u/TradRooster5627

I’ve been struggling with something for a while, and I’m curious if anyone here has gone through something similar.

I feel genuinely drawn to Christ and to the idea of knowing God directly through prayer and contemplation. That desire feels very real to me.

At the same time, I have a hard time accepting many of the doctrines of the church I was raised in. Questions like the problem of evil, free will, eternal punishment, and a few other teachings have never sat well with me, no matter how much I’ve tried to understand them.

The thing is, I’m not looking for reasons to reject Christianity. If anything, it’s the opposite. I want to follow Christ, but I don’t know if I can honestly force myself to believe things that I don’t find convincing.
So I guess my question is: can someone genuinely walk the Christian mystical path while still wrestling with these kinds of doubts? Is union with God something that comes first, with understanding following later, or does accepting the Church’s doctrines have to come first?

If you’ve been in a similar place, I’d really appreciate hearing your experience. I’m much more interested in how people have actually lived through this than in debates or apologetics.
Thanks.

“The body belongs to the earth. It originates from substances derived from the earth and eventually returns to the earth. Indeed, the body can exist only within a physical environment suitable for bodily life. It requires the ground to support it, air to breathe, water for hydration, food for nourishment, and energy and warmth to carry out its functions, and so on. All of these things come from the earth. Therefore, this body is, in reality, simply a part of the earth.

Yet we stubbornly cling to it and claim to be its owners. Once we regard it as our possession, all the difficulties associated with bodily existence also become “ours”, difficulties that we do not enjoy. We do not like becoming ill, we do not like growing old, and we do not like dying.

We are familiar enough with the body that we can mentally examine its various parts and focus our attention on them, observing and reflecting on their characteristics, their connections, and the relationships of cause and effect among them. Since we already know so much about the body, it provides a very basic and suitable subject for meditation.”

If I start using a profile created by someone else on a different device that’s completely unrelated to mine, can I avoid getting banned? Or am I still at risk?

If I factory reset the phone I'm using (iPhone 16), create a new email account, and sign up for Instagram again, am I still at risk of being banned? Are there ways to avoid this?

How has your life changed since you stopped using Instagram? Are you able to cope with the feeling of isolation?

The first method that I suggest is mental noting. As soon as an urge arises in your mind, note it right away: “urge, urge…,” and continue until it ends, or until another sensation arises that captures your attention, then note that one. This helps create distance (you don’t identify with the thought) and can defuse the automatic impulse reaction.

Another approach that doesn’t involve verbalization is to shift your focus to a physical sensation as soon as the urge arises. For example, observe the sensation of your breath in your body or the sensation of contact with a surface. This helps stop the stream of thoughts and ground you in the present moment.

2,500 years ago, the Buddha taught these techniques in this way:

“Bāhiya, you should train yourself in this way: with regard to what is seen, only what is seen; with regard to what is heard, only what is heard; with regard to what is sensed, only what is sensed; with regard to what is conceived, only what is conceived. Train yourself in this way. When, for you, there is only what is seen in regard to what is seen, only what is heard in regard to what is heard, only what is sensed in regard to what is sensed, only what is cognized in regard to what is cognized, then, Bāhiya, there will be no ‘you’ in connection with that. This, and this alone, is the end of suffering.”

- Bāhiya Sutta

Good luck 🫡

Hi. I’ve been interested in Mahasi Sayadaw’s method of mental noting and have been reading his books carefully. However, I’ve never attended a Mahasi-style retreat or learned the technique directly from a qualified teacher.

I’m wondering whether it’s realistic to practice the method effectively based solely on Mahasi’s written instructions, or whether direct guidance is essential to avoid developing bad habits or misunderstanding the practice.

Have any of you started practicing this way? If so, what was your experience? Were the texts sufficient, or did you eventually realize there were aspects of the technique that only became clear through a teacher or retreat?

I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences and advice. Thanks!

n a moral operetta by the italian poet Leopardi, a dialogue between Tristano and a friend, one of the characters discusses the fact that there is a significant qualitative difference between a physically fit individual and one who is sickly. The former will live life to the fullest, enjoying it, while the latter will remain on the sidelines, watching, cucked you could say. “Life just isn’t for him.”

This passage always strikes a chord with me, because it’s how I feel, albeit in different terms.

I was born to a “foolish mother” and a “sleepy father,” to quote Schopenhauer, and I inherited their intellectual limitations. I was never good at anything involving math, and this has always prevented me not only from accessing higher levels of education but also from progressing normally through my schooling, forcing me to settle for less than my best or for paths that didn’t align with my aspirations.

