Aruna Ratanagiri Dhamma Talks

(keywords) (slightly edited version) "I have been ghosted by two close friends. They disappeared, without explanation. I emailed each 3 times requesting an open discussion and neither replied. In meditation, I offer and ask for forgiveness. Can you recommend additional ways to help let go of these painful rejections?" Commitment, framing, learn, lost, samsara, uninspected relationship with pain, Ajahn Chah, comfort, convenience, denied dukkha, meeting dukkha with interest, endurance, vector for transformation, 10 parami, framing, noble ordeal, 5 spiritual faculties, overwhelmed, stories, strategies, awakening, Ajahn Dukkha.

This brief, non-traditional exercise of disciplined attention aims at helping meditators return to a state of embodied balance and alignment. It should always be applied with gentleness and care.

This brief, non-traditional exercise of disciplined attention aims at helping meditators return to a state of embodied balance and alignment. It should always be applied with gentleness and care.

(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.

(keywords) (slightly edited version) new year’s resolution, modesty, truthfulness, assessing truthfulness, asking our heart, centre of the chest, open window, children playing, giggling, parents caring, Handel’s Messiah, retreat, extreme sports, abseiling, free diving, novels, movies, love stories, vulnerable, joy, enthusiasm, evangelical, conflation, falling in love, denied dukkha, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair, norovirus, collude with the collective assumption, 5 hindrances, demonize, kilesa, indictment, pistachio ice-cream and pecan cookies, eating distraction, sloth and torpor, freeze, backlog, rag, reintegrated, imagined fear, offended, turn off the news, compassion.

(keywords) (slightly edited version) primary work, Dhammapada verse 301, cittabhavana, desire, tanha, fear, anxiety, present generated dukkha, old unmet dukkha, adopted dukkha, paranoid, complex, chaotic, satipatthana sutta, sati, recipe book, CJD, disposition, conjure up, numbness, fire, daring, contentment, a con, addiction, nekkhamma parami, repertoire of skilful means, authentic interest, cutting through, seeing through, burning through, abstractions on feelings, reintegrated into the heart, heedful suppression, competence, fanciful ideas, honesty, no judgement, spiritual warrior, hungry man teaching.

(keywords) (slightly edited version) Metta, mudita, feeling threatened, personal survival, medical prognosis, collective crisis, 4 Divine Abidings, ICU, ideals, preparation, run aground, humility, tried and tested, The Discourse on the Greatest Blessings, unshakeable, stages of training, reputation, health, habitual addictions, indulgence and denial, psychotherapy, pontificating, Mahamangala Sutta, apparent sense of self, meditation retreat, daily meditation, 5 precepts, contented head, wide-open heart, belly at ease, aligning, heart-broken, 10 parami, vectors for transformation, dana, sila, nekkhamma, boundary-building, agents of suffering, deluded personality, transformed relationship with ‘I’.

(keywords) (slightly edited version) Forest Sangha Calendar 2025, 50th anniversary, Wat Nanachat, contentment, blasé, wringing our hands, waiting, ocean, tumultuous, study and practise, 37 Bodhipakkhiya dhamma, Requisites for Awakening, knowing directly, unitive intelligence, music appreciation, compulsively comparing, one-bowl-eaters practice, ascetic practice, control freak, addiction to preferences, addiction to ascetic practice, yabber-yabber, conventional theistic religion, self-inflated, contributing compassion to the world, Venerable Mahapajapati Bhikkhuni, enamoured, alluding, cardamom, free to feel fear.

(keywords) (slightly edited version) Sangha gatherings, kathina, Elders’ Council Meetings, burden of suffering, reaping rewards, old pain, criticism, cynicism, unmet pain, DDB, denied dukkha backlog, solitary practice, a right pickle, lost in samsara, reconfigure views, reading Braille, raw data, ouch, intense illness, heavenly messengers, assailed, ICU, capacity of heart, nivarana, anger, vibhava-tanha, rage, feel fully offended, feel accurately, daring, momentum, overwhelmed, loathing washing dishes, avoid using force, assertive, standing in ma bu, spick-and-span, Morrinsville, open-hearted awareness, allowing the native sensitivity, let rip, passionate rage, contraction in my guts, affluence, entertainment, incremental moments, cleaning our teeth, hunching our shoulders, heart wide open, 50 years, Nimbin.

(keywords) (slightly edited version) Buddhist meditators, compulsive thinking, self-critical, fire and smoke, irrational fear, chronically disconnected, broken glasses, fully want, open-hearted awareness, vociferous lifestyle gurus, satipatthana sutta, kayanusati, Ajahn Chah, feeling investigation, habits of denial, backlog, pressure, retreat, self harming, anxiety, assailed, zealous, resilience, humility.