Bhante Yogavacara Rahula

India tour, part 1; Nagpur, Amravati, Aurangabad

2012-02-25T00:17:00.001-08:00


Back in India

Hi Dhamma friends,
I have been in Maharashtra, India for the last month giving talks and retreats in four different places.
I started in Nagpur which is located right in the center of India in Maharashtra visiting most of the Buddhist viharas and monks that I have been helping over the last twenty years. I have seen the slow but gradual development of these centers of the Ambedkar Buddhists. The following pictures can tell most of the story.

At the train station in Nagpur with Ven. Vimalakirti

One day workshop at Nagpur

Five day retreat near Yewatmal

Outdoor meditation

In front of my namesake kuti at WatPhali

The Saddhamma Buddha Vihar at Amravati

Shrine room in the Saddhamma Vihar

Talks in rural villages and towns

Giving blessings at a house dana

If one acts or speaks with an impure mind, then suffering follows like the cart wheel follows the foot of the ox; Dhammpada, verse 1

To be continued

One Month in Thailand, Part 2

2012-02-07T01:53:00.000-08:00

Meditation Sala at Wat Salanoi

(Please scroll down to Read Part 1)

On New Year's eve day Mr. Sarasup drove Ajahn Martin and I to Wat Salanoi to visit Ajahn Dick Silarato.
It was a three hour drive from Udon through the mountainous district of Loei. Ajahn Dick is an American originally from Virginia. He had been a disciple of Acariya MahaBoowa and living at Wat Baan Taad since 1977. He had visited the Bhavana Society in West Virginia several times where I had first met him. He is now in the initial plans of building a 'Forest Dhamma Monastery' near Lexington, Virginia, a three hours drive from the Bhavana Society. At Wat Salanoi he has a group of five young American and German bhikkhus who he is hoping will become the nuculeus of the first bhikkhu sangha to live at the new Forest Monastery.
We arrived at Wat Salanoi just in time to begin an eight hour New Year's eve chanting and meditation session from 6 pm until 2 am. Then at dawn we went out on the New Year Pindapat.

Paying respects to Ajahn Dick Silarato

Large Kuti

Meditation tent and walking path

On January 4th I travelled to Wat Muang Kai, another Forest Monastery, for a one week stay. I went with a group of three Thai women from Bangkok They had arranged for me to lead a five day meditation retreat for them and others staying at the Wat, including some young monks.
Wat Muang Kai sits on a mountaintop with great views of Loei district. Wat Munag Kai is less than an hour's drive from Wat Salanoi. There were many young, junior monks staying here. A couple of them took very good care of me. Each morning I went out on a short Pindapat with the Abbot, Ajahn Khanti. They had just finished renovating a specious modern kuti with large picture windows facing the many mountain ranges stretching out in front. The kuti was intended for use by visiting senior monks. I guess I fit the bill. They insisted that I stay there.
I was there during the full moon so I could participate in the Bhikkhu Patimokkha recital with all the other bhikkhu. The bhikkhu who did the reciting chanted so fast that it was barely intelligible to me. Every day for for hours we had our semi retreat with meditation and a Dhamma talk held in the large Meditation sala. Upasika Chaniga translated my talks.
Before leaving we visited another interesting temple in the Loei District.

Ajahn Khanti-Abbot of Wat Muang Kai

Pathway leading up to Mountaintop kutis

View from my kuti

Small size kuti

Pindapat

A few Retreat participants

Taking leave

Another unique roof style

Rare white Buddha in Thailand

On January 11th we drove back to udon and I flew from Udon to Chaing Mai to begin a one week tour of North Thaland. I was met at the chaing Mai airport by the Pinits and taken to a private estate used as a meditation center for people from Bangkok. We stayed 3 days in the Chaing Mai area visiting various monasteries. One day we drove through the nearby jungle and forested mountains to visit the Temple of the Buddhas' Footprint. On a huge rock lies the impressions of four concentric footprints (if you have a good imagination), the outer one the largest and the innermost the smallest. They are said to be the footprints of the four last Buddhas. The inner smallest impression is said to be that of Buddha Gotama. I forget the names of the three previous Buddhas. It seems highly improbable that all four Buddhas put their foot here in the same spot, each being many thousands of years apart. But no other than the great Acariya Mun Bhuridatto, who had all the psychic powers, and who had visited this spot in the 1930s is said to have confirmed this. The Temple here, completed just last year is quite a show piece.
From Chaing Mai we drove on up to Chaing Rai where we stayed three nights in the house of an old friend of Nee Pinit. The highlight of the trip here was a visit to the Golden Triangle where the three countries of Thailand, Burma and Laos meet on the Mekong River. The once infamous area of opium cultivation is now mainly a tourist destination. Opium production is no longer visible but Casinos are the big draw and cash earner. There is a big Casino built by the Chinese on the Laos side and another one one the Burmese side.
Thailand bans Casinos so Thais are the main customers.
On January 18th we flew back to Bangkok and on the 20th I flew to Mumbai.

New Temple near the Footprint Rock

Largest wicker Buddha in the World

Tunnel shrine at Wat U Mong, Chaing Mai

Chinese Casino in Laos

Buddha image installed by the Queen of Thailand-At least it is a Golden Triangle

The End

One Month in Thailand, Part 1

2012-01-23T01:53:00.000-08:00

Wat Arun--Temple of the Dawn, Bangkok

Hi Dhamma friends,

It's been awhile since I have updated the blog. You might have been getting tired of seeing the Buddhamas Carol up so long. I was waiting until I finished my one month tour in Thailand so I'd have something interesting to share.
This was my fifth or sixth time to Thailand since 1982, but the first time that I had stayed for a whole month. This was the first time to visit the Northeast area of Udon, Loei and up to Chaing Mai and the Golden Triangle. This trip to the North was arranged by two different Thai supporters of the Bhavana Society, the Pinits and Nine Sarasup.
I had spent the Thanksgiving holiday with my mother in Riverside and conducted three back to back weekend retreats in Riverside, Ojai, and Phoenix respectively between November 27th and December 12th.

