Tisarana Buddhist Monastery: Recent Episodes
Tisarana Buddhist Monastery
Dhamma talks by Ajahn Viradhammo at Tisarana Buddhist Monastery. In the Forest Tradition of Ajahn Chah, Ajahn Sumedho, and Amaravati Monastery.
Venerable Khemako discusses how calmness and stillness associated with meditation is a means to a higher end, not the end itself. He describes how one’s attention is variable like the weather, and how one can start with a coarse object of meditation and then see whether the mind can observe more details of, for example, the subtleties of the breath. (Dhamma talk recorded at OBS Arnprior retreat on 25 November 2019. Duration 31:34).… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo explains how to disempower difficult states of mind. He discusses how instilling contrasting states of mind can be helpful in becoming aware of and bearing with, for example, the self-critical mind. These contrasting states include body awareness and the Brahmaviharas. The talk concludes with a question and answer period. (Dhamma talk via Zoom recorded on 19 September 2020. Duration 48:00)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo discusses how our misperceptions of ourselves are strongly conditioned, and feel very real. However, through trusting in the changing nature of mental phenomena, trusting in awareness, and patiently bearing with these difficult self-perceptions, we find the space to appreciate the beauty in our lives. (Dhamma talk via Zoom recorded on 12 July 2020. Duration 31:50)… Read the rest
Venerable Khemako describes how views and opinions are quick sketches and shortcuts for the fullness of the present moment. Once we see this, we can hold our opinions more tentatively and recognize their uncertainty. He encourages us to investigate how the process of constructing opinions unfolds, and thereby providing an opportunity to see something new. (Dhamma talk recorded at Arnprior Retreat 30 November 2019. Duration 47:38)… Read the rest
In this question and answer session, Ajahn Viradhammo discusses how to overcome biases by opening the heart. He also describes how to be socially relevant in difficult times, while inclining the mind towards silence. He also comments on practice-related questions on using the end of the out breath and visual images arising during meditation. (Dhamma talk recorded via Zoom on 16 September 2020. Duration 38:32)… Read the rest
In this wrap up of the online retreat, Ajahn Viradhammo encourages us to trust in awareness, rather than defaulting to a habit of, for example worry. He explains that a willingness to witness our reaction to being in an emotionally vulnerable (but safe) situation is a form of Metta. He encourages us to use meditation as a practice of purification, where we cultivate open-hearted awareness of difficult states of mind. (Dhamma talk recorded via Zoom on 17 September 2020. Duration 30:24)… Read the rest
In this Question and Answer session,Venerable Khemako explains that while part of what we experience as fear is primal and rooted in our human physiology, part of the experience is rooted in a self-schema driven by desire (e.g., wish to remove perceived threats to ego). He also describes how meditation practice can help in the investigation of what triggers our unwholesome desires and mental activity. (Dhamma talk recorded via Zoom on 20 August 2020. Duration 37:14)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo discusses how important it is for mindfulness to be in the context of Sila (morality) and Panna (wisdom). Each has our own predicament where mindfulness is lost, and Metta (loving-kindness) supports bearing witness to difficult mind states which strengthen mindfulness and awareness. He highlights the importance of constant reflection on uncertainty and enquiry that brings the mind to silent knowing. (Dhamma talk recorded at Tisarana Monastery on 18 August 2020. Duration 37:47)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo makes a distinction between conventional truths and the stream of consciousness. Both are important to attend to, but witnessing where your stream of consciousness gets preoccupied is the challenge for which meditation helps you prepare. Seeing the silence behind the movement of the mind helps liberate you from Self view. (Dhamma talk recorded via Zoom on 10 July 2020.Duration 37:36)… Read the rest
Venerable Khemako outlines how craving to present one’s self in a certain way is common because of the pressures and reinforcement of earning a living and societal messages. He discusses how practicing the 8-fold path allows us to lift the veil on the automatic processes that generate a craving to become some ideal Self. (Dhamma talk via Zoom recorded on 16 May 2020. Duration 33:27).… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo discusses developing receptive awareness and the cessation of mind states. He explains how witnessing one’s mental reaction to difficult people and situations inclines the mind to cessation, and to realizing that the mental reaction is not who one is. (Dhamma talk via Zoom recorded on 8 May 2020. Duration 38:31).… Read the rest
Ven. Khemako discusses how holding tightly to fixed views and opinions is taking refuge in the unreliable. He explains how, by framing opinions in terms of the 3 characteristics (i.e., Anicca, Dukkha, Anatta), you are taking refuge in the Dhamma. (Dhamma talk at Tisarana Monastery on 1 February 2020. Duration 27:18)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo describes three types of equanimity. He explains how sila and dhamma vijaya are essential to training in equanimity. (Dhamma talk recorded via Zoom on 3 July 2020. Duration 34:11)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo describes how attachment to opinions leads to Dukkha. He then explains how seeing an opinion simply as an object in awareness allows the heart to be open in difficult situations (Dhamma talk recorded via Zoom on 26 June 2020. Duration 37:34)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo discusses the difference between having a clever, confident position on Buddhist concepts versus the use of awareness to discover an existential Right Understanding of reality as we live it. (Dhamma talk recorded via Zoom on 20 June 2020. Duration 34:49)… Read the rest
Tan Khemako responds to some Dhamma questions, including how to deal with one’s mind when it is obsessed by memories of a disagreement at work (Q&A recorded at Tisarana via Zoom on 20 August 2020. Duration 31.08)… Read the rest
Luang Por Viradhammo explains how the realization of the Transcendent is a process of tuning into the heart more than controlling your emotional reactions through mindfulness. (Dhamma talk recorded via Zoom on 18 September 2020. Duration 36:46)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo gives a Dhamma talk and reflects on how expectations can condition disappointment (Dhamma talk recorded at Tisarana Buddhist Monastery on 25 September 2020. Duration 58.03)… Read the rest
Tan Khemako depicts a spiritual story to explain the conditional process of sense-consciousness, perception, and mental proliferation in the human mind (Dhamma talk via Zoom recorded on 20 August 2020. Duration 33.38)… Read the rest
Tan Khemako offers some reflections on the Buddha’s teaching that all phenomena are rooted in desire (Dhamma talk recorded at Tisarana via Zoom on 20th August 2020. Duration 33.21)… Read the rest
Tan Khemako gives a Dhamma talk about the Deva realms (talk recorded at the Arnprior retreat in Ontario on 29 November 2019. Duration 1:03:37)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo offers some Dhamma reflections on death and dying (talk recorded at Pak Chong retreat, Thailand, on 1st December 2019. Duration 35.26)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo gives some Dhamma reflections on the subject of the Brahma-Viharas. … Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo gives some Dhamma teachings on using skillful language during meditation to maintain present moment awareness.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo offers some Dhamma reflections on the theme of uncertainty.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo gives some Dhamma reflections on the topic of letting go and non-desire.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo offers some reflections on Dhamma. He talks about bringing our desires into awareness so that we can let them go.
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Ajahn Viradhammo answers questions at the Pak Chong retreat. These include; How do I stop drinking alcohol? Are there any studies about what happens to the brain after many years of meditation? How do I practice ‘choice-less awareness’? (Q&A recorded at Pak Chong, Thailand, on 30 November 2019. Duration 47:58)… Read the rest
Tan Khemako answers questions from the retreatants including; What are the qualities of Enlightenment? Do we ever make decisions? What are the four foundations of mindfulness and the seven factors of awakening? What are the five aspects of the grasping mind? (Talk recorded at Arnprior on 28 November 2019. Duration 1:22:30)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo talks about the four heavenly messengers: the old person, the sick person, the corpse, and the sadu (religious seeker). He recommends that we frequently reflect on these because they will rouse in us a sense of urgency to search for the deathless reality, just as they did for the Buddha. (Talk recorded at Pak Chong on 29 November 2019. Duration 34:59)… Read the rest
Tan Khemako reflects on the five khandas that constitute a ‘human being’, often talked about by the Buddha. Tan Khemako talks about how they feature in the Four Noble Truths teaching, and how we can learn to recognize them in our present moment experience. (Talk recorded at Tisarana on 2 January 2020. Duration 31:41)… Read the rest
On Asalha Puja Ajahn Viradhammo reflects on the word ‘practice’, used nowadays by many monastics and lay meditators to refer to our cultivation of the Path. He suggests the terms investigation, reflection, and enquiry are more fitting for the mind states required to realize the unconditioned (Talk recorded at Tisarana on 16 July 2019. Duration 33.40)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo answers some more questions during the retreat. He reflects on the pali term Sotāpanna in respect to the first three fetters, and the disadvantage of simply repressing thoughts with a meditation technique. (Talk recorded at Pak Chong on 28 November 2019. Duration 49:38)… Read the rest
Luang Por Viradhammo offers some Dhamma reflections via a Zoom meeting on the subject of doubt, the fifth hindrance to samadhi and also the third fetter to stream-entry. … Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo talks about the way our minds attach to views and opinions, and answers a question about how to embrace fear. He gives the example that if we attach to self-criticism after making a mistake, we are simply creating kamma that will lead to future hateful mind-states. (Talk recorded at Pak Chong on 27 November 2019. Duration 44:38)… Read the rest
A recording of Ajahn Viradhammo giving a Dhamma talk via Zoom organized by supporters in Singapore and Malaysia.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo answers a couple of questions from the retreatants. The first is ‘What is the mind knowing the mind?’ The second is about Metta practice. He then leads a guided meditation on how he deals with drowsiness. (Talk recorded at Pak Chong on 25 November 2019. Duration 42:45)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo answers questions from some of the retreatants. He reflects on the importance of abiding in wholesomeness, the difference between Tanha and Chanda, and the fact that some of our desires are based on natural, biological requirements of the body. (Talk given at Pak Chong on 26 November 2019. Duration 36:12)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo gives a Dhamma talk and answers questions from members of the Ottawa Buddhist Society via Zoom for their Friday night meditation on May 08. This new way of communication has proven beneficial for it allows more access for those who previously could not attend in person. Much appreciation to those who put in time and energy to make this work.… Read the rest
Tan Khemako explains the meaning of the phrase “The Dhamma is beautiful in the beginning, beautiful in the middle, and beautiful in the end”. This is a line from the Pali Canon that we recite during the morning chanting. (Dhamma Talk recorded at Arnprior on 26 November 2019. Duration 57:58)… Read the rest
On the second day of this retreat Ajahn Viradhammo talks about the Middle Way of dealing with unpleasant bodily feeling. He reflects that it is important not to attach to aversion for the pain, and not to change posture immediately there is discomfort. (Talk recorded at Pak Chong on 25 November 2019. Duration 42:32)… Read the rest
Tan Khemako gives a reflection on how our minds are continually creating the past in the form of memories, or creating an imagined future. If we are able to bring our mind back to the present moment and recognize the raw experience of suffering, we move closer to liberation. (Talk recorded at Tisarana on 19 December 2019. Duration 36:40)… Read the rest
On the first day of this retreat in Thailand Ajahn Viradhammo gives a talk on the five Jhana factors. He reflects that all five can be employed as a method, rather than expecting Piti and Sukha to be the result. He also speaks about the five hindrances. (Talk recorded at Pak Chong on 24 November 2019. Duration 45:49)… Read the rest
