Buddhist Society of Western Australia

Ajahn Brahm talks about Buddhism and human rights, including what the Buddhist understanding of justice is and how it challenges conventional thinking. Ajahn also reflects on what freedom of religion and freedom from religion means and its advantages and disadvantages.

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

Ajahn Appichato gives a Buddhist perspective on how and why we search for meaning in our life, and how to be ready for death, with a lesson on generosity from his time in Thailand.

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

Ajahn regaled us with his usual wit and humour, teaching us to relax our bodies beforehand so that we may then relax our minds.  Ajahn used his stories and jokes to both relax us and move us to a more happy state of mind before leading us in a beginners meditation.

Following the meditation Ajahn again used wit and humour to keep us relaxed.  As Ajahn has said to us many times “Stop looking into the past, reliving bad things that have happened, or imagining a future that may never happen, and live in the moment”.

Ajahn Brahmali teaches us that having right view naturally steers our mind in the right direction. Ajahn also advises us to regard our meditation as an act of generosity towards ourselves and others.

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

Ajahn Brahmali discusses the importance of moral leadership, citing examples from the kings in Buddha's time. Ajahn explains how morality of a leader trickles down to the entire society.

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

Ajahn Brahmali guides a meditation for approximately 30 minutes.

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

An enlightening talk about how it is not wrong to be sick - it is simply the nature of the body. Ajahn Brahm discusses the merit of being sick and illustrates a touching story of a dying nun. Not to be missed, and sure to rid you of those guilty feelings forever, when the flu bug next bites!

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

Why not allow yourself to be happy? You deserve to be happy. Be at peace with yourself. Being at peace with yourself opens the door to happiness. Ajahn Brahm offers a teaching on accepting praise and developing self-worth, because he says many of us lack self-worth and think we don’t deserve to be happy. Ajahn emphasises the great benefit of innovation, seeing things anew, doing things differently and stopping this habit in the mind of always doing things the same old way. 

Ajahn Brahm receives a letter from a Zen practitioner in Japan asking whether there is too much emphasis in Buddhism on "letting go" and not enough on "getting attached" by doing good in the world. Here's AB's response on when to attach and when to let go.

Venerable JR led a relaxed evening of meditation encouraging us to let go of the past and future.  Venerable instructed us that our only responsibility at this time, is to relax.  Nothing to do but relax.  Allow the thoughts to come and then let them go.

Venerable then led a very relaxed breath meditation.  After the meditation Venerable talked about anxiety, then opened the session to Q&A.

Ajahn Brahmali guides a meditation for approximately 30 minutes.

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

Ajahn Brahmali begins by talking about how right view is strongly related to our meditation practice. Then Ajahn offers some simple methods for aligning our mind with the Buddha Dhamma and away from the external world.

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

Ajahn Brahmali reflects on the factors that lead to success in meditation and the spiritual life. Ajahn stresses the importance of the foundation stones being in place such as Kalyanamitta: spiritual friends, because Kalyanamitta will eventually push you all the way to awakening. Ajahn asks us ‘how can we use our ordinary life to support our spiritual life and meditation?’ rather than ‘how can our meditation and spiritual practise support our life?’  

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

An entertaining talk filled with jokes, both old and new. Ajahn Brahm talks about friendship, both with others and with yourself.

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

This is a light-hearted talk about bringing up children from the Buddhist perspective. Ajahn Brahm stresses the importance of honesty, communication and quality time.

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

On the occasion of the April 2015 earthquakes in Nepal, Ajahn Brahm responds to a request to speak about dealing with disaster.

Bhante Sangharatana talked to us about breath meditation, encouraging us to present moment awareness (bringing our attention to the meditation object, or focus on, for example, our breath).  Bhante further explained that present moment awareness is of itself not the meditation, but rather the goal.  By having, or achieving, present moment awareness we leave the past behind and have no thoughts of the future.  We are just here and now, thinking not of the past nor of the future.

Bhante then explained for the beginners amongst us [that would be most of us], the need for meditation or why we meditate.  He further explained the technique used for a simple but successful breath meditation.  He then guided us through a 30 min beginners breath meditation after which he opened the floor to questions and continued the talk.

It's difficult to stop thinking and feeling. In this meditation session Ajahn Appichato teaches us a mantra to calm the mind.

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

"Mindfulness is a tool" says Ajahn Brahm. Ajahn explains how mindfulness is only part of the Buddhist practice and kindness is also required. Ajahn shares his experiences of how peaceful his mind becomes in meditation when he adds kindness to his mindfulness. 

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

Venerable Hasapanna talks about giving and forgiving, which Venerable says are very important qualities many of us tend to overlook. Venerable recollects the great generosity that the Venerable nuns receive, but reflects on how many of us are looking for success in accumulating things and only a few of us are looking for success in giving and forgiving.

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