Buddhist Society of Western Australia

Dhamma talk given by Ayya Karunika Theri on the 8th March 2024, at Santi Forest (NSW). Ayya talks about practical and skilful ways to develop contentment in daily life as a way of dealing with difficult people and difficult situations. Describes how contentment has a cooling effect on you mind and leads you all the way to enlightenment.

Bhikkhuni Ayya Kārunikā is currently the senior resident monastic at Santi Forest Monastery, NSW, Australia and the spiritual director for New Zealand Bhikkhuni Sangha Trust, Hamilton. She has been in monastic life for over 14 years and she received her full ordination as a bhikkhunī in 2014 at Dhammasara Nuns monastery in Western Australia where she lived and trained for over a decade with Ajahn Hāsapaññā. She has been a student of Ajahn Brahm and Ajahn Brahmali for over 2 decades.

Ayya Kārunikā is able to articulate the Buddhist teachings in a way that is practical and comprehensible to people of all ages and has experience in conducting retreats for both adults and youth. While she has a PhD in Microbiology and worked as a scientist, she has also been the building project manager for the construction of the Dhammasara Nuns Monastery main building complex and has worked with many volunteers over the years. Ayya Kārunikā was born in Sri Lanka but has been living and working in Australia for over 2 decades.

She has a passion to share her experience and knowledge and loves working with people and also doing creative projects. She is dedicated to supporting the growth of Bhikkhunis around the world and is currently involved in projects to support the establishment of places for Bhikkhunis in Theravada forest tradition in Australia, New Zealand, Poland and Sri Lanka. 

Please visit the Santi Forest Youtube Channel and Santi Forest Monastery website

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

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

Ajahn Brahmali explains how Buddhism thinks and deals with war, how our karma puts us in difficult situations and how to handle this in a Buddhist way.

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.

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

A series of talks given by Ajahn Brahm during his visit to Sydney at the Western Sydney University on the 16th - 17th February 2024. Republished with permission by Santi Forest Monastery and Metta Centre, teaching retrieved from Santi Forest Monastery Australia Youtube Channel

Track 4/4: Day Of Practice with Ajahn Brahm Q&A session - 17th February 2024

See the full set here.

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.

A series of talks given by Ajahn Brahm during his visit to Sydney at the Western Sydney University on the 16th - 17th February 2024. Republished with permission by Santi Forest Monastery and Metta Centre, teaching retrieved from Santi Forest Monastery Australia Youtube Channel

Track 3/4: Healing with stillness – empowering your mental well being - 17th February 2024

See the full set here.

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.

A series of talks given by Ajahn Brahm during his visit to Sydney at the Western Sydney University on the 16th - 17th February 2024. Republished with permission by Santi Forest Monastery and Metta Centre, teaching retrieved from Santi Forest Monastery Australia Youtube Channel

Track 2/4: Stilling the busy mind - meditation for busy people - 17th February 2024

See the full set here.

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.

A series of talks given by Ajahn Brahm during his visit to Sydney at the Western Sydney University on the 16th - 17th February 2024. Republished with permission by Santi Forest Monastery and Metta Centre, teaching retrieved from Santi Forest Monastery Australia Youtube Channel

Track 1/4: The Power of Stillness - 16th February 2024

See the full set here.

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.

Ajahn Brahm explains how we can understand our mind, not by reading books but by observing it in meditation.

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.

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

An online Dhamma talk by Upāsikā Viveka facilitated by Piotr Planeta from Portal Sasana - https://m.youtube.com/user/sasanaPL.

Upāsikā Viveka said that she feels blessed that she had the opportunity to be close to the death journey of two very close people, so she can share her experience with others, so they can have potentially much more peaceful and wholesome death, when it eventually inevitably comes. The talk, guided meditation and Q&A session also touches on other dhamma topics, like progressive training, gratitude, cultivation of the mind etc.

0:00 - Introduction
3:03 - Ist half of the talk 
33:45 - Guided meditation
1:05:50 - 2nd half of the talk
1:27:33 - Q&A 

Upāsikā Viveka is a deeply practicing dhammacārinī, who was given her Pali name by Ajahn Brahm. She is accredited as an advanced Dhamma teacher by the Buddhist Society of Western Australia. She has lived and practiced mostly in seclusion in Southeast Australia at Khemavara Sanctuary for over 20 years, and under the 8 precepts since 2009. Khemavara is in an isolated bush location surrounded by national parks and is a sanctuary for wild animals. Viveka is a very interesting figure because even though she is a lay person, not having had the opportunity to ordain, she practices with the dedication of a nun. Before renunciation she had a professional background in psychology, specializing in Mental Health, and was instrumental in introducing and spreading the Recovery Based Model throughout Australia.

Piotr Płaneta or Upāsaka Sunyanando is a lay follower on 5 precepts, basing his practice on Early Buddhist Texts and teachings of Ajahn Brahm, Ajahn Sona and Upāsikā Viveka. He is a P.hD student finishing his thesis on "Cognitive and Functional Aspects of Meditation in Theravada Buddhism". He's a lay dhamma and meditation teacher and organiser of retreats and various dhamma events, both with monastics and his own. Right now he's mostly focused on connecting Poland with Buddhist Society of Western Australia and tradition of Ajahn Brahm, organising many events with renunciates related to this project. Together with his kalyana-mittas, he's trying to establish the first Theravada Buddhist Monastery in Poland.

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 choose the teaching you want and click on the audio to open it up on Podbean.

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

Once as a novice monk in Thailand, Ajahn Brahm had a severe toothache and the only way he found he could alleviate the pain was by meditating. Ajahn shares stories about how meditation can lessen physical pains.

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.

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

Ajahn Brahm talks about the evidence of rebirth. Ajahn also mentions that t's possible to remember past life memories or early memories of this life after a deep meditation when our mind is very peaceful.

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.

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

Ajahn Brahm gives practical Buddhist advice such as hanging around wise people and how to live in harmony with others.

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.

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Ajahn Santutthi describes what a peaceful meditation feels like and suggests ways to create a more peaceful life.

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Ajahn Brahmali talks about the importance of our spiritual practice and how everything is impermanent.

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Ajahn Brahm shares a story about a nun and a mouse to illustrate how wanting creates suffering, and not wanting and living a simple life creates happiness.

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

Ajahn Brahm shares ways to cope with anxiety and explains how having a fear of failing affects your outcome.

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.

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Ajahn Brahmali talks about the importance of the Buddha in the Three Refuges (Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha).

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Why do we complain? Ajahn Brahm explains the dangers of having a fault finding mind, and the benefits of being positive. Ajahn encourages us to put our energy into positive things.

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.

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

Ajahn Brahm teaches us about the importance of asking questions, such as making the Karmic causes to be intelligent.

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Ajahn Brahmali talks about some of the similes of the Buddha found in the Suttas, such as the snake, the raft, the mountain and more.

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.

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An online Dhamma discussion with Ajahn Brahmali and Venerable Karunika facilitated by Piotr Planeta from Portal Sasana – https://m.youtube.com/user/sasanaPL.

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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.