Thai Forest Dhamma

in the tradition of Lungphu Mun Bhuridatto

and his western disciples

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Talks from Ajahn Martin

This website now contains all of Ajahn Martin's recorded talks in English and German (a few in Thai and in French).

Most of the talks were given to laypeople at Baan Taad Forest Monastery who wished to receive instruction on Dhamma and meditation.
Most of the newer talks (from 2013 onwards) were given to newly ordained western monks. The talks are preserved exactly as they were originally given – they have not been cut or corrected. For that reason, they should not be transcribed or translated into another form without Ajahn Martin's written consent.

If you have any questions about the content of the talks, please send an email to th.forest.dhamma@protonmail.com.

Back to All Talks

Date Title Description Album Duration
30-12-15 Daily reflection develops common wisdom
Dhamma Talk 1:19:11
27-12-15 While listening to Dhamma, look at the heart
Dhamma Talk 1:38:25
25-12-15 Don’t waste your life as a human being
Dhamma Talk 1:04:10
23-12-15 Unpleasant feelings that come up with body contemplation.
Dhamma Talk 1:11:21
20-12-15 The most important thing – don’t give into thoughts
Dhamma Talk 55:40
18-12-15 Understanding kamma
Dhamma Talk 1:04:17
13-12-15 Real practice is walking & sitting meditation
Real practice: “real practice is walking meditation and sitting meditation”, having sati during other activities is not the same; Luangta sets up the monastery to have more time for practice, reducing duties to a minimum; Killing: unintentionally stepping on ants is not breaking one's precepts “looking at the small mistakes make us forget the big ones”; Pain investigation: if you want it to disappear, it won't but if you're really interested in, it might disappear instantaneously, same for most of unpleasant feelings; Forest tradition: it's a very straightforward path, no room for “maybe” or doubts; Before stopping the session: sit 5 minutes more and just observe the discomfort, the dukkha; Dukkha: “it drives us nuts”, it's the cause of all our actions.
Dhamma Talk 59:27
11-12-15 Living in a world of symbols
Eating once a day: "what is hunger? Feel it."; Panna: wisdom is based on experience not thinking; Meditation: in the west, they teach meditation to get rid of unpleasant feelings, here we investigate them; "To overcome hell, you have to swim through the fire of hell"; Anger & lust: our experience will show us they are one and the same thing, we have to go beyond symbols, views and opinions, just the pure feelings; Forest tradition: in the west, you just need to sit long enough on your cushion to get enlightened, in the forest tradition, they go to fearful and lonely places, sit on the path of snakes and tigers; Comparaison given by the Lord Buddha of training a bhikkhu like a war elephant; "Easier to fight alone a whole army than to fight oneself": this is the teaching of the Lord Buddha; Investigating pain: observing, accepting and then asking the right questions until the heart knows; Pleasant meditation: don't be afraid to get attached when meditation is easy or pleasant, that's a trick of the kilesas to make you stop.
Dhamma Talk 49:11
9-12-15 Tips to trick the kilesas
Dhamma Talk 27:32
8-12-15 What is difficult?
Doubt: without thoughts, no doubt; Results come with the work, not with expectations; Chanting: help to concentrate but listening to chants can also be distracting; Difficulties: "there is nothing difficult about this, it's just 'Buddho' ", but the kilesas tell us it's difficult.
Dhamma Talk 20:54
6-12-15 What makes us come here?
Dhamma Talk 53:41
4-12-15 Sila, samadhi & Panna is the path out
Dhamma Talk 50:39
2-12-15 Where are doubts coming from?
Dhamma Talk 20:31
29-11-15 Don't be interested in these phenomena
Phenomena: they are just phenomena arising and ceasing, it's important to keep a point of reference (Buddho or the breath); Not forcing, not pushing: learn how to put the effort to bring back the mind on the Buddho, not pushing it; Blank mind: the mind blanks out if there is not enough sati; Interactions with feelings, pictures, thoughts etc.; Kilesas: at the beginning, they are like thoughts, then they seem to be a voice telling us what to do.
Dhamma Talk 49:56
28-11-15 Surrendering to the kilesas
Session of Q&A. Surrendering to the kilesas: "Yes my lord avijja, I'll do what you want but please don't send me to Hell!"; Difference between citta, soul and consciousness; Citta, body and illness: exemple of alzheimer and kamma; Kamma: the citta cannot choose the kamma that comes but it can choose to learn out of it; Dreams: they are like thoughts we have during the day, "same garbage as when we sit down", except lucid dreams; Arahants: they still have thoughts but they just pass by, they have "garbage dreams" as well; Kamma and curing sickness: should we take pills? Yes, if you can. If it doesn't work, it's your kamma; Difference between asian and western minds; Monks eating meat: monks should be contented with what is given (meat, vegetable or whatever lay people have).
Dhamma Talk 55:00
27-11-15 Generosity, respect and gratitude
Life in the monastery: it's not like in a meditation center, everything is given out of the generosity of the lay people, so be contented and grateful by what is given to you; Generosity/Respect/Gratitude and the 5 precepts: the path to go to Heaven; Generosity: giving up material things is easier than giving up our views, thoughts and ideas, so we need to train it; Joy of giving: generosity brings joy 3 times (at the time we think about it, at the time we give, at the time we receive something as a result (kamma)); Respecting all other beings: learning how to dissociate the being from the deeds/actions of this person/being, not disrespecting someone because he did a bad action; Respect/Generosity/Gratitude in Thailand: they are born with those values, but it's a problem for us westerners and it will become an hindrance in our practice; Hell: not keeping the 5 precepts brings you to Hell; Anatta: we are not what we think we are, we see persons, animals but not the essence, like sand castles, we see the forms and we compare but we don't see the essence (sand) which is the same.
