Ajahn Dhammasiha is asked how to apply the Buddha's teaching of Four Noble Truths in our daily life.
The 4 Noble Truths are a core teaching of the Buddha, that is acknowledged as fundmental in all Buddhist traditions, including Therevada, Mahayana and Vajrayana.
These thruths do not constitute a philosophical thought excercise, but are directly applicable to our experience of pain, disappointment and suffering. They show us a practical method in the Noble Eightfold Path to completely extricate ourselves from pain, frustration, depression, old age sickness, death and repeated birth.
Ajahn points out that we usually blame external causes for any pain and disappointment we experience:
"It's because of this person that I'm so miserable!"
However, we can never get out of suffering by trying to eliminate all external causes. There's just too many of them, and often they are beyond our control.
Instead, the Buddha points us to the internal causes of suffering: Craving; Attachment; Desire; Anger; and the Delusion of I, Me, Mine and Self.
If we can abandon the internal causes of our suffering, we can overcome it once and forever. We can experience the state beyond all suffering: Freedom, Release, the Deathleath Element, Nibbāna.
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Mindfulness of the In-and-Out-Breath, Ānāpānasati, was the favourite meditation object of the Buddha himself. He has given us very comprehensive and detailed instructions how to develop this form of meditation.
However, many meditators, often even those practising regularly for many years, are not fully aware, or at least do not really apply, the instructions as provided by the Buddha.
To encourage everyone to receive the full results of their Breath Meditation, Ajahn Dhammasiha goes through all 16 steps of Mindfulness of Breathing, as expounded by the Buddha; e.g. in Ānāpānasati Sutta, Majjhima Nikāya/Middle Length Discourses, No. 118
Each of the four Tetrads develops one of the Foundations of Mindfulness (Satipaṭṭhāna)
(i) BODY (KĀYA)
(ii) FEELINGS (VEDANĀ)
(iii) CITTA (MIND)
(iv) DHAMMA (TRUTH)
[i]
1.
He breathes in mindfully, and he breathes out mindfully
2.
Breathing in long, he knows: ‘I'm breathing in long’; or breathing out long, he knows: ‘I' breathing out long.’
Or breathing in short, he knows: ‘I'm breathing in short’; or breathing out short, he knows: ‘I am breathing out short.’
3.
He trains himself: ‘I will breathe in feeling the whole body.’
He trains himself: ‘I will breathe out feeling the whole body.’
4.
He trains himself: ‘I will breathe in calming all bodily activity’
He trains himself: ‘I will breathe out calming all bodily activity.’
[ii]
5.
He trains himself: ‘I will breathe in experiencing rapture.’
He trains himself: ‘I will breathe out experiencing rapture.’
6.
He trains himself: ‘I will breathe in experiencing bliss.’
He trains himself: ‘I will breathe in experiencing bliss.’
7.
He trains himself: ‘I will breathe in experiencing mental activity.’
He trains himself: ‘I will breathe out experiencing mental activity.’
8.
He trains himself: ‘I will breathe in calming mental activity.’
He trains himself: ‘I will breathe out calming mental activity.’
(iii)
9.
He trains himself: ‘I will breathe in experiencing the mind.’
He trains himself: ‘I will breathe out experiencing the mind.’
10.
He trains himself: ‘I will breathe in gladdening the mind.’
He trains himself: ‘I will breathe out gladdening the mind.’
11.
He trains himself: ‘I will breathe in unifying the mind.’
He trains himself: ‘I will breathe out unifying the mind.’
12.
He trains himself: ‘I will breathe in releasing the mind.’
He trains himself: ‘I will breathe out releasing the mind.’
(iv)
13.
He trains himself: ‘I will breathe in focussing on impermanence.’
He trains himself: ‘I will breathe out focussing on inconstancy.’
14.
He trains himself: ‘I will breathe in focussing on dispassion / fading away.’
He trains himself: ‘I will breathe out focussing on dispassion / fading away.’
15.
He trains himself: ‘I will breathe in focussing on cessation.’
He trains himself: ‘I will breathe out focussing on cessation.’
16.
He trains himself: ‘I will breathe in focussing on letting go.’
He trains himself: ‘I will breathe out focussing on letting go.’
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Ajahn Dhammasiha responds to a question by someone just getting started in their Dhamma practise.
Ajahn talks about karma, generosity and kindness; and the future results of our karma.
He mentions rebirth, the fact that our mind doesn't just vanish at death, but will connect with a new body in one of the different realms of existence, according to our karma and attachments.
Ajahn recommends to go back to what the Buddha himself actually taught, and explains that in the oldest part of the Theravada Pali Canon we can find the most authentic record of the Buddha's own words.