On December 19th I flew from LAX to Bangkok. While waiting in the departure gate area for the 10:30 pm Thai Airways flight I bumped into a familiar face, that of Thai bhikkhu, Ven. Dinnanyano. He had lived at the Bhavana Society for some time several years back and is now living in a Thai temple near Riverside (I hadn't known that). He, along with five other Thai monks were going on this same flight to Bangkok. It. was a non stop18 hour flight. All us bhikkhus were politely given seats at the rear of the plane. On Thai Airways flights monks are not allowed to sit in an isle seat or next to a female, for Vinaya considerations. So whenever possible monks are given seats with nobody else sitting next to them. I won't argue that. So I had a lot of quality time to catch up with Ven. Dinnanyono and meet his monk friends. The gruelling long flight went more quickly and enjoyably.
We arrived at the Suwarnnabhumi Airport in Bangkok on December 21st at 6:30 am. One of the other monks is kind of well known in Thailand and he was met at the airport by a large entourage and airport officials. They quickly whisked us off, me included, to a special lounge room, by-passing the normal immigration lines, where our passports were effortlessly processed and we were offered drinks until our baggage arrived. I kinda like Thailand.
However, I had miscalculated the 30 day limit that tourists are allowed on arrival. I had an onward ticket to Mumbai already booked for January 20th. When I looked at the stamp in my passport it said I should depart Thailand on January 19th. In Asia, if you have the right connections most problems seem to go away. So it worked out.
I was met by Avoranee and Piriya Pinit and taken to Nee's family home near downtown Bangkok where I stayed until the next morning when I flew up to Udon Thani. In Udon I was met by Mr. Nine Sarasup and taken directly to Wat Pa Baan Taad. This is the Forest Monastery of Acariya MahaBoowa Nanasampanno who passed away, or more correctly, achieved Parinibbana just one year ago. He was by most accounts an Arahant. Over one million people had attended his funeral. I had been wanting to visit this well known meditation teacher and forest monastery ever since 1975 when, as a fresh novice monk in Sri Lanka I read, Forest Dhamma, a collection of talks on meditation by Acariya MahaBoowa. I subsequently read MahaBoowa's inspiring biography of Acariya Mun Bhuridatto, who was his teacher and who is considered to be the father of the revitalized ascetic forest tradition. Both of these books greatly influenced and inspired my practice as a young monk in the forests of Sri Lanka. I guess I didn't have the right kammic connections or merit to get here while Ven. MahaBoowa was still alive. But better late than never. His spirit still kept alive by the throngs of people who still come to pay homage to the late great monk and offer alms to his remaining disciples.
There are still several western monk disciples of Ven. MahaBoowa living at Wat Baan Taad. I was well received by Ajahn Martin, a German monk and given a simple and secluded open aired Lan to stay in for my two weeks self retreat.

Room with a view-Lan with mesquito net

Sixty foot walking (Jomgrom) path; what more does a forest monk need

Each day all the monks in the monastery go out for Pindapat (alms round) at about 6:15 am.into the village of Baan Taad situated about two kilometers away. However, an exception is made for monks older than 60. We could go on the shorter 'old monks' route which was just out beyond the monastery gate to receive alms from the many people who drove all the way to the monastery. I gladly took my seniors' option which gave me more time for a longer morning meditation until 7 am. The amount of food brought in by the laity and collected by the thirty or so monks was staggering. After receiving food from only six or seven people the bowl would be filled to overflowing and we had to empty the bowlful into a large basin in order to receive more from the eagerly waiting devotees. This process of filling and emptying the bowls went on at least eight or ten times until the end of the line was reached. Then we walked back to the sala for the long process of sorting out all the food and drinks to be re-offered and distributed to the monks. About 90 percent of the food collected on the pindapat had meat and of some kind. So it is not so easy for a vegetarian. I had to sort of pick and choose the vegetables and eggs. Mr. Nine Sarsup was thoughtful enough to bring me some fresh veggies most morning. This process took about another thirty minutes until all the monks and lay people were seated and the chanting of the blessings were done. So at about 8 am we began our one and only meal of the day.

With Tan Peter-two seniors waiting for the short pindapat

The short walk down to the monastery gate

Pindapat cue

Ajahn Martin helping me sort out some vegetarian food

Painting of Ajahn MahaBoowa in the meal sala

Apart from the required pindapat there was no other group practice such as chanting and meditation, except on the fullmoon and new moon days. At three pm there was a sweeping period to sweep the leaves on the broad sandy pathways pathways around and near one's kuti or lan.. It is fairly cool in the North of Thailand in January so more leaves fall at this time. The rest of the day was left up to each monk to pursue one's personal meditation practice, mainly of walking and sitting meditation. It had been quite some time since I had this much personal time and a conducive place for an extended retreat. It was quite welcome and pleasant. The one potential distraction, if one let one's mind be bothered, was the almost continual parade and symphony of chickens and peacocks all through the forest and around the kutis. It was the beginning of mating season for the peacocks so the males were out strutting their stufff, showing off their magnificent plume of feathers to attract the females. There were also a lot of turtles, tiny deer like animals, squirrels and rabbits all vying for the leftover food put out for them. In Asian Buddhist countries people bring their un useful animals like extra dogs and roosters, that thy do not want to kill to leave at the monastery, knowing that thy will not be deliberately killed. Wat Baan Taad, being so close to a village was the perfect retirement place for the unwanted animals.
So the meditators have to practice a lot of, 'hearing, hearing, hearing, or enter a deep samadhi.
A steady trickle of western lay people come to Wat Baan Taad to learn and practice meditation. There are a few dormitory buildings with single rooms reserved for male lay people within the monks section of the monastery. Women have thir own separae section, but they are kept well apart.
Ajahn Martin had been living at this Wat for the last fiften years. He was the teacher for th western laymen. Three times a week he would meet with them for two hours to discuss th Dhamma and give meditation advice. I was invited to participate at a couple of these meetings during my stay to share some Dhamma with them.

Ajahn Martin giving advice to the laymen

There is a second larger sala which I called the, Sala of the Arahants. It houses three life size statues of the Arahant monks highly revered in the Northeast Thai Forest ascetic tradition: Ajahn Khao, Ajahn Mun and Ajahn MahaBoowa. The sala also displays photos taken at the time of MahaBoowa's grand and spectacular cremation. Relics of cremated Arahants ar highly regarded and sought after by the aypeople. And they are prominently displayed in a museum like section of the monastery.

