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A Spider in Your Shoe

When we are participating in daily activities there will be many situations which trigger our defilements. Instead of thinking of these scenarios as obstacles to our development, or that our reactions are somehow wrong, we can use them as an aid to seeing the nature of our mind and incline it towards non-attachment. (Talk recorded at Tisarana on 4 December 2019. Duration 34.43)… Read the rest

Teatime Q&A





Ajahn Khemasiri answers questions at tea time from Tisarana's resident community about: Understanding the feeling of something missing (1:00); The nature of Samadhi (15:00); How to connect with people who don't share your values anymore (41:00); How to do comtemplation of body parts (59:00); Bare awareness as a meditation technique (72:00); How to strengthen Metta/Mudita practice (79:00)  (Q&A recorded at Tisarana on 18 August 2019.  Duration 1:28:59)
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New Bank account details

Starting March 1st, 2020, Tisarana Buddhist Monastery will start banking with TD Canada Trust instead of Scotia Bank. Please access the ‘Financial Contributions’ page on this website for details.

Most donations will not be affected by this. If you have set up a monthly automatic contribution to Tisarana, we have successfully moved these transactions from Scotia Bank to TD.

We request that those sending us wire transfers please make a note of our new account details. Please feel free to share this update with anyone who you think might need this information and might not have received this update.

Sincere gratitude and appreciation from the Sangha, Board and the Tisarana Community!… Read the rest

A Jewel on the Trash Heap

Tan Khemako talks about Anicca. He suggests the word ‘uncertain’ is a good rendering of this Pali word because it describes the unpredictable, unstable nature of all phemomena (Talk recorded at Arnprior on 25 November 2019. Duration 54:22)… Read the rest

The Kevatta Sutta

Ajahn Viradhammo answers a question about the use of the word viññāṇa in the Pali Canon. He makes reference to the book The Isand by Ajahn Amaro and Ajahn Pasanno which contains a chapter on the Buddha’s rare use of the word as a synonym for Nibbana (Q&A recorded at Arnprior during the OBS retreat on 20 September 2019. Duration 42:24)Read the rest

Stream Entry

Ajahn Viradhammo expounds on the first three fetters which block the fruition of Stream Entry. He explains that holding to ideals can be difficult to observe in ones mind because oftentimes we have attached to them since childhood. (Q&A recorded at Arnprior during the OBS retreat on 19 September 2019. Duration 31:32)Read the rest

Investigating Thought

Ajahn Viradhammo talks about the nature of obsessive thinking and how a meditator can perceive it as a mind object. He uses the example of worrying, and suggests that by allowing the feeling of fear to be present in ones mind, without indulging in it or repressing it, will lead to insight and liberation from this habit. (Q&A recorded on the third day of the OBS retreat at Arnprior on 18 September 2019. Duration 55.08) Read the rest

Jhana and Samadhi

Ajahn Viradhammo reflects on the words Jhana and Samadhi, highlighting how the English translations we use will have an effect on our minds. He often renders them as meditation and composure because these don’t exacerbate the desire to want to achieve and become. Ajahn Viradhammo quotes from an article by Āyasmā Kumāra Bhikkhu which is as yet unprinted (Q&A recorded during the Ottowa Buddhist retreat at Arnprior on 17 September 2019. Duration 46.09)Read the rest

Don’t Believe in Buddhism

Ajahn Viradhammo gave this talk on the second day of the Ottowa Buddhist Society retreat. He emphasizes the importance of not attaching to ideals, but instead to use them as reflections for understanding the desires of the mind. (Dhamma talk recorded at Arnprior on 16 September 2019. Duration 37:57)Read the rest

Determination of the Heart (Vintage) (Part 1)

Ajahn Viradhammo gave this Dhamma talk a few days before Luang Por Chah’s cremation. He includes details of how and why the training he received from Luang Por was so fruitful and inspiring, particularly his emphasis on non-attachment. (Dhamma talk recorded at Wat Pah Nanachat on 12 January 1993. Duration 29:47)Read the rest