Dhamma-Vinaya Patipadā Podcast

A Dhamma discussion based on the question... @ Bhante Joe I have a question around balancing contentment and striving. When I was meditating last night I saw how much dissatisfaction I was experiencing over not having the type of meditation experiences I had the last time and wanted again this time. The perceptions and feelings were not as strong and pleasant. I tried forcing it for a bit, and the...

This Sutta and Vinaya study discusses controversies regarding working out and keeping the precept not to eat after solar noon. *** Note: the distinction between milk fat and milk protein appears to be the reason why milk is not allowed after noon, but butter is. Also note that whey protein powder is derived from milk. *** Relevant Sutta and Vinaya Passages: Majjhima Nikāya (MN) MN 2 – Sabbāsava Su...

A Dhamma discussion based on the question... "Dear Bhante, between asubha and 4 elements contemplation for the body, which is a better one to get insight into annata and cut the fetter of Sakkāya-diṭṭhi? I was watching a video of Ajahn (X) and it was mentioned there that asubha is primarily to reduce lust and 4 elements is for insight into annata. Would that be the case? Because in my understandin...

This ovāda discusses the importance of balance and experimentation in Buddhist practice.

A Dhamma discussion based on the question... "Theruwan Saranai Bhante, have you encountered any lay people who have reached supramundane stages of practice, such as attaining the Jhanas or even attaining Sotapanna and/or beyond? What do you think allowed them to reach such stages of practice while still living as laypeople especially in the modern-day with all its distractions etc? (e.g. lifestyle...

This sutta study examines a popular claim that the only way to overcome suffering is to be with the experience without reacting to it. Attempting to change the experience — for example, by focusing on a meditation topic or manipulating thoughts — is seen as negative. The basic assumption is that desire and aversion cannot be used to overcome suffering. In this study, we will look at the suttas to...

A Dhamma discussion based on the following question.. (after speaking about the possibility of bringing relationships with others into balance by withdrawing) "How could I do this if it is with a family member that I can't avoid?"

This ovāda discusses setting goals and dealing with expectations of results in one's practice.

A Dhamma discussion based on the question... Do you ever feel fear from what the Buddha teaches? How long this has been going on, how many lives this ball has been picking up speed. How many times has it been slowed but never fully stopped, leading onto suffering for a long long time. I suppose that is the pessimistic view, one could also hold to that the ball has been slowing for a long time, and...

The ovāda discusses how the world burns with passion at the eyes, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind, and the importance of seeing the cooling of this passion as peace.

A Dhamma discussion based on the question... "While practicing I believe I can sometimes glimpse the impermanent nature of all determinations. For example, I can establish my mind on the impermanence of the breath and recognize that the breath depends on the body as its necessary basis which is in itself also determined by consciousness and thus also impermanent and not worth holding onto. This pr...

This ovāda discusses how to associate with solitary places. It was given at the ancient monastery of Situl Pawa inside Yala National Park.

A Dhamma discussion based on the question... "Is the mindfulness that recognizes the absence of pressure when it is absent, and the presence of pressure when it is present, without being deceived by it, that supreme peace? Or something moving in that direction?" Suttas Referenced: -MN 137 (Equanimity based on multiplicity) -MN 22 (Let go of what's not yours) -SN 51:15 (Four bases of psychic power,...

This ovāda discusses how all beings have happiness as their goal and gives some of the Buddha's strategies to achieve it.

This video is a sutta study evaluating whether the meditation method of intense focus on a single object, such as the breath, is recommended by the Buddha. It is a follow-up to the video “Is Meditation Only for Stream Enterers or Those Who Are Close?” In particular, it builds on the points made in that video—that the Buddha did teach the Satipaṭṭhānas to laypeople, and breath meditation is part of...

This Ovāda discusses how experienced practitioners can lose motivation in meditation and how to overcome it.

A Dhamma discussion based on the question (condensed and paraphrased)... 'Bhante, thank you for giving me the chance to clarify my thoughts in writing—it’s something I rarely do. When I refer to “‘the form (of the Satipatthanas) practiced’ today,” I mean the common methods most meditators now use, such as watching the breath for extended periods. I believe these approaches often address only the s...

This ovāda discusses different levels of refuge and their effectiveness.

A Dhamma Discussion based on the question... "if thinking of samsara as a process or activity; is nibanna the only process or possibility other than samsara? I'm trying to understand nibanna and whether it is an eternal, unchanging state of peaceful existence, or an eternal state of nothingness. If it's not either of these things, what else is it? And specifically, I'm trying to make sense of what...

This ovāda discusses the role of effort and endurance as foundational elements of practice.

A Dhamma discussion based on the question... "Often during meditation, I continuously experience a dreamy type of state when old memories become vivid and captivating. There is a level of comfort and warmth to this, but also some unease as I feel it's a distraction from my main object. I do my best to pull my mind out of these experiences, but they usually continue to come back moments later withi...

This ovāda discusses the way that calm can arises if one perseveres beyond agitation in one's practice. It discusses how to see patterns in what gives rise to states of calm vs states of agitation. It also discusses how to use that knowledge to gain the confidence to step forward in one's practice and into the unknown.

A Dhamma discussion based on the question... "I'm curious to confirm if the bliss referred to (as that which may lie behind the perception of mind), is that which is referred to in the Pali as *piti*. Often the English term "bliss" may be generally (mis)interpreted as intensely pleasurable feeling, like some hugely pleasant esctatic sensation.....perhaps like an overwhelmingly pleasant and long la...

An ovāda based on the Dhammapada verse: All compounded things are impermanent When with wisdom this is seen (One) develops dispassion for the world This is the path to purity

A Dhamma discussion based on the question... "Bhante, can you please explain how anapanasati can develop insight or discernment, or to removal of the defilements? Do you think that the modern variations of mindfulness of breathing can lead to the same "great fruits and great benefits" as how the Buddha taught it?"