The House of Inner Tranquillity Podcast

We have been telling ourselves and expanding upon the story of our lives since the moment we became conscious and self-reflecting as children. Now, when we meditate, we find these narratives to be an obstacle to our calm and happiness. This talk discusses how to improve the story of our lives in order that there be fewer to distract us when we meditate. Further we can learn how to remove ourselves...

What constitutes a good Buddhist? Mindfulness is called ‘choice-less awareness’ which means acknowledging and accepting the parts of our personality we consider negative. This way we can see that all mental states have the nature to change and are not ‘me’ or ‘mine’. This talk gives an overview of the four applications of mindfulness and stresses the need for establishing the right context for our...

People want evidence of rebirth, but what proof is there for a one-life view, of an entity that continues unchanged by conditions? There is, however, overwhelming evidence of the transient processes that give rise to conscious experience. We routinely will actions into being, and learning to use volition skilfully ensures pleasant future results. Developing insight wisdom gradually removes all mis...

Is it possible to always love the people around you? Paul explains that the realisation of ‘non-separation’ or ‘non-duality’ found at enlightenment is the realisation of love, however it is much more subtle than many think. Following a spiritual path helps us transcend the apparent divisions between things. For instance, practicing compassion brings the understanding of what unites us, rather than...

Composure is the attitude of being self-possessed, or the absence of wildness. The Buddha encouraged his monks to adapt this mental quality in order to deal successfully with the ever-changing conditions of the world. This talk discusses four key aspects to develop mastery in composure: our views and intentions; being harmless; knowing oneself and realising emptiness. Even when you stub your toe,...

What can we do when the mind is gripped by resentment? The Buddha encouraged students not to repay mean and hurtful behaviour in kind. Instead he taught loving-kindness as a way to respond positively. This talk explains various reflections we can employ to help release ourselves from resentment when it arises. When we can send out metta equally to everyone, including those with whom we have experi...

The topic of food is a good way to show us how the Buddha's teaching works. He advocated generosity as a simple way to learn about action and result, and established the tradition of giving alms. The talk looks at the problems of obesity and anorexia, and how to mindfully deal with craving for food. Using Vipassana meditation we to observe the transient nature of the six senses and in so doing ove...

To find lasting peace, love and understanding requires us to examine our deeply held assumptions about life and this requires commitment. In the world, we gauge a thing's worth by how difficult it is to acquire - there is always a cost. The cost of following the Buddha's way is in giving up our choices and options. This talk explains two levels of commitment: external and internal, and demonstrate...

To find the highest happiness, the Buddha said, you have to know how this life works, rather than being preoccupied with the past or trying to make the future as you wish it to be. This talk looks at the Buddha's teaching on non-self, a much misunderstood aspect of his description of reality. Alan James founded the House of Inner Tranquillity, along with his wife Jacqui James in 1980. He continued...

Descriptions of enlightenment are like postcards in that they express what it's like to go 'beyond' but can never produce the experience itself. This talk looks at the value of hearing descriptions, debunks a few of the myths that surround it and discusses the limitations and dangers of all such descriptions. Hearing more and better descriptions cannot bring about the realisation. Rather, we must...

A talk on mindful investigation of what in Buddhism is known as the materiality aggregate. Are the fundamental building blocks of our physical universe dependable? What is the relationship between the material world and mind?  Paul Harris is the Spiritual Head and principal meditation teacher at the House of Inner Tranquillity.       This talk was given in December 2004, when Paul was still a monk...

What are some of the qualities of an "unshakeable" mind, the meditative mind that is capable of investigating and comprehending the deeper realities of existence? Paul Harris is the Spiritual Head and principal meditation teacher at the House of Inner Tranquillity.      This talk was given in October 2018

It could be said that there are as many definitions of love as there are people; from greed and attachment at one end of the spectrum to religious or mystical experience at the other. This talk describes how following the Buddhist training helps to develop and nurture our capacity to love by gradually discarding selfish action that harms ourselves and others, and generating relatively unselfish ac...

