mana-āyatana is 7 viññāṇa-dhātu (7 mana-āyatana) that is dvāra of mano-viññāṇa

In tipitaka of theravāda-buddhism, viññāṇa in mano-dvāra are called thinking.
Viññāṇa generally translated as "consciousness" in english-tradition. This is a terrible translation, because when we compare viññāṇa with english in sense article, viññāṇa is not just the consciousness, but consciousness is the part of viññāṇa. There seem to be:

1. Six viññāṇa, such as seeing, etc. = Six sense, not just consciousness, however consciousness is included in the part of sixth viññāṇa, too.
2. Six dvāra, such as eye, etc. = Six sense-organ.
3. Six object, such as color, etc. = Six sense-data.

The sixth dvāra called mano, that is enumerated to 7 viññāṇa/mano in 18 dhātu, such as cakkhu-viññāṇa/mano, etc. for describe mano in 12 āyatna. A cakkhu-viññāṇa arises at eye-dvāra to see a color-object. But when mano-viññāṇa will arise to think about that color-object, which was saw by that vanished cakkhu-viññāṇa, mano-viññāṇa will not arise at the eye-dvāra. Because the dvāra of mano-viññāṇa is not the cakkhu-dvāra, but the pāli said that mano is dvāra of mano-viññāṇa. So, when mano-viññāṇa thinking about a color-object, it thinking at cakkhu-mano, cakkhu-viññāṇa. So, first viññāṇa at mano-dvāra is called mano-dvāra-āvajjana. And so, mano-viññāṇa is called "mano"-viññāṇa. Therefore, Mano-viññāna is a thinking about a saw color, a heard sound, a smelled smell, a tasted taste, a touched touching, and a thought thinking.
So, in abhidhamma said that mano, viññāṇa, manoviññāṇa are the synonym. But they are used by buddha in difference function in each pali context, for avoiding the confusion of homograph and for briefing the word, such as 7 viññāna-āyatana brief to mano-āyatana, to make new word "mano-viññāṇa-dhātu", buddha is very intelligence!
Another, there is someone maybe teach consciousness is not thinking, because he has a weak pāli skill and never listen anyone around him. Especially, he never recite tipitaka, follow buddha's order, in A.N. Pañcakanipāta, to recite the teaching. This case often happen with the western professor, because they have a superego in their mind, so they always close their ear and their mind to learn the others' views. So, he never notice this pali's relationship. And he just always told that consciousness is not thinking, although consciousness is one part of mano-viññāna.
However, this case also happen to thai tipitaka translation, too. So, I often remind everyone to recite tipitaka in pāli, especially before teaching something. Especially when you listening the translate version of tipitaka, especially, from the western professor.

Meditation's Effect on Strong Attachment

I have a straightforwards question: does meditation decrease attachments -- e.g. to alcohol or social media -- by increasing willpower, or by other mechanisms? I would think shamatha increases willpower in the long-term, but does it produce some other effects that decrease attachments?

When you concentrate out of alcohol, you are not attaching alcohol that time. The distance between you and alcohol will increase. This can be meditation, if your concentration concentrating samādhi object or vipassanā object continuously and improvely. But, if not, it is just a sīla, precept, if you just deny to drink an alcohol, because alcohol denying is just a precept in 5 precepts, so it is just meditation base, but it still not meditation.
Sīla-training stop whole physical attachment, not just alcohol. Sīla is base of meditation, but it is not meditation because mental attachment still able to arise. When any unwholesome mind, such as attaching mind arising, that time is not meditation, because the meditation is training continuously and improvely.
Samādhi-continuous-training stop whole present mental attachment.
Vipassanā-continuous-training extirpate whole future attachment.

Balancing the Five Powers

It is too easy to understand, but it is very hard to done.

The example in concentration meditation:

1. If you have too much trust to concentrate on focus, you will over hurry to sit and to meditate. That hurrying maybe make you miss to concern, smart & wisdom, the meditation's situation and environment, such as it maybe too hot temperature to develop concentration meditation. So, your meditation will not grow up.
2. If you have too much effort, you will too much concern the meditation's situation and environment, then you loss the meditation's focus. So, your meditation will not grow up.
3. If you have too much concentration on focus when you still being bore, you will sleepy. But you will not decide to stand up and go to do caṅkama, walk meditate, to avoid sleepy. Because you miss to concern, smart & wisdom, the meditation's situation and environment. So, your meditation will not grow up.
4. If you have too much smart and wisdom, you will too much concern the meditation's situation and environment, then you loss the meditation's focus. So, your meditation will not grow up.

