dantian. Initially you may have to do exercises, push your abdomen out 100 times, several times a day, until you get used to being aware of your dantian.
Whenever you deal with people (talk to strangers), you should force yourself to stay in your body. Do not "fly" over to their perspective, or to some imaginary point in abstract space. Stay inside your body.
You need to develop a good posture, good grace, and good gait. You should sit, stand, and walk conveniently, with good energy flow.
Second, you need to stop relying on people's opinions for your right-and-wrong. Your right-and-wrong should come from Dharma. When your right-and-wrong comes from Dharma, as long as you act by the Dharma, you'll no longer care what people think about you. Then you will not try to please them or be likable. Then you can be your own center, with Dharma being your center.
Third, you should also sit without doing anything for one hour every day. When you sit you reconnect with your center.
To summarize, develop awareness of your body esp dantian, stay in your body when you talk to people, develop grace, don't try to please people - instead be your own center acting by the Dharma, sit daily and reconnect with your center.

that is a very good and clear advice. I often 'fly' over to other perspective. it is so hard to stay in my own body. it seems that you put importance to 'mindfulness of the body'. can you provide more reference to that? and also that 'dantian' thingy things

One recommendation is to stay aware of feelings (sensations) in your body, instead of being aware of a badly-defined fear.

Am I conscious of painful bodily sensations, am I being physically aggressed?
No
Are painful bodily sensations likely to begin in the next few seconds, will I be aggressed?
No
Well, alright then

The cause of your worry is presumably a "fabrication".

Metta meditation might help - wishing others to be happy and free of pain. What might also help is Tonglen meditation.

You should start by being mindful on when you perceive something as a threat, friendly and neither. Look at the associated sensation that arise with such perceiving. Best is to do a course on meditation. You can try: https://www.dhamma.org/en/index, http://www.internationalmeditationcentre.org/global/index.html, http://www.buddhanet.info/wbd/

I would recommend for doing Loving Kindness meditation.
An example doing loving kindness is decribed here.
http://www.mettainstitute.org/mettameditation.html
You can also do a short and simple loving kindness by saying in your mind "Be peaceful".
That will help to reduce your worrying.
By accompanying with silanussati, loving kindness will be more effective.
Silanussati is recalling/remembering your moral values.
For example, not killing anyone including ants, insects during the day. Talking politely to people etc.
You can read about silanussati here.
http://www.themindingcentre.org/dharmafarer/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/15.11-Silanussati-Vism-7-piya.pdf
with Metta


text:
What is a nirvana?
I think the title says it all.I know that an enlightened person's soul will go to nirvana after their death, but what is really nirvana?
Is it some kind of a place or something like that?

Welcome to the site. When you tagged the question 'tibetan-buddhism', is that because you want answers that are from the perspective of specifically-Tibetan Buddhism, and explicitly not from the perspective of e.g. Theravada Buddhism?

I really doubt it is somethings that can be defined explicitly. It is easier to say what it not than to say what it is. I was taught by a monk that the one of the greatest lies that we can say is to define nirvana wrongly. According to him it cannot be defined

I have written an answer here where the Buddha describes Nibbana. Maybe it will be of use for you.

it's definitely not a place, it's a no-place
this question could gave been answered earlier, please review
https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/search?q=what+is+nirvana
https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/search?q=what+is+nibbana
please also refer to
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sacca/sacca3/nibbana.html
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/nibbana.html

Nirvana is the cessation of the cause (attachment, hatred, delusion, non attachment, non hatred, non delusion) of continuous existance. With cessation of the cause perception and sensations cesses. The implication of perception cessing is of perception is you do not analyse any experience as good, bad or neutral and sensation cessing means the whole sphere of unsatisfactoriness cesses.


text:
I am looking to learn about the philosophy of Tibetan Buddhism. Does anyone know the proper order in which to learn the texts?
I love the Tibetan tradition - Palyul Vajrayana is specifically the one I'm in.
I would like to learn more about it, but the amount of texts available is just mind-boggling. I'd like to learn Abidhamma, the Lam-rim, and other texts that Tibetan masters have written.
However, many of these texts (of the few that are translated) depend on the knowledge of other Buddhist concepts to be understood. For example, for the Diamond Sutra - I needed understanding of form and emptiness, and still I do not fully understand it because I do not have an understanding of what Dhammas are in Buddhist philosophy.
I know there are resources at fpmt that deal with this specifically. And, if anyone wants to take a look, here they are:
http://fpmt.org/education/programs/basic-program/#12
However, I am ignorant as to what percentage of philosophical understanding this covers, and how much pre-requisite knowledge you need.
TL;DR: Looking for a list of books by teaching that you'd find in a Shedra environment.
If you know such a list, please answer!
Thank you

Incidentally, Palyul is my hometown monastery; when weather is good I meditate in their stupa park (not the real Palyul, a branch).
As Palyul is Nyingma, their main ngondro text is "The Words of My Perfect Teacher" by Dza Patrul Rinpoche, plus "A Guide to The Words of My Perfect Teacher" by Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang. Although these are considered "beginner" texts, if you study them carefully and do not rush, you will get much value. Especially the second one is very dense and actually not a beginner text at all.
If you feel like you are ready for a complete lamrim, Kangyur Rinpoche's commentary on Jigme Lingpa's Treasury of Precious Qualities, is a refresher text used by lamas getting ready for their final exams. It packs the whole teaching in one volume. (Volume 2 covers tantra but that's completely useless without a live teacher)

I actually have both of those books sitting on my altar. It's a shame they're here and not in the hands of someone who's actually reading them. I will check them out, though.

