Group interviews

Sayadaw’s instructions for daily life

Forest devas chanting these beautiful ancient refrains of the Ratana Sutta at Sati Saraniya Hermitage came to an old bhikkhuni while she walked the trails of the monastery. When we are protected by the sanctuary of the Noble Triple Jewels, the heart's purity is sustained and great blessings rain forth - supreme refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, great compassion, wisdom, and incomparable peace. Herein - the joy of chanting our praise of these blessings.

How can we meet the ecological crises facing our planet without falling into denial, grief or cynicism? Acknowledging the Dukkha can awaken a sense of urgency, samvega, that gives us the energy and courage to rise to the challenge and seek ways of responding skilfully. The talk addresses three areas: Developing wisdom and skills, acting from wisdom and compassion, connecting with others and engaging in our communities and societies.

Sometimes, we want to escape our problems and challenges of life and turn to meditation for a rest or to experience quiet and peacefulness. In some ways, we may now be spiritually distracting ourselves from our feelings, thinking that we are walking a healthy spiritual path. This effort is often referred to as spiritual bypass, which ultimately serves as a defense mechanism. This defense mechanism, in this form of Spiritual Bypass, shields us from the truth, disconnects us from our feelings, and helps us avoid the things we could be looking at. It is more about checking out than checking in, and we often don’t even realize that we are doing it. How can we use Dhamma practice to integrate meditation and insight more fully into our lives? Can Dhamma principles guide us in all that is happening? In this evening program, we will explore these questions and our practice by meditating with a talk and exchange and looking at honestly at our meditation practice and our intentions. This event was offered by donation