Clear Mountain Monastery Project

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!

Shaila Catherine, founder of Insight Meditation South Bay, shares her extensive meditation journey. She delves into the nuances of jhāna, emphasizing its evolution in Western practice. Digital distractions, especially cell phones, are discussed as barriers to deep meditation. Shaila also highlights the importance of self-inquiry in understanding true desires and explores the ethical aspects of spirituality, including diet. Her insights offer listeners practical strategies for cultivating mental clarity and engaging fully with their meditation practice.

In this session, Ajahn Kovilo relates his experience being assaulted in downtown Seattle on March 30th, 2025. Suttas Referenced: - Dhammapada vv 3-5: https://www.digitalpalireader.online/_dprhtml/index.html?loc=k.1.0.0.0.0.0.m|ati://kn/dhp/dhp.01.budd.html - Dhammapada vv 197-200: https://www.digitalpalireader.online/_dprhtml/index.html?loc=k.1.0.0.14.0.0.m|ati://kn/dhp/dhp.15.budd.html - Puṇṇovāda Sutta (MN 145) https://suttacentral.net/mn145/en/sujato?lang=en - Four Types of People (AN 4.85) https://www.digitalpalireader.online/_dprhtml/index.html?loc=a.3.0.0.1.3.4.m|bt://an/an_e_4.htm#s85 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! To participate in the Saturday chanting, use the pdf found here: https://www.abhayagiri.org/media/books/abhayagiri_monastic_foundation_chanting_book_revision_2010.pdf

In this session, Ajahn Kovilo and Ajahn Nisabho interview Venerable Ayyā Mārajinā about her experience creating Saṅgha in Cuba. Learn more at https://www.theravadacuba.org or at the links below. Ayyā Mārajinā's biography: Ayyā Mārajinā Bhikkhunī received pabbajja (2010) and upasampadā (2012) at Aranya Bodhi Hermitage, California, with Venerable Tathālokā Maha Therī as pavattinī. She has practiced meditation for over 15 years, initially to manage bipolar disorder, now seeing the Dhamma as the highest blessing. Dedicated to practicing and teaching the Satipatthāna and Brahmavihāras, she shares the transformative power of the Dhamma in Spanish and English. A Cuban-American, Ayya works to establish the first Theravāda temple in Cuba and is involved in creating a bhikkhunī monastery in Mexico. She translates Loku Hamuduruwo Pemasiri Thera’s teachings into Spanish and leads a Sunday meditation and sutta study livestream. Her first book “Pa’ alante es pa’ lla” is currently being edited. Residing at Bhava Nirodha Nilaya in Florida, she also cares for her mother. Learn more about Theravāda Cuba: https://www.theravadacuba.org Join the WhatsApp group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/BQQnBjDOITn2jWbtQjJ4cb To give, write “For Cuba” here: https://www.dhammadharini.net/financial-donations Donation instructions + info: https://www.theravadacuba.org/support Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ayya.marajina.buddha.dhamma Answers and further assistance can be received at TheravadaCuba@gmail.com or bhikkhuni.marajina@gmail.com To learn more about the history of Buddhism in Cuba, watch: https://youtu.be/dKl07tXxl3g?si=I_IWF9wZ0-uP5yWD --- The link to the 6:45-7:30 pm Zoom session following the livestream may be found on the event listing at https://www.clearmountainmonastery.org/events/wednesday/. 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 describes the 5 khandhas, or "aggregates" onto which we posit a self: 1) form (rūpa) 2) feelings (vedanā) 3) perception (sañña) 4) mental formations (sankhara) and 5) consciousness (viññāna). He further describes how we can skillfully use each as a factor on the path rather than clinging to it as a locus of self. 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 Q&A session, Ajahn Nisabho speaks about body contemplation, monastics' apolitical stance, dispassion (virāga), benefits of the holy life, and more. The link to the 6:45-7:30 pm Zoom session following the livestream may be found on the event listing at https://www.clearmountainmonastery.org/events/wednesday/. 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!