Buddhist Society of Western Australia

Mindfulness brings a huge number of benefits to our health, wellbeing and education and is a core part of meditation and Buddhism. Ajahn Brahm talks about what mindfulness is, what it’s not and how it can be used in ordinary life to improve our quality of life, let alone to see the truth of things and become enlightened. Ajahn Brahm gave this Buddha Dhamma talk during 2009 in Thailand. 

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Ajahn Brahm points out that natural disasters happen, it is part of living in the world.  It is not some punishment from karma and what really matters is our intentions and the way we deal with them. Ajahn teaches us how relate to the tragedies in life and to see the beauty in them, such as the beautiful lessons we learn from them.

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Ajahn Brahm talks about how we can use the traditional practises of meditation for huge amounts of benefits, which are well researched and scientifically proven. Ajahn shares with us some of the amazing results you get from learning how to meditate well and emphasises the importance of preparations, getting your understanding and attitude right and learning how to be in the present moment and silent.

This Buddha Dhamma talk was given in a workshop at the 2009 World Fellowship of Buddhist Conference in Thailand.

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How can laypeople become enlightened in this life? How can we go further than just living a peaceful happy life?

Ajahn Brahm explains what enlightenment really is and teaches us how to learn to love and embrace ourselves and life.

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Ajahn Brahm offers a deep explanation on the meaning of wisdom in Buddhism. Ajahn explains how wisdom is something you get through investigating, contemplating and looking very deeply into the nature of yourself, relationships and into life and is not something you can get from reading a book or listening to a talk.

Ajahn emphasises that Buddhism doesn’t tell you what to believe, but how to find out for yourself. In other words 99% of Buddhism is teaching you how to find out the truth for yourself.

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Religions should not be enslaving, but liberating. Ajahn Brahm challenges the ideas in Buddhism and other religions about autonomy & freedom, and knowledge & faith. Ajahn looks at how Buddhism challenges you to be free and to take responsibility for your karma and Ajahn ponders the problems of authoritarian religions.

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How do you really practise Buddhism when everyone around you isn’t practising? Such as living as a Buddhist in a western country. Ajahn Brahm gives some practical advice for living with people who share different world views.

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How do you deal with people who are angry and violent right in front of you or towards you?

Ajahn Brahm shares his wisdom and personal experience on resolving these conflicts.

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Are you pushing through pain during meditation? Ajahn Brahm teaches not to force ourselves but to relax and let go. 

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Ajahn Brahm offers a topical talk on winning and losing. Ajahn talks about the enormous amount of suffering and pressure we experience from living in a society where we celebrate winners and feel guilty and depressed when we are losers. Ajahn offers a different perspective to what is meant by winning and losing i.e. success versus failure and explains how the very idea of a winner and loser is totally against the spiritual path.

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Ajahn Brahm responds to a request to talk about parental alienation. Ajahn explains that parental alienation is when you are a parent of teenagers, it is like you are living with aliens, because you don’t understand what they are up to or where they are coming from and they cause you a lot of suffering.

Ajahn shares some Buddhist stories to help us get some understanding on how to raise kids and Ajahn points out that people you associate with mold your character and that is why is so important for teenagers to hang around with good influences such as parents, grandparents and so on.

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Ajahn Brahm discusses the significance of Vesak Day (Wesak Day) – which commemorates the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha on the full-moon day in May. Ajahn talks about how we can use the teachings to make ourselves better people and to have a better world.

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Having just been to Las Vegas Ajahn Brahm decides an appropriate subject to talk about is gambling. Ajahn explains the difference between gaming and gambling and recommends we game, not gamble that is go to have fun, not to win. Money is not the most important thing in life; people are, your health and your happiness are.

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Ajahn Brahm offers an insightful teaching on how and why to practise Right Speech which is part of The Eightfold Path. Ajahn talks about how our unskillful speech is a key reason why our relationships with others and ourselves go wrong and Ajahn reveals the benefits and importance of cultivating good positive speech. 

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In this talk Ajahn Brahm takes a non-traditional approach in explaining kamma (actions and their results). The widespread idea that one's actions will result in punishment and retribution is too simplistic. So if you want to know more about kamma, listen on...

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Responding to a request to talk about hypocrisy in the workplace. Ajahn Brahm talks about Hypocrisy in all parts of society i.e. religion, home, our family, with our friends and leaders. Ajahn reflects on what it means when people are not practising what they preach? And the effects of not living what you're preaching or walking the talk.

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You cannot change the world, it’s so hard to change the world, but you can certainly change your attitude towards it. And sometimes when you change your attitude, just the way you look it, the whole world changes with you – Ajahn Brahm.

Ajahn Brahm talks about people who get discriminated against and rejected. Ajahn teaches us how to lessen our suffering in life by learning how to not stigmatise things. Ajahn points out that stigmatising parts of our lives makes it much, much worse, but learning to not judge and to look at events in our lives differently makes life much easier.

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Being kind and caring is very important for Buddhists.  Ajahn Brahm stresses the importance of caring which brings much peace to our lives. Ajahn also explains how when making ethical decisions we should always look inside our heart to see what feels right.

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How many times have you been unfairly blamed by others? How many times have you blamed others unfairly? There’s plenty of blame and judgment to go around – but if we listen carefully we can avoid finding fault and understand true intentions.

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Ajahn Brahm talks about being able to see the goodness in all situations. Ajahn helps us to understand what goodness is and to see the beauty of simple goodness in the world. Ajahn also reminds us of the joy one experiences from being kind, virtuous and trustworthy.

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