Etc.

For more information, I recommend you read whole of path of purification especially in pathavīkasiṇa-niddesa and in maggāmaggañāṇadassaṇavisuddhi-niddesa. There are many explanation and many tools for the balancing inside there, such as 7 sappāya, 10 appanākosala, etc.

The last giving in Dana Mahapphala Sutta

Dana Sutta:

" — but with the thought, 'This is an ornament for the mind, a support for the mind' — on the break-up of the body, after death, he reappears in the company of Brahma's Retinue. Then, having exhausted that action, that power, that status, that sovereignty, he is a non-returner. He does not come back to this world.

At the end of sutta, said that the last dāna-method, your quote, is dāna of anāgāmi-ariya:

with the body’s breaking up, after death, he reappears in the company of Brahma’s Retinue. Then, having exhausted that karma, that power, that status, that sovereignty, he is a non-returner. He does not come back to this world.

So, in this sutta's commentary said:

"an adornment for the mind, a support for the mind" means a support for concentration-meditation-mind and insight-meditation-mind.

Because, anāgāmi-ariya completely & perfectly escaped five strands of sensuality, kāma-attachment, so his attachment in his gift can't arise anymore, too, because gift is five strands. So, dāna in the last method are the best, because it is giving as alike as anāgāmi-ariya's and arahanta-ariya's giving. These two ariya just give for meditation, mind development.

To understand tipitaka deeply, reciting & memorizing tipitaka are strongly required.

Priority of Meditation

Bad physical habits are stopped by adhi-sīla, physical observe.

Then, bad mental habits are stopped by adhi-samādhi, concentration-meditation.

Then, whole, future, bad habit's root-causes, avijjā-root & taṇhā-root & dosa-root, are vanished by adhi-paññā, insight-meditation.

No one can avoid any kamma in a very long travel in saṅsāravaṭṭa

No one can avoid any kamma in a very long travel in saṅsāravaṭṭa, except niyata-bodhisatta (bodhisatta who has enough experience to be an inevitable person to enlighten as buddha).

However, niyata-bodhisatta still born in hell, except just avīci-hell, still born as animals, except just very small and very big body animals, etc.

So, although you are bodhisatta, you still can not avoid the hell.

In commentary's statistic, just jhāna people have a lifetime much enough to get a very small chance to meet metteyya-buddha, and just 4th jhāna people (of 8 jhāna) and anāgāmi-ariya have a lifetime much enough to get a very small chance to meet next buddha after metteyya-buddha.

The other people, such as all 1st-6th heaven people and all human, will die before the next buddha meeting, and their death can lead them to the hell infinity time, before their next buddha meeting.

Bodhisatta develop their wholesome minds without any fear, although they realizing that they will born in hell uncountable time before the enlightenment.

What is the difference between Dhithi (view) and Panna (wisdom)?

Right, Sammā = possible to happen in reality cause and effect rules.
Wrong, Sammā = impossible to happen in reality cause and effect rules.
Diṭṭhi = attitude element of mind that collecting several right/wrong aspects of knowledge.
Paññā = learning element of mind that learning several right/wrong aspects of knowledge.
When you learning knowledge, is while you collecting knowledge. 
So, Diṭṭhi = Paññā.
Therefore, SammāDiṭṭhi = the attitude element of mind  that is right, possible to happen in cause and effect rules, such as paṭiccasamuppāda, paṭṭhāna, or 10 sammādiṭṭhi, etc. = SammapPaññā = The learning element of mind that is learning several aspects of learning knowledge, that is right, possible to happen in cause and effect rules, such as paṭiccasamuppāda, paṭṭhāna, or 10 sammādiṭṭhi, etc.
See: abhidhamma such as ñāṇavibhaṅga, and understanding chapter of part of purification.

Adosa with every kusala citta vs metta as an abiding

Adosa in another kusala = no wishing that the profit will arise to the others. Because kusala can't wish to do dosa, to damage, anyone, so while kusala arising, it is no dosa, adosa, although there is no wishing that the profit will arise to the others.

Adosa in metta = wishing that the profit will arise to the others. It is not just kusala arising, but it is kusala arising and wishing that the profit will arise to the others.

For more information see lakkhaṇādiccatukka of mettā and adosa in visuddhimagga, path of purification, bhrahmavihāraniddesa and paññāniddesa.

Self is paññatti. It is not grasping. Also, we choose to be mahāvihāra theravāda buddhist because we want to get all security.