He passes on two books summarizing the Noble Eight Fold Path based on these early suttas:
Ajahn also recommends to establish a little shrine, and to keep that area 'sacred', by not doing any other activity than chanting and meditation there.
He recommends to start a regular practice of Buddhist Chanting, and passes on our Amaravati Chanting Book, that includes both Pali and English Chants:
Ajahn encourages the newcomer to regularly continue his practice of Ānāpānasati (Meditation on Mindfulness of Breathing'), that he has already gathered some experience with.
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Ajahn Dhammasiha is asked for advice to overcome ill will.
Ajahn talks about the two fundamental approaches:
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Ajahn Dhammasiha explains the emotion of Saṃvega = Spiritual Shock/Spiritual Urgency.
When we encounter Dukkha/Pain/Loss/Disappointment, the resulting sadness can make our heart dark and depressed.
However, it's also possible to turn the pain we experience into a powerful motivation to practise the Buddha Dhamma with even more commitment and dedication, to ultimately free our heart from all suffering in the experience of the Deathless/Nibbāna.
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SHORT TALK 13 MIN
Ajahn Dhammasiha encourages us to dedicate more attention to the quality of passive observation, rather than always being involved with doing things.
We have to watch, observe, simply see how conditions unfold without interfering, in order to develop vipassana (insight).
Yathābhūta Ñāṇadassana
means seeing things as they really are, without distorting.
We have to see the impermanent as impermanent, rather than distorting our perception towards permanence, in order to develop vipassana.
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Ajahn Dhammasiha talks about the meaning of:
'Ādi-kalyānam, majjhe-kalyānam, pariyosāna-kalyānam'
(Beautiful in the Beginning, Beautiful in the Middle, Beautiful in the End),
one of the unique qualities of the Buddha-Dhamma.
He also reponds to a question about the most senior monk disciple of the Buddha, Ven Aññā-Kondañña, and how he got his name.
Finally, Ajahn offers some reflections on the question which parts of the Dhamma are most important to humanity right now in our current global situation; and how we can share the Dhamma with all human beings.
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Loving kindness is simply the intention of unconditional good will to all beings, without any distinction.
Ajahn Dhammasiha explains benefits of a well established practice of loving kindness ('Mettā').
When we experience benefits of our metta practice (for instance healthy, peaceful sleep and waking up happily), they are the most powerful motivation to continue to develop our loving kindness even further.
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Sometimes our mind may feel a bit dark, or frustated, or sad.
If we can arouse the energy to do some act of kindness, some simple act of generosity or sharing, it will shine like a little star and illuminate our mind.
As we accumulate more and more acts of good karma (puñña), we make our mind brighter and brighter, until it's illuminated like the star-spangled night sky.
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One of our retreatants noticed a crow attacking its mirror image in the glass sliding door. He doesn't reckognize that the image it actually himself. Instead, he thinks it's another crow intruding into his territory.
Ajahn Dhammasiha uses this as a metaphor for unskilful effort in meditation. In particular, we can't overcome the delusion of self by fighting it. If we take it for real, and fight it, it will only 'fight back' harder. The successful approach is to wisely observe it, analyse it, and reckognize it as an illusion.
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Ajahn Dhammasiha is asked about the importance of faith in the Buddha's teaching.
The Pali term for the first of five spiritual faculties is 'saddha'. It could also be translated as 'confidence', 'conviction' or 'trust'.
Ajahn discusses various conditions that nurture our conviction and make it very strong.
He also explains that faith and knowledge are not contradictions, but can support each other in our Dhamma practice.
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Ajahn Dhammasiha is asked:
"How do we observe the mind?"
Ajahn offers some reflections on superficial layers of the mind (like thinking) and deeper layers that can only be accessed in Samādhi.
Ajahn also responds to a second question on mindfulness of feelings:
"How to Distinguish wordly and spiritual feelings?"
Spiritual happiness generated through good karma, generosity, virtue, sense retraint and samādhi/jhāna is so important, as it provides us with a superior happiness than sensuality.
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Ajahn Dhammasiha responds to a question about Euthansia.
He explains that the Buddha never encouraged or condoned the killing of other human beings at all, never mind the supposed motive or justification.
The first precept to abstain from intentionally killing of living beings is unambiguous - it has no 'exceptions' under any circumstance.
Any killing of human beings is very serious karma.
However, if we participate in, or encourage, the killing ("euthanasia") of our mother or father (which can easily occur in the context of "euthanasia"), we're getting involved in what the Buddha declared as one of the five worst forms of evil karma possible (5 Anantarika Kamma - see e.g. Anguttara Nikāya Fives No 129).
