They all are helping us find a world with less suffering and more wisdom—so their purpose and often their language is the same, although their methods of achieving it may be different.

The understanding of the word god is the main issue. When Buddhist teachings say don’t look for God, they mean a universal creator god, an all-powerful being. In Sanskrit the word deva, which means god, is used to describe three types of beings: Kings, who were considered godlike; non-human deities, who had not yet achieved enlightenment, but belonged to a different realm; and, rarely, enlightened beings. None of these is a universal creator. But as figures they remind us of qualities we hope to gain.

Yana means vehicle, something that carries you to your destination or lifts you to a higher ground. (Sometimes it is translated as a “path,” but technically that is not right; it’s like not being able to differentiate between a vehicle and a road. Yana is the vehicle, the carrier.)Hinayana and Mahayana live within the Sutra tradition. Hinayana means “lesser vehicle.” Its practitioners seek to free themselves from the “five poisons” of samsara: greed, anger, arrogance, jealousy and ignorance (meaning ego).Those who practice Mahayana, the “greater vehicle,” seek the great enlightenment, free from both samsara (the cyclic existence of confusion and suffering) and nirvana (peace). Why not achieve nirvana? Because the goal is to free not only themselves, but countless other beings from the state of confusion—and they cannot accomplish this while resting.Vajrayana stems from the Tantric teachings. Its goals are the same as Mahayana; the vehicle is simply different.See the History of the Teachings to learn more.

In Tibetan, tul is an emanation, created intentionally; ku is a physical body. Tulku refers to a systematic rebirth, in which someone intentionally chooses the circumstances of their next life.Tibetan Buddhists believe that in general, everyone is reborn, moving from one life to another. For most people, it is not intentional; it simply happens. But some very powerful practitioners have a strong desire to help others; knowing they cannot accomplish enough in any single lifetime, they wish to be reborn under specific conditions that will help them move further in the next life. Guided by these powerful wishes, they become tulkus.

According to Buddhism, the soul is merely the object of our egos; it doesn’t exist. Consciousness is an awareness in which there is an object. There is a duality in which we are separate from the object. This consciousness is where our habits reside, where our characters form. The mind is broader; it has a quality of clarity and awareness, and does not necessarily experience duality.

Emotions are the actions of the mind; they are connected to thought processes.

Our minds—containing our egos, our habits and our experiences—get reborn. The confused mind believes in one’s own existence; this creates thoughts and habits, which in turn dictate experience. Our karma moves from life to life, containing our character; it is the lens through which we see or experience life.

You have control; the question is how much. The answer depends on three factors: your spiritual level, how heavy the karma is and how long the karma has been at work.Think of throwing an apple seed in your garden. Initially, it is easy to destroy; you can remove it with one hand. But progressively it becomes a small tree, a big tree, a really big tree. And the bigger it gets, the harder it is to get rid of. Similarly, along the continuum from the time you create the karma to the time it manifests fully, the closer you are to the cause, the easier it is to change. This means you have great control over future karma. Even if bad karma from the past causes a negative experience, careful practitioners can accept that experience, watch their minds and still have complete control over the next karma.

The stages of dying relate to the steps wherein the mind separates from the physical elements of the body. The five senses die with the body and therefore so do the five sensory consciousnesses that are connected to the five physical senses. But the underlying mind consciousness continues on—it is just not connected to the body. Just as your body recycles, becoming part of the earth, your mind finds a new form in a new body. Where it goes depends on your karma and mental imprints.

There are many types of meditation, including mindfulness meditation. You apply that in the post-meditation state, not when you are doing traditional sitting meditation. You need to practice mindfulness consistently. Every time there is a change in your physical action you need to be aware of exactly what you are doing. Then, you need to be aware of the state of your mind, what you are feeling. That’s being mindful.

Ultimately, if you can consider your actions without any regret, that is the sign that you are applying enough mindfulness.

You should focus not on the guru as a person, but on the wisdom he carries; that wisdom is inseparable as it is passed from one master to another. It is always good to have a primary teacher—just as one has a primary doctor—someone who has systematic guidelines for your progress, who can answer your questions. Otherwise you can be overwhelmed by different answers and instructions, and you will waste energy being confused (and maybe even have doubts). Your guru is the one who opens your mind. But ultimately, the truth itself is the teacher, and thus all teachers are inseparable.

You cannot break a precept without intention. You may cause harm or pain unintentionally, but you are not breaking a precept. For instance, if someone dies during an operation, we don’t accuse the doctor of murder; we believe his intentions were positive. Conversely, if you notice that you are happy or satisfied after you do something and that action breaks a precept, it creates much heavier negative karma.