In the Sala of the Arahants-From left Ajahn, Khao, Acariya Mun and Acariya MahaBoowa

The day after Christmas Nine drove myself and Tan Peter, an English monk, up to the Laos Border on the Mekong River to visit Wat Hin Mark Peng. This is the monastery of another well known Arahant, Ajahn Tate.
He passed away over ten years ago. It is rather queit thse days with only ten monks living there. It is situated right on the bank of the Mekong River with nice views over to Laos. We spent a couple hours walking around and sitting beside the river meandering by.

Paying respects to the Buddha and statue of Ajahn Tate at the entrance to Wat Hin Mak Peng

Looking in the Museum of Ajahn Tate

Looking over the rocky banks of the Mekong River

End of Part 1
To be continued...

The Buddhamas Carol

2011-12-02T10:51:00.000-08:00

Seasons Greetings to all Dhamma friends around the World

If you get tired of hearing the traditional Silent Night carol over the next few weeks here are some alternative lyrics to roughly the same tune. You can tune in with others on Christmas eve. by singing along.

A Buddhamas Carol

Ode of a Vipassana Yogi

Silent Night, Peaceful Night,

All is calm, Stars are bright,

Round the hall Yogis sitting still,

Keeping their backs straight, exerting will,

Enduring pain without any ill-will,

Pervading Metta all throughout space,

Wishing Good-will to the whole human race.

Silent Mind, Peaceful Mind,

Thoughts are few, Pain is slight,

Focusing mind at the tip of the nose,

Knowing each breath as it comes and it goes,

Percieving the light that steadily glows,

Feeling the Rapture from head to the toes.

Silent Mind, Tranquil Mind,

Thoughts are stilled, Body feels light,

All the Five Hinderances have died down,

The Ego no longer is spinning around,

Mind is one-pointed not moving a bit,

Enjoying at long last the Jhanic Bliss,

Sitting in Joyful Peace, Sitting in Blissful Peace.

Silent Mind, focused Mind,

Awareness is strong, Mind is bright,

The Spiritual Faculties are prepared,

Vipassana-Insight has Mara scared,

Scanning the body from head to the toes,

Anicca, Anicca, each moment goes,

Anicca, Anicca, Impermanence flows,

The Five Aggregates appear empty as foam,

The Truth of No-Self is easily shown,

Sitting in insightful Joy, Sitting in insightful Joy.

Silent Mind, Concentrated Mind,

Awareness is clear, Equanimity shines,

The six sense-impingements arise and pass,

No desire, no clinging, no ego to grasp,

No holding to present, future or past,

Mara has vanished he took his last gasp,

This body-mind house is empty at last,

Sitting and walking the whole night through,

Greeting the dawn completely anew.

Silent Mind, Wisdom Mind,

Now is the time, Conditions are prime,

The Enlightenment Factors are developed well.

The Four Noble Truths become clear as a bell,

The Eye of Dhamma is opened wide,

The three lower fetters are broken in stride,

Tonight the Yogi enters the Stream,

Tomorrow Nibbana no longer a Dream
Lyrics by Bhante Rahula

To hear the audio version click here: http://www.opendrive.com/files/8510692_HYhoT/ode2yogi_2008.mp3

Back in the USA-Retreat at Bhavana Society Forest Monastery

2011-11-02T08:19:00.000-07:00

Hi friends,
After spending the summer vassa at the Buddhistisches Haus in Berlin, Frohnau I am now back in North America.
Starting October 6th I stayed for five days in Tallahassee, Florida with an old friend, Douglas Durham. While there I visited a small Buddhist group at the NWFRC, a prison facility near Chipley. I also gave a talk and meditation evening at the Tallahassee Buddhist group which was well attended.
Then I flew up to Washington D.C. and stayed at the Washington Buddhist Vihara on 16th St. NW. Ven. Dhammasiri and the other monks kindly welcomed me there.
I attended and delivered the keynote talk at a Buddhist Symposium held at George Washington University on Oct. 15th. On the 16th evening a talk was given to a meditation group at the Willow Street Yoga Center . A group of six meditators had wished to formally take the Eight Lifetime Precepts. So a talk on the Buddhist meaning of evolution (group and individual), the Path of Regular steps and the Three Refuges was appropriate.
On Monday October 17th I went out to spend two weeks at the Bhavana Society Forest Monaster in West Virginia. It felt good to be back there after one and a half years. The weather was was wonderful with the fall colors at their peak. I was able to meet and speak with Bhante H. Gunaratana and the two other bhikkhus and several lay residents living there
On October 23rd Bhante Dhammaratana and I were driven back to Washington where I attended and gave a talk at the Kathina ceremony at the Washington Buddhist Vihara.

On Monday evening, October 24th the one week Vipassaa with Yoga retreat at the Bhavana Society began. 25 persons attended. During the first four days the weather remained quite beautiful. Then literally overnight the weather changed dramatically to clearly illustrate Anicca and Anatta (impermanence and no-self). Seven inches of heavy wet snow fell during the night and into the next day turning the technicolor fall into a white winter wonderland.
The additional heavy weight of the snow on the tree branches caused many large and smaller branches to come crashing down all throughout the forest. Luckily all the kutis and other buildings escaped being damaged, and no people were hit by the falling debris. However, a few forest trails to the kutis were blocked by big brances. The retreatants happily pitched in to do mindful snow shovelling and branch removal.

The following photos give a vivid show of the before and after.

Bhante G. on his daily walk

Meditation Hall

The beautiful meditation hall in any season

Happy retreatants

Photo credits: Russ Sernau

On November 1st I flew to Ottawa where I am staying two weeks. The main events are a one week retreat for the Ottawa Buddhist Association and two additional one day meditation sessions at other venues.

Eventhough I do not have any permanent residence now people still ask me where I am living. The response is, HERE AND NOW.

Please consult the Travel page for my future itinerary.

