Clear Mountain Monastery Project

(A)Political Buddhism: True But Not Right, Right But Not True | Ayya Santussika

In this talk, Ayya Santussika, visiting with Ayya Cittananda from Karuna Buddhist Vihara (https://www.karunabv.org/) addresses the unease many feel with about the current state of the world, emphasizing how Dhamma practice and non-hatred can provide refuge.Ayya Santussika Bhikkhuni: Born in Illinois in 1954, Ayya Santussika began exploring meditation in the late seventies. She received BS and MS degrees in computer science while being a single mother. After working as a software designer and developer for fifteen years in the Bay Area, she trained as an interfaith minister and received a Masters of Divinity degree in 2002. She visited monasteries in the US, Europe, and Asia, learning from master teachers mostly in the Ajahn Chah lineage. In 2012, she received full ordination as a bhikkhuni and founded Karuna Buddhist Vihara, a neighborhood Theravada Buddhist monastery for bhikkhunis. Find out more at https://www.karunabv.org/Ayya Cittananda Bhikkhuni: Ayya Cittananda was inspired to follow the Buddhist path in 2005 after a college philosophy class. After completing a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing and working as a registered nurse in Texas, she lived as a monastic at a small Pure Land/Chan monastery in Florida. She spent time practicing at monasteries in England and Scotland, and at Aloka Vihara in Placerville, California. She took Anagarika precepts at KBV in March of 2015, Samaneri ordination in April of 2016, and Bhikkhuni ordination in May of 2018 at Buddhi Vihara in Santa Clara, California.---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!

Empty Space Alight: A Compassionate Theravāda Search for the Nature of Awareness | Guy Armstrong Q&A

In this session, Ajahn Kovilo and Ajahn Nisabho interview renowned meditation teacher Guy Armstrong about his time as a monk with Ajahn Buddhadasa, the relationship between sense consciousness (viññana) and a deeper awareness, the Mahāyāna concept of Buddha nature, emptiness, and remaining grounded in the modern world.Guy's Biography:Guy Armstrong has been leading insight meditation retreats since 1984 in the U.S., Europe, and Australia. His training included living as a monk for a year in the Thai forest lineage. Guy is a member of the Spirit Rock Teachers Council and a guiding teacher of the Insight Meditation Society.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 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 Lie Behind Shy: A Buddhist Response to People-Fear and Self-Implication | Ajahn Kovilo

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!

Deep Thai Buddhism: Soft Skills for a Hard Life & Living the Monk Dream | Ajahn Dan Thiracitto Q&A

In this session, Ajahn Kovilo and Ajahn Nisabho interview Ajahn Dan Thiracitto about his experience as a Western forest monk in Thailand: living with Thai Krooba Ajahns, walking tudong, and living close to the earth.Resources mentioned in this conversation:- Luangta Maha Bua: Shedding Tears of Dhamma - https://youtu.be/iI5TQnYcFn8?si=yUJb3t2e4d_cscAV- Arahattamagga Arahattaphala: The Path to Arahantship by Luangta Maha Bua - https://www.abhayagiri.org/media/books/maha_boowa_arahattamagga_arahattaphala.pdf- Talks by and Q&A with Ajahn Dick Silaratano - https://www.abhayagiri.org/talks/teachers/51-ajahn-dick-silaratanoAjahn Dan Thiracitto's Biography:Ajahn Dan Thiracitto, born in Germany in 1980, encountered Buddhism through Vietnamese Pure Land practice in 2001 in Australia. He explored Tibetan and Chinese Buddhism before embracing the Thai Forest Tradition, inspired by Luang Por Chah, Luang Dta Maha Bua, and the Pali Canon. Ordained in 2011 in Thailand’s Dhammayut Order, he trained four years in the lineage of Luang Dta Maha Bua and Luang Por Chop in Loei province. Since 2013, he has largely lived an independent, nomadic lifestyle of Carika (Thudong, walkabout). He spent five Vassas at Wat Pah Nanachat and affiliated monasteries, including a year with Ajahn Jayasaro. Since 2019, he is based in Nan province while regularly undertaking long-distance pilgrimages in Thailand and other countries like Malaysia, Nepal, India, Taiwan, Germany, Vietnam, Hong Kong, and Australia.He currently resides at a small branch monastery on the outskirts of Chiang Mai City, Thailand.----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 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!

