Clear Mountain Monastery Project

Mindfulness with Michael Jordan: Unlocking Elite Performance & Flow Readiness | George Mumford Q&A

In this session, Ajahn Kovilo and Ajahn Nisabho interview the author and Performance Whisperer, George Mumford about his journey into mindfulness and his experience of its utility and function in expert performance. To learn more about George, visit: https://georgemumford.com/George's Bio:George Mumford, a.k.a. The Performance Whisperer, is a globally recognized speaker, teacher, and pioneer in sports psychology and performance. Since 1989, he’s been honing his groundbreaking performance and mindfulness techniques with people from locker rooms to board rooms, Yale to jail — as Phil Jackson’s ‘Secret Weapon’ to winning eight NBA Championships, helping Michael Jordan transform his leadership, and teaching Kobe Bryant to “just be.” George’s work incorporates principles based in positive psychology, mindfulness, philosophy, neuroscience, the recovery movement, group and organizational dynamics, and spiritual traditions from around the world, all informed by his own inspirational journey. The link to the 6:45-7:30 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 – 7:30 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!

The Buddhist Law of Cause and Effect: Understanding Kamma | Ajahn Nisabho

In this talk, Ajahn Nisabho speaks about the workings of kamma, and how we can apply appropriate attention, or yoniso manasikara, to cultivate the kamma for the ending of kamma.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!

Homo Deus Meets the Dhamma: Information Diet, AI, & the Nexus of Awakening | Yuval Noah Harari Q&A

CHAPTERS0:00:00 – Intro0:00:09 – Welcome0:00:24 – Bio of Yuval Noah Harari0:01:12 – How Yuval’s First Meditation Retreat Changed His Life, and What a Goenka Retreat Looks Like0:06:36 – Going Beyond Goenka’s Teachings: Exploring the Pāḷi Canon and Buddhism (Does Yuval Consider Himself a Buddhist?)0:12:18 – Yuval’s Take on the Noble Truths: The Cause and Cessation of Suffering, and Transcending It Through the Noble Eightfold Path0:15:53 – Hackable Humans: The Importance of Meditation in the Age of Data and Algorithms0:24:27 – How to Become Less Hackable: Introspection and Its Role in Humanity’s Evolution0:28:54 – Designing an Information Diet to Counter Algorithms That Hack Our Attention0:33:58 – Is There Room for an Intense Information Diet That Eschews All Media and Focuses Solely on the Dhamma?0:35:49 – Staying Centered in the Midst of Fame and Repute: Handling Gain, Honor, and Praise0:39:00 – Yuval’s Reflection on Pascal’s Observation: “All of Humanity’s Suffering Stems From the Inability to Sit Quietly in a Room Alone”0:41:34 – How Secularism Can Blind People to Evidence for Rebirth: Yuval’s Perspective0:46:00 – Avoiding Attachment to Views as Buddhists: A Dhamma Perspective0:49:03 – Lightning Round Questions: • 0:49:18 – Have You Ever Thought About Ordaining? • 0:50:58 – If You Were the Buddha’s Father, Would You Have Inclined the Young Bodhisatta Toward Becoming a Wheel-Turning Monarch or Toward the Path of Renunciation? • 0:51:50 – If Stranded on a Desert Island With Two Books, What Would They Be? • 0:52:37 – If You Had 24 Hours Left to Live, How Would You Use That Time? How Much of It Would Be Spent Meditating? • 0:53:12 – Your Most Unexpected or Interesting Encounter With a Leading Intellectual or World Leader? • 0:54:16 – What One Piece of Advice Would You Give to Buddhists in General? • 0:57:30 – Which Sutta (Other Than the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta) Do You Find Especially Meaningful? • 0:58:12 – Goenka’s Guidance on Observing Pleasure With Equanimity vs. the Concept of “Healthy Pleasure” in the Tipiṭaka • 1:04:03 – Gratitude for Yuval’s Advocacy: Speaking on Compassion for Animals and Meditation in his Books1:06:00 – Recognizing Goenka Meditation as a Gateway to Buddhism, and an Invitation for Yuval to Visit Seattle1:06:23 – OutroREFERENCES:[Book] Sapiens - A Brief History of Humankind https://www.ynharari.com/book/sapiens-2/[Book] Homo Deus - A Brief History of Tomorrow https://www.ynharari.com/book/homo-deus/[Book] 21 Lessons for the 21st Century https://www.ynharari.com/book/21-lessons-book/[Book] Nexus - A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI https://www.ynharari.com/book/nexus/In this session, Ajahn Nisabho and Ajahn Kovilo interview historian, philosopher, and bestselling author Yuval Noah Harari, touching on such topics as meditation, Buddhism, AI, and attachment to views.Yuval's Biography:Yuval Noah Harari is a historian, philosopher, and bestselling author of Sapiens, Homo Deus, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, and - his newest book - Nexus. His books have sold over 45 million copies in 65 languages, making him one of the world’s most influential intellectuals. Born in Israel in 1976, he earned his PhD from Oxford and has lectured at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.Harari co-founded Sapienship, a social impact company focused on education and storytelling. He frequently engages with global leaders and has spoken at the World Economic Forum, TED, and major news outlets. His work explores history, AI, technology, and the future of humanity, with a focus on ethical and existential challenges.Most relavent for our conversation today, Yuval is a long-time meditator - having sat his first Goenka Vipassana retreat when he was 24 years old - who maintains a daily sitting practice of 2 hours per day and who makes time in his busy schedule for at least 1-2 months of silent meditation retreat every year.Join our Weekly Clear Mountain Gatherings:- 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!

