Dhammagiri Buddhist Podcasts

As followers of the Buddha, are we devoted to the persuit of pleasure? Amazingly, and perhaps even counterintuitively, the answer is actually 'Yes"! It's not every kind of pleasure, though: we're not persuing happiness based on sensual indulgence, or anything causing harm to other beings. We only persue wholesome, spiritual pleasure, like the happiness one gets from practising generosity and helpi...

Ajahn Dhammasiha reads out and discusses Anguttara Nikāya / Numerical Discourses of the Buddha, Book of Fours, No 21. Shortly after his supreme awakening, the Buddha reflects that without anything to look up to and respect and revere, one dwells in suffering. However, not finding any being in the whole universe that would exceed him in virtue, or samādhi, or wisdom, or release, the Buddha decides...

Ajahn Dhammasiha explains the project to enshrine ultra-long lasting ceremic tablets into our Saddhamma Stupa, inscribed with the most essential suttas. All practitioners of the Dhamma should have their own little anthology of suttas and verses that they really like, to learn by heart, to contemplate, to recite again and again, and to practise & realize. Ajahn gives examples of uniquely profou...

When we contemplate the 4 elements of earth, water, fire and wind, we need conviction that there exists an escape beyond these elements. Without that confidence, a complete materialist would feel very despondent when reflecting on the unreliable, unpredictable and uncontrollable nature of the elements. However, if we have faith in the Buddha's teaching that one actually can go beyond , then th...

With Cyclone Alfred and heavy flooding just having passed over Brisbane, Ajahn Dhammasiha offers reflections on the 4 elements (Cātu Mahābhūta/Dhātu). As the cyclone showed, these 4 material elements of earth, water, fire and wind are unreliable, uncertain, unpredictable and lead to suffering. Fortunately, we can free our mind from attachment to the 4 elements through contemplation and insight, to...

Equanimity, in Pali 'Upekkhā', means letting go of likes and dislikes. Neither aversion nor attraction. The mind is even, balanced, neither attached nor repulsed by whatever sense impressions impinge on us. However, Ajahn Dhammasiha points out that we have to develop Equanimity based on wisdom, insight and understanding. There's a danger that we may mistake states of indifference, carlessness, or...

Towards the end of the session, Ajahn Dhammasiha is passed a note with several existential questions: How could I find meaning in life? Why am I not happy? How can I find inner peace? I can't find my way! Am I stupid? Ajahn tries to respond as succinct as possible within the remaining 15 minutes of the session. ⁠Dhammagiri Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Our culture encourages activity, going out and doing something. We're constantly busy managing our lives, trying to control our environment, trying to influence the behaviour of other persons.  In this Dhamma talk, Ajahn Dhammasiha encourages us to give more attention to the quiet, passive quality of observing. Not interfering at all, but to mindfully know, to be aware of whatever is happening. In...

Ajahn Dhammasiha responds to a variety of questions from a student of University of Queensland, and from other members of the audience. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Dhammagiri Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Our Spotify Playlists⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

The Buddha didn't realize awakening only for himself and was perfect in knowledge and conduct and developed supreme purity, compassion, wisdom and liberation but also had immeasurable compassion and an unique ability to teach and lead others to realize awakening themselves. This made him "the unsurpassable teacher" (anuttaro purisadamma sārathi, lit.: "the unsurpassable trainer of trainable people...

The occasion of Māgha Pūjā commemorates the sponteneous gathering of 1,250 awakened disciples of the Buddha (Arahants) in the Veḷuvana Monastery (Bamboo Grove Monstery) in Rājagaha, and the teaching of the Ovādapātimokkha, a concise summary of the teaching of the Buddha in verse: Abstain from any evil deed, accomplish what is good and true, And fully purify your mind - That is what all the Buddhas...

In this insightful Dhamma Talk, Ajahn Keng Khemako shares powerful teachings on how mindfulness can lead us to a deeper state of silence and inner peace. Discover how the ancient wisdom of Buddhism can be applied to modern life to cultivate a peaceful mind, reduce stress, and experience true stillness. Ajahn Khemako explains that through mindful meditation, we can quiet the noise of the world by t...

There are 10 fetters that bind us to Samsara, the repeated round of birth & death. The third of these 10 'Saṃyojana' is 'Clinging to Rites & Rituals' = Sīlabbataparāmāsa How do we preactise bowing, paying respects, keeping precepts, and offering Dāna to the sangha, without clinging? How do we do these things without getting stuck in the fetter of Sīlabbataparāmāsa? How do we use rituals, b...