The study material of the 'basic-program' provided by the FPMT covers a great deal, but (1) what it covers also depends on the teachings and commentaries you follow (2) and it is a specific traditions and a specific college. You will learn there are various traditions, and various college that propound different point of views. Once you are familiar with one and firm you will understand the other better as well. You can read the study material - root-text, recommended books, transcripts of past BP - but you would not get that much out of it. You would definitely get more by attending a BP, either online or residential. I advise you not to just study on your own. Receiving teachings from a qualified teacher is of utmost importance.
The BP is done in 2 years in some centers, 3 in others, 5 yet in others. Because of this, the transcript of the course given by Geshe Chonyi on buddha nature (with Maitreya's root-text) is relatively short and easy and he quotes Gyaltsab Je's complicated commentary once or twice. Geshe Gyaltsen's transcript, on the other hand, is long and it is a word-by-word Gyaltsabe Je's "oral" commentary that he gave over three months. I know because I attended as interpreter from English to French.
Some study Gyaltsab Je's commentaries while others do not (precisely because it's terse, dry, and not intended for beginners).
The BP is great. You would learn about Lam Rim (mainly Tsongkhapa's), Tenets (doctrinal classifications), Lorig (epistemology), Buddha nature according to the meaning of the Prajnaparamita but also the third turning, etc. It might have sectarian aspects but these are not avoidable. This is because the FPMT is spiritual, or "religious", although it is academic, it is not oriented towards inter-textuality too much, or historical perspectives. Comparisons (as are done in the context of Tenets) always have an agenda. Still, if you are a practitioner, at some point you will have to dive in a water that you will have come to see as - if not the absolute truth - beneficial, wholesome and functional and aimed to your goal, enlightenment.

I dont know what your reasons for study are or much about the BP but I would say to study Lam Rim extensively. This is because it is  the key to all sutra - this is why it is important. Tsongkapas is best because it is so extensive. It includes a really useful presentation of the Consequences school but not how to meditate on it. So for this turn to Meditation on Emptiness by Jeffrey Hopkins which includes the Gelug presentation of phenomena. This may (may) be useful to cut through a lot of the other schools messiness with regard to their presentation of phenomena and psychology.
Im not being partisan. But there is a problem, as it seems to me, an outsider not concerned with legacy, that a lot of the schools other than Gelug evolved without Consequences school view and thus with hang ups regarding abhidharma and psychology and logic generally. Dont get me wrong, it is precisely for this reason the Gelugs themselves are very riven and withdrawn. Cut to Prasangika. This course of action does not contradict the Buddhas teaching, nor devotion to any teacher or practice of any lineage as there is only one root to cut!
The trick would be to use this clearer (quicker) knowledge of the Gelugs to engage with the method side at the highest level in the your practice, your creative method, how you choose to engage with the lineage you feel most attracted to, to practice guru yoga with a teacher (real or imagined) as the unity of the two truths. The Gelugs have this too (see Sonam Thakchoe on the two truths) but in practice its a whole other ball game (see His Holiness the Dalai Lama on the Gelug/Kagyu tradition of Mahamudra).

Edit: added line-spacing to increase readability.


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Faintness of Object of Meditation
I started meditating recently formally, after a while of non-formal meditation, and I'm realizing that the objects I meditate on, either the breath or an image, are extremely faint. In the case of the breath, I barely can tell whether I'm on the breath or some other object, and it is hard for me to switch my attention to the sensations at the nostrils. In the case of an image, it is extremely faint and hard to distinguish.
My questions are as follows:
1) Should I continue with the breath, hoping it will become clearer despite not knowing if I'm truly focused upon it, or should I switch to a visual imagined object?
2) Should I keep meditating despite the faintness of these objects of focus or is there a way to dispel this dullness outside of formal meditation? Are there any tips or techniques to do so?
Thank you in advance.

Edit: Added line-spacing and paragraphs. Please roll-back if not agreeable.

As far as I've been taught (specifically by Richard Shankman), it's fine to pick a place where the breath is strongest for you (for example the rise and fall of the chest), rather than one proscribed by a certain teacher or text. Also, from Joseph Goldstein's Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening: "For myself, I always appreciated the pragmatism of Munindra-ji, my first teacher, who said to observe the breath wherever it is easiest, wherever you feel it the most clearly."
And in general, I wouldn't worry too much about things being "faint." As long as you can feel it most of the time, patience and practice are more important than idealized technique. It's normal for the breath to disappear, so to speak, on occasion.

