Waiting for Peace to Show Up

0:00 This is what should be done by one who is skilled in goodness and who knows the path of peace let them be able and upright straightforward and gentle in speech humble and not conceited Contented and easily satisfied, unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways, peaceful and calm and wise and skillful, not proud and demanding in nature, the Report an error in the passage at 0:00 Highlight the passage at 0:00

0:54 slightest thing is would later reprove. Wishing in gladness and in safety all beings be happy, whatever living beings there may be, whether they are weak or strong, omitting none, the great or the mighty, medium, short or small, the seen and the unseen. Report an error in the passage at 0:54 Highlight the passage at 0:54

1:35 Those living nearer, those born and to be born, may all beings be happy, deceive another, or despise any being in any state. Let none thresh Report an error in the passage at 1:35 Highlight the passage at 1:35

2:04 harm upon another, even as a mother protects with her life. Her child, her only child, so with a boundless heart should one cherish your living beings, radiating kindness over the entire world, Report an error in the passage at 2:04 Highlight the passage at 2:04

2:34 spreading upwards to the skies and downwards to the depths, outwards and unbounded. Freed from hatred and ill will, whether standing or walking, seated or lying down, free from drowsiness, one should sustain this recollection. This is said to be the sublime abiding by not holding to fixed views. The pure-hearted one, having clarity of vision, being freed from all sense desires, is not born again into this world. Report an error in the passage at 2:34 Highlight the passage at 2:34

3:41 Time will be passed to you, Bajang. Okay, sure. So, I've only done this once before quite a long time ago, so I was just wondering, most of you, like you've... Everyone's been here before or is this the first time for anybody? Maybe you can just put up your hand if it's the first time I can kind of see people. Report an error in the passage at 3:41 Highlight the passage at 3:41

4:05 Most Report an error in the passage at 4:05 Highlight the passage at 4:05

4:10 of you seem like regulars so I guess you've all meditated before as well then. About Report an error in the passage at 4:10 Highlight the passage at 4:10

4:21 the recording, so I am recording it on a camera here. Since Report an error in the passage at 4:21 Highlight the passage at 4:21

4:32 it was quite a long time ago that I did this and I don't know most of you, I know maybe there's one or two familiar faces, I just thought... I'd start with the number one question that monastics get asked, which is, why did you ordain? Also, that's a kind of a familiar and safe topic for me, so I'll start with that and then see where it goes. Report an error in the passage at 4:32 Highlight the passage at 4:32

4:55 When Report an error in the passage at 4:55 Highlight the passage at 4:55

5:00 people ask that question, what often comes up for me is that I ordained because of happiness, yeah? I was just following what made me happy, basically. So I grew up and I was obviously, I was not born a nun. Report an error in the passage at 5:00 Highlight the passage at 5:00

5:15 I was a layperson. I grew up in Melbourne and I went to school and university and got a job. I followed the general advice that my parents and the world at large tells you, which is, you know, to study hard and then you can go to university and get a good job and earn money and then you will be happy, basically. Report an error in the passage at 5:15 Highlight the passage at 5:15

5:37 So I did all of those things. I went to university. I got a job that I, it kind of... ticked all the boxes that i would want in a job it was not a job where i was stuck at a desk all day i got to travel and be outside and i worked with nice people but it was at this this point i began becoming a bit suspicious because i was like wait i'm i've done all everything that everybody has told me and i do not i am definitely not happy i'm quite stressed out i was quite stressed out i guess it became very apparent that The material wealth and the friends and the enjoyment that I was having, it just wasn't giving me a sense of fulfillment like I thought it would. Report an error in the passage at 5:37 Highlight the passage at 5:37

6:27 I Report an error in the passage at 6:27 Highlight the passage at 6:27

6:30 had already sort of started doing meditation retreats when I was at university. So my parents are Buddhists, so they're from Sri Lanka originally, and that's where I was born, but I grew up in Australia. And so Buddhism was kind of happened, I like to say it happened in the background of my life for most of... Report an error in the passage at 6:30 Highlight the passage at 6:30

6:52 I grew up with it in the background. And Report an error in the passage at 6:52 Highlight the passage at 6:52

6:58 then at some point, I think in my late teens, I just became more interested in meditation. So at university, through friends, I heard about these Goenka retreats and I was doing them quite regularly. And when I started working, I was realizing that that's the thing that was giving me a sense of peace and happiness much more than anything else in my life. Report an error in the passage at 6:58 Highlight the passage at 6:58

7:19 And so I knew about Dhammasara Monastery from a nun I had met in Melbourne. And I visited for the first time in 2010. And it was just like, wow, you can do this. I can live like this full time, basically. I don't have to go on retreat and then feel sad and then go back to work. I thought being a nun was like being on retreat full time. It's not, just in case anybody thinks that. Report an error in the passage at 7:19 Highlight the passage at 7:19

7:51 But the first time I visited, it was just a very, I guess it was life changing. Basically, it became very clear to me that this is really what I wanted to do. I had to leave. Obviously, I went back to Melbourne and I continued working and then I visited once more. And then in 2012, I sort of packed up my life and moved to Perth for good. Report an error in the passage at 7:51 Highlight the passage at 7:51

8:14 And so I've been here in Dhammasara basically since 2012. I have left for, you know, visit my parents or traveled a little bit, but mostly I've been here. Report an error in the passage at 8:14 Highlight the passage at 8:14

8:28 Another reflection, I think, when I was working, I would look at the senior people in the company I worked for, people who had made it or had been successful in... I was a hydrogeologist, so they were successful in that field. There was a principal hydro... I'm pretty sure they're not going to watch this, so it's okay for me to say this, but there was the guy who was the principal hydrogeologist in our company. Report an error in the passage at 8:28 Highlight the passage at 8:28

