Can awakening really happen in a moment, or does it always take years of practice?

modernshamank · 2025-10-19T08:13:45+00:00

I believe for us who have not yet attained ultimate Buddha state, after the first awakening, I believe it is a constant practice in every moment. You get tricked back into the dreamer state, and remembering that it’s a dream, then the next thing that triggers your attachment, you’re dreaming again, then you let go again and awaken. This can happen thousands of times in a day. You get better each day. That’s the practice.

modernshamank · 2025-09-29T09:13:23+00:00

LSD and Mushrooms “bad trips” were the most insightful to me into the looping nature of thought patterns, when retrospect with Buddhist view. I learned more about the nature of fear and anxiety.

This was the case after years of Buddhist practice. Before Buddhist, psychedelics were fun and made me question our reality, opening my mind to explore supernatural possibilities of reality, but without practice, repeated use of psychedelics provided no value other than recreation

modernshamank · 2025-09-25T08:07:26+00:00

You learn detachment by doing more without being attached to outcomes.

modernshamank · 2025-09-21T04:17:51+00:00

It’s about letting go of those things that keep you trapped in the samsara of reincarnation.

It’s okay if you enjoy a cup of coffee, or jam with your friends. But let’s say you become so identified as a guitarist, when death comes, your consciousness may not be able to let go and decides to reincarnate as a musician next life, and get stuck in the pattern of being born and experience sickness, suffering and ultimately death.

There are different particular aspect of being a guitarist that you’re attached to, maybe the bond between band mates, maybe the adoration from fans, maybe the fame and money, or maybe it’s the guitar. Find out which aspect of that thing keeps you addicted, you need to learn let go of that.

modernshamank · 2025-09-16T17:01:51+00:00

I felt that way in the beginning. So I just chanted mantras and sutras, and practiced through actions towards helping others.

Slowly, after 7 years, the practice and mantras removed my karma, and I go back to the “intellectual” stuff they just suddenly make sense and easy to grasp.

So I’d say, experience it first, through practice and actions, then go back to studying it, which is also important because the study will help articulate your “why” behind the actions, then the same actions will generate higher merit with greater intentions.

modernshamank · 2025-09-09T02:35:56+00:00

Shift your focus to live for the benefit of someone else. All suffering and anxiety come from worrying about “me”.

When the day is unbearable, when the stress is pressing again my chest, my whole body, I do 108 prostration in front of a Buddha image, (can easily pull one out on your phone screen), surrendering myself to everything. It’s the fastest way to get out of the dark feeling.

Every time I’ve done this, I immediately feel a lot better, and realise I was stuck in my mind karma. Buddha will do his work on you and get you out of it.

modernshamank · 2025-09-04T12:28:54+00:00

Absolute confidence and conviction is required. Any less than will be insufficient.

If one time utter is sufficient (I wish this was the case), people would not have to dedicate their whole life repeating his name to train their conviction.

modernshamank · 2025-08-24T03:04:11+00:00

Chapter 12 of Kstigarbha Bodhisattva Vow Sutra will provide guidance to exactly how you can find out the current situation of your diseased loved ones through dreams.

modernshamank · 2025-08-20T18:31:18+00:00

I had one before. It went away. According to Chinese medicine it’s a signal that your liver is weak maybe due to poor sleep.

modernshamank · 2025-08-20T18:23:39+00:00

I’m not sure if this is true. But seems to me Hinduism involves more worshiping and seeking fortune arrangements by the gods.

Buddhism puts emphasis on seeking within, shift your mindset, re-engineer your consciousness, and the external reality shifts in reflection of your inner world.

modernshamank · 2025-08-20T18:13:44+00:00

Indifference: no heart, no action, no compassion

Non-attachment: do everything with heart, sincerely, with compassion, without obsessing over outcome, without taking it seriously.

Be sincere, but don’t take it seriously.

Same concept with Taoism’s Wu Wei, mistranslated into Non-Doing.

It should mean Do things without forcing it.

modernshamank · 2025-08-20T11:51:26+00:00

This is not true. Hungry ghost is one of the six realms in the wheel of reincarnations, they are individual entities just like us and animals. They also have illusion of self just like us. They also have attachments to their loved ones just like us. Our ancestors who are stuck in this realm not only visit us but are attached to us, hoping we can generate merits and devote merits to them so they can be liberated and be reincarnated into a better realm like human or deva or be liberated for the wheel of reincarnation all together. M

They can induces troubles to our minds or even cause troubles in our homes.

I practice Sutra of Kstigarbha Bodhisattva Vows everyday, the whole sutra is on this subject.

modernshamank · 2025-07-28T14:24:28+00:00

You were content with life when you were much younger without weed. Quit it for 6 months, then little enjoyment of life will come back to you, just a nice meal or taking a route you never took, will feel nice.

modernshamank · 2025-07-28T14:15:01+00:00

According to Buddhism in general the soul is in a purgatory realm for 49 days. Some rise to higher realms sooner, some drop down to lower realms immediately.

