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At the celebration of Lunar New Year of the Fire Horse 🐎🔥 in the Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean calendar at Dhammagiri, Ajahn Dhammasiha talks about several suttas and verses where the Buddha uses horses as similes.
The longer sutta that Ajahn mentions first, with the 'Beauty, Strength & Speed' simile, is at Anguttara Nikāya/Numerical Discourses, Threes No 97.
Being born in the year of the firehorse himself, Ajahn enjoyed sharing quotes mentioning horses at the event, including his own translations.
Read the horse quotes here:
https://www.dhammagiri.net/post/horse-similes-in-pali-canon
By the way, on the thumbnail you see Richie gallopping on Dhammagiri grounds with the Dhamma Hall in the background top right. We allow the neighbours' therapy horses to graze on our property.
Horses 🐴 are highly trainable, and so is our mind.
A royal stallion is distinguished by it's supreme beauty, strength and speed. Similar, a Dhamma practitioners are distinguished by their virtue, effort in developing wholesome states, and investigation of the 4 Noble Truths.
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#chinesenewyear #firehorse2026 #firehorse #lunarnewyear #buddhism #dhamma #buddhistwisdom
Ajahn Dhammasiha talks about the importance of 'Beautiful, Admirable Friendship' (Kalyānamittatā) for our Dhamma progress.
"Having good spiritual friends is 100% of the holy life"
(The Buddha, Saṃyutta Nikāya/Connected Discourses 45.2)
Ajahn points out the connection with the 4 Factors of Stream Entry (Sotāpattiyangāni):
Number one is personal contact with someone who has realized the Dhamma. Personal association with an Arahant or Streamenterer, even if only for a short time, is the first of four conditions to realize the Dhamma oneself.
Ajahn Dhammasīha encourages us not to completely substitute that personal association with youtube, reading and listening to recordings. Without the personal contact, we may miss out on a crucial factor for gaining the vision of Dhamma ourselves.
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#buddhism #friendship #goodfriends #buddhistwisdom #dhammatalk #dhamma #streamentry #sotapatti
Ajahn Dhammasiha talks about the importance of 'Admirable Friendship' for our spiritual progress.
'Kaḷyāṇa Mittatā' can be translated as 'Beautiful Friendship', 'Noble Friendship' or 'Good Spiritual Friendship'.
It means a friend who causes our wholesome qualities like virtue, generosity, kindness and wisdom to increase when we associate with them, because they have developed these qualities themselves.
Such a friend in a 'Kaḷyāṇa Mitta'.
The opposite, a bad friend that causes us to get more angry, stingy and deluded, is called a 'Pāpa Mitta'. Bad Friendship is 'Pāpa Mittatā'.
Underlining the crucial importance of good friendship for our Dhamma practice, the Buddha once famously said to Venerable Ānanda:
"Having good spiritual friends is 100% of the holy life"
(Saṃyutta Nikāya/Connected Discourses 45.2)
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#buddhism #friendship #goodfriends #buddhistwisdom #dhammatalk #dhamma
Ajahn Dhammasiha is asked about a quote in Dhammapada Verses #3 to #5:
He struck me, he defeated me,
he hurt, abused, offended me!
If we hold on to vengeful thoughts -
our anger never fades away.
He struck me, he defeated me,
he hurt, abused, offended me!
If we let go of vengeful thoughts -
our anger surely fades away.
More hatred will not calm down hate,
it simply doesn't work like that.
The opposite of hate alone
will calm down hatred - that's the truth!
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#anger #irritation #aversion #metta #lovingkindness #equanimity #buddhism #buddhistwisdom
Ajahn Dhammasiha talks about the 4 kinds of Karma the Buddha has expounded:
The last one is the most profound and difficult to understand: Karma that's neither dark nor bright, but leads to the ending of Karma, awakening, the realisation of Nibbāna.
"Kammaṃ akaṇhāsukkaṃ akaṇhāsukkavipākaṃ kammakkhayāya saṃvattati"
See Anguttara Nikāya / Numerical Discourses, Book of Fours #233
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#karma #kamma #badkarma #goodkarma #endofkarma #goodness #awakening #enlightenment
A Chanting of the Samaññaphala Sutta
“The Fruits of recluseship” (Dīgha Nikāya No 2).
King Ajātasattu visits the Buddha and asks him a seemingly innocent question: All ordinary professions like cooks, barbers, accountants etc. enjoy some visible results and gains from their profession – but what about contemplatives (monks and nuns)? Is it possible to point out any results that someone may gain from ordaining as monk or nun?
The King’s question results in an awe-inspiring discourse, in which he explains the gradual training of a monk, from being inspired to ordain to gradually develop the heart and as result realizing higher and higher spiritual attainments up to the ultimate.
A short overview of the Chanting:
0:00 min: The King’s Question
0:37 min: A perfectly awakened Buddha arises in the world, someone hears his teaching and then leaves behind his wealth and relatives to go forth into homelessness.
02:50 min: After ordaining he develops wholesome bodily and verbal action, purifies his livelihood and his virtue.
06:03 min: The monk who is endowed with this pury conduct does not see danger anywhere for his virtue and experiences the happiness of blamelessness.
06:48 min: The monk guards his sense faculties.
09:24 min: The monk develops mindfulness and clear comprehension in all body postures.