8:57 And he had definitely made it in terms of his career. He was one of the leading people in Australia and in the world. He pretty much picked whatever projects he wanted to. He did a lot of development aid projects, which would seem like very meaningful things to do. But when I looked at these people, I was like, I do not want to end up like you, basically. Report an error in the passage at 8:57 Highlight the passage at 8:57

9:18 There was just this very strong sense of, this is not for me. They just didn't seem happy, I guess. Not happy in the same way that the monastics who I knew were happy. So that was definitely a strong reflection for me to at least try out monastic life. And I tried it out. And obviously it took, since I'm still here. I Report an error in the passage at 9:18 Highlight the passage at 9:18

9:48 thought it'd also be nice for me to just share some, I guess, reflections or just some tools that I use that have kept me going. I've been a bhikkhuni for 10 years and I've been here since 2012 so I must have learned something along the way so I thought I'd share just a few I guess tricks of the trade. Report an error in the passage at 9:48 Highlight the passage at 9:48

10:16 So one of them, probably one of the most important things I've learned in the time that I've been here, there's Report an error in the passage at 10:16 Highlight the passage at 10:16

10:27 a question maybe I'll answer it at the end, is Report an error in the passage at 10:27 Highlight the passage at 10:27

10:33 how important It is how I use my mind. How I use my mind, how I choose to apply my mind makes a big difference in my life and at the end of the day in the quality of my meditation when I do sit down and close my eyes. Report an error in the passage at 10:33 Highlight the passage at 10:33

10:52 So what I mean by that is I can attend to things in a way that either leads to an increase in my defilements or a decrease in my defilements. And you definitely see that when you've lived in one place with roughly the same people for a long time, you know, some days you're like really inspired and, you know, Dhammasara is the best place in the world and how wonderful it is that I get to be a bhikkhunian and then there's other days where you kind of walk around stomping and sort of scowling at everybody. Report an error in the passage at 10:52 Highlight the passage at 10:52

11:25 I guess as a practical example of that. Report an error in the passage at 11:25 Highlight the passage at 11:25

11:34 Like every day so I live in a hut in the forest and I walk down to the main monastery for breakfast and we do a little bit of work and I just catch myself some days I'm just stomping down the hill not looking at the trees you know I've got like a list of things that I need to do that day but then I can catch myself and go no wait you know you have to just stop and look at the trees it's usually dawn or just before dawn and the sun's just coming up. Report an error in the passage at 11:34 Highlight the passage at 11:34

12:00 and it's very beautiful. I just go back to my body and focus on the sound of the crunching gravel underneath my feet. Report an error in the passage at 12:00 Highlight the passage at 12:00

12:13 Or I come down and I see lots of nuns, lots of bhikkhunis, and even just in some places in the world it's rare to see a monastic, let alone bhikkhunis, which are even more rare. And I live with 12 of them. Report an error in the passage at 12:13 Highlight the passage at 12:13

12:28 but obviously when you see people every day they like people so you need to remind yourself of the fact that they're actually very rare Report an error in the passage at 12:28 Highlight the passage at 12:28

12:39 creatures and so when you look at them in that way it leads to a sense of inspiration and gratitude and maybe you're thinking oh well it's easy to find inspiration and gratitude if you live in a monastery but actually all of us here you know you're all healthy healthy enough enough. Report an error in the passage at 12:39 Highlight the passage at 12:39

13:02 We're all healthy enough that we can be here, and our life is free of duties enough that we can spare an hour or an hour and a half, and we can devote that time to listening to the dharma and to meditating and to developing wholesome states of mind. And more than that, we have the opportunity to hear the Buddha's teachings. Report an error in the passage at 13:02 Highlight the passage at 13:02

13:29 We're born at a time where the Buddhist teachings are still available. And we also have enough wisdom, like we have a sense of whether you think you're Buddhist or not. We have a sense of intuition that this is something good, this is something worth listening to. So we can inspiration and gratitude together, I guess, if we really value the opportunities that we do have to sit. Report an error in the passage at 13:29 Highlight the passage at 13:29

14:00 the opportunities that we do have to go and retreat it can just bring up a lot of energy in the mind i find as opposed to if you just don't think about things in that don't attend to things in that way another Report an error in the passage at 14:00 Highlight the passage at 14:00

14:26 quality is muditā so i don't know if you know what muditā is it's sympathetic joy or altruistic joy so it's the happiness that you get From rejoicing in the goodness of other people or rejoicing in their good fortune. I heard a monk say once, it's like a lazy person's practice. So you don't actually have to do anything good yourself. You just rejoice in other people's goodness. So you're like, oh, look, that person is so generous. Report an error in the passage at 14:26 Highlight the passage at 14:26

14:57 How wonderful. Oh, that person's so kind. How wonderful. Because it's not always the case, right? When you see something good happen to somebody else or... you see that somebody else is good at something it's not always the case that joy will spring up yeah sometimes you might be like oh why didn't that good thing happen to me or why am i not good at whatever x y z but we can just change it change how we're perceiving that in a little way and instead go how wonderful you know it's inspiring that i this person at work is doing so well or it's wonderful that these other nuns i live with are so kind Report an error in the passage at 14:57 Highlight the passage at 14:57

15:58 So that's another... It can be like a perception that we can bring up. So as monastics, to some degree, contentment is kind of forced upon us in some ways by the fact that the choice is taken out of a lot of things, yeah? I don't have a lot of options in terms of wardrobe. It's all brown, basically. So in the morning... Report an error in the passage at 15:58 Highlight the passage at 15:58

16:27 I have a choice of like brown or brown to wear in the morning. You know, whereas before as a layperson, I remember I had a very large cupboard full of clothes and I would often look in there and feel like I have nothing to wear. I'm not sure if people are familiar with that feeling. Report an error in the passage at 16:27 Highlight the passage at 16:27

