Clear Mountain Monastery Project

In this session, Ajahn Kovilo asks us to reflect on what each of the three refuges means to us; and examines the first three of the twelve steps of AA in light of the three characteristics (impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, & not-self) and in view of the Triple Gem (Buddha, Dhamma, Saṅgha): 1. We admitted we were powerless over impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and not-self— and that our lives had become unmanageable. 2. Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. 3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of the Triple Gem, as we understood them. 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, 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/ ----- 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 -------- 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 --- 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 ----- 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!