The House of Inner Tranquillity Podcast

The blame culture has become all pervasive and has led to a very paranoid, cautious society. This talk discusses the need for meditators to understand the dynamics of blame. We need to know why we blame; how to respond to it when it comes our way and how, ultimately, to transcend it together. The meditator is encouraged to see being blamed and the painful feelings that arise with it as an opportun...

Is consciousness simply the outcome of chemical processes? Or does the mind condition the arising of physical matter, as Buddhism maintains? These are important questions because the views we hold about how life works influences our aspirations and behaviour. This talk looks at how exploration of our own mind and body through vipassana meditation shows us exactly how life comes into being moment b...

Buddhism is criticised for being 'pessimistic', yet the Buddha often spoke of joy being in the world. Joy can be relatively coarse (arising from inefficient actions, e.g. hunting) or refined (arising from efficient actions, e.g. keeping the precepts). The joy which meditation can develop is better than these, since it's not based on attachment (to inefficiency or efficiency), but on acceptance of...

Volition is that mental quality that wills experience into being. As such we use it all the time and it is present in every moment of consciousness. Volition is kamma and understanding how it works is therefore critical if we wish to live successfully. This talk looks at the active and passive phases of experience, how to balance strong and weak volition, how to use volition to set up mindfulness...

Any withdrawal from reality brings suffering. Meditation increases awareness of suffering; one learns that one is responsible - suffering is volitional. The worse the escapism, the worse the suffering. Increased suffering drives one to find a way out - hence the world is totally compassionate. There can never be eternal hells or hopeless cases. Alan James founded the House of Inner Tranquillity, a...

Not seeing the true profundity of our immediate reality, most people are endlessly caught up in the pursuit of personal fulfilment. Paul describes what it is like to be totally immersed in the dynamism and mystery of life. For example, a walk in the local countryside, although done many times, is experienced as if for the first time. True meditation, he says, is the practice of choice-less awarene...

We all find ourselves in dispute with others from time to time and often, through the mutual need to defend oneself, rows are perpetuated. The discourse of the 'Parable of the Saw' forms the basis for this talk. It shows how the Buddha used stories and illustration to explain how those practicing his way might  deport themselves. Through restraint of negative responses, and the development of lovi...

The learner is the person who, dissatisfied with life, turns to a spiritual way. He remains a learner until he reaches enlightenment - and there can be no sudden leaps in his progress. Progress is won by reducing self-importance; this is achieved by, initially, taking the precepts, and cultivating metta and dana - and sense-restraint. Having established these, one can allay the hindrances long eno...

Most meditators are trying to get on, or are on, the path of stream-winning. Three fetters have to be overcome to reach the end of this, the first section of the total path: doubt, attachment to rule and ritual, and self view are discussed, with their opposites - devotion, adaptability, conditionality. The development of devotion is crucial - if doubt goes, the other fetters go too. Jacqui James w...

Due to ignorance, beings have lost awareness of their innate wholeness and life becomes a restless search to try and rediscover it. This talk discusses restlessness in the form of sensual desire and how underlying issues such as boredom, painful feelings and even quietness perpetuate the desire for life to be different. Through learning to restrain acting upon such desires and generating insight k...

Many come to the Buddha's teaching with fixed ideas and assumptions which cause them to warp the practice and resist instruction. The true path to understanding opens up when we accept that we do not really know. Developing inner honesty and becoming mindful of the transient nature of feelings, we create a space in which to experience the reality of what we do to cause our own suffering. Avoiding...

All passionate involvement in the world stems from the belief that life should be different than it is. The cessation of suffering comes from the total acceptance of life could not be different than it is. The first step in walking the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path is to straighten one’s views to accord with reality. This talk explores two aspects of the training: the Divine Abidings and Insight M...

Paul uses the analogy of a short walk to a gate to explain how it is not so much the Buddha's path to enlightenment that takes the time, but rather it is our habitual tendency to ignore reality and resist life that means we don't go straight to it. It is through vipassana (Insight meditation) that we correct our warped views of life and release ourselves from attachment, for, whilst there is still...

