Ajahn Amaro : « We Need to Talk about Nibbāna » (2019)

Dhamma talk with Q&A session (#12) offered by Venerable Ajahn Amaro, abbot of Wat Amaravati in England, a monastery in the Thai forest tradition of Ajahn Chah
www.amaravati.org
'We Need to Talk about Nibbāna'
11th June, 2019 (18.00 - 19.30)
Meditation Hall
Buddhadāsa Indapañño Archives, Bangkok
[Q&A session starts at 52:30]
To download freely "The Island: An Anthology of the Buddha's Teachings of Nibbāna" by Ajahn Pasanno & Ajahn Amaro:
www.amaravati.org/dhamma-book...
For other teachings by Ajahn Amaro, please visit:
www.amaravati.org/speakers/aj...
www.abhayagiri.org/talks/teac...
www.bia.or.th/en/index.php/tea...
About Ven. Ajahn Amaro (Phra Videsabuddhiguna):
Born in England in 1956, Ven. Amaro Bhikkhu received a BSc. in Psychology and Physiology from the University of London. Spiritual searching led him to Thailand, where he went to Wat Pah Nanachat, a Forest Tradition monastery established for Western disciples of Thai meditation master Ajahn Chah, who ordained him as a bhikkhu in 1979. Soon afterwards he returned to England and joined Ajahn Sumedho at the newly established Chithurst Monastery. He resided for many years at Amaravati Buddhist Monastery, making trips to California every year during the 1990s.
In June 1996 he established Abhayagiri Monastery in Redwood Valley, California, where he was co-Abbot with Ajahn Pasanno until 2010. He then returned to Amaravati to become Abbot of this large monastic community.
Ajahn Amaro has written a number of books, including an account of an 830-mile trek from Chithurst to Harnham Vihara called 'Tudong: The Long Road North,' republished in the expanded book 'Silent Rain.' His other publications include 'Small Boat, Great Mountain' (2003), 'Rain on the Nile' (2009) and 'The Island: An Anthology of the Buddha's Teachings on Nibbana' (2009) co-written with Ajahn Pasanno, a guide to meditation called 'Finding the Missing Peace' and other works dealing with various aspects of Buddhism.
In December 2015, along with Ajahn Pasanno, Ajahn Amaro was honoured by the King Rama IX of Thailand with the ecclesiastical title ‘Chao Khun.’ Together with this honour he was given the name ‘Videsabuddhiguna.’
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[@sambeck7854]

Wow! What a beautiful way to explain what cannot be explained!

[@SBCBears]

In this video, he is not explaining what cannot be explained. He is explaining a part of the path to realize for yourself what cannot be explained.

[@ursulagayet6056]

Thank you, Ven. Ajahn Amaro, for this very helpful talk!

[@prithachaudhuri9490]

I find the talk beautiful. Than you very much Ajahn and also BIA for uploading this.

[@tigershenanigans6878]

Nibbana has nothing to do with death 🙏🙏🙏 This sparkled insight in me. Sadhu sadhu sadhu 🙏🙏🙏

[@HuiChyr]

What a wonderful talk. Thank you. 🙏🙏🙏

[@FredRosa]

Great teacher, wonderful talk.

[@kumu2613]

Thank you so much for making the book available free of charge 🙏

[@Mountain_Dhamma]

51:00 “Nibbana is…the peace that is here when the grasping and the identification stops…” That’s all that needs to be realized. You’ll know you’ve realized it when your life is nothing but bliss

[@AgeofColossus]

Very nice dhamma talk by Ajahn Amaro. Thank you for uploading this talk.

[@TeaSmithWay]

Excellent. Saving this one in my “Great Dharma Talks” list. The story of Jack Kornfield hit home. It definitely highlighted the fine line between Dharma Joy from walking the path and experiencing release, verses clinging to these experiences with a source of pride. Great talk.

