Podcast, Page 62

The worldly way of looking at this retreat would be like, ‘what’s the quality of the food?’ But obviously what important in a retreat is whether or not you were able to be mindful. That seems to me what’s important.… Read the rest

It’s good to understand the project of Buddhism because there are all kinds of suggestions. If you don’t understand what the project is then the pieces won’t fit. The Buddha teaches suffering and it’s end. We do have a possibility of realizing peace. It’s good to keep that in mind.… Read the rest

So, what’s the difference between attention and awareness? Say that I’m practicing and there’s prescense- that’s awareness. Then, maybe I notice that there’s a headache, I pay attention to the headache.… Read the rest

Mindfulness meditation tries to simplify our experience of being human.… Read the rest

Monastic life is one where we’re really asked to challenge our comforts-to go out of our comfort zone. To not always take the easiest way out. Monastic life has this challenge of surrending our personal desires into a form or structure which educates us about suffering.… Read the rest

The practice of the Buddhist meditation helps realize the nature of the mind. This nature is conditioned: by culture, by emotions, by experiences, by history. The way to realize this, is through the practice of awareness and wisdom.… Read the rest

The Buddha wasn’t just coming from the need to deal with a stressed-out mind. He wasn’t maladjusted because he had a bad childhood. He was coming from a very deep place of questioning. That kind of model is very different from the kind of searching for ease that you often find in Western Buddhism. His questioning came from a very deep place. When the Buddha attained enlightenment, he remembered eons of his past lives. When you think of things in that way, you get a sense of the hopelessness of this endless chain of rebirths. You can see the profundity of the Buddha’s questioning. … Read the rest

Ajahn Viradhammo answers questions from the retreat participants in this general Q & A questions.… Read the rest

Simple awakening. The language I like to use is like, ‘non-becoming’. Then, I like to choose something in the present moment that reminds me of this clear sense of presence.… Read the rest

The central theme is the awakened mind.  If you trust in that and see that as important then the issue is what helps to sustain the awakened mind?  It’s very simple that way, but our habits are complicated.… Read the rest