Freeing the Heart from Darkness | Don't Allow the Evil We Witness to Darken Your Heart | Ajahn Dhammasiha

Ajahn Moneyyo discusses the very first Sutta in Suttanipāta: "The Snake" / "Uragasutta".Snakes regularly have to shed their old skin, as it becomes too restrictive for their growing body. In the wilderness, one can sometimes find this old, worn out skin, left behind by the snake. The Buddha uses this process as a simile for a monk who abandons anger, desire and delusion, leaving all mental defilements behind, just like the snake leaves behind it's old skin. Naturally, abandoning defilements is no easy task, just as he snake has to struggle quite a bit to wriggle out of the old skin. But it is possible, it can be done.Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.dhammagiri.net/news⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Our email Newsletter:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.dhammagiri.net/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Latest Photos⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://latest-pics.dhammagiri.net⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Our Youtube Channel:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@dhammatalksatdhammagiri8724#suttanipata #uragasutta #snake #serpant #buddhism

Ajahn Dhammasiha was asked via email to talk about bringing peace to ourselves regarding Iran, Israel and US war, and all the other evil and insanity we witness being committed globally. As Brisbane just witnessed a total lunar eclipse ('Blood Moon') on Magha Puja Full Moon day, Ajahn shares the ancient Indian myth how Rāhu the evil demon swallows the moon deity Chandimā during an eclipse. In his distress, Chandimā remembers the Buddha and takes refuge in him. The Buddha chants a verse to Rāhu requesting him to release Chandimā, and Rāhu indeed lets go of the moon. Although this myth totally contradicts our astronomical understanding how an eclipse works, Ajahn Dhammasiha declares himself a true believer in its truth: meaning his is convinced of the metaphorical truth of the matter, not the literal meaning 😉The moon is a simile for our heartThe moon being swallowed by Rāhu is an allegory for our heart becoming dark due to sadness, anger or despair Taking refuge in the Buddha, and remembering that the Buddha's complete release from all oppression can be experienced by ourselves, frees our heart from darkness and unwholesome statesAjahn encourages us to remember the symbolism of the lunar eclipse whenever we notice our heart going dark. If we remember the Buddha and take refuge in him, the forces of evil will not be able to darken our heart. This is the most important thing. We may not be able to stop the evil happening externally, in the extreme we may even get killed ourselves by evil. However, as long as evil can't take over our own heart, we've still won the most essential battle. This doesn't mean that we have to be completely passive regarding evil. It only means that we do not commit evil ourselves in opposing it. We oppose evil only by means that are not violent, keeping the Buddhist precepts, and most importantly, based on compassion, kindness, truth and equanimity, never baswed on anger or hatred. To do that, we have to first make sure that anger, hatred, delusion or fear are not influencing our heart. We also have to keep in mind that it is utterly impossible to turn this human world into a perfect place without evil. It is part of the first noble truth that we live in a world with war and atrocities. However, if we free our own heart from evil, we will experience a devine world without evil in our next rebirth. And if we free our hear from any trace of greed, hatred & delusion, we will experience the state of total release, Nibbāna, where no trace of evil can ever reach.You can listen to a recording we did of Dhammagiri monks chanting the Moon Protection (Canda Paritta) during the total lunar eclipse for Veask Full Moon 2021 here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/canda-paritta-moon-protection-recitation-at-lunar-eclipse/id1534539834?i=1000523371067Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.dhammagiri.net/news⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Our email Newsletter:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.dhammagiri.net/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Latest Photos⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://latest-pics.dhammagiri.net⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Our Youtube Channel:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@dhammatalksatdhammagiri8724#evil #war #darkness #release #freedom #deliverence #lunareclipse #bloodmoon #chandaparitta

At our Pa Ba Ceremony of Offering Forest Cloth on Magha Puja Full Moon, Ajahn Dhammasiha gives a Dhamma Talk about the Ovādapātimokkha:Abstain from any evil deed accomplish what is good and true, And fully purify your mind - That is what all the Buddhas teach. Enduring patience is the best of all ascetic practices; The best of everything at all is called Nibbāna by the sage. If you cause harm to anyone you can't be called a genuine monk! Refrain from harming and abuse, and strictly keep the Buddha's rules; Be moderate when taking food, and dwell alone in solitude devoted to the Higher Mind - That is what all the Buddhas teach. The Buddha recited this concise summary of the whole practice leading to Nibbāna on the full moon of Magha, at the 'Sāvaka-sannipāta', the spontaneous gathering of 1,250 Arahant Bhikkhus, all of them ordained by the Buddha himself. Ajahn Dhammasiha also explains that the Veluvana (Bamboo Grove Monastery), the location of Magha Puja, was the first monastery ever offered to the Buddha. King Bimbisāra of the Kingdom of Magadha offered a park to the sangha, located outside the gates of his capital Rajagah. The Buddha accepted it and declared that the monks are now allowed to accept property the to be owned by the sangha communally (but not by individual monks). However, the monks continued to live in the open and under trees even in the newly offered monastery. The billionaire banker of Rajagaha saw the monks still living in the open, and asked the Buddha for permission to erect buildings for them. The Buddha granted permission, and from then on numerous structures were erected and offered to the sangha.Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.dhammagiri.net/news⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Our email Newsletter:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.dhammagiri.net/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Latest Photos⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://latest-pics.dhammagiri.net⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Our Youtube Channel:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@dhammatalksatdhammagiri8724#buddhism #buddha #buddhistmonastery #rajagaha #rajgir #maghapuja #ovadapatimokkha

