Tisarana Buddhist Monastery

This Dhamma reflection was given by Ajahn Sumedho on the 26th of February at Amaravati Monastery, UK. … Read the rest

Venerable Khemako discusses how calmness and stillness associated with meditation is a means to a higher end, not the end itself. He describes how one’s attention is variable like the weather, and how one can start with a coarse object of meditation and then see whether the mind can observe more details of, for example, the subtleties of the breath. (Dhamma talk recorded at OBS Arnprior retreat on 25 November 2019. Duration 31:34).… Read the rest

Ajahn Viradhammo explains how to disempower difficult states of mind. He discusses how instilling contrasting states of mind can be helpful in becoming aware of and bearing with, for example, the self-critical mind. These contrasting states include body awareness and the Brahmaviharas. The talk concludes with a question and answer period. (Dhamma talk via Zoom recorded on 19 September 2020. Duration 48:00)… Read the rest

Ajahn Viradhammo discusses how our misperceptions of ourselves are strongly conditioned, and feel very real. However, through trusting in the changing nature of mental phenomena, trusting in awareness, and patiently bearing with these difficult self-perceptions, we find the space to appreciate the beauty in our lives. (Dhamma talk via Zoom recorded on 12 July 2020. Duration 31:50)… Read the rest

Venerable Khemako describes how views and opinions are quick sketches and shortcuts for the fullness of the present moment. Once we see this, we can hold our opinions more tentatively and recognize their uncertainty. He encourages us to investigate how the process of constructing opinions unfolds, and thereby providing an opportunity to see something new. (Dhamma talk recorded at Arnprior Retreat 30 November 2019. Duration 47:38)… Read the rest

In this question and answer session, Ajahn Viradhammo discusses how to overcome biases by opening the heart. He also describes how to be socially relevant in difficult times, while inclining the mind towards silence. He also comments on practice-related questions on using the end of the out breath and visual images arising during meditation. (Dhamma talk recorded via Zoom on 16 September 2020. Duration 38:32)… Read the rest

In this wrap up of the online retreat, Ajahn Viradhammo encourages us to trust in awareness, rather than defaulting to a habit of, for example worry. He explains that a willingness to witness our reaction to being in an emotionally vulnerable (but safe) situation is a form of Metta. He encourages us to use meditation as a practice of purification, where we cultivate open-hearted awareness of difficult states of mind. (Dhamma talk recorded via Zoom on 17 September 2020. Duration 30:24)… Read the rest

In this Question and Answer session,Venerable Khemako explains that while part of what we experience as fear is primal and rooted in our human physiology, part of the experience is rooted in a self-schema driven by desire (e.g., wish to remove perceived threats to ego). He also describes how meditation practice can help in the investigation of what triggers our unwholesome desires and mental activity. (Dhamma talk recorded via Zoom on 20 August 2020. Duration 37:14)… Read the rest

Ajahn Viradhammo discusses how important it is for mindfulness to be in the context of Sila (morality) and Panna (wisdom). Each has our own predicament where mindfulness is lost, and Metta (loving-kindness) supports bearing witness to difficult mind states which strengthen mindfulness and awareness. He highlights the importance of constant reflection on uncertainty and enquiry that brings the mind to silent knowing. (Dhamma talk recorded at Tisarana Monastery on 18 August 2020. Duration 37:47)… Read the rest

Ajahn Viradhammo makes a distinction between conventional truths and the stream of consciousness. Both are important to attend to, but witnessing where your stream of consciousness gets preoccupied is the challenge for which meditation helps you prepare. Seeing the silence behind the movement of the mind helps liberate you from Self view. (Dhamma talk recorded via Zoom on 10 July 2020.Duration 37:36)… Read the rest

Venerable Khemako outlines how craving to present one’s self in a certain way is common because of the pressures and reinforcement of earning a living and societal messages. He discusses how practicing the 8-fold path allows us to lift the veil on the automatic processes that generate a craving to become some ideal Self. (Dhamma talk via Zoom recorded on 16 May 2020. Duration 33:27).… Read the rest

Ajahn Viradhammo discusses developing receptive awareness and the cessation of mind states. He explains how witnessing one’s mental reaction to difficult people and situations inclines the mind to cessation, and to realizing that the mental reaction is not who one is. (Dhamma talk via Zoom recorded on 8 May 2020. Duration 38:31).… Read the rest

Ven. Khemako discusses how holding tightly to fixed views and opinions is taking refuge in the unreliable. He explains how, by framing opinions in terms of the 3 characteristics (i.e., Anicca, Dukkha, Anatta), you are taking refuge in the Dhamma. (Dhamma talk at Tisarana Monastery on 1 February 2020. Duration 27:18)… Read the rest

Ajahn Viradhammo describes three types of equanimity. He explains how sila and dhamma vijaya are essential to training in equanimity. (Dhamma talk recorded via Zoom on 3 July 2020. Duration 34:11)… Read the rest

