“So Asalha Puja is important because it is the day that the Triple Gem was complete in the world. Because after Ven. Anya Kodanya had seen the Dhamma, he requested for ordination, and was ordained as the first monk in the Buddha Sasana. So the Buddha taught the Dhamma for the first time, and exclaimed the teachings for the first time. And there was a noble Sangha arising for the first time, which was Ven. Anya Kodanya, who was a noble monk. And it was the first ordination as well, because he had listened to Dhamma, saw the Dhamma, and so ordained. So the Buddha gained his first disciple, Ven. Anya Kodanya.”
A talk on how innate knowledge is not enough. We develop our minds to grow and cultivate wisdom to one day know for ourselves that the pure mind does not decay.
In this videoconference talk from 30 Jul, 2021, Ajahn Anan talks about the determination to bhavana, and gives his anumodana to all those who have rendered their help and support to Wat Marp Jan during this period of lock down.
“In the present situation, we can see that to have a means of living for a human-being is hard, troublesome, and full of much suffering. There is a battle to fight against the taking over of the pandemic, which is an enemy that we can’t see. And this isn’t easy. It’s very difficult. So this infectious virus has spread all over the world. But though we may have the most suffering like this or the most fear towards this, when times of disaster come up like this, what should we do? The Lord Buddha said that if the time comes when we are suffering and troubled, without any refuge or support, recollect him, the Tathagatha. We think of the Buddha, we think of the Dhamma, we think of the Sangha as our highest recollection and true refuge. When we recollect like this, then our minds have a refuge.”
As good people, we wish for all our actions and thoughts to be good as well. But this often means that we try to force bad thoughts out of our minds, and this pressure just creates more bad thoughts. Then we end up hating ourselves. Ajahn Chah said that the way to overcome this is to just know these thoughts for what they are—yet another phenomenon that arises and ceases and doesn’t belong to us. This way, the mind can have bad thoughts in it, and we don’t suffer.
To join Ajahn Anan and the Wat Marp Jan Community online for daily chanting, meditation, and a Dhamma talk, you can email wmjdhamma@gmail.com for the link. Daily live sessions at 7pm – 9pm, Indochina Time (Bangkok, GMT+7).
2021.07.12 | Since being born, we’ve all experienced happiness. This comes to us through experiencing sights, sounds, tastes and odours that we find pleasing, but it’s also a common form of happiness that becomes the cause for suffering. Through practising Dhamma, however, we find more refined forms of happiness—that which comes from being generous and virtuous, from samadhi, and from permanently cutting off the defilements. Finding true happiness of heart is the most important thing.
To join Ajahn Anan and the Wat Marp Jan Community online for daily chanting, meditation, and a Dhamma talk, you can email wmjdhamma@gmail.com for the link. Daily live sessions at 7pm – 9pm, Indochina Time (Bangkok, GMT+7).
In this videoconference talk from 23 Jul, 2021, Ajahn Anan talks about the seven weeks following the Buddha’s enlightenment, and the Buddha’s great compassion to endure many obstacles to teach.
“So this is encompassed in the period that the Buddha travelled to Varanasi City with metta and compassion. We could imagine that if we had the highest happiness already, alone were already happy, what we would do. But the Buddha had to go through difficulties and hardships in walking, in teaching, in receiving arguments from other sects, all for the benefit and happiness of the multitudes of people. For the devas and all human beings. So this the Buddha’s virtue of great compassion, which is boundless and without equal. We can reflect on the sacrifice of the Buddha, where he traveled to teach the Pancavaggiya, and they evaded him by going to the Deer Park, and so the Buddha followed them. Where would there be another teacher that would have the patience, determination and sacrifice like this.”
2021.07.10 | Reality is not hard to see; it’s all around us. Arising and ceasing is happening all the time—leaves constantly fall from trees, people are always ageing and passing away. So why have we not understood this yet?
To join Ajahn Anan and the Wat Marp Jan Community online for daily chanting, meditation, and a Dhamma talk, you can email wmjdhamma@gmail.com for the link. Daily live sessions at 7pm – 9pm, Indochina Time (Bangkok, GMT+7).
A talk on overcoming fear and the animal state of animals.
2021.07.08 | Just as a house relies on its foundation for its strength, so too, our minds need meditation objects to give them stability. If we can keep our minds engaged with these skilful activities, they’ll be able to settle into deep peace and gain liberating insight.
To join Ajahn Anan and the Wat Marp Jan Community online for daily chanting, meditation, and a Dhamma talk, you can email wmjdhamma@gmail.com for the link. Daily live sessions at 7pm – 9pm, Indochina Time (Bangkok, GMT+7).
In this videoconference talk from 16 Jul, 2021, Ajahn Anan discusses about the various types of happiness that laypeople can have.
“So we have to train our minds to have metta, karuna, mudita–sympathetic joy, and upekkha–equanimity. Sometimes we don’t have a mind of mudita to others, we have had jealousy in the past as well, but we trained ourselves and then the jealousy reduces by itself. Before we had a mind with no metta to ourselves and others, or we used to have no compassion for ourselves and others. But when we know that we want to have happiness, then we know it’s better not to harm ourselves, nor harm others. This is progressing to be better. And if we are living as a householder, and we want to have the happiness of a layperson, of a householder, then the Buddha taught that the happiness of a lay person is 1. have wealth, 2. use wealth for benefit, 3. not having debt, 4. doing actions that are blameless.”