Buddhist Society of Western Australia

Ajahn Brahm offers a teaching not on finding the meaning of life, but putting meaning into our life; that is making our life meaningful. Ajahn Brahm tells us how to put meaning into our lives and points out that when we don’t life does become quite meaningless. Ajahn talks about developing the right attitude that gives our life purpose and meaning and what does and doesn’t give meaning.

Venerable Nitho recounted his youth to us to show how trying too hard [craving] is counter productive to letting go and that this will make it more difficult to meditate.  Just as Venerable tried to hard to catch an elusive blue butterfly, we often try too hard too clear our minds to meditate.  We need to let go and just let it happen.

Tonight's meditation was focused on our bodies.  Starting at the feet, working upward.  Relaxing each area of the body helps immensely to clear the mind, shut out external distractions and simply relax.

Venerable concluded with a brief Dharma talk and Q&A.

Ajahn Brahm examines the place of love, lust, desire and affection in Buddhism. Ajahn asks; Is love an attachment? Is love something beautiful? Is love going to get you into trouble? What actually is the place of love in Buddhism? What is spiritual about your love in a relationship? Ajahn also looks at how you can make use of your understanding of the love you feel in a marriage or relationship.

Venerable Hasapanna gives a talk about how to integrate the Buddhist teachings into our practise and daily life. How to live the Dhamma; live the teachings. Venerable emphasises the importance of developing right understanding and wisdom to help us deal with the ups and downs, twists and turns and difficulties in life or the eight worldly conditions: praise and blame, gain and loss, happiness and unhappiness, honour and dishonour.

Ajahn Brahm begins by talking about what stops you from getting peaceful in meditation and seeing things clearly. Ajahn says the first two of the biggest obstacles or hindrances to meditation are wanting and ill-will/ aversion.

Ajahn Brahm gives a humorous talk on bringing fun and laughter into our Buddhist practise and life, because he says too many people are far too serious. Ajahn talks about seeing the positive in everything and the huge benefits of being able to laugh at what for many people is extremely sad, such as having dementia. Ajahn points out the benefits of laughter, such as that it gives a positive mind and takes away fear and anxieties. Lastly Ajahn Brahm also mentions how we can laugh at and deal with anxiety.

Venerable Pannananda was one of the guest speakers at the Buddhist Society of Western Australia during the Rains Retreat or Vassa (the three month period between the full moon of July and October in 2010). Venerable Pannananda gives a short introduction on the five sense faculties of mind, five powers of the mind and the Seven Factors of Enlightenment. 

When someone we love is suffering, why do we suffer as well? Does love have to mean that when someone is suffering we suffer as well? Ajahn Brahm talks about how Buddhists deal with the suffering of loved ones. In this talk Ajahn offers some skillful means of responses and teaches us how to have real love, instead of attachment.

Ajahn Brahm gives a quirky talk about coffins and their relevance to life not death. Ajahn teaches us how to accept our karma, the nature of life and face our fears, such as death and sickness. Ajahn talks about understanding them, learning from them and even accepting and loving them. Ajahn says “Loving doesn’t mean we like it, loving is opening the door of your heart to everything because this is life and we can always find a beautiful perception about anything.”

Ajahn Brahm reflects on the way to end conflict within yourself, between people and between you and your world. Ajahn tells us why we have so many conflicts and reveals how we can gain more peace and harmony.

Venerable JR spoke on just letting it be tonight.  Let the thoughts come and let them go, don't engage them, just let it be and be happy.  After a guided beginners meditation Venerable was happy to do a Q&A session.

Ajahn Brahm talks about devotional practises and rituals in Buddhism and how we must be very careful we are not devoted to the rituals themselves or in his words ‘not devoted to the container, but to the content’. Ajahn explains the importance of doing these practises with context that is an understanding of what the practise means and why you are doing it.  

Ajahn Brahm talks about the value of friendships and offers practical advice on how to strengthen and build up our friendships and create a sense of community. Ajahn takes a look at the Buddhist way of dealing with the loneliness in this world.

Ajahn Brahmali gives an introduction about how sila, contentment and support in your spiritual life help to remove meditation obstacles and ensure good progress.

Ajahn Brahmali gives a talk on the importance of the Sangha or monastic community in Buddhism. Ajahn considers the Sangha’s purpose or role in Buddhism, as well as why they matter and the Buddha’s reasons for making the monastic order.

Ajahn Brahmali elaborates on the Buddha's teaching that it is attachment that causes suffering and letting go is the cause for happiness. Ajahn points out that attachments are part and parcel of being a human being. Ajahn explains why attachments lead to suffering and how we can remove and reduce our attachments to that there is less suffering when impermanence comes round and tears these things away from us, which eventually it must do.

Responding to a request on how to deal with difficult people at work. Ajahn Brahm offers advice on how to develop tolerance towards difficult people, as well as towards the many other difficulties we face in life. Because as Ajahn points out difficulties and difficult people are part of life and therefore we have to learn to deal with them.

In response to a question on how to stop getting angry when watching sport, Ajahn Brahm gives an insightful teaching on the problems caused by our dysfunctional way of looking at winning and losing and modern society’s obsession with competitions and separating people into winners and losers.

Ajahn Brahm devotes this talk on the Buddhist attitude towards depression. Ajahn breaks this talk into what he believes are the three major causes of depression in our modern world:

1. Inherit negativity and fault-finding
2. Over indulgence in cravings
3. Some of the nature of our existence can be depressing

Ajahn kindly gives us the goods to help us overcome depression; our negative mind states.

Bhante explains metta meditation, how it will affect every aspect of our daily lives before guiding us through a combined metta and breath meditation.  After the guided meditation Bhante answered questions about the meditation then opened to general comments and questions.

Bhante concluded the evening with stories that showed how love and kindness worked for Bhante G at Heathrow.

Metta [loving kindness]. In Buddhist belief, this is a Brahma-vihara (divine abode) or an immeasurable that leads to a meditative state by being a counter to ill-will. It removes clinging to negative state of mind, by cultivating kindness unto all beings.