Clear Mountain Monastery Project

In this talk, Ajahn Kaccana, ordained at Abhayagiri Monastery and currently residing at Chithurst Monastery in England, speaks about how we can balance the cultural proclivity towards individualism and idealism by developing awareness of the body, coming into community, and cultivating virtue, concentration, and wisdom. Tune in with fellow practitioners for Clear Mountain’s weekly online and hybrid events! - Wednesday Evening Teaching & Discussion (6:00 – 7:30 pm PT, YouTube then Zoom) - Saturday Morning Meditation, Teaching, & Coffee Social (9:30 - 11 am PT, Online & In-Person) - Sunday Evening “Mission Majjhima!” Sutta Teaching & Discussion (5:00 - 6 pm PT, Online) See https://www.clearmountainmonastery.org/ or visit https://linktr.ee/clear_mountain_monastery for details. Welcome!

Ven. Dhammadinnā, a research associate professor specializing in early Buddhist traditions and Pāli language, shares her enlightening journey from academia to monastic life. She discusses how language can shape spiritual practice and the challenges of merging scholarly work with heartfelt compassion. Reflecting on her experiences as a female monastic, she highlights gender dynamics and the ongoing quest for inclusivity in Buddhism. The conversation also touches on how cultural experiences influence their understanding of openness and community in American society.

In this session, Ajahn Kovilo speaks about the value of chanting as a way to give rise to wholesome mental states. The main chant referenced is the "Suffusion with the Divine Abidings", featured here: - I will abide pervading one quarter with a mind imbued with lovingkindness; likewise the second, likewise the third, likewise the fourth; so above and below, around and everywhere; and to all as to myself. I will abide pervading the all-encompassing world with a mind imbued with loving-kindness; abundant, exalted, immeasurable, without hostility and without ill-will. - I will abide pervading one quarter with a mind imbued with compassion; likewise the second, likewise the third, likewise the fourth; so above and below, around and everywhere; and to all as to myself. I will abide pervading the all-encompassing world with a mind imbued with compassion; abundant, exalted, immeasurable, without hostility and without ill-will. - I will abide pervading one quarter with a mind imbued with gladness; likewise the second, likewise the third, likewise the fourth; so above and below, around and everywhere; and to all as to myself. I will abide pervading the all-encompassing world with a mind imbued with gladness; abundant, exalted, immeasurable, without hostility and without ill-will. - I will abide pervading one quarter with a mind imbued with equanimity; likewise the second, likewise the third, likewise the fourth; so above and below, around and everywhere; and to all as to myself. I will abide pervading the all-encompassing world with a mind imbued with equanimity; abundant, exalted, immeasurable, without hostility and without ill-will. Pāli Original: - mettāsahagatena cetasā ekaṃ disaṃ pharitvā viharati, tathā dutiyaṃ, tathā tatiyaṃ, tathā catutthaṃ. iti uddhamadho tiriyaṃ sabbadhi sabbattatāya sabbāvantaṃ lokaṃ mettāsahagatena cetasā vipulena mahaggatena appamāṇena averena abyāpajjena pharitvā viharati; - karuṇāsahagatena cetasā ekaṃ disaṃ pharitvā viharati, tathā dutiyaṃ, tathā tatiyaṃ, tathā catutthaṃ. iti uddhamadho tiriyaṃ sabbadhi sabbattatāya sabbāvantaṃ lokaṃ karuṇāsahagatena cetasā vipulena mahaggatena appamāṇena averena abyāpajjena pharitvā viharati; - muditāsahagatena cetasā ekaṃ disaṃ pharitvā viharati, tathā dutiyaṃ, tathā tatiyaṃ, tathā catutthaṃ. iti uddhamadho tiriyaṃ sabbadhi sabbattatāya sabbāvantaṃ lokaṃ muditāsahagatena cetasā vipulena mahaggatena appamāṇena averena abyāpajjena pharitvā viharati; - upekkhāsahagatena cetasā ekaṃ disaṃ pharitvā viharati, tathā dutiyaṃ, tathā tatiyaṃ, tathā catutthaṃ. iti uddhamadho tiriyaṃ sabbadhi sabbattatāya sabbāvantaṃ lokaṃ upekkhāsahagatena cetasā vipulena mahaggatena appamāṇena averena abyāpajjena pharitvā viharati. - Wednesday Evening Teaching & Discussion (6:00 – 7:30 pm PT, YouTube then Zoom) - Saturday Morning Meditation, Teaching, & Coffee Social (9:30 - 11 am PT, Online & In-Person) - Sunday Evening “Mission Majjhima!” Sutta Teaching & Discussion (5:00 - 6 pm PT, Online) See https://www.clearmountainmonastery.org/ or visit https://linktr.ee/clear_mountain_monastery for details. Welcome!