Remember: Mindfulness a Day Keeps Dukkha Away

May all Beings well, Peaceful and Wise

Summer in Berlin

2011-06-29T01:45:00.000-07:00

Dear Dhamma friends,
As many of you may know I am intending to spend the summer and the 'vassa' rainy season period here in Berlin, Germany. This is a little update on what I've done so far here in Europe since arriving on May 19th.
Upon arriving at the airport in Zurich I was told that I could only stay for three months in the Euro Zone countries because of the new Shengen agreement amonst Euro Zone countries, including Switzerland, which is not a member of the EU. So I will have to try and get my visa extended here in Berlin. With a letter from the Buddhistiches Haus Temple where I am staying, it should not be a problem. I'll have to wait and see. All things are impermanent.

My first stop was at the Metta Vihara Forest Monastery (Waldkloster) about 15 kilometers from Kempten in Allgäu. It was started by Ayya Khema just before she passed away. The abbot is Ven. Nyanabodhi, a direct disciple of Ayya Khema. There are two other resident monks living there also, Ven. Anuraddha and Ven. Kaccayana. They recieved me and treated me very kindly. I stayed there three days before heading to the Buddha Haus where I conducted a one week meditation retreat.
At the end of the retreat on May 28th I went to the Anenja Vihara and gave a Dhamma talk in the evening. The Anenja Vihara is located only a few kilometers from the Buddha Haus. It is a monastery for Buddhist nuns and lay women. The current Abbess is Ayya Sucinta who I have known for many years. Ayya Sucinta was ordained as a novice nun by Bhante H. Gunaratana at the Bhavana Society in the late ninties. and took Bhikkhuni ordination in Bodhgaya over ten years ago. Inbetween she had lived in Burma, again at the Bhavana Society and in Melbourne Australia where she had helped start a Vihara. She accepted the invitation to become the Abbess of the Anenja Vihara just last year.
I again stayed a few days back at the Metta Vihara after the retreat. This summer they are having four new kutis erected on the men's section of the monastery.

On June 1st I went to Füssen at the base of the Alps where the Fairytale like Castle of Neuswanstein is located. There I went on a lovely six hour walk with two old German student/friends on a beautiful day.
I then took a train to Geneva Switzerland and stayed three days at the Geneva Buddhist Vihara with Bhante Dhammika from Sri Lanka. I gave a half day meditation program to a number of devotees and meditation students. By coinsidence an old Sri Lankan monk friend of mine was there, Ven. Homagama Kondanna, whom I had not seen for over 20 years. So it was nice seeing him again also.
From Geneva I took a train up into the Alps to Zermatt to see the Matterhorn. I took the Goneratt train up to a height over 3,000 meters for a spectacular view. It truly is an impressive Peak. Unfortunately I did not have enough time to do any hiking in the vicinity.
From there I continued by train to Lugano, in the Italian part Switzerland where I stayed with Albert Cambata, a former Board member of the Bhavana Society who now lives with his family in Lugano. I had a lovely all day drive on the windy roads of the Alps in his new yellow Ferarri convertible. I had to practice non attachment and equanimity.
From Lugano I went to Interlaken hoping to do a trek in the Jungfrau high Alpine region. But the weather was really not cooperating. It was super cloudy and a little rainy. Even so, I took the spectacular cog wheel train up to the Jungfraujoch at over 11,000 ft.elevation. Being literally within a stone's throw distance, I could not see even a trace of the massive threesome of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. I had to practice more non attachment and equanimity of the opposite kind and settled for a short walk in the snow and then a four hour downhill walk in the cold drizzling rain. That night I boarded the night train from Zurich to Hamburg.
Next on my teaching itinerary was my regular nine day retreat at the Haus Der Stille, forty kilometers from Hamburg.There were nineteen participants and the weather held up quite nicely so we could have most of our afternoon yoga sessions out in the spacious grassy area. Three quarters of the participants were my faithful regular students and it was nice warm intensive practice atmosphere.
On June 20th I took the train to Berlin where I am intending to spend the entire summer.
I spent my birthday with my oldest and long lasting friends in Europe, Asha and Keshav Rekai. They took me out for a birthday Dana at their favorite Chinese restaurant near their Yoga school in Wilmersdorf.
That weekend I conducted a weekend semi retreat at the Lotus Vihara Buddhist Center in the heart of Berlin.
Despite the name, Lotus Vihara it is not a center where Buddhist monks reside. It is a center started and run by disciples of Ayya Khema. The main teacher there is Dr. Wilfried Reüter. It is located in the heart of former East Berlin. They converted an abandoned school for children into one of the most active Buddhist Centers in Berlin. About one hundred people came to the Public talk on Friday night and over thirty people participated in the meditation program on Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm and again on Sunday from 9 am to 1 pm. I gave another public talk that night with about one hundred people coming to listen to the Similie of the Raft.

An interesting kammic coincidence occured while taking a walk in the Tiergarten Park. I had read in a Berlin Yoga magazine that there is to be a World Culture Festival organized by Swami Sri Ravi Shankar in Berlin July 2 and 3rd. I was thinking that it might be interesting to go if someone would take me. Then that afternoon while walking in the Park with two Dhamma students we met that very Swami who was also walking with a retinue of folllowers. We greeted each other with the traditional namaskar mudra. After some amiable talk he invited me as a special guest to attend that function with free passes to as many friends as I wanted to accompany me. It's a small world.

The Buddhistiches Haus Frohnau

Now I am happily ensconced at the famous Buddhistiches Haus Buddhist Temple. It sits on top of a small hill
in the leafy suburb of Frohnau, in North Berlin. The Buddhistiches Haus was started in 1924 by Dr. Paul Dalke, a German doctor who had travelled to Sri Lanka a couple of times and had become an admirer of of the Buddha Dhamma. It was the first Buddhist Center in all of Europe. In 1952 it was acquired by the German Dhammduta Society of Sri Lanka who have been managing it ever since. They have been having a succession Sri Lankan monks staying here since 1957. I had first come here to Berlin and seen the Temple in 1977 on my return from Sri Lanka two years after my novice monk ordination. Over the years on my many teaching tours to Germany I have stayed here for short periods of time, given talks and lead some short retreats. Because of a lull in time I decided to stay this year for a longer time in Berlin and spend the vassa period here at the Buddhistiches Haus. Mr. Tissa Werraratna, who is the Sri Lankan manager of the Temple vey kindy accepted me to stay. I will be conducting three meditation retreats here over the summer period.
The Buddhistiche Haus is considered a historical monument in Berlin. And after many years the Historical Monuments office in Berlin has agreed to spend a few million Euros to restore the time weary buildings and grounds back to their original appearance plus other needed improvements. I had a talk with the members of the government offices who were here making their final decisions. (see photos)
The work is now underway.

