Clear Mountain Monastery Project

In this Q&A, Ajahn Kovilo and Ajahn Nisabho offer advice for those interested in exploring monastic life. From finding the correct monastery to uncovering joy in a life of renunciation, the lessons offered for those seeking robes remain relevant even for one living a lay life of devoted practice.

Resources Mentioned

- Thus Should You Train Yourselves: https://www.clearmountain.org/2024/06/11/thus-should-you-train-yourselves/

- Buddhist Monastic Code I: https://www.dhammatalks.org/vinaya/bmc/Section0001.html

- 10 Subjects for Frequent Recollection: https://amaravati.org/audio/recollection-ten-subjects-for-frequent-recollection-by-one-who-has-gone-forth-pali-and-english-page-48-50-2/

- Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery: https://www.abhayagiri.org/

- Sāsanārakkha Buddhist Sanctuary: https://sasanarakkha.org/

- Wat Pah Nanachat: https://www.watpahnanachat.org/

- Wat Marp Jan: https://watmarpjan.org/en/

- Empty Cloud Monastery: https://emptycloud.org/

- Karuna Buddhist Vihara: https://www.karunabv.org/

- Dhammadharini: https://www.dhammadharini.net/

- Sati Saraniya: https://satisaraniya.ca/

- Canmore Theravāda Buddhist Community: https://www.canmoretheravadabuddhism.ca/

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The link to the 7:00-7:45 pm Zoom session following the livestream may be found on the event listing at https://www.clearmountainmonastery.org/events/wednesday/.

Tune in with fellow practitioners for Clear Mountain’s weekly online and hybrid events!

- Wednesday Evening Teaching & Discussion (6:00 - 7:45 pm PT, YouTube then Zoom)

- Saturday Morning Meditation, Teaching, & Coffee Social (9:30 - 11:00 am PT, Online & In-Person)

- Sunday Evening “Mission Majjhima!” Sutta Teaching & Discussion (5:00 - 6:00 pm PT, Online)

See https://www.clearmountainmonastery.org/ or visit https://linktr.ee/clear_mountain_monastery for details. Welcome!

In this talk, Ajahn Nisabho speaks about the critical imbalance underlying many Western and modern practitioners' approach to practice. When we lean into a narrow, ascetic vision of practice without understanding the Buddha's emphasis on joy, we risk the heart's withering. To nourish the mind, the Buddha provided us powerful teachings on generosity, faith, community, and even creativity.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction & Bringing Nourishment to the Heart

01:24 Thanatos & The Super-Ego: The Trap of Practice Violence

03:26 Returning Home: Intuiting Truth vs. Excessive Renunciation

06:05 The Dry Heart (Chetokhila Sutta)

09:06 Gladness as the Basis for Samadhi

12:39 Cultural Context & "Acid Mixed with Acid"

18:07 Chanda (Zeal) and the 19 Beautiful Qualities of Mind

20:41 A Holistic Ecosystem: Generosity, Chanting, & Dharmanusati

25:43 The Role of Art & Beauty on the Path

37:49 Q&A & Story: Walking Out of the Mountains with Guan Yin

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Tune in with fellow practitioners for Clear Mountain’s weekly online and hybrid events!

- Wednesday Evening Teaching & Discussion (6:00 – 7:30 pm PT, YouTube then Zoom)

- Saturday Morning Meditation, Teaching, & Coffee Social (9:30 - 11 am PT, Online & In-Person)

- Sunday Evening “Mission Majjhima!” Sutta Teaching & Discussion (5:00 - 6 pm PT, Online)

See https://www.clearmountainmonastery.org/ or visit https://linktr.ee/clear_mountain_monastery for details. Welcome!

A conversation with Debbie Stamp, upāsaka steward and founding force of Abhayagiri Forest Monastery (www.abhayagiri.org)

00:00:00 Welcome and Introduction

00:02:36 Debbie's Role at Abhayagiri

00:03:13 Moments of Faith Leading to Monastery Life

00:06:29 Early Faith Experience in Catholicism

00:07:38 Transition from England to Rural California

00:09:22 Meeting and Connecting with Luang Por Pasanno

00:15:37 Navigating the Space Between Monastery and Lay Life

00:18:10 Working Internally with Belonging and Suffering

00:25:05 Advice for Women Considering Ordination

00:27:23 Understanding What It Means to Follow the Heart

00:39:27 Working with Anger and Perspective Shifts

00:41:46 Thriving as a Female Layperson in a Male Monastic Space

00:48:08 Personal Relationship to the Triple Gem

00:51:29 Meaning and Reflection on "Anicca Vata Saṅkhāra"

00:54:23 Influential Teachers and Expressions of Gratitude

00:58:15 The Dhamma of Caregiving and Family End-of-Life Support

01:07:10 Gratitude and Reflections on 30 Years of Abhayagiri

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Tune in with fellow practitioners for Clear Mountain’s weekly online and hybrid events!

