Dhammagiri Buddhist Podcasts

Evening chanting on the Quarter Moon Day at Wat Phra Jao Ton Luang, Luang Por Tongdang's monastery near Chiang Mai, Thailand. Ajahn Dhammasiha is visiting, and Luang Por Tong Daeng (Tan Chao Khun Phrarajvachirakhun) has kindly granted permission for the evening chanting to be recorded and published on our podcast. After paying respects and reciting homage to the Buddha, the sangha of about 20...

Mindfully observing impermanence ('anicca') of all conditioned phenomena, whether loved ones, material objects, or our own mindstates, thoughts and emotions, can be challenging, even frightening. Ajahn Dhammasiha points out that the aim of contemplating impermanence is not to get sad or frustated, or to resign oneself to the inevitable loss of everything dear. The real aim of our meditatio...

A family came to share merits with their father/grandfather, who they lost 3 months ago. Ajahn Dhammasiha talks about the process of rebirth. He explains how we can contemplate the impermanence of all conditioned phenomena, and develop insight to let go of attachment. Our Podcast is also available on our own Dhammagiri Website, no need for any special app, just listen in any browser: https://www.d...

Is there a way to overcome the negative consequences of bad karma we may have committed in the past, even in previous lifes? Is karma related to causality? Do I make much bad karma by having angry thoughts? Ajahn Dhammasiha responds to these and related questions. Our Podcast is also on our own Dhammagiri Website, no need for any special app, just listen in any browser: https://www.dhammagiri.net/...

Ajahn Dhammasiha is asked: "What's the process to develop Jhāna?" He explains that it's not so much a particular technique or method that will lead to the attainment of jhāna (full 'absorption' samādhi/'concentration' ), but that we have to gradually weaken the 5 hindrances (5 Nīvaraṇā): Sensual Desire Ill Will / Aversion Laziness / Sleepiness / 'Sloth & T...

Ajahn Dhammasiha responds to a question of a retreatant at Dhammagiri: How can we stop worrying about the future when we try to settle our mind in meditation? Ajahn describes several approaches and reflections we can apply to weaken the hold such thoughts have on our mind. Our Podcast on our own Dhammagiri Website, no need for any special app, just listen in any browser: https://www.dhammagiri.net...

Ajahn Dhammasiha provides a simile for the process of rebirth: Intercontinental Air Travel. When we travel to a distant, exotic country, before we take off at the airport, we better make sure that we have all the essentials with us: Flight Ticket 🎫✈️ Visa 🛂 Credit Card💳 Knowledge 🎓 Similar, for the journey to the next life, which we all will have to travel one day, we better check we've go...

Ajahn Varadhammo is the abbot of Bodhisaddha Monastery, Wilton near Sydney. He has kindly accepted our invitation to our robe offering ceremony in the Kathina month here at Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage. Ajahn Varadhammo is a disciple of Tan Ajahn Anan of Wat Marp Jan, Thailand. He has trained with Tan Ajahn Anan for more than 10 years, until he was invited to lead the establishment of Bodhisaddha m...

10 min short Guided Meditation. Before we focus on our main meditation object, Ajahn Dhammasiha recommends that we quickly recollect blessings and good fortune we have received. Even if we're going through a really rough patch right now, we can always find some good things, if we look carefully. For instance, just being born as a human being, at a time when the teaching of the Buddha is still...

Sutta Study with Ajahn Dhammasiha, Anguttara Nikāya, Book of Tens, No 81, 'Bahuna'. Reading from the English translation by Ven Bhikkhu Bodhi: "Numerical Discourses of the Buddha", page 1440 The Tathagata describes himself as freed from 10 things: 1. Form (Rūpa) 2. Feeling (Vedanā) 3. Perception (Saññā) 4. Intention/Will/Volition (Sankhārā) 5. Consciousness (Viññāṇaṃ) (These are...

10 min short guided Buddhist meditation. The Buddha used the Lotus in many similes. One amazing quality of the Lotus flowers and leaves is that they are totally water repellent. Ajahn Dhammasiha encourages us to let all the various disturbing thoughts, worries, memories, images, feelings and emotions bubbling up in our meditation simply run off of our heart like water of a lotus leaf. Our Podcast...

