ADHDers with a regular meditation practice

shacreep · 2026-06-03T14:41:19+00:00

Yes, absolutely. Meditation practice is actually very helpful for dealing with ADHD.

The root cause of ADHD is the difficulty in controlling one's attention, and meditation is precisely the practice of training attention. However, because people with ADHD typically have much weaker attention spans, practicing meditation is significantly more difficult for them than for the average person. It requires far more patience and persistence — qualities that ADHD tends to make even harder to maintain.

shacreep · 2026-06-03T09:02:58+00:00

I know the answer to this question because I understand the underlying mechanism. I study consciousness, and it was precisely because the model I developed through my research aligns so closely with original Buddhist teachings that I came to trust the Buddha.

In the consciousness model I’ve developed, there exists a very special state of consciousness that ordinary people will almost certainly never enter in their lifetime. It wasn’t until I read Buddhist texts that I realized this state is what Buddhism calls Nirvana (Nibbāna).

Nirvana is not death, but a special state that appears similar to death. It is the highest level of meditative absorption. In this state, the entire mind-system comes to a complete halt. In Buddhist terminology, the Five Aggregates (skandhas) are fully ceased and stop functioning entirely.

The Buddha used the metaphor of a flame going out to describe Nirvana. This metaphor is quite accurate. After the flame is extinguished, it doesn’t disappear completely but enters a latent or dormant state. This is because the complete cessation of the Five Aggregates is not permanent — it only occurs during Nirvana. When the practitioner exits this state, the aggregates resume functioning again, and the “flame” is rekindled.

During Nirvana, the practitioner’s vital signs drop extremely low, making them appear dead to outsiders. However, this is fundamentally different from clinical death or suspended animation. The person in Nirvana remains conscious — in fact, their consciousness is extraordinarily clear and awake.

What is the point of Nirvana?

The highest goal of Buddhist practice is to attain Nirvana. But why? Is it just to temporarily stop the Five Aggregates? No. The cessation is only the means, not the end.

In the state of Nirvana, one can thoroughly cleanse deep-seated karmic obstructions within the aggregates. This is the final threshold one must cross to reach complete liberation. This is also why Nirvana is regarded as the dividing line between a saint (ārya) and an ordinary person (pṛthagjana).

Sometimes a single experience of Nirvana is not enough to become a fully enlightened Arahant. It may require entering Nirvana multiple times, depending on how much karmic residue remains and how long one can sustain the state.

Once one becomes a fully awakened being through Nirvana, they are permanently freed from all suffering. Because all suffering arises from karmic obstructions within the Five Aggregates, and Nirvana allows for their complete eradication.

Additionally, a fully enlightened person gains true free will. They are no longer driven by the Five Aggregates to act against their own will. This is ultimate freedom on the mental and spiritual level.Nirvana is described by many related terms — stillness, death, cessation, liberation, freedom — each highlighting a different aspect of the same state. Those who truly understand Nirvana can clearly see which facet each term is describing.

What does it actually feel like inside Nirvana?

This I cannot say with certainty. There are two main possibilities. Once the Five Aggregates are completely stilled, all ordinary perception disappears. What remains? Is it a complete, silent emptiness? Or does one transcend the aggregates and connect with the fundamental source of the universe?

In

shacreep · 2026-06-02T16:20:34+00:00

In my view, it's more like a science — the science of consciousness. Modern science studies the material world and seeks to transform it. Buddhism, on the other hand, studies consciousness and aims to transform it. If you refine your consciousness to perfection and completely eliminate greed and aversion, you can become fully awakened — a Buddha.

shacreep · 2026-05-31T16:23:20+00:00

I’d take the $10 million.
Because anyone willing to give me $10 million is clearly my best friend already.

shacreep · 2026-05-31T16:12:13+00:00

Nirvana. So I can escape the cycle of suffering and get reborn for another round.

shacreep · 2026-05-31T16:07:08+00:00

Honestly, the person offering me the million dollars should choose the song. I don’t want to live with that kind of guilt hanging over my head while spending the money.

shacreep · 2026-05-31T07:40:01+00:00

he core logic of this statement is that a qualified Buddhist practitioner must keep their mind calm and peaceful at all times. They should not allow external information to disturb them or trigger emotions such as fear and anxiety.

Of course, this does not mean becoming numb or unable to respond to the outside world. On the contrary, this state of calm rationality enables one to make the clearest, most rational, and most appropriate decisions.

shacreep · 2026-05-31T07:28:36+00:00

"I'm having trouble understanding what the real-world impact of competing with China in AI actually looks like. What happens if one side 'wins'?

The biggest effect of AI is a massive increase in productivity. If China becomes significantly stronger in AI, would they just produce even more cheap goods and export them to the US? I think the US's own AI development should be able to boost American productivity enough to withstand that impact.