16:45 Whereas now I don't have that problem. Yeah. Same with food. We actually get quite nice food here at Dhammasara, but there's still the choices. It's what's put out. Yeah. They might be like, 40 different things but it's still it's less than if when i was a lay person and i could go shopping or i could order things online and i can cook myself whatever we want um i'm not sure if people are familiar you're probably all familiar that um fully ordained monks and nuns we don't store food and we don't cook for ourselves and so everyday people bring food to the monastery and we also have like lay people and trainees who help with breakfast and things like that Report an error in the passage at 16:45 Highlight the passage at 16:45

17:30 And it's interesting how when the choice is not there, you become content, right? You become happy with the choices, with whatever is available. Report an error in the passage at 17:30 Highlight the passage at 17:30

17:42 I used to be a very fussy eater. There's a long list of things I wouldn't eat, like pickles and mushrooms and all sorts of things, and I eat them all now. Report an error in the passage at 17:42 Highlight the passage at 17:42

17:53 So I guess in the context of being a layperson, we can also kind of... I see Report an error in the passage at 17:53 Highlight the passage at 17:53

18:14 someone nodding in agreement. many creative ways I'm sure that you could come. Report an error in the passage at 18:14 Highlight the passage at 18:14

· · · silence, 1 minute

18:46 I guess it's a little phrase that Ajahn Brahm often uses, but I use a lot and I have found very useful, which is make peace, be kind, be gentle. So I'm not sure if people know where that comes from. So he's actually, it comes from the second factor of the Eightfold Path, which is sama sankapa, or right intention. Report an error in the passage at 18:46 Highlight the passage at 18:46

19:08 I think Ajahn Brahm prefers motivation, but I prefer intention, so I'm going to go with intention. Right intention, and there's three right intentions. So there's nekama sankappa, avyapada sankappa, and avihingsaka sankappa, which are intentions of renunciation, intentions of non-ill will, and intentions of non-harming. Report an error in the passage at 19:08 Highlight the passage at 19:08

19:36 So you can kind of see where be kind and be gentle, the last two, come from. And make peace is his... Slightly creative translation of renunciation. So when we make peace, we kind of accept a situation. We are renouncing, I guess, how we would like things to be, our preferred version of existence, which we're never going to get anyway. Report an error in the passage at 19:36 Highlight the passage at 19:36

20:07 And I remember being, I was on a... retreat at jhāna grove and i went to talk to ajahn brahm and i i didn't have any questions so i just said do you have any advice and he said oh just make peace be kind be gentle and in my head i was like is that all you've got i've Report an error in the passage at 20:07 Highlight the passage at 20:07

20:31 had this so many times i went away and it's it just stuck in my head that that particular instance of him saying that to me and it's come back up in so many situations when Because sometimes we can't change our external situation, right? We have work to do or a family member gets sick or we're in pain. Report an error in the passage at 20:31 Highlight the passage at 20:31

20:54 And sometimes there is nothing else that we can do except to make peace, be kind and be gentle. Report an error in the passage at 20:54 Highlight the passage at 20:54

21:03 And so when we, again, we just have this, we bring it up in our mind and we just accept whatever situation we're in. That cuts through a lot of the suffering actually. Because a large, a lot, the... The larger portion of the suffering is what we add to any situation, how we relate to it. Report an error in the passage at 21:03 Highlight the passage at 21:03

21:36 We had bringing up inspiration, and then muditā, contentment, and Ajahn Brahm's phrase of make peace, be kind, be gentle. I think if I just look back over the course of my monastic life, those are kind of, I'm not sure exactly, perceptions or tools. That I've just used over and over again. And like with anything, the more we do it, like the more we practice muditā, the more we practice, how can I look at this situation to bring up inspiration? Report an error in the passage at 21:36 Highlight the passage at 21:36

22:14 How can I learn to be content with this situation that I'm not particularly pleased with? The more we do it, it becomes easier. So you see that smallness of heart coming. and then you're just like no i'm just gonna bring up some detentions I'm sure Report an error in the passage at 22:14 Highlight the passage at 22:14

22:38 we've all had the experience where we've just been very grumpy and negative and then when you sit down to meditate All that happens is you fall asleep because the mind is dull. When the mind has energy, it's bright and then it's naturally going to be able to meditate better. We Report an error in the passage at 22:38 Highlight the passage at 22:38

23:22 will do some meditation now. Is that okay, Gloria? Yeah, okay. Since you're all seasoned meditators, I'll keep the beginning instructions short. Why is Gloria laughing? I don't know. I really like to call each of us seasoned meditators. It sounds very good. So Report an error in the passage at 23:22 Highlight the passage at 23:22

23:53 the most important thing is that you have to be physically comfortable. So if you want to lie down, that's fine. Just make yourself physically comfortable. You can Report an error in the passage at 23:53 Highlight the passage at 23:53

24:11 close your eyes if you wish. And Report an error in the passage at 24:11 Highlight the passage at 24:11

24:17 maybe just to start the meditation, we can take three deep breaths together. So Report an error in the passage at 24:17 Highlight the passage at 24:17

· · · silence, 1 minute

24:56 just check in with the body and just see how it's going. Is it comfortable? Do you need to adjust anything? Take Report an error in the passage at 24:56 Highlight the passage at 24:56

25:25 a bit of time and just become aware of your body. What can you feel? Is there any tension there? Can you feel the pressure of the seat beneath your bottom? Is the temperature in the room okay? Pay Report an error in the passage at 25:25 Highlight the passage at 25:25

26:06 attention to whatever sensations come up from your immediate physical surroundings. What Report an error in the passage at 26:06 Highlight the passage at 26:06

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26:47 can you feel? Report an error in the passage at 26:47 Highlight the passage at 26:47

26:55 Is there any wind on your face? Any sounds that you can hear? Report an error in the passage at 26:55 Highlight the passage at 26:55

