It is a fine day to turn one's thoughts toward positive contemplation, and always a pleasure to find a new post from you, Mindah-Lee..

please, please! don't stop making videos! you explain everything so easily.. and I really learn a lot from you!!

Good to see you posting again!

Super happy to see another Mindah's video - and such an interesting one! Very well laid out! (:

I've gained a lot from your videos. So glad your back doing your video!

LOL @ 2:14 😂 Mindah you literally made me laugh out loud. "Sorry! wrong clothes! I'll come back another time and see what you're wearing" -Enlightenment.

thank you for making this video!! (had the same question) always so friendly!

Thanks for clarification, the explanation shows the clear path forward for making efforts for enlightenment.

Have you got your website up yet? I love your videos and your compassion shines brightly through your demeanor. There's not a lot of Buddhist philosophy going around the Internet that's why I appreciate your channel and you. :)

I am constantly amazed with your deep understanding of Buddhist principles. Thank you for sharing...

Mindah-Lee Kumar, you are great at what you do. Keep doing it. I am very happy with your present deliverable. It works! Thank you very much.

You are an excellent teacher. Hope to see more videos.

I missed your videos so much! Welcome back☺️

After my morning meditation I checked your site and was delighted to find a new video. I find it very helpful to receive your instructions and encouragement to practice, and I always learn something new. Thank you for taking the time you do, for sharing the compassion you share in these videos. I know that it is a lot of work and effort for you. I want you to know that it does make a difference for many.

U are back!

Great to hear your voice love this channel

Wow thank you so much for clearing my mind. Cant thank you enough Mindah.

Thank you. Keep up the good work..

Thanks for sharing!!!

please keep coming back. miss you dearly.

Very Nice Thank You

I am grateful for your videos ❤❤❤

Explained simple and easy to follow

Namaste Mindah!! Buddha would be really happy to see the change you bringing to this society. Could you name some monasteries which teach meditation and mindfulness close the New Delhi (India)?? I visited some Buddhist temples in Leh (Northern India) last year, but seeing people so much indulged in idle worship was very surprising, in a way I found it totally contrary to what Buddha taught (I only have the path). I found the same as other religions which lead to negotiations with God. Nevertheless I have all due respect for there believes, I myself am a Hindu. So far according to my research, it seems like "Teravada school of thought" is least impacted one and still stresses most on Meditation and actual Buddha teachings. Please help me find the right SANGHA. My next question would be how do you bridge the teachings and SAMSARA? For instance lets take compassion: I started practicing compassion with my teammates at my workplace, I went steps ahead helping them with there projects, but shockingly they plotted against me. I was on the verge of losing my job. It was just an example, but we all come across such people in our daily lives, who can do cause us potential damage. How do you deal with such people, how could you show compassion to them? Once I read an article in which Buddha once said: the Soldiers should not quit there jobs to become Monks as "fighting was there DHARMA". How can one be attached to his duties and detached at the same time, following the enlightenment path? Finding this bridge between day to day life, my Job, duties and teachings seems the most difficult part to me.

I love your videos. .. Thank you .

You are both very wise and very beautiful

love the videos you are the one that got me in to Buddha can you make a video about the 21 Tara

The great work

Thank you for all your videos. What is your typical day like. Like are you always meditating or reading Dharma? What do you do for fun?

Thank you for the interesting video. You mentioned someone who was 'highly realised'. I'm curious to know how would one know when another person is realised or enlightened? Cheers!

Mindah, thank you so much for such a wonderful and through channel. I have been casually meditating for decades; while not having much interest of becoming monastic, I am considering the opportunity of increasing my meditation duration and intensity as well as the study of meditation and Buddhist teachings. While not knowing at the time, I am now aware I experienced the very beginning of what some call the "Dark Night" which was scary and caused me to take a break from meditation until I could sort out my thoughts and feelings. Some people say, this happens when you are not meditating correctly, while others say this only happens when you are doing it right. Regardless, I now feel compelled to keep exploring but I don't really understand why I feel this way. In your experience, have you experienced the Dark Night? How does one either avoid it, or push though it, or navigate it in the most healthy way possible? It seems like some paths encourage it as part of the process toward Awakening, while others make it seem like it is avoidable. What are your thoughts and experiences please?

Thank you so much!

