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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: Hold the Heart Steady against the Push of Ill-Will(Buddhist Retreat Centre, Ixopo, South Africa) The general mode is to change the outside world to please the heart, but this can never satisfy. We practice instead to change the heart, to make it strong enough to withstand the push of ill-will. Refuges include the Triple Gem, brahmavihāras, mindfulness of body and precepts.44 min
- Ajahn Sucitto: Making the Mind Fit(Buddhist Retreat Centre, Ixopo, South Africa) The nature of mind is what you give attention to will grow. We use recollection to generate uplifting tones in the heart, to increase bright energy. This makes the mind fit to meet afflictive patterns and energies.22 min
- Ajahn Sucitto: Deep Attention – Referencing Uplifting Tones(Buddhist Retreat Centre, Ixopo, South Africa) In any cultivation there is a referencing that occurs. In Dhamma practice we refer back to uplifting tones – integrity, respect, appropriateness. These invite skillful qualities to arise making it possible to unseat demons of violence, greed and efficiency.55 min
- Ajahn Sucitto: Direct Practice: Sound Opens the Silence(Buddhist Retreat Centre, Ixopo, South Africa) This is an exercise in direct practice, using sound to train the mind. Making a sound from one’s own voice, we use it to lengthen attention over one particular phenomenon rather than jumping onto the next thing. It opens the silence where the mind is poised, listening.32 min
- Ajahn Sucitto: Guided Meditation: Body Sweeping – Staying Open but Focused(Buddhist Retreat Centre, Ixopo, South Africa) In meditation we use the thinking mind minimally, placing greater emphasis on the listening mind. This guided meditation gives practice in lengthening the listening, lingering mind.24 min
- Ajahn Sucitto: 4 Basic Postures(Buddhist Retreat Centre, Ixopo, South Africa) An overview of the 4 basic postures for meditation: sitting, standing [14:00], walking [17:05] and reclining [25:45].35 min
- Ajahn Sucitto: Firm Center Open Heart(Buddhist Retreat Centre, Ixopo, South Africa) On this retreat, practices for establishing a firm center and open heart will be presented. Openness can be too vulnerable, we need to know what to filter and what to linger in. Precepts offer a firm center of integrity. The body can be a source of steady and calm. We bring to heart and mind that which is beautiful and aspirational to shift agitated energies. These are our refuges.43 min
- Ajahn Sucitto: Opening and Soothing the Causal Field(Dharmagiri) The theme of the retreat, Firm Centre Open Heart, is a reminder of what the work is. Remaining steady in the “here-ness” of body, and opening the energetic field supports the releasing of kamma. In return you receive the natural beauty of your heart.58 min
- Ajahn Sucitto: Refuges, Precepts and Reflections(Dharmagiri) We can establish Firm Centre Open Heart as a core way of being. Refuges and precepts offer support as we train to remain awake and attentive outside of retreat. Vows of virtue and morality, when held with firm flexibility, allow wholesome qualities to be transmitted through the open heart.1 hr 2 min
- Ajahn Sucitto: Turning Attention Back to the Source(Dharmagiri) Rather than asking why things arise, ask where. Turn attention towards the field of body, behind where phenomena arise. This is a quiet and stable place.37 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