Aruna Ratanagiri Dhamma Talks

(keywords) (slightly edited version) Buddhist meditators, compulsive thinking, self-critical, fire and smoke, irrational fear, chronically disconnected, broken glasses, fully want, open-hearted awareness, vociferous lifestyle gurus, satipatthana sutta, kayanusati, Ajahn Chah, feeling investigation, habits of denial, backlog, pressure, retreat, self harming, anxiety, assailed, zealous, resilience, humility.

(keywords) (slightly edited version) 8 precepts, moral precepts, renunciate precepts, refining the practice, pressure, dam, leaks, Andalusia, transformation, mindfulness of breathing, energy, brahma-viharas, 5 khandas, insubstantiality, insight, liberation

(keywords) (slightly edited version)Dhammapada 418, dreich, Ajahn Chah, ‘Living With the Cobra’, upadana, clinging, Middle Way, All Blacks, thrash, porridge, lashings of chilly powder, organic sultanas, Harnham power porridge, 5 spiritual faculties, intentional inhibitions, indriyasamvara, energy extravagant, anger, balanced aliveness, rejection, feeling enquiring, just-knowing awareness,

(keywords) (slightly edited version) 10 Qualities to develop as protection, inner stronghold, refuge, ultimate refuge in Budddha, Dhamma Sangha, intermediate training, development of qualities worthy of respect, ethical conduct, sila, intention, aspiration, knowing the teachings, being well-learned, chanting, good and profound friendship, kalyanamitta, receiving feedback, readiness to do any task at hand, enthusiasm for Dhamma, putting forth effort, motivation, contentment, being happy with whatever is present, sati, recollection, mindfulness not forgetfulness, wisdom.

(keywords) (slightly edited version) Dhammapada 297, vigilance, chaos, conditioned and unconditioned existence, false stories, protection, Awakening, aligning, orienting, three poisons, greed, hatred, delusions, indignant, aggressive, loss, grief, anger, indictment, Ajahn Chah, Reading the Natural Mind, Awakened Beings, wanting, symbols, Buddha image, approximations, theism, anthropomorphizing, saying grace before eating, gratitude, forgiveness, individuated sense of ‘I’, control freak, Psalm 130, prayer of supplication, ‘Through the goodness that arises from my practice…’, conscious wish, Mahamangala Sutta, imperturbability.

(keywords) (slightly edited version) Explosion, emotional reaction, Kosambi monks, Nalagiri, Cinca, Mahamangala Sutta, Nagampatti, imperturbable, unshakable, actuality, heedless habits of clinging, culprit, upadana, Dhammacakkappavattana sutta, pancupadanakkhandha dukkha, the agents of limited being, holding, infancy, reputation, Brahman, medical prognosis, edgeless awareness, Jivaka, obstructing kamma, incremental moments, DDB, Ajahn Chah, charnel grounds, fear of ghosts, rejections, anger, intensity, daring, trying to have special experiences, integrity, lotus, physical exercise, cankama, walking meditation, Luang Por Wan, formal meditation, formal study, learning chanting, and physical exercise, kalyanamitta, good friends, confessional, priest, recitation of the 227 rules, intervention, acupuncture, support.

(keywords) (slightly edited version) Ajahn Chah, crazy monastery, giggling, International Forest Monastery, misunderstanding, translation, the disease of unawareness, Buddho, 'the one who knows', selfless, just-knowing, citta, jit, heart, mind, merely thinking, abstractions, clinging, upadana, craving, desire, diabetes, collapsing heart awareness, compulsive behaviour, noting, ouch, centre of our chest, feeling awareness, fascinating carry on in our heads, senses and sense objects, disembodied, What Is Contemplation, pathways, percolate, AI, Chat-bot, abdication, the prison system, deems, punitive approach, punishment, Dhammapada verse 5, hatred, recidivism, Norway, commission, omission, silent meditation retreat, unlove, compassion.

