The House of Inner Tranquillity Podcast

It's important to distinguish the cultural trappings of Buddhism from the inner teaching - specifically, the 4 noble truths. Suffering is covered in detail (sub-divided into: intrinsic, due to change, due to formations; hidden, revealed). Suffering falls away when it is looked at and accepted - but we all tend to avoid doing this, thereby perpetuating our suffering.  Jacqui James was a Buddhist In...

We often speak in terms of perfection: the perfect relationship, car or boss, for example. Perfection in this sense is an unattainable myth. Perfection, as a qualitative rather than a quantitative term, can be applied to the meditation, first looking at perfect sila as freedom from craving and hatred in the moment, then covering the other sections of the 8-fold Path.  Alan James founded the House...

Some people claim that you are already enlightened and simply have to realise it. In this talk, Paul suggests this presumes that unenlightened people have ordinary minds. Only enlightened people, he maintains, have ordinary minds. The rest have extraordinary minds, as they are warped and corrupted by ignorance, craving and hatred. The ignorant mind takes it entirely for granted, seeing it as ordin...

The training rejects all speculations. It is rare to be born human. Life after death and emotional responses are reviewed. First noble truth:- attachment to Earth life is the problem. Second noble truth:- yearning to belong, but there is no peace where there is craving and hatred. There are lessons to learn from being human before progressing onward. What happens to a meditator after death? Emphas...

Our culture encourages us to forge an identity and stand out from the crowd. At the same time there is a requirement that we conform to society's expectations. The Buddha's teaching goes against the stream of worldly thinking and, to this degree, is non-conformist. Yet, to reap the benefits of following this way, a student must willingly conform to the training and the teachers instructions. This...

Steve Hemmingsley is a meditation student at the House of Inner Tranquillity. Together with the Centre's Spiritual Director, Paul Harris, they discuss how to incorporate both the philosophy and practice of the Buddha's teaching in one's life. Timestamp:  00:00  When learning about the practice, can we over attach to knowledge?   05:40  As we match our direct experience with intellectual understand...

 We ignore our rich inner life, but we can turn our minds inward to see what is immediate and personal. We see that we act according to our characters. The three character types described. We see our minds are very busy and need quieting. This is done in steps. (1) We take refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha. (2) We exercise sense restraint, physical and mental. (3) We develop our meditation, min...

American colleges are attempting to prevent students experiencing anything that may trigger anxiety or cause the to feel offended. Yet the students are experiencing ever-greater levels of psychological distress. This talk discusses how attempting to avoid the painfulness of life only generates and perpetuates yet more suffering, and how following the Buddha's Path resolves these issues properly. P...

Self-development is the gradual and systematic eradication of self-importance, the major obstacle on the spiritual path. Ultimately there is no self. When speaking in conventional terms, however, the Buddha often referred to 'self'. He taught that each of us could be said to have three selves:- 1) physical body self - developed by sila (five precepts) to counter the five guilty dreads (described i...

We are making the audio files from the House of Inner Tranquillity YouTube channel available. This is a series concerning the practical application of the Buddha's teaching through the development of vipassana (Insight meditation). This episode looks at what happens at the culmination of each of the four Insight paths and its implications. Paul Harris is the Spiritual Director and principal teache...

Metta is the Buddhist term for friendliness or loving-kindness. Regular practise of this technique leads to a change in the culture of our minds, bringing openness, friendliness and faith in life. Paul Harris is the Spiritual Director and principal teacher at the House of Inner Tranquillity Buddhist Insight Meditation Centre, based in the south-west of England.

We are making the audio files from the House of Inner Tranquillity YouTube channel available. This is a series concerning the practical application of the Buddha's teaching through the development of vipassana (Insight meditation). This episode explores four qualities of mind needed for success in meditation. These are clarity of purpose, strong intent, sincere application and gentle persistence. ...

