Buddhist Society of Western Australia

Monday Night Meditation at Cambodian Society of WA (CBSWA) with Venerable Patipada on 11 December 2023. These weekly teachings give an introduction into Meditation and some guidance and basics into the practice of the Buddhist Path. They usually consist of a short talk, thirty minute meditation and then questions & answers.

Venerable Patipada was born in Germany. His first contact with Buddhism happened in 2015, when a friend introduced him to one of Ajahn Brahm’s talks online. After a couple of stays as a guest at Bodhinyana monastery, he became an Anagarika in June 2021 and subsequently ordained as a novice in June 2022.

Please support BSWA in making these teachings available by donating via Patreon or our General Expenses Fund.

To download the audio, click on the audio track’s title to open it up in Podbean.

More dhamma teachings are available from:

• BSWA Podcast Channel (Dharma talks and guided meditations)
• BSWA DeeperDhamma Podbean Channel (retreats and suttas)
• BSWA YouTube Playlists
• Books and articles are available on our website.

Teaching retrieved from CBSWA please visit https://thecbswa.org to find out how to attend the monastery in person.

Tonight's talk was interrupted by a cat coming inside, which reminded Ajahn Brahm about a mysterious story of how a cat found its way to Dhammaloka Buddhist centre. Ajahn Brahm also shares stories about how powerful the mind is.

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 Hasapanna reminds us that calming our thinking mind is a gradual process that involves daily practice of present moment awareness.

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 happiness that comes from living a spiritual life and also reminds us about how important the present moment is.

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.

Dhamma talk by Bhante Bodhidhaja on the 28 May 2023, at the Buddhist Society of Victoria (BSV). 

This is part 1 of the talk, please find the entire series here.

Bhante Bodhidhaja, born in Switzerland as Nicolas Vrticka was introduced to Buddhism at an early age by a neighbour. After graduation Nicolas worked as a primary school teacher and chose social work as an alternative for compulsory military training in Switzerland.

At the age of 21, while on a visit to India in 2003 Nicolas took on a temporary ordination under the late Acharya Buddharakhita who gave him the monastic name Bodhidhaja and since kept the same name in memory of his Teacher.

From late 2006 Nicolas spent time living, practicing and serving as a lay person in different Monastic communities around the world. Upon returning to Perth BSWA in 2010 became an Anagarika followed by being a novice and higher ordination in 2012 under Ajahn Brahm. Bhante Bodhidhaja is part of the BSWA Monastic Community.

Please visit the BSV Podcast Channel and BSV YouTube Channel

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 shares stories about end of life events.

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.

Dhamma talk by Ajahn Mudito on the 5 Nov 2023, at the Buddhist Society of Victoria (BSV). 

Bhante Mudito was born in a remote village in Northern-Finland. After completing military service, he travelled to the United States where he attended chef school and worked in a high-end hotel for a few years. While living in New York his long-time interest in Buddhism evolved as he started meditating with different groups. He sought after many teachers and found many of them to be too lofty or simply too boring. But then the stars aligned when Ajahn Brahm wrote his hit book Open the Door of your Heart and on the book promotion tour he came to New York where Mudito fell in love with Ajahn and his simple teachings. He has followed Ajahn Brahm ever since and in 2010 he went to stay in Bodhinyana and ordained as a monk in 2012.

Please visit the BSV Podcast Channel and BSV YouTube Channel

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 offers us some tips on how to live in harmony with others, such as never blaming and always forgiving.

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.

Dhamma talk by Ajahn Nissarano on 8th Oct 2023, at the Buddhist Society of Victoria (BSV). 

Venerable Nissarano is an Australian monk who ordained under Ajahn Brahm 22 years ago. He currently resides at the Newbury Buddhist Monastery as the Senior Monastic.

Please visit the BSV Podcast Channel and BSV YouTube Channel

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.

Venerable Sunyo offers us some suggestions for dealing with depression, such as accepting it, reflecting on its impermanence and guiding our thoughts to wholesome states.

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.

Dhamma talk by Ajahn Mudito on the 2 Jul 2023, at the Buddhist Society of Victoria (BSV). 

Bhante Mudito was born in a remote village in Northern-Finland. After completing military service, he travelled to the United States where he attended chef school and worked in a high-end hotel for a few years. While living in New York his long-time interest in Buddhism evolved as he started meditating with different groups. He sought after many teachers and found many of them to be too lofty or simply too boring. But then the stars aligned when Ajahn Brahm wrote his hit book Open the Door of your Heart and on the book promotion tour he came to New York where Mudito fell in love with Ajahn and his simple teachings. He has followed Ajahn Brahm ever since and in 2010 he went to stay in Bodhinyana and ordained as a monk in 2012.

Please visit the BSV Podcast Channel and BSV YouTube Channel

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 Brahmali explains the importance of right perception in our spiritual practice, and how this guides us to become a more moral and kind person, and experience deep 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.

This talk is republished with permission by Metta Centre, teaching retrieved from http://Dhamma Talks – Metta Centre.