27:25 It's nice to start a group meditation by bringing up some gladness. We can all feel glad that we're all wise enough and unburdened with duties enough that we can be here together. There Report an error in the passage at 27:25 Highlight the passage at 27:25

27:52 are probably many other things that you could have done, like go to the movies or have dinner with a friend. But you chose to come and listen to the dharma and to do some meditation so we can feel glad that we've chosen to spend our time well together. When Report an error in the passage at 27:52 Highlight the passage at 27:52

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29:18 we meditate, it's nice to think of ourselves as a passive observer rather than an active agent. So Report an error in the passage at 29:18 Highlight the passage at 29:18

29:33 we just wait patiently and see what happens. Allow the meditation to unfold. It's Report an error in the passage at 29:33 Highlight the passage at 29:33

29:54 the same attitude you would have if you made yourself a cup of tea and you go and sit on the veranda and watch the world go by. Report an error in the passage at 29:54 Highlight the passage at 29:54

30:19 You put aside all your duties, your emails, your family, your friends. You're just waiting, waiting for peace to show up. Report an error in the passage at 30:19 Highlight the passage at 30:19

· · · silence, 1 minute

31:16 So if we're just sitting on the veranda having a cup of tea, we're not trying to focus on our breath. We're not trying to count breaths. We're just kicking back and relaxing and waiting. There's nothing to do. There's nowhere to go. No phone calls need to be answered. As Report an error in the passage at 31:16 Highlight the passage at 31:16

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33:05 we wait still and patiently, as... Report an error in the passage at 33:05 Highlight the passage at 33:05

33:13 energy in the mind grows we'll start to notice more our present surroundings will become brighter we Report an error in the passage at 33:13 Highlight the passage at 33:13

33:42 did earlier in the day and whatever we have to do later on that will all fade away and the present moment expands it becomes more spacious if Report an error in the passage at 33:42 Highlight the passage at 33:42

· · · silence, 2 minutes

35:52 our mind has wandered off that's okay Report an error in the passage at 35:52 Highlight the passage at 35:52

35:59 just come back to our cup of tea on the veranda come back to our body and start again with Report an error in the passage at 35:59 Highlight the passage at 35:59

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38:48 most things in life peace turns up when we don't go looking for it so if we just wait and enjoy ourselves patiently then peace will come so Report an error in the passage at 38:48 Highlight the passage at 38:48

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44:13 as the mind gains some energy it Report an error in the passage at 44:13 Highlight the passage at 44:13

44:20 might feel brighter and more spacious maybe the breath becomes more prominent. Report an error in the passage at 44:20 Highlight the passage at 44:20

44:36 But don't go to the breath. Just remember we're sitting back and relaxing and then the breath will come to us. Report an error in the passage at 44:36 Highlight the passage at 44:36

· · · silence, 5 minutes

50:06 as we approach the end of the meditation. Just really continue to enjoy just sitting and waiting. and seeing what happens. Report an error in the passage at 50:06 Highlight the passage at 50:06

50:27 Enjoy that feeling of being unburdened from your usual duties and responsibilities. Report an error in the passage at 50:27 Highlight the passage at 50:27

50:47 So as Report an error in the passage at 50:47 Highlight the passage at 50:47

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52:01 we approach the end of the meditation, we can check in again with our bodies. Do we feel more relaxed? Report an error in the passage at 52:01 Highlight the passage at 52:01

52:14 Does the mind feel brighter? What worked well? And Report an error in the passage at 52:14 Highlight the passage at 52:14

52:33 if it feels like nothing worked well, if all we did was chase after our thoughts, that's okay too. It's still time well spent. Report an error in the passage at 52:33 Highlight the passage at 52:33

52:48 Cultivating wholesome intentions. Report an error in the passage at 52:48 Highlight the passage at 52:48

· · · silence, 1 minute

53:28 Also at the end of a period of formal meditation, it's nice to share the merits. So the merit is basically just the happiness that's in our heart. Whatever joy, whatever peace, whatever stillness that we experienced, we can share that with beings who are in need. Be Report an error in the passage at 53:28 Highlight the passage at 53:28

53:59 they living in a difficult situation, in a war. Maybe they're experiencing a lot of fear in their lives, a lot of instability. So we can share the happiness and joy in our heart with them. Or if there's someone in particular that you know who's unwell or in need, you can think of them. Finally, Report an error in the passage at 53:59 Highlight the passage at 53:59

54:52 to end the meditation, we can take three deep breaths together and then open our eyes. So Report an error in the passage at 54:52 Highlight the passage at 54:52

· · · silence, 1 minute

56:01 I guess now is the time you can ask. If you have any questions or if you have any comments or complaints, you're also welcome. So there was one question in the chat, which is, you did not choose Santi Forest. You didn't know. I think I did know about Santi Forest Monastery. At that time, like the very first time I came to Perth was 2010. Report an error in the passage at 56:01 Highlight the passage at 56:01

56:27 So at that time, Santi was still, had monks and nuns, basically. Santi and Dhammasara were the only two places that I knew where I could stay that had nuns and where I could stay as a female practitioner. There wasn't anywhere actually at the time in Melbourne that I knew of anyway, a forest monastery where I could go as a woman. And I didn't know any of the monastics at Santi or Dhammasara. Report an error in the passage at 56:27 Highlight the passage at 56:27

56:57 I just looked at the websites. And Dhammasara kind of was like, it was just nuns, whereas Santi was like, well, there's a picture of a monk on the website and it wasn't very clear who was there exactly. I didn't know who Bhante Sujata was at the time. I had also heard that Santi was very cold. So Dhammasara was in Perth, which I knew was a bit warmer. Report an error in the passage at 56:57 Highlight the passage at 56:57

57:20 So that was basically why I came to Perth to start with. I Report an error in the passage at 57:20 Highlight the passage at 57:20