Tan Khemako gives a reflection on how our minds cling to views and beliefs. He uses the example of climate change, explaining that we filter everything we read/hear about the subject to fit in with our view. (Talk recorded at Tisarana on 11 December 2019. Duration 32:58) … Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo gives a reflection about whether happiness is something a meditator should be trying to achieve from his/her meditation, or whether it is more skillful to cultivate wholesome thoughts that are inherently ‘happy’. He gives examples of thoughts of loving-kindness (Metta) and gratitude. (Talk recorded at Tisarana on 11 November 2019. Duration 36:48)… Read the rest
Tan Khemako delves deeper into this simile in response to a question from a retreat attendee. He explains how our minds have been conditioned to create a conceptual overlay covering the raw phenomena that we experience. Clinging to these concepts is what causes our suffering. (Dhamma Talk recorded at Arnprior on 27 November 2019. Duration 1:00:40) … Read the rest
All of us are being affected by the current Coronavirus pandemic, and we can see how difficult this is for many people around the world. This stress and uncertainty in our lives can help us to see what we really take as our refuge. This short talk given by Ajahn Sumedho in 2007 highlights the importance of taking refuge in that which is wholesome: the Buddha, as an example of enlightenment, the Dhamma as the way to liberation, and the Sangha, those who give us encouragement and inspiration on the path. He also emphasizes taking Awareness as our refuge. Rather than getting caught up in what is happening around us or our own moods, if we pause to recognize ‘the way it is’ without judgement, taking Awareness as our center, we will find we are able to act more skillfully and be able to provide help to those who may be distressed. (Talk given by Ajahn Sumedho at Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in 2007. Duration 20:10)… Read the rest
On the first day of this retreat in Thailand Ajahn Viradhammo gives a 20 minute reflection on the importance of being heedful of the three types of craving. He then gives a guided meditation on body awareness, encouraging mindfulness of the whole body. (Talk given at Pak Chong on 24 November 2019. Duration 42:25) … Read the rest
When we are participating in daily activities there will be many situations which trigger our defilements. Instead of thinking of these scenarios as obstacles to our development, or that our reactions are somehow wrong, we can use them as an aid to seeing the nature of our mind and incline it towards non-attachment. (Talk recorded at Tisarana on 4 December 2019. Duration 34.43)… Read the rest
Ajahn Khemasiri answers questions at tea time from Tisarana's resident community about: Understanding the feeling of something missing (1:00); The nature of Samadhi (15:00); How to connect with people who don't share your values anymore (41:00); How to do comtemplation of body parts (59:00); Bare awareness as a meditation technique (72:00); How to strengthen Metta/Mudita practice (79:00) *(Q&A recorded at Tisarana on 18 August 2019. Duration 1:28:59)*
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Tan Khemako talks about Anicca. He suggests the word ‘uncertain’ is a good rendering of this Pali word because it describes the unpredictable, unstable nature of all phemomena (Talk recorded at Arnprior on 25 November 2019. Duration 54:22)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo answers a question about the use of the word viññāṇa in the Pali Canon. He makes reference to the book The Isand by Ajahn Amaro and Ajahn Pasanno which contains a chapter on the Buddha’s rare use of the word as a synonym for Nibbana (Q&A recorded at Arnprior during the OBS retreat on 20 September 2019. Duration 42:24) … Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo expounds on the first three fetters which block the fruition of Stream Entry. He explains that holding to ideals can be difficult to observe in ones mind because oftentimes we have attached to them since childhood. (Q&A recorded at Arnprior during the OBS retreat on 19 September 2019. Duration 31:32)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo talks about the nature of obsessive thinking and how a meditator can perceive it as a mind object. He uses the example of worrying, and suggests that by allowing the feeling of fear to be present in ones mind, without indulging in it or repressing it, will lead to insight and liberation from this habit. (Q&A recorded on the third day of the OBS retreat at Arnprior on 18 September 2019. Duration 55.08) … Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo reflects on the words Jhana and Samadhi, highlighting how the English translations we use will have an effect on our minds. He often renders them as meditation and composure because these don’t exacerbate the desire to want to achieve and become. Ajahn Viradhammo quotes from an article by Āyasmā Kumāra Bhikkhu which is as yet unprinted (Q&A recorded during the Ottowa Buddhist retreat at Arnprior on 17 September 2019. Duration 46.09)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo gave this talk on the second day of the Ottowa Buddhist Society retreat. He emphasizes the importance of not attaching to ideals, but instead to use them as reflections for understanding the desires of the mind. (Dhamma talk recorded at Arnprior on 16 September 2019. Duration 37:57)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo gave this Dhamma talk a few days before Luang Por Chah’s cremation. He includes details of how and why the training he received from Luang Por was so fruitful and inspiring, particularly his emphasis on non-attachment. (Dhamma talk recorded at Wat Pah Nanachat on 12 January 1993. Duration 29:47)… Read the rest
Tan Khemako talks about the benefits of restraining unwholesome actions, and how the Buddhist precepts are an excellent guide for the practitioner to reflect on. (Dhamma talk recorded at Tisarana on 19 April 2019. Duration 30:49)… Read the rest
The conclusion of the talk given a few days before Luang Por Chah’s cremation. (Dhamma talk recorded at Wat Pah Nanachat on 12 January 1993. Duration 19:01)… Read the rest
Tan Khemako responds to a question about how to cultivate right speech in ones own mind. He bases his talk in the framework of the Noble Eightfold Path and includes reference to the Dvedhavitakka Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 19). (Dhamma talk recorded at the Quaker House in Ottawa on 15 November 2019. Duration 47:27)… Read the rest
This New Year’s Eve Tan Khemako talks about setting ones mind in a wholesome direction, towards freedom and liberation. He encourages us to observe how sensual pleasures are fleeting, not leading to lasting or reliable happiness (Talk recorded at Tisarana on 31 December 2019. Duration 33:02)… Read the rest
Two weeks into the winter retreat Tan Khemako considers how to skillfully increase ones motivation to practice formal meditation when the mind is being distracted by trivial pursuits. He gives a summary of the Rattapala Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya Sutta 82) and reflects on its message. (Talk recorded at Tisarana on 20 January 2019. Duration 33:23) … Read the rest
Tan Khemako answers a question about the Buddha’s teaching on non-self. He expounds about the uncertainty of all phenomena, and how the practice of meditation can prepare the mind for the moment of death (Q&A recorded at Tisarana on 6 January 2019. Duration 1:03:03)… Read the rest
Venerable Khemako gives a guided medition, and follows by offering some Dhamma reflections. He addresses the fundamentals of the Buddhist path, namely the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path, and the primacy of reducing mental suffering. (Guided Meditation and Dhamma Talk recorded at Tisarana on 2 April, 2019. Duration 1:42:05)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo describes the path of practice to participants of the Ottawa Buddhist Society’s Day of Mindfulness, pointing out how our experience is better understood through verbs rather than nouns. He follows with a guided loving-kindness meditation. (Dhamma talk and guided meditation recorded at Tu-An Pagoda on 20 April 2019. Duration 1:11:11)… Read the rest
Tan Khemako uses the simile of training a horse as a way to explain the training of the mind to be skillful, step by step. He explains how to find pleasure in doing things that give long-term benefits. (Talk recorded at Tisarana on 2 November 2018. Duration 1:02:33)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo explains how to come to the Awakend Mind by establishing the appropriate supports, illustrating how our behavior and thinking patterns condition our minds. He goes on to describe the nature of clinging and what happens when we free ourselves from it. His Dhamma talk is followed by questions and answers. (Dhamma talk and Q&A recorded at Tu-An Pagoda on 20 April 2019. Duration 59:50)… Read the rest
Tan Khemako answers a question about how do deal with obsessive thoughts and confusion, through mindfulness and investigation. He discusses how the training brings intentions to the surface, so that we can consciously set good intentions leading to desirable results. (Q&A at Tisarana on 2 December, 2018. Duration 1:22:17)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo discusses how the methods or practices of Buddhism such as metta practice or morality often get taken up as goals in and of themselves. Although these practices can be reflective tools for deep peace, having a goal-oriented mindset to the practices (i.e., I should do that) is bound by wordly conditions and self identity. He describes how the Buddha pointed to a peace that is beyond the conditions of the mind. (Dhamma talk recorded at Tisarana Monastery on 15 August 2019. Duration 34:50 minutes)… Read the rest
On Thanksgiving weekend, Ajahn Viradhammo reflects on the cultural formats that support monastic practice. He reflects that beauty of the harvest moon can make the mind stop and experience deep peace. With an emphasis on composed awareness rather than control, we can investigate suffering and be at peace with difficult situations and mind states. (Dhamma talk recorded at Tisarana Monstery on 13 October 2019. Duration: 40:29 minutes)… Read the rest
Venerable Khemako offers reflections on the Vinaya, the Buddha’s prescribed code of conduct for monastics, and how it relates to the Dhamma and ultimate liberation. He points out how sensual and sexual restraint are the very foundation for true success in the monastic discipline. (Talk recorded at Tisarana on 4 February 2019. Duration 30:17)… Read the rest
Tan Khemako explains that everything that we can experience happens in the present moment, whereas the past and the future are merely mental representations. He shows how investigating the mind in the present moment is the way out of dukkha. (Dhamma talk recorded at Tisarana Monastery on December 7, 2019. Duration: 50:46)… Read the rest
At a Saturday afternoon public meditation session, Ajahn Khemasiri explains the purposes and benefits of meditation. He notes that cultivating an understanding of how our minds work can be very helpful in providing a sense of calm and peace. However, he suggests that there can be purposes of meditation beyond the benefits of grounding and investigation – purposes such as cultivating a place of pure awareness and awakening the heart to purity. (Dhamma talk recorded at Tisarana Monastery 10 August 2019. Duration: 38:15).… Read the rest
For the Lunar Observance evening talk, Tan Khemako reflects on our habit of thinking that we know what is going to happen next. He tells a story showing how unexpected events help us wake up to the uncertainty of life. He also explains how training and developing wholesome thoughts and actions aid us in reacting to unexpected events in skillful ways. (Dhamma talk recorded at Tisarana Monastery on September 6, 2019. Duration: 33:39)… Read the rest
On a windy, late summer’s evening at Tisarana, Ajahn Viradhammo reflects on the freedom that comes from conforming to the monastic rules and way of life. With this foundation for freedom, he discusses how we can let go of one’s self-narrative and perspectives, and abide with the reality of awareness of change. (Dhamma talk recorded at Tisarana Monastery on 13 September 2019. Duration: 36:23)… Read the rest
Upon savouring the community’s chanting of the Anatta Lakkhana Sutta, the Discourse on Not Self, Venerable Khemako points out why looking for happiness in the body and mind is destined to fail. He then describes the solution given by the Buddha, which leads to real, lasting happiness. (Talk recorded at Tisarana on 27 February 2019. Duration 41:14)… Read the rest
Venerable Khemako explains how the mind is constantly playing tricks on itself, asserting truths about the world and our identity. He shows how the very rules of our mind are rigged, and that the Buddha’s path is the way out of this trap.(Talk recorded at Tisarana on 13 January 2019. Duration 36:50)… Read the rest
Visitors take advantage of the wonderful and rare opportunity speak with Luang Por Sumedho during a Question and Answer session here at Tisarana. A variety of topics were raised, one being how one should develop a sense of ‘samvega’ , or spiritual urgency, in ones practice and daily life. (Q&A recorded at Tisarana in July 2019. Duration 44:17).… Read the rest