(keywords) (slightly edited version) Dhammapada verse 228, praise and blame, stories whirling around in our heads, hurt, talented, sensitive, self awareness, unique, genetically, kammically, deluded notion, exceptionality, one-upmanship, Abhidhamma, conceit, 9 different types, ditthi mana, the knot of deluded egoity, conundrum, sati-pannya, disciplined attention, discernment, Rangiputa Beach, Pohutakawa, vedananusati, labouring this point, conscious caring, compassion, feeling investigation, stove, 8 worldly dhammas, retreats, the open-hearted state, Wat Hin Mak Peng, conscious relationship, irrational wanting, spew out onto the world, pursuit of aliveness, numbness, addiction to distraction, electric shock, befriend ourselves.

(keywords) (slightly edited version) Dhammapada verse 198, free from misery, accurate record, apocryphal, moot point, Rohini River, drought, water wars, rivers of blood, clear and calm, unwise, unhelpful, beauty, worthy, burden of remorse, upadana, clinging, obstruction of the heart, stubbed toe, pain, suffering, disembodied, concept and actuality, anesthesia, indulge in feelings, depression, numbing ourselves, affluence, distraction, something missing, aliveness, treats, samsara, sacca parami, honesty, laziness, gritting my teeth, exercising here-and-now whole-being judgement-free awareness, public speaking, boredom, addiction, the open hearted state, extreme sport, hymns, bhajans, meditation, shakti, bliss, hang-gliding, forms and spirit, projecting, slaves to the world.

(keywords) (slightly edited version) misperception of reality, two extremes of feeling, neutral feeling as Middle Way, anapanasati, whole-body Eightfold Path, mindfulness in daily life, divine abidings, radiance, five khandas, six senses, insubstantiality, empty, peace

(keywords) (slightly edited version) Dhammapada verse 290, wisdom, going for refuge, joy, confidence, beach, picnic, confidence, initial faith, impermanence, skilful means, tranquillity, deeply relaxed, dissolving habits of denial, DDB, denied dukkha backlog, upaya, armour, anger, sadness, disappointment, addiction to alcohol, wowed, Ajahn Chah, knowing so much, approximations, Abhidhamma, dosa mula citta, fire, patience, interest, knowing directly, discriminative intelligence, feeling investigation, denigrate, not-knowing, cancer, sila, sati, indriyasamvara, our spiritual toolkit, looking at the Buddha’s finger, Venerable Sariputta, intentional inhibition, exuberance, wanting to be sure, vibhava tanha, spacious open-hearted awareness, psychotherapist, empathy, meeting our embarrassing inadequacy, amazing.

(keywords) (slightly edited version) naive hope, succumb to feeling hopeless, cynicism, protection from chaos, buoyed up, ‘Reading The Natural Mind’, wanting and craving, hopefulness and hopelessness, sati-pañña, accuracy of awareness, lashings of cream, floods of maple syrup, repression, feeling without becoming, deconstructing the deluded sense of self, storehouse of wholesomeness and purification, gauging a monk’s competence, festival days, strength, stability, worldly winds, praise and blame, gain and loss, pleasure and pain, honour and insignificance, agility, DDB, denied dukkha backlog, compulsive controlling, default strategy for coping with denied pain, traverse the territory of denial, essay, caught off-guard, puffed up, off hand, lineal logical, tricky, deviousness, Master Hsuan Hua, Wat Bovorn, teacher’s job is to trick you, stories, Ajahn Chah, frustrating, spiritual games, Mara wants us to play games, the Buddha wants us to wake up.

(keywords) (slightly edited version) The Disease of Denied Dukkha, True Principles, mere beliefs, aspirations, lists, 3 fires, 3 poisons, 4 Noble Truths, 4 Brahma Viharas, 5 Hindrances, 5 Ways of Removing Distracting Thoughts, 6 sense bases, 6 sense objects, 7 Factors of Enlightenment, 8-Fold Path, 8 Indicators of That Which is Dhamma, 10 Vectors of Transformation, 10 Parami, 12 links of Dependent Origination, 84,000 dhamma doors, Ajahn Tiradhammo, varieties of approaches, obstructions, kilesa, agility, cutting through, seeing through, burning through, tapa, 3 poisons, greed, hatred, delusion, ice-cream, grades of obstruction, appointment, obeyed, fear of not being heard, DDB, denied dukkha backlog, purifying our hearts, conscious relationship, denial, indulgence, Mt Everest, ‘I’ve been there’, moha, purifying awareness, humility, spiritual companions.