Ajahn Viradhammo describes how attachment to opinions leads to Dukkha. He then explains how seeing an opinion simply as an object in awareness allows the heart to be open in difficult situations (Dhamma talk recorded via Zoom on 26 June 2020. Duration 37:34)… Read the rest

Ajahn Viradhammo discusses the difference between having a clever, confident position on Buddhist concepts versus the use of awareness to discover an existential Right Understanding of reality as we live it. (Dhamma talk recorded via Zoom on 20 June 2020. Duration 34:49)… Read the rest

Tan Khemako responds to some Dhamma questions, including how to deal with one’s mind when it is obsessed by memories of a disagreement at work (Q&A recorded at Tisarana via Zoom on 20 August 2020. Duration 31.08)… Read the rest

Luang Por Viradhammo explains how the realization of the Transcendent is a process of tuning into the heart more than controlling your emotional reactions through mindfulness. (Dhamma talk recorded via Zoom on 18 September 2020. Duration 36:46)… Read the rest

Ajahn Viradhammo gives a Dhamma talk and reflects on how expectations can condition disappointment (Dhamma talk recorded at Tisarana Buddhist Monastery on 25 September 2020. Duration 58.03)… Read the rest

Tan Khemako depicts a spiritual story to explain the conditional process of sense-consciousness, perception, and mental proliferation in the human mind (Dhamma talk via Zoom recorded on 20 August 2020. Duration 33.38)… Read the rest

Tan Khemako offers some reflections on the Buddha’s teaching that all phenomena are rooted in desire (Dhamma talk recorded at Tisarana via Zoom on 20th August 2020. Duration 33.21)… Read the rest

Tan Khemako gives a Dhamma talk about the Deva realms (talk recorded at the Arnprior retreat in Ontario on 29 November 2019. Duration 1:03:37)… Read the rest

Ajahn Viradhammo offers some Dhamma reflections on death and dying (talk recorded at Pak Chong retreat, Thailand, on 1st December 2019. Duration 35.26)… Read the rest

Ajahn Viradhammo gives some Dhamma reflections on the subject of the Brahma-Viharas. … Read the rest

Ajahn Viradhammo gives some Dhamma teachings on using skillful language during meditation to maintain present moment awareness.… Read the rest

Ajahn Viradhammo offers some Dhamma reflections on the theme of uncertainty.… Read the rest

Ajahn Viradhammo gives some Dhamma reflections on the topic of letting go and non-desire.… Read the rest

Ajahn Viradhammo offers some reflections on Dhamma. He talks about bringing our desires into awareness so that we can let them go. … Read the rest

Ajahn Viradhammo answers questions at the Pak Chong retreat. These include; How do I stop drinking alcohol? Are there any studies about what happens to the brain after many years of meditation? How do I practice ‘choice-less awareness’? (Q&A recorded at Pak Chong, Thailand, on 30 November 2019. Duration 47:58)… Read the rest

Tan Khemako answers questions from the retreatants including; What are the qualities of Enlightenment? Do we ever make decisions? What are the four foundations of mindfulness and the seven factors of awakening? What are the five aspects of the grasping mind? (Talk recorded at Arnprior on 28 November 2019. Duration 1:22:30)… Read the rest

Ajahn Viradhammo talks about the four heavenly messengers: the old person, the sick person, the corpse, and the sadu (religious seeker). He recommends that we frequently reflect on these because they will rouse in us a sense of urgency to search for the deathless reality, just as they did for the Buddha. (Talk recorded at Pak Chong on 29 November 2019. Duration 34:59)… Read the rest

Tan Khemako reflects on the five khandas that constitute a ‘human being’, often talked about by the Buddha. Tan Khemako talks about how they feature in the Four Noble Truths teaching, and how we can learn to recognize them in our present moment experience. (Talk recorded at Tisarana on 2 January 2020. Duration 31:41)… Read the rest

On Asalha Puja Ajahn Viradhammo reflects on the word ‘practice’, used nowadays by many monastics and lay meditators to refer to our cultivation of the Path. He suggests the terms investigation, reflection, and enquiry are more fitting for the mind states required to realize the unconditioned (Talk recorded at Tisarana on 16 July 2019. Duration 33.40)… Read the rest

Ajahn Viradhammo answers some more questions during the retreat. He reflects on the pali term Sotāpanna in respect to the first three fetters, and the disadvantage of simply repressing thoughts with a meditation technique. (Talk recorded at Pak Chong on 28 November 2019. Duration 49:38)… Read the rest

Luang Por Viradhammo offers some Dhamma reflections via a Zoom meeting on the subject of doubt, the fifth hindrance to samadhi and also the third fetter to stream-entry. … Read the rest