57:38 want to share a bit of practice recently. It's not really a question. I think one of the most for me recently is that I think Buddhism like teach me how to care about people. I think it's like really care about myself as well. Emotional Report an error in the passage at 57:38 Highlight the passage at 57:38

58:10 pain constantly. I still have it. But I think I have the need. I need to push them away. And Report an error in the passage at 58:10 Highlight the passage at 58:10

58:26 I think the thing that I try to Report an error in the passage at 58:26 Highlight the passage at 58:26

58:37 hostility inside of me and make me. It's painful on a day-to-day basis, and I have difficulty connecting with other people because of that as well. But I think recently I really started to learn to know how care feels like during the meditation. And I think it's like never until Report an error in the passage at 58:37 Highlight the passage at 58:37

59:17 I think it was like the meditation. the meditation i was doing another day and then i really like bring bring the pain in instead of like instead of like trying to like get rid of them and stuff and i think it makes them more painful at Report an error in the passage at 59:17 Highlight the passage at 59:17

59:43 the same time i'm Report an error in the passage at 59:43 Highlight the passage at 59:43

59:48 more connected to myself in a way like i feel more like Report an error in the passage at 59:48 Highlight the passage at 59:48

1:00:00 and Report an error in the passage at 1:00:00 Highlight the passage at 1:00:00

1:00:14 because during the routine it's like a lot of things like it or Report an error in the passage at 1:00:14 Highlight the passage at 1:00:14

1:00:24 maybe during when i was but sometimes it's like i still feel like they close to me weeks ago a few days ago maybe like like just happened recently and then he he told he told me like like if you have pain like you care about your you care about your pain and you don't like push it away and you don't try to push yourself away as well. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:24 Highlight the passage at 1:00:24

1:00:58 grateful about that Report an error in the passage at 1:00:58 Highlight the passage at 1:00:58

1:01:02 Yeah, and I think sometimes it's really hard. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:02 Highlight the passage at 1:01:02

1:01:14 I learned to be more caring. I think people around me feel this as well, because I can feel like they used to be much more grumpier and stuff, and they all soften over time. Yeah, I can really feel that when they talk to me. We Report an error in the passage at 1:01:14 Highlight the passage at 1:01:14

1:01:40 played in that, because when Report an error in the passage at 1:01:40 Highlight the passage at 1:01:40

1:01:47 they talk to me, they're like, of course it's not really a good thing. It's better that you can be kind to everyone, but sometimes I can really feel like... I can really feel that they've softened around me and they kind of made me feel really happy because I felt like Report an error in the passage at 1:01:47 Highlight the passage at 1:01:47

1:02:08 me as well. Yeah, that's all I thought. Thank you. So we can all have muditā for the fact that you, you know, the dharma has helped you, yeah? Report an error in the passage at 1:02:08 Highlight the passage at 1:02:08

1:02:20 So it's wonderful when the dharma can help, like it can change our lives, right, basically. And that's why I think Ajahn Brahm's make peace, be kind, be gentle is so powerful, even though it's... It sounds deceptively simple, but it's actually difficult to do. When you have something really difficult and painful, it's natural that you want to push it away. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:20 Highlight the passage at 1:02:20

1:02:48 It's hard to do what you did, which is to bring the pain into the meditation, because then you really fully experience it, which is why it became more painful. Is that how I understood it? Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:48 Highlight the passage at 1:02:48

1:03:03 But like you said, a lot of the suffering, a large portion of the suffering is just, is us fighting against our experience of how life is, right? Yeah. So thank you for sharing. I Report an error in the passage at 1:03:03 Highlight the passage at 1:03:03

1:03:20 also want to add on to like the reference. I heard that reference like Muditā is the hidden gem for lazy people. I heard Ajahn Jayastaro's talk and then his, Muditā is like the internet, like when you tape onto it. It has infinite resources, like how many happiness you can generate by yourself, but when you observe, like other people, it's just like you tap into the internet and infinite resources is at your fingertips. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:20 Highlight the passage at 1:03:20

1:03:51 Yeah, I think, I hadn't heard Ajahn Jai say the bit about the internet, but I think the bit about it being a lazy practice is from a talk of his, yeah. Sorry, is it Christelle? You had a question? Report an error in the passage at 1:03:51 Highlight the passage at 1:03:51

1:04:10 Yes, thank you, Acha. I've got a question. right intention because um i was listening to another a dharma talk maybe i remember wrongly okay but from what i remembered it was like that intention was that Report an error in the passage at 1:04:10 Highlight the passage at 1:04:10

1:04:36 intention was like no no greed no ill will and no delusion because greed ill will and delusion so right intention was the intention of having no greed no ill will and no delusion but it seems from what you said that is no no delusion the no delusion is replaced by no harming can be contentment renunciation that's it like it fits well will is no ill will it's Report an error in the passage at 1:04:36 Highlight the passage at 1:04:36

1:05:15 like uh because for me no harming was the same as no ill will but it seems that yeah i was wrong so yeah i'd be happy if it's a bit clearer for me yeah thank you so um from my understanding in the cities the three right intentions are intentions of renunciation, intentions of non-ill will and of non-harming, non-greed, non-hatred and non Report an error in the passage at 1:05:15 Highlight the passage at 1:05:15

1:05:45 the three root causes of all our problems, right? So those are certainly good intentions to have. Intentions of non-delusion would be hard. We all aspire to be non-deluded, but it's a hard one to have perspective on. But as far as I know, the three right intentions are the ones that I said. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:45 Highlight the passage at 1:05:45

1:06:18 I can understand the difference between no ill-will and no harming, because it seems that harming is worse than just ill-will. Mm-hmm. That's right. Is that... Okay. Okay. Thank you. From Report an error in the passage at 1:06:18 Highlight the passage at 1:06:18

1:06:37 Manoj, so I heard sometimes Emotions come up to the surface because they need to be released from the body to the universe, then you are free. Suppressing or pushing them away will make them stuck with us rather than releasing, I think. May peace be with you all. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:37 Highlight the passage at 1:06:37