Dhamma Talk 43:49
26-11-15 The purpose of samadhi *
Knowingness of the breath: it becomes very subtle, we can't feel it but we still know it, go deeper until it disappears; Arising and ceasing of phenomena: there is a world beyond and that's where we want to go; In appana samadhi, only knowingness remains, it's a preview of Nibbana; Purpose of samadhi: to investigate, we need energy and objectiveness, that's the purpose of samadhi; Sati is the key to our practice; Body contemplation: body is the first object we investigate; Seeing the 4 elements, seeing the body parts; Samadhi and panna: samadhi is used to rest the mind and give energy that we use for our investigation; Investigation is not about imagination; Greed and hatred are rooted in this body, we can't avoid to investigate it; End of body contemplation: we learn how to replace beauty with repulsiveness and vice-versa, we become master of those objects, able to create and destroy them.
Dhamma Talk 54:45
25-11-15 3 kinds of samadhi
Pain/unpleasant feelings will come up on the way to the heart; Questions & answers: need to be out of the system to investigate the system; Pain investigation: it will break through our worldly knowledge/education ("it's in the tendons", "it's because the blood doesn't flow" etc.); Monks smoking cigarettes: it's allowed because nicotine is stimulating like cafeine and also it calms down the hunger, real cause of death is birth; Explanation of the 3 kinds of samadhi: all those samadhi bring energy once we come out; Samadhi and investigation: in the forest tradition, it's important to separate those 2 practices; Watching the content of the mind: watching phenomena arising and ceasing, "you can do this for the rest of your life, and nothing will change"; In the forest tradition, body contemplation leads up to the stage of Anagami, then you can investigate the mind.
Dhamma Talk 44:06
24-11-15 The Law of Kamma
Dhamma Talk 54:38
23-11-15 What is 'the heart' in buddhism?
Dhamma Talk 40:44
22-11-15 What is the purpose of life?
Dhamma Talk 51:11
21-11-15 Buddhism is the path to freedom
Dhamma Talk 26:01
15-11-15 No result without effort
Dhamma Talk 20:19
1-11-15 Struggling along the path
Language of the heart: how to listen with the heart; Action vs. reaction: practice is to learn how to act, to be in control, not just to react like a robot; Specificity of Wat Pa Baan Taad: no group chantings or group sittings, it's the freedom of the University compared to primary/high school; Cycle of birth&death: the citta is addicted to life and plays one life after the other. Luangta calls it the 'everlasting tourist'; The path of practice: we want something (the jahnas/stream-entry/liberation etc.) but are we prepared to give something, to be a hard-core fighter? ; Dukkha vedana: description of the 3 stages of death that Luangta experienced while he was sitting for 12 hours; Avijja: like a tyran, as soon as we oppose/fight it, it's going to put us under a lot of dukkha and we need a lot of resistance/determination; Factors of enlightenment: you also need pity (joy), calm, patience etc. determination alone with no wisdom make people break and disheartened when they fail; Knowing of the heart:it's not a voice like the kilesas.
Dhamma Talk 49:14
25-10-15 Cutting down the forest of kilesas
Dhamma Talk 40:33
18-10-15 The mechanics of the heart
Session of Q&A; Uncomfortable feeling when receiving: how to understand the mechanics of the heart; Restlessness while going back to the world: guard the senses with sati; Happiness: people look for happiness in material things and capitalism relies on greed for those things; Western societies rely a lot on greed and selfishness; Stories of Ajahn Martin's upbringing; Psychology: Freud is one of the greatest mind; Modern psychology, classical psychology and Dhamma; Modern science: what we cannot perceive (like heaven/hell/the citta) does not exist; Is Dhamma scientific? It depends on the definition of “scientific”, in Dhamma you can prove the laws exposed by the Lord Buddha with your own eyes and your own practice; Common sense vs. knowledge: we use to have more common sense, now we have more knowledge; How to know if someone has attained some stages of enlightenment: you need to be at least at his level or above to know this; Attachement to bad moods: there is always a pleasant part in them.
Dhamma Talk 1:10:12
11-10-15 Unconditioning the citta
Dhamma Talk 28:57
4-10-15 Conditioning: Am I a robot?
Pain investigation: only enduring/fighting the path is not the way, but being interested/investigating the pain is; Talking: cutting down on chatting/talking, we talk mostly out of boredom or to boost the ego; Conditioning: people are robots, conditioned beings, but in the practice we try to uncondition ourseleves, asking oneself “am I a robot?” is the first step out, a robot cannot do this; Shame/fear of wrong doing: we need it to act as a human being; Fun: “definition of fun: change”, heating oneself up and then cooling down, the more extreme the change is, the better.
Dhamma Talk 1:15:58
27-09-15 What is sensible?
Dhamma Talk 48:19
20-09-15 Not thinking makes you wiser
Not thinking makes you wiser; All of worries, anger, greed comes with thoughts; Upacara samadhi: our safe house; Desire: all our troubles come from our desires (2nd Noble Truth); Exposition of the 4 Noble Truths, the 5 precepts; 3 most difficult things: being born as a human being, finding the true Dhamma, meeting a Buddha or an Arahant; Differences between Thailand and the West: generosity, knowing a living sasana (religion) with ariyas (noble beings); a living relationship: we expect the other to know our desires even if we don't know ourseleves what we want; Generosity/Respect/Gratitude; Kamma: “what you sow is what you reap”, so there is nothing wrong with this world (work environment, friends, family), we just get what we did; Kings in Thailand: they have to be monks for 2 years, this makes a big difference with our kings; Instructions to start practicing meditation; Life experiences of Ajahn Martin before ordaining as a bhikkhu.