Heaviest Teachings, Lightest Touch: 4 Hallucinations (No AI Necessary) | Ayya Brahmavara

In this talk, Ayya Brahmavara speaks about the 4 vipallāsa or distortions of perception, described in the Vipallāsasutta AN 4.49 (https://suttacentral.net/an4.49/en/sujato?lang=en&layout=sidebyside&reference=none&notes=asterisk&highlight=false&script=latin), and how our clinging causes us to suffer. The Buddha's teachings, though counter to how much of the world thinks, lead to a sense of lightness and peace.BioAyyā Brahmavarā learned Vipassana meditation from age 24, under the guidance of SN Goenka, after hearing about meditation retreats from a fellow student at Sheffield University. From being a medic striving to alleviate suffering, there was a gradual realignment over the next ten years from the medical field of practice to the monastic one. Same quest, going deeper . . . as she discovered in the Buddha's Path of practice how one could begin to explore and to help alleviate suffering through facing up to its root causes. Ayyā visited Amaravati monastery with a couple of Goenka friends in 1999 and by the end of 2000 was working as retreat center manager there. In August 2001, she was glad to have the chance to renounce the household life and enter monastic life as an anāgārikā. Sīladharā pabbajjā followed in 2004 and she practiced at Amaravati and Chithurst monasteries in the UK for the next 15 years. Ayyā benefitted from many months on tudong in the UK, Ireland, Italy, and France and from pilgrimages to Burma, India, Taiwan, China, and Malaysia which increased her faith in the sāmaṇa life and broadened her view of Buddhist practice. In 2019, Ayyā Brahmavarā moved to Thailand and Wat Subthawee to practice under the guidance of Luang Por Ganha. From him she learned the value of sacrifice, of selfless service, and of love. Ayyā Nirodhā is a valued bhikkhuni there and she encouraged Ajahn Brahmavarā to consider full ordination as a bhikkhuni. In 2021, Ayyā feels blessed to have been invited to receive bhikkhunī upasampadā with Mahātherī Ayyā Tathālokā as preceptor, and to join the auspicious Vassa gathering at Dhammadharinī Monastery and Aranya Bodhi Hermitage. Ayyā Brahmavarā's aspiration is to continue the practice using this form as a way of serving and supporting liberation from suffering for all beings.To learn more, visit https://www.ayyabrahmavara.org/----To join via Zoom on Saturdays, visit Clear Mountain Monastery's website and click on the link for the Saturday Morning Meditation, Teaching, & Coffee Social (https://www.clearmountainmonastery.org/events/saturday/ )To participate in the Saturday chanting, use the pdf found here: https://cdn.amaravati.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/30/Chanting-Book-Vol-1-Web.pdfTune 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 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!

Brothers & Sisters in Dhamma: A Case Study | Karuna Buddhist Vihara Q&A

In this session Ajahn Kovilo and Ajahn Nisabho speak with Ayya Santussika and Ayya Cittananda live at Kuruna Buddhist Vihara.Ayya Santussika Bhikkhuni: Born in Illinois in 1954, Ayya Santussika began exploring meditation in the late seventies. She received BS and MS degrees in computer science while being a single mother. After working as a software designer and developer for fifteen years in the Bay Area, she trained as an interfaith minister and received a Masters of Divinity degree in 2002. She visited monasteries in the US, Europe, and Asia, learning from master teachers mostly in the Ajahn Chah lineage. In 2012, she received full ordination as a bhikkhuni and founded Karuna Buddhist Vihara, a neighborhood Theravada Buddhist monastery for bhikkhunis.Ayya Cittananda Bhikkhuni: Ayya Cittananda was inspired to follow the Buddhist path in 2005 after a college philosophy class. After completing a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing and working as a registered nurse in Texas, she lived as a monastic at a small Pure Land/Chan monastery in Florida. She spent time practicing at monasteries in England and Scotland, and at Aloka Vihara in Placerville, California. She took Anagarika precepts at KBV in March of 2015, Samaneri ordination in April of 2016, and Bhikkhuni ordination in May of 2018 at Buddhi Vihara in Santa Clara, California.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.clearmount... or visit https://linktr.ee/clea... for details. Welcome!