... I'm realizing that the objects I meditate on, either the breath or an image, are extremely faint ...

You should move your mind to the object and then you should retain your mind on the object. As a beginner if you do not pratice the latter then the object will be less prominent. You should retain the object of meditation by continuously reviewing if your mind is with the object and regardless of whether it is or has gone to another object you should continuously redirect your mind to the object. After a while you will be able to retain the object and feel the object without issue. With regard to reviewing with the intention of retaining see p35, Knowing and Seeing 4th Ed by Ven. Pa-Auk Sayadaw

... it is hard for me to switch my attention to the sensations at the nostrils ...

For somebody starting out it does not matter if you feel any sensation or not as long as your attention is with the object. More you pratice the object becomes clearer and clearer.
This is like taining to be an athlete. You cannot be Olympic medalist the 1st day on training. You pick up endurance and stamina as you go along with your training. So is meditation.

...
1 )Should I continue with the breath,

Yes.

... I'm truly focused upon it,

As long as your mind is directed at trying to feel the object, i.e., sensation round the mouth you are doing OK.
Once you start feeling the sensations prominently try looking closely at the object, i.e., sensations, until you can see arising and passing of sensations.

or should I switch to a visual imagined object?

This will not develop Vipassana hence it is best to stick to the above.

2)Should I keep meditating despite the faintness of these objects of focus

Yes.

or is there a way to dispel this dullness outside of formal meditation?

Try to retain the object by continuously and persistently trying to retain the object and continuously review if the mind is with the object.

Are there any tips or techniques to do so?

If you are tense and not released then this becomes and issue. So relax your body and mind actively looking at tense or tight sensations that arise looking at arising and passing within them.
Though not related to this the content and references of my answer to this question has further information: How to balance an attitude of "effortless non-striving" with proper posture?


text:
Can somebody explain me this Kalachakra print?
I would like to understand this image.

Can someone explain each part of this image? Not only the part in the middle, but also the figures all around.

Generally speaking, what is shown is Kalachakra with his consort Vishvamatha, mother of all beings, in union of great bliss and profound wisdom. The many heads, arms and ritual implements represent the ability to handle all situations at all times. They trample figures representing ignorance, anger and greed. Kalachakra is associated with the cycle of time.

Incidentally someone once tried to flag this question for deletion, because it's related to highest yoga (secret) tantra, and someone who wants teaching on this topic should get them from his or her guru. I didn't or wouldn't delete the question because it's on-topic for this site (see also e.g. this meta-topic); I don't know whether you'll want to answer it.

This is what I have been able to determine. It does not answer all of the symbolism or identify all objects from this particular image, but it is a good start.

"...Shri Kalachakra shining forth with stainless light rays of five
  [colours], with a body blue in colour. Having three necks the central
  is blue, right red and left white. The main face is black and fierce
  with bared teeth. The right face is red and desirous. The back face is
  yellow and in samadhi. The left face is white and very peaceful. Each
  face has three eyes.
The hair is tied in a tuft [along with] a vishvavajra, crescent moon,
  and Vajrasattva as a crown, a vajra jewel, vajra earrings, vajra
  necklace, vajra bracelets, vajra belt, vajra anklets, vajra scarf,
  vajra mala, and a loose tiger skin skirt.
The first [two] shoulders on the right and left are blue, second red,
  third white, for a [total] of six [pairs] of shoulders, twelve upper
  arms and twenty-four hands. The first four [right and left] are black,
  second four red, third four white. The thumbs of all the hands are
  yellow, index finger white, middle finger red, ring finger black, and
  little finger green. The first knuckle is black, second red, third
  white. All of the fingers are beautiful and radiant.
The first four black right hands hold a vajra, sword, trident and
  curved knife.
The four red [hold] a flaming arrow, vajra hook, a rattling damaru and
  hammer.
The four white [hands hold] a wheel, spear, stick and a battle axe.
The first four black left [hands] hold a vajra bell, shield, katvanga
  and a skullcup filled with blood. The four red [hold] a bow, vajra
  lasso, jewel and a white lotus. The four white [hold] a conch, mirror,
  vajra chain and the four-faced head of Brahma adorned with lotus
  [flowers].
Above a moon, sun and rahu, standing in a very playful manner, the
  right red leg is extended atop red Kamadeva having one face and four
  hands, holding five flower arrows, a bow, lasso and a hook. Under the
  left white leg is Rudra, white with one face, three eyes and four
  arms, holding a trident, damaru drum, skullcup and a katvanga. The
  demon [consorts] Rati and Uma in a woeful [manner] hold the soles [of
  Kalachakra's feet].
Vishvamata, yellow in colour, embraces [Kalachakra] from the front.
  The faces, from the right are yellow, white, blue and red, each with
  three eyes. There are eight arms. The [first] right hands hold a
  curved knife, hook, a rattling damaru and bead mala. The left [hands
  hold] a skullcup, lasso, white lotus with eight petals and a jewel.
  Vajrasattva [appears] as a crown. Adorned with the five mudras. The
  left leg is extended - standing together with the Bhagavan."

