I think of myself primarily as a monk who occasionally teaches, who strives to convey the spirit and the letter of Buddhism through my lifestyle, through explanation, and through the imagery of storytelling in order to bring Buddhism to life for people who are seeking truth and freedom.
As co-abbot of Abhayagiri Monastery, I am deeply involved with forming a monastic community that can serve as a guiding spirit for Buddhist practice in the world. The traditional, renunciate form of the practice is the embodiment of simplicity, strength and resiliency for anyone who seeks classical training in the monastic life. It is also a hand extended to the lay community that says: come, experience the life of the forest, the chanting, the bowing, the serenity of meditation, the robes, the peacefulness of celibacy. Draw from our well and bring this spiritual nourishment back into your everyday life.
The outward structure of traditional Buddhism supports a form of spiritual living that is grounded in honesty, non-violence, and living in truth-all the qualities of inner freedom that are precious to me. Buddhist practice turns the current of attention toward an inner life, irrigating the arid internal landscapes created by the external priorities of our Western world.
Buddhist practice also reconstructs our relationship to time and space. Our fragmented world is suffering from a continually diminishing attention span as we become overwhelmed with so much to do, with so little time and so many options. The practice allows us to visit our interior landscape, slow down, pay attention to the qualities of time and spirit, to explore who we are, instead of focusing on what we do. Buddhism trains the heart to recognize happiness, not by racing onto the next thing, but by paying attention and ending suffering.
We often relate to arisings and beginnings as intrinsically and wholly good (think kids and puppies, spring flowers...), but surely there's more to the story, for everything in nature tends to create its opposite.
This will be a day of reflections and practices on the themes of interest and enthusiasm, and their painful shadow, the obsessive quality of becoming.
Most usefully we will explore the ways that the heart can be freed from such obsessive addictions so the cycles of nature can be integrated harmoniously.
Ajahn Amaro picks up on themes that Ajahn Sumedho has been reflecting on during this retreat, including metta (loving kindness), and the fetters that obstruct the spiritual path.
Ajahn Amaro recollects his past year on Sabbatical in India, the value of not having to be anybody, and the skillful use of thought in reflective meditation. (Estimated date of talk. Exact date unknown)
Letting go of conventions in meditation when no longer needed. Abandoning the raft when reaching the other shore. (Estimated date of talk. Exact date unknown)
Brief overview of dependent origination with emphasis on the process of becoming; breaking the cycle at the link of vedana (feeling). (Estimated date of talk. Exact date unknown)
Reflecting about the first day of retreat: common thoughts and experiences, remembering our potential for happiness, and the three characteristics (anicca, dukkha, anatta).
Opening retreat comments inviting yogis to use the retreat to examine their plans and expectations. Plus brief remarks regarding the retreat and the precepts as voluntary limitations to be seen as a vehicle toward our destination. Ajahns Amaro and Sundara.
Suffering results from a confused relationship of the mind to its own experience; when we see the way things actually are, we connect with a profound freedom.
Exploring the spaciousness of mind that comes when we let go of our belief in the solidity of the sense world, when we know the mind as the space in which all this drama is happening.
Can we live with respect and compassion within the world of form, while understanding its ultimate insubstantiality? Can we remember the truth of emptiness while the world of appearances is so compelling? How can we do both at once?
Conceptual thought: its role and nature and how to use if skillfully. We dont have to get rid of thinking in order to meditate. There is no problem with thinking in and of itself, but only in how we sometimes relate to it. This talk explores the role and nature of conceptual thought, how to relate to it skillfully, as well as acknowledging the value and right use of reflective thinking.
We don't have to get rid of thinking in order to meditate. There is no
problem with thinking in and of itself, but only in how we sometimes
relate to it. This talk explores the role and nature of conceptual
thought, how to relate to it skillfully, as well as acknowledging the
value and right use of reflective thinking.
