Category: Winter Retreat Talks

The Work of Ease

Chithurst Buddhist Monastery

Ajahn Sucitto

Winter Retreat Dhamma Reflection 24 March 2021

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It’s a natural inclination for citta not to suffer, but it’s confused, it needs to be trained. Citta can turn away from the tangles of ignorance towards signs that produce ease. Training with nimbleness and flexibility, citta becomes grounded, stable, not easily knocked over, easily handling what comes its way.

The Happy Misfit

Chithurst Buddhist Monastery

Ajahn Sucitto

Winter Retreat Dhamma Reflection 22 March 2021

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Citta jumps and rushes towards experience it thinks will bring security. It’s a compulsion, an addiction. But citta can turn, starting with disengagement, then stabilizing and calming. Settle into the happiness of these effects, and you have a good foundation to eliminate the irrational drives and compulsions that cause suffering.

Opening into Consciousness

Chithurst Buddhist Monastery

Ajahn Sucitto

Winter Retreat Dhamma Reflection 21 March 2021

In meditation we rest into what’s always here. Like dropping a net into the river and seeing what we catch, we simply take note with awareness, deep listening and open presence. Use structures and qualities as a skillful tetherings, to turn citta away from the complexity of stimulation, activity and abstraction. When energies are no longer running out, citta settles in itself. This is samādhi.

Of Donkeys and Riptides

Chithurst Buddhist Monastery

Ajahn Sucitto (11 Jan 2021)

When citta is collected in itself, it can begin to review the aspects of its experience that overwhelm and bind it, aspects not sensed or felt before. Train attention to go lightly, slow down, and open awareness to these unknown places. Fortify the citta with the rich energy of goodwill and recollections that warm the heart.