I’m relatively new to the path of the Buddha your perspectives are refreshing to me. Thanks

Thank you🙏

I’ve doing a lot of introspection, trying to align my prior experiences of non self within the principles of Buddhism. Can you see if the following explanation is missing anything in terms of comprehending the Dharma. No longer be troubled by unease once we understand that the source of our suffering derives from a place of impermanence. Such constant change is not under our control and thus will have no agency on its generation. Therefore we should cultivate the ability to endure such pressure (mental unease) that arises from craving as it is not apart of ourselves. Such enduring and restraint of the senses leads to less craving, so we call this process non craving. Overtime as we allow this process into more aspects and more subtle experiences of our life we become increasingly purified from suffering, as the pressure from craving no longer generate mental unease, leaving us with a deep sense of peace.

Thank you for going into so much depth, there was a lot of good information here, I think my understanding of what is implied by samadhi is growing. I had another question surrounding kamma. How does the choice to endure vs engage in a craving relate to the non control we have to reality if all all prior kamma leads to the current experience and we have no control over the intentions that surface. Do we still have a choice to be mindful of the Buddha’s teaching and recognize the dependent origination of our intention to respond in the given moment or is that choice pre determined for us by our kamma? Does concentrating on the current moment and being mindful allow us to change our fate of previously falling into lust, hate, or delusion. Or is this another delusion that we ever had a choice to begin with?

If anatta means there is no control or ownership of parts of your experience, such as your feelings / senses. There is still I assume some level of control as in an earlier chapter on virtue you mentioned we must learn to embrace wholesome actions and relinquish unwholesome actions. Does anatta mean our perception of embracing or relinquishing is also illusionary? Or does anatta only reference parts of our experience that is uncontrollable and other aspects are in some way (perhaps our consciousness?) able to exert control towards a fruitful purpose?