It's not compassionate at all to kill.
Compassionate is to look after dying people, to provide them with excellent palliative care and really good pain management. Compassionate is to spiritually console dying persons, to prepare them for the transition to the next life, and to encourage them to let go of all attachments.
If we normalize killing of human beings ("euthanasia"), those suffering from a chronic and expensive-to-treat disease will feel pressure to have themselves killed ("euthanized") to reduce expenses and burden of looking after them.
As physicians are the ones doing the killing ("euthanasia"), the ethic foundation of the whole medical profession is undermined. A doctor should first of all do no harm. We must be able to fully trust our physicians and nurses that they are committed to preserving our lives, to cure us from disease and to wish us to live.
How can we trust the medical profession if they are now the ones who are also killing us?
Ajahn points out that a completely materialistic philosphy underlies modern Westen medical science. They simply don't know about consciousness/mind, they only know and describe course material phenomena. They believe that after death there's simply nothing.
Of course, in reality there NOT nothing after death, but what we call mind or consciousness survives death and continues on to a new life.
Consequently, killing any being does not 'free them from suffering', it only means that we can not see their suffering anymore. Only an Arahant attaining Nibbāna is truly free from suffering.
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Āsāḷhā is the full moon marking the beginning of the 3 months rains retreat (Vassa). It's also the day commemorating the first formal teaching of the Buddha, the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta ('Setting in Motion the Wheel of Dhamma').
Ajahn Dhammasiha offers reflections on the 4 Noble Truths (Cattāri Ariya-Saccāni) that the Buddha expounded in that discourse. In particular, he points out that these 4 Noble Truths are not just some theoretical concepts, but they are a pragmatic teaching, they are applicable ('opanayiko'), we have to do something with them in order to realize the intended result: Freedom from Suffering.
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On occasion of Asalha Full Moon, Ajahn Dhammasiha offers reflections on the Four Noble Truths.
Whenever we experience pain and disappointment; when we feel hurt, offended, depressed, upset; we usually search for some EXTERNAL cause for all this suffering.
Maybe we come to the conclusion that our boss, or our mother in law, or our spouse, or the kids, or the politicians and those in power are to blame for the fact that we are hurting.
Or else it's the weather; or some sickness, some virus; or perhaps the mozzies or this or that...
This conclusion is not necessarily wrong. We may even be able to eliminate some specific suffering we experience by changing or manipulating the behaviour of the people that cause us harm.
However, this approach will never get us out of suffering completely:
First of all, often we don't have the power to change the persons that cause us pain. There are so many external causes of our suffering that are completely outside of our control.
Secondly, even if we can change one person, then someone else will come along and do things we don't like. Removing external causes will only give us a short break, it never removes suffering permanently.
Instead, the Buddha looked at the INTERNAL causes of suffering, namely craving, attachment, clinging, delusion of ownership, ignorance and so on.
This approach has two huge advantages:
First, as it's internal, we actually have control over it - it may not be easy to abandon craving and attachment, but at least it's possible.
Secondly, once we get rid of craving and attachment completely, all suffering is gone as well; and even better, it can never come back, we've found a permanent solution 😊Dhammagiri Website
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Ajahn Dhammasiha recently spent at few days in Bodh Gaya, India, to visit and mediate at the Mahabodhi Temple.
This is the very spot where the Buddha attained supreme awakening. In fact, it is said that the 3 previous Buddha's in our aeon, also realized Sambodhi in this same spot.
Ajahn Dhammasiha talks about the amazing strength of the spiritual energy one can experience at the 'Vajirāsana' ('Diamond Throne'), the seat under the Bodhi tree where the Buddha defeated Māra and the defilements and released his heart from all attachment, craving and ignorance.
He explains that he can not recommend too highly the value of going on pilgrimage to this sacred site; the impact on one's Dhamma practice is often profound.
Ajahn also talks about the fetter of Sīlabbataparāmāsa ('clinging to rites and rituals' / 'believing in purification through external actions of body and speech'). Whether on pilgrimage, or in our regular meditation practice, it's not about the body and the movements, rituals and activities the body performs; instead it's about the impact these external activities have on our mind.
If we sit meditation, or perform puja at a sacred site, but the mind is actually developing unwholesome states of desire or aversion, we're wasting our time.
We always have to observe carefully what is the effect of any activity on our mind, does it really lead to a diminishing of unwholesome states, and an increase in wholesome states.