-- (Buton Tamche Kyenpa Rinchen Drub, 1290-1364. dus 'khor sgrub thabs bsdus pa rin po che'i snying po. gsung 'bum rin chen grub [zhol par khang] Volume 5, Pages 163-176. [TBRC W1934])

Semi-wrathful in appearance, blue in colour, he has four faces,
  twenty-four hands and two legs. The main face is blue, right red, left
  white and the back face is yellow. Each has three eyes and an open
  mouth with slightly bared fangs. The first set of eight hands are blue
  in colour, second (middle) red and third (upper) yellow. The first
  pair of hands hold a vajra and bell crossed at the heart embracing the
  consort. The remaining right hands hold a sword, curved knife,
  trident, three arrows, vajra hook, damaru drum, hammer, wheel, spear,
  club and axe. The left hands hold a shield, katvanga staff, skullcup,
  bow, lasso, jewel, lotus, conch shell, mirror, vajra chains and the
  four-faced yellow head of Brahma. The Lord wears a long green scarf
  and a tiger skin as a lower garment. The consort, Vishvamata, is
  yellow, with four faces and eight hands. They are both adorned with
  crowns, necklaces, earrings, bracelets and various ornaments. The
  right leg of the Lord is straight and red, standing atop the figure of
  red Kamadeva. The left is bent and white, standing atop white Rudra.
  Above the layered discs of a white moon, red sun and dark blue Rahu
  (eclipse) they stand on a multi-coloured lotus blossom seat wreathed
  by the circular orange rays of pristine awareness fire.
At the top center is the primordial buddha Vajradhara, blue, with one
  face and two hands holding a vajra and bell at the heart. At each side
  are two kings of Shambhala wearing long garments and elaborate
  headdresses. Slightly below are two lamas wearing orange and red
  monastic robes. Two celestial figures, white in colour, soar against
  the dark blue sky.
At the left side is Sahaja Heruka Kalachakra, blue, with one face and
  two hands holding a vajra and bell embracing the consort. Vishvamata,
  yellow, holds a curved knife and skullcup. At the right is the
  tutelary deity Mahamaya, blue, with four faces and four hands holding
  a skullcup and katvanga staff and in the second pair a bow and arrow.
  The consort, Buddha Dakini, is light blue in colour, with one face and
  four hands holding the same objects as the Lord. Adorned with wrathful
  vestments, above a corpse, sun disc and pink lotus flower they stand
  in a dancing posture against an orb of red wisdom fire.
At the bottom center is the special protector for the Kalachakra cycle
  of Tantras, Vajra Vega (Tib.: dor je shug, Eng.: Vajra Strength). Very
  wrathful, blue in colour, with four faces, twenty-six hands and two
  legs he displays the same colours as Kalachakra. At the left is the
  tutelary deity form of Vajrapani, wrathful, blue, with one face and
  two hands holding an upraised vajra in the right and a bell in the
  left. Embracing the consort, green, they stand surrounded by fire. At
  the right is Hayagriva, red, with one face and two hands holding a
  stick and lasso.
The Kalachakra Mandala belongs to the non-dual anuttarayoga tantra
  practiced to a greater or lesser degree by all schools of Tibetan
  Buddhism. The concept of 'time' is used as the special metaphor to
  symbolize the process of transformation from mundane existence to
  complete enlightenment. From amongst the numerous lineages to enter
  Tibet the Rwa and Dro are the most famous. The Sakya school maintains
  seven distinct lineages of transmission. (See Guhyasamaja and
  Yogambara from the same set).
Rwa Lineage: Buddha Shakyamuni-Kalachakra, the Shambala king
  Suchandra, a line of 8 Shambhala kings ending with Manjukirti and
  Pundarika, a Manjushri emanation, Chilu Pandita, Pindo Acharya,
  Kalachakrapada the younger (Naropa), Manjukirti, Samantashri, Rwa
  Chorab, Rwa Yeshe Sengge, etc.

-- Jeff Watt 3-99
Himalayan Art
https://theoldmonkeymind.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/kalachakra.jpg


text:
Why was Lord Buddha reluctant to ordain females as Bhikkuni initially?
I have learnt that Lord Buddha was initially reluctant to ordain females but after a lot of convincing by his step mother Buddha started ordaining females. Why was he initially reluctant? If not for his step mother would there even have been a chance for Buddha to ordain women?

I once listened to the same question being answered by a monk. And here are the answers. (Not the exact words but the long story short.)