This talk looks at the question 'Why are you here?' in terms of what the Buddha called Mundane Right View. Mundane Right View consists of a list of five statements about the nature of existence. It is maintained that these views are an accurate reflection of the way life really works. As such, the five points of Mundane Right View provide an ideal framework for pondering the question 'Why am I her...

Jacqui talks about the rise and fall. How noting the mark of change alters our perception - to be more aware of transience, of body, feelings and states of mind. Describes how to practice, by repeated observation, retrospection and restraint, to come to see for oneself that comparison is the root of all suffering. When encountering resistance, one learns to not act upon the urge to respond habitua...

Death is not the opposite to life. Through meditation we find that both the arising and passing away of things are equally fundamental and necessary aspects of life. Far from being morbid, death is actually our friend. Reflecting wisely on our mortality brings a zest and lightness to life, helping us make the best choices. Treating death as a wise advisor can help us clarify and focus on what is r...

Outlines the exercising of patience (forbearance) regarding the faults of others and for oneself. Examples within relationships are given; speech and thought are also mentioned. Forbearance is essential for peace of mind. It is brought about by restraining fault-finding, hatred and anger, with the aim of eventually becoming a perfected source of peace, thus being of value both before and after enl...

The Buddha found that peace, happiness and fulfilment are to be found within all of us. The extraordinary is to be found within the ordinary. Trying to move beyond the moment is the problem not the solution. This talk describes a very direct method for stilling the mind in order to unlock the infinite potential inherent within it. Having done so, meditators can develop beautiful states of concentr...

How do we determine what is right and what is wrong? Is it possible for there to be a universal ethic that everyone can agree upon? This talk looks at the process by which ethics are determined and how to live life ethically in the light of the goal of the Buddha's teaching. Paul Harris is the Spiritual Head and principal meditation teacher at the House of Inner Tranquillity.                  This...

Why isn’t it easy just sitting down quietly, calming the mind to see the arising and passing away of things? Paul talks about how suffering is created internally, through the three kinds of craving, the endless striving to make life different. To develop the wisdom necessary to know how to sit quietly, we must be willing to go through the difficulty of learning exactly how we refuse to allow life...

This talk looks at the vipassana meditator's journey to stream-winning, the first of the four paths that make up the Buddhist insight-wisdom training. The relationship between the fetters of personality belief, sceptical doubt and rule and ritual, and how they interfere with progress on the first path are described. Paul Harris is the Spiritual Head and principal meditation teacher at the House of...

We all want meditation to bring happiness, peace, contentment and a vibrancy to living. Paul describes these as our natural state, and that anyone can learn how to craft the best supporting conditions to regularly enjoy such beautiful states of mind. For example, generously thinking of others, by systematically practicing loving-kindness cultivates a divine mental space. The resulting balanced, ha...

A story from the life of the Buddha demonstrates how he maintained an attitude of high vulnerability with regard to who he was and the truth that he stood for. He was, however, also low in emotional investment in others and in dependence on results. This combination meant that he was supremely confident and commanding in all that he did. This talk looks at how following his path is a journey towar...

Even if you cannot currently ordain, everyone attending the House of Inner Tranquillity is part of the beneficial and reciprocal arrangement between the monastic and lay community. Paul uses the example of his own training, and relationship to the teacher, to describe how monasticism presents a unique opportunity for wholehearted practice in lessening self-centredness and developing wisdom. The tr...

This talk on practicing Metta, loving-kindness, is from Venerable Kapilavaddho Bhikkhu, given at the Hampstead Vihara, London, in April 1970. At that time, both Alan (who was ordained) and Jacqui, the founders of the House of Inner Tranquillity, were his students. Using colourful personal accounts from his time practicing in Thai jungles, it gives an overview of the whole practice, and details of...