Monks In Cyberspace

Bhante Sujato. Guided meditation on the breath; peace of mind as a natural state. Dhamma talk on the disruptive and mysterious figure of the 'dark sage' with reference to three people in the suttas: Nālaka, Asito Devala, Ambaṭṭha. Discussion of this archetype, racism in the suttas, the three figures and their attempts to problematise caste. Resources: Nālakasutta (Snp 3.1) Ambaṭṭhasutta (DN 3) Assalāyanasutta (MN 93) Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2.2.3

Bhante Sujato. Guided meditation on death: 'Life is uncertain, death is certain'. Dhamma talk on death; how the Buddha talked about death as something knowable, and what happens after death.

Bhante Sujato. Guided meditation on the five khandas (constituents / groups). Dhamma talk on the five khandas: rupa (body / appearance), vedana (feeling / experience), saññā (perception), saṅkhāra (choices), citta (consciousness). Discussion of how in the EBTs, the 5 khandas were often what people already identified with, and their impermanence was what the Buddha emphasized. Discussion of how other disciplines and near-death-experiences implicitly invoke the five khandas.

Bhante Sujato. Meditation and dhamma talk on the four iddhipādas (feet/powers): enthusiasm (chanda), energy (viriya), awareness (citta), inquiry (vīmaṁsā). Discussion on the four iddhipādas and vibhava-tanhā (the desire to not exist) and its antidote, the wish to know. The basis of psychic powers as expansions of things we know already. Ideas on how to develop the iddhipādas.

2022-07-29 Bhante Sujato. Guided mettā meditation for a loved one with focus on feelings, noticing and sensations inside the body. Dhamma talk on war, with discussion of the first precept, 'just war theory' and peace. Discussion of peace and the work people do to maintain peace.

2022-07-22 Bhante Sujato. Meditation talk on reducing a sense of self. Guided meditation on sense of self and gentle awareness of mood. Dhamma talk on hopelessness. Losing hope/living without hope, and how we can commit without a sense of emotional investment to something in the future. Differences between hope, faith (sadha) and enthusiasm (chanda).

2022-07-15 Bhante Sujato. Guided meditation on letting go and meditating in the present. Talk about the rains retreat tradition and its origin stories, various traditions, events and rules around the rains period, possible commitments laypeople can make.

2022-07-08 Bhante Sujato. Guided mettā meditation for a loved one with focus on feeling. Dhamma talk an entry-to-rains discussion on giving (cāga/dana), drawing from the Dhammacakkappavattana sutta and the four noble truths. Cāga as one of the metaphors for nibbāna and how it fits into the four noble truths. Discussion of suffering and its relationship to letting go.

2022-07-01 Bhante Sujato: meditation on mindfulness of breathing. Bhante's trip to Sri Lanka. Q+A: Buddhist view on the body. Spiritual sadness (nirāmisa domanassa). Buddhist view on the US Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade. Facts about first bhikkhuni ordination at Ajahn Brahm's monastery. Meditation and difficult emotions.Link: Changemakers

Bhante Akāliko's last time as a Monk In Cyberspace. Dhamma talk on the community aspect of spiritual practice: be responsible for developing your own practice and give back to the community. Growing together again after times of lockdown and isolation, restoring help, support, growth. Bhante's plans for the future.

Bhante Akāliko, from Harris Park. Why there's a ceremony at the beginning of a meeting. Creating space for meditation. Breath meditation and letting go. Bhante is now a "Middle Monk", time to move on and go out into the world, and the letting go that's involved in that. Link: Little Dust Buddhist Community

Bhante Akāliko, from Harris Park. Dhamma talk about meditation.

Bhante Sujato, from Harris Park. Guided gratitude meditation. Dhamma talk on the topic Why am I always right? Discussion on ahankāra (I-making), thinking, truth, and views.

Bhante Sujato, from Harris Park. Unboxing the Malaysian edition of Bhante's translations of the Sutta Pitaka. Breath meditation. Dhamma talk on the Uluru Statement of the Heart, by Aboriginal people. The wisdom of first nations people and Buddhism. Resources: The Uluru Statement. - Dr Noel Nannup —Living in a Land That Demands Movement. Religious leaders support constitutional referendum.

The Two Bhantes, from Harris Park. Death contemplation guided by Bhante Akāliko. Dhamma talk by Bhante Sujato: Carrion sutta (Snp 2.2) Amaganda: literally "raw stench". A (presumably) hard-core vegan ascetic challenges the Buddha about his eating a cooked meal with meat. The Buddha's response: a conduct of practicing the four Brahma Viharas is what a monastic / ascetic lifestyle is about. Resource: Carrion sutta (Snp 2.2)

with Bhante Sujato, from Harris Park. Meditation on the qualities of the Buddha (Buddhānussati), taken from Itipiso chant. Dhamma talk on the life of the Buddha and how suttas will have likely been interpreted mythologically, with meaning constructed differently, often metaphorically and symbolically rather than as a purely historical description.

with Bhante Sujato, from Harris Park. Meditation on the joyful, soothing breath. Dhamma talk on the three characteristics in historical context and their practical relationship to liberation: anicca (impermanence/not-regularity-ness), dukkha (suffering), anatta (non-self). Why are all conditions suffering but all dhammas non-self? The three characteristics as doors to dhammas of the great teachers.

