Dhammagiri Buddhist Podcasts Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage

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We start by developing Loving Kindness just to one being, whoever we find most easy. Even an animal like a cat or cute puppy will do. Then we have to keep on going until we actually FEEL somthing. Loving Kindness is an emotion, not just a thinking exercise.

Even if we take a long time with just one being, that's fine. Once we can really feel the emotion, a lot has been accomplished, and it's quite easy to include more beings and spread out our Mettā


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We have to include ourselves. It may appear like that's not so important, as there are countless other beings that we want to radiate kindness towards.

However, in reality we ourselves are very important, and loving kindness to ourselves is a BIG part of our practice.


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Loving Kindness kindness doesn't mean agreeing with or condoning or supporting any harmful, unwholesome actions. We're still fully aware and mindful and con perfectly distinguish wholesome and unwholesome. However, we're wishing well even to those that act nasty, in the sense that we wish them to develop kindness and wisdom, that they abandon all anger and hatred.







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A family has come to share merits with their mother/grandmother/great-grandmother, who they lost a few days ago, at the age of 96 years.

In the Dhamma discussion, Ajahn Dhammasiha explains that 'Letting Go' in the way the Buddha actually meant it differs redically from letting go out or heedlessness, negligence and 'I just can't bother'.

Often we feel like there's something wrong with letting go, because we may only be familiar with letting go based on carelessness and neglect. For example, it would be outright cruel to let go of a close loved one in the sense of quickly completely forgetting about them.

However, this is not what happens when we let go based on widom and insight into impermanence. The Buddha actually stongly encouraged to remember past relatives. He considered it a duty to share good karma with them regularly.


Even an Arahant, who has completely let go of all attachments, still has all the wholesome emotions. Only the defilements of greed, hatred, delusion and so on are abandoned. Wholesome emotions like loving kindness, compassion, gratitude, respect, rejoicing in goodness, and so on, are still there, and are even reaching their highest potential, once they are no longer impeded by the defilements.

For example the Buddha himself: Although he had zero attachments to anyone or anything after the experience of Sambodhi, he was actually better and more effective in looking after his relative than we can ever hope for. He succeeded in guiding basically all close relatives, and many of the more distant relatives, to freedom from death and suffering.

Have we been able to do anything like that for our relative, who we are attached to?


Therefore, we should never fear letting go based on wisdom, as we will be even better in practising kindness and compassion to loved ones and all beings without attachment!





Our Podcast on our own Dhammagiri Website, no need for any special app, just listen in any browser:

https://www.dhammagiri.net/podcast





More about Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage:

https://www.dhammagiri.net/news



Our Youtube Channel:

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Our email Newsletter:

https://tinyletter.com/dhammagiri/archive



Our Podcasts on Spotify:

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Ajahn Dhammasīha offers a few reflections on the Buddha's teaching:


"Suññam idaṃ attena vā attanīyena vā!"

= "Empty of Self and Empty of Anything belonging to Self"




e.g. Majjhima Nikāya/Middle Length Discourses #106, 'Āneñjasappāya Sutta'/'Conducive for the Imperturbable'


Also Majjhima Nikāya/Middle Length Discourses #22, 'Alagaddūpama Sutta'/'The Simileof the Snake'



When we contemplate our body, thoughts, feelings, emotions, even our meditation object, as not Self and not belonging to any Self, suddenly everything becomes so much lighter, so much less difficult and painful, so much more bearable.





Our Podcast on our own Dhammagiri Website, no need for any special app, just listen in any browser:

https://www.dhammagiri.net/podcast







More about Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage:

https://www.dhammagiri.net/news



Our Youtube Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@dhammatalksatdhammagiri8724



Our email Newsletter:

https://tinyletter.com/dhammagiri/archive



Our Podcasts on Spotify:

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Our Podcasts on Apple/itunes:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dhammagiri-buddhist-podcasts/id1534539834



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This is a new stereo recording of the chanting we do at the end of every Sunday afternoon session at 5.00 pm, called "Verses of Sharing and Aspiration"

You can find it in the Amaravati Chaning Book on page 33:

"Through the Goodness that arises from my practice..."



We chanting an English translation of the traditional Pali chant known as "Uddissanādhiṭṭhāna-Gāthā" ("Iminā Puññakammena..."), used to share whatever good karma one has generated in the preceding meditation/puja/Dhamma reflections.

We're actually playing the Amaravati version in the background on loudspeaker, to make the sound a bit fuller.

We have also included the traditional Pali verses recited when bowing to the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha at the very end of the session.



English Text:

"Now let us chant the verses of sharing and aspiration!