In your view, how much does Buddhism depend on a belief in rebirth? For a number of reasons, the concept of rebirth in any literal sense seems unlikely to me. But without rebirth, it seems that much of the motivation for Buddhist practice vanishes - simply waiting for death and refraining from bringing new life into the world appears to be near equivalent to achieving enlightenment right before you die. Of course, you will be free from suffering while you're alive, which may be preferable to being afflicted with suffering while you're alive, but if suffering ceases upon death (along with your self - i.e. assuming the self arises from the brain just as sensation and perception do), then the result will be the same either way after a finite amount of time. Maybe you could define liberation from suffering as achieving the cessation of suffering within a preexisting living mind, in which case, death would not bring liberation - but then it seems that you would be attributing a net positive value to the event of liberation rather than only a net negative to suffering: the value of liberation would not just be in the freedom from the negative value of suffering (because cessation of suffering would also occur upon death), but it would have its own intrinsic positive value (the particular state of "no suffering + living mind" would be preferable to every other state: "no suffering + no living mind", "suffering + no living mind (impossible if we assume the self depends on the functioning of the brain)", and "suffering + living mind"). At the moment, I still feel like Buddhist practice is worth it; specifically because, given the option to live another 50 years with suffering or without suffering, the latter would be preferable, and choosing to not living another X years would very likely cause harm to others. On the other hand, living a worldly life dedicated to reducing the suffering of others seems more worthwhile without rebirth - if I could contribute even a small amount to bringing about the end of animal exploitation and especially factory farming, for example, a great deal of finite suffering would be eliminated at the expense of a single finite lifetime of my own suffering. And on a larger scale, spreading Buddhism would be about as effective at ending suffering as spreading anti-natalism. *Why I don't think rebirth is likely:* (these may seem like strange or pedantic thought experiments - feel free to stop reading here if you don't want to wade through my rambling) There is little reason to think that cryopreservation of human bodies/brains is physically impossible*. Assuming it is possible, someone is effectively dead the moment they are cryopreserved, probably requiring a non-trivial revitalization process. 1. If they are reborn the moment they are cryopreserved, or any time during which revival is possible, then (assuming rebirth occurs) either 1. branching rebirths must be possible since there is the potential for the original body to be revived, or 2. the same body could host a different karmic self (i.e. someone "else" would be reborn into the revived body; the person "in" the revived body would trace their karmic history through a different line, not relating to the history of the pre-cryopreservation person in that body since they already continued their re-arising of self by way of rebirth in a different body). 2. alternatively, if rebirth can only occur after revival of the cryopreserved body becomes physically impossible: a. Assuming the mechanisms that cause rebirth depend only on the past or present, it seems that you run into an issue of defining when revival is actually impossible. Maybe there could be some kind of cosmic law governing this, but it seems a very strange kind of law to have since it almost surely would depend on things that seem very contingent and far from the fundamental nature of existence itself. There seems to be at least some wiggle room in which technological developments could move the line at which the physical state of degradation of the body implies impossibility of future revival - maybe the mechanism of rebirth just happens to "know" exactly where the absolute furthest extent of this technological wiggle room lies, and initiates rebirth right when no possible technology could revive a cryopreserved body (it would also have to "know" or depend on some seemingly arbitrary definition of "revival"), but again, this seems very detached from the fundamental roots of existence to me. Even if you have some kind of non-physical reservoir of self (or latent self - karmic conditions that set the stage for the re-arising of self) which "decides" to be reborn, it would still have to make these "judgements" regarding the impossibility of revival - even the slightest misjudgement would leave open the possibility, however small, of branching rebirths. b. Alternatively, the mechanisms of rebirth could depend on the future - this seems like the only sensible solution to me, but also seems to raise potential issues with respect to causality. Since karma has physical effects (even if it has a non-physical aspect, it must give rise to physical effects because it affects your behavior), if the mechanism that triggers rebirth depends on the future, then a future action, like someone choosing to revive your cryopreserved body, could have physical effects on the past (by way of the lack of your karmic chain continuing until the revival of your body: if the future revival didn't occur, you could have possibly been reborn prior to it and had causal effects on the circumstances that prevented or allowed your revival). I'd have to do some more thinking to figure out if this could actually cause paradoxes; it seems like the most sensible possibility of the ones I described, but still seems unlikely to me. *it's basically just a problem of heat transfer and the chemical/physical properties of water - if the rate of heat transfer was higher or the formation of ice crystals was slower - i.e. the glass-transition temperature of water was closer to its freezing point - tissues could easily be frozen and revitalized; we may be able to overcome these physical constraints in the future, e.g. with cryoprotectants, but even if we can't, it seems unlikely that rebirth would depend on something as non-fundamental as the physical properties of water.

Thanks for the video, I’ve been learning more about Buddhist teachings recently. I think I have started stream entry but started from a more western style of awareness training. I’m interested in learning more about the eastern approach as there seems to be a much richer depth of literature surrounding what is next after realizing the ego can be dissolved at will. I look forward to reading your book. Thank you for your wise words.

At 1:19:43 I suggest using the phrasing "NOT 'This is mine', NOT 'this I am', NOT 'this is myself'". Though it doesn't sound nice gramatically, it better expresses that these are wrong views in ALL situations. The potential implication that the formula "this is not mine" presents is that only a particular instance of something is "not self", but that potentially other things could be self. Otherwise, I am enjoying the video, it is very clear!

this sounds like hillside hermitage.

Thank you! Very helpful

Thank you very much for your efforts in putting these lectures together. They have and are really healping my practice. All the best.

Much anumodna for all your efforts sharing the Dhamma. Your Meditation book, this channel and the Discord server have redefined and clarified the practice for me. 🙏🙏🙏

