DragonScholar

Just an observation - India has 1.2 billion people (not counting the Indian diaspora). That's approximately 17% of the world's population. It is probably difficult to generalize about such a large and diverse group, especially when one takes into consideration ethnic, linguistic and regional differences, urban vs rural populations, etc. As one writer put it, "India is beyond statement, for anything you say, the opposite is also true...."

I could be wrong, but I suspect it will look a lot more like the world of 1900 than what science fiction writers of the 20th century imagined 2100 to be. Of course, some things will be very different from 1900. Fish, coral, and other ocean life may very well have been killed off due to acidification, overfishing,etc.

Start here: http://www.buddhanet.net/ Or http://www.accesstoinsight.org/

Well, that probably explains the recent popularity of zombies....

There is no consensus about exactly what "Hinayana" refers to. Some do apply it to now extinct schools of Buddhism, like the Sarvastivadins. Some people apply it to Theravada Buddhism which is practiced throughout Southeast Asia and the world.Some apply it not to any particular school, but to a narrow-minded attitude which one might encounter in any particular school of Buddhism.

We'll, I'm not selling it. My point - which you appear to have missed - is simply been that this view is fairly common, not that it is correct.

I have heard this argument before - that one starts with Hinayana practices, moves through Mahayana practices, and culminates in Vajrayana (Esoteric) practices. For example, here's a take on the issue from a Kagyu perspective: (Source) As you can see, the conception is clearly one that is progressive; one builds a Hinayana "foundation" upon which one then proceeds to move on to the Mahayana and finally the Vajrayana. Master Nan seems to hold a similiar view. I am not saying that all Mahayana schools adopt this view, but it's common enough.

Did you read the article in my previous post?

I don't know anything about Master Nan, although it's worth pointing out that the Theravada - who follow the Nikayas, and thus the four-fold model of Enlightenment I posted earlier - do not consider themselves Hinayana. The whole Hinayana/Mahayana distinction is itself a Mahayana framework. The idea that they are stages along a single path is a very common idea in many different Mahayana schools, so it is not surprising to me that Master Nan endorses this view. For a further discussion of these issues from a Theravada perspective, check out the article "Bodhisattva Ideal in Buddhism" by Venerable W. Rahula.

Not to nitpick, but I believe that it is a stream-enterer (sotāpanna), not an arhat, who has 7 more rebirths. Stream-enterers will be reborn in either the human realm or in one of the heavens. The next stage is called a once-returner (sakadagami), as they have one more rebirth in the human realm. The third stage is a non-returner (anāgāmi), one who will be reborn in a Pure Abode. The final stage is that of the arhat, one who has cut off all of the fetters. Arhats have attained full liberation from saṃsāra and are not reborn. This is according to the Nikayas (oldest Buddhist texts). Mahayana schools have completely different models of the stages of enlightenment.

If I can offer a suggestion, you could try dropping the mantra entirely and just focusing on the sensations of the breath - you could try doing this both at a particular point on your body (maybe the dantien or the end of the nostrils) and also trying to focus on the entire body (i.e. field of bodily sensations) as you breath in and as you breath out. For dealing with boredom I also found this advice to be useful: Best of wishes to you in your practice.

I have recently started post standing and have found that it seems to stimulate my sexual energy, but doesn't seem to increase sexual urges/desire; basically, I feel like I have more energy circulating around down there but no compulsion to go and release it, so to speak. Best of both worlds? Does anyone else have this experience or am I just lucky? (I am male, btw)

I loved Nightwish when Tarja was the vocalist, and I am also a huge Maiden fan....probably my top metal band though is X Japan. Here's one of my favorite songs by them, "Silent Jealousy":

Hello from a fellow newb. i am also a fan of heavy metal and we seem to have similiar movie interests as well, too! Looking forward to discussing with you on the forums.

If you are interested in scientific studies of reincarnation, I recommend looking into the work of the late Dr. Ian Stevenson from the University of Virginia School of medicine. He conducted numerous case studies looking into the phenomenon of past life memories, and documented a great deal of evidence which is suggestive of reincarnation. If you're interested in discovering what is real and what is not, practice well and you will find out!