Buddhist Society of Western Australia

Ever wondered why terrible, difficult, troublesome things happen to us? Ever asked yourself, "Why me?" Why are some people rich and others poor? How come there is so much inequality and injustice in the world? And where is all this leading? Ajahn Brahm explains.

Ajahn Brahm responds to a question about whether human nature is closer to the Mahayana Buddhist idea of "buddha nature" or the Christian idea of "original sin".

We've all had problems with the boss from hell, the partner from hell, etceteras. Ajahn Brahm points out how all these difficult people have something to teach us, and a skillful way to go about dealing with these people is to calm the whole situation down using the same attitude that helps us calm our own mind.

Being empathetic is generally considered to be a positive in modern society, and within Buddhism. But Ajahn Brahm takes a different perspective on empathy, pointing out that often our empathy is directed to the negative feelings of others. There is a time and place for this, but we need to keep this in balance and also take some time to get some space away from the world to find calm and stability within.

Ajahn Brahm focuses on how to develop the quality of mindfulness - a practice that has been central (e.g. it's a factor of Eightfold Path and Seven Factors of Enlightenment) to the teaching of Buddhism from the start. He goes on to talk about the varying degrees of attention and the ability to know what's going on in the mind and body.

Why does the universe come from? Why do we exist at all? Ajahn Brahm answers these questions from a Buddhist perspective.

With people coming to him expressing their concerns about disasters and tragedies in the world, Ajahn Brahm talks about how to deal effectively with tragedy and loss in life.

Ajahn Brahm reinterprets the Buddhist principle of “viriya” – often interpreted within Buddhist schools as being “energy” or “effort” – by point out that the root of the work “vira” means “hero”, and that we can interpret “viriya” (which is one of the Seven Factors of Enlightenment”) as “heroism” or “courage”. It’s this attitude of courage that can help us to face and overcome many of life’s challenges.

Ajahn Brahm explains the Buddhist path as developing deeper levels of happiness until the highest happiness is attained: Enlightenment.

Ajahn Brahm gives us a deeper understanding of what true freedom - spiritual freedom - really is.

On the occaision (in 2002) of coming out of a six month long silent meditation retreat, Ajahn Brahm shares part of that experience with the audience in this talk.

Reflecting upon recent horrible hate-crimes, Ajahn Brahm is moved to talk about hatred, where it comes from and how to overcome it.

Ajahn Brahm offers a wise, yet practical teaching on how to be mindful of the body and how this can be beneficial to help solve problems and understand what is going on with this life.

Ajahn Brahm talks about how perception often tricks us, but when we understand the plasticity of perception we can start to use that for our benefit in life.

Ajahn Brahm deals with how Buddhism and mindfulness have become popular fads in the West filled with status seeking and intellectual trends, but not getting to the heart of what the Buddha was teaching. As he explains, Buddhism isn't so much an identity or set of beliefs, but a set of practices directing us to investigate and see the deeper nature of reality directly, and to experience freedom firsthand.

Ajahn Brahm talks about the Buddhist practice of mindfulness and how to use it in our daily lives, including how to use mindfulness to improve our relationships with others, and with ourselves.

Ajahn Brahm talks about how to resolve conflicts and to strive towards having a meaningful life. This is done through asking the question: should we live to serve others or strive for our own Enlightenment?

Ajahn Brahm addresses the question of whether our future will be directed more by science or religion.

Pride and arrogance cause all sorts of problems in life - for those who have to put up with it AND for those who are purveyors of it! Ajahn Brahm talks about the many manifestations of conceit, and the cure to conceit and arrogance: humility.

Ajahn Brahm reflects upon the causes of conflict in the world, and offers a Buddhist approach to resolving conflict within society, and within ourselves.