[@madhavangopalan7463]

Thank you very much for the best explanation of Nirvana. 🙏😀🌹

[@amirrastgoo9711]

Thanks BIA for your wonderful work this year! Many amazing events and superb coverage. Can't wait for your upcoming ones

[@vijjanandadhamma]

Everyone has a mind factory. Vipasanna is the training that will calm the mind. When mind are calm insight knowledge of 4 things arise in your mind. They are vedana or sensation or feelings, next they are perception that act as receiver that connect the object to be channel to the mind, there is the mind that act as a generator once it received the information from the sense base that consist of our body, our eye, our nose, our ear our, touch and finally the mind. These detected object are perceived by these sense door and are send to the mind for production. Once the received information from the sense door, it will begin to fabricate and form an image in the mind. As the image are formed the conciousness as receive begin to send it to the body where feeling start to manifest. This feeling begin to synchronised with the mind at very high intensity. In this way the mind and body coordinate with each other until such time the fabrication become so strong and vedana also same become very strong and the body goes into action. Thus a complete action has been carried out by the fabrication of the mind and the cooperation of the vedana. In this way these sense door, and the external object, with the body and mind begin to fabricate and get us involved into their fabrication thus unknownly these vedana and mind fabrication if unknow are the cause of "I' to become exist. So vipasanna is to be practice and to see these action and mind fabrication and to finally come to understand the true meaning of nonself. Vipasanna involved in bringing the mind to follow our outbreath and inbreath until such time the mind begins to become calm and upon the mind become calm, the mind will let you see the true characteristics of how these mental fabriction works and thus cause sufferrings. May all be well and happy. BUDDHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI

[@spiritualgrowthwithpranaya2388]

a great dhamma talk, thank you

[@robbiepeterh]

Nice chap; I feel lucky to visit his monastery regularly.

[@lmansur1000]

Helpful teachings. I had no idea that one can discuss and talk about Nirvana and what it is. I had thought about it myself and at points got scared because I would get to the point of thinking annihilation - and at that point, I would kind of freak out. This talk is helpful and interesting. It is also interesting that the Buddha did not say anything about the after Nirvana because he new it will be distorted and made into a belief system of a sort. It is like talking about after death... no one really knows. Ajahn Amaro also said that Nirvana and death are not the same. i.e. one can get to Nirvana in ones lifetime. I am so appreciative of this teaching. Thank you Ajahn Amaro!

[@drake8846]

Helpful perspective. Thank you for the Dhamma talk and book. Peace 🙏

[@msbs]

Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu Excellent Excellent Excellent ... No grasping, let go, 5 Khandha's not me

[@greensbeans6542]

Sadhu!!!.... 🙏🙏🙏🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️🌺🌺🌺

[@jonesjangle9252]

Sadhu sadhu sadhu

[@ramthian]

Thanks 🙏

[@SuperKimara1]

Thank you 🙏

[@JoyceChor]

Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu

[@thilinapraboditha8193]

Sadu Sadu Sadu!

[@loganbrown9845]

Thanks so much. It's always a joy to listen to Ajahn Amaro (even if many stories are now repeats to me). He is one busy monk.

[@vijjanandadhamma]

As human we are no other then being already in the dreams of existence.We are in a dream in a dream. So to put it this way, as we are in the dreams, can you tell the truth while in the dreams.. No matter how you tries to explain nibbanna while you are in the dreams then that will be totally ignorance. Then What you then need to do? But then again when you seemingly seems to have wake up yet when you upon waking up again you find yourself still in this dreams. The only way to really wake up from this dreams is to exercise practice on vipasanna and to enter into this presant moment dreams and make it ceases. Nibana is when the moment the mind ceases altogather. Nibanna is nothing about mind and body. Ceesation of mind and body is nibanna. No other way to explain. Only this way. So you can come and experience it yourself. BUDDHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI

[@napapornkongpom5388]

สาธุ🙏

[@ahmetturkmen2025]

Sadhu dear friend 🙏❤

[@translinearlight6132]

Ajahn Amaro is, to use his words from this lecture, cool and cooled down. :D He explains it so well, excellent dhamma talk. Sadhu, sadhu, sadhu.

[@jeranmiller]

This was wonderfully helpful. Thank you, Ajahn! I’m beginning to see.