Lord Buddha never said that Males are better than Females. But as this is India that we are talking about Buddhism had to face some major issues when bringing equality to a country that was dominated by a cast system that was directly attached to the religion which later on formed Hinduism.
Lord Buddhas take decisions taking Past,present & Future into equation. When Lord Buddha himself first visited his own relatives they did not worshiped Lord Buddha. So Lord Buddha had to show miracles to get them out of their ego of cast and royalty. This was the kind of socio-political landscape that Lord Buddha had to work with.
Buddhism had to do things very carefully because any wrong move would have caused a bloodbath between Buddhist kings and non-Buddhist kings over the new found religious democracy.So Lord Buddha had to face some difficulties when handling social issues.
A good example can be found in the situation that unfolded when Lord Buddha allowed Prince Rahula (the son of prince siddhartha who later on became our lord Buddha). Lord Buddha's father came and pleaded for a new law that forbids the acceptance of people who come to become monks without the approval of their parents. This law is valid to this day and the only way such a person is going to become a monk is either waiting till his or her parents die or threatening to suicide if the monk-hood is not granted. (I personally know a great monk who became a monk by the threatening.)
As you can see it is not fair but it was necessary. Now lets see why this happened.
In the era of Lord Buddha women were right next to animals, more tools or breeding machines than equals with men. Lord Buddha had to fight centuries old traditions and beliefs. (sadly to this day Indian government has to issue advertisements via all forms of media saying "Your daughter deserves education too").
It is in teaching that Lord Buddha refused to accept Female monk hood three times and after the third accepted it. But the Female Monk hood disappeared from many countries and even today female to male ratio of Buddhist who would consider monkhood is not satisfactory. Maybe that was the reason it disappeared.
Lord Buddha gave a certain set of rules to be followed by female monks so that they could avoid any harm that could come from the society that was genuinely "Masochist".

Thanks for the nice explanation. I am sure it was due to sociopolitical factors.

Very nice answer ^.^

there's an alternative point of view suggesting that if the Mahapajapati's story is indeed authentic, it postdates the first acceptance of a woman into the Sangha, who could be Bhadda Kundalakesa, and that reluctance of the Buddha concerns specific circumstances of that particular episode and not wholesale refusal of women entrance into the order
Bhadda Kundalakesa Therigatha (Thig 5.9)

I traveled before in a single cloth,
  With shaven head, covered in
  dust,
  Thinking of faults in the faultless,
  While in the faulty
  seeing no faults.
  When done was the day's abiding,
  I went to Mount
  Vulture Peak
  And saw the stainless Buddha
  By the Order of Bhikkhus
  revered.
Then before Him my hands in añjali
  Humbly, I bowed down
  on my knees.
  "Come, Bhadda," He said to me:
  And thus was I
  ordained.
  Debt-free, I traveled for fifty years
  In Anga, Magadha
  and Vajji,
  In Kasi and Kosala, too,
  Living on the alms of the
  land.
  That lay-supporter — wise man indeed —
  May many merits
  accrue to him!
  Who gave a robe to Bhadda for
  Free of all ties is
  she.

the issue is dealt with at length in the Ven Sujato's book "White Bones Red Rot Black Snakes" (free)
the history behind the issue appears very misty to me, where the truth probably won't ever be found out

Thanks. Sadly the traditional education system focuses only on Buddha's refusal of Mahapajapati's request to ordain women. I'm sure there is more to it but it's all conjecture.

If you look at the actual story in question, Mahapajapati wasn't asking the Buddha to ordain women in general, but was only asking about herself, and the Buddha was reluctant. I should note that some modern scholarship seems to suggest that this story could be fabricated.
Even if the story is true, the reasons for his reluctance couldn't have been because he didn't want there to be a Bhikkhuni order, because the Vinaya has a section that describes Mara trying to convince the Buddha to pass into Parinibbana, and the Buddha kept giving reasons not to, and once he said that he wouldn't because he hadn't established the Bhikkhuni order yet, so it seems that the Buddha intended to have an order of Bhikkhunis from the beginning.

Buddha generally advised training for calm.
The theme of sexuality is something associated with a lot of strong emotion and one genereally needs some sort of rehabilitative conditioning to manage impulses.