Dhamma Talk 1:10:08
13-09-15 Blinded by science
Dhamma Talk 1:05:20
5-09-15 Unveil the plans of the kilesas
Tricks of the kilesas: the moment there is a comment in our head, the kilesas are planning something; Sati during the duties (cleaning, sweeping, washing etc.); Body&mind: the body can be very weak but the mind lighter and sharp; Cutting down our thoughts: compare the pleasure they give compared to a concentrated mind without thoughts; Process of intention/thought/action: like a CPU, step by step, but we can stop the process any time; Monk's routine: how laziness can grip in.
Dhamma Talk 33:25
30-08-15 How to deal with pain & emotions *
Dhamma Talk 33:30
16-08-15 The essentials of the Lord Buddha's teaching
Exposition of the 4 Noble Truths; Contentment: like monks,having a lot or little, being in a nice place or fearful cave, we learn how to be contented; Sila: exposition of the 5 precepts, these 5 laws give us the right to come back as human beingsl; Kamma: Law of cause and effect; Respect/Generosity/Gratitude: 3 vertues that give us a chance to go the Heavenly realms, also necessary on the path of practice; Samadhi: instruction on “Buddho” and breath meditation; Investigation of the 5 kandhas: they run like gears in a watch, one moving the others, but there is no “self” in the process; Anicca/Dukkha/Anatta: 3 universal principles given by the Lord Buddha; Upacara and Appana samadhi; Investigation of the body; Fear of death; Life of a monk: practice is full time job, 7 days a week, no holidays.
Dhamma Talk 1:12:57
2-08-15 Practicing in the rains retreat
Talk given to monks.
Dhamma Talk 32:08
19-07-15 Don't waste your time – develop sati
Dhamma Talk 16:26
12-07-15 All you have to do is to fight
Kilesas & fighting spirit: loosing out is not the point as long as ou keep fighting; Commentator: what we really experience and what the commentator says in our head differ; Knowledge vs wisdom; Jahna: people confuse the jahnas with samadhi and they believe they need them on the path; Death: if we knew it's only the body that dies, we wouldn't be afraid of death but of kamma, not to do bad deeds; Dukkha: it's not 'suffering' only, people hardly suffer but we all have a lot of dukkha; Burden of the body: like a dog, we have to take it for a walk, move it around all the time; Expectations: don't expect anything, just do the work; Experience of samadhi: it's deeper and lasts longer than all our pleasant experiences in the world; Evening reflection: the important is not to judge but to see objectively what we do during the day.
Dhamma Talk 54:21
10-07-15 Truths we don't want to hear
Body investigation: nobody wants to hear about it but you first need to investigate the body before investigating the mind; Belief: some people believe consciousness arise in the brain but when you've practiced enough, you see intentions arise first in the citta before being processed by the brain; Being around us: we can't see them so we assume they don't exist; Hell: at the time of death, we are the one to see our faults and send us to Hell; Human birth: it's the jumping board to ge out of the cycle of birth and death; Finding some happiness in your life is not so difficult with meditation, but breaking out of the cyle requires a lot of effort; Body contemplation technics; Bad actions: at first, we feel bad but after a few times, it becomes a habit; People who have been in the present moment think it's the ultimate paradise; Kamma of suicide: you go to Hell and you develop a tendency for the next human lifes.
Dhamma Talk 58:17
8-07-15 The cause of death is birth
Smoking: lung cancer comes from kamma, depends on individual; “In the West, they say smoking is dangerous, but I would say being born is dangerous”; Luangta was much more interested in treating the citta rather than the body; Civilizations: according to the Lord Buddha, it's the 4th civilization on this planet, but people believe it's a myth; Citta: Luangta calls it the “everlasting tourist”, going from one life to the next; Dukkha: all actions, words we do/have are done because of Dukkha; Exposition of the 4 Noble Truths; Path of practice: first we remove all the evil in our heart and develop goodness, and then we get rid of both good & evil; Sati: the key factor on the path, it's the eye opener; Description of the knowing nature of the citta; Beauty of Buddhism: it is simple, we don't need to know a lot; Pain investigation; Essence of the 'citta': like a diamond, we only see the facets, not the essence of it.
Dhamma Talk 59:43
5-07-15 Going back to the Buddho
Dhamma Talk 1:14:13
3-07-15 Our problem always starts with Dukkha
Dhamma Talk 1:21:07
28-06-15 Opposing the commands of the kilesas
Self: what is going to die so that we get to freedom? Self, I, conceit; Science: the young generation believes too much in science (medicine, physics etc.) what was considered right yesterday is wrong tomorrow, but we forget; Tricks to fight the kilesas: they constantly lie to us, we have to oppose them with 'No' or 'Not sure'; Appana samadhi through wisdom: you have to oppose the kilesas until they retreat and then the citta can enter into deep samadhi; Awareness: when we eat, we eat and don't think about the next thing, same while sweeping, sitting, walking etc. Kamma and science: if it's your kamma to be healed, you'll be healed, else, you'll die; Cause of death: it's not this or that illness or food or whatever else. For each being, the cause of death is birth; Body contemplation: comparaison with a chemical factory; Kamma & will power.
Dhamma Talk 1:11:12
26-06-15 Develop your own skillful means
Skillfu means: the teacher can give you the general idea, but it's up to you to develop you own skillful means; Kilesas: they change their color over time; How to detect the kilesas: stick to the Buddho or the breath for one or two hours and whatever else comes in is brought up by the kilesas; Science and kamma: it we trust in kamma then we have no worries about what science tells us; How to deal with persistent memories; Investigation of the 5 kandhas: at the end of the practice, we become the chess master; Samadhi: after a real experience of samadhi, you feel focused and refreshed.
Dhamma Talk 1:20:31
21-06-15 The reason so many monks disrobe
Dhamma Talk 1:03:58
19-06-15 When the breath stops, what happens?
