Various Talks

A Household Tradition by Patrick Given-Wilson

This talk by Patrick Given-Wilson was given for the European Dhamma servers' meeting in Spain, June 2024. The talk is followed by a Q&A session.

by Patrick Given-Wilson
2024
62 minutes 2 seconds

Download Audio (60MB)

Audio copyright, 2024 Pariyatti

View the video version of this talk at Pariyatti.

All works by Patrick Given-Wilson.

View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

The Simpler Side of Buddhist Doctrine by Kassapa Thera

In the Holy Books are many sermons, long and short, full of advice to the average layman. Notable amongst these is the Sigālovāda Suttanta, known as “the Layman’s Vinaya” which details correct behaviour for the good layman. Excellent though all such sermons are, none can surpass the brief simple appeal of the words to Nakula’s parents, which advise the cultivation of four things: Saddhā, Virtue, Generosity and Wisdom.

A striking thing in the Buddha-dhamma is that here we find naught of “Thou shalt” or “Thou shalt not.” When once it is realized that selfishness and self-indulgence cause all our woe, then a wise one strives for self mastery. Sīla is the mastery of speech and action. Of his own free will, the Buddhist “pledges to observe” this precept of virtue, and that. The minimum number of such precepts of virtue that the good Buddhist should observe is five: (1) I undertake to observe the precept to abstain from destroying the life of beings; (2) from taking things not given; (3) from sexual misconduct; (4) from false speech, and (5) from liquor that causes intoxication and heedlessness.

The Buddhist has no impossible postulates; he tries to see, as his teacher taught, “things as they really are.” He looks at the world around him and sees that all, all is transitory there. He sees that what is transitory is bound to be sad. All that we love is passing away, and such parting from the loved is suffering. And we, we too are part of the passing show—with greying hair, falling and decaying teeth, disease and death looming ahead—it is all sad. The Buddhist sees that, to what is transient and sad, one clings in vain, and in all this we can see naught of which he can say—with assurance as to the permanent value of such statement—“This is me, this is mine, this is a soul.”

by Kassapa Thera
2024
63 minutes 6 seconds

Download Audio (30MB)

Audio copyright, 2024 Pariyatti

View this audiobook and more information at Pariyatti.

View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Introduction to Vipassana

This short introduction to Vipassana talk was given on June 29, 2024 at Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia.

by Patrick Given-Wilson
2024
32 minutes 48 seconds

Download Audio (16MB)

Audio copyright, 2024 Pariyatti

More by Patrick Given-Wilson.

View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

The Jewel in Mumbai by Bikram Dandiya

"The Global Vipassana Pagoda in Mumbai was built to mark the birth centenary year of Sayagyi U Ba Khin, the Burmese Dhamma teacher of Shri Satya Narayan Goenkaji. The monument is built in the Myanmar style of the Shwedagon pagoda, as a token of gratitude to that country where the essence of the Buddha’s teachings was maintained in its pristine purity, and from where it is now spreading throughout India, and via India to the rest of the world. Our Dhamma teacher Shri S.N. Goenkaji became the vehicle to make this happen. He was also our inspiring guide for every important aspect of this building project. Tremendous volition and effort went into the building of this staggering monument and it is interesting and educative to explore the journey.

"Mr. Bikram Dandiya has beautifully chronicled some of these experiences in his booklet, “The Jewel in Mumbai”, the story of the making of the crystal bud atop the Global Vipassana Pagoda. Although his story concentrates on a specific part of this enormous structure, it typifies the challenges and solutions witnessed by those of us closely involved in its creation. For example, experts had opined that it was not possible to construct a 325 foot wide stone dome without supporting pillars; the dome went up thanks to indigenous technology, using thousands of huge interlocking stones weighing 700 to 800 kg each, and now seemingly floating in the air!"
—M.M. Khandhar, 14th January 2020

narrated by Bikram Dandiya
2024
23 minutes 35 seconds

Download Audio (12MB)

Audio copyright, 2024 Pariyatti

Available at Pariyatti at https://store.pariyatti.org/jewel-in-mumbai as a papaerback, free PDF download, and free audiobook. In Hindi as a PDF download.

View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

A Journey into Buddhism by Elizabeth J. A. Harris
.

"The themes of the talks are rooted in my journey, as a Christian, into Buddhism. In the mid-1980s I felt the need to ’let go’ of my own religious conditioning to enter the world of another faith. It grew from a conviction that people with an interest in religion should not remain imprisoned within one framework but should explore others. The choice of Buddhism and Sri Lanka was a natural one for me. Buddhism’s emphasis on meditation and non-violence touched my own interests as a Christian, and a visit to Sri Lanka in 1984 had left me with the feeling that my link with the island was not finished.

I originally intended to be in Sri Lanka for one year. One year, however, became seven and a half, from 1986 until 1993. My aim throughout was not only to study Buddhism but to practise it. I did not consider myself involved in ’interfaith dialogue’ although I’m sure some perceived my actions in this way. I wanted to enter Buddhism on its own terms, as a human being rather than as a Christian."

narrated by Ethan Christy
2024
34 minutes 56 seconds

Download Audio (25MB)

Audio copyright, 2024 Pariyatti

Available at Pariyatti: https://store.pariyatti.org/journey-into-buddhism-audiobook.

More by Elizabeth Harris.

