Ajahn Viradhammo gives an explanation and overview of the Eightfold Path and speaks about mindfulness of the body (the first Satipatthana tetrad).… Read the rest

This question an answer session follows the above titled talk. Please note that the first question could not be heard well and was deleted. Ajahn Viradhammo summarizes this first question before giving an answer. The questions include: using insight to deal with craving (without using thought), group kamma, and right livelihood.… Read the rest

Ajahn Viradhammo begins this talk by encouraging us to accept help when we need it rather than refusing it from a self reliant, egocentric or self-centered reaction. He goes on to explain the difference between knowledge and insight using examples from his own recent history: getting a visa for India, building ladders, etc. and shows us how to come back to our skillful intentions as if we are “touching stone.”… Read the rest

Ajahn Viradhammo offers a talk explaining how we compare ourselves to others and create this sense of self out of the 5 Khandas. Using reflections from the various stages of a monk’s life he shows how to watch this self creating habit by using both awareness and restraint.… Read the rest

Ajahn Viradhammo begins speaking about wholesome and unwholesome conformity and then explains how we can use personal experiences in our lives to understand the Buddha’s teachings, gaining insight into the workings of our own minds so that we can ultimately realize freedom from suffering.… Read the rest

Luang Por Viradhammo explains how perceptions can change the nature of our experience. If we are aware, moment, by moment, we have the choice to move in a more wholesome direction once a perception arises, rather than being a victim to these perceptions when we do not recognize them.… Read the rest

Luang Por Viradhammo encourages us to examine our moods and motivations in terms of our moral understanding of what is wholesome and unwholesome. By abiding as the witness of change rather than reacting to our experiences, we let go of trying to get our own way, which creates a foundation for fostering harmony in our social lives and allows us to make decisions based on intuitive wisdom.… Read the rest

Ajahn Viradhammo gives teachings on what he means by “the silence of the mind” and answers questions regarding this topic. He speaks about how we expect our ourselves or our realities to be a particular way and how we can use awareness and knowing to be present for this inclination of mind, noticing the end of thinking by listening to the perception of change.… Read the rest

Our emotional tones color our perceptions and moods. When we are fully conscious of our emotional states we cease to create a storyline or person out of these states, thus allowing ourselves to clearly see the process whereby we create self view and self identification.… Read the rest

Ajahn Viradhammo encourages us to understand the quality of arising and ceasing in our experiences so that we can transcend the perception of having peaks and valleys in our practice. He uses themes of communal life, living in harmony, how we perceive our characters and identities, and how to work with boredom to illustrate this topic.… Read the rest