Not-Self-Help Guide: Upaṭṭhāking Luang Por Sumedho & the Beauty of Service | Ajahn Asoko Q&A

In this interview, Ajahn Kovilo and Ajahn Nisabho interview Tan Ajahn Asoko, a senior monastic at Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in the UK and the primary attendant to Luang Por Sumedho. The focus of the interview was the ins-and-outs of serving as an attendant and caregiver.Biography of Tan Ajahn Asoko:Ajahn Asoko grew up in a village near Geneva in Switzerland. His mother brought Buddhism into the family life. As a teenager, he visited Amaravati Monastery, where he first met Luang Por Sumedho and was fortuitously able to attend a ten day retreat with Luang Por Sucitto. At 19 years old, he decided to take a sabbatical year off and spend it at Wat Nanachat, Luang Por Chah's branch monastery for Westerners in Thailand, under the guidance of Luang Por Pasanno. After 9 years back in lay life, it seemed time to return to Thailand, and was ordained as a bhikkhu by Luang Por Liem. He spent 18 years in Thailand, the last 8 years as Luang Por Sumedho's attendant and secretary. He came to stay at Amaravati Monastery in January 2021 as Luang Por Sumedho returned to live there.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!

Tara & the Theras! Radical Acceptance & Radical Compassion in an Unraveling World | Tara Brach Q&A

In this interview, Ajahn Kovilo and Ajahn Nisabho interview Tara Brach about her advice for practitioners dealing with fear and anger over the current state of the world, her relationship with faith and the Triple Gem, the R.A.I.N. approach to metabolizing difficult emotions, taking a "u-turn" in navigation of relationship, halos, unitarians, and more!00:00:57 What's currently alive for you in the Dhamma?00:02:45 What was a dark time for you, and how did you move out of it?00:06:51 Could you speak about your own spiritual biography? 00:08:42 Could you speak about your faith in Buddhism? 00:15:20 Could you describe R.A.I.N. and lead us in a guided meditation?00:26:01 Other skillful means for protecting the sacred in life? 00:34:03 Is there a place, not for "allowing", but for saying "no".00:37:37 How to balance equanimity with action, and maintain a birds-eye view of the situation.00:43:16 How much should we use AI on our spiritual path?00:50:41 Skillful means to work with relationship difficulties?00:57:33 How broadly should a practitioner search for spiritual guidance?01:00:23 One prayer for yourself, and for those listening?Tara Brach's bio:Tara Brach is a Buddhist meditation teacher, psychologist and author of several books including international bestselling Radical Acceptance, Radical Compassion, and Trusting the Gold. Her popular weekly podcast on emotional healing and spiritual awakening is downloaded over 2 million times a month. She is founder of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington and has been active in bringing meditation into schools, prisons and underserved populations. Along with Jack Kornfield, Tara leads the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program (MMTCP), serving participants from more than 75 countries around the world. For more info, visit: http://www.tarabrach.com/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!

Death Dhamma: Lessons from Life’s Edge | Ajahn Nisabho

A document describing how to honor the dead may be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/13H0UzWa73aLS1y6vVSANftAxZRjho76aozhZ5Tcjp2E/edit?usp=sharing.In this talk, Ajahn Nisabho speaks about maraṇasati, or recollection of death, as a path towards gratitude and heedfulness. He then describes how we can honor those who have passed, in ritual, spirit, and practice.------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!

Love Is the Only Thing ... Oh, and PBT, RFT, ACT & Infinite Relationality | Steven Hayes Q&A

In this session, Ajahn Nisabho interviews Steven Hayes, clinical psychologist and co-developer of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and process-based therapy (PBT). They speak about the panic attack that catalyzed Dr. Haye's path of healing, Relational Frame Theory, Acceptance Commitment Therapy, modern culture's lack of a transcendent articulations, and even get Dr. Haye's to sing! You may find the official version of "Leaves from My Tree" here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/wpr9czppjkuuc1emhqmtl/Leaves-from-my-tree.mp4?rlkey=3pjxv1uq4onvzhewolhahxmj0&dl=0BIoDr. Steven C. Hayes is Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the University of Nevada, Reno, and President of the Institute for Better Health.He developed Contextual Behavioral Science, originating its philosophical foundation (Functional Contextualism), basic science of human cognition (Relational Frame Theory, or RFT), and its therapeutic application (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy/Training, ACT). He co-developed Prosocial for group cooperation, advanced the Psychological Flexibility Model of suffering and well-being, and more.Dr. Hayes’ contributions have been recognized with awards including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies and the Impact of Science on Application Award from the Society for the Advancement of Behavior Analysis.Author of 47 books, including "The Liberated Mind", and nearly 700 scientific articles, he is among the world’s most cited psychologists and continues to influence the field through his research and innovation. To learn more, visit https://stevenchayes.com/---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 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!