Reflections

We dust off the shrine, light a few candles, chant some words of veneration, bow in the direction of the altar … and then we sit and begin the practice of meditation. We might have the idea that our practice doesn’t begin until we reach the cushion, but would we do the rituals if they […]

On Sunday Bhante Pamutto gave the talk ‘Fear and Prudence’ for the Vipada Indonesian Buddhist Family. The recording is at: We live in a world of risks and statistics. If we watch the news it could seem like it’s too dangerous even to go outside sometimes. We probably don’t even realize that we’re being bombarded

On Sunday, Tahn Pamutto and Tan Santi joined fellow monastics with Wat Thai Thavorn in visiting their Albany branch temple – along with a large contingent of of the Indonesian Buddhist Family. The purpose of the trip was to inter the ashes of friend and family member Robby Mulyadi, as well as three others, at

On May 2nd, after over four months staying with the Indonesian Buddhist Family of NY, Tahn Pamutto will be departing and heading back to the woods of Massachusetts. Not enough can be said about the kindness and generosity of the community in NYC! This has been a wonderful experience and Tahn’s only regret is that

Last night, joined by dhamma friends observing the Uposatha and taking the Eight Precepts, Tahn Pamutto offered a dhamma reflection on the vastness of our reality and how to unleash the mind through the development of Equanimity in two phases – Equanimity based on Diversity, and Equanimity based on Unity.  

The Noble Eightfold Path can sometimes be summed up with three branches – “Sila, Samadhi, and Pañña”, or “Morality, Mental Composure, and Wisdom”. The positioning of Sila at the beginning of the list is not by chance – as many learn when they first experiment with Buddhist practice and try to meditate, they get only

Standing in the courtyard behind the Vihara here in Queens, with the sun on my face and birds chirping, the sense of spring is strong enough to overpower the perception of the city. Even surrounded by concrete and brick, I can close my eyes and feel the breeze against my skin, and it’s like being

Ven. Santi led this week’s Sunday session at Vihara Parivara Dhamma Acala with a talk entitled ‘Interlocking Dhammas’. The program begins with the paying of respects and taking of precepts, and includes after the talk a section of questions and answers with both monastics.

There’s something very humble and straightforward about taking the precepts. It’s a major step in one’s commitment to peace, and one of the first really active steps. Before this step people tend to be quite critical of precepts and the idea of giving something up – even frightfully destructive things like killing, stealing, and lying.

You don’t have to be a college graduate to know that being selfish and self-centered causes stress in your own life and makes you a pain to be around. This is a common teaching and understanding in the world. Finding a way out of our ego and self-centered ways of thinking is one of the