Awesome

Thank you x

Dear Mindah-Lee, thanks for your videos!!! Regards from Bolivia!!! I have a question, if you'll kindly answer: Is is expected for a monk/nun or lay person who embarks on a better spiritual life, to have a much harder time in life than those people who don't practice any type of principles and don't have any interest on achieving enlightenment? This question came to me after hearing this: "According to some traditions, when a person sets out on the way of liberation, his first problem it's to become free of it's past karma, and so long as karmic energy remains stored up you'll have to work it out. When the time comes that you start getting out of Samsara, all the creditors start presenting themselves for payment, in other words, a person who begins to study yoga for example, it's felt that all sorts of catastrophes will occur in their lives, because the karmic debt is being cleared up. Karma it's in no hurry of being cleared up if you're living along like anybody, but if you embark on a spiritual life a certain hurry occurs and therefore, since this is known it's rather discouraging to start these things. The Christian way of saying the same things is that: if you plan on changing your way of life for the better, you must not let the Devil know, because he will oppose you with all his might if he suddenly discovers that you'll escape from his power. You only perform actions for the moment and you don't let the devil know that you have the intention of doing this day after day. But there's something better than that, and that it's not the Devil know anything, that means of course not to let yourself know, which is one of the many meanings of that saying: "do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing". In Zen, you act without premeditation, realising the bowstring without first saying now. One of the great problems in the spiritual life is to be able to have intention and act simultaneously, by this means you escape Karma and you escape the Devil. Getting free from Karma without making any previous announcement. If you want to unload the cargo of a train you can do it by unplugging wagon by wagon, but the simplest way is to disconnect the engine and the first wagon. Getting rid of Karma without challenging it. What a sage endeavours to do is a kind of action without attachment, whatever action he does, he renounces the fruits of the action, acting in a way that doesn't generate future karma, because future karma continues you in Samsara." Alan Watts.

ধন্যবাদ ।(Dhonnobad,--Bangla language) , Thanks. (from Bangladesh)

Is there any latest video for the teaching of Buddha

Hi Mindah, may I know where can I buy the statute of the Buddha that displayed in your youtube (behind you). Tnx

To attain enlightenment i just listen to the poetry in the mind.

sry for that punny comment! so here i go again. Thank you very much for doing these videos!!!! I also practiced the meditation on loving kindness a few times with your video... I dont really know if it helped but i enjoy listening to your videos teaching buddhism. Much more than a pretty face haha. sry, hope it doesnt annoy your partner ;(

Thanks for explaining so nicely in simple words.But I have a question; will craving for enlightenment shall not lead to suffering as told by Buddha that craving is the cause of suffering?

can tell what happened after you quit job that you are not happy. gone to bodgaya. but how you find happiness

🙏🙏🙏❤

🙏🏼📿🙏🏼📿🙏🏼📿

My friend has been a nun all her life. She started studying at 12 years old all by herself. Guided by the creator, She still is a nun. But she doesnt want enlightenment for weird reasons.

Dear Mindah thank you for explaining Buddhism in a simple way, i have a question for myself, can you contact me through my email please, it is very important for my life

Fantastic View... I'm a lay Buddhist living on on the Gold Coast... This is a conversation & question I always get asked too! I personally feel being a lay Buddhist has more vale for me as a "warrior" of life using our practice & teachings carve out our own path! I have seen many of my friends take "The Next Step" & become monks!!! But to me its like there running away from there problems & leaving behind many hang-ups! Its like they can't handle what society is dishing out to them & the attitude is I'll just go & become a monk! But hey that's just me & my opinion! lol... As my Zen master always says, we are warriors of life & I think us Lay's battle the most... :)

Surely laypeople can be spiritual exemplars and monks and nuns can fear for the future, get depressed, and feel insignificant, pointless, bored, hungry, isolated & all the other things

Is freeing from suffering really the only core motivation of the buddhist practice? If we are living a comfortable life, with little immediate causes of suffering, we will not be as motivated for freeing ourselves from it, and that will brings us further from enlightenement. In that situation should there be a movement toward the difficult to remind ourselves the necessity of practicing?

You mention "thirst for enlightenment". Cravings for money, sex, and drugs would seem to be negative if not destructive influences. How is "thirst for enlightenment" different from other cravings related to the body and ego?

