Dhammagiri Buddhist Podcasts Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage

When cultivating bhāvanā (meditation), naturally we have to be mindful of and focussed upon our meditation object; for instance 'Buddho', or the breath, or mettā; and so on...

However, if we try to exclusively focus only on the meditation object with all we've got, the effort quickly becomes ineffective, or even couterproductive.

Instead, while meditating, we always have to check out:


How our mind relates to the meditation object
How the mind relates to the process of meditating
How the mind feels while meditating
What effect meditation has on our mind: Do unwholesome states diminish, and wholesome states grow? Or does whatever I'm doing in my meditation actually cause unbeneficial mindstates to arise?

In other words, we always have to do Cittānupassanā ('Mindfulness of the Mind') to some extend, even if the primary focus of our meditation is an aspect of the body, or feelings, or some other kammaṭṭhāna (meditation object).



By the way, we've got playlists of our Visiting Teachers, Chanting, Guided Meditations and Sutta Explorations available on our Spotify Profile here:

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Our Podcast is also available on our own Dhammagiri Website, no need for any special app, just listen in any browser:

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Ajahn Dhammasiha responds to the question how Karuṇā (Compassion) differs from Mettā (Loving Kindness).

Compassion is the wish for all beings to be free from pain and suffering in any form.

Loving Kindness is the wish for all beings to be happy and well.

Though both belong to the 4 'Divine Abidings' (4 Brahmaviharas), and are closely related, in actual experience they feel quite distinct when developing them:


Developing compassion retains a stronger awareness of suffering. It can be easier to 'switch' from developing compassion (which is a form of samatha/calmness meditation) to developing insight/vipassana, for example by contemplating the 4 noble truths
It may be subjectively easier to generate compassion than mettā in cases when we encounter abject suffering, like someone dying in pain without proper care or similar.
It's easier with mettā to get a bit too 'dewy-eyed', thinking everything is fine and everyone will be a darling if only we radiate loving kindness. We then may be shocked when 'bad' things still happen. With compassion one is less prone to fall into the delusion of 'it's all good', 'we're all fine', 'nothing to worry'.



By the way, we've got playlists of our Visiting Teachers, Chanting, Guided Meditations and Sutta Explorations available on our Spotify Profile here:

https://open.spotify.com/user/8z4dmrysnbbnjtz9f0wzjgcre



Our Podcast is also available on our own Dhammagiri Website, no need for any special app, just listen in any browser:

https://www.dhammagiri.net/podcast



More about Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage:

https://www.dhammagiri.net/news

Our Youtube Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@dhammatalksatdhammagiri8724

Our email Newsletter:

https://www.dhammagiri.net/newsletter









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Ajahn Dhammasiha encourages us to connect with nature, and to contemplate the 4 Great Elements externally as we experience them in the natural environment.


Earth Element (Hardness, Rocks, Stones, Sand, Feeling the Ground while Walking or Sitting)
Water Element (Wet soil or grass or sand or beach; Ocean; Rain; Streams/Rivers)
Fire/Heat Element (Sunshine, warm air, warm breeze)
Wind Element/Energy Movement (Wind, Energy of Rocks and Trees, 'Chi')

It's difficult to contemplate only in the abstract, something that we don't really feel or experience.

Once we can clearly feel and perceive these elements in our own direct experience, it's much easier to contemplate them as impermanent, unsatisfactory and not-self.

Once we can clearly feel and perceive these elements in our own direct experience externally, it's much easier to also feel and contemplate them internally.

Even apart from insight- ontemplation, just connecting with nature in direct experience is a grounding experience very helpful in itself, to balance our artificial live with its screens and virtual reality and internet, and bring consciousness back to physical reality in the here and now.

Pics from monks meditating on Mount Ngungun here:

https://latest-pics.dhammagiri.net


Our Podcast is also available on our own Dhammagiri Website, no need for any special app, just listen in any browser:

https://www.dhammagiri.net/podcast



More about Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage:

https://www.dhammagiri.net/news



Our Youtube Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@dhammatalksatdhammagiri8724



Our email Newsletter:

https://www.dhammagiri.net/newsletter



Our Podcasts on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/0SHWfWEGkO8OAtSWNJlqyD



Our Podcasts on Apple/itunes:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dhammagiri-buddhist-podcasts/id1534539834

Ven Jinaratana There offers guidance how we can experience and contemplate the four elements ('Cātu-mahā-bhūtikā') in in our own bodies.


Paṭhavī-dhātu = Earth Element /Solidity
Āpo-dhātu = Water Element / Liquidity
Tejo-dhātu = Fire Element / Heat (or lack of heat, i.e. cold)
Vāyo-dhātu = Wind Element (energy movement)

Bhante Jinaratana was born in Toronto, Canada. He became interested in meditation as a student at the University of Toronto, and began attending intensive retreats in 2002. After graduating with an H.B.Sc. (neuroscience, mathematics) in 2004, he taught English for a year in Nanning, P.R.C. Desiring to ordain, but without knowing a suitable place to do so, he travelled to Brisbane Australia and completed a Graduate Diploma in Education in 2008 at the Queensland University of Technology. During that time he had the opportunity to stay for an extended period at Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage as eight-precept meditator. The guidance he received there helped him to gain the confidence to finally ordain.