with Bhante Sujato, from Harris Park. Mettā meditation towards one's skeleton using both visualisation and feeling. Discussion of corporeality and the mind, the sentient body, the role of the breath, the senses. Awareness and peace as a continuum.

with Bhante Sujato, from Harris Park. Meditation on mindfulness of the breath. Dhamma talk about Mahasi techniques e.g. noting, where to watch the breath, influence of Japan in early twentieth century Buddhism, Satipattana Sutta parts, Mahasi and the evolution of the stages of insight.

with Bhante Sujato, from Harris Park. Mettā meditation towards oneself. Discussion of types of investigation/insight assessment of one's wisdom; vīmaṁsa (investigation), paccavekkhana (reviewing/reflection). Expertise and how you might know that you know.

from Harris Park. Bhante Sujato on the four iddhipādās: chanda (desire, zeal, enthusiasm), viriya (energy), citta (awareness, clarity, knowing), vimamsa (inquiry). Included in the 37 factors that sum up the teaching and are the backbone of structure of the Samyutta Nikaya. Dhamma chanda: desire to get rid of desire. viriya: keeping going, not giving up. citta: mind; synonymous with samadhi and jhana = citta bhavana. vimamsa: reflecting, looking back, curiosity leading to wisdom.

from Harris Park. Meditation on the five "aggregates" (khandā), guided by Bhante Sujato. Dhamma talk by Bhante Sujato on the five aggregates. Subtle (sukhuma) rūpa perceived by the mind. The aggregates as inseparable aspects of experience. Perception recognizes and puts details together to meaningful wholes. Sankhārā in this context: volition. Meaning of "upadāna khandā"; metaphor of the hand. Q+A: Contemplation of khandas in the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta. Why such brief introduction of the concept of khandas in the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (reference: MN 26).

2022-03-18 from Harris Park. Sīla - a life in the Dhamma as foundation for meditation. Mettā meditation guided by Bhante Sujato. Q+A: gratitude as an aspect of mudita. The role of mettā when dealing with trauma.

from Harris Park. Bhante Sujato: Mettā as an experience vs. a philosophical idea; found inside rather than outside, independent rather than grasping. Brāhmā vihārā. Guided mettā meditation. Dhamma talk: background on the mettā meditation method as taught by Ajahn Mahā Chatchai. Patience as a warm-up. Grounding the experience of mettā firmly in the body. Explanantion of "nimittā". Resource: Ajahn Chatchai, "A Flower of Mettā"

from Mantra Hotel. Ayyā Suvīrā presenting her new book. Mettā meditation, introduced and guided by Bhante Sujato. Dhamma talk by Bhante Sujato: the psychology of peace. Samatha and Vipassanā: not two kinds of meditation, but aspects of mental development: letting go of desire and ignorance. "Māra is always one step ahead!" Q+A: Being afraid of peace. Resources: Ayyā Suvirā's book on Ranjani da Silva and the revival of the Bhikkhunis

Mettā meditation guided by Bhante Sujato. Dhamma talk by Bhante Sujato on the Russian invasion of Ukraine: how to find truth in a sea of disinformation (five guidelines). Thoughts on the concept of "Just War": its ancient philosophical origins and the Buddhist perspective. Black / white / black and white / neither black nor white kamma.

Mettā for mosquitoes. Mettā meditation for small creatures led by Bhante Sujato. Dhamma talk on AN 4.67 Ahirājasutta (The Snake King). Q+A: The first nun. Resources: AN 4.67 in Pali. Resources- Translation by Bhante Sujato. - Jataka Tale with the same verses. - Cambridge declaration on consciousness. Bhante Sujato on who was the first nun - Dhamma talk: The Buddha's mother and stepmother.

Bhante Sujato on meditative states vs. meditative process. Meditation on impermanence guided by Bhante Sujato. Dhamma talk on a passage from the Madhupiṇḍikasutta (MN18): about the proliferation going on in the mind. Katukurunde Ñānananda: concept and reality. Q+A: choice without a chooser. Resources: MN 18 - The Honey Cake SuttaKatukurunde Ñānananda: "Concept and Reality"

from Mantra Hotel. Introduction by Bhante Akāliko: the trapped monkey. Meditation guided by Bhante Akāliko. Dhamma talk by Bhante Sujato on the Buddha's idea of mantras as a skillful means, a tool to work with the mind, without intrinsic power. Snp 4.14: craving drives thinking. Q+A: resistance to meditation. Fear. Simile of the cat and the elephant. Reference: Snp 4.14

Honoring Thich Nhat Hannh. Breath meditation explained and guided by Bhante Sujato. Q+A: sīlā, samādhi, paññā as a comprehensive framework for the elements of the path, derived from the Buddha's teaching on the Gradual Training, e.g. in Dīgha Nikāya 2. Breath meditation as opposed to ancient pranayama techniques trying to control the breath. Meditation methods require balance between receiving and doing. Threshold concentration. Weird experiences during meditation. Resources: DN 2, Sāmaññaphala Sutta. 10-fold path: AN 106, Nijjara Sutta

Bhante Akāliko's Rainbodhi booklet. Thoughts on tradition and its evolution. Bhante Sujato on meditation going against the stream of result based thinking. Breath meditation guided by bhante Sujato. Dhamma talk: the 8 parts of the 8fold path. Q+A: right livelihood. Connection lost during Q+A.