Obedience to your parents is very, very important. So is compassion. If your parents are making mistakes, summon all your compassion. Realize that they are acting out of ignorance. With that ignorance, they are in danger of creating very much negative karma—but they are also still your parents. Your most important obedience is not to anger them. However, blindly obeying something that is wrong is also not right. For instance, if your mother asked you to put eye drops in her eye, but the bottle she handed you was acid, you would be right to refuse—but you would probably also look for the right eye drops. Apply the same principle here.

In many areas of life, there is no perfect way. The critical thing is your intention, and whether it is to care and protect. Taking medicine for a disease and illness is encouraged in many sutras. As long as your intention is for the good (as opposed to your intention being to kill worms) you should do what is best for your cat and not worry.

Virtuous thought is good in general, but not when you intend to place your mind on a single object such as your breath, in which case it is an obstacle. Consistency of prolonged mental stability is very important; if thoughts arise, go back to your breath, not to the thoughts.

Simply be aware. Notice that your mind has wandered and refocus your attention on the point of meditation. Do it as often as necessary.

You cannot stop it, but there are ways to mitigate it. First, your mind can only think about one thing at a time, so if you are focused on something else the chattering will stop. Whenever you notice your mind chattering, don’t make a big deal of it. Simply acknowledge it, then turn your mind to something else. Meditation. Work. A project.
Second, the chatter is likely to be rooted in something you can change. If it stems from insecurity, work on your self-confidence. If it is grounded in a negative outlook, cultivate a more positive point of view. Over time, the chatter will significantly diminish.

Merit, or “good karma” can be achieved a number of ways. If the actions also bring material benefit, comfort, or happiness, then they achieve ordinary merit; if they do not bring worldly benefit but they do bring wisdom, weaken ego or liberate suffering then the related merit is Dharma-worthy.

It is fine to take refuge more than once; your vow is to the triple gem, not the teacher.

The energy experience usually happens at the beginning; even when you don’t have doubts it disappears after awhile. It is just like driving a car: You feel the motion when you first start, but once you have constant momentum you don’t really feel it. So you should not expect to recapture the feeling, yet you should know the progress is still there.

People are so visual that a physical object is the most powerful memory aid. Shrines remind us of the teachings; of the beneficial qualities associated with a specific enlightened being, such as Buddha; and of the need to be good, to think positively, to be mindful. Most of all, they remind us that we all have the potential to improve, if we make the effort.

For exactly that reason, a Buddhist will never encourage someone to bow down to a stone or copper figure; you bow to the qualities that figure represents. These spiritual benefactors, such as Buddha, are teachers of the universal truth; bowing is a physical demonstration of the respect in which you hold their wisdom.

Traditionally, you sit cross-legged on a cushion. However, you may sit or stand; the key point is to be balanced. Your shoulders should be horizontal, your head level, your back straight and your hips higher than your knees. (For this reason a straight-backed chair is preferable to a sofa or sunken chair.) You need to feel safe, to be grounded and relaxed.

The Bodhi tree is considered auspicious; that is why those beads are chosen. That they look like brains is purely co-incidental.

Everything positive exists within you—but you need to realize it for yourself, by observing your mind. Activity—even the rote activity of daily life—prevents you from observing yourself, whereas “not doing” frees you to see.

Each practice gives us specific results due to the qualities associated with the specific deity. Your interest in cultivating certain qualities is like a ring, and the bodhisattva’s wish is like a hook, pulling you forward. For instance, Avalokiteshvara dedicated innumerable prayers to the thought of merit; those prayers hold great power. If, through practice, you also understand and admire his qualities and aspire to have them, your aspirations combined with his prayers become a powerful force.

The key word in this question is “inherently.” Yes, we are all inherently equal—but our inner qualities need to be activated. It is like the difference between pure gold and gold stone; the gold itself is equally valuable, but equal amounts of the two substances aren’t. Because a teacher is more fully realized, we revere his wisdom, and offer him the according respect.

When you get water in your ear, you can’t hear; counter-intuitively, by adding more water and shaking your head, the original water comes out too. This is a similar concept. To get rid of random intrusive thoughts, we use systematic, targeted thoughts that allow us to concentrate on one, intentional topic.