During his short period of time here at Tisarana, Luang Por Sumedho’s attendant, Ajahn Asoko, answers questions from various guests staying at the monastery at tea time. One subject brought up was how one should skillful practice Asuba meditation, contemplating the unattractive nature of the body as a means of letting go of our sense of self and attachment to it. (Q&A recorded at Tisarana on 26 July 2019. Duration 1:38:13) … Read the rest
Tahn Ajahn Khemasiri, visiting from and former Abbot of Dhammapala monastery in Switzerland, explores how we can hold different levels of Buddhist conventions, pointing out that the conventions are a framework to support our practice, he encourages his fellow mediators to not cling to any results, but instead to embody our experiences in our daily life. (Talk recorded at Tisarana on 24 July 2019. Duration 30:22)… Read the rest
Luang Por Sumedho encourages us to look at experience as it is rather than trying to constantly change conditions to fit what we like, which in the end is what causes us suffering. In letting go of this self-centered tendency, one will find peace. (Q&A recorded at Tisarana on 21 July 2019. Duration 53:07)… Read the rest
Luang Por Sumedho observed his 85th birthday at Tisarana and shared from his deep well of wisdom. We made a video of the event.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo expresses joy and approval at Tisarana’s newest community member arriving with generous offerings and commitment. He outlines a strategy for countering the negative, critical mind, a comprehensive practice that includes determined reflections of good will and three techniques for staying with the present moment. (Talk recorded at Tisarana on 12 April 2019. Duration 34:05)… Read the rest
On a snowy winter’s night at Tisarana, Venerable Khemako illustrates that even more important than performing meritorious acts is the abandoning of unwholesome ones. He shows how this practice of renunciation leads one from attachment and suffering to freedom from samsara. (Talk recorded at Tisarana Buddhist Monastery on 12 February 2019. Duration 31:58)… Read the rest
Ajahn Pavaro chats with visitors and reflects on the process of leaving one’s family to become a Buddhist monk. He answers various visitors’ questions about Ajahn Chah’s way of teaching, and bringing peace to the mind. (Q&A recorded at Tisarana on 09 November 2018. Duration 58:48)… Read the rest
Tan Khemako provides a guided breath meditation. He briefly discusses singleness of mind, and insight meditation. (Guided Meditation recorded at Tisarana on 02 November 2018. Duration 26:26)… Read the rest
At this years Vesak celebration, Ajahn Chandasiri, who was one of the first women to ordain as a Siladhara at Chithurst Buddhist Monastery in England, speaks on what drew her to the monastic life and how the example the monks living at Chithurst set inspired her to go forth as a Siladhara. She talks on the difficulty she and other nuns faced in the beginning. (Talk Recorded at Tisarana Buddhist Monastery on 18 May 2019. Duration 58:10)… Read the rest
On this years Vesak celebration, which is a day where we celebrate and remember the Buddha’s birth, Enlightenment, and Parinibbana, Ajahn Viradhammo emphasizes the importance of faith and how it can help our practice. He offers suggestions on various ways we can go about recollecting the Buddha, such as simply gazing at a Buddha image and seeing what feelings naturally arise in ones heart. (Talk Recorded at Tisarana Buddhist Monastery on 18 May 2019. Duration 09:05)… Read the rest
On his 72nd birthday, Ajahn Viradhammo offers reflections to Tisarana’s resident community on the relationship between desire and happiness. He shows how the conditions of living in the monastery, the interactions with each other and the work projects are an opportunity to awaken to frustrated desires and to liberation. (Talk recorded at Tisarana on 27 April 2019. Duration 35:29)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo explains how to develop a wise relationship to wanting. By using awareness to know wanting as an object in the mind, instead of becoming preoccupied with wanting and attaching to it in a subjective way, he shows through the Buddha’s teaching of the Four Noble Truths that we can know it’s cessation and realize true peace. (Talk recorded at Tisarana on 08 September 2018. Duration 34:20)… Read the rest
Ajahn Pavaro chats with some visitors about happenings in this tradition, as well as reflections on death and dying. He discusses differing teaching styles and how personalities can change or stay the same as we progress. (Q&A recorded at Tisarana on 10 August 2018. Duration 57:00)… Read the rest
At his 72nd birthday gathering, Ajahn Viradhammo reflects on skillfully relating to the conditions of life: not getting pulled into them nor abdicating our responsibilities. By taking refuge in skillfulness, in wholesome qualities, the ups and down of life (worldly winds) lose their grip, and we can find peace independent of conditions. (Talk recorded at Tisarana on 27 April 2019. Duration 34:01)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo offers a guided meditation to a large crowd on a Spring afternoon at the monastery. He prioritizes being aware and awake, encouraging our minds be present with the knowing. (Guided meditation recorded at Tisarana on 27 April 2019. Duration 11:13)… Read the rest
On New Year’s Eve before the start of 2019, Tan Khemako encourages us to look back on the wholesome actions we performed over the past year and reflect on our good fortune. He explains how negative mind states are simply habits that can be let go, thus enabling the cultivation of happiness and continued well being. (Talk recorded at the Tisarana on 31 December 2018. Duration 41:20)… Read the rest
(Note: this talk was truncated due to a recording malfunction.) On the full moon of Magha Puja, Ajahn Viradhammo invites us to ask the question, “What would this moment be like with no thought?” He shows that while wordly situations use a certain amount of thinking for successful navigation, one who is aiming for enlightenment requires the trust and patience found in the stillness of no thought. (Talk recorded at the Tisarana on 19 February 2010. Duration 26:02)… Read the rest
Tan Khemako offers a Dhamma talk on how the mind puts labels on things as being good or bad, and takes it as being self. In reality, good and bad are simply a product of the mind, they don’t exist in reality. (Talk recorded at the Tisarana on 15 December 2018. Duration 39:10)… Read the rest
Ajahn Vajiro, abbot of the Sumedhārāma Monastery in Portugal, offers reflections on the fruits of the Buddhist path. He encourages us to know the qualities of abundant generosity, freedom from suffering, and the realization and opportunity given by this precious human life. (Talk recorded at the Tisarana on 4 April 2019. Duration 37:44)… Read the rest
Ajahn Pavaro distinguishes identifying with an emotion versus being aware of it. He gives the contemplations of the Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha, the devas, contemplating virtuous qualities and acts of generosity as strategies to uplift the heart. (Q&A recorded at Tisarana on 27 October 2018. Duration 47:07)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo speaks with guests on being aware of feeling with compassion and to be with things as they are & not to replace or analyze. He also speaks to the importance of renunciation to witness change and its peace vs. seeking something to satisfy desire. (Q&A recorded at Tisarana on 19 October 2018. Duration 1:29:35)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo explores how practises such as metta bhavana and wise reflection can be used to create skillful pathways in a mind preoccupied with anger. In asking a question that doesn’t require an answer at just the right moment, he points a way to awakening the mind and being freed from preoccupation. (Talk recorded at the Tisarana on 9 September 2018. Duration 34:16)… Read the rest
Ajahn Pavaro has a tea time conversation with guests, and explains that if meditators lay down the conditions of dana (generosity), sila (moral precepts) and bhavana (mental cultivation), wisdom will arise. Meditators require different types of encouragement, which is not always based on meditation technique. (Q&A recorded at Tisarana on 1 August 2018. Duration 57:23)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo shares that to “do” dying well we need to reflect on how we have lived our life. He speaks about keeping precepts as a way of giving fearlessness to others and preventing remorse. (Talk recorded in Ottawa on 13 July 2018. Duration 31:10)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo, during Tisarana’s Kathina in 2018, reflects that the one thing we can count on in life is that: life will be disappointing. But even knowing that, when we don’t get what we want, we suffer. And when we get what we don’t want, we suffer. You can think about it, and feel resentful, and blame. That’s dukkha, that’s attachment. Or you can awaken and say: “Oh. This is a feeling of getting something that I don’t want.” And if you hold that feeling, if you hold that awareness, then that mood can’t dominate, can’t take control over your mind. (Talk recorded at the Stanleyville Hall on 28 October 2018. Duration 30:58)… Read the rest
Ajahn Pavaro speaks with guests at tea time on the triggers and process of becoming a monk. He also touches on the foundations of practice including kammatana and how spiritual qualities depend on and develop each other. (Q&A recorded at Tisarana on 27 August 2018. Duration 52:53)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo answers questions from Tisarana’s resident community concerning rebirth in contrast with not being reborn, on the different settings available for Buddhist practice, and on how to use Right Understanding to find a balance between being too tense and too relaxed in meditation. (Q&A recorded at Tisarana on 12 September 2018. Duration 51:36)… Read the rest
Tan Khemako leads a Q&A starting with the unsatisfactory nature of worldly desires. He also speaks to the 4 Brahmaviharas and the significance of the Patimokkha. (Q&A recorded at Tisarana on 29 December 2018. Duration 46:43)… Read the rest
Tan Khemako provides a guided meditation starting with releasing the body and suggestions on how to deal with drowsiness and a wandering mind. (Guided meditation recorded at Tisarana on 29 December 2018. Duration 21:04)… Read the rest
In response to a large gathering following the Saturday afternoon program, Ajahn Sucitto discusses the characteristic of not self, the connection of mind and body, and the the ability to recollect your own virtues in order to calm the mind. He encourages us to be alert and reposed, restful but alert. (Q&A recorded at Tisarana on 15 September 2018. Duration 28:29)… Read the rest
Ajahn Sucitto reflects on the fragility of life, and encourages a Saturday afternoon gathering at Tisarana to cultivate the only real refuge, awareness. He leads a guided meditation of body-based mindfulness using the sitting, standing and walking postures. He also responds to questions about the inner tyrant and on how to develop kindness to oneself. (Guided meditation recorded at Tisarana on 15 September 2018. Duration 2:04:53)… Read the rest
Tan Khemako explains how suffering as a result of praise and blame, pleasure and pain, fame and obscurity, and wealth and poverty, the Eight Worldly Winds, is entirely optional. He shows that the key is learning to let go of the mind’s tendency for grasping by developing wise reflection in order to see things as they really are. (Talk recorded at Tisarana on 30 November 2018. Duration 33:38)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo explores the difference between awakening to the various emotions that arise and in seeing them from a perspective of idealism. By letting go of idealism and simply being with any type of mind state, even states like anger and self-criticism can be known with compassion and a sense that they all belong. (Talk recorded at Tisarana on 17 October 2018. Duration 37:37)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo expounds the benefit of learning how to stop when we come to a difficult experience, and just be with the full knowing of that reality, instead of looking for some kind of distraction. By repeatedly practising this way, he shows that this is the path to liberation. (Talk recorded at Tisarana on 9 October 2018. Duration 31:43)… Read the rest
In one of the many topics talked about during a discussion with lay guests, Ajahn Viradhammo gives some history on how the Ajahn Chah tradition came into existence and developed into one of the most successful traditions from Thailand. He mentions some of the problems of how Buddhism was being practiced, namely being mixed with other beliefs. This led to a necessary renewal which meant going against the way people practiced Buddhism. (Q&A recorded at Tisarana on 20 August 2018. Duration 1:07:56)… Read the rest
Venerable Khemako points out that even in near perfect conditions, our minds can be subject to habit patterns that cause sadness, misery, anger, and so on. Referring to the Buddha’s advice in the Discourse on Not-Self, he explains how every moment is an opportunity to develop a wholesome habit pattern, and create kamma that leads the mind on a path from suffering to happiness.
