Bhante Sujato left a career as a musician to become a Buddhist monk in 1994. He took higher ordination in Thailand and lived there in forest monasteries and remote hermitages. He spent several years at Bodhinyana Monastery in Western Australia before founding Santi Forest Monastery in New South Wales in 2003. Following Bhante Sujato’s wishes, Santi became a nun’s monastery in 2012, and he returned to live in Bodhinyana. In 2019, Bhante Sujato moved to Sydney to establish Lokanta Vihara (the Monastery at the End of the World) with his long term student, Bhante Akaliko, to explore what it means to follow the Buddha’s teachings in an era of climate change, globalised consumerism, and political turmoil.
From Harris Park. Mettā meditation towards one's skeleton using both visualisation and feeling. Discussion of corporeality and the mind, the sentient body, the role of the breath, the senses. Awareness and peace as a continuum.
From Harris Park. Meditation on mindfulness of the breath. Dhamma talk about Mahasi techniques e.g. noting, where to watch the breath, influence of Japan in early twentieth century Buddhism, Satipattana Sutta parts, Mahasi and the evolution of the stages of insight.
From Harris Park. Mettā meditation towards oneself. Discussion of types of investigation/insight assessment of one's wisdom; vīmaṁsa (investigation), paccavekkhana (reviewing/reflection). Expertise and how you might know that you know.
From Harris Park. Bhante Sujato on the four iddhipādās: chanda (desire, zeal, enthusiasm), viriya (energy), citta (awareness, clarity, knowing), vimamsa (inquiry). Included in the 37 factors that sum up the teaching and are the backbone of structure of the Samyutta Nikaya. Dhamma chanda: desire to get rid of desire. viriya: keeping going, not giving up. citta: mind; synonymous with samadhi and jhana = citta bhavana. vimamsa: reflecting, looking back, curiosity leading to wisdom.
From Harris Park. Meditation on the five "aggregates" (khandā), guided by Bhante Sujato. Dhamma talk by Bhante Sujato on the five aggregates. Subtle (sukhuma) rūpa perceived by the mind. The aggregates as inseparable aspects of experience. Perception recognizes and puts details together to meaningful wholes. Sankhārā in this context: volition. Meaning of "upadāna khandā"; metaphor of the hand. Q+A: Contemplation of khandas in the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta. Why such brief introduction of the concept of khandas in the Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta (reference: MN 26).
From Harris Park. Sīla - a life in the Dhamma as foundation for meditation. Mettā meditation guided by Bhante Sujato. Q+A: gratitude as an aspect of mudita. The role of mettā when dealing with trauma.
From Harris Park. Bhante Sujato: Mettā as an experience vs. a philosophical idea; found inside rather than outside, independent rather than grasping. Brāhmā vihārā. Guided mettā meditation. Dhamma talk: background on the mettā meditation method as taught by Ajahn Mahā Chatchai. Patience as a warm-up. Grounding the experience of mettā firmly in the body. Explanantion of "nimittā".
From Mantra Hotel. Ayyā Suvīrā presenting her new book. Mettā meditation, introduced and guided by Bhante Sujato. Dhamma talk by Bhante Sujato: the psychology of peace. Samatha and Vipassanā: not two kinds of meditation, but aspects of mental development: letting go of desire and ignorance. "Māra is always one step ahead!" Q+A: Being afraid of peace.
Mettā meditation guided by Bhante Sujato. Dhamma talk by Bhante Sujato on the Russian invasion of Ukraine: how to find truth in a sea of disinformation (five guidelines). Thoughts on the concept of "Just War": its ancient philosophical origins and the Buddhist perspective. Black / white / black and white / neither black nor white kamma.
Mettā for mosquitoes. Mettā meditation for small creatures led by Bhante Sujato. Dhamma talk on AN 4.67 Ahirājasutta (The Snake King). Q+A: The first nun.