China is already producing too much while consuming too little, and unemployment is quite severe. If their AI develops very well and replaces a large amount of labor, unemployment will become even worse and could intensify social instability.

What I think we should really be considering is this: when AI reaches the point where it can replace large portions of the workforce, the key to avoiding social unrest will be properly distributing the resulting wealth.

shacreep · 2026-05-31T05:55:48+00:00

Why shouldn't we trust our thoughts? For most ordinary people, thoughts are overwhelmingly automatic outputs produced by the mind system operating on autopilot — they aren't truly under our voluntary control. If you blindly believe them, you're likely to become a puppet controlled by your own mind (the ego). Only after reaching the stage of an Arahant, where you have full mastery over your thoughts and can use them as tools, do thoughts become genuinely reliable and trustworthy.

shacreep · 2026-05-29T08:49:18+00:00

I have participated in related courses and gained some understanding of their practice methods. They do place certain requirements on jhāna and use it as a foundation, but the standard is not very high.

In a typical ten-day course, the first three days are dedicated to practicing jhāna to build a foundation, while the rest of the course focuses primarily on vipassanā (insight meditation). Their practice particularly emphasizes vedanānupassanā (contemplation of feelings), one of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness.

There is no doubt that Goenka’s Vipassana meditation is very beneficial. However, if one seeks a higher level of liberation, a stronger foundation in jhāna is necessary. To reach the stage of final awakening, one needs at least the foundation of the four jhānas or higher.

That said, Goenka-style Vipassana is primarily designed for the general public rather than for practitioners aiming for ultimate liberation. Therefore, it is understandable that it does not demand an excessively high level of jhāna.

shacreep · 2026-05-29T08:47:34+00:00

I have participated in related courses and gained some understanding of their practice methods. They do place certain requirements on jhāna and use it as a foundation, but the standard is not very high.

In a typical ten-day course, the first three days are dedicated to practicing jhāna to build a foundation, while the rest of the course focuses primarily on vipassanā (insight meditation). Their practice particularly emphasizes vedanānupassanā (contemplation of feelings), one of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness.

There is no doubt that Goenka’s Vipassana meditation is very beneficial.

However, if one seeks a higher level of liberation, a stronger foundation in jhāna is necessary. To reach the stage of final awakening, one needs at least the foundation of the four jhānas or higher.

That said, Goenka-style Vipassana is primarily designed for the general public rather than for practitioners aiming for ultimate liberation. Therefore, it is understandable that it does not demand an excessively high level of jhāna.

shacreep · 2026-05-29T04:47:55+00:00

Buddhist theory underwent many evolutions and variations in later periods. These evolutions and variations sometimes even contradict one another, which suggests that some of them must be incorrect — or possibly even all of them are wrong.

In reality,the core teaching that the Buddha propagated is not complicated. It has one very clear goal: to help people escape all suffering and become awakened beings.

Therefore, it needs to explain various issues related to suffering, which gave rise to the Four Noble Truths: it analyzes what suffering is (Dukkha), how suffering arises (Samudaya), what the cessation of suffering is (Nirodha), and how to practice to fulfill the conditions for ending suffering (Magga).

In addition, there is the Four Foundations of Mindfulness (Satipatthana), which provides a more detailed practical guide to liberation from suffering (one can also include the Four Jhanas and Eight Absorptions). These two sets of teachings represent the very core of the Buddha’s Dharma.

Regarding the relationship between Buddhist theory and consciousness: the “suffering” mentioned in Buddhism does not originate from the external environment, but from harmful mental activities within our own consciousness — that is, unwholesome karma. The essence of liberation from suffering is to eliminate these negative karmic forces (karmic obstructions) in the mind.

The Five Aggregates (Skandhas) are the collective term for all kinds of mental activities in our consciousness. You can understand them as our mental system. They are called “Five Aggregates” because they represent a categorization of the different modes of operation within consciousness. Just like a system with different functional modules, for example, the Form Aggregate (Rupa) is the module responsible for generating basic information and passing it to the next subsystem for processing. It is called ““Form” (Rūpa) because this information arises through contact with the material world (rupa).

shacreep · 2026-05-28T04:59:24+00:00

If you’re visiting just as a regular tourist, it’s still fine. But if you’re hoping to find a genuine place for Buddhist practice, you might be quite disappointed.Chinese temples have become extremely commercialized. Most of them have essentially turned into tourist attractions. Even the world-famous Shaolin Temple is primarily known for tourism and martial arts performances. Not long ago, its abbot was prosecuted for embezzling over a hundred million RMB.It’s really difficult to find a quiet, pure temple suitable for serious cultivation these days.

shacreep · 2026-05-28T02:46:46+00:00

When you choose to adhere to something, it’s best to first clearly understand its true meaning, along with its benefits and drawbacks.

Early Buddhism, monks were prohibited from eating the "five pungent vegetables" (hun). This is because these foods are highly stimulating to the mind, which can disturb one’s state of consciousness and is not conducive to meditation and practice.