Interesting background story as to how you came to the dhamma. In my case, it was after reading a fiction book about people exploring what happens after death. Having been raised in an atheist family, it sparked my interest for the supernatural and spirituality. I went from reading about out of body experiences to lucid dreaming to reading a book about lucid dreaming by a Buddhist monk. This led me to read "Buddhism according to Tchan" and I could never shake that sparked interest from then on. I first got into Tibetan Buddhism, but only for 3-4 months. I quickly started practicing in the Soto Zen tradition and stayed there for 3 years. I got disillusioned, though, with all the "extra mahayana fluff" (bodhisattva vow, etc.). So I started to get interested in Theravada Buddhism. That interest never faded, but I moved on from Master to master, with periods of despair and lesser practice due to the frustration of not getting anywhere (and in fact developing mental issue)... Until I bumped into Ajahn Nyanamoli's and later your explanations. I haven't felt the need to so obsessively research other interpretations since. It's been 2 and a half years. Even though no divine messenger event happened at the time of my initial interest in Buddhism, they were nonetheless the main reason why I got so involved. I grew up with my grandma suffering from Alzheimer's disease. She died in horrible conditions when I was around 11yo. I could never shake the vision of her dying in her own feces (in my mind, she was being cleaned of course... But not perfectly immediately). I was hyper aware even at that age that I TOO am subject to such a horrible fate. It would obsess me. Also, my relatives started dying like flies in the years following my discovery of Buddhism. In order : my grandpa, one of my best friends, my aunt, my uncle, my other grandpa, my mum, my grandma, plus my godfather who got cancer but survived. In the span of 5-6 years. And 3 years after my mother died, my father died right in front of me. I can't shake my vision of his last breath with water spilling out of his lungs. So it is no coincidence that I have taken refuge in the Buddha. Truly, he is my refuge amidst the horrors of existence. Barely two weeks ago, my brother-in-law, a good friend whose son is my godchild committed suicide.

I am a serious practitioner, I loveHH what is the dhamma discord????

🙏

Great talk! I loved the pyramid!

ive tried so many groups for help but its deificult as a person that had NDE before the age of 3. So my perseption was formed with the between behind first, then the veil of samsara is laid on top, when i was young, the veil would slide all the time, as my perseption had a hard time holding onto the stream. It definitly has given me an inside out perseption.

Hey cool video! I have a question. It is clear that suffering is a choice but what I struggle with is that this choice isn't free. It also is a product of causes and conditions. The Buddha taught that the self is a product of these conditions and we have no control over them. That is one of his arguments against the self. But if I don't control the causes of my choices how can I ever free myself. Every choice I make if skillfull and unskillfull arises out of conditions. Theses choices have an effect no doubt but I don't see any room for freedom there. I mean as long as ignorance is there I can't make wise decisions. But I don't control that there is ignorance. Ignorance can be overcome by my doings but these doings are also just a product of conditions outside of my control. This is basically determinism. And I know that Buddha argued against it in the suttas. So I'm really confused. I cannot act skillfull if the causes of this have one of the 3 poisons as it's source. So I'm not able to make a free choice given that every choice is dependent on sth that I don't control. Maybe I have sth wrong please correct me if that's the case.

So, at the end of the video, you give a brief description of how to actually attain the jhana experience of the Buddha, basically a zen-esque, shikantaza, do nothing sort of thing. What you say also reminds me of what a sayadaw from Myanmar is currently teaching named Ashin Tejaniya, though being from a Burmese tradition, the word jhana itself rarely ever comes up in his talks, he was taught by Shwe oo Min, who was taught by the Mahasi circle, but he deviated from the traditional Mahasi approach. He teaches a sort of more relaxed approach to the Mahasi method that involves using vitaka and vicara (thinking and pondering as you put it) in regard to whatever experience the meditator has in sitting and walking meditation, gradually weeding out the defilements, and also to practice this way in constant mindful open awareness throughout every moment of the day. There's also a specific talk given by Ajahn Chah where he explains vitaka and vicara to be applied to whatever comes up in the mind and analyzed in between moments of anapanasati, he (Chah) does explain how full absorption his eventually reached, but it (in my opinion) seems to be more in the context of a relaxed open awareness that's become detached from any defiled state of mind (not a one pointed concentration on breath) that seems to be in line with the neutrality or equanimity you're suggesting. I've recently discovered a Malaysian Theravada monk named Bhikku Aggacitta that seems to be teaching jhana somewhat similar to this, he suggests that there's no particular thing that needs to be focused/concentrated on to attain 1st jhana. Are you familiar with any of these teachers or teachings? I've heard you mention Ajahn Chah in other videos, it seems like this view and approach you hold is not overly common, but that there are in fact other teachers in the Theravada tradition that are teaching something very similar.