Bhante Jinaratana received novice ordination at Na Uyana Forest Monastery in Sri Lanka in July 2011, and higher ordination in June 2012 (Na Uyana is the main monastery of the Shri Kalyani forest tradition, the same lineage where Ajahn Dhammasiha originally ordained). Most Venerable Na Uyane Ariyadhamma Mahāthera was the preceptor for both ceremonies. From 2019-2021 he stayed at Pa Auk Monastery, Pyin Oo Lwin Myanmar, meditating under the guidance of Sayadaw U Kumārabhivaṃsa and Most Venerable Pa Auk Sayadaw Āciṇṇa. He currently resides at Dhamsuwa Forest Monastery, Melbourne.

Bhante has kindly accepted our invitation to visit Dhammagiri for 10 days in April.



Our Podcast is also available on our own Dhammagiri Website, no need for any special app, just listen in any browser:

https://www.dhammagiri.net/podcast





More about Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage:

https://www.dhammagiri.net/news



Our Youtube Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@dhammatalksatdhammagiri8724



Our email Newsletter:

https://www.dhammagiri.net/newsletter



Our Podcasts on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/0SHWfWEGkO8OAtSWNJlqyD



Our Podcasts on Apple/itunes:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dhammagiri-buddhist-podcasts/id1534539834





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In this sutta, the Buddha compares the work of a goldsmith to the work of a meditator trying to purify their mind.

Both have to pay attention to 3 qualities at the appropriate time, without overdoing any of them:


Calming the mind with samādhi / cooling the gold in the smelter
Arousing the mind with energetic effort / heating the gold
Looking on with equanimity / observing the gold with equanimity



Our Podcast is also available on our own Dhammagiri Website, no need for any special app, just listen in any browser:

https://www.dhammagiri.net/podcast



More about Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage:

https://www.dhammagiri.net/news



Our Youtube Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@dhammatalksatdhammagiri8724



Our email Newsletter:

https://www.dhammagiri.net/newsletter



Our Podcasts on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/0SHWfWEGkO8OAtSWNJlqyD



Our Podcasts on Apple/itunes:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dhammagiri-buddhist-podcasts/id1534539834







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Bhante Jinaratana explains how we can starve the 5 hindrances ('anāhāra pañca-nīvaraṇa') in order to gradually weaken and overcome their obstructive influence on our mental development. Like all sankhāras, the five hindrances are conditioned, i.e. they depend on some form of nutriment for their existence.

If we reduce the nutriment that's feeding the hindrances, they will become weaker and weaker, allowing our samādhi and wisdom faculty to overcome and finally completey eradicate them.



ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Bhante Jinaratana was born in Toronto, Canada. He became interested
in meditation as a student at the University of Toronto, and began
attending intensive retreats in 2002. After graduating with an H.B.Sc.
(neuroscience, mathematics) in 2004, he taught English for a year in
Nanning, P.R.C. Desiring to ordain, but without knowing a suitable
place to do so, he travelled to Brisbane Australia and completed a
Graduate Diploma in Education in 2008 at the Queensland University of
Technology. During that time he had the opportunity to stay for an
extended period at Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage as eight-precept
meditator. The guidance he received there helped him to gain the
confidence to finally ordain.

Bhante Jinaratana received novice ordination at Na Uyana Forest
Monastery in Sri Lanka in July 2011, and higher ordination in June 2012
(Na Uyana is the main monastery of the Shri Kalyani forest tradition,
the same lineage where Ajahn Dhammasiha originally ordained). Most
Venerable Na Uyane Ariyadhamma Mahāthera was the preceptor for both
ceremonies. From 2019-2021 he stayed at Pa Auk Monastery, Pyin Oo Lwin
Myanmar, meditating under the guidance of Sayadaw U Kumārabhivaṃsa and
Most Venerable Pa Auk Sayadaw Āciṇṇa. He currently resides at Dhamsuwa
Forest Monastery, Melbourne.

Bhante has kindly accepted our invitation to visit Dhammagiri for 10 days in April.



Our Podcast is also available on our own Dhammagiri Website, no need for any special app, just listen in any browser:

https://www.dhammagiri.net/podcast





More about Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage:

https://www.dhammagiri.net/news



Our Youtube Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@dhammatalksatdhammagiri8724



Our email Newsletter:

https://www.dhammagiri.net/newsletter



Our Podcasts on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/0SHWfWEGkO8OAtSWNJlqyD



Our Podcasts on Apple/itunes:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dhammagiri-buddhist-podcasts/id1534539834







.