1:07:00 Yeah, I think, um... Just from like a basic psychology point of view, I think it's true that we do. hold a lot of things in our body that's why sometimes we have tension right when you get stressed you maybe your neck will feel tense or if you get really nervous like I do you you can feel it in your stomach maybe sometimes so I think that's very true our mind obviously has a very big impact on our body Report an error in the passage at 1:07:00 Highlight the passage at 1:07:00

1:07:33 And yeah, it makes sense that... Report an error in the passage at 1:07:33 Highlight the passage at 1:07:33

1:07:37 We'll make them stuck. I don't know if they're released to the universe, but I think just helping, just when we're able to reflect and see how our body and mind are connected. In meditation, when we find these areas of tension, we can just care for them or send mettā to them, and that can also help soften them. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:37 Highlight the passage at 1:07:37

1:07:59 It Report an error in the passage at 1:07:59 Highlight the passage at 1:07:59

1:08:07 has a comment, non-delusion is covered by right view in the Eightfold Path. I Report an error in the passage at 1:08:07 Highlight the passage at 1:08:07

1:08:22 saw questions. There's a lot of people now. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:22 Highlight the passage at 1:08:22

1:08:32 I have a bit of a practical question on how to deal with physical discomfort, especially in the beginning of meditation. I often hear guided meditations beginning with make yourself feel as comfortable as possible. Sometimes I feel a sense of the idea of contentment. the more comfortable the more i try to make myself feel right the worse it gets why so so i would just like to hear your thoughts and like how to find this balance between making yourself comfortable enough but maybe also at some point accepting that this is just how it feels now and this is what i'm working with today Yeah, I think you said it beautifully. That's why they... Report an error in the passage at 1:08:32 Highlight the passage at 1:08:32

1:09:30 they say as comfortable as you can right the body is inherently uncomfortable especially the older we get we will have aches and pains and even if you're like lying on the softest mattress in the world flat out you'll still feel some pain so you do what you can and then you just have to accept if there is some pain that's just how it is and we make peace with that basically but i think i think what you said was perfect as well Report an error in the passage at 1:09:30 Highlight the passage at 1:09:30

1:10:23 Any more questions or comments or sharings or complaints? Complaints are okay too. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:23 Highlight the passage at 1:10:23

1:10:36 actually have a question not directly related to meditation, but something that sometimes bugs me quite a bit. So I was wondering, and you talked a little bit about, you know, how you were looking for the right monastery, and one of them had nuns and nuns, and I'm actually... I keep wondering about that. So why is there the separation? And maybe it's a stupid question, but yeah, maybe if you could just say something about that, because it's often so difficult for women, you know, to, well, first of all, it really bugs me that women are often, you know, mistreated and, yeah, not really treated the same way as men. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:36 Highlight the passage at 1:10:36

1:11:23 And sometimes it really shocks me that sort of thing. So if you could talk a little bit about why is there this separation and is that actually needed? Sure. I think it's good if there's different kinds of monasteries because different things will work for different people. So some people will be happy to live in a dual gender or maybe even no gender monastery. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:23 Highlight the passage at 1:11:23

1:11:52 There are also monasteries that don't completely disregard gender and everybody's a monk. So I think it's nice that there are different monasteries because different things will work for different people. One of the obvious reasons why there's a separation of the genders is, I guess it's from a very heteronormative, I guess, point of view, yeah? Report an error in the passage at 1:11:52 Highlight the passage at 1:11:52

1:12:18 So we're celibate, so the idea is that if you are a straight male, maybe it's a bit more comfortable for you to live in a... amongst men and that's a way to support your celibacy and is similar for a woman so that's why there's that separation and we have a lot of rules that revolve around that so the monks would not be alone with a woman and similarly we would not be alone with a man so I realized that in a modern setting that might sound a bit It's a particular point of view. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:18 Highlight the passage at 1:12:18

1:12:58 But I think also because it's so rare in the world to have female-only monasteries, that's why I like that Dhammasara is female-only. For me, it's very comfortable. I feel very free and safe here, I guess. And it's something that a lot of women say when they come here, especially if they've had the experience of being... Report an error in the passage at 1:12:58 Highlight the passage at 1:12:58

1:13:25 a woman in a monk's monastery that's a very different experience yeah and when they come here they've often commented on just how included they feel how safe they feel how free they feel we have five hundred and eighty three acres and you know you can wonder freely whereas if you were a woman in a monk's So I think it's nice that there are different monasteries that will cater to different people's needs, but I also think it's nice For me, I like living in a female-only community, and that's something that I value very much. Does that answer your question? Report an error in the passage at 1:13:25 Highlight the passage at 1:13:25

1:14:04 Yeah, Report an error in the passage at 1:14:04 Highlight the passage at 1:14:04

1:14:08 certainly. I mean, yeah, I think it's my staff's choice, and it's difficult that I guess there are not that many female monasteries. At the same time, I also think about, like you said, yeah, it's kind of backwards in time maybe nowadays where we talk about, you know. diversity and and we do not just have males and females we also have people who do not you know regard themselves as either or yeah and i also feel for them in terms of how difficult it must be for them to find a place where they can go but um yeah when i think about you know if i would ordain it kind of i have to say that it bugs me that if i would you know like say i would like to have a certain teacher And I would not be free to go wherever I would like to go and to make sure that I would like to follow, right? So, for example, if I would, as a woman, like to follow a jambama, I wouldn't be able to do that because it's a male monastery, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:14:08 Highlight the passage at 1:14:08

1:15:12 Stuff like that is just, yeah, makes it sometimes difficult when I see that there is that separation between sex and gender. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:12 Highlight the passage at 1:15:12

