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2nd December 2019
Ajahn Santutthi recently rode a bus to Albany. The trip took 5 hours. Whilst he managed the trip by meditating he recognised that for many of us learning to meditate, that it at times seems an endless and boring trip. Ajahn encourages us to add value to our meditation by thinking of something that makes us happy. Or brings to mind an enjoyable moment in our lives before we commence meditation. By doing this the trip seems less of a drag, a lot more pleasant and not so long a trip.
Ajahn then lead the group in a slightly longer than usual meditation. After meditation Ajahn opened to Q&A before continuing his talk on his recent trip to Albany.
This meditation is well suited to intermediate and experienced.
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Recorded at Dhammayanaram Monastery, home of the Cambodian Buddhist Society of WA November 2019.
Ajahn Santutthi started our regular Monday night meditation with a brief talk on breath meditation and our habit of “monkey mind”. We start by looking at our breath and often find we are altering it just by looking at it. Or, we start by gently, softly watching out breathing then find we are off with the fairies, the days events, tomorrows shopping etc. It just takes practice. Ajahn prefers not to use such terms as focus, because it suggests we concentrate harder than needed. New meditators often get a headache when starting out by trying to hard. Ajahn reminds us that it’s not a task or chore. Just relax and give yourself time through practice to get there.
Ajahn then lead the group in a 30 minute meditation asking us to remind ourselves regularly, suggesting 5 minutes or so, to return to the breathing. Over time it will occur naturally with not having to focus or concentrate. This meditation is well suited to beginners and experienced alike.
After meditation Ajahn opened to Q&A.
Please support Wat Dhammayanaram Cambodian Society of WA (CBSWA) in making teachings available for free online here.
Teachings are available for downloading from the CBSWA website.
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The Armadale Meditation Group was privileged this evening to have three monks visit us for the last meditation session prior to the annual rains retreat. Ajahns Santutthi, Jhanarato and Sukhakamo from the Cambodian forest monastery, Wat Dhammayanaram in Kelmscott, joined us for what was an interesting evening. Ajahn Santutthi started the evening with an introduction of all three monks, a brief talk, then passed onto Ajahn Jhanarato to lead the meditation.
The meditation being lead by Ajahn JR was simply to relax and do nothing. Our minds have so many thoughts happening that it is like the snow globe after shaking. Ajahn asked us to simply allow our minds to settle, just as with a snow globe, so that we may see the thoughts more clearly and just let them pass.
After the meditation, all three monks were happy to answer any and all questions relating to monks, meditation and the Dharma.
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Ajahn Santutthi started the evening off by asking us to view meditation as a process. Not a compulsory task or job, but an ongoing process. Just as we might plant a tree, we must prepare the soil, plant the seedling with care, then fertilise and water the tree as it grows. And we know, that it will not happen over night, it will take time. So it is with our meditation, it will take time. With each meditation we are [often without noticing], improving.
Ajahn then guided us through a body contemplation meditation that lasted slightly longer than the usual 30 minutes. This meditation is easily done by beginners and experienced a like. On this occasion there were a number of children present along with those that have never meditated.
After meditation Ajahn opened to questions before continuing to talk on meditation in general.
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Do you have a restless mind, or do you fall asleep during meditation? Ajahn Santutthi reminds us that our body and mind are beyond our control and Ajahn encourages us to keep on practicing, by putting in the right causes and conditions, such as patience and kindness.
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We haven’t seen Ajahn Santutthi at The Armadale Meditation Group for some time now so it was a welcome surprise. Ajahn began the evening by asking us to let go of the doer in our mind, so the mind can begin to relax. We constantly look for things to do in life and our mind isn’t much different. Our mind is constantly looking for things to make it happy, things to do. The doer in our mind doesn’t do relax. So to really relax, we need to let it go and just be in the present moment.
Ajahn led us in a longer than usual meditation this evening that is well suited to beginners and experienced alike. After the meditation, rather than talk on any specific subject, Ajahn opened to a Q&A to conclude the evening. Interspersed throughout Q&A are some funny stories to further relax us all.