In this panel, three respected monastics will discuss the question of responsibility for our own happiness and suffering to shed light on the causes of misery. The panelists will examine how our own thoughts, speech and actions can shape our experience of the world and influence our well-being.

One encompassing method of purifying the mind to overcome the causes of misery is through the cultivation of the Brahma Viharas, namely loving kindness (metta), compassion (karuna), joyful appreciation (mudita), and equanimity (upekkha), known as the Four Sublime Abodes. However, these wholesome mental states are widely misinterpreted and misused to justify unwholesome actions and thoughts, often under the disguise of spirituality by way of spiritual bypassing. Such misunderstandings may potentially lead to harmful consequences. This panel will discuss how to identify the causes of these misconceptions and explore ways to truly nurture and grow the pure four immeasurable qualities of the mind for the benefit of oneself and others.

Ajahn Nissarano was born in 1952 in Perth, Western Australia. In 1997, he was ordained by Ajahn Brahm as a novice monk and a year later took full ordination. This year was his 26th Rain’s Retreat, Vassa. He lived in Sri Lanka from 2006 to 2019, for a total of 13 and half years. During that time, he lived for 8 years in a cave on the side of a mountain, surrounded by forest and going for alms round to the village below. He returned to Australia regularly to teach, primarily at the Buddhist Society of Victoria. In January 2021 he became the Senior Monk at Newbury Buddhist Monastery, outside Melbourne, which is run by the Buddhist Society of Victoria.

Bhikkhuni Ayya Kārunikā is currently the senior resident monastic at Santi Forest Monastery and has been in monastic life for over 12 years. 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 is also a student of Ajahn Brahm and Ajahn Brahmali. 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 day 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 Dhammasara main monastery 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.

Venerable Bhante Sanathavihari Bhikkhu is a Mexican-American Theravāda monk at the Sarathchandra Buddhist Center in North Hollywood, a Sri Lankan center. He is a student of the late Dr. Bhante Punnaji, and the director of Casa De Bhavana – an outreach project to bring the Dhamma to the Spanish-speaking world. He is also the co-author of Buddhism in 10 Steps. He represents a new generation of Spanish-speaking monastics who are extensively employing digital communication methods and social media, which is turning out to be extremely effective for spreading the Dharma in Spanish. Bhante is a U.S. Air Force veteran and served in the army for 9 years. After three deployments to Afghanistan, he was ordained as a novice in the Theravada tradition, at the age of 30, in the lineage of the Amarapura Nikaya monastic fraternity. In 2015, he received higher ordination at the Sarathchandra Buddhist Center of the Maharagama Bhikkhu Training Center (Maharagama Dharmayathanaya) in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Today, Bhante Sanathavihari is the leader of Casa de Bhavana, a Theravada organization devoted to spreading the Dharma and promoting the practice of meditation. Bhante Sanathavihari has a B.A. in Religion, and is a Mindfulness researcher at Mount St. Mary University, Los Angeles, and a Graduate Student in Counseling Psychology at Mount St. Mary University. More info can be found at https://www.buddhistdoor.net/features...

** About Metta Centre ** To find out more about the Metta Centre & how you can support us you can visit https://www.mettacentre.com #buddhism #dharmatalk #dhammatalk

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 talks about the Buddhist ways for resolving and dealing with conflicts in our daily lives.

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.

Past Presidents and long-term members came together to reflect on 50 years of BSWA. We shared happy memories of the various turning points that made the Society what it is today. We remembered it’s small beginnings end explored what makes it thrive, we talked about challenges and our hopes for the future. It was a wonderful insight into how a multicultural community comes together in peace and kindness. This starts from 38:35 minutes after the guided meditation.

From the far left to the right: Drew Bellamy, Dennis Sheppard, Sanath de Tissera, Malkanthi de Tissera, Sandra Henville, Binh Anson, Ananda Thilakasiri and Vivara Kunabutr

Every year, the monastic community (Monks and nuns) go on a three month retreat called the “Rains Retreat” from mid July to mid October. During this period, they do not visit our centres for teachings as it’s a time for deepening their own practice.

While the monks and nuns are away, we will have some interesting guest speakers coming in to give the Friday Night talk.

TURNING POINTS 2023

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.

*Apologies, this video is missing the first few minutes of the introduction and starts with the guided meditation in progress

John Waite strives to focus on study and practice but recognises the need to use one’s skills to benefit others as needed. To this end, he is an active volunteer firefighter in the Murray Shire and currently serves on a few FPMT committees and/or boards. He tries to complete a couple of retreats a year; in 2023 he completed one in honour of his guru Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche, fulfilling a commitment recently made to this revered teacher before his passing. This year’s retreat and pilgrimage in Nepal has also affirmed John’s desire to share the joy of practice with fellow students in Australia and serve others. He has embarked on a project to help improve education and potential for young women in Nepal.

Every year, the monastic community (Monks and nuns) go on a three month retreat called the “Rains Retreat” from mid July to mid October. During this period, they do not visit our centres for teachings as it’s a time for deepening their own practice.

While the monks and nuns are away, we will have some interesting guest speakers coming in to give the Friday Night talk.