View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Deconstructing Constructions: The Role of Saṅkhārā in the Buddha’s Discourses by Bhikkhu Bodhi
.

In this paper I intend to explore the Pāli term saṅkhārā, one of the pivotal concepts in the Buddha’s discourses. The Pāli word has such a rich gamut of meanings that merely to draw them out into the open sheds a flood of light on the Buddha’s understanding of reality. The word occurs in a variety of contexts that are subtly and intricately interwoven. To explore their contextual meanings and track down their interconnections will reveal the rigor of the Buddha’s philosophical vision and the coherence of his teaching in expressing that vision in language and concepts.

narrated by Jonathan Nelson
2024
50 minutes 48 seconds

Download Audio (25MB)

Audio copyright, 2024 Pariyatti

Investigating the Dhamma as a book and eBook can be found at https://store.pariyatti.org/investigating-the-dhamma.

More by Bhikkhu Bodhi.

View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

A Buddhist Social Ethic for the New Century by Bhikkhu Bodhi

"In Theravada Buddhist circles during the past few decades a debate has repeatedly erupted over the question whether or not jhāna is necessary to attain the “paths and fruits,” that is, the four graded stages of enlightenment. The debate has been sparked off by the rise to prominence of the various systems of insight meditation that have become popular both in Asia and the West, especially among lay Buddhists. Those who advocate such systems of meditation contend that the paths and fruits can be attained by developing insight (vipassanā) without a foundation of jhāna. If we use the Buddha’s teachings as a lens to examine the corporate economic system and its offshoot, the consumerist culture, we will see that it is ultimately detrimental to the well-being of both its masters and servants alike. Drawing upon the tools of Buddhist analysis, let us briefly sketch the inner dynamics of this system. We see in the first instance that such a social order is founded upon ignorance or delusion (avijjā, moha), namely, the supposition that material wealth and consumption are the criteria of the good life. According to the Buddhist texts, when ignorance infiltrates our cognitive systems it issues in a series of “distortions” (vipallāsa) which infect our perception (saññā), thinking (citta), and views (diṭṭhi). The Buddha mentions four such distortions: the notions that the impermanent is permanent, that the painful (or suffering) is pleasant, that the insubstantial is a self, and that the unbeautiful is beautiful. At the most basic level we perceive things by way of these distortions; when these distorted perceptions are taken up for reflection, we start thinking in terms of them; and finally, under the combined influence of distorted perception and thought, we adopt views—that is, beliefs, doctrines, and ideologies—that affirm the mistaken notions of permanence, pleasure, selfhood, and beauty."

This is a Pariyatti audiobook of the essay "A Buddhist Social Ethic for the New Century" from the book Facing the Future: Four Essays on the Social Relevance of Buddhism by Bhikkhu Bodhi.

Narrated by Shelina Hetherington
2023
1 hours 03 minutes

Download Audio (31 MB)

Audiobook copyright, 2023 Pariyatti

View Facing the Future: Four Essays on the Social Relevance of Buddhism by Bhikkhu Bodhi at BPS.

View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Story 92 from 'A Lifetime Doing Nothing' by Ian McCrorie
.

In the center of Igatpuri village is a street market. Vendors sit at stalls and sell their produce. Because every vendor sits in the same location, everyone knows what they sell. So all they need announce is the price. They don’t try to out shout one another. They take turns. This creates a sort of chant, a back and forth. Except for the Hindi, it’s a revival meeting in rural Alabama. At the main corner of the market are the banana sellers. First time there, I thought “do rupee” was the Hindi word for banana....

narrated by Ian McCrorie
2023
2 minutes 56 seconds

Download Audio (1.9MB)

Audio copyright, 2023 Pariyatti

'A Lifetime Doing Nothing' as a book and eBook can be found at https://store.pariyatti.org/a-lifetime-doing-nothing.

More by Ian McCrorie.

View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Story 90 from 'A Lifetime Doing Nothing' by Ian McCrorie
.

Most everyone is possessed by their possessions. I know people who are owned by their pets. I know others who build heated garages for their prized automobiles. My aunt bequeathed me an old rocking chair to which she added the caveat that I never change its mauve covering. In those years, I moved almost every year and carried that rocker to each apartment until its springs went and you couldn't sit in it without receiving a full rectal examination. And if you think about it almost everyone carries within themselves their own version of the mauve rocker,...

narrated by Ian McCrorie
2023
4 minutes 32 seconds

Download Audio (2.6MB)

Audio copyright, 2023 Pariyatti

'A Lifetime Doing Nothing' as a book and eBook can be found at https://store.pariyatti.org/a-lifetime-doing-nothing.

More by Ian McCrorie.

View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.

Story 89 from 'A Lifetime Doing Nothing' by Ian McCrorie
.

I remember a Sayadaw (respected teacher) who lived in a remote monastery in upper Burma in the vicinity of Sagaing Hills. He was elderly and blind and very much loved. I visited him, excited to both meet a living legend and pay my respects. I was told to wait until he went for his evening walk when he would be with his attendant who could serve as a translator....

narrated by Ian McCrorie
2023
5 minutes 43 seconds

Download Audio (3.2MB)

Audio copyright, 2023 Pariyatti

'A Lifetime Doing Nothing' as a book and eBook can be found at https://store.pariyatti.org/a-lifetime-doing-nothing.

More by Ian McCrorie.

View more books and audio resources available in the Pariyatti bookstore.