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gift of the teachings
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Dharma Talks
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2026-01-17
How Do I Apply Dhamma to Diseas and Death: An Arrow SN 36.6
1:33:28
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Ayya Santussika
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This dhamma talk, guided meditation, comments, questions and responses was offered on 17 January, 2026 for “How do I apply the Dhamma to THIS!?!”
00:00 - GUIDED MEDITATION
19:37 - DHAMMA TALK
56:14 - COMMENTS, QUESTIONS & RESPONSES
From January 4th to April 2nd 2026 the regularly scheduled Saturday morning program taught by Ayya Santussika, will take many of the suttas referenced in "Mindfully Facing Disease and Death" by Bhikkhu Anālayo as their basis.
For those who want to dive deeply into this material, you may want to read the book as we discuss the suttas, listed below.
Jan 10 SN 22.1 Nakula’s Father Chapter 2
Jan 17 SN 36.6 An Arrow Chapter 3
Jan 24 SN 22.88 With Assaji Chapter 10
Jan 31 SN 22.89 With Khemaka Chapter 11
Feb 7 AN 10.60 With Girimānanda Chapter 12
Feb 14 SN 3.22 Grandmother and SN 47.13 With Cunda Chapters 13 & 14
Feb 21 MN 143 Advice to Anāthapiṇḍika Chapter 16
Feb 28 SN 55.3 With Dīghāvu and SN 55.54 Sick Chapters 17 & 18
Mar 7 SN 36.7 The Infirmary (1st) Chapter 19
Mar 14 AN 6.56 With Phagguna Chapter 20
Mar 21 SN 35.74 Sick (1st) and SN 41.10 Seeing the Sick Chapters 21 & 22
Mar 28 DN 16.31, 34-36 The Buddha’s Last Words Chapter 23
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Karuna Buddhist Vihara
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2026-01-07
Practicing with Intentions
60:13
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Donald Rothberg
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We explore the centrality of being skillful with intentions in our practice and a number of different ways of practicing to cultivate skillful intentions, in part related to the New Year. We look at the Buddha's account of karma (kamma in Pali) as intention, and his teaching on the importance of reflection in living with skillful intentions. Remembering the Chinese Chan (Zen) teacher Yunmen's speaking of the centrality of "appropriate response," we develop a simple model for developing skillful intentions leading to skillful or appropriate responses.
We also explore the variety of types of intentions, and recent Stanford research about how we might skillfully (and successfully) follow intentions to develop new routines. We then look at the importance for identifying our deeper intentions of develop an intuitive listening to life and to what calls us, in part exploring the theme of listening through poems.
The talk is followed by a short guided meditation on intentions and then by discussion.
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
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Monday and Wednesday Talks
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2026-01-07
Guided Meditation Exploring Practicing with Intentions
35:36
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Donald Rothberg
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We start by tuning into our intentions, both our "larger" or "deeper" intentions for why we practice and a more specific intention for this practice session based on how we are in the moment (maybe really settled or maybe distracted by what happened yesterday). We then work to develop concentration (samadhi) in one of several ways, particularly setting an intention either to be more relaxed (if we tend to be "tight" and over-efforting) or to be more effortful (if we tend to be overly relaxed). We later tune in to how the practice is going and see if we want to respond with an intention. After a period focusing on developing concentration, we practice mindfulness, again after a while seeing how things are and whether we want to set a skillful intention related to mindfulness. We close with a series of reflections on what we want to let go of in the next period of time, and what calls us.
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Spirit Rock Meditation Center
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Monday and Wednesday Talks
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2026-01-01
Q&A
52:36
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Ajahn Sucitto
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00:34 Q1 I've recently run across "meditation teachers" who claim that some other creative activities that they're involved in are better than meditation. What can you say about this? 20:56 Q2 I'm not good with emotional language like spiritual poetry but have a longing for the divine. What can you say about this? 22:54 Q3 I'm already seeking some professional help for trauma but I'd like to hear your thoughts on the Buddhist way to heal trauma. 26:22 Q4 How can you not make letting go into another sankara project? How can we let go of concepts like achieving stream entry? 35:42 Q5 I've heard a teacher say when the mind is quiet and we experience things as they are, the self and the observing or knowing mind will distinctly be two separate entities. Can you speak to this please? 44:06 Q6 I find myself alone and isolated. There are no Buddhist centres near me nor do I have a group of family or friends I can share with. I meditate and go for long walks but the need to be a part of the community is a longing and I feel sometimes I have no meaning in my life and I panic. What is your advice?