Are there side-effects to practicing mindfulness or is it that people are practicing without properly understanding what it is all about? To practise well one needs to develop an understanding of the theory to help overcome mistaken assumptions. One also needs to protect and train oneself by learning to live in a harmless and friendly way. Finally, one must train under an experienced instructor, t...

We are making the audio files from the House of Inner Tranquillity YouTube channel available. This is a series concerning the practical application of the Buddha's teaching through the development of vipassana (Insight meditation). This episode explores the first three fetters that meditators deal with on the way to developing insight-wisdom. Paul Harris is the Spiritual Director and principal tea...

Brother Theo is a Buddhist monk at the Monastery of Absolute Harmony. Together with Paul Harris, the Spiritual Director of the Centre, they discuss the life of a full-time monastic. Running Order: 00.00 What are the conditions and requirements for someone to come into full-time training? 08:40 What is the difference between the way of training practiced here and the approach in which people might...

Video series concerning the practical application of the Buddha's teaching through the development of vipassana (Insight meditation). This episode is an initial overview of the ten fetters, aspects of mind that bind us to our mistaken view of the world and interfere with our attempts to develop insight-wisdom. Paul Harris is the Spiritual Director and principal teacher at the House of Inner Tranqu...

Empathy may be defined as being able to see life from different points of view. Attachment to views creates conflict because it blinds us to other points of view. The Buddha was a true diplomat and never took sides in disputes. He understood the underlying structures that govern life. Practising the Noble Eightfold Path we too begin to recognise these same governing principles. As a result, our ab...

We are making the audio files from the House of Inner Tranquillity YouTube channel available. This is a series concerning the practical application of the Buddha's teaching through the development of vipassana (Insight meditation). This episode discusses some practical issues to bear in mind about how to develop insight-wisdom. Paul Harris is the Spiritual Director and principal teacher at the Hou...

Why is thinking so hard to switch off when we meditate? We have been developing a personal narrative since the moment we were born that we use to define and reinforce belief in our individuality. In the absence of such storytelling we can no longer locate ourselves in time/space. But how accurate are these narratives? This talk explains how deceptive facts, views and memory can be and shows us how...

We are making the audio files from the House of Inner Tranquillity YouTube channel available. This is a series concerning the practical application of the Buddha's teaching through the development of vipassana (Insight meditation). This episode looks at the nature of consciousness.  Paul Harris is the Spiritual Director and principal teacher at the House of Inner Tranquillity Buddhist Insight Medi...

All people seek an end of distress. Some favour food, work, drugs etc; others through meditation. But many meditate with wrong priorities and so continue to suffer. Explains ways of checking to see if we are prone to this problem. If so we need to practise humility, compassion, self-discipline, obedience. The wrong priorities are obsession with: 1) progress; 2) pleasure; 3) stimulation; 4) views;...

We are making the audio files from the House of Inner Tranquillity YouTube channel available. This is a series concerning the practical application of the Buddha's teaching through the development of vipassana (Insight meditation). This episode explores more deeply the  much misunderstood universal characteristic of non-self. Paul Harris is the Spiritual Director and principal teacher at the House...

The nature of existence is inherently unsatisfactory and uncontrollable, and suffering arises from ignoring and resisting the truth that this is the way life really is. All suffering can be transcended but before we can deal with the inherent problem, we must first know how to deal with the conscious expression of resistance. This requires meditators to learn about how hindrances work and to utili...

We are making the audio files from the House of Inner Tranquillity YouTube channel available. This is a series concerning the practical application of the Buddha's teaching through the development of vipassana (Insight meditation). This episode explores more deeply the universal characteristic of suffering.     Paul Harris is the Spiritual Director and principal teacher at the House of Inner Tranq...

"It's not that I'm afraid to die," said Woody Allen, "I just don't want to be there when it happens." This talk looks at how training in the Buddha's way helps us prepare for the inevitable transition from this life to another. Reflecting on the finite nature of this earthly existence and taking up the view of rebirth encourages us to perform good actions. Seeing the arising and passing away of th...