Talk last night went quite well, I think… listen here:
Four Noble Truths at Grenada Hills Center For Spiritual Living
The center is in Grenada Hills (as if I know where that is…) and here’s their website:
http://www.cslgh.com/
Sounds like they might invite me back; I’d be happy to return, it’s a place with very good energy and nice, [...]
Just a little update, what I’ve been up to for the past three months with my weblog down, for those of you who haven’t been following me on Twitter or Facebook (my twitter links to my facebook; either one will get you the same info).
Apart from fighting off a ridiculous court case on false charges [...]
Here’s my birthday talk (it’s the gift that keeps on giving…). I actually gave two talks on my birthday, but the other was in Thai and not recorded. This one is about what Birthdays mean to Buddhists and what dhammas bring true wellbeing (svastika).
[audio:http://www.sirimangalo.org/files/diraudio/Yuttadhammo/Los%20Angeles%20Course/090509_HappyBirthday.mp3]
God is a concept by which we can measure our pain.
John Lennon
Here’s my take on religion, or at least a summary of it. I gave a talk on this subject some time back, but didn’t record it. Maybe I’ll give one again. Here’s another great quote by John Lennon:
“I’m prepared for death because [...]
Here’s a talk on another of my favourite subjects:
[audio:http://www.sirimangalo.org/files/diraudio/Yuttadhammo/Los Angeles Course/090322_Mahapurisavitakka.mp3]
I’m not going to post all the audio talks here anymore; it seems rather self-aggrandizing anyway. I couldn’t resist this one, though… for all you Thai listeners out there, here’s one for you (a whole bunch more will eventually be available here):
[audio:http://www.sirimangalo.org/files/diraudio/Yuttadhammo/Thai/090317_SikkhaSaam128.mp3]
This is the first official English talk of our 2009 meditation course at Wat Thai of Los Angeles. Inspired by this video series.
Why Everyone Should Practice Meditation (Top Five Reasons):
[audio:http://www.sirimangalo.org/files/diraudio/Yuttadhammo/Los%20Angeles%20Course/090314_WhyMeditate.mp3]
Reincarnation is really a Hindu concept, though the Buddha used it to explain his teaching to Hindus. Reality, from a Buddhist standpoint, is somewhat different, both from the Hindu religious concept, and from the modern concept of death and birth.
It’s really hard to understand, and I’ve tried explaining it to several people before, to [...]
They say you can get too much of a good thing. In meditation this is truly the case. How good things can actually block one from attaining to true goodness, in MP3:
[audio:http://sanku.sirimangalo.org/files/diraudio/Yuttadhammo/Misc/2550_10_01_Good.mp3]
(Source material: Visuddhimagga.)
I don’t think it is quite true that love is all you need; but if your heart is full of wisdom, it follows that it will also be full of love. That, I think, is the best kind of love.
“Best be full of wisdom, this no lust can set afire;
Never a man with wisdom [...]
