Ajahn Anan Podcast

During this talk, Ajahn Anan tells us of great teachers who had passed away in peace. Even though their bodies were full of illness, their minds were radiant and joyful. To listen to most recent talks, you can visit our YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/ajahnanan To join Ajahn Anan and the Wat Marp Jan Community online for daily chanting, meditation, and a Dhamma talk, you can email wmjdhamma@...

In this videoconference talk from 14 May, 2021, Ajahn Anan discusses the determination and sacrifice that many people had, in order to help others in the fight against COVID-19. "So all the people of this world need to help each other. It's like all the people in the world are fighting with a vicious enemy. That is this covid-19 virus. It is an enemy that is tiny and miniscule, which we cant see....

2021.04.22 | When we learn to drive a car, we study about it in books first. But it’s only when we actually start trying to drive that we begin to become skilled. Dhamma is the same—we can read about it in books, but this knowledge doesn’t go in so deep. Only when we get down to meditation can we clearly understand reality. To listen to most recent talks, you can visit our YouTube page: https...

2021.04.21 | The mind under the influence of delusion grasps at things of this world, such as the body, as a self, a ‘me’ or ‘you’. Grasping at things as a self is nothing but suffering. So we train our minds to put down the heavy burden of grasping things as self through the path of virtue, collectedness, and wisdom in order to reach true lightness and freedom from all stress. To listen to m...

2021.04.19 | No state of birth is eternal. We seek the Dhamma, true peace and happiness. To reach this goal we must be firm and continuous in our efforts, like making a fire by rubbing sticks together. We come back to our meditation object, make the mind peaceful, then contemplate with wisdom to see the truth clearly, thereby realizing freedom. To listen to most recent talks, you can visit ou...

When we have reached a state of calm, there's no need to give it a label. Like fruit in a basket—what people name them is insignificant; what's important is that we taste their flavor. To listen to most recent talks, you can visit our YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/ajahnanan To join Ajahn Anan and the Wat Marp Jan Community online for daily chanting, meditation, and a Dhamma talk, you can e...

2021.04.18 | We can study about the stages of dependent origination in books, but it happens so quickly in reality that very few people are able to observe them. Like falling from a tree—we only know that we’ve hit the ground and it hurts. So, given this, what do we do? We focus at the point where the mind attaches, and see how that is the cause of suffering. To listen to most recent talks, y...

2021.04.17 | After hearing the news of a disciple in hospital with stage four cancer, Ajahn Anan gave this talk about how we should prepare ourselves now for our last moments. To listen to most recent talks, you can visit our YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/ajahnanan To join Ajahn Anan and the Wat Marp Jan Community online for daily chanting, meditation, and a Dhamma talk, you can email...

In this videoconference talk from 7 May, 2021, Ajahn Anan discusses the 7 types of inner wealth and why they are so important. "The outer wealth, the money and gold, is not lasting, stable, or doesn't stay safe. Sometimes it may be taken from us. This wealth may disappear one day. It is possible. Or it may be a cause for its owner to get into big trouble. If the owner likes to boast, like they wea...

"Put a fish on land and he will remember the ocean until he dies. Put a bird in a cage and he'll never forget the open sky." So why is it that us humans have forgotten our true home—the radiant, joyful purity of our original mind? In this talk inspired by a poem by the zen master Han Shan, Ajahn Anan tells us how we can return to where we really belong. To listen to most recent talks, you can visi...

2021.04.14 | Reflecting on the Thai New Year, Songran, we reflect on the Dhamma. We are fortunate to be alive and to meet with the teachings of the Buddha. We reflect that all conditions are unstable and we practise to purify our hearts. We contemplate that all phenomena arise, stay for a little while, and pass away—we can be confident that this is the way to see the Dhamma for sure. To liste...

2021.04.13 | Some people ask, “Why do we have to take precautions with COVID-19? Won’t the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha protect us?” But it doesn’t work like that. The Buddha taught us to be heedful, to see how everything is uncertain. To listen to most recent talks, you can visit our YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/ajahnanan To join Ajahn Anan and the Wat Marp Jan Community online for dai...