I find it strange that despite often criticizing "modern meditation methods" you still talk at beginning of the video as if sitting still for 5 minutes is "a moment without hindrances." I also find misleading the idea that methods can be helpful in the beginning of one's practice of the Dhamma even if we say they are not the Dhamma ultimately. To me it is like saying that playing the guitar will help us begin career as heart surgeons. It will supports people's (as you yourself say) wrong view that those methods have some connection at least with the real practice. That they may help keep virtue or "be less reactive" does not mean "helpful for the Dhamma", does it?Because I am pretty sire some intoxicating drugs that can do that too.

finally someone who cites the source! instant subscription. i believe i have recently achieved this. i suddenly became supremely comfortable existing and things fhat would have affected me before (i dropped and broke a bottle of cough syrup in the freezing cold and had to ask neighbours i have an awkward at best relationship with for a hard bristle brush to clean it up with but i had no problem doing so and i wasmg even mad i had lost my cough syrup and had to clean it up in this terrible cold

I wonder if there is a self fulfilling prophecy to this. People believe it leads to nibbana and then they attain nibbana but just because they believed it does

You look uncomfortable giving that dham.a talk for some reason doctor 😂

The arrogance to think you have it all figured out Florian when so many people have read the suttas and somehow you have the correct take? Bottom line, experientially people report what you describe, and more. Piti can be strong, it can be weak. It's energy baby. You can't tell me Leigh Brasington is wrong. His jhana quells the 5 hindrances. Simply put, and this ends all matters, he has the insights proclaimed by the Buddha! Can you at least have any candid and honest conversation with any of the dozens of dhamma teachers on dharmaseed or anyone in the contemporary dhamma world. Isn't that strange to you to be isolated in your view while you can't talk to other dhamma practitioners who speak of another way? You're either saying people are not becoming happier through their "wrong" practice, which of course many could attest to the fact that they are actually happier, not samsarically, but fulfilling the Buddha's promise, or the happiness you speak about gained by the "true" method is greater somehow.

U hv clarified so much wrt breath med.V useful. 🙏🙏🙏

I’m not too sure why you spent so much time on methods, putting your attention on breath, foot steps and formal sitting. As you say in the video formal Meditation methods was not taught in Buddhas time. And breath meditation (anapansati) was only taught to noble disciples and experienced lay followers. Bhikkhu Anigha recommends focusing on precepts first and perfecting them and then sense restraint, watchful of intentions etc.

1. Attaining *jhāna* means a certain kind of defilement is burnt away, temporarily burning away passion and aversion. 2. Various religions have taught methods of attaining *jhāna*. 3. The Buddha, before his enlightenment, attained all the non-noble *jhānas* prevalent at the time but realized they did not lead to liberation through wisdom. 4. Gotama Buddha's *jhānas* are fundamentally different from the non-noble *jhānas* of other traditions; they are noble *jhānas*. 5. Many Buddhists today are unaware of the distinction between noble and non-noble *jhānas*. 6. Attaining Sotāpanna path and fruit is far superior to attaining all eight non-noble *jhānas*. 7. The Blessed One never praised or valued the attainment of non-noble *jhānas*, as explained in the Gopaka Moggallāna Sutta. 8. The Blessed One explained that he does not praise *jhānas* accompanied by sensual desire and other hindrances, lacking true understanding. He praises *jhānas* attained by those secluded from sensual pleasures and unwholesome states. 9. Ānāpānasati meditation was used in different ways even before the Buddha, some non-noble and some noble. The Buddha explained the noble Ānāpānasati method. 10. The word *pajānāti* (fully knowing) is crucial for understanding noble meditation, contrasting with *nappajānāti* (not fully knowing). One who has not truly understood the Dhamma cannot correctly practice noble Ānāpānasati.