Questions | Luang Por Jundee Q&A

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!

Thurs Talk | Luang Por Jundee

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 Tradition Apart: The Overview Effect of Awareness from a Forest a Continent Away | Ajahn Kovilo

In this session, Ajahn Kovilo discusses the Thai Forest Tradition and what he terms the "Thai Forest Effect" - the insights, inner brightness, and eventual transcendence that can come from living a life apart but not separate.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!

How Luang Por Chah Taught Me to Let Go | Luang Por Jundee Q&A

In this interview, Luang Por Jundee, a senior disciple of Luang Por Chah and abbot of Wat Pah Ampawan, speaks about Luang Por Chah's strategies of training, advice on giving, and how we can be near to a teacher we've never met.BiographiesLuang Por JundeeVenerable LP Jundee Kantasāro who was ordained by Venerable Luang Por Chah in 1975, was born in one of the neighbouring villages to Wat Pah Pong in 1953. He is a part of the first group of monks to be ordained by Luang Por Chah. Since childhood he was close to the monastery since his father was leading the villagers in practicing with LP Chah on observance days for many years. In his early years LP Jundee was sent to Wat Pah Nanachat to practice with the international sangha and later joined the first branch in Australia for 2 years. LP Jundee was asked by LP Sumedho to help teaching abroad and has many times assisted LP Liem on international travels. Currently he is the abbot of Wat Pah Ampawan, which is situated to the east of Bangkok in the district of Chonburi. It hosts between 40 and 60 monks.--The link to the 6:45-7:30 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 – 7:30 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!

Virtue, Concentration, & Wisdom: Reclaiming the Middle Way in a Culture of Extremes | Ajahn Kaccāna

In this talk, Ajahn Kaccana, ordained at Abhayagiri Monastery and currently residing at Chithurst Monastery in England, speaks about how we can balance the cultural proclivity towards individualism and idealism by developing awareness of the body, coming into community, and cultivating virtue, concentration, and wisdom.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!

Meditating Without Footnotes: Bridging the Scholastic & Practice Divide | Ven. Dhammadinnā Q&A