[@meeyingyau5832]

🙏🙏🙏

[@martinyong2806]

sadhu sadhu sadhu

[@bell10877]

🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@tarikasakuliam3288]

สาธุ🙏🙏🙏

[@tamimzeya4318]

🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@avinashpundkar5309]

sadhu ...sadhu....sadhu....

[@meeyingyau5832]

👍

[@madhavangopalan7463]

🙏😀👏😀

[@nickpayne4724]

It wasn't the corn, it was the mind

[@chamirawijesinghe3223]

Venerable Sir, you explained about Thadangana Nibbana. I hope I'm spelling it correctly. But will someone mistakenly see Bhava Thanha or even Vibhawa Thanha as Thadangana Nibbana? Just a thought came into my mind. Sadhu.

[@bayreuth79]

What is the difference then between Nirvāna and Parinirvāna? Moreover, if Nirvāna is reducible to a state of mind then why is it said to be permanent and not-suffering?

[@mutul1000]

No difference between the two auspicious events, however, in case of The Lord Buddha it is Parinibbana (Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu)

[@poorvasharma8807]

I think because Parinibanna involves the final liberation from the body fully, from embodiment, it's the final nibanna

[@LENIN990]

Sadhu. PD: Ajahn Amaro has strong arms and back! :o

[@vijjanandadhamma]

If one cannot recognised one who has attained, thinking he is inflatable ego, then this is a great lost to the buddhist arena it is no different from not knowing nibbanna, buddhist is just as good as dead. BUDDHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI

[@richardprice9730]

Great talk yes absolutely but the grasping is reestablished by the thought belief of substance and or importance ,value .Contradiction is resolved in paradox of the moment yer we go back to old habits i and ,I...I...expanse and back ,until we see something else ,a rebirth of sameness ,a rebirth of I. Rebirth or reincarnation or.... Resurrection, they did not recognise him ,a gardener ?

[@siddharthbansode1905]

So then why many Buddhist people in Thailand get so aggressive without any reason? And don't have coolness when someone just ask normal questions and lose their coolness

[@mutul1000]

may be because of Sankara

[@mattrkelly]

we need to talk about nibbana, baby...

[@vijjanandadhamma]

Nibanna is when the mind ceease to exist. No other way to explain but this is the only way to say it.

[@vijjanandadhamma]

Anyone who even if it is, a monk tries to think and tries to describes nibanna is this or is not this, is that and not that, it is somethings like this or like that then he will never know and come to realize nibanna.

[@vijjanandadhamma]

How about talking about finding one who has experience ceesation and gets meditative instruction from him and follow his way to experience it by yourself. Nibanna. Do you know who are these people? Suppose i am the one talking about it and that i have experience it will you believe me. YES or NO? Can you remember when Siddhattar become the BUDDHA and when he return to meet the 5 ascetic upon seeing sidhatha who is now the BUDDHA, the first things that creeps into these 5 ascetic mind is DOUBT. So now i will tell you that i am a sotopanna. One who has enter the stream of the enlighten being. Anyone has DOUBT?? I know majorities will doubt. Unfortunate this is indeeds human characters and whose eye are cover with even little dust but can never see. In olden days it was said by the wise that people with little dust in their eye will see the teacher once it is explain to them their attainment But unfortunatelly todays environment doesn't works anymore. Men with little dust will never sees. Suki hotu. BUDDHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI

[@SBCBears]

You present the view of a puthujjana. Maybe you can tell us why puthujjana, those least qualified, often take it upon themselves to explain the penultimate Buddhist teaching.