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Dhamma Stream Online Sessions
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2025-12-18
Q&A
29:48
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Ajahn Sucitto
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Q1 How can we reconcile joy and dispassion? How are nipita and virago supposed to feel? 11:55 Q2 Are the 16 steps of vipassana meditation the result of calmness meditation, or is it a wise directing of attention as a goal? 17:59 Q3 You mentioned to notice the space between the in and out breath and the out and in breath. When I do that my breath seems to get more shallow and I feel a threat and start coughing. 22:32 Q4 Something seems to keep kicking in the breathing process. What should I do? 23:18 Q5 How to be less demanding, to maintain the highest quality to do well, but less demanding, e.g of expectations of others?
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Bandar Utama Buddhist Society
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BUBS Silent Retreat
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2025-12-16
Q&A
33:15
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Ajahn Sucitto
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00:10 Q1 Can you say something about handling concerns about people quarreling, people sick, family members? 08:40 Q2 I get a vibration in my body that progresses up through the body. It produces a peaceful and equanimous feeling. Why is this happening and what should I do next? 13:27 Q3 I get warmed when I engage in standing meditation. What's happening? 13:43 Q4 During one meditation when one attains full concentration and calmness, how does one feel in mind? What does one hear? What is the colour when one closes one's eyes? Do we still feel breathing? What's happening? 16:16 Q5 When I sit I get a sudden jolt. Is this sloth and torpor. 16:41 Q6 Why does thinking about revenge although unwholesome, feel good?
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Bandar Utama Buddhist Society
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BUBS Silent Retreat
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2025-12-15
Q&A
38:46
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Ajahn Sucitto
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Q1 In the case of someone who doesn't take the three refugees or five precepts but is a good person and does no harm, can they become an arahant? 02:35 Q2 Can you elaborate on your comment 'pain is impersonal'? 23:43 Q3 It's said it's needed to straighten one's view and establish one's virtue before cultivating santipatthana what are the signposts to look after? 30:47 Q4 when doing walking meditation my eyes tend to lock on to visual objects in front of me. And when sitting, even with the eyes closed, my eyes seem to strain and look internally and I feel tired and tense how do I de-focus my eyes? 34:54 Q5 during city meditation my body moves forwards and backwards. What should I do? 36:55 Q6 I've been going through my diaries in order to discard them. Some entries bring up things I forgot and some are strongly disturbing. I meditate on these but is it wise to carry on this process? I'm not ready to throw the diaries without going through them.
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Bandar Utama Buddhist Society
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BUBS Silent Retreat
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2025-12-14
Q&A
57:43
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Ajahn Sucitto
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00:00 Q1 How does anapanasati fulfill satipatthana and how does satipatthana fulfill the bojjhanga? 05:27 Q2 Do we intentionally steady the sankhara or do they settle themselves? 14:59 Q3 How do I develop the maha-citta / the great heart? 22:40 Q4 When sitting inside and close the eyes I feel confined. However if I sit outside, I close my eyes and enjoy it. Am I attaching or not? 28:40 Q5 How can I use the sound of silence as my meditation object? 32:18 Q6 I feel a density or solidity in the head. How can I dissolve this? 49:57 Q7 Can you relate the breach of precepts to karma? 53:07 Q8 I am currently learning a type of QiGong which strictly prohibits eating meat and I feel better. But Buddhism allows me to eat meat. What should I do?
