Buddhist Society of Western Australia

Published with permission of Treasure Mountain Podcast. 

In this episode of Sage Advice, we have Venerable Mudu from Bodhinyana Great Southern calling in from the deep south of Western Australia, here to share his advice on finding a way back to peace when everything falls apart.

For more information about Venerable Mudu:

• On Venerable Mudu and the Bodhinyana Great Southern Hermitage project

For more information about Treasure Mountain Podcast:

• Treasure Mountain webpage - to find out more, leave a message or join the mailing list
• Treasure Mountain on Facebook

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

To find and download more precious Dhamma teachings, visit the BSWA teachings page: https://bswa.org/teachings/, choose the teaching you want and click on the audio to open it up on Podbean.

Published with permission of Treasure Mountain Podcast. Please visit Treasure Mountain Podcast, Treasure Mountain website and Treasure Mountain facebook page.

In this episode of Spirit Stories our guest is Venerable Mudu who is leading an effort to establish a community of practice in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. Venerable Mudu first became interested in Buddhism when a chance invitation by a Thai friend to join her in offering food to the Buddhist monks at Serpentine’s Forest Monastery. He became inspired by the monastic way of life. Several years later after developing an understanding the importance of meditation and renunciation, he decided to take up the training to become a Buddhist monk.

In 2014, after completing the two year trial and preliminary training, Venerable Mudu received the higher ordination as a fully ordained Bhikkhu under his teacher and preceptor, Ajahn Brahm at Bodhinyana Buddhist Monastery. In 2018 he went to Albany at the request of community members there, and has since established Bodhinyana Great Southern Hermitage and he teaches regularly in Albany, as well as frequent visit to Denmark, Walpole and Mt Barker, all in the Great Southern region in the far south of Western Australia.

Links mentioned in the show:

• About Bodhinyana Great Southern 
• Bodhinyana Great Southern Facebook Group
• The Basic Method of Meditation by Ajahn Brahm 
• Link to BAMBI 

To donate to Bodhinyana Great Southern use the link or QR code below:

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

To find and download more precious Dhamma teachings, visit the BSWA teachings page: https://bswa.org/teachings/, choose the teaching you want and click on the audio to open it up on Podbean.

This teaching and guided meditation is part of the corona dhamma daily series of daily meditation and dhamma teachings offered by the monks at Bodhinyana Monastery to support the community during the coronavirus pandemic.

Teachings are available for downloading from the BSWA website, the BSWA Youtube Channel, the BSWA Podcast, and Deeper Dhamma Podcast.

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

This guided meditation is part of the corona dhamma daily series of daily meditation and dhamma teachings offered by the monks at Bodhinyana Monastery to support the community during the coronavirus pandemic.

Teachings are available for downloading from the BSWA website, the BSWA Youtube Channel, the BSWA Podcast, and Deeper Dhamma Podcast.

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

This guided meditation is part of the corona dhamma daily series of daily meditation and dhamma teachings offered by the monks at Bodhinyana Monastery to support the community during the coronavirus pandemic. Venerable Mudu apologises for the annoying crunchy microphone sounds caused by it being stuck between the folds of his robe. It disappears after the 8 minute mark. This was recorded at Bodhinyana Great Southern, Albany Hermitage.

Teachings are available for downloading from the BSWA website, the BSWA Youtube Channel, the BSWA Podcast, and Deeper Dhamma Podcast.

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

This is from a series of daily meditation and Dhamma teachings offered by the monks at Bodhinyana Monastery and Bodhinyana Great Southern to support the community during the Coronavirus pandemic. This was recorded at Bodhinyana Great Southern, Albany Hermitage. 

Teachings are available for downloading from the BSWA website, the BSWA Youtube Channel, the BSWA Podcast, and Deeper Dhamma Podcast.

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

It was only Venerable Mudu's second visit to the Armadale Meditation Group's Tuesday evening session and as such, a most welcome surprise. Venerable started the evening by letting us know that he doesn’t really have a preferred method of meditation. In Venerable’s words “I really don’t have a fixed kind of meditation of step one, two, three and four. I roll them all into one, I sit down, shut-up and just watch what goes on in my mind”. Venerable does recognise that those of us new to or still learning, need guidance though. With that in mind Venerable related to us his experience when he first started to learn meditation techniques of breath and metta etc. On a nine day retreat when still a lay person, his view of daily life differed from what he is now learning. In this example he demonstrated how the simple mantra of “Make Peace Be Kind Be Gentle” helped him to overcome his conditioned response of self criticism.

Venerable Mudu then led the group in meditation. Venerable started the meditation with a short body sweep giving thanks and being grateful to our bodies for the work they do each day. For the balance of the meditation we all went in search of the beautiful breath.

After meditation Venerable continued his explanation of why we should meditate each day. Venerable concluded the night with a joke he was asked to deliver to us by Ajahn Brahm. Everyone in attendance left relaxed and happy. This meditation is well suited to both beginners and experienced alike.

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.

It was Venerable Mudu's first of, hopefully, many, visits to the Armadale Meditation Group's Tuesday evening session. Venerable opened the evening by introducing himself to us all and relating a shortened version of his life as a monastic. After his introduction he posed the question of "Why on earth would we want to meditate". Is it because it's cool, hip and popular? Well, yes it is cool, hip and popular, but that isn't enough of a reason to do it. Venerable related a story of a visit Ajahn Chah had from an American scientist. The scientist, wishing to know what, if anything, was going on when we meditate, brought along all manner of instruments to try to measure any results he might find. Before he commenced, he asked Ajahn Chah “Why do you meditate”. To which Ajahn Chah responded "To have a healthy body, you must eat right and exercise". "To have a healthy mind, you must meditate".

With that in mind, Venerable then gave an explanation easily understood by inexperienced and experienced meditators alike on the simplest way to start meditating and gently gaining experience with practice. Venerable then led us through meditation beginning with a body sweep and progressing to breath meditation.

After meditation Venerable opened to Q&A before continuing his talk on monastic life and life 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: https://bswa.org/teachings/, choose the AMG teaching you want, then type the title into the Podcast search box.

In this interview from ABC Radio Great Southern, interviewer Lily Hoffman asks Venerable Mudu about the proposed monastery for the Albany region of Western Australia and his journey to becoming a monk.

Click here to find out more about the Bodhinyana Great Southern Monastery Project.