Dhamma Talk 56:37
17-06-15 The pull of the kilesas
Dhamma Talk 1:05:10
14-06-15 The experience is real, thoughts are virtual
Dealing with up&down in the practice; Experience: we compare our experience in samadhi with what we read in books or hear from the teacher, but it's just a belief, not the actual experience; Symbols and experience: we have to compare fear, lust, anger at the level of experience not staying at the level of symbols/words; Ability of the Lord Buddha: he was able to lead his disciples during a Dhamma talk to a certain level of insight/enlightenment, Luang Phu Mun as well to a certain degree; Judging the Lord Buddha or Arahants: they see things from the top of the mountain, how dare er judge their actions we who are down in the hill: “sometimes, it took me years to understand why Luangta Maha Buawas acting like this”; Belief: we can shake it by questioning it, with knowingness we can't.
Dhamma Talk 1:00:08
12-06-15 Without thoughts, there are no problems
Thinking: “it creates fear, loneliness, troubles” without thoughts there is no problem; we use our brain like an entertainment machine; Comparing to others: comparing ourselves to others doesn't bring anything good. Not superior, not inferior, not equal, just different; Buddhism: the way is not to convince others, it depends on the interest of others; Kamma and tendencies: the way they are, they change, they are created or removed; Evening reflection: back home everyday, roll up the day to observe what you're doing everyday objectively, it will show you what is wholesome and unwholesome; Gratitude towards parents: how could er accuse them of not doing this or that right while they were doing their best for us.
Dhamma Talk 1:19:30
10-06-15 Sati, opposite of a full mind
Sati/awareness: the mind is empty not full of thougts; upacara samadhi: we are afraid to drop there, without our thoughts and reaching the world of experience; Experience: they of buddhist practice is 'experience'; “whatever can die, let it die and see what remains”; Words of the Lord Buddha or your teacher: they are pointers, not the value itself; Symbols: welive in the world of symbols, occulting the experience itself; Delusion: you cannot really see it yet, because it's hidden behind greed & hatred; Tricks to fight the kilesas: you have to be skillful to counter their answers, it's another way to drop into deep samadhi; Insight without samadhi: they are not deep enough, not able to uproot.
Dhamma Talk 1:17:10
5-06-15 Why are we doing the things that we do?
Dhamma Talk 1:09:10
3-06-15 Coming back to reality
Dhamma Talk 1:02:37
31-05-15 Training the mind to find a safe haven
Body: here we train the mind, not the body. If the mind doesn't move, the body doesn't move; Pain investigation: when you get up from sitting, the pain is gone, this kind of pain is not real; Kilesas: the more we give in (to anger/greed etc.), the stronger they become. Investigate them to see how they work; Training the citta to find a safe haven: we replace all our thoughts with Buddho or the attention on the breath, we redirect the attention but we don't suppress anything; Give yourself to the Buddho: fall into it completely, don't control; Dealing with questions: Buddho, the answer to your questions is Buddho, Buddho will lead you to the knowingness, your true nature; Trust: place your trust in something lasting, not the body (it gets old and sick), not in relationships (we all experienced difficulties), not even in ourselves (we change our thoughts constantly), so trust this knowingness.
Dhamma Talk 52:12
29-05-15 Kamma: you'll get everything back
Kamma: the oppressor of today is the oppressed of tomorrow; Everything is not predetermined, but if you don't make a change (like choosing another path), you will just follow the flow of your stronger kamma; Examples of kamma and their results: generosity & wealth, selfless service & beauty, anger & ugliness etc.; wisdom: it's already in the heart, but it's locked, covered, blocked off; Practice is about opening the heart and showing it what's going on; Pain: kilesas don't like to hear Dhamma so they can bring pain in the legs while sitting and listening to Dhamma; Mara: it's a real being, enjoying having powers over others like the dictators.
Dhamma Talk 54:06
27-05-15 Be honest with yourself
Kamma & thoughts: Thoughts (evil or good) arise because of old kamma; Honesty: be honest with yourself, don't suppress things, accept them (greed, anger etc.); Accepting the evil in our heart is difficult; “what you can't accept, you can't remove”; Freedom of accepting oneself: nothing to hide or to pretend; Kamma: there is no beings, no government, no God who do something onto you, everything comes because of your own doing in the past; story of a Christian mystic (Meister Eckhart) who had similar experiences with buddhist practitioners, he described a state beyond God; Letting-go: only when the heart understands, it will let go on his own.
Dhamma Talk 40:13
26-05-15 The only true religion
Practice: when the practice goes bad, that's when we can learn most; Anatta: helpful tool to counter-attack the kilesas; The 10 fetters of the path; 1st fetter - “doubt”: doubt that there is heaven and hell, kamma and result of kamma; Christianity: the teachings of Jesus are different from the beliefs of the Church; Luangta said: Buddhism is the only religion, because in all of the others, there are still kilesas; Gods: there are Gods who can create planet systems, plants, trees but they cannot create beings like us, only our kamma create this; Responsability: in Buddhism, no God to blame, all the responsibility falls into our own hands; Christian dogma: it was forbidden in Europe to open a corpse because the body was considered as “holy”, but there is nothing holy there; 3rd fetter – thinking that the body and the citta are one and the same thing: exposition of some methods of body contemplation to remove this fetter.