Abstain from any evil deed accomplish what is good and true, And fully purify your mind - That is what all the Buddhas teach. Enduring patience is the best of all ascetic practices; The best of everything at all is called Nibbāna by the sage. If you cause harm to anyone you can't be called a genuine monk! Refrain from harming and abuse, and strictly keep the Buddha's rules; Be moderate when taking food, and dwell alone in solitude devoted to the Higher Mind - That is what all the Buddhas teach. The Buddha recited this concise summary of the whole practice leading to Nibbāna on the full moon of Magha, at the 'Sāvaka-sannipāta', the spontaneous gathering of 1,250 Arahant Bhikkhus, all of them ordained by the Buddha himself. Ajahn Dhammasiha introduces us to the location of the event, the Bamboo Grove Monastery ('Veḷuvana') at Rājagaha, and goes through the Ovādapātimokkha line by line (By the way, it's actually 14 lines of verse in the Pāli. When Ajahn Dhammasiha talks about 16 lines, he was thinking about the English translation, which has two lines more. It can be difficult to express meaning in English as succinct as in Pali, often one requires more words in modern languages to get the meaning accross)Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.dhammagiri.net/news⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Our email Newsletter:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.dhammagiri.net/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Latest Photos⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://latest-pics.dhammagiri.net⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Our Youtube Channel:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@dhammatalksatdhammagiri8724#buddhism #buddha #arahants #magha #maghapuja #ovadapatimokkha

Chanting starts at 0.32 min.The sangha of Dhammagiri Buddhist Monastery recites auspicious paritta for Vietnamese/Chinese New Year of the Firehorse. Ajahn Moneyyo leads the chanting Tan Adicco recites the formal invitation to all devas & spirits Ajahn Dhammasiha joins the chanting as well. Spotify sometimes classifies our chanting podcasts as 'music' and then deletes them, as pure music tracks are not allowed on their podcast platform. To prevent that from happening, we have included a spoken intro, and some explanations about horse similes at the end, by Ajahn Dhammasiha. Being born in the year of the firehorse himself, Ajahn Dhammasiha enjoyed sharing quotes mentioning horses at the event, including his own translations. Read the horse quotes here: https://www.dhammagiri.net/post/horse-similes-in-pali-canonDhammagiri Forest Hermitage:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.dhammagiri.net/news⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Our email Newsletter:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.dhammagiri.net/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Latest Photos⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://latest-pics.dhammagiri.net⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Our Youtube Channel:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@dhammatalksatdhammagiri8724#paritta #palichanting #buddhistchanting #chinesenewyear #firehorse2026 #firehorse #lunarnewyear #buddhism #dhamma

At the celebration of Lunar New Year of the Fire Horse 🐎🔥 in the Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean calendar at Dhammagiri, Ajahn Dhammasiha talks about several suttas and verses where the Buddha uses horses as similes. The longer sutta that Ajahn mentions first, with the 'Beauty, Strength & Speed' simile, is at Anguttara Nikāya/Numerical Discourses, Threes No 97.Being born in the year of the firehorse himself, Ajahn enjoyed sharing quotes mentioning horses at the event, including his own translations. Read the horse quotes here: https://www.dhammagiri.net/post/horse-similes-in-pali-canonBy the way, on the thumbnail you see Richie gallopping on Dhammagiri grounds with the Dhamma Hall in the background top right. We allow the neighbours' therapy horses to graze on our property.Horses 🐴 are highly trainable, and so is our mind. A royal stallion is distinguished by it's supreme beauty, strength and speed. Similar, a Dhamma practitioners are distinguished by their virtue, effort in developing wholesome states, and investigation of the 4 Noble Truths.Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.dhammagiri.net/news⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Our email Newsletter:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.dhammagiri.net/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Latest Photos⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://latest-pics.dhammagiri.net⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Our Youtube Channel:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@dhammatalksatdhammagiri8724#chinesenewyear #firehorse2026 #firehorse #lunarnewyear #buddhism #dhamma #buddhistwisdom

