Podcast, Page 55

Meditation is a very part of the training we do, and as monks, that’s one of the strong words that we have, that of training, training in body speech, and mind.  And as human beings we can train.  We not just the victims of karma, or the victims of genes, or the victims of habit, or the victims of cultural preferences, or whatever.  We can train, and that’s one of the beautiful things of human intelligence.  We can use human intelligence in a way which actually makes us better human beings, and hence we become more beautiful in the societies we live in.  And one of the trainings we’re trying to do is a training in perception.… Read the rest

Sleep is a very attractive thing, and there can be a lot of aversion to not being able to take that posture, and develop the endurance to look at that.  And it’s very much a part of our forest tradition to not just go with that which is comfortable, to be aware of that discomfort, quite deliberately.  Not as a form of self-mortification, but as a form of investigation.… Read the rest

I was with Joseph in Thailand, he was “Pabbakaro” then, we were young and very intense, and dedicated to the practice.  And I think Ajahn Chah was fascinated by us, because we were so eccentric, and so intense, and we all thought too much.  He was interested in us, in our crazy way, but in the end he said “You Westerners are just the same, you’ve just got bigger noses”.… Read the rest

If you think the popular perception that “my glass is half full”, or “my glass is half-empty”, that’s a perception, isn’t it?  Somebody might say “it’s better to be an optimist,” but then what about the case where you’re about to cross the desert, and you’re passing the last gas station, perhaps it might be better to think “my gas tank is half-empty, and I better fill up”.  So perceptions are part of how our inner consciousness works.  And the Buddha asked us to see perception as a construct, not as something that’s absolute.… Read the rest

So, here we are.  Just a warning to everyone, this is about as good as it gets.  I was just thinking this morning about how we have a community thats very diligent, we get along with each other, we all have kutis, and there are no deer flies.  We have good financial support.  A couple of arahants would be nice, but one doesn’t want to be greedy.… Read the rest

In this teachings of the Buddha, quite often would describe two streams of consideration.  One is what we call “Conventional Truth” or “Conventional Reality”, and the other is called “Liberation Truth”, “Transcendent Truth”, or “Liberation Reality”.  In the “Conventional Truth”, that’s where we’re defined as social beings, with our various kinds of responsibilities and relationships: I’m Viradhammo, I’m the senior monk here, my brother lives in Ottawa, I have a personal history, my parents come from Latvia, my Teacher lives in Thailand, and so on and so forth.  So these are the conventions of individuality that each one experiences in a different way.… Read the rest

In the mornings, we’ve been having some basic readings from the texts, which outline what we call the “Gradual Path”.  The Buddha would read people’s minds, and see a gradual way of introducing the ideas which lead to liberation.  There are a progression of ideas, and each lay a foundation for both worldly happiness, and eventually enlightenment.  It’s an accumulation of goodness, an accumulation of strength, an accumulation of insight, which leads to more and more profound well-being.  The first aspect that the Buddha would emphasize is Generosity, rather than meditation.  The texts we were reading indicated the importance of a heart which is not tight, which is not self-serving, which is not self-obsessed, to say the least.  A mind which has the capacity to give, to look outwards, to have empathy.  With generosity, there’s a certain kind of confidence in the heart, because one doesn’t need so much for oneself.… Read the rest

When a group of people develop a common form, a ritual, and then they use it for a sense of uplift, in this kind of endeavour we’re involved in.  It’s not [strictly] necessary, [as] we can just plunk down, put on a buzzer, and then leave, but then I think there’s a sense of beauty in that [chanting].

I like ritual if it’s not superstition, I’m not up for superstition.  In many ways, we’re orthodox, in the sense that we come from a tradition in Thailand, which has a lot of structure and form.… Read the rest

This is a monastery that offers training for men that want to become Bhikkhus, and it’s also a residence for people like myself, as well as a place for Lay People to come and practice.

Why do you need a monastery?  Why not just have a retreat center?  Why do you need Bhikkhus?  Maybe in Sri Lanka you wouldn’t ask that question, but in Western cultures now, there are certainly many ways to practice Buddhism.  There are many Lay teachers, and there are many good retreat centers.  But here in North American culture, and European culture, it’s not taken for granted, the Bhikkhus, and there are many people who think the Bhikkhu Sangha isn’t necessary.… Read the rest

The sense of time is an object of consciousness; you can know that.  Objects create a sense of a person in time.  There’s movement of time–chronological time, memory time, but you can only know the present moment.  You can’t become aware as a kind of experience, you can only be aware.… Read the rest