In this session, Ajahn Kovilo and Ajahn Nisabho interview Ven. Dhammadinnā, an expert in the various canonical languages of early Buddhist traditions. They speak Ven. Dhammadinna's love of Pāli, her path to robes, her attempt to bridge the scholastic-practice divide, and more!Ven. Dhammadinnā's Biography:Bhikkhunī Dhammadinnā was born in Italy in 1980 and went forth in Sri Lanka in 2012. She studied Indology, Indo-Iranian philology and Tibetology at the University of Naples ‘L’Orientale’ and at the International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University in Tokyo. She obtained her doctorate in 2010 with a dissertation on the Khotanese ‘Book of Zambasta’.Her main research interests are early Buddhist discourse and Vinaya texts (with a focus on the Theravāda and Mūlasarvāstivāda traditions), the formative phases of Mahāyāna ideology in Khotan in the fifth and sixth centuries, and the development of the theories, practices and ideologies of Buddhist meditative traditions. She is currently a research associate professor in the Department of Buddhist Studies of the Dharma Drum Institute of Liberal Arts, mainly working on a study of the evolution of the notions of great compassion and omniscience in the history of Buddhist thought and on a collated digital edition, annotated translation and comparative study of the Mūlasarvāstivāda āgama quotations in Śamathadeva’s Abhidharmakośopāyikāṭīkā preserved in Tibetan translation. Dhammadinnā also serves as the series editor for the ARG publications with the Dharma Drum Publishing Corporation. To learn more, visit https://anissitavihara.com---The link to the 6:45-7:30 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 – 7:30 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!

Chanting for Uplifting Disenchantment: A Chant-idote to a Boring Dhamma Life | Ajahn Kovilo

In this session, Ajahn Kovilo speaks about the value of chanting as a way to give rise to wholesome mental states.The main chant referenced is the "Suffusion with the Divine Abidings", featured here:- I will abide pervading one quarter with a mind imbued with lovingkindness; likewise the second, likewise the third, likewise the fourth; so above and below, around and everywhere; and to all as to myself. I will abide pervading the all-encompassing world with a mind imbued with loving-kindness; abundant, exalted, immeasurable, without hostility and without ill-will.- I will abide pervading one quarter with a mind imbued with compassion; likewise the second, likewise the third, likewise the fourth; so above and below, around and everywhere; and to all as to myself. I will abide pervading the all-encompassing world with a mind imbued with compassion; abundant, exalted, immeasurable, without hostility and without ill-will.- I will abide pervading one quarter with a mind imbued with gladness; likewise the second, likewise the third, likewise the fourth; so above and below, around and everywhere; and to all as to myself. I will abide pervading the all-encompassing world with a mind imbued with gladness; abundant, exalted, immeasurable, without hostility and without ill-will.- I will abide pervading one quarter with a mind imbued with equanimity; likewise the second, likewise the third, likewise the fourth; so above and below, around and everywhere; and to all as to myself. I will abide pervading the all-encompassing world with a mind imbued with equanimity; abundant, exalted, immeasurable, without hostility and without ill-will. Pāli Original:- mettāsahagatena cetasā ekaṃ disaṃ pharitvā viharati, tathā dutiyaṃ, tathā tatiyaṃ, tathā catutthaṃ. iti uddhamadho tiriyaṃ sabbadhi sabbattatāya sabbāvantaṃ lokaṃ mettāsahagatena cetasā vipulena mahaggatena appamāṇena averena abyāpajjena pharitvā viharati; - karuṇāsahagatena cetasā ekaṃ disaṃ pharitvā viharati, tathā dutiyaṃ, tathā tatiyaṃ, tathā catutthaṃ. iti uddhamadho tiriyaṃ sabbadhi sabbattatāya sabbāvantaṃ lokaṃ karuṇāsahagatena cetasā vipulena mahaggatena appamāṇena averena abyāpajjena pharitvā viharati; - muditāsahagatena cetasā ekaṃ disaṃ pharitvā viharati, tathā dutiyaṃ, tathā tatiyaṃ, tathā catutthaṃ. iti uddhamadho tiriyaṃ sabbadhi sabbattatāya sabbāvantaṃ lokaṃ muditāsahagatena cetasā vipulena mahaggatena appamāṇena averena abyāpajjena pharitvā viharati; - upekkhāsahagatena cetasā ekaṃ disaṃ pharitvā viharati, tathā dutiyaṃ, tathā tatiyaṃ, tathā catutthaṃ. iti uddhamadho tiriyaṃ sabbadhi sabbattatāya sabbāvantaṃ lokaṃ upekkhāsahagatena cetasā vipulena mahaggatena appamāṇena averena abyāpajjena pharitvā viharati.- 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!