2021.04.12 | What we are doing when we sit in meditation, is making new friends, getting our hearts closely acquainted with wholesome objects that lead to peace and wisdom. The problem is that we also have old friends—the qualities that prevent inner calm and stability. We need to break away from these old, bad friends, and be faithful to our new ones. To listen to most recent talks, you can...

In a talk the day prior to Ajahn Somchai's birthday, Ajahn Anan tells us of children's capacity for realising truth, if only we can get them to listen to the Dhamma. He then speaks about the pain hidden within our bodies, and Ajahn Chah's great bravery and endurance in getting all of his teeth pulled in one go. To listen to most recent talks, you can visit our YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com...

2021.04.10 | On the occasion of Markus’ ordination as a novice, Ajahn Anan teaches about the meditation objects he received from his preceptor. To listen to most recent talks, you can visit our YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/ajahnanan To join Ajahn Anan and the Wat Marp Jan Community online for daily chanting, meditation, and a Dhamma talk, you can email wmjdhamma@gmail.com for the lin...

2021.04.08 | The five khandas are like heavy rocks. If someone carries them around everywhere they go, never able to put them down, they will always suffer. Even happiness can be suffering, if we cling to it. The Buddha was able to put all of these things down, and realized the peace and joy of an unburdened heart. This is something that we too can realize, if we walk this path. To listen to...

If we live our lives day by day, finding money to eat and drink then going to sleep, we're no better than chickens. Many people in the world live in this way. But having gained a human birth, we should set our hearts on growing in goodness and cultivating our minds. In doing so, we give true value to our lives and honor this great opportunity. To listen to most recent talks, you can visit our YouT...

"Is this right for me? Am I doing it correctly? Maybe I should use another method..." In this talk, Ajahn Anan explains the nature of uncertainty in meditation, and how much doubt he had himself. He teaches us that the contemplation of emptiness is an effective way to not only cut through doubt, but also transcend all deluded clinging to a self. 

In this videoconference talk from 30 April, 2021, Ajahn Anan discusses the topic of training in discipline, together with a story of venerable Upāli Thera. "In times of disaster, during this world pandemic, we have to be careful. We have to have the 5 precepts to protect and look after our minds. And when we have sila, this sila will protect us to not fall to a place where we will receive sufferin...

When we see conventional reality as being absolute truth, we're in trouble. We believe that this body—a collection of protons, neutrons and electrons—is really me. We fixate on labels like male or female, human or animal. All of this causes us endless struggle and distress. It's when we see that these conventions are mere creations of our minds that we transcend them and discover the happiness of...

When we've refined our speech and actions, and learned to settle our minds and gather them inwards, our hearts gain enough energy to see into the truth. By perceiving the nature of ourselves and the world around us, we put down the anger and ignorance that has been burdening us for so long. We are free.  

In this talk, Ajahn Anan speaks about how we best teach others by setting an example with our practice, trusting in the path to take us to liberating insight. To listen to most recent talks, you can visit our YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/ajahnanan To join Ajahn Anan and the Wat Marp Jan Community online for daily chanting, meditation, and a Dhamma talk, you can email wmjdhamma@gmail.com f...

2021.04.06 | We can recollect stories of Lord Buddha or his great disciples, such as Queen Samavati, which can give rise to joy, rapture, and peace. With a mind well-collected we can then clearly see anicca, dukkha, and anatta, cutting through the ties that bind us to suffering. With one foot on the shore of freedom, we keep practising to cut through the ties that bind the mind, in order to r...

2021.04.04 | It’s natural for Dhamma practitioners to want good things, and only good things. We think we should be good people and have no bad thoughts. The problem is that it’s also natural for us to have bad thoughts. In this talk, Ajahn Anan tells us how we can not allow this to become a source of turmoil for us, and learn to put things down. To listen to most recent talks, you can visit...

In this talk given at the end of the annual rains retreat, Ajahn Anan speaks about the precious opportunity we have as practitioners to develop the heart. To listen to most recent talks, you can visit our YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/ajahnanan To join Ajahn Anan and the Wat Marp Jan Community online for daily chanting, meditation, and a Dhamma talk, you can email wmjdhamma@gmail.com for t...