May All Beings be Well Peaceful and Happy

Please consult the Travel and Teaching page of this blog for the dates of my retreats at the Buddhistiches Haus as well as the other teaching locations outside of Berlin until October.

Classic view of the entrance

Entrance to Library and Lecture hall (left) and to the Meditation Temple

Giving meditation instructions to a group of students

Back view and garden area

Restoring the original monks kuti imbedded in the hillside

On the way to address the Historical Monuments committee on the importance in helping to improve the Temple

In the Tiergarten Park

Sunrise in Rio

2011-05-15T21:29:00.000-07:00

These are some photos taken at sunrise on my visits to Rio de Janeiro.
Below these photos is the link to the slide show on my trip to Patagonia.

Sunrise meditation at Viewpoint Dona Marta

Classic Rio landmark: Corcovado-statue of Jesus Christ

Classic view of Rio City

Picnic breakfast

Ad hoc yoga session on Ipanema beach

Meditation on Ipanema Beach

Early morning meditation on Flamengo beach

Meditation and yoga on Flamengo Beach

Notice airplane ; airplanes landing at Santos Dumont airport circle low in fron t of Sugar loaf Mountain. One of the most dramatic airplane landings.

View from Pedra Bonita

Trekking in Patagonia slide video

2011-03-24T11:06:00.000-07:00

Trekking in Patagonia

Between Febuary 5th-27th, 2011 I made a trip to Patagonia in Southern Argentina and Chile to do some trekking in the Patagonia Andes. After many trips and treks in the Himalayas in India and Nepal, this was my first time to visit Patagonia. I went with two Brasillian Dhamma students, Joao Rafael and Fabiana Gomes.

We flew from Sao Paulo via Buenos Aires to Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego which is the southermost town of any consequence in the World. Ushuaia sits on the Beagle Channel that connects the Alantic and Pacific Oceans. This is the channel that Charles Darwin sailed through in his ship, The Beagle, when collecting information later used in his Opus, The Origination of the Species etc. On our first day in Ushuaia we took a three hour boat excursion out into the Beagle Channel to view some sea lion and comorant colonies.The nearest penguin colonies were a seven hour boat ride away. Being short on time we decided to take a pass on the penguins. It was a way to practice non attachment also.
The next day we went into the Tierra del Fuego National Park to camp and made two day hikes.The weather is fairly cold,windy and rainy way down in Southern Patagonia. The daytime temperatures were between 5-15 degrees centigrade, even in summer. We were told, however, that while we were there the weather was fairly mild in comparison.
  From Ushuaia we flew north to El Calafate to visit the famous Perito Moreno glacier and make a three day trek with camping to Mt. Fitzroy and Laguna Torre in the Los Glaciers National Park. The weather was fabulous during the trek to Mt. Fitzroy, sunny and warm. However, on our second trek in the Torres Del Paine National Park further south, it was the opposite. It rained on us the whole night through whiled we were camped at Campamento Torres. We did not even get to see the goal of the hike, the three towering monoliths of Torres del Paine because of the low and thick cloud cover. To make it worse, just after we had trekked back to the roadhead and boarded our bus back to Puerto Natales, the weathed quickly cleared up, providing those who were just on their way up, fine views. Being Buddhist meditators we had to practice letting go, gratitude and lovingkindness.

   A highlight of the Patagonia journey was a four day cruise from Puerto Natales northwards through the Fijords of coastal Chile to Puerto Montt. This gave us a rest from hiking ,camping and travelling in cramped vehicles. However, this ship was a cargo Ferry and carried as its main cargo many tractor trailers filled with cattle being ferried north to the markets. The cattle were cramped like sardines with hardly room to move for four full days and nights. The only thing we could do was practise Metta (lovingkindness) meditation towards them.
As we cruised northwards a few hundred kilometers the weather became noticeably warmer.
Following that cruise we travelled north of Puerto Montt to make an interesting three day trek to Banos de Caulle in a region of volcanos, fumoroles and hot springs. We finished our Patagonian adventure with a three day trek to Refugio Frey and Refugio Jacob-Martin in the Nahuel Haupi National Park in the Lakes district of Chile/Argentina. We then flew from Bariloche, Argentina back to Sao Paulo.

Because of the time limits on Youtube this slide video presentation is in two parts.  The first part covers the beginning of our trip in Ushuaia to the end of our treks to Mt. Fitzroy and Torres del Paine. The second part covers our four day Navimag Ferry excursion from Puerto Natales to Puerto Montt and the two last treks.
Enjoy!!

Trekking in Patagonia part 1

Trekking in Patagonia part 2

Buddhamas Carol or The Ode to the vipassana yogi

2010-12-11T15:42:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,
I hope you have an enjoyable but mindful and insightful Holiday season. Here is familiar tune to new lyrics which came to mind a few years ago while sitting in my kuti at the Bhavana Society a couple of days before Christmas.

A Buddhamas Carol

Ode of a Vipassana Yogi

(Composed by Bhante Yogavacara Rahula)

Silent Night, Peaceful Night,

All is calm, Stars are bright,

Round the hall Yogis sitting still,

Keeping their backs straight, exerting will,

Enduring pain without any ill-will,

Pervading Metta all throughout space,

Wishing Good-will to the whole human race.

Silent Mind, Peaceful Mind,

Thoughts are few, Pain is slight,

Focusing mind at the tip of the nose,

Knowing each breath as it comes and it goes,

Percieving the light that steadily glows,

Feeling the Rapture from head to the toes.

Sitting in rapturous joy,sitting in rapturous joy

Silent Mind, Tranquil Mind,

Thoughts are stilled, Body feels light,

All the Five Hinderances have died down,

The Ego no longer is spinning around,

Mind is one-pointed not moving a bit,

Enjoying at long last the Jhanic Bliss,

Sitting in blissful peace, Sitting in blissful peace.

