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Ajahn Vīradhammo: Abbot of Tisarana

Ajahn (formerly Vitauts Akers), was born in Germany, 1947, to Latvian refugee parents. They moved to Toronto when he was four years old. Around 1969, while living in India, he encountered Buddhism, meeting the late Sāmanera Bodhesako, who introduced him to the teachings of the Buddha. He eventually travelled to Thailand to become a novice at Wat Mahathat in 1973 and took bhikkhu ordination the following year at Wat Pah Pong with Ajahn Chah. He was one of the first residents at Wat Pah Nanachat, the international monastery in north-east Thailand. Having spent four years in Thailand, he went back to Canada to visit his family in 1977. Instead of returning to Thailand, he was asked by Ajahn Chah to join Ajahn Sumedho at the Hampstead Vihāra in London. Later, he was involved in the establishment of both the Chithurst and Harnham monasteries in the UK. In 1985, invited by the Wellington Theravāda Buddhist Association, he moved to New Zealand, accompanied by Venerable Thanavaro, where he lived for 10 years, setting up Bodhinyānārāma monastery. In 1995 he came to the UK to assist Ajahn Sumedho at Amarāvati and stayed for four years before returning to New Zealand, where he lived until 2002.… Read the rest

Saturday, November 1st, 2:00 pm: Luang Por Pasanno will give a Dhamma Talk at Tisarana

Luang Por Pasanno, abbot of Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery in Northern California, will be coming to Tisarana this weekend to participate in our Kathina. On Saturday, November 1st, Luang Por Pasanno will lead the weekly 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm meditation and Dhamma Talk.

All are welcome to join us for his Dhamma Talk and for the Tisarana Kathina.

The Kathina this year will be held at Civitan Hall in Perth (6787 Lanark County Road 43) and will begin at 10:00 am on Sunday, November 2nd.

For more Information about Tisarana’s Kathina please click here.… Read the rest

Actor and Witness

The practices of Buddhism have a two fold nature. The first is as an actor, the area of our active life: morality, generosity, social responsibility, relations to others, etc.. And the second is as a witness, the area of our contemplative life: witnessing experience in our formal meditation practices as well as during daily life.… Read the rest

When a Monk Disrobes

On the occasion of Ajahn Yatiko’s leaving the robes (an Abhayagiri senior monk), Ajahn Vīradhammo expounds upon the merits of being a monk, whether it is for a period of time in one’s life or an entire lifetime.… Read the rest

Impulse, Habit, Personality, Destiny

This talk explains how to refrain from unwholesome reactions to experiences in the external world. We do this by paying attention to the movement of the mind in ordinary circumstances (much like we do with the movement of mind in formal meditation). In a sense we are learning to wait and pause around our experiences so we can identify how we move from impulse to habit to personality to destiny. This then allows us to break this repetitive cycle.… Read the rest

Tisarana Kathina Ceremony: Sunday, November 2nd, 10:00 am, Civitan Hall, Perth

This year’s Kathina will be held in Perth at the Civitan Hall:
6787, Highway 43 (Directions)

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 cloth and supplies 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 Saṅgha.

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. It’s a significant and joyful occasion that’s emblematic of the rich relationship between lay people and monastics, a relationship characterized by deep bonds of friendship and commitment to mutual support. All year round, the monastery functions solely on offerings from the lay community.

Programme for the Kathina Ceremony:

Please Note: Daylight Savings Time ends in the early morning before our Kathina. Clocks roll back one hour at 2:00 am, Nov. 2nd (very early on Sunday morning).

9:30 am: Arrival, preparation and receiving of food offerings

10:00 am: Opening Pūjā, Welcoming remarks from Ajahn Vīradhammo, Taking Five Precepts, Paritta Chanting

10:30 am: Formal offering of food to the Saṅgha

11:00 am: Chanting of Anumodanā and invitation of laity to join in the meal

1:00 pm (approximately): Opening remarks by Ambassador Pisan, Kathina Ceremony and Offering of Kathina Robes, Dhamma Talk by Ajahn Pasanno, Closing Remarks by Ajahn Vīradhammo

For more Information about Kathina offerings please go here.… Read the rest

Developing An Inner Vigilance: Q and A

Ajahn Vīradhammo answers a question from a concerned mother about her fears in regards to her children and another question from a woman trying to help family members, specifically her mother, learn about Buddhism.… Read the rest

Developing An Inner Vigilance

Ajahn Vīradhammo speaks about how we develop the contemplative life by watching our experiences and developing wholesome action. We do this in our daily lives by being a witness to our stream of consciousness and having an awareness of change.… Read the rest

Monastic Renunciation

During one of the Wan Prah vigils, Ajahn Vīradhammo speaks about the advantages and uses of renunciation and how the monastic form helps to encourage the use of this helpful tool.… Read the rest

Non-Grasping and Non-Attachment

Luang Por Vīradhammo speaks about the theme of grasping and how we can identify grasping in the mind. We learn non-grasping, not to become a better person, but to realize how we can let go of our attachment to ideals and the ways we think we should be, thus releasing ourselves from suffering and self-view.… Read the rest