1:16:05 there any more? No, there's one more. Mario. Yes. Hello Ajahn, thank you for your wonderful and touching and emotional talk. It was very helpful. I have a question when you said living in a monastery and being a bhikkhuni is not like going on a retreat. Do you mean that you encountered conflicts or difficulties that you had encountered previously in lay life? Report an error in the passage at 1:16:05 Highlight the passage at 1:16:05

1:16:35 Or do you mean the conditions that you are expecting to like develop the path and Report an error in the passage at 1:16:35 Highlight the passage at 1:16:35

1:16:47 I Report an error in the passage at 1:16:47 Highlight the passage at 1:16:47

1:16:55 do. I think so before I visited Dhammasara. Dhammasara is the first monastery that I ever stayed at and so before that I was doing these 10-day Goenka vipassanā retreats which they're quite common so many of you might have heard of them. So when I came to stay at Dhammasara I foolishly thought that living in a monastery would be doing like doing Report an error in the passage at 1:16:55 Highlight the passage at 1:16:55

1:17:24 Venerable Acala is a very long Vipassanā retreat. So on a 10-day retreat, there's like 10 hours of formal meditation. It's completely silent. There's a bell that tells you, you know, when to eat, when to sit, when to do what. And I got to Dhammasara and there's like, there's no bells. There used to, there was at that time, there was a morning tea bell. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:24 Highlight the passage at 1:17:24

1:17:44 So there's a bell to tell you when morning tea was. And there was some structure, obviously there were the meal times, but there was a lot of unstructured time. And there was also work that needed to be done, right? Especially if you're a lay person or anagarika, you do the cooking and the driving. And I guess what I've learned is when you stay in a monastery for a long time, you also kind of accumulate duties. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:44 Highlight the passage at 1:17:44

1:18:10 You have all these jobs that you have to do. I'm also the maintenance nun at Dhammasara, so whenever something breaks, You don't have to go have a look. It's not like doing a 10-day retreat, basically, which is what I kind of thought it would be like. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:10 Highlight the passage at 1:18:10

1:18:33 It's like a normal life in the sense that you have duties and you have work. Of course you have conflict. You have a lot of people who live together. You will butt heads with people. There will be people who have... and it Report an error in the passage at 1:18:33 Highlight the passage at 1:18:33

1:18:46 www.venerableacala .com deal with that that just this it's nice to be on retreat right it's nice to be quiet and have lots of time to meditate and there are periods where we do that as well but there's also periods where we need to do work and engage with people we have to do zoom talks or whatever um and a nice way for me to sort of i guess bridge that gap or is to have this framework of the eightfold path as my practice so when i um my practice is not just when i sit down and close my eyes my practice is the eightfold path so even when i'm working even when i'm helping people when i'm trying to look at someone who maybe i don't like so much with kindly eyes all of that i'm cultivating the eightfold path Yeah? Report an error in the passage at 1:18:46 Highlight the passage at 1:18:46

1:20:19 When I'm cultivating the Eightfold Path, that supports me when I'm on retreat. And when I'm on retreat, the energy, the peace, the stillness of mind, any wisdom that I might gain, that also helps me in the rest of my life, basically. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:19 Highlight the passage at 1:20:19

1:20:36 Is that kind of what you were asking? Thank you. Thank you, yes. It was my question, yes. Thank you. One Report an error in the passage at 1:20:36 Highlight the passage at 1:20:36

1:20:55 more follow-up on that. So if, like, is there any time when it's Report an error in the passage at 1:20:55 Highlight the passage at 1:20:55

1:21:06 part of just seeing it as a healthy? I guess my question is like, how do you change your mindset on that? Like sometimes you get caught up. Sorry, I didn't quite understand the question. I think it's like, I think it's like sometimes like when, when difficult encounter with people or experience, they're essentially, they can be part of your practice. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:06 Highlight the passage at 1:21:06

1:21:44 Like they can be part of your practice. Yeah. They're like, they have a practice and you can. use them to cultivate good qualities but i think sometimes it's like you may be just too caught up in that difficulty itself and then it is hard to like change your mindset sometimes so how do you have this kind of like experience and how do you do that to change your mindset like from i really hate that person to to Report an error in the passage at 1:21:44 Highlight the passage at 1:21:44

1:22:17 to like no no no i i see kai i look at him with kai Thank Report an error in the passage at 1:22:17 Highlight the passage at 1:22:17

1:22:30 you. exciting with your self yeah no um well it is definitely part of the practice and it's also it's just natural that we're not we're not enlightened beings so we will you know we lose sight of the fact that it's part of the practice and we get caught up in our aversion or anger or whatever or irritation um i guess it's my personality i'm probably less likely to express that but i'll be like grumbly i'll be grumbly about it inside or i'll you know i'll be upset and i'll go off and you know be upset on my own or whatever but you just it doesn't last right whether if you get angry or whatever it it passes and then when it passes then you have some perspective on what happened um and the nice thing about living together in a community is that you have that opportunity to then Report an error in the passage at 1:22:30 Highlight the passage at 1:22:30

1:23:27 You see the same person the next day so then you can try again. You can try and look at them from a different point of view. And also like I said, all the people that I live with here are very high-minded. They're also cultivating the Eightfold Path. They may not be perfect just because we shave our head and put on these robes. It's not like your defilements go away. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:27 Highlight the passage at 1:23:27

1:23:49 You still have the same mind. But they're all cultivating the Eightfold Path and they're all trying their best. So it makes it much easier, I feel, even when there are these little rubs, because they're also practicing, so it's easier to come again and then sort of mend those things. I have a conversation about it. So Report an error in the passage at 1:23:49 Highlight the passage at 1:23:49

1:24:15 Geetha, I think Report an error in the passage at 1:24:15 Highlight the passage at 1:24:15

1:24:20 you're muted. To Report an error in the passage at 1:24:20 Highlight the passage at 1:24:20