Silent Mind, focused Mind,

Awareness is strong, Mind is bright,

The Spiritual Faculties are prepared,

Vipassana-Insight has Mara scared,

Scanning the body from head to the toes,

Anicca, Anicca, each moment goes,

Anicca, Anicca, Impermanence flows,

The Five Aggregates appear empty as foam,

The Truth of No-Self is easily shown,

Sitting in insightful Joy, Sitting in insightful Joy.

Silent Mind, equanimous Mind,

Awareness is clear, Wisdom shines,

The six sense-impingements arise and pass,

No desire, no clinging, no ego to grasp,

No holding to present, future or past,

Mara has vanished he took his last gasp,

This body-mind house is empty at last,

Sitting and walking the whole night through,

Greeting the dawn completely anew.

Silent Mind, Wisdom Mind,

Now is the time, Conditions are prime,

The Enlightenment Factors are developed well.

The Four Noble Truths become clear as a bell,

The Eye of Dhamma is opened wide,

The three lower fetters are broken in stride,

Tonight the Yogi enters the Stream,

Tomorrow Nibbana no longer a Dream.

Please click the url below and then the second link that appears if you'd like to listen to the song http://www.opendrive.com/files/8510692_HYhoT/ode2yogi_2008.mp3

Three books by Bhante Yogavacara Rahula for free download

2010-12-01T18:25:00.000-08:00

Please click here to download the e-book "One Night Shelther".

Please click here to download the e-book "The Way to Peace & Happiness".

Please click here to download the e-book "Meditation - Body & Mind Connection" .

Links to Dhammatube videos

2010-12-01T17:03:00.000-08:00

For more video talks by Bhante rahula go: ven.rahula/Dhammatube

How about an M&M

2010-10-10T22:17:00.000-07:00

Life the way we know it, (our views of ourself and the world) is largely created by the mind, in, by and for each person’s mind. One of the most profound statements uttered by the Buddha was: “The world, the arising of the world, the ceasing of the world, and the path leading to the ceasing of the world, is right within this five or six foot long body with its sense organs, feelings, and consciousness.” For the Buddha, the 'world' is synonymous with suffering. So suffering arises and ceases right here in this body and mind. The mind is the most important thing to understand, but the mind operates so quickly that it is difficult to catch hold of or see it. For this reason the Buddha taught us to approach it through the breath/body. We use the breathing/body as the gateway or threshold to directly perceive our thoughts or intentions. In this way, we can make progress to purify our bodily actions, speech, and thoughts that are the source of our kammic actions that bring us suffering.

There are two basic aspects of the mind, the active and passive, or the aspects of doing and being. We are called human beings, but a more accurate description would be 'human doings'. From the moment you wake up in the morning until the time you go to sleep at night, the body and mind are usually doing something. Even while sleeping most people dream, which is another doing. When the sense organs are touched by something, the mind usually gets excited and neurotic or unmindful activity is activated. It is like driving a car and manual shifting through 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th and then into overdrive, the mind gets triggered off into doing. With all this activity, we tend to lose our centeredness and mindfulness and make mistakes. We get dragged into the past and pushed into the future; we get caught up in anger, craving, worry and delusion.

Most people have probably not experienced what might be called, 'pure being,' when the mind is at absolute rest. When the mind can rest in the present moment, this is 'being' because the mind is not doing any specific activity at that time, it is simply aware. It does not go to the past or future, but quietly rests in the 'Now.' It is like a car with a perfectly tuned engine that is quietly idling in neutral gear, or a cat gently purring. (However, I am not saying that a cat has this kind of awareness). In the same way, the mind can rest in the present moment, with 'knowing', or 'awareness'. At that time it is not going anywhere or doing any neurotic activity, it is simply 'being'. When the mind rests in 'being' it feels like an artesian well, infusing the body and mind with energy. This is the universal life energy from which we are usually consciously cut off and have no idea of, because we are caught up in near constant doing and becoming.

One of the hardest things for most people to do would be to sit down, not move the body, close their eyes and not go to sleep. Not many people could do it for more than a few minutes before they would become bored, agitated or anxious, unless of course they know how to meditate. The mind will become restless because it is not trained and accustomed to non-physical activity and mental silence. The mind will want to do something and therefore will create some mental and/or physical activity. This doing/activity makes the sense of self, I or ego feel more alive. When the mind is active, it will usually be moving between the past and the future, just like a pendulum of the clock that is constantly moving back and forth in order to create time. When the mind rests in the present moment, time seems to disappear because time as we experience it is created by the active mind.

So, how do we experience “being” or “awareness?” For starters we have to learn how to move more slowly and mindfully, to downshift the body and the mind so that they may be more integrated and abide more calmly. From time to time we need to stop what we are doing completely, come to the present moment of breathing/body, to reconnect and dip into silent awareness or “being.” When we get continually caught up in unmindful neurotic activity without taking any 'pure rest', we become cut off from the source of life. Our energy is drained at the end of the day and we became exhausted. This happens because we do not mindfully stop and pause during the day in order to get reconnected to the energy source.

There are a lot of misconceptions, even among Buddhists, about what meditation is all about. Some people think that meditation can be practiced only by monks who live in the jungle, that lay people can not really do it. Meditation is not pushing out the world and entering some abstract, hypnotic or blank state of mind. It is really getting in touch with the world. People have accused forest-dwelling monks of escaping from reality or the world. Actually it is opposite. People who indulge in alcohol, drugs, sex, movies and other sensory obsessions—they are the ones escaping from the world. Monks, or other serious meditators, directly confront the world, the world of the mind; there is no place else to go. Meditating monks cannot turn on the television, open the refrigerator and eat food whenever they want, rush off to the movies, or drive the block to distract themselves. They really confront the world through meditation. When you sit and hear loud distracting sounds, feel sharp pains in the body, and/or see your own confused mind and defilements, you don’t run away from them. Normally, people will do something to get rid of distractions or pain, For example, if you hear a loud sound, you shut the windows or turn on the stereo. If you have pain in the body, you take a pill. If it’s too hot you turn on the air conditioner. All of these are ways to escape from the pain of the real world.