Dhamma Talk 1:00:17
24-05-15 Wherever we go, we meet ourselves
Dhamma Talk 1:11:10
22-05-15 Don't waste this opportunity
Dhamma Talk 1:11:44
20-05-15 Cleaning the garbage of the senses
Dhamma Talk 56:19
17-05-15 A monastery is not a hotel
Dhamma Talk 1:14:04
13-05-15 Learning from difficulties
Dhamma Talk 51:48
6-05-15 What is the meaning of life? **
Dhamma Talk 57:01
3-05-15 A blank mind is not aware
Right awareness: a blank/dark/dull mind is not right awareness/sati, the mind should become bright and sharp; Hindrances: sloth & torpor, anger, greed, they all come when we start practicing; Pain while sitting in meditation: it's not the muscles or bones that twist, it's the citta that twist; Walking meditation: after walking for hours, it's easier to sit and get concentrated; Birth&Death: we are born to die and most people just kill the time until death; Sati: we think we are mindful but only when we reach 50% of sati we can see how unaware we are; Surrendering: surrendering 100% to your teacher and Dhamma is the best thing you can do for your practice.
Dhamma Talk 49:10
2-05-15 Do you really want to be born again?
Why don't we want to come back? Dukkha!; Exposition of the 4 Noble Truths; Samadhi: learn how to concentrate on one point, put all your interest in the “Buddho”; Sati/awareness: we develop it with “Buddho”; Thoughts: we live in our own world of thoughts, when you are able to stop them you will feel relieved; Walking meditation: each way you turn around, you reinforce the determination just to stay on the “Buddho”;
Dhamma Talk 20:13
26-04-15 Courtesies towards visiting monks
Talk given to monks.
Dhamma Talk 55:23
22-04-15 Following the masses leads to Hell
Dhamma Talk 1:05:13
19-04-15 What is progress in practice?
Dhamma Talk 40:04
17-04-15 The factors of enlightenment
Dhamma Talk 1:06:01
15-04-15 Without the generosity of laypeople, monks could not exist
Calm: what leads to calm? Keeping the mind on one point; Experience in Germany: people came everyday to listen to the Dhamma, because it was free and they didn't care at all about how a monk lives (food, shelter, medicine). There are no organizations to provide the necessities for the monks, everything come from the generosity of the lay people; A monk has to train 10-20 years before being able to teach others, all this time, people support him with the necessities; “In the west, we are actually vultures”; Q&A after the talk: Evolution of beings: “we don't come from the monkeys”, human realm, animal realm, ghost realm and deva realms have been there forever; Citta, kamma and the essence of the citta; Coma: out-of-body experiences.
Dhamma Talk 49:38
14-04-15 Buddhist practice points towards oneself
Kamma: whatever you do it will come back onto you, so just do to others what you would like others to do onto you; Compassion & Kamma: kamma is there to teach ourselves not others, not judging others; Being like an example, not trying to change others; Zen & Mahayana practitioners: when they hear about body contemplation: what's that? Theravada tradition: the only tradition which tries to keep the same rules (227 for the monks) and follow strictly the same path of practice as 2500 years ago.
Dhamma Talk 1:07:59
13-04-15 Samadhi is sharpening your knife
Investigation: need to have sharp knife before investigating, i.e a stable and calm mind; Investigation: it's not intellectually sorting things out, it's questioning ; Delusion: it's hidden behind greed & hate, you can't see how it works; The path: you need to know little (the 4 Noble Truths, Anicca/Anatta/Dukkha) but practice a lot; Kamma & caste system: if someone is low caste because of kamma, still we should have compassion and try to help if we can; Kamma: you can't nullify bad kamma with good kamma; Time of death: good to remind the person the good things he/she did to feel lighter and not to go down.
Dhamma Talk 1:06:40
12-04-15 Practice is a full time job
Practice: from 8 to 12 hours, up to 16 hours a day, it's a full time job; Meditation: the most tedious work in the world; Sati-Panna: the 2 tools to fight the kilesas; Anicca/Anatta/Dukkha: 3 principles of this Universe; Anicca: nothing remains unchanged/stable, you can't rely on anything; Anatta: like being absorbed in a movie; The power of concentration; Appana samadhi: the breath stops, the body is like dead and the citta is gone, it's a preview of Nibbana; Sila/samadhi/panna: 3 columns that need to be built together in the practice; Pain investigation: requires a lot of concentration and sati, you can't be unaware for a second.
Dhamma Talk 51:25
11-04-15 Why are we so stingy?
Generosity: why can't we give and share? Gratitude: realizing how much we are dependent on other people (food, cloth, health etc.); Generosity/respect/gratitude: basic pre-requisites of the practice; How to give from the heart; Getting inspired by the Thai people; Kamma; Doubt: right and wrong kind of doubt; Kilesas: turning off the voice inside your head, what a relief! Food: we only eat for the taste/tongue and not for the body/stomach; Life as a human being is precious, but most of us just kill the time until death; Desire: you need desire to practice, to go on the path, desire gives energy.
Dhamma Talk 1:13:22
3-04-15 The persuasive power of the kilesas
Dhamma Talk 48:36
1-04-15 Wisdom through overcoming difficulties
Dhamma Talk 45:36
29-03-15 Don't stagnate on nice feelings, dig further
Concentration: just stay on the “Buddho”, not following feelings, lights that can appear; Nice feelings in meditation: it's ok to enjoy them for a while but be aware that they are not satisfactory or you will never go deeper; Citta & the body: the more the citta is concentrated, the mode the body disappear from the awareness; Being in the present moment is the only way to really be alive, not like a running program; The Lord Buddha gave us technics and tools to understand the Truth from ourselves.
Dhamma Talk 46:42
27-03-15 Thrown from one existence to the next
Practice in the West: just to feel ok, to feel better and not digging deeper & going through difficulties; Who are you? What is “Self”? Not the body, the feelings, the thoughts or the memories, we have not the control of them; Explanation of the 5 precepts; Kamma, hell and heaven; The roller coaster of birth and death; Sotapanna: only them, we are sure to reach Nibbana and not to fall in the lower realms; Ajahn Martin's personal practice: up to 18 hours a day, eating once a week, not concerned about anything else than practice and the will not to be reborn again; The hide-out for the kilesas is in the heart; Meditation is observing, not controlling; Body contemplation: stay focus on only one part for one hour (or more).
