The Fetter of Doubt Q&A
Discussing and answering questions about the topic of the day: Doubt and the process of directing the mind away from its causes.
Talks
The Fetter of Doubt Daylong
Beginning the daylong retreat entitled ‘The Fetter of Doubt’, Tahn Pamutto starts by leading a short guided meditation to aid putting things down and preparing for the day ahead. He then gives a reflection on how to understand and approach the topic of Doubt, a tendency of mind that leaves us spinning and prevents us …
Body Parts Contemplation
Tahn Pamutto provides a thorough instruction in the aspect of Mindfulness of the Body known as the ’32 Parts’ Contemplation or ‘Asubha’. This technique is powerful, direct, and in its more basic form using the first five parts is a meditation technique even given to children. Taking these first five parts and drawing from the …
Emptiness is not Empty
Tahn Pamutto continues reflecting on the practice of cultivating Emptiness. In the early stages it’s just like any other method of cultivating mindfulness by continually bringing the mind back to its focus. What is different is the reflection that underpins it all – the five aggregates are all constructions and additions to what is actually …
Emptiness and Fullness
Tahn Pamutto opens the daylong reflecting on Emptiness: where the idea comes from, what it has developed into, and how to begin working to understand it experientially. We seek Emptiness because we recognize we are full to the brim – with thoughts, emotions, habits and stories. It’s not that there isn’t space in-between these things, …
Right Effort: The Opposite of Dukkha
After discussions and lunch, Tahn Pamutto continues reflecting on Right Effort. In order to understand our goals in life we also have to understand how the Buddhist concept of happiness differs from that of the world. Rather than merely swapping pleasure for pain, we see that our happiness is actually proportional to the suffering we …
Right Effort: Finding Motivation
Tahn Pamutto begins the daylong with two classic definitions of Right Effort as part of the Eightfold Path, explaining how the four parts of Right Effort are experienced in practice. By understanding how Right View informs our effort, we can see how this framework simplifies the work of spiritual cultivation by letting us take on …
Talk: The Dhamma Is Outside
In the second talk of the ‘Only Suffering That Arises’ daylong, Tahn Pamutto continues the exploration of what it means to walk the path of meditation from ignorance to enlightenment. All that arises for us as sentient beings is within the realm of suffering – all our habits, perceptions, thoughts and feelings. They arise and …
Talk: Only Suffering That Arises
This phrase, “It’s Only Suffering That Arises, Only Suffering That Ceases”, encompasses the realization of the enlightened beings. But what does it mean, and how do we get there? How do we go from an unenlightened being spinning in the vicissitudes of life to a stable, calm, reflective presence that sees things clearly without suffering …
Degrees of Freedom
[This talk was also given as a dhamma talk at the Long Island Buddhist Meditation Center. The video recording can be found on facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/bhante.libmc/videos/550225320657471 ] My dhamma name, Pamutto, comes from the root of a very common word: Mutti. Mutti means freedom. Since freedom is so essential to the Buddhist path it’s a …