Ajahn Dhammasiha talks about the importance of 'Beautiful, Admirable Friendship' (Kalyānamittatā) for our Dhamma progress. "Having good spiritual friends is 100% of the holy life" (The Buddha, Saṃyutta Nikāya/Connected Discourses 45.2)Ajahn points out the connection with the 4 Factors of Stream Entry (Sotāpattiyangāni):Association with Good Persons (Sappurisa-saṃseva) Hearing the True Dhamma (Saddhamma-savanaṃ)Wise Attention (Yoniso Manasikāra) Practising Dhamma in Line with Dhamma (Dhammānudhamma-patipatti)Number one is personal contact with someone who has realized the Dhamma. Personal association with an Arahant or Streamenterer, even if only for a short time, is the first of four conditions to realize the Dhamma oneself. Ajahn Dhammasīha encourages us not to completely substitute that personal association with youtube, reading and listening to recordings. Without the personal contact, we may miss out on a crucial factor for gaining the vision of Dhamma ourselves.Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage:⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.dhammagiri.net/news⁠⁠⁠⁠Our email Newsletter:⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.dhammagiri.net/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠Latest Photos⁠⁠⁠⁠https://latest-pics.dhammagiri.net⁠⁠⁠⁠Our Youtube Channel:⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠@dhammatalksatdhammagiri8724#buddhism #friendship #goodfriends #buddhistwisdom #dhammatalk #dhamma #streamentry #sotapatti

Ajahn Dhammasiha talks about the importance of 'Admirable Friendship' for our spiritual progress. 'Kaḷyāṇa Mittatā' can be translated as 'Beautiful Friendship', 'Noble Friendship' or 'Good Spiritual Friendship'. It means a friend who causes our wholesome qualities like virtue, generosity, kindness and wisdom to increase when we associate with them, because they have developed these qualities themselves. Such a friend in a 'Kaḷyāṇa Mitta'. The opposite, a bad friend that causes us to get more angry, stingy and deluded, is called a 'Pāpa Mitta'. Bad Friendship is 'Pāpa Mittatā'. Underlining the crucial importance of good friendship for our Dhamma practice, the Buddha once famously said to Venerable Ānanda: "Having good spiritual friends is 100% of the holy life" (Saṃyutta Nikāya/Connected Discourses 45.2)Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage:⁠⁠⁠https://www.dhammagiri.net/news⁠⁠⁠Our email Newsletter:⁠⁠⁠https://www.dhammagiri.net/newsletter⁠⁠⁠Latest Photos⁠⁠⁠https://latest-pics.dhammagiri.net⁠⁠⁠Our Youtube Channel:⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/⁠⁠⁠@dhammatalksatdhammagiri8724#buddhism #friendship #goodfriends #buddhistwisdom #dhammatalk #dhamma

Ajahn Dhammasiha is asked about a quote in Dhammapada Verses #3 to #5: He struck me, he defeated me, he hurt, abused, offended me! If we hold on to vengeful thoughts - our anger never fades away.He struck me, he defeated me,he hurt, abused, offended me! If we let go of vengeful thoughts - our anger surely fades away. More hatred will not calm down hate, it simply doesn't work like that. The opposite of hate alone will calm down hatred - that's the truth! Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage:⁠⁠https://www.dhammagiri.net/news⁠⁠Our email Newsletter:⁠⁠https://www.dhammagiri.net/newsletter⁠⁠Latest Photos⁠⁠https://latest-pics.dhammagiri.net⁠⁠Our Youtube Channel:⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/⁠⁠@dhammatalksatdhammagiri8724#anger #irritation #aversion #metta #lovingkindness #equanimity #buddhism #buddhistwisdom

Ajahn Dhammasiha talks about the 4 kinds of Karma the Buddha has expounded: Dark Karma (Sanskrit 'Karma' = Pāli 'Kamma'): Bad actions like killing, stealing etc Bright Karma: Compassion, Kindness, Contentment, Truthfulness etc. Mixed Karma: A blend of various dark & bright actions. Karma that leads to the end of Karma The last one is the most profound and difficult to understand: Karma that's neither dark nor bright, but leads to the ending of Karma, awakening, the realisation of Nibbāna. "Kammaṃ akaṇhāsukkaṃ akaṇhāsukkavipākaṃ kammakkhayāya saṃvattati" See Anguttara Nikāya / Numerical Discourses, Book of Fours #233Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage:⁠https://www.dhammagiri.net/news⁠Our email Newsletter:⁠https://www.dhammagiri.net/newsletter⁠Latest Photos⁠https://latest-pics.dhammagiri.net⁠Our Youtube Channel:⁠https://www.youtube.com/⁠@dhammatalksatdhammagiri8724#karma #kamma #badkarma #goodkarma #endofkarma #goodness #awakening #enlightenment