Ajahn Sumedho is a prominent figure in the Thai Forest Tradition. His teachings are very direct, practical, simple, and down to earth. In his talks and sermons he stresses the quality of immediate intuitive awareness and the integration of this kind of awareness into daily life. Like most teachers in the Forest Tradition, Ajahn Sumedho tends to avoid intellectual abstractions of the Buddhist teachings and focuses almost exclusively on their practical applications, that is, developing wisdom and compassion in daily life. His most consistent advice can be paraphrased as to see things the way that they actually are rather than the way that we want or don't want them to be ("Right now, it's like this..."). He is known for his engaging and witty communication style, in which he challenges his listeners to practice and see for themselves. Students have noted that he engages his hearers with an infectious sense of humor, suffused with much loving kindness, often weaving amusing anecdotes from his experiences as a monk into his talks on meditation practice and how to experience life ("Everything belongs").
30 of 43 from Luang Por Sumedho - CD: Talks from Thailand (2008-2014)
00:00 Q1: Have you ever had doubts and considered disrobing?; 03:55 Q2: What do you think of more socially, enviromentally engaged monks? 14:08 Q3 [Some people say] there is a conspiracy of the older monks against women who [they say want to] change the dhamma; 25:42 Q4 What do you think about the future of Buddhism in the west and the different interests of westerners, even some aversion to hearing about the Four Noble Truths?; 50:50 Q5 Is samsara within or also external to the mind of the individual?
The deeper and direct meaning of the three refuges and eight precepts are described and reflected on, in addition to a general reflection on how to relate to practicing the essence of the Buddhadhamma. (The opening and closing chanting has been edited out of this recording.)
