Buddhist Society of Western Australia

February 2020

Ajahn Santutthi reminded us that often things within our minds are beyond our control. Thoughts arise and thoughts go. It is often when we look at our thoughts that we become tangled, engaged in them. Chaos. With time or rather, over time we learn to notice such thoughts and simply let them pass. Don't engage, just let them go. Let the mind slow down and just be in the moment. No focusing on the past nor the future. Just be in the moment.

Ajahn then guided us in a thirty minute meditation encouraging us to allow our minds to become settled and peaceful. Ajahn reminded us that within each of us this mind state exists and can only be found within us.

After meditation Ajahn opened to questions.

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Teachings are available for downloading from the CBSWA website.

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February 2020

Ajahn Santutthi talked to us about being a Buddhist monk in the modern world and how it helps to cope with the stresses that come with our modern world. Meditation, over time, allows our monks and us, to leave these stresses behind. If only for a short time, just to allow our minds to relax and quieten.

Ajahn then guided us in a thirty minute meditation well suited to all by encouraging us to simply relax. Make ourselves comfortable and detach from our hectic lives.

After meditation Ajahn opened to questions and further encouraged us to be kind to our minds. Don't make meditation a job, chore or task. Just allow your mind to be your mind and relax.

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.

Visit the BSWA Stocker Road Project.

Please support the BSWA in making teachings available for free online via Patreon.

December 2019

Ajahn Santutthi related a simile by the Buddha about mangoes. Rather than picking the fruit, the Buddha patiently waited for the fruit to fall. Ajahn encourages us all to do the same regards our meditation practise, be patient and wait for the deeper states to occur naturally.

Ajahn then guided us in a thirty minute meditation well suited to all. Ajahn then related Buddha's earlier practise of meditation when he was trying many different techniques in his effort to find the best meditation.

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.

Visit the BSWA Stocker Road Project.

Please support the BSWA in making teachings available for free online via Patreon.

When growing a fruit tree, you need to grow it and look after it, before you can get any fruit from it. Meditation is no different. If you want to see the fruits of meditation, then Ajahn Santutthi advises you to practice meditation everyday.

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To find and download more Guided Meditations on Podcast, visit the BSWA teachings page: https://bswa.org/teachings/, choose the meditation you want and then type the date into the Podcast search box e.g. 01-09-2018 or try 1 September 2018.

Don't be discouraged if you’re not enlightened yet. Ajahn Santutthi says it’s a long journey and encourages us to continue with our Buddhist practice because this will bring about many positive changes in our lives and eventually we will reach Enlightenment.

Please support the BSWA in making teachings available for free online via Patreon.

To find and download more Dhamma Talks on Podcast, visit the BSWA teachings page: https://bswa.org/teachings/, choose the talk you want and then type the title into the Podcast search box.

Ajahn Santutthi guides a meditation session for approximately 30 minutes. 

Please support the BSWA in making teachings available for free online via Patreon.

To find and download more Guided Meditations on Podcast, visit the BSWA teachings page: https://bswa.org/teachings/, choose the meditation you want and then type the date into the Podcast search box e.g. 01-09-2018 or try 1 September 2018.

December 2019

Ajahn Santutthi suggests we use our meditation to get off the treadmill that we often feel we are on in life and just relax in meditation. Ajahn further suggests we give ourselves the opportunity to relax, to forget about the past, not dream of the future and just relax in the present moment.

Ajahn the guided us in a thirty minute meditation well suited to all before reminding us that nothing lasts for-ever.

Please support Wat Dhammayanaram Cambodian Buddhist Society of WA (CBSWA) in making teachings available for free online here.

Teachings are available for downloading from the CBSWA website.

Visit the BSWA Stocker Road Project.

Please support the BSWA in making teachings available for free online via Patreon.

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.

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.

Visit the BSWA Stocker Road Project.

Please support the BSWA in making teachings available for free online via Patreon.

November 2019

Ajahn Santutthi talks to us about the habitual nature of our minds and how it can disrupt our meditation practise.

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.

Visit the BSWA Stocker Road Project.

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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.

Visit the BSWA Stocker Road Project.

Please support the BSWA in making teachings available for free online via Patreon.

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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To find and download more Armadale Meditation Group Teachings, visit the BSWA teachings page: , choose the AMG teaching
you want, then type the title into the Podcast search box.

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.

Please support the BSWA in making teachings available for free online via Patreon.

To find and download more Armadale Meditation Group Teachings, visit the BSWA teachings page, choose the AMG teaching you want, then type the title into the Podcast search box.

Ajahn Santutthi conducts an intermediate/ advanced meditation class for approximately one hour. Recorded at Dhammaloka Buddhist Centre, Perth, Western Australia. 

Please support the BSWA in making teachings available for free online via Patreon.

To find and download more Guided Meditations on Podcast, visit the BSWA teachings page: https://bswa.org/teachings/, choose the meditation you want and then type the date into the Podcast search box e.g. 01-09-2018 or try 1 September 2018.

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.

Please support the BSWA in making teachings available for free online via Patreon.

To find and download more Guided Meditations on Podcast, visit the BSWA teachings page: https://bswa.org/teachings/, choose the meditation you want and then type the date into the Podcast search box e.g. 01-09-2018 or try 1 September 2018.

Ajahn Santutthi teaches us how to live a happy life and gives several suggestions, such as; developing a happy attitude towards our life, living in the present moment and being flexible to changes.

Please support the BSWA in making teachings available for free online via Patreon.

To find and download more Dhamma Talks on Podcast, visit the BSWA teachings page: https://bswa.org/teachings/, choose the talk you want and then type the title into the Podcast search box.

Ajahn Santutthi guides a meditation for approximately thirty minutes.

Please support the BSWA in making teachings available for free online via Patreon.

To find and download more Guided Meditations on Podcast, visit the BSWA teachings page: https://bswa.org/teachings/, choose the meditation you want and then type the date into the Podcast search box e.g. 01-09-2018 or try 1 September 2018.

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. 

Please support the BSWA in making teachings available for free online via Patreon.

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.

Please support the BSWA in making teachings available for free online via Patreon.

Ajahn Santutthi conducts an intermeditate/ advanced meditation class for approximately one hour. Recorded at Dhammaloka Buddhist Centre, Perth, Western Australia. 

Please support the BSWA in making teachings available for free online via Patreon.

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.

Please support the BSWA in making teachings available for free online via Patreon.