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Ajahn Dhammasiha is asked about supportive conditions to make our Metta Meditation (Loving Kindness) stronger and more successful:
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The Buddha has given us the following amazing promise:
"In the Dhamma well proclaimed by me thus, which is clear, open, evident, and free of patchwork, those who have sufficient faith in me, sufficient affection for me, are all going to be reborn in heaven."
(The Buddha, Majjima Nikāya/Middle Length Discourses, #22 'Alagaddāpama Sutta'/'The Simile of the Snake)
Even if we can not attain full Nibbāna yet, and do not yet have the insight of a stream-enterer either, just by having a sufficient amount of confidence, faith and affection to the Buddha, we're already assured a heavenly rebirth as a deva!
This extraordinary promise of the Buddha is something we can bring to mind whenever fear or anxiety threaten to overwhelm our mind. The ultimate fear is usually the fear of death. But if we understand that death is not the end, but simply the transition to a new rebirth; and if we are confident that we have sufficient faith and affection for the Buddha to be reborn in devaloka, then death can no longer terrify us. When the fear of death can't overwhelm our mind any more, then all anxiety will be dramatically diminished.
When we're no longer controlled by fear and anxiety, we are able to clearly discern what's beneficial for ourselves and others. Fear can no longer be used to manipulate us to do harmful things to ourselves and others. Free from fear and filled with faith and conficence, the mind is bright and joyful. With a bright and joyful mind, our immune systems work at peak performance. With our immune systems strong, we will have less symptoms and better recovery if we catch any virus, or any other form of sickness.
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Ajahn Dhammasiha explains how to contemplate the Four Noble Truths ('Cattāri Ariyasaccāni') within the framework of Breath Meditation ('Ānāpāṇasati'):
Finally, Ajahn Dhammasiha indicates how all eight path factors of the Middle Way ('Majjimā Paṭipadā') are being activated as we meditate in the way discribed above (= Fourth Noble Truth)
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This is the story of the Buddha's greatest miracle presented by Ajahn Moneyyo: The Fire Sermon (Adittapariyaya Sutta) and the conversion of the three Kassapa brothers and their 1000 disciples. Chapters:0:00 Let's start...0:24 The three Kassapa Brothers6:23 The Buddha arrives at Uruvela Kassapa's ashram09:04 The fiery battle with the Naga King14:22 Sakka and Brahma come to visit the Buddha16:07 Spending an afternoon in the Himalayas19:17 The great flood - The 1000 ascetics take refuge24:35 The greatest Miracle: The Miracle of instruction27:40 The Fire Sermon31:54 The most successful discourse of the Buddha33:02 How to practice to make the mind uninflammableby desire, aversion and delusion36:32 One thing to develop - Wise attention51:10 The next big move of the Buddha...For more Dhammatalks about the life of the Buddha, click on the link below: • The Life of the Buddha After the Buddha sucessfully lead his first 60 monk disciples to awakening in the Deer Park of Isipatana a few month after his awakening he sends them out in all directions to proclaim his teaching so that as many people as possible get an opportunity to hear it.The Buddha himself goes to Uruvela because he knows that there is a large group of people who are capable to understand his teaching quickly: The three brothers Uruvela-Kassapa, Gaya-Kassapa and Nadi-Kassapa - Three fire worshipping ascetics who live there together with their 1000 disciples.The Buddha is arriving at Uruvela-Kassapa's hermitage as an unknown recluse, just a few months after his awakening, while Uruvela-Kassapa is a famous spiritual teacher who believes that he is already a spiritually perfected person with a very large group of disciples.The Buddha is using his psychic powers on many occasions to undermine Uruvela-Kassapa superiority conceit until he finally takes refuge and submits to the Buddha as his teacher - and his brothers and all their 1000 disciples with him! The Buddha is then leading his 1000 new monk disciples to Gaya Sise, a hill to show them the greatest miracle: The miracle of instruction, the possibility to teach others the path of awakening - by teaching them the Fire Sermon.In the "Fire Sermon" (Adittapariyaya Sutta) the Buddha is teaching 1000 former fire worshipping ascetics that our five senses, the mind and the sense objects are burning in the fire of desire, aversion and delusion. However, the Buddha is also teaching the way of practice how to extinguish the fire and he says if we understand one thing deeply we can make our mind uninflammable for desire, aversion and delusion, so that our mind can never be set on fire again and has realized complete peace. This one thing that we have to understand is wise attention and unwise attention (yoniso manasikara and ayoniso manasikara)...more about it in this Dhamma-Talk. A translation of the Adittapariyaya Sutta: https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN... A few discourses about yoniso manasikara and ayoniso manasikara: Majjhima Nikaya 2 https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/MN... Samyutta Nikaya 46:51 https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN...
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