TURNING POINTS 2023

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.

Published with permission of Treasure Mountain Podcast. Please visit Treasure Mountain Podcast, Everyday Dhamma Network and Treasure Mountain Facebook page. 

Joining us on this episode is a humble, yet trail-blazing monk from the forest tradition lineage of Ajahn Chah who is now the senior most bhikkhu at Abhayagiri Forest Monastery in California. I’m speaking of course of the Venerable Ajahn Pasanno.

Ajahn Pasanno took ordination in Thailand in 1974 with Venerable Phra Khru Ñāṇasirivatana as preceptor. During his first year as a monk he was taken by his teacher to meet Ajahn Chah, with whom he asked to be allowed to stay and train. One of the early residents of Wat Pah Nanachat, Ajahn Pasanno became its abbot in his ninth year. During his incumbency, Wat Pah Nanachat developed considerably, both in physical size and reputation. Spending 24 years living in Thailand, Ajahn Pasanno became a well-known and highly respected monk and Dhamma teacher. He moved to California on New Year’s Eve of 1997 to share the abbotship of Abhayagiri with Ajahn Amaro. In 2010 Ajahn Amaro accepted an invitation to serve as abbot of Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in England, leaving Ajahn Pasanno to serve as sole abbot of Abhayagiri for the next eight years. In spring of 2018, Ajahn Pasanno stepped back from the role of abbot and now serves as a guiding elder for the community.

A quick note to listeners: I had a lot of problems with delayed echos across the original recording. I did a lot of editing to remove that echo, and I believe I’ve removed all of that which can be removed without changing the flow of the interview. I think it’s turned out quite well, but there are a few points at which we have echo or less than optimal audio.

In any case, I think it’s a really interesting interview in which one of the most senior Western disciples of Ajahn Chah reflects upon life and the changing times as Buddhism comes to the West. I hope you all enjoy this interview with Ajahn Pasanno.

Further information regarding to topic of this episode:

• Abhayagiri Forest Monastery

Treasure Mountain Podcast links:

• Treasure Mountain Podcast
• Treasure Mountain on Facebook
• Everyday Dhamma Network

Thank you for listening to the Treasure Mountain Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode please share it with you friends. If you'd like to support me to produce this type of content in future, you can support my work by offering a tip via the Ko-fi payment applet or via my 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.

Dhamma talk by Ajahn Brahmali on the 30 April 2023, at the Buddhist Society of Victoria (BSV). 

Please visit the BSV Podcast Channel and BSV YouTube Channel

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.

Every year, the monastic community (Monks and nuns) go on a three month retreat called the “Rains Retreat” from mid July to mid October. During this period, they do not visit our centres for teachings as it’s a time for deepening their own practice.

While the monks and nuns are away, we will have some interesting guest speakers coming in to give the Friday Night talk.

TURNING POINTS 2023

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.

Published with permission of Treasure Mountain Podcast. Please visit Treasure Mountain Podcast, Everyday Dhamma Network and Treasure Mountain Facebook page. 

This episode is about the late, great Master Hsying Yun, a true dynamo of a monk, dedicated to the spreading of the teachings and practice of Buddhism in Taiwan, China and around the world. Master Hsing Yun has achieved so much in his lifetime that it is virtually impossible to relate but a small part of it here in the introduction. However, by way of offering a introduction, here is a quick outline some of his achievements in brief:

Starting in the 1950s, Hsing Yun started making many achievements at an early age. He taught numerous classes, built many schools for children, recorded the first Buddhist hymns, and was promoted as an executive in many Buddhist associations. In 1957, Hsing Yun established a Buddhist cultural center in which a variety of Buddhist books are published with training tools such as audio and visual aids. In 1959, Hsing Yun also supported the Tibetan movement against communist suppression, and organised the first float parade in celebration of Wesak in Taiwan.

Perhaps one of Hsing Yun’s greatest achievements was his successful push for Wesak to become a national holiday in Taiwan, a wish that had been granted by former President Lee Teng-hui in 2000.

Master Hsing Yun was the founder and spiritual leader of Fo Guang Shan, a Buddhist organisation that has established around 300 temples and monasteries all over Taiwan, as well as in 12 other countries including China, the United States, Australia, South Africa, Canada, Brazil, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. He is also the author of 395 books in Chinese, many of which have been translated into other languages, notably to English. And all of this is just a brief outline, leaving out much of what Master Hsing Yun has achieved in his life.

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Further information regarding to topic of this episode:

• Hsingyun.org

• 佛光百科 FoGuangPedia - FoGuangPedia

• Home - Hsing Yun Education Foundation (hsingyunef.org.au)

• An-Honest-Revelation-—-An-Open-Letter-PDF.pdf (hsingyunef.org.au) 

Treasure Mountain Podcast links:

• Treasure Mountain Podcast
• Treasure Mountain on Facebook
• Everyday Dhamma Network

Thank you for listening to the Treasure Mountain Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode please share it with you friends. If you'd like to support me to produce this type of content in future, you can support my work by offering a tip via the Ko-fi payment applet or via my 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.