(Talk recorded at Tisarana on 15 November 2018. Duration 43:04)… Read the rest
Ajahn Sucitto explores the value of the Dhamma Vinaya as laid out by the Buddha. By letting go of the grasping at individuality, he shows how respect and learning to live within a community are conditions leading to a harmonization with something larger than conventional reality.
(Talk recorded at Tisarana on 17 September 2018. Duration 37:20)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo answers questions at tea time from Tisarana’s resident community about the attaching to tranquility compared to the Buddha’s goal of realization of the unconditioned, about dukkha and impermanence, the advantages and pitfalls of pleasure, about a Tibetan nun’s long period practising in solitude, and on the value of community practise.
(Q&A recorded at Tisarana on 31 October 2018. Duration 1:28:13)… Read the rest
On a half-moon Wan Prah shortly before Ajahn Viradhammo’s departure, the Tisarana community chanted parittas for the well-being and welfare of all.
(Chant recorded at Tisarana on 1 November 2018. Duration 16:31)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo answers questions at tea time from Tisarana’s resident community about the nature of insight contrasted with intellectual conclusions, about anger versus heavier states such as hatred and revenge, about consciousness and the unconditioned, and about the relationship between Advaita Vedanta and Theravada Buddhist practises.
(Q&A recorded at Tisarana on 25 October 2018. Duration 1:01:32)… Read the rest
On the last day of the Vassa, Ajahn Viradhammo reflects on the goodness of the Tisarana community. As he will be away during the first part of the 2019 Winter Retreat, he also shares encouragement and suggestions on how they can best make use of their time during the retreat.
(Talk recorded at Tisarana on 24 October 2018. Duration 44:01)… Read the rest
On September 16, 2016 at Tisarana Buddhist Monastery, Venerable Amarasiri and Venerable Sirimedho took Bhikkhu Ordination (Upasampadā) under Luang Por Vīradhammo as Preceptor, and Ajahn Pavaro and Tan Khemako as Chanting Ācariyas.
This is part 3 of 3. Event recorded at Tisarana on 16 September 2018. Duration 31:32.
- Part 1 can be viewed here.
- Part 2 can be viewed here.
If you have trouble viewing the video, or for more information, please go to https://files.tisarana.ca/amarasiri_sirimedho_ordination/.… Read the rest
Tea time at Tisarana finds Ajahn Viradhammo answering questions about dealing with contraction and sense restraint in the outside world after spending time living in the security of a monastic environment, on dealing with fear as an object by changing the attention at the sense doors, and on contemplating the Four Noble Truths as a way to transcend suffering.
(Q&A recorded at Tisarana on 15 August 2018. Duration 50:30)… Read the rest
On September 16, 2016 at Tisarana Buddhist Monastery, Venerable Amarasiri and Venerable Sirimedho took Bhikkhu Ordination (Upasampadā) under Luang Por Vīradhammo as Preceptor, and Ajahn Pavaro and Tan Khemako as Chanting Ācariyas.
This is part 2 of 3. Event recorded at Tisarana on 16 September 2018. Duration 19:44.
- Part 1 can be viewed here.
- Part 3 can be viewed here.
If you have trouble viewing the video, or for more information, please go to https://files.tisarana.ca/amarasiri_sirimedho_ordination/.… Read the rest
Awareness can be understood as an objective state of mind that simply knows things as they are. Ajahn Viradhammo stresses how to recognize, in our day to day life, that our experiences (of pleasure, pain, various moods) are constantly changing. But if we look deeper at the awareness behind it all, we can see that awareness is unchanging. It becomes a center grounding point, a true refuge.
(Talk recorded at Tisarana on 1 September 2018. Duration 28:43)… Read the rest
On September 16, 2016 at Tisarana Buddhist Monastery, Venerable Amarasiri and Venerable Sirimedho took Bhikkhu Ordination (Upasampadā) under Luang Por Vīradhammo as Preceptor, and Ajahn Pavaro and Tan Khemako as Chanting Ācariyas.
This is part 1 of 3. Event recorded at Tisarana on 16 September 2018. Duration 35:05.
- Part 2 can be viewed here.
- Part 3 can be viewed here.
If you have trouble viewing the video, or for more information, please go to https://files.tisarana.ca/amarasiri_sirimedho_ordination/.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo answers questions from Tisarana’s resident community at tea time. He compares the need for jhana and the role of samma samadhi, the difference between ultimate reality and present moment awareness, how to train with distracting thoughts by using contact at the sense doors, and on how an attachment to things going well conditions the perception of things not going well.
(Q&A recorded at Tisarana on 2 August 2018. Duration 1:03:30)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo has tea with the community and reflects the true quality of Theravada Buddhism: “Reflective as opposed to an absolute teaching”. Furthermore, he goes on to give another perspective of Metta which can sometimes be wrongly described as “emotional”. He describes instead Metta as a factor for enlightenment, a “fundamental component of the awakened mind”. There is the Metta which we practice thinking of our families, our friends, our community and wishing them well, wishing them happiness. This is done from the perspective of “you and I”. However, here, Ajahn Viradhammo describes Metta as a universal acceptance of things as they are: “It all belongs”.
(Q&A recorded at Tisarana on 28 May 2018. Duration 1:07:08)… Read the rest
In this guided meditation, Ajahn Viradhammo invites us to open up to the sound around us. Notice how the sound changes, but the awareness behind the sound is unchanging. Then move attention to the body as a whole, sitting where you are; and finally resting on the breath.
(Guided meditation recorded at Tisarana on 1 September 2018. Duration 06:25)… Read the rest
During tea with Ajahn Amaro, someone asked if monks cry. This lead to a discussion, with Ajahn Amaro drawing from his own personal experiences. He reflects how monks, or even enlightened beings, can experience emotions such as sadness or irritation, but they are able to let it go and not cling to it as “I” am sad, or “my” emotions. He gives advice on how we can cultivate this attitude ourselves when faced with difficult emotions.
(Q&A recorded at Tisarana on 5 May 2018. Duration 1:21:38)… Read the rest
Tan Khemako explains in detail the measure of dukkha in our daily life. Starting by showing how the mind feels pain and where it can lead, he encourages us to explore the very feelings of dissatisfaction. Seeing their causes and learning how to release them will then pacify the mind. Thus, bright and wholesome states will have much more room to develop and prosper.
(Talk recorded at Tisarana on 11 August 2018. Duration 43:27)… Read the rest
After a prompt from the audience, Tan Khemako takes us through the steps of dependent origination, showing how its understanding can lead to freedom from suffering.
(Talk recorded at Tisarana on 9 December 2017. Duration 41:09)… Read the rest
Ajahn Pavaro explores the topic of the five niyama or laws of Nature in the Buddha’s teaching and how they relate to our direct experience of reality. Understanding these principles, we can find ourselves in different situations: good or bad, pleasant or difficult, but trained with the proper attention, it is possible to orient our life to a more peaceful and pleasant abiding. This talk also includes a couple questions and answers at the end.
(Talk recorded at Tisarana on 18 August 2018. Duration 43:23)… Read the rest
Ajahn Pavaro talks about the ten paramis that were praised and extolled by the Buddha. He explains how their practise and cultivation help to strengthen our practise and point us in the direction of liberation.
(Talk recorded at Tisarana on 11 August 2018. Duration 56:32)… Read the rest
Tan Khemako answers questions from the lay community at Tisarana on the subject of dependent origination. He contrasts the three lifetime and single lifetime versions from the commentary, and explains how to develop awareness so as to break this cycle of dependence.
(Q&A recorded at Tisarana on 6 December 2017. Duration 59:23)… Read the rest
Tan Khemako has tea with the community and begins by talking about his recent trip to Israel that he went on with some of his family members to tour some of the holy sights in that area. He describes how the people living in that area of the world have very little knowledge of Buddhism or what a Buddhist monk is; so the sight of a bald man walking around in orange robes is an unusual thing to see. But people were none the less very curious and would occasionally approach him and ask him who he was and why he dressed the way he did, which he would kindly explain.