Through the goodness that arises from my practice,May my spiritual teachers and guides of great virtue,My mother, my father, and my relatives,The Sun and the Moon, and all virtuous leaders of the world,May the highest gods and evil forces,Celestial beings, guardian spirits of the Earth, and the Lord of Death,May those who are friendly, indifferent or hostile,May all beings receive the blessings of my life.May they soon attain the threefold bliss, and realize the Deathless.



Through the goodness that arises from my practice,And through this act of sharing,May all desires and attachments quickly ceaseAnd all harmful states of mind.Until I realize Nibbāna,In every kind of birth, may I have an upright mind,With mindfulness and wisdom, austerity and vigour.May the forces of delusion not take hold, nor weaken my resolve.



The Buddha is my excellent refuge,Unsurpassed is the protection of the Dhamma,The Solitary Buddha is my noble guide,The Saṅgha is my supreme support.Through the supreme power of all these,May darkness and delusion be dispelled."





"(Arahaṃ) Sammāsambuddho BhagavāBuddhaṃ bhagavantaṃ abhivādemi - [bow]



(Svākkhāto) Bhagavatā DhammoDhammaṃ namassāmi - [bow]



(Supaṭipanno) Bhagavato SāvakasaṅghoSaṅghaṃ namāmi - [bow]"





Amaravati Chanting Book is available here:https://cdn.amaravati.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/30/Chanting-Book-Vol-1-Web.pdf







https://www.dhammagiri.net

The Buddha's teaching on Anattā (Non-Self) is not meant to establish a doctrine or philosophy. It's not meant for mental gymnastics, to think about it in a purley intellectual manner, or to argue about it.

Instead, it's meant as a meditation object, a tool to be used for contemplation, in order to free our hearts from identification, attachment and suffering.

When we contemplate form, feeling, perception, intention and
consciousness as:


"This is not mine, this is not me, this is not my Self",


then we weeken identification and ultimately completely disengage from these five groups of clinging.

It's not so much about trying to determine in an 'objective' manner whether anything is me, mine or self. Ownership and identification is not objectively existing, but it is projection of our own mind. We create and project the illusion of self, ownership and 'I' & 'Me' onto these conditioned phenomena.

The question is simply whether doing such projection, creating such an
illusion, is beneficial for us, or not.


As the phenomena we regard as self and me and mine are constantly changing, and therefore inherently unable to ever give as lasting fulfillment, it's apparent that the self-delusion is NOT beneficial, but ultimately always leads us into suffering.

Thus, the Buddha recommends not to regard anything as self, me and mine, so that we don't experience suffering.


Regarding is something subjective, it's up to us how we prefer to
regard: as self/me, or as not-self/not me. We've got the choice, but we
have to bear the consequences of that choice ;


Regarding anything as me/mine/self, we will continue to experience
disappointment and suffering.


Regarding everything as not-me/not-mine/not-self, we make an end to
disappointment and suffering.






Our Podcast on our own Dhammagiri Website, no need for any special app, just listen in any browser:

https://www.dhammagiri.net/podcast







More about Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage:

https://www.dhammagiri.net/news



Our Youtube Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@dhammatalksatdhammagiri8724



Our email Newsletter:

https://tinyletter.com/dhammagiri/archive



Our Podcasts on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/0SHWfWEGkO8OAtSWNJlqyD



Our Podcasts on Apple/itunes:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dhammagiri-buddhist-podcasts/id1534539834





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Anattā / Not-Self is one of the more difficult, even challenging aspects of the Dhamma. Even long term Buddhists often feel uncertain or even confused what exactly is meant by anattā.

If there's uncertainty on profound aspects of Dhamma, a wise approach is to go back to what exactly the Buddha has said himself about the topic. In the 'Anatta-lakkhaṇa-sutta' (Discourse on the Characteristic of Not-Self) we can find his own extensive elaboration.

Ajahn Dhammasiha guides us through essential passages of this
discourse.

He explains the diffence between 'No Self', which the Buddha actually never taught, and 'Not-Self', which the Buddha frequently taught.




Our Podcast on our own Dhammagiri Website, no need for any special app, just listen in any browser:

https://www.dhammagiri.net/podcast





More about Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage:

https://www.dhammagiri.net/news



Our Youtube Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@dhammatalksatdhammagiri8724



Our email Newsletter:

https://tinyletter.com/dhammagiri/archive



Our Podcasts on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/0SHWfWEGkO8OAtSWNJlqyD



Our Podcasts on Apple/itunes:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dhammagiri-buddhist-podcasts/id1534539834







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