The Buddha’s First Sermon and the Way Out of Suffering

Ajahn Ahimsako

On the occasion of Asalha Puja, Ajahn Ahimsako discusses the Buddha’s first sermon, the
Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (SN 56.11), the Discourse on Setting in Motion the Wheel of Dhamma. He points out that while physical and emotional pain is inevitable in life, mental suffering is completely optional, and it is up to each of one us to apply the Buddha’s teaching on the Four Noble Truths and to find our way to freedom.

Contact and Feeling as Pivots towards Freedom

Ajahn Ahimsako

After the Cittaviveka community’s chanting of the Fire Sermon (SN 35.28), Ajahn Ahimsako investigates the stages in the cycle of Dependent Origination. He explains how the factor of contact can only occur in dependence on its three constituent elements, and asks if we can experience the subsequent factor of feeling with awareness, instead of being drawn into grasping and the fires of greed, hatred and delusion.

With Little Dust in Their Eyes

Luang Por Sudhiro

Luang Por Sudhiro, abbot of Wat Pah Kanjanabhisek in Khon Kaen, Thailand, offers reflections on the life of the Buddha during a short but auspicious visit to Chithurst. He details the Buddha-to-be’s renunciation of his comfortable lifestyle for one of asceticism, abandoning this when he remembered an experience of peace he experienced in childhood, and finally deciding to teach the way to enlightenment to those with little dust in their eyes.

Be a Light Unto Yourself

Ajahn Siripañño

Ajahn Siripannyo, abbot of Wat Dtao Dtum in Thailand, during a rare and auspicious visit to Cittaviveka, offers his thoughts on the many benefits and joys of living a monastic life. On the eve of the annual Kathina festival, he points out the harmony that is created during the sewing of the robe, and explains how it is the smaller rituals that bind together the larger tradition, establishing a conduit for goodness.