- Wednesday Evening Teaching & Discussion (6:00 – 7:30 pm PT, YouTube then Zoom)

- Saturday Morning Meditation, Teaching, & Coffee Social (9:30 - 11 am PT, Online & In-Person)

- Sunday Evening “Mission Majjhima!” Sutta Teaching & Discussion (5:00 - 6 pm PT, Online)

See https://www.clearmountainmonastery.org/ or visit https://linktr.ee/clear_mountain_monastery for details. Welcome!

In this Q&A session, Ajahn Sona speaks about how to hold the fraught political landscape of the present, the significance of our daily actions and intentions as "political" acts, the karma of voting (or not!), the cultivation of deep concentration, and more. For more information about Ajahn Sona and Birken Forest Monastery, visit: https://birken.ca/

Ajahn Sona Biography:

Ajahn Sona is a first-wave Western Theravada-ordained monk and the Abbot of Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery (‘Birken’). With over thirty years in the robes, he is now referred to as ‘Luang Por’ (‘Venerable Father’) by his closest disciples – a traditional honorific for senior monks of the Thai Forest Tradition.

After several years of practice as a lay hermit, the young Bhikkhu Sona took full monastic ordination in 1989 with Bhante Henepola Gunaratana Mahathera at the first Theravada forest monastery in the United States (The Bhavana Society, West Virginia). He later switched to the Thai Forest Tradition and trained at Ajahn Chah’s monasteries in northeastern Thailand for several years. Ajahn Sona now draws on both the Sri Lankan and Thai scholastic and meditative traditions in his teachings, in addition to his modern western sensibilities. His pre-monastic education in philosophy, humanities, and classical Western music have aided him in understanding the Western psyche and in establishing paradigm bridges between East and West.

Ajahn Sona is also deeply interested in the ecological movements of this environmentally critical time, both at the practical and philosophical levels. The off-grid monastery, which he has carefully curated over the last two decades, employs the latest in green design technologies and principles

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Tune in with fellow practitioners for Clear Mountain’s weekly online and hybrid events!

- Wednesday Evening Teaching & Discussion (6:00 – 7:30 pm PT, YouTube then Zoom)

- Saturday Morning Meditation, Teaching, & Coffee Social (9:30 - 11 am PT, Online & In-Person)

- Sunday Evening “Mission Majjhima!” Sutta Teaching & Discussion (5:00 - 6 pm PT, Online)

See https://www.clearmountainmonastery.org/ or visit https://linktr.ee/clear_mountain_monastery for details. Welcome!

In this Q&A, done with the Pali Canon - Majjhima Nikaya - Book Club (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69n9ObQ6zIo), Ajahn Nisabho answers questions regarding truth as revealed in three Suttas, the Cāṅki Sutta (MN 95), the Subha Sutta (MN 99), and the Dhammacetiya Sutta (MN 89). Using the three discourses as a framework, we see how the Buddha taught us to protect, realize, and honor truth. To find out more about the Pali Canon - Majjhima Nikaya - Book Club, visit https://majjhima.club/en/.

- Cāṅki Sutta (MN 95): https://suttacentral.net/mn95/en/bodhi?lang=en&reference=none&highlight=false

- Subha Sutta (MN 99): https://suttacentral.net/mn99/en/sujato?lang=en&layout=plain&reference=none&notes=asterisk&highlight=false&script=latin

- Dhammacetiya Sutta (MN 89): https://suttacentral.net/mn89/en/sujato?lang=en&layout=plain&reference=none&notes=asterisk&highlight=false&script=latin

You can find summaries of these Suttas, and more, on Clear Mountain's Mission Majjhima Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLomY-Sp4p5YsIVG0DmvJhUcR6YaXR_3wf

Chapters

00:00 - Introduction & Ordination Story

07:47 - Living a Life Worthy of Death

11:44 - Why the Majjhima Nikaya?

14:46 - MN 95: Epistemic Humility & Knowing the Truth

44:20 - MN 99: Intention & Lay Practice

54:40 - MN 89: King Pasenadi & Monuments to the Dhamma

58:34 - Q&A: Do You Need Jhanas for Enlightenment?

01:04:40 - Q&A: Navigating Difficult Sutta Passages

01:08:58 - The Rare Opportunity of the Dhamma & Closing Blessing

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Tune in with fellow practitioners for Clear Mountain’s weekly online and hybrid events!

- Wednesday Evening Teaching & Discussion (6:00 – 7:30 pm PT, YouTube then Zoom)

- Saturday Morning Meditation, Teaching, & Coffee Social (9:30 - 11 am PT, Online & In-Person)

- Sunday Evening “Mission Majjhima!” Sutta Teaching & Discussion (5:00 - 6 pm PT, Online)

See https://www.clearmountainmonastery.org/ or visit https://linktr.ee/clear_mountain_monastery for details. Welcome!