AN 1.1 This is how I heard. At one time the Buddha was staying in the
city of Sāvatthī in Jeta’s park, at Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. There,
the Buddha addressed the monks, “Monks!”
“Bhante,” they replied. The Buddha said this: “Monks, I do not see a
single sight that obsesses a man’s mind like the sight of a woman. The
sight of a woman obsesses a man’s mind.”
AN 1.2 “Monks, I do not see a single sound that obsesses a man’s mind
like the sound of a woman. The sound of a woman obsesses a man’s
mind.”
AN 1.3 “Monks, I do not see a single smell that obsesses a man’s mind
like the smell of a woman. The smell of a woman obsesses a man’s
mind.”
AN 1.4 “Monks, I do not see a single taste that obsesses a man’s mind
like the taste of a woman. The taste of a woman obsesses a man’s
mind.”
AN 1.5 “Monks, I do not see a single touch that obsesses a man’s mind
like the touch of a woman. The touch of a woman obsesses a man’s
mind.”
AN 1.6 “Monks, I do not see a single sight that obsesses a woman’s
mind like the sight of a man. The sight of a man obsesses a woman’s
mind.”
AN 1.7 “Monks, I do not see a single sound that obsesses a woman’s
mind like the sound of a man. The sound of a man obsesses a woman’s
mind.”
AN 1.8 “Monks, I do not see a single smell that obsesses a woman’s
mind like the smell of a man. The smell of a man obsesses a woman’s
mind.”
AN 1.9 “Monks, I do not see a single taste that obsesses a woman’s
mind like the taste of a man. The taste of a man obsesses a woman’s
mind.”
AN 1.10 “Monks, I do not see a single touch that obsesses a woman’s
mind like the touch of a man. The touch of a man obsesses a woman’s
mind.”

DN 16
23. Then the Venerable Ananda said to the Blessed One: "How, Lord, should we conduct ourselves towards women?"
"Do not see them, Ananda."
"But, Lord, if we do see them?"
"Do not speak, Ananda."
"But, Lord, if they should speak to us?"
"Then, Ananda, you should establish mindfulness."

[1] "There is the case of the monk who, on seeing a cloud of dust,
falters, faints, doesn't steel himself, can't continue in the holy
life. Declaring his weakness in the training, he leaves the training
and returns to the lower life. What is the cloud of dust for him?
There is the case of the monk who hears, 'In that village or town over
there is a woman or girl who is shapely, good-looking, charming,
endowed with the foremost lotus-like complexion.' On hearing this, he
falters, faints, doesn't steel himself, can't continue in the holy
life. Declaring his weakness in the training, he leaves the training
and returns to the lower life. That, for him, is the cloud of dust.
This individual, I tell you, is like the warrior who, on seeing a
cloud of dust, falters, faints, doesn't steel himself, can't engage in
the battle. Some individuals are like this. This is the first type of
warrior-like individual who can be found existing among the monks.
[2] "Then there is the case of the monk who can handle the cloud of
dust, but on seeing the top of the enemy's banner, he falters, faints,
doesn't steel himself, can't continue in the holy life. Declaring his
weakness in the training, he leaves the training and returns to the
lower life. What is the top of the banner for him? There is the case
of the monk who not only hears that 'In that village or town over
there is a woman or girl who is shapely, good-looking, charming,
endowed with the foremost lotus-like complexion.' He sees for himself
that in that village or town over there is a woman or girl who is
shapely, good-looking, charming, endowed with the foremost lotus-like
complexion. On seeing her, he falters, faints, doesn't steel himself,
can't continue in the holy life. Declaring his weakness in the
training, he leaves the training and returns to the lower life. That,
for him, is the top of the banner. This individual, I tell you, is
like the warrior who can handle the cloud of dust, but on seeing the
top of the enemy's banner, he falters, faints, doesn't steel himself,
can't engage in the battle. Some individuals are like this. This is
the second type of warrior-like individual who can be found existing
among the monks.
[3] "Then there is the case of the monk who can handle the cloud of
dust & the top of the enemy's banner, but on hearing the tumult [of
the approaching forces], he falters, faints, doesn't steel himself,
can't continue in the holy life. Declaring his weakness in the
training, he leaves the training and returns to the lower life. What
is the tumult for him? There is the case of the monk who has gone to
the wilderness, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty building. A
woman approaches him and giggles at him, calls out to him, laughs
aloud, & teases him. On being giggled at, called out to, laughed at, &
teased by the woman, he falters, faints, doesn't steel himself, can't
continue in the holy life. Declaring his weakness in the training, he
leaves the training and returns to the lower life. That, for him, is
the tumult. This individual, I tell you, is like the warrior who can
handle the cloud of dust & the top of the enemy's banner, but on
hearing the tumult he falters, faints, doesn't steel himself, can't
engage in the battle. Some individuals are like this. This is the
third type of warrior-like individual who can be found existing among
the monks.
[4] "Then there is the case of the monk who can handle the cloud of
dust, the top of the enemy's banner, & the tumult, but when in
hand-to-hand combat he is struck and falls wounded. What is the
hand-to-hand combat for him? There is the case of the monk who has
gone to the wilderness, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty
building. A woman approaches him and sits down right next to him, lies
down right next to him, throws herself all over him. When she sits
down right next to him, lies down right next to him, and throws
herself all over him, he — without renouncing the training, without
declaring his weakness — engages in sexual intercourse. This, for him,
is hand-to-hand combat. This individual, I tell you, is like the
warrior who can handle the cloud of dust, the top of the enemy's
banner, & the tumult, but when in hand-to-hand combat he is struck and
falls wounded. Some individuals are like this. This is the fourth type
of warrior-like individual who can be found existing among the monks.
[5] "Then there is the case of the monk who can handle the cloud of
dust, the top of the enemy's banner, the tumult, & hand-to-hand
combat. On winning the battle, victorious in battle, he comes out at
the very head of the battle. What is victory in the battle for him?
There is the case of the monk who has gone to the wilderness, to the
foot of a tree, or to an empty dwelling. A woman approaches him and
sits down right next to him, lies down right next to him, throws
herself all over him. When she sits down right next to him, lies down
right next to him, and throws herself all over him, he extricates
himself, frees himself, and goes off where he will.
"He resorts to a secluded dwelling place: the wilderness, the foot of
a tree, a mountain, a glen, a hillside cave, a charnel ground, a
forest grove, the open air, a haystack. Having gone to the wilderness,
the foot of a tree, or an empty building, he sits down, crosses his
legs, holds his body erect, and brings mindfulness to the fore. - an5.75