Dhamma Talk 57:38
25-03-15 Observing, not controlling
Talking a lot disturbs the practice; Observing: you cannot control the Universe and the world around you, you have to observe and understand the Law; About fasting; Learning from our mistakes; Developing sati and samadhi; Mindfulness is not sati/awareness; Exposition of the 4 Noble Truths; Energy and the 4 elements; Being awake not like a programmed robot/zombie like most of people in the world; Freedom, responsibility and Buddhism.
Dhamma Talk 1:09:15
22-03-15 What is enlightenment?
Dhamma Talk 49:28
18-03-15 Finding out the root cause
Dhamma Talk 1:06:25
15-03-15 Meditation, like a silent prayer
How to practice mediation; Meditation like a silent prayer but in meditation you don't ask anything like with prayers; Dealing with hunger: you cannot stop bodily feelings but you can observe them; The place of Gods in Buddhism: they can create world systems, trees etc. but not beings, not us, the real Creator is Avijja.
Dhamma Talk 43:18
15-03-15 Observing without judging
Sensation at the solar plexus: just keep your interest at the tip of the nose (for breath meditation); The important is to stick to the object of calm or investigation; Observing without judging to get wisdom; Body contemplation: it brings up anger/violence; Pleasure: is excitement/ thrilling really pleasurable? Compare it with the peace of samadhi; Meditation: find the right balance like while riding a horse.
Dhamma Talk 23:34
11-03-15 What the hell is going on?
Talking disturbs our practice; Fostering sati: ask yourself: “What the hell is going on?”; Body contemplation: visualizing the body parts; Jahna: 18 years of hard training to develop them, but it's not wisdom/liberation, people like them because they can give powers; mindfulness of the body during activities.
Dhamma Talk 43:21
8-03-15 Taking responsibility
The body is a biological robot, the citta created the body – not god, kamma – the law of cause & effect, what you sow is what you reap, accepting one's kamma, body investigation – 'clothes make people', removing the skin, greed & hate lie within the body, learning from the animals, destroying the illusion of the beautiful body, unpleasant bodily feelings, the body & citta are not the same thing, the heavy burden of the body, investigation – chopping up & rearranging the body, teaching the citta not the brain, the body is like a car – the citta is the driver, training visualisation, seeing inside the body, the body is a chemical factory, the disgusting reality of the body – dealing with unpleasant feelings, how the citta lets go.
Dhamma Talk 1:00:13
6-03-15 What did the Lord Buddha teach?
The facets of the citta, the chain reaction of emotions, deep samadhi – facing death, the 4 Noble Truths – why do we do the things we do? - Dukkha, desire - the cause of dukkha, the path to the end of dukkha – Sila, the 5 precepts – protection from birth in the lower realms, heaven & hell, rollercoaster of life, samadhi (concentration), anapanasati, 'Buddho', practising is like learning to walk or talk, meditation is replacement not supression, facing the opressor within, when thoughts stop – the realm of experience, looking for contentment, one-pointedness – our true nature, wisdom comes through experience, investigating the body, seperation of citta and body, life is like a video game, the 5 khandas make 'self'.
Dhamma Talk 49:09
4-03-15 Entering the stream
Magha Puja, birth & death, suicide, fear of death, story of prometheus, heaven & hell, kamma, the 5 precepts, the 1st fetter – doubt, 2nd fetter – not keeping the precepts, 3rd – believing the body & citta are one, deep samadhi, breaking the first 3 fetters to enter the stream, teaching the heart not the mind, longing for rebirth, the heart is the prime-mover, investigating to train the heart, the body is a chemical factory, greed for food, self-view & the body, being fooled by the skin, importance of hair and clothing, loathsomeness of the body, taking the body apart, we are not seperate from each other, similie of the car as the body, deep samadhi for 7 days.
Dhamma Talk 51:42
1-03-15 One focal point, the essence of samatha
Kilesas compared to excitement; Replacing every phenomenon with Buddho, seeing them passing by; Samadhi needs a point to focus on; Lucid dreams; Dealing with sexual energy.
Dhamma Talk 20:24
27-02-15 Don't say "I can't"
Experience of samadhi; Appana samadhi/one-pointedness: to reach that stage, you have to use a reference point (the breath or Buddho); Kilesas: chuck the oppresor out!; Despair: might lead some persons to samadhi; “I can't concentrate”: that's the kilesas but if you want it you can do it; The Lord Buddha was willing to faint or to fall unconscious not to give in to the kilesas; Heaven and Hell;
Dhamma Talk 30:54
25-02-15 Beyond the symbols
Energy: what to do with the abundance of energy coming with the practice; Dukkha: if we could see that everything we do is out of dukkha, we would practice more; Excitement: investigate it, it is really wholesome and comfortable? Fear of death: good people are not afraid of death, but most people are because they know what they did and where they go; Accepting oneself: all of us are born as human beings because of greed and hate, so don't put things under the carpet; Suicide: it leads first to hell and then you keep this tendency for 500 lifes, so don't start!; Travel: if you like a place, just stay there, but we get attached to our plans, seeing the Great Wall in China etc... but it's just stone! Symbols: the kilesas throw symbols at you (“fun”, “excitement” etc.) and you catch them!
Dhamma Talk 1:12:33
24-02-15 Under the control of the inner voice
Boredom, restlessness, pain, we are here to investigate everything; Innver voice: we follow its order and say “yes, my Lord”; Alcohol: even 1 glass of beer has devastating effects on our practice, unable to concentrate; Kamma; The 3 fetters to overcome to enter the Stream of Nibbana (sotapanna); Avijja: we are a puppet on a string under the rule of Avijja; Kilesas: they are clever so we have to run a strategic war; How to practice back in the world; Reading books, watching movies: do it but observe yourself.
