Dhammagiri Buddhist Podcasts Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage

What does it really mean "to take refuge in Sangha"?

What if a very senior monk disrobes, how can we protect our mind from losing faith in such situations?

Ajahn Dhammasiha points out that our refuge in terms of Sangha is:
"...Yadidaṃ cattāri purisayugani, aṭṭha purisapuggala - Esa Bhagavato Sāvakasangho...
"...Namely the four pairs of persons, the eight kind of individuals - THESE are the Sangha of the Exalted One's disciples..."

In the strict definition given by the Buddha himself, 'Sangha' as refuge is NOT the ordained sangha of monks and nuns, but it is only those who have realized one of the stages of awakening, whether lay or ordained.

If we keep that in mind, and direct our faith not to just to individual monks or nuns, but to the community of those who have realized the Dhamma, our faith will not be shaken if an individual monk or nun disrobes or acts in uninspiring ways.

Naturally, as we can't know who truly has realized stages of awakening, there is a tendency to regard the ordained sangha as a symbol for the community of awakened disciples, as we can actually recognize monks and nuns easily by their wearing robes, and our faith likes to have something visible and concrete to latch on. There is nothing wrong in that, especially as so many Arahants and noble disciples have been part of the ordained sangha.

But even so, we should be mindful to direct our faith to the WHOLE sangha, the complete sangha of the four quarters and the three time periods, rather than only to individual monks or nuns who we feel personal affection for. Again, this will protect our faith from crumbling in case a monk or nun we like does not meet our expectations.

A Dhammatalk by Ajahn Dhammasiha about the numerous benefits of associating with people who have noble qualities and realized awakening.



By the way, we’ve got playlists of our Visiting Teachers, Chanting, Guided Meditations and Sutta Explorations available on our Spotify Profile here:

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

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Guided Meditation and Question & Answer session at Dhammagiri with Ajahn Vajiro, currently abbot of Sumedharama monastery in Portugal on Sunday, 25th February.



Ajahn Vajiro first gives a short guided meditation. In the session afterwards he is answering questions on the topics of the meaning of the Ovāda Pātimokkha & Mangala Sutta, about Silence & Space and about clinging to views & opinions.



By the way, we’ve got playlists of our Visiting Teachers, Chanting, Guided Meditations and Sutta Explorations available on our Spotify Profile here:

⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/user/8z4dmrysnbbnjtz9f0wzjgcr



Our Podcast is also available 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://www.dhammagiri.net/newsletter



Our Podcasts on Spotify:

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Our Podcasts on Apple/itunes:

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On occasion of Visākhā Pūjā, Ajahn Dhammasiha relates the events leading up to the Buddha's Supreme Awakening under the Bodhi Tree.

Initially, the Bodhisatta practised extreme austerities in the believe that only through pain one can eradicate desire and attain perfect release. He fasted and tortured his own body until he almost died.

When he collapsed, the Bodhisatta fortunately remembered how he had attained Samādhi (the first Jhāna) as a little child, sitting in the shade of a Roseapple tree. The insight occurred to him that the happiness of Jhāna is not be be feared of avoided, as it is utterly seperated from sensuality or unwholesome states. He realized that the wholesom, spiritual rapture and bliss of Samādhi is not an obstruction to awakening, but actually an essential part of the path.

Eating and regaining his strength, he found a suitable location for developing samādhi, and after attaining the various jhānas, he sat down under the Bodhi Tree with the famous resolution:

"Even if my blood and flesh completely dry out until only skin, sinews and bones remain; I will not break this posture unless I have attained complete freedom from suffering!"

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During his visit at Dhammagiri, Ajahn Vajiro responds to a question from the audience:

What's the reason that apparently only so few practitioners actually succeed to attain Nibbana?



Ven. Ajahn Vajiro was born in Malaysia in 1953 and has been a Buddhist monk for over 40 years.

In 1979, he met Ajahn Chah and Ajahn Sumedho when they made a visit to Hampstead Vihara in Oakenholt, England. He received higher ordination from Ajahn Chah personally in Thailand in 1980 at Wat Nong Pah Pong.

After helping with the opening of Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in the UK, he participated in the running of both Harnham Buddhist Monastery and Chithurst Forest Monastery. In 1993 he moved to New Zealand to lead the Bodhinyanarama community in Wellington for five years. Following this he entered a three-year retreat in Australia before returning to Amaravati in 2001.

In 2012 he moved to Portugal, where he had been closely involved in the establishment of ⁠Sumedharama Buddhist Monastery⁠ near Lisbon, which is where he is now based.


Our Podcast is also available 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://www.dhammagiri.net/newsletter⁠



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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Before departure to the large gathering of Sangha at Amaravati Ajahn Dhammasiha shares reflections on the importance of Sangha meeting in harmony for the longevity of the Sasana.

More than 140 monks are expected to gather on occasion of the Acariya Puja for Luang Por Sumedho's 90th birthday.

Meeting frequently in harmony, conducting business in harmony, and parting in harmony, are the first 3 conditions for non-decline of the Sangha expounded by the Buddha. Luang Por's birthday provides an excellent opportunity to us monks in the tradition of Ajahn Chah to do exactly this.

Another factor for non-decine is to honour the senior monks, the 'leaders of the herd', as the Buddha described them. Again, our meeting will serve this purpose.



By the way, we’ve got playlists of our Visiting Teachers, Chanting, Guided Meditations and Sutta Explorations available on our Spotify Profile here:

⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/user/8z4dmrysnbbnjtz9f0wzjgcr



Our Podcast is also available 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://www.dhammagiri.net/newsletter



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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