Later on in the discussion, Venerable Khemako was asked to talk a little about his background and how he got interested in Buddhism and the monastic life. He goes into detail about some of the places he traveled to, the people he met, and teachers that inspired him along the way.
(Q&A recorded at Tisarana on 18 May 2018. Duration 1:13:14)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo shares some reflections on going beyond pleasure and pain, the past and the future. The usual course of existence is manipulating phenomena in order maximize pleasure and minimize pain. Ajahn Viradhammo encourages us to apply our energies to put our attention on the simple reality, to dwell in non-preoccupation, to free our selves from suffering. (Talk recorded at Tisarana on 4 August 2018. Duration 29:14)… Read the rest
Tan Khemako shares a guided meditation on scanning through the parts of the body.
(Guided meditation recorded at Tisarana on 9 December 2017. Duration 27:54)… Read the rest
Mindfulness is now a ubiquitous buzzword that is often used to just refer to being aware. In truth, when cultivated intensively, it becomes a real power and it is present in any wholesome state. He also answers some questions and at the end of the talk. (Talk recorded at Tisarana on 28 July 2018. Duration 41:04)… Read the rest
On the full moon night of Vesak Puja, Ajahn Viradhammo advises Tisarana’s resident community to consciously develop a feeling of gratitude and devotion to the Buddha, and to his teaching which has remained alive in the world for over 2500 years. He explains how by using compassion we can awaken to our states of mind in a way that is both harmonious to those around us and liberating to all.
(Talk recorded at Tisarana on 29 May 2018. Duration 27:42)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo shares with us the story of the 4th uncle, a chinese healer. He then answers questions about the evolution of “practice” developing the themes of right understanding, not grasping, the knowing and hiri-ottappa. He concludes by showing how to deal with grief and use a doctrine as a tool for reflexion and not as an opinion.
(Q&A recorded at Tisarana on 27 May 2018. Duration 1:17:04)… Read the rest
On Vesak Day, Ajahn Viradhammo and Ajahn Amaro give readings on the birth, enlightenment and final parinibbana of the Buddha.
(Recorded at Tisarana on 19 May 2018. Duration 01:12:42)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo explains how an attempt to get something from sensory experience pulls the mind into a sense of self and inevitable suffering. By making a firm intention to be aware of neutral experiences such as touch, sound and the movement of the body, he shows how we can train the mind to remain in the present, not takes things personally and know things as they really are.
(Talk recorded at Tisarana on 20 July 2018. Duration 32:04)… Read the rest
Ajahn Pavaro reflects on a few obstacles that can challenge experienced Buddhists and meditators. He encourages us, especially those coming from a Western background, to reflect on the role of faith and balance in our practice. After the talk, Ajahn Pavaro also answered a few questions from the attendees.
(Talk recorded at Tisarana on 21 July 2018. Duration 51:47)… Read the rest
Tan Ajahn Amaro offers a guided meditation using awareness of the body and the breath on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Tisarana. He then gives a talk on how to put forth effort without over-investing in the results, without being attached to the outcome due to a mistaken sense of self. Tan Ajahn and Luang Por Viradhammo answer questions about skillfully relating to stressful situations, having a fatalistic view of successes and pitfalls in our lives and on the challenges posed by the allure of comfort food.
(Q&A recorded at Tisarana on 12 May 2018. Duration 01:44:45)… Read the rest
Practitioners sometimes run into periods of time where difficult emotions and states can overwhelm the mind. Unfortunately, perfectionism and idealism can undermine our ability to skillfully relating to these states. Ajahn Viradhammo shares reflections and suggestions on how we can stay present and wisely navigate these challenging states of mind.
(Talk recorded at Tisarana on 12 July 2018. Duration 33:26)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo recently returned from an inspiring trip to the west coast of Canada and the United States. He recollects a beautiful teaching he received on the beauty that comes from keeping precepts. Buddhist ethics doesn’t require us feel or not feel anything, but simply to not act out with unskilful energies. And we can use this attitude of peace towards our internal conditions, to ground ourselves in good will and accept the totality of experience.
(Talk recorded at Tisarana on 5 July 2018. Duration 41:02)… Read the rest
Tan Khemako offers a reflection on effort to a small but dedicated group of practitioners on a hot, sunny afternoon at Tisarana. Even amidst difficult conditions, there can be progress in training our minds if we’re willing to be persistent and reflective. By employing a steady energy with clear mindfulness and appropriate curiosity, we can affect the mind in wholesome ways over the long term. This steady application of effort is encompassed in the Noble Eightfold Path and can ultimately result in the cool freedom of Nibbāna.
(Talk recorded at Tisarana on 14 July 2018. Duration 35:40)… Read the rest
Many interesting and relevant topics concerning our modern world were discussed during tea time with Ajahn Viradhammo and Ajahn Amaro. Ajahn Amaro visited Tisarana for ten days last May.
Ajahn Amaro,was asked how he handles being the abbot of such a large community, both lay and ordained, at Amaravati Monastery (England). Some important things for him were to watch his attitude, not to be fixed on a particular outcome, listen to others and don’t take sides. He goes on giving useful advice on how to be a good leader in general, whether as an Abbot of a monastery or as a CEO of a large company.
In the later half of the discussion, someone asked how he thinks modern technology and social media affects our mental health. Ajahn Amaro, and others add in as well, discuss how it tends to create a strong sense of self, cultivates fear, and so on.
(Q&A recorded at Tisarana on 19 May 2018. Duration 1:25:40)… Read the rest
On the New Moon night of May, Luang Por Viradhammo presides over the ordination of Anagarikas Lancelot and William. After an inspiring ceremony, Tahn Ajahn Amaro offers advice to Tisarana’s two newest sangha members on using the outer conventions of shaved heads and commitments to moral precepts as a crucible for transforming the inner experience. By letting go of preferences and surrendering to LP Chah’s statement that ‘Everything is teaching us’, he maps out a chart for success in the holy life. (Talk recorded at Tisarana on 14 May 2018. Duration 38:44)
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Ajahn Sucitto describes how the pursuit of certainty and comfort acts as a barrier to the deep discharge of the pain of being. Discharge becomes available through allowing and handling the weight and intensities of unresolved dukkha. When approached with honesty and accuracy, there is the possibility to experience what is real, the unconditioned. (Talk given at Tisarana on 26-Mar-2017. Duration = 39:26)… Read the rest
Ajahn Sucitto reflects on how ways of relating at the monastery provide training for accessing the true place of citta. In the monastery we are encouraged to get beyond self-views of “have to”, “is it good enough” and “am I worthy” so the deeper qualities of citta – warmth, generosity, gratitude – can manifest. (Talk given at Tisarana on 25-Mar-2017. Duration = 31:12)… Read the rest
Ajahn V. discusses how the term ‘non-preoccupation’ can be a useful way to talk about non-attachment, and the importance of noticing presence, noticing awareness, and noticing change.
(Talk given in Toronto at the annual retreat on 06-May-2017. Duration = 17:56)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo describes a story in the Buddha’s life to remind us why we practice. He discusses the Buddhist perspective about the relationship between the conditioned and the unconditioned in the spiritual practice. He also identifies 3 affirmations as themes for the retreat: coming to the present, noticing objects in awareness, and noticing change
(Talk given in Toronto at the annual retreat on 05-May-2017. Duration = 40:36)… Read the rest
Ajahn Sucitto responds to a question about dana parami, describing the gift of safety that can be provided by keeping precepts and sustaining open awareness. He reminds us that in the field of dana we are also in a position to receive generosity, partaking of the good fruit we have grown. This is a continuation of the previous talk, “Faith: The Grounds for Your Personal Monastery“. (Talk given at Tisarana on 24-Mar-2017. Duration = 13:59)… Read the rest
Addressing the universal need to find meaning, Ajahn Sucitto describes how faith and wisdom work together in this search to set us free. He encourages the group, upon leaving the supports of the monastery structures and routines, to sustain forms of practice and personal protocols for wholesome actions as a way to keep one rooted in what has true meaning. (Talk given at Tisarana on 24-Mar-2017. Duration = 33:47)… Read the rest
Ajahn Sucitto describes how our efforts to be good and “get it right” tend to come from a constricting place. Such efforts are accompanied by self-consciousness, criticism and stress which block access to the innate good qualities of our own heart. This talk outlines a way to move from the strategies of the head to the opening of the heart by coming into the body.