When you sit and meditate, you confront the world of pain or any other mental states. You watch them, even the unwanted ones and don’t try to run away from them. Hopefully, you will cultivate the ways to observe and skilfully deal with them so they don’t cause you suffering. Then you won’t have to try to escape from them. This way of practice is different from the artificial means that society has created to escape from the pains of life. Meditation is not running away from pain, but not fighting or struggling against it either. The art of meditation is learning to open up and allow the world to pass through your body and mind without it causing or turning into suffering. Remember the formula: “suffering = pain × resistance.” Most people tend to push out the pain of the world. During meditation we let it pass through us, but we don’t build up a resistance. The resistance is the suffering. The Buddha taught us that the source of suffering is craving or desire. Basically, it means the desire to acquire something that we don’t have now, or to reject or get away from the pain you encounter. Much of our waking time is taken up in this dual pursuit.

We have become over-dependent on material stimulation. People don’t know how to be simple. We’ve lost the simplicity in life because of modern advancements and advertisements that make us too dependent on external things. We’ve come to believe that happiness comes from outside, such as having a new car and other gadgets, or having enough money to get and do what you want when you want. For some people, happiness means having family and friends who act the way you want them to act, or not having any sickness. Each person’s definition of happiness depends on how their mind defines it, but all of these depend on things that are impermanent, constantly changing and are beyond our control. It is not a real or secure sense of happiness when you depend on things that are changing. It will end up with dissatisfaction and some source of conflict because you will keep on wanting more. The Buddha taught that real happiness is already inside; the happiness of not wanting. If you don’t want anything, then there’s nothing to lose; then there’s no insecurity or unhappiness. Actually, happiness is our inherent birthright, the natural state of awareness/being which is complete within itself. It doesn’t need anything else to be happy. Knowing that I have been a monk for a long time, people frequently ask me if I am happy. They think that monks must be suffering if they can’t get or do what they want. I tell them that I am not unhappy and I am not searching for happiness. All you have to do is remove the cause of suffering, and happiness will already be there. It is nothing that you can search for or bring into yourself.

We have to understand the nature of suffering. This is why the Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths: Suffering, the cause of suffering, the end of suffering, and the path leading to the end of suffering. Where is the word happiness? The Buddha mentioned suffering four times but does not directly mention anything about happiness. Why is that? Because there is no need to. All you have to do is know what suffering is, remove the cause of suffering; then, automatically you will be happy, you will reach the end of suffering. Some people misunderstand the Buddha’s teaching. They say, “Buddhism is pessimistic, it talks only about suffering.” They say, “I’m not suffering, my life is great; everything goes the way I want it. I don’t know why the Buddha mentions suffering so much.” This kind of person does not understand what the Buddha meant. This is looking only upon the superficial meaning of the words.

     In the practice of mindfulness, we want to learn how to deconstruct or slow down the mind so we can see that we are overly dependent on doing, wanting, and craving. We can see how craving for material satisfaction is superficial. Our insatiate desires and struggles to avoid or get rid of pain actually compound our problems instead of solving them. Most people are trying to “do things” in order to make themselves happy. But in so doing they often create more unhappiness through their unmindful actions. One has to look at this phenomenon with a clear mind. During daily practice of meditation, when the mind is quieted down, you can be sitting there and be perfectly happy. At that time you don’t need or want anything, you can be perfectly content. You may even wish that it would never end. This can happen when you simply sit there being in the present moment, not needing anything from the outside. This is the true nature of the mind that rests within. We have to learn how to reconnect to this “awareness” by learning to slow down and pause.

     One of the great practical benefits of practicing mindfulness meditation comes from learning to slow down, pause and stop from time to time. Train yourself to come back to the present moment, feel the breathing/body, get regrounded, if only for a few moments or even just for one minute, from time to time during the day. This is a practice that I call an, 'M&M', a minute of mindfulness, or a minute meditation.  You train yourself to pause, freeze, stop for one mimute once an hour. Whether you are sitting or standing, whatever you are doing, just stop the physical activity and feel your feet pressing the floor, take a slow deep breath and relax. Let go of what’s going on in the mind and come back to the physical reality of the present moment or Now. You can simply remind yourself of, 'standing breathing, standing breathing, standing breathing'. Or at the same time,you could also forgive anybody who had hurt you in the last hour and send out Metta.You remain like this for one minute and then mindfully continue what you were doing. You try to do this at least once an hour throughout the day. This will help reduce stress hour by hour instead of allowing it to accumulate as most people do. This practice will get you at least ten minutes of valuable meditation or 'down time'. This practice will be of a great benefit especially if you cannot manage to get in longer meditations in the morning or evening. This will prove to be a tremendous help.

Normally we live a fast-paced life. If you continue to neurotically rush around unmindfully it will be unlikely that you will experience any 'deeper' meditation. We have to train ourselves to slow down. We learn to stop and take inventory of what we are doing each day. We cram our days with many things to do, but if we check up and investigate this we’ll see many things we do are not necessary. When we do things quickly we tend to make mistakes and then have to correct or redo the mistakes. A common problem is misplacing things and then forgetting where you put them, such as your keys or wallet. You come in the house and unmindfully put them down somewhere, then rush off to do something else. When you are ready to go out again you will have to spend twenty minutes looking for them. This scenario is often repeated several times during the day with different things. This wastes a lot of valuable time. If you do things mindfully then you can avoid this senario. If you do things more slowly and mindfully, you will more easily remember the things you do and say. When you mindfully put something down, it means that you actually see where you put it down, it registers in the consciousness. Normally we do things unconsciously so the memory does not register things properly. We forget and then become angry with ourselves. The simple habit of learning to slow down is very useful.
This may be enough for your consideration.

Don’t forget to take an M&M

throughout the day day.

Mindfulness a day

keeps Dukkha away.