[@vijjanandadhamma]

Ceesation of mind and thus body ceases to be. Nibanna do not need mind or body. The last noble truth that explain about the end of sufferring. One who experience the last truth sees it clearly. Mind ceases altogather. Nibanna the unexplainable. That is the ULTIMATE TRUTH

[@vijjanandadhamma]

One who experience it will know. That means one at the lowest saint(SOTOPANNA) will know. It has been known by one who is awaken. All explaination are known to one who is awaken. In cutting short the whole explaination are known to one who is awaken. To let other understand the significance of the training of mind purification in simple explaination is be as watcher, not being entertain, not to be involve in all mind and physical activities. But to be a watcher, knowing the mind and physical activities as they arise so shall they disappear, knowing what to watch and knowing what not to watch just letting these body and physical phenomenor go. They are only passing clouds and nothing more of any good. By being in this way one need something to hang on while travelling into the mind and that we need are the meditation object Our breath and to magnify that breath so as to make it easy to feel and see it with the mind, we contemplate it on the abdomen or our belly. It is to make it become visible both physically and mentally so as one can feel it and mentally see it. In this way, one journey into the mind can begin. Clear comprehension on this breath object as one breath in (abdominal wall rising) and as one breath out(abdominal wall falling). By focusing the mind on this meditation object and contemplate it clearly, one will soon brings the mind into concentration that are very benefiting to on going mind purification development and to further progress that arouse vipasanna knowledge that will arise and to be known and realise by this way of pratice. The 16 vipasana nanas or knowledge will arise from clear mental comprehension(sampanjanna) on the meditation object. To cut short all those long meditaion mind purification explaination and to make it simple for everyone to understand, i will put it this way... Meditation is the process to experience the truth of this body and mind are not self and they are impermanent, are subject to sufferring. The above simple meditation instruction are merely to guide one into clear comprehension(sampanjanna) on the breath object so as to make the mind calm(sati) and once the mind are calm(sati or become concentrated) knowledge of the 3 characteristic and the 5 mental factor buddhist call it 5 khandas will be notice by the mind. In realising these phenomenor by this way of practice(vipasanna) one will finally comes to understand the 4 noble truth of sufferrings clearly. Clearly meaning one will directly experience the effect of the 4 noble truth. This means from scolarly to actual experience it. The actual experience is when one is now with clear comprehension on his meditation object and concentration has already momentarily developed(sati), once these 2 factors are developed, another factors will arise and that is vipasanna nanas or knowledge arise that from right concentration in buddhist we call it 'WISDOM'. These wisdom will only arise in the mind once sati or concentration are well developed following above explainations.. Once this knowledge or wisdom had arise as one continue to practice vipasanna, it will come to a time when the mind experience the last truth of the 4 noble truth= ceesation of conciousness into complete cease. The mind goes into complete shut down. This is how one who has finally completely understood the 4 noble truth explain it(from scolarly to really experience it) The moment of complete cease of conciousness one will not know. (it sound strange to you and many other because you have not yet tasted this moment. As the Lord BUDDHA say... COME AND EXPERIENCE IT YOURSELF. NIBANNA IS TO BE EXPERIENCE IT YOURSELF ONLY THEN YOU WILL KNOW. So when one who has experience it tell this momentarily cease of concious completely and that upon that moment he do not know it will definately make you think how is that possible right? So then who is right? The buddha is right and the one experience it is right. And you cannot understand we do not blame you. Why? Refer to the BUDDHA INVITATION: COME AND EXPERIENCE IT YOURSELF THEN YOU WILL KNOW. So you have heard the BUDDHA say in this way and now you have also hear the one who experience it say in the same way. Can you understand? Yes for those who are already experiece it they the ARIYA will understand. And for those still cannot understand, i urge you to deligently continue to practice VIPASANNA. This is the only way and no two ways. BUDDHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI

[@vijjanandadhamma]

