Dhammagiri Buddhist Podcasts

In the "Fire Sermon" (Adittapariyaya Sutta) the Buddha is teaching 1000 former fire worshipping ascetics that our five senses, the mind and the sense objects are burning in the fire of desire, aversi…

Ajahn Dhammasiha guides us through a meditation on Not-Self.

We use the breath a anchor, and then contemplate all distracting thoughts, images, worries, anxieties and so on that arise in our mind as…

(1) We start by developing Loving Kindness just to one being, whoever we find most easy. Even an animal like a cat or cute puppy will do. Then we have to keep on going until we actually FEEL somthing…

A family has come to share merits with their mother/grandmother/great-grandmother, who they lost a few days ago, at the age of 96 years. In the Dhamma discussion, Ajahn Dhammasiha explains that 'Let…

Ajahn Dhammasīha offers a few reflections on the Buddha's teaching:

"Suññam idaṃ attena vā attanīyena vā!"

= "Empty of Self and Empty of Anything belonging to Self"

• e.g. Majjhima Nikāya/Middle Le…

This is a new stereo recording of the chanting we do at the end of every Sunday afternoon session at 5.00 pm, called "Verses of Sharing and Aspiration"

You can find it in the Amaravati Chaning Book o…

The Buddha's teaching on Anattā (Non-Self) is not meant to establish a doctrine or philosophy. It's not meant for mental gymnastics, to think about it in a purley intellectual manner, or to argue abo…

Anattā / Not-Self is one of the more difficult, even challenging aspects of the Dhamma. Even long term Buddhists often feel uncertain or even confused what exactly is meant by anattā. If there's unc…

Ajahn Dhammasiha points out the benefits of developing all four 'Brahmavihāras':

1. Mettā = Loving Kindness 2. Karuṇā = Compassion 3. Muditā = Sympathetic Joy 4. Upekkhā = Equanimity Developed …

Mettā is unconditional, non-judgemental friendliness to all beings. Without distinction or discrimination, without any expectations or demands, without any preconditions:

• Whether they like us or h…

Meditators often complain that they just can't stop thinking in their meditation. However, thoughts are not really the problem. The problem is only unwholesome or sensual thoughts. We first have to…

We all know that the Buddha teaches Karma and Rebirth. However, unless we have special psychic powers, we have to admit that we do not know for sure what happens after death. We take it on faith in t…

Buddhist Pāli Chanting of the very first Sutta in the Suttanipāta: "The Serpent" / "Uragasutta". Snakes regularly have to shed their old skin, as it becomes too restrictive for their growing body. I…

Often we're not experiencing rapture and bliss in our meditation, but lots of challenges, painful memories, fears, and pain. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with us.

Only a person with a min…

On Āsāḷhā Full Moon, the Buddha taught his first formal discourse, the "Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta" ("Discourse on Setting in Motion the Wheel of Dhamma") In his Dhamma Talk, Ajahn Dhammasiha goes …

The Buddha's teaching on the Four Noble Truths are eminently practical. They are not just a theory or mental gymnastics, but they are directly applicable to our life with it's pains and pleasures, it…

The Buddha mentions the Middle Way (Majjhimā Paṭipadā) right in the beginning of his very first formal discourse, the Sutta on "Setting in Motion the Wheel of Dhamma" (Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta).

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The annual three months 'Rains Retreat' period ('Vassa') abserved by the monks and nuns is also an excellent opportunity for the lay community to enhance their level of effort and commitment in their…

Many times the Buddha explains how the mind can unify in Samādhi via the following steps:

1. Gladness (pāmojja)
2. Rapture (pīti)
3. Tranquility (passaddhi)
4. Bliss (sukha)
5. Unification of Mind (samādh…

Ajahn Dhammasiha was invited to share some Dhamma at Bandar Uttama Buddhist Society (BUBS), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

He talks about the Noble Eightfold Path, one of the most fundamental teachings of …