The result? I grew up developing serious inferiority complexes. Many of my peers in the same situation simply don’t give it a second thought; they live their lives absentmindedly and think, at most, about enjoying sensual pleasures. But my case is different, since I am tragically aware of my limitations, of the fact that they undermine the quality of my life, and of the fact that, regardless of my will, I will always be determined by my circumstances. Just like in the example I mentioned at the beginning, I feel isolated from the world and forced to watch others succeed.

It was this realization that, years ago, at the age of 16, “awakened” me to the arbitrary nature of life. As I said, we are dominated by circumstances, not by ourselves. We have no power over the conditioned reality that surrounds us except in terms of how we relate to it. But what are we to do when the weight of suffering stemming from our own shattered aspirations is too great to bear, and crushes every vain hope with such force, just as a powerful man would crush a physically weaker one (to tie back to Leopardi’s passage)?

We know full well that mainstream entertainment leaves no room for disillusionment. It starts with a problem, continues with a struggle, and ends with a resolution, and everyone walks off the stage happy and content. Happy and content for a while, I’d say, but in general, this perspective doesn’t paint a realistic picture of life. The truth is that, in this world, if you’re one of the lowest of the low and try to rise up, you’ll be beaten down and forced back into your place. It is nature itself that puts the stick into the hands of men. They blindly obey the impulses of Mother Nature, the source of their trivial pleasures.

There are those who win, but there are also those who lose and keep losing, and will likely continue to lose until this putrid mass of flesh, blood, tendons, and illusions collapses in on itself.

That’s all. I apologize, but I’ve always found comfort among the frens of this subreddit, which is really cool. Since I opened with a quote from Leopardi’s operetta, I’d like to close with it as well:

“I believe you are happy, and that everyone else is happy too; but as for me, with your permission and that of the world, I am most miserable; and I believe myself to be so; and all the newspapers of both worlds will not persuade me otherwise.”

If any of you are going through a similar situation, or simply want to comment on the perspectives I’ve shared in this glimpse into my life, I’d love to hear from you.

Hi, everyone. I’ve been going through a very dry spell in terms of my spiritual practice, and I wanted to reinvigorate it by taking the Uposatha precepts for a few days and observing them.

I just had one question: In your opinion, does using YouTube exclusively to intentionally listen to Dhamma talks (so no multitasking) conflict with the precept against entertainment, or is it acceptable?

Thanks 🙏🏻

Non ho Instagram né social simili. Ultimamente, sento un profondo senso di solitudine, di abbandono cosmico, di occultamento. L’impossibilità di uscire senza rischiare la morte per arsura non migliora la situazione.

Chiedo consiglio al popolo di CasualIT per evitare, possibilmente, l’auto-annichilimento.

The arrival of the heat has affected me more than I expected. The sweat, the body odors, the inability to go out for a walk without risking death, the chronic fatigue… all of this reminds me that this body is nothing more than a filthy latrine with nothing truly appealing about it. As stated in the Nalaka Sutta, a text from the Buddhist Canon:

“Look at this image, made to appear beautiful: a mass of festering sores, held together with great difficulty; diseased, the object of endless schemes, yet devoid of anything lasting or secure.”

And you, how are you coping with this hellish heat and the looming omen of summer?

Hi everyone.
I’m a goyim, and over the years I’ve come to accept that this is simply what I am. Rather than trying to be something I’m not, I’d like to understand how I can live a good, meaningful, and morally upright life as a goyim.

From a Jewish perspective, what should cattle strive for? Are there particular virtues, practices, or teachings that you think are especially valuable?

“A king who has conquered the entire earth as far as the borders of the sea is not satisfied with the nearby shore: he also desires the distant one. Countless kings and common men die with that desire still burning within them. Insatiable, they leave this body without ever having had their fill of the world’s pleasures.”

- Thag 16.4 Raṭṭhapāla

Il sudore che imperversa come un ineluttabile flagello, l’arsura dei polmoni corrosi dall’insidioso alito di ventilatori e d’arie artificiali adoperate con stolta imprudenza, la categorica interdizione d’ogni passeggio sotto l’implacabile tirannia del meriggio, la cronica prostrazione delle membra e, sopra ogni cosa, quel cupo sentimento che rammenta incessantemente l’inevitabile tramonto di tutte le cose. Non esistere sarebbe stato meglio piuttosto che esistere, sopratutto se si esiste a Milano e durante il mese corrente.

I’d like to keep practicing, but the local temple charges a monthly fee of €40 for the weekly zazen sessions, and the fact is that I’m not working right now and will soon be a student again, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to afford it every month (payment is made through a subscription that renews automatically).

Now, I don’t feel comfortable asking to be exempted because that would put me in a privileged position compared to others, and I don’t think that’s fair. I don’t even think it’s possible. Despite this, it’s a barrier for me because I can’t help but wonder, “Will I be able to afford it next month?”

I don’t know how to handle the situation. I’m sorry to have to give up the practice and the Sangha, but it’s a complicated situation.