Self is paññatti. It is not grasping. Grasping arise to attach/to cling khandha and paññatti, that are grasping's object. But paññatti never arise, so self never begin or end. Similarly, when you dream. The dreaming-mind is real and arising. But it's object never arise and never vanish, just an imagination of mind. So, self is not real.
Furthermore, for aggregates and grasping, in next life, is already taught that still arise until an ignorant and a craving still is not destroyed by arahanta's enlightenment . Because, there is a future-clinging-aggregate, and that clinging will try (kamma-bhava, kamma-becoming) to have (before death=get new thing, after death=rebirth) that future-clinging-aggregate. So in Khandhasutta taught:

"Whatever form — past, future (form-clinging-aggregate), or present; internal or external; blatant or subtle; common or sublime; far or near — is clingable, offers sustenance, and is accompanied with mental fermentation: That is called the form clinging-aggregate.

And Paṭiccasamuppāda taught:

From craving as a requisite condition comes clinging/sustenance. From clinging/sustenance as a requisite condition comes becoming. From becoming as a requisite condition comes birth.

Furthermore, we choose to be mahāvihāra theravāda buddhist (because we using mahāvihāra's tipitaka) because we want to have anytime and anywhere security by make every possible protection to protect every of your future self from every possible insecure. If you still lazy to protect your self from next life/rebirth (by making sure you [five aggregates] must never arise anymore), you are not mahāvihāra theravāda buddhist practitioner. Also, you never understand throughout the theravāda-tipitaka's concept.

Most behavior depend on decision

In abhidhamma.-
There are 4 type of minds:

1. wholesome-root functional mind, good kamma.
2. unwholesome-root functional mind, bad kamma.
3. root's effect functional mind, kamma's fruit.
4. rootless functional mind, neither kamma nor fruit.

In one's life process:

1. human born just by wholesome kamma, but some organ, i.e. cyst, can arise by unwholesome kamma after born.
2. kamma has making body-sense for touching touch.

each mind's full process at body-sense:

3. contact of 3 dhātu: 1) touch arise & 2) body-sense arise & 3) 4th mind arise for to decide the kind of 3th mind, wholesome-effect/unwholesome-effect, that compatible with that touch (same time).
4. then 3rd mind knows that touch at body-sense, both are arose by kamma-cause.
5. then another 3rd minds know that touch by kamma-cause 2 times.
6. then touch is reached by 4th mind again for to decide the kind of 1st, 2nd, or 4th minds should arise to do new kamma in body.
7. then 7 times arising of 1st or 2nd mind and do new kamma.
8. then 2 times arising of 3rd minds.
9. then body vanished.
10. Above mind process, at body sense, can loop moreover trillion times per second, uncountable. There are more types of mind process than I show in this answer, this is just the example.

You can see that we receive fruit of old kamma and make new kamma in the same process and the same body.
His bad behavior is 1st, 2nd, and 4th mind. Just 3rd mind and a cyst organ are kamma's fruit.
So, the cyst organ is not a main cause of bad behavior. But previous bad behavior is the main cause of present bad behavior.
The cyst organ is just a fruit of the past bad behavior. It maybe one of side cause, but it is not the main cause. A human maybe feel very hurt and hard to decide to make arising of wholesome mind or unwholesome mind because of hurt at body-sense at 4th step but the decision is the 6th step. So, the 7th step is done by his decision in 6th step, not by kamma.
In the other hand: many example in tipitaka and commentary shown that there were many arahanta who were suffered at body-sense, but no one of arahanta have unwholesome-kamma, bad behavior.

Paṭiccasamuppāda : Dependent Co-arising Description

"Now from the remainderless fading & cessation of that:

1. very ignorance (past-defilement/past-cause) comes the cessation of fabrications (past-kamma-becoming/past-cause).
2. From the cessation of fabrications comes the cessation of consciousness (present-birth/present appearance of consciousness-aggregate/present suffering/present-effect). [mano pubbaṅgamā dhammā]
3. From the cessation of consciousness comes the cessation of name-&-form (present-birth/present appearance of form-aggregate & feeling-aggregate & perception-aggregate & fabrication-aggregate/present-suffering/present-effect).
4. From the cessation of name-&-form comes the cessation of the six sense media (present-suffering/present-effect).
5. From the cessation of the six sense media comes the cessation of contact (present-suffering/present-effect).
6. From the cessation of contact comes the cessation of feeling (present-suffering/present-effect).
7. From the cessation of feeling comes the cessation of craving (present-defilement/present-cause).
8. From the cessation of craving comes the cessation of clinging/sustenance (present-defilement/present-cause).
9. From the cessation of clinging/sustenance comes the cessation of becoming (present-kamma-becoming/present-fabrications/present-cause).
10. From the cessation of becoming comes the cessation of birth (future-birth/future-upatti-becoming/future-effect).
11. From the cessation of birth, then aging & death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair all cease (future-effect).

