Online Gatherings |
Livestream recordings in Nov. and Dec. 2021
23 December 2021
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Questions:
Q1: We started a prayer group to pray and transfer merits to people who were admitted to hospital due to covid19. While transferring merits we asked that these merits help the patient to swiftly and fully recover from the illness. Sadly, some patients didn't make it and passed away. So if their "karmic" time is up to pass away, does it mean that the prayers and merits transferred are useless or in-effective? If it’s time-to-go that means time to go and nothing can change it… Is this the case?
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Q2: Can you tell us a bit about your teacher Ajahn Anan and how he has inspired you as your teacher?
Q3: I had an experience recently. I was sleeping and heard disturbing hostile noise in the middle of the night. The mind was fully aware that body was sleeping, there was a lot of fear too as the sound got closer, then the mind started chanting the great compassion mantra and immediately the fear disappeared, just the chanting remained, and then the mind slowly drifted into to “sleep” (note: body was already sleeping). When I woke up, I felt that the experience was not a dream but had actually happened because it is very vivid. I felt that the chanting was as powerful as during the day, I had been chanting great compassion mantra and it sprang up when the mind was assaulted with sudden great fear. Does Ajahn have any comments about this experience?
Q4: I would like to learn about healthcare for Buddhist monks and nuns. In the US, it is common for laypeople to pay for health insurance that is used for regular dental cleanings, annual physical check-ups, and annual eye exams. Do monks have access to regular healthcare like this? What happens when a monk has medical problems? Outside of Thailand, is healthcare different for monks in other countries (for example, Australia, England, Canada)?
Q5: The further I develop in the practice, the more my mind seems to incline towards the path of a Bodhisattva and liberate all beings. Should I ignore this and still seek for at least stream entry in this life or is there a way I can more fully set my intention on making loads of merit for all beings in many lives?
Q3: I had an experience recently. I was sleeping and heard disturbing hostile noise in the middle of the night. The mind was fully aware that body was sleeping, there was a lot of fear too as the sound got closer, then the mind started chanting the great compassion mantra and immediately the fear disappeared, just the chanting remained, and then the mind slowly drifted into to “sleep” (note: body was already sleeping). When I woke up, I felt that the experience was not a dream but had actually happened because it is very vivid. I felt that the chanting was as powerful as during the day, I had been chanting great compassion mantra and it sprang up when the mind was assaulted with sudden great fear. Does Ajahn have any comments about this experience?
Q4: I would like to learn about healthcare for Buddhist monks and nuns. In the US, it is common for laypeople to pay for health insurance that is used for regular dental cleanings, annual physical check-ups, and annual eye exams. Do monks have access to regular healthcare like this? What happens when a monk has medical problems? Outside of Thailand, is healthcare different for monks in other countries (for example, Australia, England, Canada)?
Q5: The further I develop in the practice, the more my mind seems to incline towards the path of a Bodhisattva and liberate all beings. Should I ignore this and still seek for at least stream entry in this life or is there a way I can more fully set my intention on making loads of merit for all beings in many lives?
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Simple Guided Breath Meditation
23 December 2021
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08 December 2021
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Questions:
Q1: There are baby centipedes in my bathroom. Sometimes one will crawl out from nowhere. I kill it otherwise it will grow big and bite someone or myself. What is my karma?
Since I shifted to my apartment I think I have killed about 10 baby centipedes in a period of 14 months. I also kill ants and mosquitoes. What shall I do? |
Q2: Is it the case that at all the other times except for our meditation time, we are always associating with Mara? Doing either good or bad is creating causes to continue within “Samsara”. Is this correct?
Q3: I have a Catholic boyfriend, he is not very strict. As a Buddhist I practice and keep my precepts. I wonder how people like my boyfriend who never have a chance to create merit, does not keep any precepts, does not practice or meditate, how can they earn good enough karma to be reborn again? He sometimes goes with me to temple for my late mother’s ceremony and that is all. Will I have a chance to meet him again in next life? He is generous and kind to people and animals etc. but is that enough?