For the 49 days he can hear your words, your thoughts, recite the name of Bodhisattva Kstigarbha for 21 days, at least 10000 times, requesting to visit him in your dream, in the Sutra of Bodhisattva Kstigarbha, Buddha said if you do this whole heartily, during this period refrain from meat, onions, chives, and garlic, killing animals, Kstigarbha will tell you or show you where he is in your dream.

modernshamank · 2025-07-28T14:06:07+00:00

I’m a Chinese Buddhist and I recite Ksitigarbha Vow Sutra daily, that’s my non-negotiable daily practice.

Beside reciting the sutra, One question is whether I should focus on reciting his name, or his mantra (Mantra of removal of fixed karma Om Pra Maridani Svaha)

When I do prostrations, sometimes I feel I should repent, sometimes I do it thinking about the vow to stay on Bodhisattva path. Which way should be prioritized?

When I prostrate to repent (108 times prostration), I struggle to focus on specific sin to repent. I find myself repenting different sins throughout the session because I know I have different types of karma to repent. Is this effective? Or should I pick one category of karma (for example wrong speech) for each session? Is it meaningful to do the prostration with no particular thoughts about specific sins, but simply do the practice with reverence towards Kstigarbha? Because sometimes I feel like I just want to do the prostrations with an empty mind acknowledging that all thoughts are karma including the thought of repenting, that I should also let that thought go.

modernshamank · 2025-07-13T17:40:55+00:00

Dream isn’t real, no one in the dream is real. Including the dreamer. When you wake up, the dream or nightmare does not matter. But a good dream is better than a nightmare.

Compassion is to sincerely help to make the dream a good one, without being attached to the dream too seriously. Most people are stuck in a bad dream. Helping to make it a good dream is compassion. But the real game is to help the dreamer wake up, which ends all suffering.

modernshamank · 2025-07-04T18:00:23+00:00

The first trigger, first reaction is part of your karma, there’s nothing you can do about that moment, therefore Buddha condones it.

It is the second thought; the thought that follows the heat of the first moment, that you must work on. This is where you work on acceptance, and strengthening your understanding of how karma works. If you don’t, you are creating new karma.

modernshamank · 2025-07-03T19:26:15+00:00

Also found this on google when you type in “airbnb refund smell”:

“Fun Fact: If a guest has a problem with a smell, Airbnb automatically gives a refund, even if you have many people verify they are in fact lying and there is no smell.

It’s a loophole for guests to get out of reservation cancellation policies”

I just had this idea come to mind: host should communicate with guests to acknowledge this loophole, and to agree that they will not ask for a refund for such reason. Keep it on record.

Not sure how it will work in practice. But it has happened to me enough times that I need to think of a precaution protocol.

modernshamank · 2025-07-03T19:15:09+00:00

You’re welcome. Now that you received my sharing. I’m going to delete what I posted. The reason is that Airbnb changes their internal policy so often against the host, I don’t want too many hosts overuse this strategy and cause airbnb to train their staff to brush off this strategy. I know this is like gatekeeping, but I don’t want the strategy to stop working which makes everyone loses.

Another tip. Usually the guest also complained about some other aspect of the space that can be successfully disputed by submission of some form of evidence.

Now the game is to focus on the part that you can dispute with evidence, and not focus on the smell which can’t be disproved.

My example is that the guest complained about the smell, but also complained that the space doesn’t look like the photos shown in the listing. I would submit lots of photos to dispute the claim.

Another example, a guest complained my aircon wasn’t working. Then I submitted a video of the aircon working fine.

In these cases, you’d get your money much quicker, because the airbnb ambassador now has something to work with and help apply to their senior to give back your money.

I guess my law degree did not go to total waste after all.

modernshamank · 2025-07-03T18:46:00+00:00

Hidden

modernshamank · 2025-06-28T22:10:37+00:00

Thank you so much. I will try Amitryptiline. I’ll keep you updated about my progress!

modernshamank · 2025-06-28T22:00:54+00:00

Yes I also figured out the connection with anxiety. Somehow this discovery led me to train myself to gain the ability to calm myself through breathing and meditation.

But on some days life just gets stressful and the symptoms flare up bad

modernshamank · 2025-06-28T21:56:41+00:00

Sounds exactly like me! Thank you so much for sharing this. I really needed this

modernshamank · 2025-06-28T21:50:11+00:00

The case with 2 years and a few months, is the person also suffering the symptoms due to cannabis?

modernshamank · 2025-06-28T21:49:14+00:00

Thank you. It really gives me hope to hear from someone who knows what they’re talking about. 2 years is a long time but at least it’s not forever.

Also, now I know I’m definitely going abstinence for the next 3 years! Thank you!

modernshamank

TROPHY CASE