On the full moon in October, the monks complete their annual 3-months Rains Retreat with the 'Pavāraṇā Ceremony' : They invite constructive criticism from each other regarding anything heard, seen or suspected that one may have done or said against the rules of discipline ('Vinaya') laid down by the Buddha. It is difficult to see one's own weak points, because delusion tends to...

On Mahapavāraṇā Full Moon, which ends the annual Rains Retreat period for Buddhist monks, Ajahn Dhammasiha reflects on the many blessings we receive here at Dhammagiri. It is rare to be born as a human being. It is rare to be born when the teaching of the Buddha is available It is rare to have a Forest Monastery like Dhammagiri, with such excellent conditions for meditative practice ... Reflecting...

We're worried about getting hacked, or becoming victims of identity theft. Nefarious actors may scoop up all our private data after getting access to our computer or online accounts in a 'hack'. However, compared to a hacker getting into our email our bank account, it is far worse that our mind has been 'hacked' by Mara. Defilements, craving, ignorance and delusion have managed...

At the moment of death, the person doesn't vanish into nothingness. What really happens is that what we call 'consciousness' or 'mind' seprates from the body, and then is 'reborn', i.e. connects to a new body due to craving and attachment, depending on the karma one has created in the last as well as previous lifes. In fact, we can already notice how consciousness'...

The Buddha stated that he doesn't see any other Dhamma that is so conducive to the arising of wholesome mindstates, and to the abandonment of unwholesome mindstates, as 'Appamāda'. We can translate 'Appamāda' as diligence, heedfulness, carefulness, earnestness. It has such a poowerful positive aspect on our meditative development, because we're cultivating virtually all who...

As we witness so much suffering, war, calamities and atrocities due to our exposure to media, there's a danger that our heart responds by: Sinking: We may become depressed, embittered, hopeless. Hardening: We just close off our heart, and no longer feel any empathy. We just don't care, we don't bother anymore. Both reponses are unskillful and unbeneficial for both ourselves and other b...

Ajahn Dhammasiha enquires from a newcomer to Dhammagiri if there's anything he'd like to ask or discuss. He answers: "Not really, I''m just observing!" Ajahn really likes that answer, and points out that 'Just Observing' is actually a very profound point of Dhamma. If we can truly 'just observe', without distorting our experience through liking and disliki...

Ajahn Dhammasiha explains 3 principles that provide the foundation for smooth and steady progress in our meditation practice: Grounding our awareness in the body Present moment awareness Internal silence Additionally, he recommends not to use force in applying these principles, but rather to train our mind to recognize that they lead to deeper happiness and contentment. Our Podcast on our own Dham...

Ajahn Dhammasiha opens with some short introductary comments on essential points how to integrate Dhamma practice and daily life into one holistic form of 'Bhāvanā', meditative development. Next, Ajahn fields questions from his Singaporean audience, who are mostly in the 'young working adults' age-group mid 20ies to mid 30ies. This Talk was recorded at Wat Palelai, Singapore, organ...

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 desir...

Ajahn Dhammasiha guides us through a meditation on Not-Self. We use the breath a anchor, and then contemplate all distracting thoughts, images, worries, anxieties and so on that arise in our mind as: This is not me, this is not mine, this is not my Self!" Our Podcast on our own Dhammagiri Website, no need for any special app, just listen in any browser: ⁠https://www.dhammagiri.net/podcast⁠ Mo...

(1) We start by developing Loving Kindness just to one being, whoever we find most easy. Even an animal like a cat or cute puppy will do. Then we have to keep on going until we actually FEEL somthing. Loving Kindness is an emotion, not just a thinking exercise. Even if we take a long time with just one being, that's fine. Once we can really feel the emotion, a lot has been accomplished, and it...

A family has come to share merits with their mother/grandmother/great-grandmother, who they lost a few days ago, at the age of 96 years. In the Dhamma discussion, Ajahn Dhammasiha explains that 'Letting Go' in the way the Buddha actually meant it differs redically from letting go out or heedlessness, negligence and 'I just can't bother'. Often we feel like there's something...

This is a new stereo recording of the chanting we do at the end of every Sunday afternoon session at 5.00 pm, called "Verses of Sharing and Aspiration" You can find it in the Amaravati Chaning Book on page 33: "Through the Goodness that arises from my practice..." We chanting an English translation of the traditional Pali chant known as "Uddissanādhiṭṭhāna-Gāthā" ( &q...