Is there a difference between rest and observe? The reason I have the question is that I’ve been taught to observe—watch my breath, for instance. And in my mind, the way I think, I watch it, I observe it, and I don’t deal with it or experience it—I just watch it. So my question is: what is the difference between the two?

Around age 19, I started having panic attacks, the bouts come and go but recently I’ve had a series of especially terrifying ones. I’ve tried to use my sitting practice for help, but they keep coming. When they hit, I’m powerless to the terror and afterward it lingers, and I’m always scared for its return. How do I deal with my panic attacks?

Is having an ethical commitment always necessarily the best way to live through feelings and half awareness, which is what we’re doing in the vipashyana practice? Are those always in concert or is it possible that there may be instances where maybe it’s not very helpful to have ethics on your mind? Particularly when feeling like anger or a lot of negative emotions, I wonder if what they’re calling us to do may actually involve taking some kind of an action sometimes?

I have some questions regarding psychotherapy and Buddhism, and this is coming out of evaluating an experience recently, within the last year, of my mother passing away and being engulfed with sorrow and confusion and fairly overwhelmed by it. So, I sought out some psychotherapy, which was a very interesting experience, but in the end, not that useful.

One of the dedication prayers I learned from you—I really love this prayer—but it includes this line: “Give me energy to know that mind has no beginning.” And even though I say the prayer every day, I still don’t really understand what is being expressed in that line.