Livestream recordings in Sept. and Oct. 2021

27 October 2021

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Questions

1: Sometimes when I feel I am in a deeper state of meditation, I appear to encounter and embody the lives of many people that I have never met. This only happens when I am in group practice in my local shrine hall. Could these be experiences from past lives, or could I be daydreaming?

2: I wonder, in meditation with mantra if the mind is peaceful and if there is no thought when one abides in that stillness, should one still continue with the mantra awareness?

3: How can one guide one's mother in her sixties to practice dhamma when her personality is always frustrated and impatient? Knowing that we can never repay our parents' kindness and that sharing dhamma with them is one of the way to repay their kindness, I want to repay her kindness by sharing dhamma with her especially in these days when death seems so real. I might not be at her bedside if she passes on. How should I guide her? 

4: In a recent recording, Ajahn spoke of the importance of wise reflection. I believe there is a formal way to practice wise reflection, which I think is also called analytic meditation. I think it is emphasized in Tibetan Buddhism, but I am curious to learn more about its role in the Thai forest tradition and about when and how a lay practitioner should practice in this way. 

5: I came across a statement: "I come from nothingness and return to nothingness." Could Ajahn elaborate more on what this means?

6: Lord Buddha mentioned that it is very difficult to take birth from lower realms to the human form (the one eyed turtle simile). However, texts mention that even Boddhisatva was in an animal form in many lifetimes and even you mentioned that you were a dragon in some previous life. Why is it that Boddhisatvas and enlightened monks like yourself were in that form at some stage and how many lifetimes would have taken for Boddhisatva to take rebirth in human form after birth in the lower realm? 

6 a (follow-on): I do not believe in a hell realm. Will this be an obstruction to my practice?

7: Why do we mentally recite "bud-dho" instead of "bud-dha" ?practice in this way.

Lastly: Kathina plans at Anandagiri

13 October 2021

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Questions

1: May I know if there’s certain linkage to karma if one is born as female or male? Is it true that for male, one has accumulated much more merits compared to a female? Or are both equally the same? I ask because I realise there is a rule that for males to renounce, they can return to lay life for up to7 times but females can’t do so. I am curious why this is so.

2: May I know how to overcome anger and jealousy? In our Dhamma practice, we try to be humble, have sympathetic joy (rather than being jealous), and to not attach to a self. But for those who are not arahants yet or are not actively practicing Dhamma (like my children and other loved ones), what is your advice for when we become irritated by others who appear not considerate (thoughtless), who appear boastful (showing off), or who appear to be jealous of our good situation? Perhaps it is our minds creating stories, but assuming that there is some truth to our thoughts (based on past history with the other person), how should we deal with inconsiderate, boastful, or jealous people? 

3: I am considering to pursue a certification course in Clinical Hypnotherapy. I would like to ask if performing and receiving hypnosis would affect my meditation practice? 

4: Would you consider giving a talk to younger audiences (i.e. kids ages 6-12)? My kids enjoy listening to some of your stories but I am sure they will love it if the talk is more relevant to them.

29 September 2021

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Questions

1: I have been learning quite a lot from various online spiritual teachings. My question is - Is it necessary to only follow only one teacher to practice?

I recognise I pick and choose. I have a desire to cultivate genuine peace of mind through meditation, so is it better to stick with only one spiritual teacher?

2: Can one gain true wisdom without a deeply concentrated mind? Is wisdom like ‘know things as they are’, not needing another to verify or tell us if it's right?

3: Why do people develop certain feelings for specific people, be it positive, negative etc.? Present life conditions could be a cause but if it is conditioned from past life, how does this get ‘evoked’ since the majority of us cannot remember our past lives, let alone ‘recognise’ them since we took rebirth in new bodies. Is it the Citta that ‘recognises’ the beings we associated from past lives?

4: For the Buddha’s chief disciples to have been foremost in a given area, they made aspirations and accumulated paramis/merits. Is it through strong aspirations that the accumulated paramis/merits get channelled to the area to which we aspire? What is the cause of paramis/merits to culminate in having been developed in a very specific direction, lifetime after lifetime (e.g. foremost in retentive memory), especially given that what we want keeps changing. For example, perhaps this lifetime we are very resolved in achieving one thing, and in the next lifetime switch to being resolved in another area. How does one cultivate a fixed resolute/resolve for a certain goal?

5: I’ve noticed my recent meditation seems to be more stable. There are more peaceful moments and I observe that there is a little fewer of the unwholesome phenomena. With some determination and focus, I consciously watch the thoughts that arise with mindfulness, staying there just watching and observing that they become less aggressive and have less energy. It's like a movement towards zero: the mind slows down, but then soon it goes back and forth and zero seems far off, but sometimes it just right there. It’s a bit like watching an ice cube melt. The water is still there but it’s not so solid. “Knowing the movements” is very fluid. So my question is… Is my practice moving in the right direction? Is this awareness of the present moment? Secondly, how do I progress from here?

01 September 2021

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Questions

1: I wanted to ask about the difference between Dana, Sila, Bhawana and Sila, Samadhi, Panna. I understand the meaning of the words but I am wondering if they refer to the same path but in different stages of development or if there is another reason to describe the path in these two different ways.

2: During meditation practice tears arise during entire Metta practice and towards the end of deep Vipassana practice. They are tears of sadness and felt as a tight pain in the abdomen and numb vibration in the heart. I know sadness is an impermanent fabrication of the mind. Why does this occur? Other than awareness, can something be done with this arising mind state? Is this a purification of the mind? This arising mind state is creating aversion towards meditation.

**Q3 to be addressed in the next teaching**

4: My respect, what do you call a Maha bodhisattva? One who has received confirmation by a Buddha, it can be a future paceekha Buddha or a Sambawa Buddha? And have fulfilled all his paramis already?

5: I suffer from chronic debilitating pain and have suffered for many years. I do try to observe equanimously and accept as much as I can but at times the pain is just too intense to bear and does not respond to pain relief. With increasing age and vicissitudes of life, the pain is becoming quite unbearable now. My question is - could I have some solace in the fact that at least I am exhausting some of my bad kamma in this lifetime by undergoing these sufferings which I have possibly accumulated over many past lifetimes.

6: As I do sitting meditation mindfulness of breathing 5 to 6 hours per day every day, my neck and body are aching so much. I change my meditation position to lying down as Buddha also recommended it in the sutta. But when l lay down, very soon I would fall asleep. I need to increase my mindfulness. Is there any other way not to fall asleep when doing lying down meditation. 

7: Dear Ajahn, what is the meaning of the inscription at the bottom of the Buddha status behind you?

8: There are quite a few versions of loving kindness or metta meditation. Can you give us some instructions on how to do a metta meditation? And when should we do it?

Ajahn comments on the Chinese style full bowing practice – from standing – as a way to shift heavy negative mind states. This is especially useful at this time as a tool to lift sadness and brighten the mind.

Watch and listen to more livestream recordings of all virtual gatherings with Ajahn along with full details on all topics discussed and the questions answered month by month since the beginning of the pandemic.

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