Aruna Ratanagiri Dhamma Talks

(keywords) (edited version) Q: "Are we still identifying as the activity taking place in our hearts and minds, or are we remembering our refuge in the Buddha, in just-knowing awareness?" Dhammapada Reflections, framing experience, victims of suffering, Ajahn Thate, refuge, content, context, Awakened beings, sites, sounds, liking and disliking, formal meditation, becoming the worldling, identified as the thinking mind, desire and craving, semantics, doubt, looking at the finger, heart of awareness, not-knowing, addicted to certitude, rung of the ladder, faith, fear of unsure, synthetic security, moral precepts, intentional composure, indriyasamvara, gradually, beginning again..

(keywords) (slightly edited version) Dhammapada verse 163, Devadatta, winter retreat, excruciatingly difficult, intensely threatening, junk food, affluence, obesity, ease of access to information, contentment, ecological stressor, wars, technology, identified with the deluded sense of self, ‘my way’, hatred, morphing, pride, self-adoration, selfies, vulgar, intoxicant, religion, self-obsessed, virtues, humility, truthfulness, Greek myth, scientific scrutiny, beliefs systems, faith in True Principles, path of practice, 8-fold path, Right View, 4 Noble Truths, Right Aspiration, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Collectedness, schools, Conscious Studies, disciplined attention, understanding pain, balance.

(keywords) (edited version) Q: “Can you speak about jealousy and how I can practice to combat the envy others have in my practice? Sometimes, friends can be critical and speak in a way that is judgemental and disparaging towards me. I feel misunderstood. How can I deal with this?” Self-centred, generosity, truthfulness, integrity, sila, lotus flower, compromising, Venerable Ananda, freedom from remorse, safety, psychologist, GP, sugar metabolism, highest virtue, wisdom, nekkhamma parami, ability to say no, smartphone, adhitthana parami, determination, resolution, lokapala, protectors of the world, hiri and ottappa, wholesome sense of shame, balance, sila, anger, attention, light, energy, dissolve, denial, restraint, 5 precepts, heedlessness, will, Ajahn Dukkha, conflation, peaceful, child, agile, guided meditation, gentle, sensitive, mental exercise, Satipatthana Sutta, counting the breath, strength, weakness.

(keywords) (edited version) Q: "For those of us with a Western scientific back ground, some of the more metaphysical teachings of the Buddha's teachings such as rebirth are hard to make sense of. And even from the perspective of the teaching on Anatta, rebirth is hard to make sense of! Please could you give advice on how to relate to those parts of the teachings that seem to require belief in things we cannot know for ourselves and also the parts of the teachings that we plain just don’t understand.” Engage the paradox, dilemma, clinging, fear, selfless just-knowing awareness, anatta, compulsively taking sides, intelligence, not-knowing, laws of materiality, laws of consciousness, gravity, conceptual formulation, trust, study, uncertainty, greed, poison, humility, modesty, abdication, True Principles, not avoiding responsibility, dilemmas are a gift.

(keywords) (edited version) Q: "I have heard according to Theravada Buddhist teachings we are born and die at every moment, and we do this continuously, not only after our final breath. Could you please explain what this means?” Dependent Origination, kamma, rebirth, willing, daring, enquiring, 5 spiritual faculties, rainbow, burdensome, quandary, careful manner, self-adoration, vulgar, self-promotion, cooperation, harmony, self-obsessed, religion, Almighty, abominably, perpetual anxiety, community of selves, atta, anatta, society, morphing.

(keywords) (edited version) Q: I have intensified my practice over the last year and a half. During this time my sila has gone backwards: Why is this the case? Sila, anger, attention, light, energy, dissolve, denial, restraint, 5 precepts, heedlessness, will, Ajahn Dukkha, conflation, peaceful, child, agile, guided meditation, gentle, sensitive, mental exercise, Satipatthana Sutta, counting the breath, strength, weakness.

(keywords) (slightly edited version) "Are we lacking in empathy if we feel contentment amongst all this suffering. Or are we indeed being selfish?" Dhammapada verse 197, 198, egotistical perspective, inflated, meditation, stillness and peace, deeper dimensions, ocean, bilingual, driving a car, agility of attention, evolution, essential tool, end of the world, cultivating awareness, multidimensional reality, cleaning teeth, strap-line.

(keywords) (slightly edited version) “I know from past experiences that increased food intake never genuinely makes me feel better. Might you have any advice? Evolutionary biologists, psychologists, demonize desire, wanting, craving, wholesome desires, enemy, smoking, breaking the habit, basic skills, 5 spiritual faculties, faith, kamma, energy, intensity, embodied mindfulness, discipline attention, discernment, indriya samvara, skilful composure, containing, respecting intensity, hiri and ottappa, conscience, lokapala, protectors of the world, skilful shame and fear of the consequences of shamelessness, guilt, progress, unruly heart energy, competent, ill-will, truly responsible.

(keywords) (slightly edited version) "Are there any precautions of safeguards I should be taking as I sense the tenderness of my heart opening?" Becoming overly sensitive, parenting, karaniya metta sutta, normality, native sensitivity, naively vulnerable, hurt, the Buddha had pain, Vulture’s Peak, unawareness, 4 Noble Truths, falling in love, the capacity for being loving, discipline, righteous indignation, 2 extremes, Dhammacakkha sutta, middle way, embodied mindfulness, intentional composure, indriya samvara, projection, retreat, Bhajans, hymns, Jesus, Krishna, Kwan Yin, surfing, hang-gliding, wilderness, worshipping, idolizing, fundamentalism, sad, rational faculties, tension, rightly aligned, head, heart, belly, 25 questions.

(keywords) (slightly edited version) The Teaching of the Cobra, filtered through perceptions, uncertainty, conceptual level, intuitive level, felt level, letting go, unfortunately limited, clinging to forms, resistance, arguments, intuitive, excruciating consequences, flippant, precepts, drinking alcohol, fifth precept, poison, blood-brain barrier, numbing, the open-hearted state, our spiritual workshop, compulsive contraction, deeply relevant, becoming stuck, embodied awareness, over stimulation, guided meditation, compassionate open-hearted awareness, aligning.