In this insightful conversation, Amma Thanasanti, a seasoned meditation teacher and founder of the Integrated Meditation Program, shares her wisdom on trauma and healing. She discusses the importance of integrating trauma-informed tools with traditional Dharma practices. Delving into concepts like attachment repair and the body's reactions to trauma, she emphasizes self-compassion and mindfulness. Amma also highlights personal stories that illustrate the profound connection between emotional wounds and spiritual growth, offering listeners a path towards healing and resilience.

In this session, Ajahn Nisabho and Ajahn Kovilo interview brother and sister Ajahn Cunda and Rabbi Sydney Mintz. Bio of Ajahn Cunda: Ajahn Cunda was raised in a warm and loving family in the Northern suburbs of Chicago and moved to California in 1996. Ajahn Cunda moved to Abhayagiri in late 2005, and after two years training as an Anagārika and Sāmaṇera, ordained as a Bhikkhu on May 22, 2008. Under Luang Por Pasanno and Ajahn Amaro, he trained at Abhayagiri for eight and a half years. In 2014, Ajahn Cunda moved to Tisaraṇa Monastery in Canada, to practice under the guidance of Luang Por Vīradhammo. In 2017, he began living in several western monasteries, including Bodhivana and Dhammagiri in Australia, Chithurst in England, and Santacittārāma in Italy, before returning to Abhayagiri in early 2020. In 2021, Ajahn Cunda spent a year at the Pacific Hermitage and since April 2022, he has returned to Abhayagiri indefinitely. Bio of Rabbi Sydney Mintz: Rabbi Sydney Mintz was ordained in 1997 by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York City. She is the founder of the award-winning Late Shabbat Young Adult Program at Congregation Emanu-El where she served as Rabbi from her ordination in 1997 through 2024. She became a Senior Rabbinic Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem after completing her fellowship in 2004. Sydney currently serves on the National Board of Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice and as a Rabbinic Scholar for American Jewish World Service. She is a graduate of Bend the Arc’s (Sella) Selah Leadership Program and is a member of the US State Department’s Working Group on Religion and Social Justice. She led Team Emanu-El in the AIDS Lifecycle Ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles and is an avid open ocean swimmer. Learn more here: https://www.rebsyd.com/ Tune in with fellow practitioners for Clear Mountain’s weekly online and hybrid events! - Wednesday Evening Teaching & Discussion (6:00 – 7:30 pm PT, YouTube then Zoom) - Saturday Morning Meditation, Teaching, & Coffee Social (9:30 - 11 am PT, Online & In-Person) - Sunday Evening “Mission Majjhima!” Sutta Teaching & Discussion (5:00 - 6 pm PT, Online) See https://www.clearmountainmonastery.org/ or visit https://linktr.ee/clear_mountain_monastery for details. Welcome!

Ayyā Suvijjānā & Ayya Niyyānika of Passaddhi Vihara (https://passaddhivihara.org/) speak about developing the Five Indriyā, or Mental Faculties in our practice. The five, including saddhā (faith), viriya (energy), sati (mindfulness), samādhi (concentration), and pañña (wisdom) must be developed in a balanced manner for practice to progress. The Buddha's description of the Five Faculties may be found here: https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN48_10.html Ayya Suvijjānā's Bio: Ayyā Suvijjānā started with Zen meditation in 1976. After discovering Vipassana in 1998, she visited Abhayagiri where she became a disciple of Ajahn Amaro and Ajahn Pasanno, eventually becoming a monastic student of Ayya Tathālokā in 2006. Taking full ordination in 2010, she helped establish Dhammadharini before traveling and teaching since 2020. Ayyā Niyyānika's Bio: Ayyā Niyyānika is a fully ordained Buddhist monastic in the Theravada tradition. Ayya uses they/them pronouns. They received their initial monastic training within the Dhammadharini community from 2014 through 2019 and then was with the Aloka Vihara community for three years. The past year and a bit have been a time of travel, integration, and deepening in practice. They visited a variety of monastic and lay communities in the West and in Asia, taking time for retreat and study as well as community involvement. To learn more about Passaddhi Vihara and the Ayyas, visit https://passaddhivihara.org/ -- Tune in with fellow practitioners for Clear Mountain’s weekly online and hybrid events! - Wednesday Evening Teaching & Discussion (6:00 – 7:30 pm PT, YouTube then Zoom) - Saturday Morning Meditation, Teaching, & Coffee Social (9:30 - 11 am PT, Online & In-Person) - Sunday Evening “Mission Majjhima!” Sutta Teaching & Discussion (5:00 - 6 pm PT, Online) See https://www.clearmountainmonastery.org/ or visit https://linktr.ee/clear_mountain_monastery for details. Welcome!

