Ajahn Kevali, abbot of Wat Pah Nanachat in Thailand, advises us to develop our Dhamma practice by looking at the life of the Buddha. Through becoming familiar with the life story of the Buddha and keeping in mind that he was a human being, we can emulate the same practices. We can regard the teachings of the Buddha as a template, the elephant’s footprint that all of our own experiences fit within.
Ajahn Ahimsako explores the wheel of Dependent Origination, focussing on the factors of contact and feeling. He explains how feeling tones, in the absence of mindfulness, can lead on to grasping, desire and suffering, but with mindfulness and the wisdom to see feelings only as feelings, that this cycle can be broken and an unconditioned happiness can be realised.
Ajahn Ahimsako discusses the vital role that Right Effort plays in the development of the Buddhist training. He shows how effort, working in conjunction with mindfulness, allows unwholesome states to be abandoned and wholesome ones to be cultivated instead. He also explains the concept of clear comprehension, as a way of practicing correctly within the context of each situation, and explains how the the training is a holistic, whole path to understanding.