This is like taking a reactive dog away from what is distracting, to retrain it properly in a calm environment where it can be rehabilitated to act & think adequately.
Buddha wasn't categorically pro gender segregation because it is also said that women can be Arahants and one should follow a wise person and take a companion who is one's equal or better.
I think it makes sense that allowing women to establish their Sangha nearby reeks trouble for the upholding of brahmacariya among the bhikkhus and that is only compensated by a likewise compromised bhikkhuni sangha.
Instead of have one strong sangha which is lower in number, one recruits a larger group but the whole is then inherently compromised and the upright traditions won't be upheld as long as could've been if the bhikkhus were secluded.

“But, Ānanda, if women had not obtained the Going-forth from the home
life into homelessness in the Dhamma & Vinaya made known by the
Tathāgata, the holy life would have lasted long, the true Dhamma would
have lasted 1,000 years. But now that they have obtained the
Going-forth from the home life into homelessness in the Dhamma &
Vinaya made known by the Tathāgata, the holy life will not last long,
the true Dhamma will last only 500 years.
“Just as a clan in which there are many women and few men is easily
plundered by robbers and thieves, in the same way, in whatever Dhamma
& Vinaya women obtain the Going-forth from home life into
homelessness, the holy life does not last long.
“Just as, when the white blight falls on a field of ripening wheat,
that field of wheat does not last long, in the same way, in whatever
Dhamma & Vinaya women obtain the Going-forth from home life into
homelessness, the holy life does not last long.
“Just as, when the rust disease falls on a field of sugar cane, that
field of sugar cane does not last long, in the same way, in whatever
Dhamma & Vinaya women obtain the Going-forth from home life into
homelessness, the holy life does not last long.
“Just as a man might make an embankment in advance around a great
reservoir to keep the waters from overflowing, in the same way I have
set forth in advance the eight rules of respect for nuns that they are
not to transgress as long as they live.” - an8.51

As to the validity of this particular story, i think it is generally true because it makes sense and is complete with excellent analogies.

The stock phrase in the suttas is a man leaves the household life for freedom, as follows:

He [the person discussed above], hearing the Dhamma, gains conviction
in the Tathāgata and reflects: 'Household life is confining, a dusty
path. Life gone forth is the open air. It isn't easy, living at home,
to practice the holy life totally perfect, totally pure, a polished
shell. What if I, having shaved off my hair & beard and putting on the
ochre robe, were to go forth from the household life into
homelessness?'
Mahatanhasankhaya Sutta

Therefore the monks, at times, lived in forests and caves and roamed around northern India at will. We can also read in the suttas some well-practised monks travelled in India to spread the Teachings and were murdered by hostile opposition.
When women joined the Sangha, obviously they had to be protected. Unlike men who are disposable assets, such as conscripted as soldiers in war, society does not generally accept endangering the lives of women. If the daughters of good families became nuns and were often raped or murdered, the Buddha's Sangha would obviously fall into disrepute.
Therefore, to ordain women was obviously a loss of freedom for the monks, in that the Sangha would somewhat resemble the household life, where monks would be involved in the protection of nuns. To a bhikkhu (monk), such as activity can be disgusting.

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text:
Does evolution contradict Buddhism?
According to the Agganna Sutta we humans beings from Abbhassara Brahma world.  They are mind-made, feeding on delight, self-luminous, moving through the air, glorious. So basically a much more advance species than humans. Because of desire they deteriorated to what we are right now.
But evolution on the other hand basically talks about the reverse of this. That out ancestors were primates/chimps who had less developed intelligence. While the evidence to support the theory of evolution has been compelling still it remains unproven, however, still is widely expected as the most plausible explanation for the beginning of man kind.
 Is there anyway that both of these can mean the same although it seems to contradict on the surface?

Possible duplicate of Is it possible to reconcile the evolution theory with Buddhism?

The titles make it seem like a duplicate but I think this question isn't about Buddhist cosmology in general but instead specifically about the Agganna Sutta.