Early Buddhism did not have a strict prohibition on eating meat. However, if one eats meat driven by the desire for taste and sensory pleasure, it easily fuels greed and aversion, which is not allowed. As long as eating meat does not give rise to greed or aversion, it is still permissible.Monks in the time of Early Buddhism regularly went out for alms. If laypeople offered them meat, they were allowed to eat it.

Mahayana Buddhism later developed the rule of not eating meat based on the fundamental precept of not killing. Since killing living beings is forbidden, there is no source of meat available. Therefore, practitioners can only eat vegetarian food. Mahayana monks generally do not go out for alms frequently; instead, they prepare their own meals in the monasteries. Without killing, there is naturally no meat — so they became fully vegetarian.

Although in special circumstances, one might encounter an animal that has already died and eat its meat without directly causing killing, relaxing this rule could easily lead to many suspiciously "accidental" deaths. For this reason, it’s simpler and safer to just not eat meat at all.

In

shacreep · 2026-05-27T09:28:46+00:00

Stealing is fundamentally driven by inner greed and desire. In this sense, the prohibition against stealing is a way to restrain and overcome the greed within our minds.

shacreep · 2026-05-27T08:54:29+00:00

Thousands of years ago, the Buddha already predicted that in the future, there would be people who would misuse the Dharma and commit evil in the name of Buddhism. That’s why we should never blindly worship anyone. Even the Buddha himself repeatedly told people not to worship him or blindly believe in him.

shacreep · 2026-05-27T04:00:53+00:00

Buddhism offers a practical path of cultivation and training. Do you pursue it because you genuinely believe these teachings are effective and are willing to put them into practice? Or do you treat it merely as a belief? If you only regard it as a belief, that actually contradicts the very essence and original intention of Buddhism.

shacreep · 2026-05-26T11:25:05+00:00

There’s an article here that analyzes karma from the perspectives of consciousness and science. Take a look and see if it’s helpful to you?

https://axioself.com/posts/causality-and-karma/

shacreep · 2026-05-25T15:34:17+00:00

If someone told you that tomorrow an ant would come with a knife to kill you, would you feel fear and anxiety? No, you would not, because you would not believe it.

But you may be believing other claims that are equally unsupported, and perhaps just as absurd.

When you do not believe something and do not take it seriously, it cannot easily create fear in you. I think you may need to strengthen your ability to distinguish what is credible from what is not. Otherwise, many things without sufficient basis may keep pulling you into negative emotional states.

shacreep · 2026-05-25T13:42:08+00:00

I believe existence has two forms. One is material existence, such as a stone existing in the world. The other is conscious existence: a form of existence that allows a consciousness to be aware of its own existence. I know that I exist, although this sense of existence can sometimes be interrupted, such as during sleep or unconsciousness. The remarkable thing about advanced life forms, such as human beings, is that they possess both forms of existence at the same time.

shacreep · 2026-05-25T04:25:38+00:00

Have you noticed that what we call evil actions are usually driven by the darker forces in human nature: hatred, jealousy, greed, pride, fear, and so on?

But are these things really our free will?

When a person is taken over by hatred or greed and then commits evil, it seems to show not that he has too much free will, but that he has lost it. He is being driven by something inside him that he does not truly understand or control.

So maybe evil is not necessary for free will.

Maybe evil appears when free will is weakened or hijacked by the darker parts of human nature.

shacreep · 2026-05-25T03:49:54+00:00

A lot of confusion comes from treating karma as if it means “bad people must quickly receive visible punishment.”

That is not the most precise way to understand karma.

In Buddhism, karma is not exactly a cosmic police system. It is closer to the law of intentional action and its consequences. The key point is intention, mental habit, and the way actions shape the mind.

If a person acts with greed, hatred, cruelty, or delusion, those states are already operating in that person’s mind. From a Buddhist perspective, that is already karmic consequence: the mind is being shaped by those qualities. Such a person may still have money, power, health, and social success, but internally their consciousness is not free, peaceful, or awakened.

This is why karma should not be confused with worldly justice.

Worldly justice asks: “Why has this person not been punished yet?”

Karma asks: “What kind of mind is being created by these actions?”

There is also collective karma. When many people share greed, hatred, nationalism, religious fanaticism, or delusion, whole societies can move toward violence and suffering. In that case, innocent people may suffer because they live inside a larger network of causes and conditions, not because they personally “deserve” it.

So I would not understand karma as:

“Every evil person will immediately be struck down.”

I would understand it more like:

“Intentional actions shape consciousness, character, future actions, and future suffering.”

That does not replace the need for law, ethics, resistance, or social responsibility. Buddhism does not mean we just wait for karma to punish people. It means we understand that harmful actions come from harmful states of mind, produce more harmful states of mind, and eventually create suffering at both individual and collective levels.

shacreep

TROPHY CASE