Ajahn Viradhammo talks about the way our minds attach to views and opinions, and answers a question about how to embrace fear. He gives the example that if we attach to self-criticism after making a mistake, we are simply creating kamma that will lead to future hateful mind-states. (Talk recorded at Pak Chong on 27 November 2019. Duration 44:38)… Read the rest

A recording of Ajahn Viradhammo giving a Dhamma talk via Zoom organized by supporters in Singapore and Malaysia.… Read the rest

Ajahn Viradhammo answers a couple of questions from the retreatants. The first is ‘What is the mind knowing the mind?’ The second is about Metta practice. He then leads a guided meditation on how he deals with drowsiness. (Talk recorded at Pak Chong on 25 November 2019. Duration 42:45)… Read the rest

Ajahn Viradhammo answers questions from some of the retreatants. He reflects on the importance of abiding in wholesomeness, the difference between Tanha and Chanda, and the fact that some of our desires are based on natural, biological requirements of the body. (Talk given at Pak Chong on 26 November 2019. Duration 36:12)… Read the rest

Ajahn Viradhammo gives a Dhamma talk and answers questions from members of the Ottawa Buddhist Society via Zoom for their Friday night meditation on May 08. This new way of communication has proven beneficial for it allows more access for those who previously could not attend in person. Much appreciation to those who put in time and energy to make this work.… Read the rest

Tan Khemako explains the meaning of the phrase “The Dhamma is beautiful in the beginning, beautiful in the middle, and beautiful in the end”. This is a line from the Pali Canon that we recite during the morning chanting. (Dhamma Talk recorded at Arnprior on 26 November 2019. Duration 57:58)… Read the rest

On the second day of this retreat Ajahn Viradhammo talks about the Middle Way of dealing with unpleasant bodily feeling. He reflects that it is important not to attach to aversion for the pain, and not to change posture immediately there is discomfort. (Talk recorded at Pak Chong on 25 November 2019. Duration 42:32)… Read the rest

Tan Khemako gives a reflection on how our minds are continually creating the past in the form of memories, or creating an imagined future. If we are able to bring our mind back to the present moment and recognize the raw experience of suffering, we move closer to liberation. (Talk recorded at Tisarana on 19 December 2019. Duration 36:40)… Read the rest

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On the first day of this retreat in Thailand Ajahn Viradhammo gives a talk on the five Jhana factors. He reflects that all five can be employed as a method, rather than expecting Piti and Sukha to be the result. He also speaks about the five hindrances. (Talk recorded at Pak Chong on 24 November 2019. Duration 45:49)… Read the rest

Tan Khemako gives a reflection on how our minds cling to views and beliefs. He uses the example of climate change, explaining that we filter everything we read/hear about the subject to fit in with our view. (Talk recorded at Tisarana on 11 December 2019. Duration 32:58) … Read the rest

Ajahn Viradhammo gives a reflection about whether happiness is something a meditator should be trying to achieve from his/her meditation, or whether it is more skillful to cultivate wholesome thoughts that are inherently ‘happy’. He gives examples of thoughts of loving-kindness (Metta) and gratitude. (Talk recorded at Tisarana on 11 November 2019. Duration 36:48)… Read the rest

Tan Khemako delves deeper into this simile in response to a question from a retreat attendee. He explains how our minds have been conditioned to create a conceptual overlay covering the raw phenomena that we experience. Clinging to these concepts is what causes our suffering. (Dhamma Talk recorded at Arnprior on 27 November 2019. Duration 1:00:40) … Read the rest

All of us are being affected by the current Coronavirus pandemic, and we can see how difficult this is for many people around the world. This stress and uncertainty in our lives can help us to see what we really take as our refuge. This short talk given by Ajahn Sumedho in 2007 highlights the importance of taking refuge in that which is wholesome: the Buddha, as an example of enlightenment, the Dhamma as the way to liberation, and the Sangha, those who give us encouragement and inspiration on the path. He also emphasizes taking Awareness as our refuge. Rather than getting caught up in what is happening around us or our own moods, if we pause to recognize ‘the way it is’ without judgement, taking Awareness as our center, we will find we are able to act more skillfully and be able to provide help to those who may be distressed. (Talk given by Ajahn Sumedho at Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in 2007. Duration 20:10)… Read the rest

On the first day of this retreat in Thailand Ajahn Viradhammo gives a 20 minute reflection on the importance of being heedful of the three types of craving. He then gives a guided meditation on body awareness, encouraging mindfulness of the whole body. (Talk given at Pak Chong on 24 November 2019. Duration 42:25) … Read the rest

When we are participating in daily activities there will be many situations which trigger our defilements. Instead of thinking of these scenarios as obstacles to our development, or that our reactions are somehow wrong, we can use them as an aid to seeing the nature of our mind and incline it towards non-attachment. (Talk recorded at Tisarana on 4 December 2019. Duration 34.43)… Read the rest