RE the practice of Mettā (= Loving Kindness; Unconditional Good Will to All Beings without Distinction) , Ajahn Dhammasiha points out that we should treat people that are angry like we treat people that have fallen sick: When we encounter someone suffering from flu, or perhaps even disabled in a wheelchair, we usually do not feel angry at them for being sick. Instead, we rather feel compassion, an...

One big obstruction for most meditators is incessant thinking. If we find it very difficult to calm the thinking mind, we can try a mantra meditation, like repeating 'Buddho', or 'May All Beings be at Ease'. With the mantra, we're still thinking, we don't have to stop thinking completely, but we're restricting the thoughts to only the mantra. That may be easier than trying to stop thinking complet...

The new 'Saddhamma Cetiya' at Dhammagiri will serve as a focal point to direct and develop our faculty of faith/confidence/conviction ('Saddhā'). However, it's important to understand that faith/confidence is not limited to devotional affection to a particular person. We can also have faith in abstract principles of Dhamma, like: "All conditioned phenomena are not self" "Craving is the cause of su...

Ajahn Keng Khemako is a Singaporean monk of the Thai Forest Tradition. He was ordained in 1987 under the recommendation of Ajahn Thanissaro. One of his main teachers was Luang Pu Jia Cundo, a first generation disciple of Ajahn Mun. He received the title of Chao Khun in 2012. Currently, Ajahn Keng is the Abbot of Santi Forest Monastery (Malaysia) and the Abbot of a hill-tribes forest monastery in O...

Tan Ajahn Geoff Ṭhānissaro talks in this Q&A session about honesty and commitment in Dhamma practice and many other topics. On 29 & 30 November 2024, Tan Ajahn Geoff Ṭhānissaro and Tan Ajahn Keng Khemako have kindly provided time in their very busy schedule in Australia to visit Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage, Brisbane, Queensland. This was an excellent opportunity for the supporters of Dhamm...

Tan Ajahn Geoff Ṭhānissaro gives a Dhamma-Talk about two topics Ajahn Mun frequently reflected on: To practice the Dhamma in line with the Dhamma and to follow the tradition of the noble ones. On 29 & 30 November 2024, Tan Ajahn Geoff Ṭhānissaro and Tan Ajahn Keng Khemako have kindly provided time in their very busy schedule in Australia to visit Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage, Brisbane, Queensla...

Tan Ajahn Geoff Ṭhānissaro is giving a guided meditation on how to practice mindfulness of breathing (Ānāpānasati) as instructed by the Buddha in the Discourse about mindfulness of breathing (Middle Length Discourses No. 118).A translation of the discourse is available here: https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/MN... Further instructions about how to meditate can be found in his book "With each &amp...

Meditation is subjective. It's internal, just concerned with our own internal awareness. If we simply imagine a bright light, or we remember the feeling of a previous very happy meditation, that can sometimes be enough to bring up that joyful feeling, or that bright light, in our mind again. ⁠⁠Dhammagiri Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Our Spotify Pl...

In this guided meditation on Ānāpānasati (Mindfulness of the In and Out Breath), Ajahn Dhammasiha guides us to recognize and experience the subtle energy of the breath throughout our whole physical body. He also emphazises the importance to meditate with joy, and to make the mind as bright and light and alert and awake and aware as possible. Even just imagining a bright light, or imagining that we...

Listen to Part 02 on Spotify Listen to Part 02 on Apple/iTunes Morning Chanting at SBS Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary, Taiping, Malaysia. Info about Sasanarakkha and the Sanghaparinayaka, Ayasma Ariyadhammika: https://sasanarakkha.org Info about Dhammagiri: ⁠⁠⁠Dhammagiri Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Our Spotify Playlists⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

At Christmas time at Dhammagiri, Ajahn Dhammasiha asserts that he is a stong believer in Santa Claus. Not in the literal sense, but he believes in Santa as a symbol of generosity. Santa's job is to give gifts to all children in the world, and he's working very hard to get that all done in one day at Christmas. That's certainly a lot of good karma for him due to his generosity. Not surprising then,...

Tan Ajahn Geoff Thānissaro answers questions of the audience at Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage, Brisbane, Australia. At the first question about Ānāpānasati (mindfulness of the breath), he explains that we can experience the breath throughout the body, not just at the nose tip. 'Breath' doesn't mean just the air going into the nose & lungs, but the suptle energy connected with the breath, that we...