Spiritual teachings often portray life as an eternal dance, coming and going, twisting and turning, rolling up, evolving and dissolving, changing and changing again, all the while saying that this apparent movement is nothing more or less than "maya"  illusion. Alan James founded the House of Inner Tranquillity, along with his wife Jacqui James in 1980. He continued to teach the way to enlightenme...

Seeking is craving. If you seek calm, all you get is turmoil. If you seek wisdom, all you get is stupidity. You need to learn how to abandon the search for happiness. When you finally stop seeking, then, and only then, can happiness visit you. Jacqui James was a Buddhist Insight meditation teacher and the co-founder of the House of Inner Tranquillity. Jacqui passed away in 1989, aged only 42.   Th...

Some people are attracted to the Buddha's teaching because of its exotic eastern cultural heritage. At the House of Inner Tranquillity, we choose not use wind-chimes or prayer flags and neither do we chant or sit cross-legged. One student was disappointed about that and suggested that we "hadn't quite caught the essence of Buddhism."  This talk considers the Buddha's most fundamental teaching, the...

An outline of best practice for metta, a Buddhist meditation technique for the development of loving-kindness, friendliness and patience. Alan James founded the House of Inner Tranquillity, along with his wife Jacqui James in 1980. He continued to teach the way to enlightenment until his retirement in 2010.  This talk was originally given in December 1981. It has been remastered but the sound qual...

Myths abound about the goal of the Buddha's teaching. Is enlightenment really absolute goodness and, if so, how do we define goodness? Is it the end of all desires, even the desire to get up in the morning? This talk looks at how wrong ideas about nibbana can warp a meditator's practice and how to let go of them, whilst continuing to walk the Buddha's Noble Path. Paul Harris is the Spiritual Head...

Following the Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path requires us to generate and encourage the growth of right speech. There is more to speech, however, than simply the words we use. We are in constant communication with one another both verbally and non-verbally. Paul Harris is the Spiritual Head and principal meditation teacher at the House of Inner Tranquillity.   This talk was given in March 2005 when...

How many of us have felt frustrated and disconnected from life? How many of us have felt that there must be more to life than just going to work everyday to earn money in order to eat just to go back to work again the next day? The infinite is calling each and everyone of us. It calls in a deep, silent voice, one that we find extremely difficult to recognise… Alan James founded the House of Inner...

We have a genetic heritage and an identity created for us when we enter this world. Is that, however, who we really are? In this talk Paul describes life as seen from the point of view of a Buddhist practitioner who is open to the idea of rebirth and that we are inheriting the results of our own past actions. Through the development of vipassana, insight-wisdom, we can come to realise that which l...

The idea behind this talk will only really make sense if we first accept that the purpose of life is to realise nibbana, the cessation of suffering. Alan James founded the House of Inner Tranquillity, along with his wife Jacqui James in 1980. He continued to teach the way to enlightenment until his retirement in 2010.   This talk was originally given in April 1985

The title of the talk says it all, but, as Jacqui points out, the difficulties faced by newcomers to meditation may still be just as relevant for those with years of meditative experience. Despite the age of the talk, the points raised are just as pertinent for today's practitioners. Jacqui James was a Buddhist Insight meditation teacher and the co-founder of the House of Inner Tranquillity. Jacqu...

Our modern western education tends to create within us a bias towards a rational, empirical view of the world. When approaching the Buddha's teaching there can be a strong urge to dismiss anything we find that does not conform with such a-priori assumptions. In this talk, Paul discusses why this is a mistake. He contents that there are vastly more things and ways to know and experience than our sc...

A somewhat more technical talk about the Buddha's higher teaching on the constituents of ultimate reality. In meditation, once the mind is calm and free of hindrances, the next step is to turn the attention to investigating and noting the arising and passing of the five aggregates. It is this process that undoes the tendency to passionately crave for life to be different. We recognise that the thi...