Dhamma Talk 1:18:49
23-02-15 Sati is awareness, not mindfulness
Sati is the most important thing, awareness knows without labelling, seeing your own unawareness, respect – accepting people as they are, our only right is to receive our kamma, respect for the Dhamma, generosity & gratitude, generosity in Thailand, being used by others, kamma & death – Phuket tsunami, Arahant plane crash, the effect of music, 'Buddho' meditation, living in a virtual reality, asking 'how?' not 'why?', teaching the heart, only the heart can let go, the kilesas using Dhamma, replacing thoughts, drug experiences, reprogramming the mind, meditation in other religions, seeing into the future, deja vu, nimittas, intuition.
Dhamma Talk 1:16:31
22-02-15 Stick to the point of reference
Practising in quiet places, anapanasati & 'Buddho' to get to the heart, disturbances from inside & outside, upacara samadhi – thoughts stop, like a safe house. The mind likes to wander, the kilesas – our oppressors, avijja – the dictator, the weapon of Dhamma, the power of the kilesas, greed hate & delusion, the purpose of practise – the supreme happieness, the body – a chemical factory, loathsomeness of the body, dressing-up to attract others, dukkha – the 1st Noble Truth, Desire – the 2nd Noble Truth, there is an end of dukkha – 3rd, the path to the end of dukkha – 4th. The 5 precepts, homosexuality, prostitution, protection from falling to the lower realms, hell. Samadhi – always returning to the 'Buddho'. One-pointedness – the universe dissapears. Wisdom – investigating the 5 khnadas, stages of enlightenment. Practise is not to supress things, the root of sexual desire.
Dhamma Talk 47:01
21-02-15 Caught up in the movie called "life"
Kamma: whatever you've done to others, others will do onto you; Anicca & Kamma: everything changes, now you're generous, so in the next life you are rich and then you become stingy! Movie: caught up in life like caugth up in a movie; feelings, thoughts are not “self” because you can know and observe them; Roller coaster: we go up very slowly but we rush down.
Dhamma Talk 56:48
20-02-15 Who deserves our utmost respect?
Respect: parents and then teachers deserve our utmost respect; Respect, gratitude & generosity: 3 vertues mandatory when we start the practice; Exposition of the 4 Noble Truths; Sila & the 5 precepts; Samadhi: Buddho or the breath as the point of reference. It requires a lot of training like learning to walk or to talk, cannot acquire it from books; Kilesas: leave out that voice in your head, it's like a commentator: “you have to like this or that, do this or that etc.”; Body contemplation: whatever you put in is nice (food, cloth etc.), whatever comes out is dirty and filthy like a chemical factory.
Dhamma Talk 57:55
15-02-15 Sharing metta with other beings
Sharing metta: feeling other beings/devas taking metta; Wasting one's own life: being a human being, meeting the real Dhamma and meeting the Buddha or an Arahant, 3 things so hard to obtain, don't waste it; Thailand is the richest country regarding Dhamma.
Dhamma Talk 29:19
11-02-15 Eat less & sleep less to strengthen sati
Sati: eat less & sleep less, overcome agitation to get a level deeper; Citta: the essence of the citta is invariant but the indiviual citta is under the power of Avijja; Kamma: what makes people rich or beautiful; Heaven: too confortable to practice, human life is the jumping board to Nibbana; Automatic sati and panna: comes after the stage of Anagami; Luang Phu Mun and his vow of bodhisatva; Body contemplation: investigate one part/one subject per session (1, 2 or 6 hours); Internal image of the body: it has to be stable to play with it (burn it, let it decay etc.)
Dhamma Talk 1:12:41
8-02-15 You can't control the world
Not controlling the breath, reducing sleep and food, body investigation – to uproot dukkha, mobile phones & social networking sites, running away from dukkha, story of Angulimala, getting disillusioned, the function of samadhi & panna, staying with feelings, developing constant sati, the kilesas wanting to play, finding motivation, the book 'Patipada'.
Dhamma Talk 1:06:31
1-02-15 Teach the heart
Over – eating, the fire of the senses, awareness, cutting down on sleep, only the heart can let go, closing the sense doors, evening reflection, doing things with sati, zombies, kilesas can only suggest, investigating feelings, anicca, dealing with hinderances, revolting against the kilesas, the intention to think, language of intention, patterns of behavior.
Dhamma Talk 29:40
28-01-15 How to get detached from the body
Samatha/Calm meditation: first step of detachment from the body; Investigation of the body will bring detachment; Contemplate the long training of the body: digestion, walking, talking then thinking: 16 years of training before using the body as we want. After 45 y-o, the body falls apart, do you want to do it again & again?; Investigation of the senses: they don't bring real satisfaction, we always want more; Loathsomeness of the body: "take off the skin and all your fantasies about this body are gone"; Pleasure with the body: only comes to relieve unpleasant feelings (hunger, thrist, cold, tiredness etc.); Death contemplation: the 4 elements are torn apart.
Dhamma Talk 1:10:17
26-01-15 All that you have to do: Buddho
Hypnotism & Citta; Patience is the most important; Buddho: if you feel up or down, depressed or angry, just go back to the Buddho; 3 things difficult to obtain: human birth, hearing the true Dhamma, meet the Buddha or an Arahant; Upacara samadhi: a new completely different world, with no thoughts, only experience; Investigation: pain, greed and anger; Dealing with sexual desire: taking the object of desire apart, slice it off or remove the skin; Defiled citta: like a slide projector, we project our view on objects, we don't see them in a clear light; Sati: the only shortcut on the path.