(Talk given at Tisarana on 23-Mar-2017. Duration = 27:44)… Read the rest
In this morning talk, Ajahn Sucitto points to a gut intelligence we all have that can be relied on to save us from the thinking mind. The thinking mind creates suffering. Our embodied (gut) intelligence is a saviour, a source of safety; it always tells the truth. (Talk given at Tisarana on 22-Mar-2017. Duration = 24:09)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo compares a healthy Sangha to a living organism. For it to flourish, members cooperate through skillful observation of each other’s needs, and find a healthy balance between solitude and community. (Talk given at Tisarana on 11-Feb-2017. Duration = 37:25)… Read the rest
Ajahn Sucitto answers questions about re-entering mundane life after a retreat, allowing space into our practice and daily life, the relationship between drawing and meditation, and dealing with a sense of density during meditation. (Talk given at Tisarana on 04-Feb-2017. Duration = 1:04:25)… Read the rest
Ajahn Sucitto begins the talk by explaining the reason behind re-establishing ritual contact on Lunar Observance day, then moves on to describing our two fundamental needs, safety and warm affection. Trying to fulfill these needs through the mind that judges and self-denigrates is like pushing against a door that’s wide open. The answer lies in our awareness of the body. With all of its sensations and feelings, it is the body that does not judge. (Talk given at Tisarana on 27-Jan-2017. Duration = 53:49)… Read the rest
Tan Cunda draws on an episode from his life as a new monk to explore the benefits of kindness towards oneself as a way of uncovering the joy of practice. This kindness can be extended to ourselves when we allow the meditator to stop the meditation project, “not doing meditation, but letting the meditation do you”. (Talk given at Tisarana on 20-Jan-2017. Duration = 29:35)… Read the rest
On the occasion of the arrival of the large new Buddha Rupa (statue), Ajahn Viradhammo talks about taking personal and societal risks and responsibilities, and how this allows one to work with fear. (Talk given at Tisarana on 12 Jan 2017. Duration = 25:27)
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Ajahn Sucitto answers questions on practising “spirituality”, sankharas, consciousness, cessation, and choiceless awareness. (Talk given at Tisarana on 12-Jan-2017. Duration = 39:42)
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Ajahn Viradhammo suggests that we make determinations inspired by wisdom as opposed to making determinations based on athleticism, endeavour and blind will power. (Talk given at Tisarana on 11-Jan-2017. Duration = 35:18)
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Ajahn VIradhammo offers reflection: “Having made the decision to observe the arising and cessation of resistance, we should make our choices accordingly and determine to abide by them. Wisdom informs effort, effort informs action, and action is in line with the Dhamma and no longer performed out of habit. Adhitthana will help maintain our decision, but should not entail a sense of non-forgiveness or excessive self-criticism.” (Talk given at Tisarana on 10-Jan-2017. Duration = 23:32)
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Ajahn Sucitto guides meditators in a one-hour standing meditation. (Talk given at Tisarana on 10-Jan-2017. Duration = 59:38)
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“One step beyond observing sensations is observing the resistance that arises from sensations.” Ajahn Viradhammo guides meditators in separating discomfort from resistance to discomfort, and in observing the energy and changing nature of resistance itself. (Talk given at Tisarana on 10-Jan-2017. Duration = 1:02:36)
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Ajahn Viradhammo explains how real peace goes beyond physical or emotional happiness. Real peace comes from experiencing the vicissitudes of life from a position of awareness: by observing change in conditioned things, we become available to the unconditioned, to the unchanging, and to ultimate peace. (Talk given at Tisarana on 09-Jan-2017. Duration = 38:22)
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Ajahn Viradhammo instructs the meditators to use the out-breath in order to bring vitality to one’s posture and to observe one’s hands and eyes at the end of the out-breath, all the while maintaining the head in awareness. (Talk given at Tisarana on 09-Jan-2017. Duration = 1:00:08)
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Ajahn Sucitto reminisces about Ajahn Chah’s predilection for the unplanned as well as his ability to perceive exactly what the present moment required. Being grounded in the present, says Ajahn Sucitto, is like watching a lotus, solidly rooted in Dhamma, blossom; whereas being immersed in plans for the future makes us as aimless as tumbleweeds. (Talk given at Tisarana on 16-Jan-2017. Duration = 42:37)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo explores the different ways in which we can adapt our meditation technique to our present disposition. He explains how to maintain a vigorous posture by locking the Hara, and how to practice yoga Nidra. For dullness, one can use complexity, such as intricate visualizations or recitation of a sutta, or evoking each individual in the room and sending them loving kindness. (Talk given at Tisarana on 08-Jan-2017. Duration = 33:23)
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Ajahn Viradhammo gives an overview of using the themes of dukkha, anicca, anatta to frame experience and encourage non-grasping. Included is a complete guided meditation on posture, breath and body scan. (Talk given at Tisarana on 07-Jan-2017. Duration = 49:17)… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo talks about how Christmas, a season of goodwill and cheer can turn into a daunting time of expectations and stress and emphasizes using the Brahmaviharas as vehicles to promote goodwill while facing adversity and our own defilements.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo explores the meditation theme, Nibbana. He helps us understand how to use the subtle theme of peace as an object of meditation.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo speaks about how perceptions colour our minds and how we can develop skilful perceptions to help and inform our practice.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo answers questions about how to relax when there is tension in the mind and body and also talks about dealing with anger by being aware of it and understanding instead of focusing on it as an object to get rid off.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo speaks about how desire is frustrated when we cannot get what we want. If we allow this experience to be a teaching for ourselves we can learn how to transcend both the unwholesome desire and the suffering that is arising out of not satisfying it.… Read the rest
Ven Khemako talks about the 40 traditional techniques used to develop concentration and focuses on Anapanasati.… Read the rest
This is from a past talk on the occasion of an anagarika ordination. Ajahn Viradhammo talks about the meaning of monastic life and all that it entails.… Read the rest
Venerable Cunda reflects upon the distress caused by self importance, how we are regarded by others and how we regard ourselves.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo talks at the Ottawa Buddhist Society Day of Mindfulness about the unconditioned, uncreated, transcendent and how we suffer because of wrong view.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo talks at the Ottawa Buddhist Society about the stillness that exists constantly and the recollection of that stillness in presence, even when the crowds roar for Olympic Athletes!… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo talks about the experience of feeling and investigates how we form views and opinions based on feelings.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo uses carpentry to examine how we learn and apply knowledge to our practice.… Read the rest
Venerable Cunda talks about the four modes of speech. Focusing closely on the first two modes.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo explores the reflective capacity and speaks about how to apply reflection – not for the sake of knowledge, but to learn what it is we are supposed to reflect upon. Examining the absence of conditions and exploring not self, non-becoming and non-resistance.… Read the rest
On Canada Day, Ajahn Viradhammo talks about how different people react to the same occasion with different points of view and also how gratitude can lead to a deep sense of peace.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo reflects on the monastic life as one in which we allow each other different moods of mind. Reading from the Visuddhimagga he explains how acceptance of these mind states creates the possibility of transcending them.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo reflects on being caught in the conditions of life. He suggests that we ask the question “What is the unconditioned?” as a skillful way of developing awareness of the difference between conditioned existence and that which is unconditioned. He uses the teaching on Dependant Origination to show how we can stop the chain of conditioned arising and bring attention fully into the present moment.… Read the rest
Venerable Cunda recounts experiences from his monastic career, including times when he felt fear and worry. He explains how the fear was conditioned by a strong sense of self, including examples from Luang Por Pasanno and Luang Ta Maha Boowa, and illustrates how the monastic way of practice moves in the opposing direction of the eight worldly winds.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo meets for a discussion with the lay supporters. He talks about being interviewed for a book on Buddhist practitioners, and responds to a question about utilizing thinking in a skillful way, by suggesting that one memorize extended passages from the suttas, be deliberate in the use of language, and use the meditative technique of “No Thought”.… Read the rest
To mark Tisarana’s Vesak celebration, Ajahn Viradhammo reflects on the Buddha’s awakening and the teachings that point to this awakening. He stresses the importance of finding a way to rest the mind, thus freeing the mind from the constraints of thinking. He offers the technique of using a mirroring technique in the silence for training one’s mind, and explains how this technique can lead to wisdom and compassion.… Read the rest
Venerable Cunda describes the Buddhist path as one that is leading inwards, a path towards insight and the end of suffering. He shows how to use the path factors of Right Intention, Right Speech and Right Effort skillfully to navigate this path and be a friend to oneself.… Read the rest
Ajahn Punnadhammo speaks on the twin skills of knowing all experience in terms of its characteristic of not-self, while at the same time keeping the final goal of nibbana in mind. He gives importance to the spiritual faculties of sadda, faith, as it relates to the Third Noble Truth, and upekkha, equanimity, as it relates to the citta.… Read the rest
Venerable Cunda answers questions on how to skillfully deal with thoughts that can arise during formal meditation practice. He speaks on the importance of sense restraint when engaging others, and on finding nutriment in one’s spiritual practice. He reflects on how the Buddha answered the question of what is reborn after death.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo contrasts the conceit involved in having a fixed plan for a happy mind with the beauty involved in spontaneous generosity. He points out the importance in having a long range plan, and the wisdom needed to remember that a plan in itself cannot provide liberation.… Read the rest
Venerable Khemako discusses the importance of utilizing reflection to gain the full available potential from our meditation practice. He explains how to reflect using the Three Characteristics of anicca, dukkha and anatta, and how practices such as generosity and restraint can be understood as ways to know true happiness.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo speaks on the skillfulness of using reflection on change as a way to develop an awareness of that which is not changing. It is through this awareness that we can find a real and secure refuge. He likens the way of practice according to the Noble Eightfold Path as a craft which leads onwards to refuge.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo conducts a question and answer session with the lay retreat crew. He speaks on fear and doubt, the unskillful responses that can result from the attachment to these mind states, and a way to skillfully handle them according to the Four Noble Truths, and through knowing the mood of the mind. He explains how the parami, the Ten Perfections, can be a positive way to work with our karma and kilesas. He reflects on the role of the monastery in relating to the laity, and the role of karma in the eating of meat.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo conducts a question and answer session with the lay retreat crew. He speaks about reflecting on karma as a skillful means to develop one’s practice, versus taking a position on the workings on karma which can lead to religious doctrine and is not really helpful. He points out the way people often get caught up in a reactivity with the mood of the mind, and in vibhava-tanha, instead of practicing rightly in accordance with the Third Foundation of Mindfulness. He reflects on the different types of beauty, including a sensual kind which leads to kama-tanha and an absorption into the sense experience, and a different type of beauty that can incline the mind towards an awareness and sense of stillness.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo reads the Vyagghapajja Sutta: Conditions of Welfare, from the Anguttara Nikaya (AN 8.54). He includes observations and reflections on how the Buddha’s advice from 25 centuries ago is relevant and of vital importance in how we lead our lives today.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo conducts a question and answer session with the lay retreat crew. He talks about family, monasticism and vocation as three paths by which one can practice self surrender and Right Livelihood, and how this can develop understanding. He discusses the distinction between experiencing an object and experiencing the awareness that knows this object, and points out how what we are really searching for can be found only in this awareness through the realization of the Third Noble Truth. He explores the idea of indulgence in an experience and how to let go of this indulgence through the teaching on Dependent Origination.… Read the rest
Venerable Cunda speaks on the perils of becoming stale in one’s practice and losing a sense of the beginner’s mind. He reflects on skillful ways of perceiving our everyday experiences which help us keep our practice fresh and interesting. Two ways we do this are through questioning our perceptions and witnessing the instability of all experience.… Read the rest
Venerable Cunda also answers a question regarding bare mindfulness versus a more involved investigation in one’s practice.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo compares the work of a scholar with that done by a contemplative. He explains how a scholar amasses teachings and knowledge, while a contemplative uses these teachings as bases for reflection. Using the example of the teaching on the Four Noble Truths, he shows how reflection can develop into a cherishing of all living beings.… Read the rest
Venerable Cunda speaks on the Five Hindrances, specifically restlessness and anxiety, and how these are tied in with regret and remorse. He points out the value of sila (morality) in overcoming these hindrances, and how right speech can be cultivated to lead us towards peace.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo gives a talk using the analogy of how we suffer when we get a flat tire and explores the skills needed to see beyond self-identified suffering due to our social conditions.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo expounds the Buddhist practices of sense restraint and being content with little, but stresses that while these are important practices, they are methods for reaching the final goal, and not the goal itself. He offers advice in accepting one’s own kamma as the cards that one has been dealt.… Read the rest
