Buddhist Society of Western Australia

Ajahn Brahmali leads a guided meditation class on Saturday 21st January 2017.

Ajahn Brahm gives a talk about being sick, and the Buddhist attitude to being sick, because being sick and unwell is something that happens to all of us at some time in our lives. He offers skillfull means in order to better understand sickness and to deal constructively with the experience of being ill.

Ajahn Brahmali discusses the topic of new forms of artificial intelligence and computer intelligence, and the idea of the Singularity, and what this means for humanity. Furthermore, based on these new developments he discusses what it means to be human in this context.

Responding to a request about which type of Buddhism to follow. Ajahn Brahm asks whether there is really any meaningful difference between the traditions of Buddhism, and that ultimately it's best to follow the teaching of the Buddha - the Dharma/Dhamma - as authentically as we can. And also to have fun doing so! Ajahn Brahm declares himself a member of the Hahayana school of Buddhism which is about creating happiness in this world.

Ajahn Vayama gives a talk on the time just before the Buddha's Awakening, demonstrating the power of goodness as an example to us all.

Venerable Nitho expands on the ground work laid in week 1.  Venerable gives us real world examples of how remaining calm and composed can benefit both the meditater and those around us.  Including wildlife.

This is Week 1 of 4 beginners meditation with Venerable Nitho.

Venerable Nitho explains what meditation can help us to achieve.  Venerable uses his own life experience to help explain why he meditates and what we can achieve by practising.

Ajahn Brahm explains how meditation helps us relax by using humour and stories.  As well as
humour he tells us stories help dissolve the five hindrances or blocks to meditation which
reduce depression, anxiety and anger by developing positive emotions and gratitude.
The results are an increase in satisfaction, contentment and fulfillment.

Responding to two requests about how to deal with the ending of relationships, Ajahn Brahm gives a unique talk on when and how to end relationships in a way that is skillful and compassionate.

Ajahn Appichato leads a guided Saturday afternoon meditation.

Ajahn Appichato discusses how our personal karma works within ourself and the people we are connected with.

We all have to bear with difficult and challenging circumstances in life. Ajahn Brahm talks about the quality of endurance: the dumb sort of endurance, and the wise sort of endurance which is what we should cultivate.

Responding to a request, Ajahn Brahm talks about loneliness which for many people is a big problem. Ajahn Brahm talks about what loneliness is, what its causes are and how to overcome it.

Whilst the practice of meditation is very important, so too is the basics of how we relate to the people in our lives every day. The quality of the relationships that we develop with our family, work colleagues and the people we meet with every day is going to have a strong bearing on the quality of our minds and the quality of our lives, so it pays to give wise attention to this according to Ajahn Vayama.

Too many people are trying to improve themselves, and underlying this attitude is a non-acceptance towards ourselves, and relentless perfectionism that tends towards makes ourselves miserable. Whilst it may be counter-intuitive to people in the West, the path to self improvement begins with accepting ourselves just as we are. Through learning to be at peace with ourselves, we heal the inner conflicts and begin to grow.

Ajahn Nyanadhammo gives a talk on speculation (in Pali 'papanca') and how it ties up so much of our mind's effort, and yet so rarely correlates with reality - and so often gets us in to trouble!

Ajahn Vayama puts a Buddhist slant on the saying "Seeing is believing", but drawing out the powerful role of perception in skewing what we sense and understand reality.

This is the last dhamma talk given by Ajahn Brahm for 2016 in the hour leading up to midnight. Ajahn Brahm gives a dhamma talk and then guides the audience in meditation to bring in the new year, 2017.

The last guided meditation class of the year - New Year's Eve - for 2016. 

In his last dhamma talk for 2016, Ajahn Brahm asks us to reflect back on the year. Have you lived up to expectations? Have you set your goals for 2017? Have you written down how you intend to improve yourself and your life? Ok, now throw it in the bin! That's right, if you want to be happy the best way to do it is to lower your expectations to the point where you are happy with yourself and what you have right now. So stop judging and start loving with your imperfections and those of others too!