1:24:31 the previous question, recently there was a visiting teacher here, Arunani, who has asked this question about lay... This is monastic practice, which is better kind of a flavor to the question. And her answer kind of reminds me of what you said about your own practice. Because she was saying, well, it depends what you mean by practice. If you're following the Eightfold Path, it doesn't really matter where you're doing it. The context varies, but that's basically what you're doing. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:31 Highlight the passage at 1:24:31

1:25:10 And that's what you were saying, that everything, all Eightfold Paths, factors have to be developed and whereas she was saying we tend to focus on the meditation part only as the practice and she was trying to say no it's not it's much wider than that and it can be done as a lay person or as a monastic and she's been both so uh it was it was nice to hear that yeah yeah i've met she's come here before she's very lovely but but yeah yeah Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:10 Highlight the passage at 1:25:10

1:25:42 whether you're a late We need to cultivate the Eightfold Path. And actually the monastic form should also be supporting that, all the rules that we keep. It also supports us to cultivate the Eightfold Path. So John, you had a question? I have Report an error in the passage at 1:25:42 Highlight the passage at 1:25:42

1:26:04 sort of one question and one cheeky question. The cheeky question is, you have a favorite... Report an error in the passage at 1:26:04 Highlight the passage at 1:26:04

1:26:19 Maybe I'm... Because I've become a Buddhist fairly recently, I'm so used to having... mean, you know, the full, full. part saṅgha you know with the bhikkhunis the bhikkhus and and the lay practitioners so that comes naturally to my you know because that's what i was introduced Report an error in the passage at 1:26:19 Highlight the passage at 1:26:19

1:26:43 do notice that even in BSWA, the emphasis has been more the monastics coming to the Friday and Saturday. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:43 Highlight the passage at 1:26:43

1:26:55 damaloca and and i appreciate that obviously Report an error in the passage at 1:26:55 Highlight the passage at 1:26:55

1:27:08 Brahma, Jambalamali, Bhikkhuni version coming out of Dhammasara and maybe, you know, being more dominant in the sense that, you know, I think that that will put a much better... Report an error in the passage at 1:27:08 Highlight the passage at 1:27:08

1:27:24 the teaching of the sutras and that you get a much better understanding rather than it all coming from a more One gender based. Maybe I'm biased because I kind of, you know, like, I like the different views coming, particularly from the bhikkhunis that I've listened to, you know, so. But yeah, you know, we don't get enough. So, you know, I'm not sure who does the roster, actually. I know who does the roster in Bodhiana, but, you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:24 Highlight the passage at 1:27:24

1:27:57 Anyway, that's my question. So, favorite teacher and, you know, the future. So the first one, I feel like I have many, there have been many people in my life who have played the role of a teacher, but there's maybe two people who are in my heart, I guess, are my main teachers and Ajahn Brahm is one of them. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:57 Highlight the passage at 1:27:57

1:28:23 The other one is a monk in Thailand called Lumpur Ganha, who I think, Ajahn Brahm talks about him a lot, so a lot of... Ajahn Brahm people know about him. So I visited that monastery a few times and yeah in my heart I guess it's just like a sense of whose dharma you connect with and whatever they're my teachers. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:23 Highlight the passage at 1:28:23

1:28:45 Also Ajahn Hasapanna I have to say having lived with her now for a long time she's just such a steady stable bhikkhuni who just like she just keeps going regardless of whatever goes on around her and like the longer I've lived with her. I've just learned a lot from her as well. So those are probably the three main people. And then I also, of course, I like Bhante Sujato and Ajahn Brahmali. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:45 Highlight the passage at 1:28:45

1:29:10 They're the other people that I would listen to often. To answer your other question, I feel like patience. I think it's happening, you know. I think Ajahn Manishra has given talks at Dhamma Loka and I think Venerable Karnika, Venerable Chanda, Ayya Pasada, they're all... you know up and coming teachers but we just need a bit of patience i feel like um there's that simile that ajahn brahm uses of the plant like the the kid is given some seeds and they plant the seeds and then the the plant sprouts but the kid is impatient so he's like trying to pull at the plant and he ends up pulling the plant out so don't pull at the bikinis just let them let them sort of grow um naturally and i think it will happen it takes it takes a long time to grow an adjunct brown right he's like what 50 was so i think if we're patient it it's um it will happen and i think what you said about uh because you've come to buddhism from It's nice to just acknowledge how rare it is. You know, I constantly tell myself or remind myself how fortunate I am to be a bhikkhuni here similar to you most of my dhamma experience has been in this monastery so I don't know a lot of what else is out there I have traveled a little bit now and so I'm a little bit aware of what the conditions are like for bhikkhunis in other parts of the world so it's just it's nice to appreciate what we have here and also to help other bhikkhunis in other parts of the world world whenever whenever we we can can. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:10 Highlight the passage at 1:29:10

1:31:00 Thank you, Arjuna. I think I am very fortunate because, you know, I was at the right place in birth. Yes. And you come to Dhammasara too and feed us, so thank you. Thank you. More Report an error in the passage at 1:31:00 Highlight the passage at 1:31:00

1:31:20 questions? Report an error in the passage at 1:31:20 Highlight the passage at 1:31:20

1:31:24 No. We can end it tonight. Thank you very much, Ajahn Acala, for joining us, for the wonderful talk and meditation, and for the Q &A section as well. And I look forward to seeing you next time. I think we will be out. After the rings, probably. So before we end, can you give us a blessing? Sure. Would it be okay for you to do that? Report an error in the passage at 1:31:24 Highlight the passage at 1:31:24

1:32:31 Abhivadana Silesanicham Udapachayino Chatharo Dhammavati Report an error in the passage at 1:32:31 Highlight the passage at 1:32:31

1:32:46 Thank Report an error in the passage at 1:32:46 Highlight the passage at 1:32:46

1:32:49 you for your questions and for listening. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:49 Highlight the passage at 1:32:49