In this talk, Ajahn Nisabho talks about the Mahānāma Sutta (AN 11:12) (https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/AN/AN11_12.html), and the six recollections recommended by the Buddha as ways of tuning to the quiet note of Dhamma, and to finding refuge. Tune in with fellow practitioners for Clear Mountain’s weekly online and hybrid events! - Wednesday Evening Teaching & Discussion (6:00 – 7:30 pm PT, YouTube then Zoom) - Saturday Morning Meditation, Teaching, & Coffee Social (9:30 - 11 am PT, Online & In-Person) - Sunday Evening “Mission Majjhima!” Sutta Teaching & Discussion (5:00 - 6 pm PT, Online) See https://www.clearmountainmonastery.org/ or visit https://linktr.ee/clear_mountain_monastery for details. Welcome!

In this session, Ajahn Kovilo and Ajahn Nisabho interview psychiatrist Dr. Judson Brewer MD PhD about the confluence between neuroscience and Theravāda Buddhism. For more information about Dr. Jud, visit: - https://www.mindshiftrecovery.org/ - https://drjud.com/ Dr. Jud's Bio: Dr. Judson Brewer, MD, PhD (aka Dr. Jud), is a New York Times best-selling author and pioneering psychiatrist blending cutting-edge neuroscience with 20+ years of mindfulness training. A leader in the science of habit change, he's director of research at Brown University’s Mindfulness Center and has held positions at MIT, Yale, and UMass. Dr. Jud developed app-based programs like Mindshift Recovery, Unwinding Anxiety, Eat Right Now, and Craving to Quit, clinically proven to treat anxiety, addiction, and emotional eating. He’s the author of The Craving Mind, Unwinding Anxiety, and The Hunger Habit and co-founder of the nonprofit Mindshift Recovery. He is also a collaborator with Clear Mountaineers/medical researchers Dori Rosenberg and Dave Arterburn! Tune in with fellow practitioners for Clear Mountain’s weekly online and hybrid events! - Wednesday Evening Teaching & Discussion (6:00 – 7:30 pm PT, YouTube then Zoom) - Saturday Morning Meditation, Teaching, & Coffee Social (9:30 - 11 am PT, Online & In-Person) - Sunday Evening “Mission Majjhima!” Sutta Teaching & Discussion (5:00 - 6 pm PT, Online) See https://www.clearmountainmonastery.org/ or visit https://linktr.ee/clear_mountain_monastery for details. Welcome!

In this session, Ajahn Kovilo and Ajahn Nisabho interview Rodney Smith, author and founder or the Seattle Insight Meditation Society, about resting in an ever-present silence, his work in hospice, how to be with the dying, and more. For more on Rodney, visit: https://seattleinsight.org/teacher/rodney-smith-founding-teacher/ Rodney's Bio: Rodney Smith spent eight years in Buddhist monastic settings, both at the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) in Massachusetts and several years as a Buddhist monk in Asia. He ordained with Mahasi Sayadaw in Burma then practiced for three years with Ajahn Buddhadassa in Thailand. He disrobed as a monk in 1983 and, after returning to the West, started working in hospice care and teaching vipassana meditation throughout the U.S.   At the end of 2016, Rodney retired from a full-time teaching role after more than 30 years of teaching. He served as a Senior Teacher for IMS and the founding and guiding teacher of Seattle Insight Meditation. He is author of the books Lessons From the Dying, Stepping Out of Self-Deception: The Buddha's Liberating Teaching of No-Self, and Awakening: A Paradigm Shift of the Heart. Tune in with fellow practitioners every Wednesday evening from 6 - 6:45 pm or Saturday morning from 9:30 am - 11 am for a Dhamma Talk and Q&A with Ajahn Kovilo or Ajahn Nisabho. Saturday mornings begin with a thirty-minute meditation. Wednesday evening Q&A's are followed by a discussion on Zoom from 6:45 pm - 7:30 pm. See https://www.clearmountainmonastery.org/ or visit https://linktr.ee/clear_mountain_monastery for details. Welcome!

In this talk, Ajahn Kaccāna, ordained at Abhayagiri Monastery but currently residing at Chithurst Monastery in England, speaks about finding refuge in the quality of knowing rather than the objects of awareness. Tune in with fellow practitioners for Clear Mountain’s weekly online and hybrid events! - Wednesday Evening Teaching & Discussion (6:00 – 7:30 pm PT, YouTube then Zoom) - Saturday Morning Meditation, Teaching, & Coffee Social (9:30 - 11 am PT, Online & In-Person) - Sunday Evening “Mission Majjhima!” Sutta Teaching & Discussion (5:00 - 6 pm PT, Online) See https://www.clearmountainmonastery.org/ or visit https://linktr.ee/clear_mountain_monastery for details. Welcome!