I have not yet read the sutta you are referring to but i'm aware of both teaching (biological & Buddhist evolutions). So i am going to answer the last part of your question.

Evolution vs Buddhism
Sometime ago i had the same question as Buddhism does not explain animal evolution along with the human evolution. It took me sometime to understand a certain point that i have been missing from the beginning.....
As we all know that biology treats Humans and animals in the same manner while Buddhism does it very differently.
As Buddhism understand the world the animal realm is not a part of human realm. So in English, animals are not a Non-matured kind of humans. Animals are animals according to Buddhism.
As science suggest Evolution happens because of some beings being able to adapt to the environment and being able to reach good enough supply of nutritious foods & being able to hold on to that particular conditions for a long time.
But
As Buddhism teach Human birth is caused By good Karma and Animal birth is caused by bad karma. And when humans first started in earth there were no animals.
This statement make sense because as the universe is new there is no animal form left to give birth to beings in bad realms. But when Humans are born the circle is set.
You might want to know what Lord Buddha said about the life expectancy of early humans.
As to Lord Buddha......

Early humans had no health problems (The earth is new so it makes
sense).
Early humans were so healthy they called Hunger a disease
Early humans live 65,000+ years

(This is not the collective lifetime.This is the life expectancy of a single one like we live 65 years now)

So it is wrong to think that Darvin's Evolution is the same with Buddhism's Evolution. But it is clear that Buddhism is the only religion that actually proposed Evolution among all other faiths (2600 + years ago). Buddhism has its own version of evolution and i doubt that we will live long enough to see either one of these evolutions get proven by physical facts.
May the triple gems bless you!

When you say "evolution", I take you mean the current accepted biological theory sprung from Darwin.
As far as I understand, this theory is an explanation for the origin of species: that is, what accounts for the regularities that are found over generations of a certain specie (the regularities that define the category -- the specie) to mutate over time.
With only that theory in mind, we can't talk about species being more advanced than others. The characteristics of a specie simply "are": some are reinforced and become stronger (e.g. tolerance to higher or lower temperatures), some are weakened and deteriorate over generations (e.g. ability to digest certain elements) according to the inherited characteristics of the ancestors and environment.
On the other hand, in Buddhism, there's the notion of impermanence, which seems to subsume mutation, and a theory of karma, which targets the explanation of the process of mutation of "a single person": how a being "becomes" and to what environment his becoming eventually inclines to.
Furthermore, the theory of evolution above targets mutation over generations of populations -- it's interested in characteristics shared by many beings. Buddhism is not interested in how species (categories of beings) mutate, but shows concerns with the rise and fall of perceived experience and the becoming of aggregates subject to birth and decay, linked by karma.
Finally, genetics can explain how a person's body inherits her ancestor's characteristics and has features considered "pretty". Buddhism, however, talks about why "that particular person took that place" of being that person whose body features are pretty.

According to the reference in this answer, the Agganna Sutta is a parable which suggests that Brahmins shouldn't feel pleased about how holy they are, that their current life is relatively degenerate.
It starts as a reply to the brahmins' saying,

Bhante, the brahmins say, ‘The brahmin is the best class;
  any other class is inferior. The brahmin is
  the fair class; any other class is dark. Only brahmins are pure, not the non-brahmins. Brahmins are Brahma‘s
  own sons, the offspring from his mouth, born of Brahma, created by Brahma, the heirs of Brahma.
  You have here left the best class and gone over to an inferior class, since you have become wretched
  baldheads, false ascetics, dark menial, born of the feet of our Kinsman [Brahma]!

Contrast that with other teachings attributed to the Buddha: that a 'true' Brahmin isn't a Brahmin because they're born as such (into that caste), but rather only if and because they are (because they behave and think and live like) a holy man.
Consider becoming degenerate as a result of unbridled sense-desires, and compare that with a more Buddhist definition of a 'holy man'.

In contrast, Darwin's theory of evolution (on the origin of species) isn't saying that, nor really anything like that.
I don't think it's "contradictory" -- it's talking about something different.

So the Agganna Sutta is sort of a metaphor? Or an analogy?

I don't know whether (I even doubt whether) everyone teaches that, but it seems like a parable to me. The reference which I linked to calls it a Buddhist myth and references other scholars who say the same. IMO there are other parables in Buddhism: the arrow, the burning house, the blind men and the elephant, it's not important whether these events really happened, the stories are meaningful regardless.

If you're interested in Christianity at all, I learned that the Catholic Church is kind of non-committal about whether Genesis should be taken literally: i.e. the Church permits the faithful to take it literally or as a metaphor (the only thing they're required to believe is that Man was created by God in some way).

See also What are 'suttas of indirect meaning' in the Pali canon?

Thanks for the info. Maybe under the new pope they are :D but where I come from they take it literally and believes that the earth is 6000 years old. I am just confused as to why an enlightened person would preach in a cryptic/ metaphorical manner when they can be quite straightforward because a Buddha I someone who has figured out possibly everything