Q4: I moved 2 years ago to a new house that was previously owned by a very devoted Muslim. Since moving here, my health has become incredibly bad and I lost my job. More than one Buddhist thing I have has been affected too. In one instance, a wood panel with a picture of the Buddha fell down shattered as if it was thrown with incredible force. I have spread metta all around even to the “being” doing this. My Muslim friends have told me that a Muslim spirit has remained in the house, and it’s upset because Muslims consider “worshiping” or other of our rituals like chanting of suttas very bad things. What can I do beyond spreading metta and being equanimous during all these torments?
Q5: Why do the pairs-of-chief disciples of all the Buddhas pass away before the Blessed Ones they are serving? Similarly, could Venerable Sariputta have extended his life force to live longer than 84 years if he had wanted to?
Q3: I have a Catholic boyfriend, he is not very strict. As a Buddhist I practice and keep my precepts. I wonder how people like my boyfriend who never have a chance to create merit, does not keep any precepts, does not practice or meditate, how can they earn good enough karma to be reborn again? He sometimes goes with me to temple for my late mother’s ceremony and that is all. Will I have a chance to meet him again in next life? He is generous and kind to people and animals etc. but is that enough?
Q4: I moved 2 years ago to a new house that was previously owned by a very devoted Muslim. Since moving here, my health has become incredibly bad and I lost my job. More than one Buddhist thing I have has been affected too. In one instance, a wood panel with a picture of the Buddha fell down shattered as if it was thrown with incredible force. I have spread metta all around even to the “being” doing this. My Muslim friends have told me that a Muslim spirit has remained in the house, and it’s upset because Muslims consider “worshiping” or other of our rituals like chanting of suttas very bad things. What can I do beyond spreading metta and being equanimous during all these torments?
Q5: Why do the pairs-of-chief disciples of all the Buddhas pass away before the Blessed Ones they are serving? Similarly, could Venerable Sariputta have extended his life force to live longer than 84 years if he had wanted to?
25 November 2021
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A talk spurred by two questions:
Q1: How can we find meaning and purpose in the worldly life if we have aspirations to live a monastic life but have to be in the worldly life for family?
Q2: Since I began meditating, I have become very emotional. I am very quickly moved to tears and I start crying, either when seeing something ordinary and negative, like people arguing in the street or something painful, when I witness the suffering of people, children or animals. |
I sometimes start crying when reading or hearing a dhamma talk. In my chest, negative emotions like anger and frustration feel even heavier and more dense than before. Is this normal? What can I do to deal skillfully with these emotional states? I am deeply grateful!
10 November 2021
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Questions
Q1: You recently received an honorific title from the Thai King, Rama the 10th.
What does the title ‘Tahn Chao Khun’ mean? And what does this honour mean for your life in practical terms? Lord Buddha has taught us to be above worldly concerns, how do you personally practice with receiving such honours? |
Q2: A nun in the Mahayana tradition mentioned to me that an Arahant must still come back to the world (samsara) to continue their journey as a Bodhisattva. Is this true?
Q3: How can one deal skilfully with betrayal / cheating from spouse? As a practitioner, we may try to observe objectively and generate metta, but one feels as though one is being taken for granted. How to handle this? You can recognise that it’s due to past karma. But how do you handle it in the practical world?
Q5/4: If a young lady in her 20s wears sexy, short skirts, skimpy dresses, low cut shirts etc, to attract attention, is she committing bad karma?
Q4/5: My Mum has had dementia for 15 years and she is gradually forgetting things and people. Sometimes I can get her to chant with me, at other times it's impossible because she doesn't have the attention span. Besides this, what more can I do for her? Chant and dedicate merits to her?
Cat update
Q3: How can one deal skilfully with betrayal / cheating from spouse? As a practitioner, we may try to observe objectively and generate metta, but one feels as though one is being taken for granted. How to handle this? You can recognise that it’s due to past karma. But how do you handle it in the practical world?
Q5/4: If a young lady in her 20s wears sexy, short skirts, skimpy dresses, low cut shirts etc, to attract attention, is she committing bad karma?
Q4/5: My Mum has had dementia for 15 years and she is gradually forgetting things and people. Sometimes I can get her to chant with me, at other times it's impossible because she doesn't have the attention span. Besides this, what more can I do for her? Chant and dedicate merits to her?
Cat update
