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Ajahn Sucitto's most recent Dharma talks (Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center)
Ajahn Sucitto's most recent Dharma talks (Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center) episodes
- Ajahn Sucitto: Staving off Hindrances(London Insight Meditation) Meditation is about penetrating the roots of mental behavior. The primary doing is to settle and clear distracting influences so the mind becomes unified in purpose. A happy, firm mind leaves less traction for hindrances to take hold.16 min
- Ajahn Sucitto: Meet Dukkha from a Collected Center(London Insight Meditation) Dukkha is a natural part of our experience. When internalized it manifests as constricting and disjointed somatic states. When met from a clear and settled center, our responses can be guided by harmony and wisdom.22 min
- Ajahn Sucitto: Welcome, advice on online retreats, guided meditation(London Insight Meditation) With a heartful attitude, set aside what is not necessary and make a continued deliberate practice around your Dhamma aspirations. Tuning into embodiment with interest and sensitivity, we can locate the missing piece, where harmonization of the mental and somatic domains occurs.21 min
- Ajahn Sucitto: Dhamma Stream Q&A(Cittaviveka) How does citta relate to consciousness; is citta involved with rebirth; how to practice with non-attachment; the role of cetana (intention), sankappa (attitude) and chanda (motivation) in citta cultivation; how much jhāna is needed for stream entry; where does motivation for practice/career/relationship come from; what does attachment to rights and rituals, sīlabbata-parāmāsa, mean; clarify body energies and energy flows; question about prayer; advice about life termination.1 hr 29 min
- Ajahn Sucitto: Work Unconditionally with Conditions that Arise(Cittaviveka) Practice is a whole life path. The conditions that arise and our reactions to them can all act as reference points for purification and practice. Careful cultivation of the conditioned is an aspect of the unconditioned and leads to the unconditioned.39 min
- Ajahn Sucitto: Maturing from Renunciation to Relinquishment(Cittaviveka) Citta needs something to settle on, to feel comfortable in. Use mindfulness to form a frame around what’s helpful and skillful and absorb into that. Citta begins to understand the agitation that both pleasure and displeasure cause, and can see something more fulfilling in the bareness of mind.33 min
- Ajahn Sucitto: Release from Psychological Conditioning(Cittaviveka) The aim of Dhamma cultivation is penetration and purification of saṇkhārā – the conditioning forces. Everything else is to support that. Mindfulness of body provides a steady and pleasant foundation, samādhi acts as a refuge from sensory input. Mind then has the power to resist, moderate and release from these conditioning forces.39 min
- Ajahn Sucitto: Making the Right Choice(Cittaviveka) Mindfulness can be thought of as a boundary setter. It’s used to discern what to stay with and deepen into, and what to avoid and stay out of. Instructions are given for how to apply this to ānāpānasati, mindfulness of breathing.40 min
- Ajahn Sucitto: Mindfulness the Purifier(Cittaviveka) The function of mindfulness is to purify. It means we have to understand what purity is – what qualities cause problems, stress and contamination, an which are bright, fortifying and calming. Right view and right attitude inform the careful attention that leads to purification.37 min
- Ajahn Sucitto: Right domain - the indriya(Cittaviveka) In Dhamma practice we aim to establish positive roots that can nourish our everyday actions and behaviors. We train in setting aside what is unskillful and causes stress, and lingering in and strengthening factors for awakening. The 5 indriya offer a beneficial domain for such cultivation.42 min
About Ajahn Sucitto's most recent Dharma talks (Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center)
From the publisher's feed
As a monk, I bring a strong commitment, along with the renunciate flavor, to the classic Buddhist teachings. I play with ideas, with humor and a current way of expressing the teachings, but I don't dilute them.
Sitting in a field of fifty to eighty people really starts my mind sparking. Since I don't prepare my talks ahead of time, I find myself listening to what I'm saying along with everyone else. This leaves a lot of room for the Dhamma to come up. Just having eighty people listening to me is enough to engage me, stimulate me, and create a nice flow of energy. The actual process of teaching evokes ideas that even I did not realize were being held somewhere in my mind.
Different teaching situations offer their own unique value. In retreat, you are able to build a cohesive and comprehensive body of the teachings. When people are not on retreat and come for one session, it opens a different window. They are more spontaneous and I'm given the chance to contact them in ways that are closer to their "daily-life mind." This brings up surprises and interesting opportunities for me to learn even more.
I'm continually struck by how important it is to establish a foundation of morality, commitment, and a sense of personal values for the Vipassana teachings to rest upon. Personal values have to be more than ideas. They have to actually work for us, to be genuinely felt in our lives. We can't bluff our way into insight. The investigative path is an intimate experience that empowers our individuality in a way that is not egocentric. Vipassana encourages transpersonal individuality rather than ego enhancement. It allow for a spacious authenticity to replace a defended personality.
I normally incorporate Qi Gong instruction in my retreats. They are not suitable as audio files but you can watch the nine videos here: https://tinyurl.com/Sucitto-qigong