(keywords) (slightly edited version) This talk was given at a memorial service for Daw Myint-Su Criper who passed away 1st April, 2023, in Edinburgh. Daw Myint-Su had been a trustee at Harnham Buddhist Monastery for over thirty years. Keywords: two types of blessings, common-or-garden variety, wholesomeness, understanding, meditation, derogatory comment, brainwashed by the cult of materialism, consciousness, Afghan hounds, screeching birds, True Principles, Ajahn Siripañño, a storehouse of wholesomeness, startup, capitol, too much merit, getting lost, quality of awareness, silence and noise, space and specks of dust, sharing blessings.

(keywords) (slightly edited version) Minor and major suffering, tricks, avoidance, dukkha plus plus, dreams, grief, frozen, tears, parent, emotions, parking, blissful, Four Noble Truths, true principles, upaya, ubai, skilful means, conundrums, miserable, grumpy, backlog, denied life, medicating, spiritual faculties, idealistic, bhava-tanha, vibhava-tanha, aggressive, deficit, forces for transformation, terrible-twos, projections, disillusionment, gentle approach, introspection, misperceive, too much, Ven. Myokyo-Ni, parami, mettabhavana, self-caring, threatening, default, whole-being awareness, recipe book, wound, mirror, modesty, weakness.

(keywords) (slightly edited version) Coming home, dying, truth, via negativa, stress, true happiness, already here, addiction, detox, eight-step programme, coolness, idealism, crash, muck, spiritual friends, not becoming spiritual, freedom.

(keywords) (slightly edited version) Samanera Precepts, structures, inner activity, outer activity, festival, graven images, rituals, deluded sense of self, transforming, anatta, skills, integrity, foundation, lotus, swamp, Ananda, freedom from remorse, disciplined attention, samanas, currency, sati, conscious caring, metta, nutriment, backlog, malnourished orphan, Ajahn Jayanto, our own best friend, conscious composure, inhibit, indriyasamvara, dust, neurotic repression, compulsive exuberance, wise reflection, tangles, translation, Thailand, Theravada Buddhism, kutis, form and spirit, Ajahn Kevali, something beautiful, treasuring, this inheritance, realization, not speculative, Ajahn Chah, masochist, grateful, sacrifices, shaming, guilt-tripping, extraordinary good fortune.

(keywords) (slightly edited version) Joining the monastic community, principles, pressure, deluded sense of self, obstructions, dross, approximations, untamed heart, lucid, spiritual toolkit, integrity, hiriottapa, remorse, disciplined attention, Ajahn Chah, crazy, diminished responsibility, conscious composure, indriyasamvara, jackfruit, compulsiveness, conscious caring, weird cult, wise reflection, tangles, deviousness, the four imponderables, The Potter’s Shed, tradition, transplanting saplings, protecting legacy, sacrifice, competence, community practice, sangha tea, Bani Shorter, ‘harmonious resonance of shared aspiration’.

(keywords) (slightly edited version) Spring, retreat, enlightenment, balance, turgor pressure, blood pressure, central heating system, psychotic episodes, idealism, meniscectomy, whole-being awareness, inspiration intoxication, intelligence, fundamentalists, trust, fear, goal, modesty, anatta, emptiness, deconstruct, cynicism, metta, sadness, compulsive judging disorder, discriminative intelligence, fear of uncertainty, precepts, stress, self-aligning, community, Berwick-upon-Tweed, wilfulness, commitments, adhitthana parami, exercise routine, causal culture, frustration, becoming monk or nun, purifying gold, stable, commitments.

(keywords) (slightly edited version) politics, hollow, inconsequential, principle, 4 Divine Abidings, caring, empathy, image, wound, mirror, actuality, noggin, approximation, sensitivity, processing information, self-referencing, willing to feel hurt, backlog, denied hurt, affluence, entitled, obstructed, wishy-washing, until the cows come home, numbness, children, miserable, softening, breathing exercises, devotion, massage, acupuncture, disappointment, ‘may I be free from suffering’, meditation object, tears, rash, tardy, compassionate awareness, effective actions.