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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: The Five Aggregates(Uttama Bodhi Vihara) The aggregates work together to create the phenomenological world. But citta isn’t affected by this world of sense data, it’s affected by kamma – various unresolved memories, feelings and conditioned phenomena. Tend to the point of saṇkhāra to replace reactive habits, soothing the heart and releasing the grip of kamma.55 min
- Ajahn Sucitto: Progressive Dispassion(Uttama Bodhi Vihara) In meditation we repeatedly return to qualities that calm the citta. When we relate to phenomena in a reassuring, steadying way, citta experiences dispassion. There’s a progressive withdrawal from phenomena because citta begins to sense itself as stable, satisfying and valuable. It has no more purpose in going out. This is the maturation process.25 min
- Ajahn Sucitto: Q&A 2(Uttama Bodhi Vihara) Restlessness/preoccupation with things to do; mental proliferation/lost in mind; bad memories; ānāpānasati; 5 khandā1 hr 19 min
- Ajahn Sucitto: The Frame of Mindfulness – Sympathetic Awareness(Uttama Bodhi Vihara) The contents of the mind become the preoccupation, but there’s another reference point – the framework. Mindfulness is this frame. Don’t go into the content. Bear with the turbulences of mind within the frame of sympathetic awareness and just know, this the heart affected by feeling.1 hr 2 min
- Ajahn Sucitto: Pick Up the Thread(Uttama Bodhi Vihara) In meditation we practice to find the balance of both focused and open awareness. We place the mind on a concept, and linger there letting the meaning run through the heart. Mind finds it difficult, but body does it naturally. The body can teach us the right kind of attention that lifts the mind and makes it happy.31 min
- Ajahn Sucitto: Returning to the Fullness of Human Nature(Uttama Bodhi Vihara) Human nature is empathic and seeks harmony. The personality structure masks our true nature. It tries to stop and dominate urges and emotions. But the practice is to go directly to feeling. We can use this natural body to help untangled the mind.1 hr
- Ajahn Sucitto: How to Come to the Place of Harmony(Uttama Bodhi Vihara) We’re driven by craving and it causes suffering. The relinquishment of craving leads to ease and harmony. Dispassionate acceptance of these drives makes liberation possible.1 hr 8 min
- Ajahn Sucitto: Using Chanting to Steady the Mind(Uttama Bodhi Vihara) The untrained mind energy is ragged, sluggish and incoherent. With its simple tones and slow, repetitive rhythm, chanting can steady the mind.30 min
- Ajahn Sucitto: Q&A 1(Uttama Bodhi Vihara) Samatha and vipassanā; dullness and hindrances; samādhi for lay people; witnessing cruelty; awareness and mindfulness1 hr 1 min
- Ajahn Sucitto: Refreshing the Art of Sitting(Uttama Bodhi Vihara) Finding the right posture when sitting can open up the belly and the chest. Safety is sensed in the belly, receptivity in the chest. When the body is relaxed the mind is happy in its own presence – this is samādhi.40 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