This is a past talk by Venerable Khemako offered at the Ottawa Buddhist Society. Venerable Khemako examines various sources of stress in our lives and compares the situation of the US Presidential Elections as a cause of Dukkha and how we react to it.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo talks about the commitment of a Year of Service offered by Anagarikas with the hope of understanding Sangha life and serving the Sangha on the occasion of David’s Anagarika ordination.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo speaks about gratitude to one’s parents, and what to do if this gratitude is difficult to develop. He offers reflections in training the mind by repeatedly returning to the stillness of knowing, and through cultivating an awareness of the basic senses of listening and tactile sensations… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo answers questions about how to live a wholesome, productive life without getting caught in the trap of becoming. He speaks on the value of upholding the precepts and developing the parami, the Ten Perfections, as ways to develop skills without creating an ego around the skills. He also advises using meditation based on awareness of the breathing and the bodily posture as ways to gradually get more in touch with intense forms of suffering. He recommends an objective knowing of the khandas as a skillful way to deal with interpersonal conflict.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo speaks on Right Livelihood in three aspects, that of profit, skill and development of character. He points out how this character development can lead to a patience which is able to overcome greed, hatred and delusion.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo leads a guided meditation, beginning with advice on sitting posture, and including tips on the four meditation postures of sitting, standing, walking and lying down.… Read the rest
After a recitation of the Fire Sutta, Ajahn Viradhammo explains how a misunderstanding of conditioned existence can lead to grasping and suffering. He gives practical methods for noticing the unconditioned and letting go of desire, and discusses the value of the monastic conventions of repetition and renunciation. He points out how practicing with path factors such as Right Speech and Right Intention can develop this letting go.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo discusses the need for a constant diligence in our mindfulness practice. He warns of the danger in doing a meditation practice with desire in order to become something, and recommends instead the practice of paying attention to vedana, sensations, in the body. He explains how practicing with the Four Foundations of Mindfulness is a skillful means leading towards samma-ditthi, Right View.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo reads a passage by Jean Klein, and explores the function of a contemplative mind in analyzing this passage. He discusses desire in relation to the Third Noble Truth, and how to cultivate a quality of attention which is both watchful and available. These form a basis for Right Effort and dhamma-vicaya, the investigation of phenomena.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo compares the emotions of remorse and guilt, and explains how one is a healthy response to a situation whereas the other tends to result from thought and self criticism. He recalls difficult experiences in his own practice, and how he learned to let go of thinking and come in touch with the heart.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo discusses the place of intellectual understanding of the Buddha’s teachings. He points out that while this type of understanding is important, it is our own personal experience of these teachings that leads to true insight. He explores the landscape of repetition in practice as a cause for gaining in confidence over time.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo speaks about the importance of finding a technique of meditation in which one has an intuitive and authentic personal interest. He explains how this is a skillful way to cultivate a meditation practice that is sustainable. He warns of the pitfalls in adopting a meditation technique based solely on another person’s recommendation or from an idea of wanting to achieve or attain something from one’s practice.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo leads a guided meditation to allow us to fully welcome and cultivate good will towards those habits of mind that can sometimes be limiting. He uses mindfulness of the body and a calming breathing technique to help us stabilize the meditation.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo describes how we can be with our experience of life in a pragmatic, worldly way, and also in a transcendent way which leads towards peace. He explains how we can transcend all of our experiences through practicing according to the Four Foundations of Mindfulness.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo recalls experiences from his early days of practice when he sought certain spiritual qualities and experienced aversion towards other qualities. He explains how all practice should ultimately lead in the same direction, towards present moment awareness and the abandonment of craving, and illustrates this with various listening techniques.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo conducts a question and answer session with the lay retreat crew. He talks about the difference between equanimity and indifference, reflects on the time spent caring for his elderly mother, explores the nature and function of mindfulness, suggests skillful means of dealing with the hindrances, recommends lying down meditation and speaks on gratitude and other heart based practises.… Read the rest
Venerable Cunda reflects on a mind which experiences sankharas and goes into a proliferation of thinking, and a mind which experiences the same sankharas, yet experiences no proliferation. He explains how we can use the skillful technique of ‘No Thought’ to train the mind towards the abandonment of proliferation. He shows how this training can help us work with doubt, praise and blame.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo expounds the teachings on generosity and morality, and explains how they are methods for reaching the final goal and not the goal itself. He stresses the importance of knowing unwholesome mind states in awareness. This knowing can then strengthen Right Mindfulness, instead of allowing these unwholesome states to become problems or obstacles.… Read the rest
Venerable Cunda explains how awareness is a sankhara that is conditioned by our efforts. He describes how practicing Right Effort and Right Mindfulness can fine tune our awareness, and uses the analogy of a spinning top to illustrate the different levels of awareness.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo reflects on the beauty of those who are currently well, but taking care of those who become sick. He recounts the tale of our Thai friends’ support and generosity for a new Buddha Rupa, and how the Thai’s love of Dhamma helps Buddhism spread to the West, and Western Buddhist teachings integrate back to the East.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo stresses a wise relation with the world of sensory objects, and how noticing a sense of space and the silence of the mind allows for a resting in awareness and a letting go of the objects of awareness. He integrates this teaching with Tan Ajahn Dtune’s reflection on an alternate interpretation of the Four Noble Truths.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo leads a guided meditation which emphasizes fully conscious awareness as a way to establish Right Mindfulness. He then walks through a scanning of bodily sensations followed by mindfulness of breathing. He stresses the key to the meditation as knowing all hindrances as they are instead of trying to control them, and points out how this knowing can strengthen the awareness.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo describes how the skillful use of language can aid us in knowing all sankharas for what they are, instead of indulging in them or becoming averse to them. He presents Tan Ajahn Dtune’s alternate version of the Four Noble Truths, which illuminates how the mind either creates suffering or knows freedom from suffering.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo gives techniques for handling distractions that arise during meditation. He stresses the importance of setting a firm intention before starting formal practice, and uses the example of counting the breathing to demonstrate this importance.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo contrasts two different types of attention, one which remains dependent on its object and one which leads to awareness. He explains how renunciation can help us in developing this awareness and in freeing ourselves from the objects of attention.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo explains how to use the monastic form and the special conditions on the winter retreat for developing present moment awareness of our likes and dislikes. This mindfulness can help us respond skilfully to any wholesome or unwholesome states of mind that may arise.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo explores the use of repetition in the chanting and other practice techniques as a way to develop wisdom with regard to sankharas. He discusses how we can learn to let go of obsessive thinking by meeting it with good will and wisdom.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo compares meditation based on craving with that which leads to a knowing awareness. He then leads a guided meditation using listening and bodily sensations as a way to develop this awareness.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo discusses the three forms of dukkha, and how becoming familiar with them can point the way to freedom from dukkha. He explains how we can cultivate the four Brahma Viharas of good will, compassion, empathetic joy and equanimity as methods for realizing this freedom.… Read the rest
Luang Por Viradhammo expounds the Buddhist practises of sense restraint and being content with little, but stresses that while these are important practises, they are methods for reaching the final goal, and not the goal itself. He offers advice in accepting one’s own kamma as the cards that one has been dealt.… Read the rest
Luang Por Viradhammo discusses moral responsibility in terms of relating to others via the Internet. He shows how to use the Five Precepts as a guideline for wholesome interaction. He talks on the cessation of thinking as the realization of the Third Noble Truth, the point where real knowing occurs.… Read the rest
This is the ceremony for Siddarth’s anagarika ordination along with a talk by Ajahn Viradhammo about the values of monastic life (the Dhamma talk begins at 22 minutes).… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo teaches us to apply present moment awareness to let go of that which drives our personalities in unskillful directions and encourages the intentions that motivate our personalities with more skillful responses. The result is a personality that is not operating out of delusion and is, instead, under the influence of the Bramaviharas.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo relates how the monastic tradition depends on culture for its vitality. He then develops his teaching on the concepts of personality and character development through the use of parami (perfections) amid the three characteristics of existence (suffering, impermanence, and not self).… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo discusses in detail the various formulations of vedana (feeling), in particular, knowing vedana with upekkha (equanimity).… Read the rest
With the arising of this, that comes to be. With the cessation of that, this ceases. Ajahn Viradhammo explains how to use contemplative practice to explore the theme of dependent origination in our daily life.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo speaks about the Brahmaviharas and explains how metta, goodwill, can be directed towards any experience or perception we have, allowing even difficult formations of mind to be the way they are. He then goes on to answer some questions brought up by the group.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo explores how awareness is a quality that allows us to observe the body, feelings and other phenomena, but cannot be observed itself because it is transcendent and timeless. By applying awareness to our experience of suffering, impermanence and not self, we learn to create peace within the mind.… Read the rest
Luang Por Viradhammo speaks about how we can get the most from our meditation by developing it as a skill.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo explores the skillful and unskillful elements of conformity and nonconformity, tolerance and intolerance. By examining how the three fetters operate and keep us bound to ignorance, craving, and attachment, we can understand how to drop these fetters and utilize the skillful elements of these themes.… Read the rest
Thinking often leads to unskillfulness, but the heart leads to generosity, gratitude, joy and compassion. Ajahn Viradhammo encourages us to follow the heart.… Read the rest
At an Ottawa day of Mindfulness, Ajahn Viradhammo offers a short talk and reviews again the quote from the Saṁyutta Nikāya on Nibbāna. He explains preoccupation and how we wake up to the present moment without being the thinker.… Read the rest
In this answer to a question about handling suffering, Ajahn Virahdammo speaks about the importance of staying with a skillful model of practice that relieves suffering rather than mixing models which can cause confusion. Ultimately, we need to examine the spiritual model we are using and see for ourselves whether it is working.… Read the rest
This is the last 20 minutes of a talk given by Ajahn Vīradhammo. He speaks about harmony and what it is we can rely on and answers questions about stillness and observing objects of beauty.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo offers a short reflection, the first of four reflections from a Day of Mindfulness in Ottawa. He explains how he returns to his center, the present moment and reads from a Saṁyutta NIkāya Sutta describing NIbbāna. He then goes on to lead a 15 minute guided mediation.… Read the rest
At an Ottawa Day of Mindfulness, Ajahn Viradhammo explores the nature of the unconditioned using a quote from the Saṁyutta Nikāya, verse 43.1-44. He then goes on to answer questions from the group.… Read the rest
At the Ottawa Buddhist Society’s Friday night teaching, Ajahn Vīradhammo speaks about training the mind with an attitude that is open to the process of learning. Ajahn uses the analogy of carpentry and explains how the mind is able to best learn a new craft.… Read the rest
The day before Venerable Khema’s ordination, Ajahn Jayanto gave the following words of advice: When we take up the path of practice in a monastery, we learn to both examine and use the communal life to train our minds. We deal with varied views and opinions and learn to take the self and the mind less personally, finding contentment with what is.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo fields questions from guests at Tisarana and speaks about various topics.… Read the rest
Ajahn Vīradhammo gives a talk to the Noble Eightfold Path Study Group giving examples of how we can succumb to the moods of our minds when we attach to circumstances and conditions that are out of our control. Instead we can reflect on how the moods of the mind change (the impermanent quality of these moods), and allow ourselves to witness the experience of change rather become swept up by it.… Read the rest
Ajahn Vīradhammo answers questions from the Noble Eightfold Path Study Group on the theme of “the mood of the mind.”… Read the rest
At a Day of Mindfulness meeting in Ottawa Ajahn Vīradhammo explains how to understand what it is we need to do to realize the goal of our practice. We focus on the method rather than the goal, cultivating present moment awareness to understand how we relate to the world and how to let go of the unwholesome actions of our minds.… Read the rest
At a tea time meeting with Ajahn Vīradhammo, he answers questions and speaks on topics about chronic pain, over analysis, a sense of self arising, trying to get to the end/goal, dealing with the khandas.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo explores how we can make our living environments reflect the state of our minds thereby creating a noble attitude in the way we carry our actions of body, speech, and mind.… Read the rest
For the Noble Eightfold Path Study Group, Ajahn Vīradhammo teaches about vedanā (pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral feeling), the second tetrad of the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta (Four Foundations of Mindfulness). Using the metaphor of a wood working jig, Ajahn explains how the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path are a step by step, specific and pragmatic method to aid in perfecting the qualities that lead to enlightenment.… Read the rest
Ajahn Vīradhammo answers questions from the Noble Eightfold Path Study Group about the talk he gave on vedāna (pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral feeling).… Read the rest
Ajahn Chah would explain to people that his teaching method was through frustration. Ajahn Viradhammo explains: By being with our experiences of not getting what we want, we see our attachment to the conditions we desire and the suffering that ensues when we do not have access to these conditions. Through seeing this suffering we can more easily learn to let go of this attachment and grasping so we are available to the unconditioned. This talk is followed by a short question and answer series.… Read the rest
In this talk Ajahn Viradhammo encourages us to see how conditions can be held in awareness. When anger goes out to an external object there is always an internal experience where this intention arises. Awareness hold this space of the mind moving outward. By quoting Ajahn Dune Atulo’s inverse order of the Four Noble Truths, he expresses how we can come home to awareness:
The mind sent outside is the origination of suffering.