Dhamma Talk 56:33
24-01-15 The fundamental law of the universe
Difficulty concentrating, practise is like learning to walk, programming the body, difficulty growing up, getting control of the citta, heaven & hell, doubt – the 1st fetter, kamma – can't be erased – the only escape is Nibbana, intention creates kamma, not knowing our intentions, importance of sati (awareness), what is reborn? What is 'I'? The 5 khandhas, self is like a pocket watch, Anatta – not-self, the inner-movie of life, life is like a video game, the commentator, the 2 powers in our heart – kilesas & Dhamma, staying with unpleasant feelings, rollercoaster of life, how to obtain a human birth – a rare opportunity, drugs & alcohol, dealing with kamma, looking inside not outside, cleaning the heart, cutting down on sleep, sati in daily life, the meaning of 'religion'.
Dhamma Talk 1:14:01
23-01-15 What Luangta Maha Bua taught
Practising at Wat pa Baan Tad, 3 types of samadhi, sleeping for 4 hours, investigating tiredness, sati – awareness, Panna – wisdom, anapanasati, 'Buddho', knowingness of the citta, appana samadhi, upacara samadhi – the world of experience, boredom, dullness, tricks of the kilesas, Avijja – the commentator, body investigation, loathsomeness of the body, 4 stages of enlightenment, body investigation leads to non-returning, discomfort of the body, the body is a biological robot, the dhutangas, Buddhism in the west, forgetting to practise, the power of avijja, dealing with fear & attatchment, fighting the champion (avijja), kamma, the monk's rules, how to repay the teacher, finding fault with others.
Dhamma Talk 1:28:36
21-01-15 Getting to know the breath
Problems in meditation, 'the one who knows', dullness, day-dreaming, don't ask 'why?', letting go with the heart, investigating feelings, when to investigate the body, observing not controlling, life as a monk.
Dhamma Talk 37:29
18-01-15 Asubha brings up irritation
Body contemplation: fear or desire to throw-up are created by the kilesas to stop us from doing body contemplation; Kilesas: sometimes you cannot fight them, so you have to try again; Irritation: it comes with asubha, so don't give in; Pain investigation: to know where it's coming from you have to observe and follow where it moves; Insight: it cannot come if we have assumptions; 2 types of appana samadhi: one through samatha, one through wisdom.
Dhamma Talk 32:50
16-01-15 Body contemplation to uproot greed & hate
Evening reflection: helps us to see unwholesome actions we do during the day; 3 things very difficult to obtain: human birth, meet the true Dhamma/teaching, meet an Arahant; 5 precepts: societies in the world don't keep the 5 precepts, a lot of sexual misconduct; Greed & hatred: we get rid of them with body contemplation; Investigation of the 5 senses: always the same ingredients, why don't we get bored? Investigation of death: seeing the elements going back to their own nature; Avijja: when we undermine its power, it sends its soldiers; the 10 fetters and the 4 stages of enlightement; the middle path is not going to the extremes but it requires utmost effort!
Dhamma Talk 54:54
14-01-15 About Buddhism and Christianity
10 commandments (Christianity) and the 5 precepts (Buddhism): the 5 precepts are a little bit stricter; Question of rebirth in Christianity; Behaving in society: you should help others (poor people etc.) because of the law of Kamma "what you sow that you will reap"; Changing the world: don't try to change the world, but be a good example like Jesus and people will follow. Example of Luangta Maha Bua who helped all the Thai nation to save it from the economic crisis, by being an example of generosity.
Dhamma Talk 13:46
14-01-15 Everything originates from the citta
Body movement & restlessness: "when the body moves, the citta has moved already"; Fear: when you get concentrated, fear can come because the kilesas are afraid to lose their power; Sati: if you can catch the point between in-breath and out-breath, then you are up to the speed of the citta.
Dhamma Talk 16:35
11-01-15 Uprooting wrong views – ending dukkha
Dukkha: it comes from our desire. Greed/hatred are rooted in the body; We need to tell others how good we are; Influence: the Lord Buddha advises us to get along with wise/good people and away from bad people; Desire for Liberation or keeping the precepts is not the cause of dukkha; Kilesas: first we train them to be good, then we get rid of them; Praise & Fame: it can badly affect even a relatively good person as long as one is not pure; Images and nimitta; Body loathsomeness.
Dhamma Talk 59:37
7-01-15 Dealing with Parents – the language of the heart
Irritation/Agitation: "it means your asubha practice is going well"; Relation with parents: don't try to convince them, just be. Also listen to them and thank them; Being a monk: if you want to practice all day long, that's the way to go; Body contemplation: people's interests are all about this body (clothing, housing, beauty, strength etc.); Teachers in the West: mostly teach out of ego; How important is a good teacher: "it's 100% of the spiritual life" says the Lord Buddha; Luangta never smiled at his monks, always pointing out your wrong doing; Addicted to samadhi: it's the best addiction you can get in the world, it's not a waste because then you can go really fast on the path.
Dhamma Talk 1:25:14
4-01-15 The truth about the body
Dukkha – dissatisfaction, cause of dukkha – wanting & not wanting, the path to the end of dukkha – the 5 precepts, the law of kamma, samadhi – concentration & awareness, Anapanasati, “Buddho”, Wisdom – understanding what is going on. Knowingness & the commentator, one-pointedness. The body is a biological robot, the body dies not the citta, the dukkha of the body, rebirth, heaven & hell, body investigation, stages of enlightenment, disgusting nature of the body, greed & hate, the nature of bodily pleasure & pain, living with Luangta Maha Bua, standing & walking meditation, creation of emotions, living in an illusion.
Dhamma Talk 56:21
1-01-15 Last third of our life
Dhamma Talk 1:10:45