Ajahn Viradhammo teaches us to pay attention to the arising and ceasing of experience, being a witness to change rather than trying to get something better or remove something we don’t want in our field of awareness. This leaves room for wisdom to arise.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo employs a Buddhist interpretation of the myth of Sisyphus explaining how good kamma can result from engaging in wholesome behavior.… Read the rest
At yesterday’s Kathina, Ajahn Viradhammo talks about how thinking conditions our experiences and how we have the ability to change our intentions towards skillful qualities within the mind. His themes revolve around intentionality, attention and kamma.
Following Venerable Khema’s Bhikkhu Ordination Luang Por Vīradhammo explains how this path of being a Buddhist monk and living within a Saṅgha provides an excellent condition for growth, maturity, learning new skills, and leading to the final goal of Nibbāna.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo explores how we learn by engaging with and accepting the way reality is presenting itself to us. We thereby become more competent in whatever it is we are applying ourselves to.… Read the rest
Dear Friends:
We are happy to let you know that arrangements are well under way for the Kathina celebration scheduled to take place at Tisarana monastery at 10am on Sunday November 8th. The lay members of the Board of directors heartily invite friends and supporters of the monastery to participate in this happy and auspicious occasion.
This year’s Kathina ceremony will be held at Tisarana monastery in the large white tent on the front lawn. The tent will be enclosed and several heaters will be operating to keep everyone warm.
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Programme for the Kathina Ceremony
Date: Sunday November 8, 2015, 10am
Location: Tisarana Buddhist Monastery
10:00 am: Arrival, preparation and receiving of food offerings (potluck meal)
10:30 am: Opening Pūjā, Welcoming remarks from Ajahn Viradhammo, Taking Five Precepts, Paritta Chanting, Formal offering of food to the Saṅgha
11:00 am: Invitation of laity to join in the meal
1:00 pm (approximately): Opening remarks by a member of the Tisarana board of directors, Kathina Ceremony and Offering of Kathina Robe and requisites, Dhamma Talk by Ajahn Viradhammo, Closing Remarks by Ajahn Viradhammo
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For more information about Kathina, the potluck meal, and how you can participate, please visit the Tisarana monastery Kathina webpage here.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo uses the theme of color to explore how we are confused by the sense or color of our mental impressions. To free ourselves from this delusion, we learn how to use discernment to give ourselves an edge on the knowing quality of our experience.… Read the rest
Each year since the time of the Buddha, at the end of the three-month Rains Retreat, lay people who support Buddhist monasteries have gathered to celebrate the completion of the retreat and offer the monastic community gifts of robe cloth and requisites that will be useful for the coming year. The cloth is cut, sewn and dyed by the monks that same day to make a robe to offer to a member of the monastic Sangha.
This 2,500-year-old tradition is still carried on here in the West, initiated by a lay supporter or group of supporters who request to organize the preparation and formal offerings. Kathina is a significant and joyful occasion that’s emblematic of the rich relationship between lay people and monastics, a connection characterized by deep bonds of friendship and commitment to mutual support. The core values that are celebrated by the Kathina tradition are those that make living together in harmony possible; qualities like generosity, patience, joy, kindness and empathy.
2015 is the third year that a Kathina is being held for the Sangha at Tisarana Buddhist Monastery. This year’s Kathina will have eight bhikkhus in attendance and is being sponsored by the lay members of the Tisarana Board of directors.… Read the rest
Ajahn Viradhammo explains how we can use discernment to awaken to the Noble Truth of suffering. Ajahn uses the pali word lakkhana (mark or characteristic) as a way to understand the role discernment plays in exploring discontent.… Read the rest
The Buddha is likened to the role of a car mechanic rather than being in the role of an abstract theoretician. A car mechanic explores the problem, realizes what is broken, fixes it, and then might teach someone what was done from that very real basis of experience. This is opposed to a very theoretical position that is not based on actual experience. Ajahn Viradhammo also focuses on the difference between discernment and criticism in this talk.… Read the rest