Such is the cessation of this entire mass of stress & suffering."

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn12/sn12.002.than.html

WHY a belief in rebirth does not lead to the cessation of suffering?

nihilism ("non existence") and/or existentialism ("existence") must be avoided.

In the middle way, we accept all possible situation such as kamma causes rebirths, next lives, because we believe in causes and effects. But we do not believe in rebirth of self, because it is not the truth. It is just a rebirth of new effects, that may have the same look as in the past, but it is no self at all.

Q: But you're not saying anything different than I am Bonn. When we shed this shell and some other space is entombed in a meat-bag it's not the same, but it is the same. The space awareness was all one - except now it is another space covered by another meat-bag. You're saying the same thing I am yet you guys call my "continuity" to be existence. If MY awareness, that in my shell right now, were to be swapped with that of another shell I would still feel like the same observer but with different memories and perhaps varied senses.

A: I said "It is just a rebirth of new effects", but you said "the same". New is not the same. Your self view make you see the same. But new is new, new is not the old. A cause can not be itself's effect. Self causes not rebirth, self causes not self, kamma causes not self. Just new causes cause, new effects, rebirth. No self at all. Self is just an imagination of mind that is not smart enough to analysis the very fast ( the all time fastest stuff in the universe) of aggregates rebirth. So non practitioner always see "old aggregates" is "the same of new aggregates".

Q: I think you forget the cause and effect chain which results in karma. The end of the chain and its' beginning are the same.

A: No it is not the same kamma. In a second, we made over billion, uncountable, kamma. And in one person depend on uncountable kamma, and change every time. So it is not the same. No self at all. Don't try to keep self view. 

For the example, one's eyes born by wholesome kamma. Then these eyes are blinded by unwholsome kamma, after birth. So is wholesome kamma self? is unwholesome kamma is self? are regular eyes self? are blind eyes self? Or it is just new causes (that maybe arose in the past, too, and it still possible to be a cause of new effects) and new effects arising and vanishing?

This is the reason why paṭiccasamuppāda is very important in buddhism. 

I'm wondering WHY a strong belief in rebirth does not conform with the above Buddha's teachings?

Because in the western history, the western people have suffering by some religious, that have a strong belief in rebirth through moreover 2000 years, so they hate that religious and that belief, together. when they catch the buddha's teaching, they bias the buddha's teaching by that hate. They try to cutting rebirth off tipitaka, although they never completely study throughout the buddha's teaching by an ancient study system

Saṇkhāra-cause, Saṇkhata-effect; So, we don't need to find that Where is Nibbana/Nirvana being Unconditioned stated in the Canon?

You can see these pali-words everywhere in canon. This is the reason that why I often told everyone to recite and memorize pali canon.
Saṇkhata (5 aggregate-effects) means it is caused, is conditioned, by 5 aggregate-causes.
Saṇkhāra (5 aggregate-causes) means it causes, conditions, 5 aggregate-effects.
Saṇkhāra-paṭiccasamuppāda (kamma-bhava, karma) means it causes, conditions, becoming (jāti, upatti-bhava, 5 khandha).
Asaṇkhata (nibbāna) means it is unconditioned by any saṇkhāra.

mahāvihāra theravāda buddhists

Where can I find more about mahāvihāra theravāda buddhists teachings?

Mahāvihāra theravāda buddhist=The Orally Recited Memorizing Tradition. Tipitaka orally keep from buddha to 1st-3rd saṇgayanā saṇgha. Mahindathera and his students go to singhala island at mahāvihāra. Then in about 450 ABE, tipitaka, that we using nowadays, wrote here in mahāvihāra. And we still keep tipitaka study tradition by orally reciting tradition follow to theravāda's tipitaka and commentary after that wrote, from mahāvihāra teacher to mahāvihāra student, from mahāvihāra teacher (whe has been a student) to burma student and thai student.
Course syllabus of the The Orally Recited Memorizing Tradition that wrote in commentary from 1st saṇgayanā, was translated in this answer: buddhism.stackexchange.com/a/22917/10100 . Also, you can found the rule in mahākhandhaka in mahāvagga of vinayapitaka, too. But no one translated it to english for free, right now.

Every part of tipitaka have their own commentary

Every part of tipitaka have their own commentary. And most of commentaries have their own sub-commentary. All of these commentaries were written by tipitaka-memorizer.