The result of the mind sent outside is suffering.
The mind seeing the mind is the path.
The result of the mind seeing the mind is the cessation of suffering.
From: Gifts He Left Behind, trans. by Ajahn Geoff… Read the rest
At the Ottawa Buddhist Society’s Friday night meeting Ajahn Viradhammo asks us again to investigate: “What is in awareness? What is the knowing?” By attending to the transcendent truth we can ask these liberating questions and experience peace whereas questioning the necessary but conventional truth, such as “Its hot in the room, turn on the fans . . .” is limited. Peace comes with knowing, in the sense of non-grasping. Thus knowing is not limited. The mind moving outward comes from grasping or seeking an object whereas knowing, being with, and receiving an object in awareness is an experience of non-grasping and has a liberating quality.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo explains how to use the precepts for our practice and also focuses on the theme of attention and how to consistently keep awareness on a particular object of mind.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo explains the Paramitas and how they can help us realize the goals we have set in our lives.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo gives an explanation and overview of the Eightfold Path and speaks about mindfulness of the body (the first Satipatthana tetrad).… Read the rest
This question an answer session follows the above titled talk. Please note that the first question could not be heard well and was deleted. Ajahn Viradhammo summarizes this first question before giving an answer. The questions include: using insight to deal with craving (without using thought), group kamma, and right livelihood.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo begins this talk by encouraging us to accept help when we need it rather than refusing it from a self reliant, egocentric or self-centered reaction. He goes on to explain the difference between knowledge and insight using examples from his own recent history: getting a visa for India, building ladders, etc. and shows us how to come back to our skillful intentions as if we are “touching stone.”… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo offers a talk explaining how we compare ourselves to others and create this sense of self out of the 5 Khandas. Using reflections from the various stages of a monk’s life he shows how to watch this self creating habit by using both awareness and restraint.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo begins speaking about wholesome and unwholesome conformity and then explains how we can use personal experiences in our lives to understand the Buddha’s teachings, gaining insight into the workings of our own minds so that we can ultimately realize freedom from suffering.… Read the rest
Luang Por Viradhammo explains how perceptions can change the nature of our experience. If we are aware, moment, by moment, we have the choice to move in a more wholesome direction once a perception arises, rather than being a victim to these perceptions when we do not recognize them.… Read the rest
Luang Por Viradhammo encourages us to examine our moods and motivations in terms of our moral understanding of what is wholesome and unwholesome. By abiding as the witness of change rather than reacting to our experiences, we let go of trying to get our own way, which creates a foundation for fostering harmony in our social lives and allows us to make decisions based on intuitive wisdom.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo gives teachings on what he means by “the silence of the mind” and answers questions regarding this topic. He speaks about how we expect our ourselves or our realities to be a particular way and how we can use awareness and knowing to be present for this inclination of mind, noticing the end of thinking by listening to the perception of change.… Read the rest
Our emotional tones color our perceptions and moods. When we are fully conscious of our emotional states we cease to create a storyline or person out of these states, thus allowing ourselves to clearly see the process whereby we create self view and self identification.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo encourages us to understand the quality of arising and ceasing in our experiences so that we can transcend the perception of having peaks and valleys in our practice. He uses themes of communal life, living in harmony, how we perceive our characters and identities, and how to work with boredom to illustrate this topic.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo meets with lay guests during a tea time question and answer session at Tisarana. He fields questions about how to work with the critical faculty and aversion, aversion to thought in meditation, and perceptions we have about Dhamma practice.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo speaks on using our practice in day to day life to reflect on phenomena and causality. He uses this/that conditionality to explain the process of Dependent Origination.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo reads many of the Buddha’s verses on right speech and explores how to use right speech in the monastery, citing examples of how it is best to use speech with others, how to offer feedback, and how to use metta (loving kindness) practice when we speak with others. This talk also explores the concept of right conduct and the restraint of body, speech, and mind.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo discusses how to use one’s social responsibilities and life commitments as a vehicle to find freedom, as an opportunity to give up to something bigger than oneself and as a way to watch one’s likes and dislikes.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo notes that if we are preoccupied with the conditioned, we cannot be available to the unconditioned. To learn about dullness or anxiety for example, we make an effort to sustain our awareness on the changing nature of conditioned phenomenon. He also speaks on being patiently aware of negative judgments as objects of mind as well as noticing the habit of creating self-perception.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo discusses Luang Por Dune Atulo’s nuanced approach to the Four Noble Truths. He also speaks about how right effort helps us understand how our attention gets preoccupied in certain situations or with particular emotions.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo encourages our connection to the heart chakra, and offers techniques to do this when we start the day. He also discusses the interrelationship between dukkha-vedana, dukkha-Sacca, and dukkha-Lakkhana. He notes that preoccupation with the sense realm is a form of idolatry to experience, a belief that worldly objects will take care of us.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo uses an analogy for the fingers and the thumb where the fingers are the sense objects that touch the thumb — awareness. In this way being fully conscious of difficult emotions points back to awareness. He also distinguishes between the goal of trying to attain particular emotional responses to life and gaining wisdom and refuge through witnessing cessation.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo speaks about the skill required to cook an egg and shows how to use this same skill to understand our experience just as it is. He also talks about the joy of developing character and the importance of developing the perception of sense objects changing in awareness.… Read the rest
A talk from the 2015 winter retreat. Ajahn Viradhammo opens with a quote from Venerable Nyanatiloka’s translation of Nibbana. He gives salience to keeping the goal in mind (the vanishing of greed, hatred and delusion), how we can learn to make honest and clear assessments about our inner worlds so as not to create negative kamma within the mind.… Read the rest
During a tea time gathering at Tisarana, Ajahn Viradhammo answers questions about: transitioning from the “end” of formal meditation, explanation of the terms: awareness/ space/consciousness, being stuck on the awareness of awareness, dealing with the habit of the busy, do something mind, right thought, and when the mind won’t settle down for sleep.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo speaks to the winter retreat support crew of 2016. He explains how to have a skillful attitude during the retreat by not reacting to one’s likes and dislikes, developing harmonious communication, and serving the retreat in a helpful and wholesome way. All of these acts of goodness help to support one’s personal practice so Dhamma and insight can be more easily penetrated.… Read the rest
Dealing with a cold, Ajahn Viradhammo explains that when we go through difficulties in our lives, instead of focusing on our histories and problems (which create endless objects of the mind (sankharas), if we accept and remain aware of our changing experiences then we can face such adversity with a mind at ease.… Read the rest
By taking the middle way between resistance and indulgence, Ajahn Viradhammo suggests that we try to monitor our habits and see where the thinking mind gets us stuck in self views. From this understanding we can learn how to abandon the thinking process, simply knowing mental formations (sankharas) as mental formations.… Read the rest
In regards to our experience of inhabiting a body and being ill, we can learn how we understand and conceive time. According to Ajahn Viradhammo this is a ripe area for investigation in our practice.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo begins by explaining the Itipiso Chant, and how we practice with the Three Refuges. We are encouraged us to ask ourselves: What gives us strength? What it is we trust in? And what can we ultimately rely on?… Read the rest
Reflecting on being sick after returning from his pilgrimage to India, Ajahn Viradhammo recommends that we allow our experiences into awareness rather than trying to get somewhere or get something. If we understand the nature of changing conditions, we can transcend the mind that is attempting to solidify and control our experience.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo begins his talk speaking about karma yoga (a life of service) and goes on to define what it means to let go of our attachments and grasping, finding balance in our lives both on and off the cushion.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo speaks about how we occupy the mind with various unwholesome objects (attaching to the 5 khandas) and how we can use skillful objects to notice this and let go of our attachments.… Read the rest
Ajahn Vīradhammo explains how to live skilfully in the present moment. He explores our tendencies to “catastrophize” our experience and gives alternatives to anticipation (becoming), non-becoming, and sense desire (bhava tanha, vibhava tanha and kama tanha).… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo explores these two themes using precepts and practices to explain how we reflect wisely and learn how to let go and develop wisdom. Through the development of character and wholesome characteristics (paramitas), we lay the foundation for a deeper investigation of mind.… Read the rest