There is nibanna but yet it is only known by the one who experience it. It is true if don"t talk about nibanna, buddhism is as good as dead. Then what is nibanna.? Nibanna is not about happiness, bliss or happiness. It is misconception. It is not for one who are scolarly and also not suitable to use words to make a statement to make nibanna as to so easily understood. Not coolness not cooling down not super heaven. What ever we tries to imply and assume and think and using all sorts of imaginations, yet they are all untrue. Nibanna has nothing to do with mind and body. It cannot be undetstood no matter how hard you try to explain NIBANNA. That is why the Buddha say only one whose mind are free from greed, hatred and delusion will experience nibanna upon their mind purification ends. Upon the 4th noble truth the last truth says END. When there is the End then there is no more worldly experience. Today many listener do not believe when they meet an ariya, one who has experience the path. Why is that so? It is because the listerner and the one who present the dhamma many are not one who has experience nibanna themself. So they will remain scolarly. Indeed ingnorance are long and tiring for the ignorance. Nibanna has nothing to do with happiness, bliss whatever you can think. What ever you can think or say, then that is not nibanna. Nibanna has nothing to do with mind and body and our conventional thinking. No matter how you try to explain nibanna in your way, it will only brings you back to ignorance and doubt. So the Buddha say about nibanna. 'ONLY THE WISE ONE WILL KNOW'. EHIPASSIKO OPANAYIKO PACCATAM VEDITABBO VINNUHI TI. Come and experience it yourself. Once you reach ceesation of mind, mind do not anymore exist. When mind no more exist, then all of us here who ever we tries to explain nibanna even at his very best, it is still not true. Then who will know? The Ariyan are those who has experience it will know. Then those who knows will then leads you into the path by guiding you the correct way to practice your mind meditation subject so you will also finally experience it. There is only one way and the way is thru SATIPATHANA or sati with sampanjanna that leads to the 4 foundations and the 5 aggregates seeing nonself and finally the mind cease from existence into nibanna. You now know what is nibanna but no words can be put into any correct order of what nibanna actually is. But you know. This is the meaning of only the wise one will know. And the signification of Ehipasiko understanding are clearly understood by the one who experienced it. BUDDHAM SARANAM GACCHAMI

[@polymath3774]

Ajahn Amaro I have watched many of your videos and have found them very helpful. I have read some of your ebooks and greatly appreciate that they are given magnanimously. I would like to ask that you answer questions in the comment sections when you have time. Your videos aren't viral by any means (not to bruise your obviously enormous ego). But I think it would be very beneficial for those of us who are keenly interested in the dhamma that you open a line of communication with those of us accessing your content online to do otherwise would be unfortunate. My question for this video is, there is so much that must be relinquished to realize nibbana is there anything that is gained besides vague (though useful) concepts like peace and happiness, and if not is there some distinguishing quality to this sort of peace and happiness besides being free from grasping/clinging? I will continue to ask questions in your videos in hopes of getting your attention I know your time is valuable and can't be spent typing away but I think some feedback to the online community would go along way and potentially reach people in ways that were not possible traditionally. Thanks again for all your words of wisdom. Sincerely, John Cann.

[@robbiepeterh]

Poly Math Hello. The videos of Ajahn Amaro are uploaded by third parties and it is highly unlikely that he checks these comments or has a KZbin account through which he can respond to them. As a regular visitor of Amaravati where he is Abbott, I can also say that he is one of the busiest people I have ever met. I would recommend emailing his monastery for a reply and I would certainly not recommend telling him he has an “obviously enormous ego”. I wish you well in your endeavours.

[@polymath3774]

@@robbiepeterh It was just a light hearted joke I'm sure someone with his patience and understanding wouldn't be offended. He has a pretty good sense of humor. I assumed he isn't the one uploading the videos I just thought there might be a chance he on occasionally checks the comments or views on his video to see what kind of traffic and reactions they are receiving. I realize he is very busy I just thought he might want to interact with people who can't visit him personally but have a keen interest in the dhamma. I appreciate your feedback I will try emailing him as well your probably right that I'm more likely to get a response that way. Thanks for the goodwill.

[@y9w1]

@@moyshekapoyre 😂😂😂🤣 wow 😅

[@moyshekapoyre]

@@y9w1 looks like my comment was removed?

[@patthompson008]

There are some teaching monks in the Insight tradition that do go online and answer questions. Yuttadhammo is one such. He even does online teaching sessions and retreats. Besides that, there are also websites like Dhammawheel that might be fruitful if you ask the right question to the right forum.

[@stevet5790]

45:00

[@shamanverse]

sweet discernment. gracias.

[@shunlaiei5981]

🙏🙏🙏