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To find and download more Armadale Meditation Group Teachings, visit the BSWA teachings page: https://bswa.org/teachings/, choose the AMG teaching you want, then type the title into the Podcast search box.
Ajahn spoke to us on the impermanence of thoughts in our meditation. Thoughts arise and then they pass. Just let them go. We know that, in life, nothing is permanent, things happen then they pass. So it is with our meditation. It doesn't matter if it's metta, breath, counting or a mantra the thoughts will arise and then pass. What matters is that we don't latch onto them, just let them go and return to our meditation.
Ajahn then asked the group which meditation they'd like to do. We chose body contemplation or body sweep and then moving to a breath meditation. Ajahn then reminded us that it isn't so much the method of meditation, it's more that our mind changes over time as we practice. The more we meditate the more relaxed we become.
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Ajahn Santutthi encouraged us to consider meditation as recharging the batteries of the mind. We are learning how to be passengers in our meditation practice, not dictators. So when random thoughts pop up, just observe, don't engage, let them go. Having present moment awareness isn't impossible, it just takes practice. The result is being right here, right now and gaining a stepping stone to inner peace. Be patient and gentle with yourself.
Ajahn guided us in a thirty minute meditation well suited to both experienced meditators and beginners. Ajahn suggested that we patiently observe our mind and see where it is in this moment. No heavy focus, just gentle observation and notice what we as individuals would like our meditation object to be, rather than making an arbitrary decision. By allowing our minds to be where they want to be as we start to meditate, we remove some of the rigidity. A softer approach. Once our minds are settled and we are just observers, we can then gently change direction and focus on an object such as our breath, as we would normally do.
After meditation Ajahn opened to Q&A.
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When it's done it's finished. Meditation allows us to leave the things that have happened in our busy lives and be peaceful, be calm. Forget about what's happened before and just be in this moment. Sit down, close your eyes and relax. Many of us don't give ourselves that opportunity to let it all go. We wake in the morning full of beans and by the end of the day we are mentally tired. We need to train our minds to let the day go. Meditation allows us to do this.
Ajahn guided us in a thirty minute meditation well suited to people learning to meditate.
After the meditation Ajahn related a story about the growth of a fire tree at Bodhinyana Monastery. He had watched the tree grow for many years and wondered why, given the care it received, that it hadn't seemed to grow. Ajahn continued his training in Wat Buddha Dhamma Buddhist Monastery in Wisemans Ferry, New South Wales for five years. On returning to Bodhinyana Monastery, he was quietly walking past the fire tree and wondered how it was faring. He was surprised to find that it was now an enormous mature tree. Just as Ajahn didn't notice the slight growth of the fire tree, when we begin to meditate, we often don't see or rather, notice any progress. Each time we meditate, be it for five minutes a day or half an hour each week, we are retraining our minds and this has a cumulative effect. One day we will sit down and realise that we can let it all go just as easily as sitting down.
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Ajahn Santutthi says that meditation is like marinating an olive. It takes time for the olives to become delicious. In the same way, it takes time and patience for our mind to settle down.
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Ajahn Santutthi talked to us about finding the calm in the storm of our minds through meditation. Over thinking can lead to us becoming anxious, we need to live in the moment, not dwell on the past, nor worry about our future.
When we over think, dwell in the past or worry about the future we don't live in the present. Our minds become tired and so do our bodies. Meditation can help us clear our mind, live just in this moment and recover some of our energies.
After his talk, Ajahn led us in a guided meditation for approximately 45 minutes.
Ajahn Santutthi teaches us how to prepare our mind for meditation practice and how to overcome mental negativity. Ajahn discusses how being content leads to a peaceful mind.
Please support the BSWA in making teachings available for free online via Patreon.
Ajahn Santutthi teaches us how to calm the mind and encourages us to be patient and aware of how things unfold in the mind.
Please support the BSWA in making teachings available for free online via Patreon.
Ajahn Santutthi shares his experience on how the Buddhist teachings have helped him in his many years as a monk. Ajahn points out that monks and laypeople both wish to overcome suffering and difficulties in life and that this is what the monks learn to do in the monastery and one of ways you do this is to change the way you see things, situations and people.
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