Ayya Santussika describes the Six Recollections taught by the Buddha and how they may benefit our meditation and practice.

Ayya Santussika presents the first talk in a speaker series on The Engaged Buddhist. Here she speaks on the role that each of the four Brahmaviharas play to help and guide us in our engaged actions, whatever they be, to promote wholesome and beneficial outcomes. She discusses lovingkindness, joy in the good fortune of others, compassion and equanimity as well as the near and far enemies of these qualities.

A guided meditation on practicing the Brahmaviharas.

Meditation instructions are sometimes misinterpreted to imply that one should disengage from activity and suspend all judgment. Buddhist advice on “letting go” can be misunderstood to suggest that problems in the world can or should be ignored. Yet the Pali canon shows that the Buddha taught practical social and economic remedies, and urged monks to travel so they could benefit the largest number of people. Thích Nhất Hạnh coined the term “engaged Buddhism” to describe efforts to respond to the suffering in his country during the Vietnam war, work he saw as part of meditation and mindfulness practice rather than something apart from it. In this series, some local “engaged Buddhists” will share how they personally apply Buddhist wisdom to engage with the suffering around us, in areas such as social action, prison ministry, and environmentalism.

In this fourth talk in a lecture series on the Great Disciples, the speaker, Ayya Santussika, tells the life story of two enlightened, fully ordained nuns. In fact, there were quite a few of enlightened, fully ordained nuns at the Buddha's time. The speaker also discusses how we can find the key to our own happiness in these nuns' stories, such as letting go, calming the mind, and realizing complete freedom from suffering. Finally, Ayya Santussika describes the Buddha's tremendous compassion for women. In his teachings, the Buddha acknowledged sufferings that were specific to women that are still relevant today.

The early Buddhist sangha included some accomplished and intriguing disciples--lay and monastic, male and female. By searching the literature of the Pali Canon, contemporary scholars have been able to compile biographical information, infer personality traits, and gain a vivid sense of the human relationships and life-stories that formed the earliest Buddhist community. This speaker series will explore the lives, practice, and teachings of several of the great disciples of the Buddha. The series will illuminate both the ordinary and extraordinary contributions of some of the most interesting personalities whose questions, challenges, and life situations shaped the teachings that we cherish today.

First of a series of 9 day-longs, offered by Eastbay Dhamma. This is the afternoon session on the theme of Right View.

First of a series of 9 day-longs, offered by Eastbay Dhamma. This is the morning session on the theme of Right View.

Breath - Breath Energy - Four Elements

Ayya Santussika gave the fifth talk in a six-week series titled "Ethics, Action and the Five Precepts." She takes an in-depth look at the first precept: refraining from killing. She explores harming, how to live a life of non-harming, and facing difficult situations non-violently.

This series will explore virtue as the indispensable foundation of Buddhist practice. The series will emphasize the five training precepts, and explore action, ethics, kamma, and cause-effect dynamics. The precepts are not rules to be obediently followed; they serve as guidelines for the intentional development of compassion, mindfulness, and wisdom. These five precepts offer us a joyful method to cultivate the heart, nurture harmony in relationships, and free the mind from inner forces of greed and anger that if unrestrained may cause suffering to ourselves and others.

at Berkeley Buddhist Monastery

It is through taking action together that we wield power and experience relief, especially as we expand our notion of sangha beyond the usual boundaries, to all faiths, to all people taking action in accordance with our shared values of compassion, justice and peace. And we bring our own quintessential flavor, our Buddhist practice, our confidence in the Dharma and our commitment to face the way things actually are.

Thanissara with David Loy, Ayya Santussika Bhikkhuni and Ayya Santacitta Bhikkhuni. Unfortunately, Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi was ill on the day of our call and was not able to join us. We wish him a speedy and thorough recovery. In this call, Ayya Santussika Bhikkhuni mentioned two resources: the international, interfaith effort Our Voices as well as the “Pledge to Mobilize” at the Climate Mobilization. She also invited those interested in taking action together as Buddhists on the national or local/regional level to email her at santussika at gmail.com. Finally, Dave Damm-Luhr mentioned the upcoming film from the same group that brought us “The Overview Effect.” This new film, “Planetary” (see the trailer here) maybe well-timed for action around the March deadline for targets into the UN climate talks that Lou mentioned.

2014-04-20 (1 day) Spirit Rock Meditation Center

at Little Bangkok Sangha

at BIA in Bangkok

This talk explores an ancient Tibetan method to confront your fear and turn it into an ally. She reviews the method from Lama Tsultrim book "Feeding your demons" in the context of the first three of the four noble truths. search words: four noble truths, feeding your demons, fear, anxiety, gratitude, change your brain

at San Jose Insight

One Earth Sangha is oriented toward Buddhist and mindfulness practitioners seeking dharma, practices and community around care for the Earth. See their website here: One Earth Sangha

at San Jose Insight