Yes, if you really want to learn, you need a teacher. While you can do some simple practices on your own, to progress you need personal guidance. You are unique. You can’t find your answers in a general book or from a general class; you need someone who understands you deeply. If you are sick, you can buy over-the-counter medicine, and it may help; but to really get well, you need to see your doctor, who knows and understands your specific physiognomy. Your spiritual health is exactly the same.

From a purely Buddhist point of view, this is a perfect example of how people become victims of negative emotions, such as greed, lust, anger. Even though they care for you, these men may be victims of past habitual patterns. Of course, there are also human factors on both your part and theirs. Both sides have to overlook problems and understand and support each other, to forgive and focus on the positives. This is how we learn to live perfectly in an imperfect world.

Understand that the person who is cold is the victim of negative emotions; it is not their choice, but due to their ignorance. Don’t expect any reward or warmth in return for your inner warmth and compassion; instead, be more compassionate and forgiving.

As we grow older and have increasing responsibility—marriage, children, work—difficulties arise. It is important to set priorities, and establish work/life balance. Use minutes, not hours, in order to get everything done.

It is increasingly important to learn how to let things go. Remembering past trauma is not useful. The real past no longer exists—it is an image in your mind—and dwelling on it only hurts you; the pain is self-inflicted.

Real compassion has nothing to do with yourself. Real compassion only considers the other person’s situation, not their relationship to you. If they represent the worst of human nature, it is out of ignorance; they are a victim, angry and unhappy, creating lots of negative karma. If someone who is drunk says something mean, you tend to be more forgiving, because you know it was the alcohol talking, not them. Try to consider this person as you would a drunk, understanding that they are under the influence of poisonous emotions. Then you can forgive them, and compassion becomes possible.

Certainly, you can be hurt by someone who has no ill intentions, but the lesson refers to someone who intentionally hurts you. Your father probably has no intention of hurting you—and in clinging to your anger you only hurt yourself. It is very important that you make sure to do well on your exams; that is your priority. You only have one opportunity to do this, whereas you will have many opportunities for entertainment throughout your life.

We know as an absolute truth that things change, and you need to be flexible and open to shifting circumstances. Over time, the way people think can change due to many things; she is the same person, but she exists in different conditions, so her expectations and her outlook are different too. It’s good if you can both be content with friendship.

It is fine to help out of duty; to me this sounds like compassion at work. It may also be possible to generate loving kindness by focusing not on her present state, but on good things she may have done in the past—maybe even before your memories start.

All beings have innate goodness, but may be influenced by negative things. You need to understand the person and the act as two separate things, then help him protect himself from further bad behavior. Don’t take revenge; take precautions so that it doesn’t happen again.

Sometimes it is important not to set expectations too high; simply expect that the person can improve, and then be very patient. Focus on yourself; if this person is very close to you, improving yourself will help them improve, too.

There are many ways to avoid suffering. You can ignore those who hurt you, forget them, forgive them or understand them. Forgiving is better than forgetting; actively embracing is better than ignoring. But all methods are temporary, and the greater method isn’t always best for you at this moment. Ignoring may work now, and later you may come to understanding. Recognize that the other person is a victim of their own ignorance and emotion, yet that your existence in that specific time and place contributed to the conditions that enabled their actions. See this as an exhaustion of a karmic result—and do not suffer over it.

Your wife can teach you the most important lesson of all: that of impermanence. While death is certain, its timing is uncertain. There is a Tibetan proverb which states that in the time it takes one sick person to die, 100 “healthy” young people may have died. Only a breath separates life and death; it is a very thin line. If we really understand this—the fragility of life—and if that understanding really touches our hearts, then it will affect the way we deal with many things. We naturally become a more compassionate, forgiving person. We don’t dwell on things that bother us. And we will have an easier time coping with suffering, pain and loss.

Jobs have nothing to do with happiness. If you have a job that makes you happy, that happiness won’t last. It is far better to search for your happiness from within.

You feel like your own enemy because you are most vulnerable to yourself. You can protect yourself from others, but you cannot hide from the negative emotions you use to harm yourself. Be aware of them, and try to treat yourself kindly.

Any experience exists on two levels. There is the experience itself—disability, madness, poverty—which may be completely out of your control. The second—and far more powerful—level is how you understand that experience. Whether you find happiness or unhappiness, satisfaction or dissatisfaction in any given situation is within your control. With a more positive outlook, a situation may not seem so bleak, or you may have new ideas on how to improve it. One key is recognizing the causes and conditions—and karmic influences—behind the situation.

Be aware of your negative circumstances and how they affect you. Don’t allow yourself to be dragged down by negative emotions; instead, work to understand the difficulties of others.