Dhamma Wheel Buddhist Forum

Hi Folks

I've just came from a dhamma talk by Ajahn Sumedho. Has anybody else gone too?

It was very hot and humid but I am very happy I went. It was an excellent talk, I thought, very down to earth and pertinent. He talked a fair bit about recognizing our conditioning and about mindfulness. About recognizing the limitations of our human condition and working with them. Not once did he say anything negative, "wrong this", "bad that". Kind of like a kindly encouraging grandfather.

One thing he said is that greed, anger and sexual desire don't go away even if you are enlightened. You just see clearly for what they are. I've heard this from other teachers in different traditions and it seems to me to be at odds with the Buddha's teaching both in Theravada and Mahayana. But I am slowly learning not to be bothered by such things.

All in all, a human being I can happily prostrate to.

_/|\_

Dan74 wrote:All in all, a human being I can happily prostrate to.

Ditto...

Ditto.

greed, anger and sexual desire don't go away even if you are enlightened. You just see clearly for what they are.

And, therefore, don't act on them.. (that goes without saying, yes ? )

Glad to hear that you had a good day - despite the heat.

Greetings,

Glad to see the talk actually went ahead!

Dan74 wrote:One thing he said is that greed, anger and sexual desire don't go away even if you are enlightened. You just see clearly for what they are.

Perhaps he was referring to sekhas, who are the stream-entrants, once-returners and non-returners.

Metta,
Retro.

Did he mention the WA incident?

retrofuturist wrote:Greetings,

Glad to see the talk actually went ahead!

Dan74 wrote:One thing he said is that greed, anger and sexual desire don't go away even if you are enlightened. You just see clearly for what they are.

Metta,
Retro.

Yes, and it was well-attended too!

The Chapel is not air-conditioned and a few people left because they couldn't stand the heat, but he (at 75) didn't seem to be bothered at all.

Perhaps he was referring to sekhas, who are the stream-entrants, once-returners and non-returners.

Possibly. His talk was very accessible with the two Pali words - Dhamma and dukkha (well three including Buddha). He is not an entertainer like Ajahn Brahm whom I also like, but has an entirely different way of communicating the message. Ajahn Sumedho's was a gentle down-to-earth perspective. Very non-condescending, non-judgmental and encouraging.

What impressed me most was not what he said (which I have heard before) but the attitude he conveyed which illuminated my own obstacles in practice and conveyed a very healthy approach.

It was a similar feeling when I heard Ven Sheng-Yen speak in Doncaster 6 years ago or so. I guess these are the people who have matured spiritually, people who've realized a fair bit of panna.

_/|\_

Dan74 wrote:What impressed me most was not what he said (which I have heard before) but the attitude he conveyed which illuminated my own obstacles in practice and conveyed a very healthy approach.

This is exactly the sense I got when I was at Amaravati!
a friend of mine gave me his book called the four noble truths, which can be gotten online, which is almost like hearing him speak, it is a transcribed book, and very useful (retro - may clear up how people have described what he was talking about).

he is almost akin to a smiling baby (except bigger and with teeth )

Bankei wrote:Did he mention the WA incident?

No he didn't.

_/|\_

Bankei wrote:Did he mention the WA incident?

The official statement which he oversaw, is here:

The Gathering of the Elders, Dec. 2009.
http://www.forestsangha.org/index.php?o ... 5&Itemid=8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

and also now here:
http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php ... 91,0,0,1,0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

metta
Chris

I dont know how it is for others, but when with people like Luang Por Chah or Luang Pur Suemedho all the talk about practice, all the politics, all the opinion making and speculation fades into the background and I am reminded of why I do this stuff. There in front of you is a living exemplar. An embodiment of Dhamma. and instead of wanting to put him on a pedestal merely, I want to know what he knows.

PeterB wrote:I dont know how it is for others, but when with people like Luang Por Chah or Luang Pur Suemedho all the talk about practice, all the politics, all the opinion making and speculation fades into the background and I am reminded of why I do this stuff. There in front of you is a living exemplar. An embodiment of Dhamma. and instead of wanting to put him on a pedestal merely, I want to know what he knows.

PeterB wrote:I dont know how it is for others, but when with people like Luang Por Chah or Luang Pur Suemedho all the talk about practice, all the politics, all the opinion making and speculation fades into the background and I am reminded of why I do this stuff. There in front of you is a living exemplar. An embodiment of Dhamma. and instead of wanting to put him on a pedestal merely, I want to know what he knows.

Hi Peter

Totally agree

This is how we all feel about our damma teachers no matter who they are, its what attracted me in the first place here in Australia to Ajahn Brahm and Bhante Sujato

by Manapa » Thu Dec 17, 2009 10:41 am
This is exactly the sense I got when I was at Amaravati!
a friend of mine gave me his book called the four noble truths, which can be gotten online, which is almost like hearing him speak, it is a transcribed book, and very useful (retro - may clear up how people have described what he was talking about).

Hi Manapa

Isn't it funny, when you mentioned the book Four Noble Truths it rang a bell, when I first wanted to find out more about Buddhism and was inundated with information this was the book that made the most sense .... excellent publication ... I'm sorry to say I never knew who Ajahn Sumedho was until the Bhukkhuni ordination debate

Finding out more about each of out teachers maybe one of the many good things to come out of all of this

With Metta
Bill

There wasn't any copies of his 4NT while I was there (amaravati) out so didn't pick one up then, I am taking my time reading it though! had it two weeks and still not read it fully.