Teaching of the 5 precepts given to anagarikas and lay people attending the three months Rains Retreat of 2009. Ajahn Brahm explains the moral philosophy behind the Five Precepts. Apologies for the quality of this audio which is quite poor in parts. Recommend turning the volume up to hear properly.
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Ajahn Brahm talks about his favourite subject: happiness! Learn the secret of happiness with Ajahn Brahm.
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Ajahn Brahm gives a talk on how to overcome obstacles in life.
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We haven't seen Bhante at Club Med for some years so it was a welcome surprise to see and hear him. Bhante started the evening in an unconventional way which was an unusual but welcome change. Bhante, having been present in areas of the world that have suffered greatly from both natural and man made disasters, replayed a podcast from the US radio station website "This American Life". The podcast documentary tells the story of a phone booth in Japan that attracts thousands of people who lost loved ones in the 2011 tsunami and earthquake. A Japanese TV crew from NHK Sendai filmed people inside the phone booth. The phone line, however, is not connected. The episode by Miki Meek is incorporated into our podcast but can be listened to independently by following the link below.
Bhante thankfully warned us that hankies and tissues would be and were required.
Bhante used this podcast to highlight the need for us to come to terms with ourselves more than anything and in doing so, forgive ourselves. Don’t wait for the forgiveness of those we have trespassed against. Forgive ourselves now - for ourselves.
Immediately after the podcast had concluded, Bhante lead us into a body scan meditation. Toward the middle of the meditation, Bhante used the Metta Sutta as a mantra in and for the rest of the meditation. After the meditation, Bhante continued to talk on forgiveness and why we should forgive ourselves.
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This American Life - episode 579 - One Last Thing Before I Go - act one
Ajahn Brahm visits Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia to talk about finding the true meaning of life.
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Bhante Sujato broke with our normal format and gave us a dharma talk on Dependant Origination prior to the meditation. Dependant Origination is at the core of the Buddha's teachings and is viewed by many as a very difficult, confusing subject. Bhante handled it by using real life examples from his own life, with a good dose of humour, using words and terms that the lay person can understand.
Bhante then asked the group what type or object they would prefer for the meditation. The raised hands were fairly even on all the suggestions, so it was left to Bhante to decide. Bhante having just given a dharma talk on Dependant Origination suggested a meditation on the four elements as recognised by Buddhists. So the meditation object was Earth, Water, Fire, Air and how they relate to everything (our bodies and all things around us) both seen and unseen.
After meditation Bhante opened to Q&A suggesting that anyone who may have been confused by the dharma talk, should now ask.
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Do you have problems that you want to get rid of? Venerable Hasapanna explains how your wanting to get rid of the problem creates additional suffering.
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The Buddhist Society of Western Australia is honoured to guest speaker Professor Ajahn Dhammavihari give a Dhamma talk. Ajahn begins by talking about the Buddha’s first sermon. (13 June 2006).
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Ajahn Brahm talks about how Buddhism can solve all sorts of problems in the world.
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Most people who come to see Ajahn Brahm don't come to talk about Buddhism, they come to talk about all their problems and troubles in life. Oftentimes people ask themselves when they are suffering, "Why me?" In this talk, Ajahn Brahm offers an answer to this question.
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Ajahn Brahm talks about his life as a forest monk in the jungles of Thailand.
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Are you listening to what the other person is saying, or are you listening to what you think the other person is saying? Ajahn Brahm teaches us how to listen with wisdom and compassion.
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Ajahn Brahm talks about how wisdom stems not from thinking, but from the deep well of silence that comes from a mind still in meditation.
Given to an audience Buddhist Maha Vihara in 2012
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Ajahn Brahm talks about the challenges of teaching Buddhism to modern audiences.
Given to an audience in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia in 2014.
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Ajahn Brahm explains how generosity isn't just about sacrifice. It's about generating happiness not only for the receiver of the gift, but also joy for the giver of the gift also. He relates several stories of how generosity bring joy into our lives.
This talk was given to a large audience in Singapore organised by the Buddhist Fellowship.
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Ajahn Brahm shares with us his spooky real stories about cats and discusses how we can learn about love, kindness and wisdom from cats.
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Ajahn Brahm guides a meditation for approximately 30 minutes.
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The Buddhist Society of Western Australia is delighted to have guest speaker Bhikkhuni Kusuma give a Dhamma talk. Bhikkhuni Kusuma talks about The Four Noble Truths, in particular the second noble truth, which says the cause of dukkha (unsatisfactoriness or suffering) is attachment. Venerable contemplates what attachment is, why it causes us suffering and how we can get out of suffering.
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Never have you imagined that bananas could be so profound.
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It was Vesak day on Tuesday and Ajahn Cittapalo joined us at AMG. Vesak Day commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and death of Gautama Buddha in the Theravada or southern tradition. Ajahn having attended Vesak celebrations at Dhammaloka on Sunday, where many people took refuge by becoming Buddhist, noticed that for many, the five precepts are hard and fast rules. Many of us do the same when we meditate. We try too hard and become disenchanted when we fail.
Ajahn would never say that it is ok to consume alcohol, rather that we consider that we really should try to stop. So it is with our meditations. When random thoughts occur, we should simply let them come and go. Don't get entangled, but don't try too hard and be overly critical that the thoughts continue. Over time the ability to simply stand back in your mind and watch will grow and the thoughts will be come less frequent. The same will happen with alcohol, each time we consume it, we consider it and do it less until we don't do it at all.
Ajahn tells us that our intentions matter more in all things. When we meditate, it is our intention to gain a peaceful mind that matters. Not being overly self critical for having thoughts. Just as with the five precepts, it is our intentions that matter.
Ajahn led us in a body scan to relax us then a very peaceful silent meditation.
After the meditation Ajahn continued his talk on our intentions, cautioning us all to not be too critical of our efforts both in life and meditation. After Ajahn concluded he joined the group in celebrating Vesak day.
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