10:10 min: The monk develops contentment with his requisites.
10:52 min: The monk resorts to a secluded place in the wilderness to abandon the five hindrances.
16:50 min: The first jhāna.
18:18 min: The second jhāna.
20:15 min: The third jhāna.
22:06 min: The forth jhāna. The heart which has been purified, free from defilements, malleable and impertuable can be directed to various kinds of higher knowledges:
23:25 min: Gaining insight knowledge by seeing the material elements of the body and consciousness as separate.
25:55 min: Various psychic powers and finally insight into four noble truths leading to freedom from the corruptions
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#palichanting #chanting #buddhistchanting #buddhistrecitation #sutta #sutra #palicanon
Ajahn Dhammasiha talks about the emotion that is called 'Saṃvega' in Pali, 'Spiritual Shock'.
Saṃvega, spiritual urgency, doesn't feel nice, it's not a pleasant feeling. However, it is beneficial, as it urges us to practise the Dhamma with commitment and dedication.
When we're experiencing pain and grief from loss and disappointments, we can transform this painful emotion into Saṃvega by contemplating the Buddha's teaching: We contemplate that, indeed, all conditioned formations are impermanent and thus ultimately disappointing. We contemplate that the Buddha has shown us the method, the Noble 8fold Path, to go beyond all conditioned phenomena and experience the total freedom from old age, sickness, death & suffering, Nibbāna.
Contemplating thus, the grief is transformed into saṃvega, and we feel strong urgency to practise Dhamma to free ourselves from suffering.
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#suffering #grief #loss #bereavement #spiritualurgency #buddhism #buddhistwisdom
Ajahn Dhammasiha is asked how we can practise mettā (loving kindness) and at the same time still set boundaries and protect ourselves from being harmed by others.
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#metta #lovingkindness #selfpreservation #selfprotection #settingboundaries
Ajahn Dhammasiha is asked if someone we know could be reborn as a ghost and then cause us problems.
When we hear such stories, or experience something strange ourselves, we shouldn't immediately assume that there's really a spirit around.
Often, when people think they are troubled by ghosts or evil spirits, the real reason for their problems is actually something else. For example mental disorders, even psychosis, or simply projection of internal psychological tensions to an imaginary external cause.
However, if after careful analysis of any other possible causes one still is convinced that there is a ghost or spirit causing issues, the protection is very pure 5 precepts and strong loving kindness.
Purtiy of virtue manifests in the spiritual real much more visible and physical than in the human world, and it would be difficult for a ghost to cause any harm to a truly virtuous person.
Well developed mettā can manifest as a blinding light to malicious spirits, they can't even get close.
In fact, it's very difficult for ghosts to influence the coarse physical reality we live in as humans at all, other than perhaps a strange sound, or an apparition of some hazy shape (in particular to those sensitive to extrasensory perception), or similar quite subtle manifestations.
Ghosts rather deserve our compassion, as they are in a rebirth caused by stinginess, egotism and materialism, and now suffer from deprivation of fundmental needs like food and drink, that can only be relieved by the compassion of others.
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This is a portrait of the Buddha by Ajahn Moneyyo based on the most ancient sources: The Sutta Pitaka and Vinaya Pitaka dating from before 400 BC.
It is a recollection of the Buddha as perfect in knowledge and conduct (Vijjācaraṇa sampanno) and as the knower of the cosmos (Lokavidū) - Two of his unique qualities that we can remember about him.
Learn about the way of life, the amazing qualities, meditativeattainments, psychic powers and the final knowledge of awakening of the Buddha. Click here to see the whole "Life of the Buddha" series.
Chapters: 0:00 Intro, the physical appearance of the Buddha
8:21 A monk who never saw the Buddha goes to meet him... 12:23 How did the Buddha live?
20:37 The virtuous behavior of the Buddha
28:25 The Buddha's love for silence and seclusion
33:04 An overview of the Buddha's supreme spiritual qualities 33:35 The supreme compassion of the Buddha
35:18 The total fearlessness of the Buddha
43:03 The meditative attainments of the Buddha
46:31 The psychic powers and higher knowledges of the Buddha 51:19 The ultimate knowledge of awakening
57:12 Who was the Buddha? The All-Transcender
Quotes Suttas (discourses of the Buddha): Anguttara Nikaya 10:81 (Numerical Discourses of the Buddha) The Buddha - The Lotus that has transcended the world
https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/AN/AN10_81.html
Anguttara Nikaya 4:34 and Itivuttaka 112 - Why the Buddha is called "The Tathāgata":
https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/KN/Iti/iti112.html
Samyutta Nikaya 23:2 (Connected Discourses of the Buddha) How someone is reconed as "a being":
https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN23_2.html
Majjhima Nikaya 72 (Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha) The Buddha has transcended form, feeling, perception, formation and consciousness and is liberated from them. He is unfathomable and immeasurable like the ocean:
https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/MN/MN72.html
Udana 5:6 (The monk who never saw the Buddha goes to meet him):https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/KN/Ud/ud5_6.html
Majjhima Nikaya 91 (Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha) The Brahmin Student who followed the Buddha for seven month describes his conduct and behaviour:
https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/MN/MN91.html
Majjhima Nikaya 77 (Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha) Noisy wanderers become silent when they see the Buddha coming because they know he likes silence:
https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/MN/MN77.html
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