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Bandar Utama Buddhist Society
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BUBS Silent Retreat
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2025-12-13
Q&A
45:56
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Ajahn Sucitto
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00:23 Q1 How do we define a real state of meditation? Is it merely focus and concentration? Should we do samatha first or vipassana or both combined? 23:39 Q2 During walking meditation do we still observe breathing at the nostrils or radiating metta? 28:17 Q3 Is it okay to use the mantra Budho for walking meditation and during daily life activities? 29:32 Q4 I have committed some mistakes in the past, one which lost me a dear old friend and another one which causes me huge embarrassment every time I think about it. I feel a huge degree of sense of remorse and given the opportunity I would not do it again. What can I do to overcome this?... [and] During meditation my emotions are triggered. Should I come back to the breath or feel the emotion in the body? 37:22 Q5 How can I note intentions especially during meal time? There are so many of them! 40:27 Q6 What's the rationale behind not reading during a retreat? 42:29 Q7 When a person we love is doing harmful things, not correct practice despite your advice, they don't listen, how do I practice dhamma to avoid disappointment and sadness. 44:19 Q8 When it's in meditation my head naturally tilts upward. At this point the connection between the spine and the neck clicks. How to avoid it?
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Bandar Utama Buddhist Society
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BUBS Silent Retreat
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2025-12-03
Q&A
44:07
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Ajahn Sucitto
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00:06 Q1 Several questions about meditation experience. Posture, disappearance of part of the body, whether it's worthwhile. 10:33 Q2 When I got up from reclining my sitting didn't feel very good. 12:07 Q3 Can you say something about addictive behaviours and desires? 14:30 Q4 Can you differentiate cultivation, practice and contemplation? 17:06 Q5 Could you expand on the analogy that Buddhist practice and the self was like a murmur of sparrows or shoal of fish swimming together. 29:51 Q6 Is citta also annica, dukkha, anatta? What is the origin of citta? 33:20 Q7 How do we know we're progressing? 34:23 Q8 Is Luangta Maha Bua's 'buddho' mantra which he apparently used to sit for a full 10 hours overnight, a little bit too forceful and willful? 37:27 Q9 This retreat has helped me to practice citta viveka. In my normal life it seems the world is coming at me. And sometimes I feel the heart will burst out of my chest which produces more anxiety. Do I have to quit my job!? 42:41 Q10 Somebody was giving a talk on secular Buddhism and I was to introduce them, but I don't really support the idea of secular Buddhism. How might I have handled this?
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Nera Nara Retreat Centre
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Pak Chong Silent Retreat with Ajahn Sucitto
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2025-12-02
Q&A
52:34
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Ajahn Sucitto
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0:00 Q1 What is the purpose of meditation? 19:14 Q2 I've been practicing for a long time, but recently feel I've reached a plateau with no further progress. Can you advise? 29:53 Q3 [Am I on the right track] when I reach a certain level of samadhi and contemplate the truth, like impermanence? Will wisdom come by itself? 32:02 Q4 In order to practice the parami, do we dwell on each part of them one by one? I'm not aiming for buddhahood, so do I still have to do this parami stuff? 42:25 Q5 Does avijja mostly refer to the illusion of selfhood? 42:49 Q6 Can the viveka /stepping back from anger and aversion gradually chip away at them to complete elimination?
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Nera Nara Retreat Centre
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Pak Chong Silent Retreat with Ajahn Sucitto
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2025-12-01
Q&A
50:15
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Ajahn Sucitto
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00:00 Q1 After a few years of meditation and keeping precepts the mind starts to dwell in beautiful states. The mind still struggles taking mind states as me. Can you provide some guidance? 09:00 Q2 Is pitti only felt in the body. I don't often get the sensations in the body however I do get a light mind and a smile. 12:28 Q3 The thinking mind is the builder isn't it? The house builder talked about in the suttas? 24:29 Q4 Where is citta? 25:48 Q5 If we can be aware of the body, mind and citta, what is it that watches them? Is it awareness or consciousness that is apart from them? 36:51 Q6 In the Sanyutta Nikaya, the collected sayings 46:54 says the cultivation of the heart's release through metta is beauty. How do you understand this? 42:56 Q7 I've noticed some people seem to have absolutely no empathy or sense of shame or concern for consequences. But I understand the sense of shame etc called hiri and otappa are supposed to be innate in all of us. Why are they absent in some people? 45:11 Q8 What is it referred to in the homage to the sangha, the four pairs, the 8 kinds of noble beings?
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Nera Nara Retreat Centre
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Pak Chong Silent Retreat with Ajahn Sucitto
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