Chapter Table of Contents 1. Foundations of Liberation - 2:33 2. Storytime - 14:58 3. Personal Experiences - 19:13 4. Advanced Practitioners - 36:22 5. Chapter-wise Summary - 44:45 6. Thank you - 59:16 🙏

Bawana is about transforming negative mental patterns: Overcoming the three main defilements greed, hatred, and delusion and cultivating positive emotions: Loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity. Developing wisdom and understanding the insight into the nature of reality, the workings of the mind, and the path to liberation, thereby transforming negative mental patterns and overcoming defilements like greed, hatred, and delusion.

Bawana is about transforming negative mental patterns: Overcoming the three main defilements greed, hatred, and delusion and cultivating positive emotions: Loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity. Developing wisdom and understanding the insight into the nature of reality, the workings of the mind, and the path to liberation, thereby transforming negative mental patterns and overcoming defilements like greed, hatred, and delusion.

The primary reason why the "noble meditations" have been overshadowed and replaced by worldly, ignoble meditation methods is the introduction by Venerable Buddhaghosa of a system comprising forty meditation techniques, including both noble and ignoble methods. While all noble meditations lead one to the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, a form of 'sati' meditation, Buddhaghosa incorporated thirty additional 'samadhi' meditations into the ten 'sati' methods, as outlined in his writings. Consequently, the world has predominantly adopted these 'samadhi' methods presented in the Visuddhimagga, rather than the original noble meditation practices. As a result, the tens of thousands of meditators practicing in meditation centers today are unlikely to encounter genuine 'vipassana' or 'anapanasati' meditation. This is because practicing these techniques requires a profound understanding of duality. To truly experience these teachings, one must directly perceive duality. Until one can clearly distinguish and eliminate these defilements and negativities, they cannot see that these impurities were accumulated in the past. Only after realizing that these impurities were collected in the past can one discard them and purify oneself. This realization, as the Buddha described as 'sandiṭṭhiko,' is to become endowed with 'dassana'.

Thank you.🙏🙏🙏

I really appreciate your time and efforts to share your understanding of Dhamma. Your teaching is very beneficial to me, thank you!

Hi Doc, what is your understanding of the deathless, and is that stream entry?

Is this influenced by nyanamoli thera?

Sotapanna, Sakadagami, and Anagami do not completely remove craving. There is still some left. As long as there is craving there is suffering so there is still suffering. Maybe not at the exact moment of the attainment but the hindrances will still arise. An Arahant however removes all craving therefore all suffering, as craving is the underlying cause. Or at least so I hope.

Bhawatu satva mangalam

truly helpful. Thank you both.

Thank you

Hi Florian! I've enjoyed your content on the Dhamma. I've been practicing on and off for a while but I've been more focused on the meditation side rather than the whole of the Dhamma. I was hoping that you could make a video about your journey in the practice. I'm interested in some of the significant moments in your practice. Results of the practice in your life. If you already have, can you direct me to the video?

Are you ready to go forth doctor ,I will see you in the forest ,when we go on alms round 😮

I know there are different translations and interpretations for various things to do with Buddhism and jhanas, but I feel it is worth pointing out that vitaka and vicara, which you translate as thinking and pondering, are often translated as applied thought and sustained thought, or - to use descriptions that even meditators with little experience can relate to - as putting the mind on a meditation object (such as the breath) and keeping it on that object. I know this isn't a universally accepted interpretation of these terms, but it is how they are understood by many eminent and experienced teachers and practitioners of meditation.

Great lecture! thank you!

Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu❤

Chapter Table of Contents 1. "Modern" Virtue - 2:27 2. Storytime - 12:13 3. Environment - 16:05 4. Time - 24:59 5. Modern Methods - 27:30 6. Reflecting Methods - 55:07 7. Contemplations - 1:01:55 8. Other Supportive Practices - 1:07:23 9. Summary - 1:13:09 🙏

Thank you.🙏🙏🙏

if you understand the dhamma you would not be effected by the interruption caused by the delivery guy. the theoretical study of the teaching will only trap you in an illusion of understanding. and if you truly understand the Dhamma you will see that except for Islam and Judaism most other religions take you to the same destination how ever the journey and the path can vary. if you are interested in truly understanding the dhamma i would be happy to be your Kalyana mithra. May you attain the supreme bliss of nibbana.

Thanks! 🙏

Well done ,new dharma teachers 😊