First

I became enlightened when I realised how wrong I'd been about everything, it really did feel like a great weight had been lifted from my shoulders, and I disengaged from all the thoughts in my own mind,and i became incredibly aware of all the goings on in my mind, and I didn't have to get involved in any of it,because I knew it went real, this was 17 years ago,and I haven't looked back since,my life's an ongoing adventure every day,and I'm very content in my life,I feel grateful for the life I've got,and I feel a deep sense of satisfaction most days... some people i come across are difficult but I know it's me and it's not real,but I still feel it anyway, this happens occasionally,and sometimes I'm hugely disappointed, but I don't remain in this state of mind for long,the reality returns and I can see where I've been influenced by my ego,most of the time I recognise it,and dismiss it as often as possible,but sometimes it still gets the better of me, I'd be grateful if you could tell me what you think of everything I've just said,I've been studying Buddhism for 23years,and live by all its principles,but I don't really know where I am on the path,and was my enlightenment just a very common insight which most people gain soon after they begin to practice...I really don't know,and I certainly don't want to deceive myself.but I do know I'm not a Buddha thanks for the video =)

Are there enlightened people who want to stay in their committed romantic relationships after they are enlightened? Why would they stay with one person if they love everyone equally? What about children? Will they love their child or care more for their child than others?

When I read about no self , nothigness it turns me off, sounds scary?!

It is only possible for laypeople who are celibate.

Did you reach enlightenment yet?

Do some enlightened people still want sexual intercourse?

Most of the content is good but the key points are just plain unBuddhist. You mention two types of enlightenment, the Buddha type and the Arhat type. In Theravada, Arhat is the highest goal, and in fact the Buddha was an Arhat. The main distinction of what makes a Buddha is that he discovers the path, is self awakened, and starts the dhamma cycle. Also, in Theravada Buddhism, lay people cannot be Arhats for longer than 7 days, they will either ordain or die within 7 days. The lower levels of enlightenment attainable by lay people are called stream-enterer (sotapana), once-returner (sakadagami), non-returner (anagami). Dipa Ma was generally considered to be an Anagami, one stage before full entitlement. If your definition of full enlightenment is different from full liberation then maybe you need to make that clear. In Theravada, full liberation is the goal which is also generally considered full enlightenment. But if by full enlightenment you mean maximum siddhis, maximum ability to teach other beings in all realms of existence, as well as full liberation then maybe that needs to be made more clear.

Permit me to clarify a couple of points: 1. Enlightenment has NOTHING to do with being a monk/nun or being a laity. Being a monk/nun or being a laity is essentially like being a full time or being a part time college student. And more often than not, there are part time college students make bigger progress than full time students. 2. In essence, the only difference between a monk and a laity is their appearance: clothing, foods, daily activities. This has nothing to do with enlightenment and the mind. 3. The ONLY one thing that leads to enlightenment is PERSONAL effort, by this I mean your MENTAL effort. 4. Regardless of the school you choose: Theravada, Mahayana, Varayana, Tantra, Chan/Zen, you must practice the Noble Eightfold path sincerely and diligently in order to reach the door of englightenment. There is NO other short cut. The Noble Eightfold path is the only SHORTEST possible path to reach enlightenment. Only fools would think otherwise. 5. Handicapped people, who can NOT sit like healthy people, CAN attain enlightenment like everyone else, for meditation has nothing to do with sitting posture. It is your own will power to tame your own monkey mind. It has nothing to do with our physical bodies.

I did like your altar with just the statue and the plant. The pic is distracting and not simple enough.

Yes.. One can become fully enlightened while being a lay person.. But a fully enlightened person will not stay in civilian life.. That person will go to become a monk.. that's what the Buddha has taught.. there are 4 levels to enlightenment 1. Sotapanna 2. Skrudagami 3. Anagami 4. Arihath. Up to 3rd level (Anagami) one can stay in civilian life as a lay person.. Once you go to Arihath level one can not stay as a lay person he/she will go in to monk hood.. Because when one become fully enlightened that persons desires towards lay life will be completely gone.. I don't agree with your view on fully enlightenment of the Buddha.. The enlightenment achieved by the Buddha and the Arihaths are the same no difference, that's what the Suttas say.. But Buddha's intelligence was complete in that sense he had the capability describe anything in the world as it is.. But other enlightened monks may not have the ability describe what they have achieved.. Though they understand it completely...

if it is possible why you bothered to become nun.

Actually, enlightenment is not that easy. Buddha believed that even a woman (i.e. nun) had to be incarnated into a man in order to achieve Nirvana.