Can Yoga and Buddhist Meditation Mix-Part 2

2010-10-07T05:53:00.000-07:00

The ABCs of Mindfulness Meditation

The main teachings of the Buddha are summarized and centered in the Four Noble Truths: Suffering, the cause of suffering, the end of suffering, and the eightfold path to end suffering. It is no secret that the world is full of confusion , hatred, madness, and suffering. This suffering arises because people are trying to manipulate or change the external world to suit their viewpoint and satisfy their desires; they are caught up in greed, hatred, and delusion. The Theravada Buddhist approach advises a person to first change one’s inner world, to change and purify one’s mind; then the external world will gradually come along and be more peaceful. When people purify their own mind and learn to live peacefully and harmoniously within their surroundings, then they will be able to live at peace with the whole world. This is just a brief and basic overview of the Buddha’s teachings. Mindfulness and meditation play the most important roles in bringing about this inner mental transformation. The inner transformation brings about the outer transformation.

In Buddhist teachings taking care of the body is not often addressed. But the truth is that the mind operates through the body. The mind is not separate form the body and the body is not separate from the mind. They are intimately connected, especially for the day-to-day activity of ordinary persons. If the body is sick and weak, if it has tired blood and/or poor energy, this will affect our life. Because of poor shallow breathing and stiffness and inflexibility in the body, our psychic energy, the nervous system energy, is not able to flow freely throughout the body. Thus, the body and mind remain lethargic and dull, or will be easily excitable and restless. Our perceptions and thinking ability won’t be very orderly and clear. So Yoga practice emphasizes and enhances having a healthy nervous system and body, having good posture and blood circulation. The posture is important in meditation, especially keeping the spine straight.

Most people have difficulty in meditation because they are not able to keep their back straight. This is because we sit in chairs most of the time; when we travel in the car, sit at the computer, watch television or sit at the dining table, people are usually slouching or hunched over. So the back muscles are not very strong and it is difficult to keep sitting up straight. It becomes a constant battle to keep your back and head erect in order to have a clear and relatively painless meditation. Despite keeping the back straight, however, there will still be a certain amount of physical discomfort and pain involved in meditation. Learning how to skillfully deal with physical pain and mental pain is a large part of meditation. There is a saying: “Pain is a fact of life, suffering is optional.” When people are born into this world pain is “a given;” they’re going to experience pain. But the struggles against pain and the mental anguish that arises is optional. When you have physical pain and then add mental suffering onto it, then you get “double trouble.” There is also a mathematic formula you can remember: “suffering = pain × resistance.” The Buddha’s teaching and meditation practice is not about removing pain. However, it is about the lessening and eventual eradication of the causes of suffering.

The simplest, most basic definition of mindfulness is “to remember.” To remember what? In the Dhamma teaching, mindfulness is very specific. It means remembering the present moment, remembering what the body is doing right now and remembering what the mind is doing right now. Normally, our body is doing one thing and the mind is doing another. We might be eating or driving a car but we are often lost in thought and/or distractions. The first stage of mindfulness then is to bring the mind back to the body, remembering what the body is doing. The beginning of mindfulness practice is mindfulness of the body. The body is always in the present moment, it is always here and now. Now you’re sitting. That’s what the body is doing right now. But, as you will see in meditation, after five minutes of sitting your mind may have gone traveling around the world several times already. So, when your body is sitting you should be mindful that it is sitting; when breathing in and out, you should be mindful of breathing in, breathing out. At any time of the day the body is sitting, walking, standing, or lying down, and, of course, breathing. To remember that this body is sitting/breathing, or standing/breathing, walking/breathing or that it is lying-down/breathing, this is the basic grounding in mindfulness practice. This is our bodily life process that is going on 24/7. You have heard the expression 24/7, but we have to add one number, 24/7/365. It’s 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. and the next number we don’t know, because we can die at anytime.

We use our centered attention on the body to act as a home base or anchor in order to restrain the wild mind, to tame the “monkey mind.” The mind of the untrained person is constantly thinking about this and that, getting lost in worries or anxieties, is in the past or future, is running here and there all over the inner world. This is what produces stress, tension, anxiety, and suffering. The mind is usually lost in the past and future; all problems arise from dwelling in the past or the future. When the mind is resting fully in the present moment no problems can exist. This is an essential but hidden truth. So the basic practice is remembering what the body and mind are doing right now. You remember by directly feeling your body: you feel the weight or heaviness of the buttocks pressing into the seat; you feel the way your feet are tucked under your body; you feel the straightness of the back or the head balanced between the shoulders; you feel the hands touching together. You are aware of “sitting” and aware of “breathing in—breathing out.”

Breathing awareness forms a special focus of concentrated mindfulness. In the beginning we want to develop what is called “deep slow breathing.” The breath and the mind are related. The quicker and shorter your breaths are, the more agitated your mind is. However, the slower and deeper the breaths are, the more calm and peaceful the mind is. That is because the body needs oxygen to live. Every cell in this body needs oxygen to do its work, but because we often breathe in a very shallow way, the cells do not get enough of this essential life force. We have to breathe faster and the heart and lungs have to work harder. This causes wear and tear in the body and agitation in the nervous system. When you breathe deeply, you get enough oxygen in one breath. When you hold the breath in for two or three seconds, even more oxygen will absorb into the blood and enter into circulation. So the heart does not need to beat faster. The body and mind become more peaceful and we can get into meditation more easily.

What you need to learn when starting to meditate is to establish a good foundation for the practice. We talk about establishing a long-term foundation because the practice of meditation is a continuous life-long process. Most people sit in a slouching posture that constricts the abdomen and rib cage/chest so the lungs cannot expand fully; the body does not get enough oxygen, and the cells in the body are half dead. In meditation this results in a constant fight with pain and drowsiness. Establishing a good foundation will help the mind go into deeper meditation more easily. I have seen many people whose meditation stagnates because they did not build up a good foundation. That is why I stress so much about how yoga helps, how important the posture and breathing is. Don’t worry about getting into deep Samadhi (deep concentration) too quickly.

One misconception about meditation is that you have to block out all your thoughts. It is true that thoughts distract from meditation, but you can’t block them out. You need to learn to observe and be aware of them, to not get lost in them, and keep coming back to remember, “breathing-in/sitting, breathing-out/sitting.” Thoughts will still be coming and going but so long as you are linked by mindfulness to the sitting/breathing body you will not become totally lost. You can maintain some sense of centeredness. What we are trying to develop is being grounded or being centered in the body, which is the same as being in the present moment. This helps us see clearly what is happening. The body is like a tethering post. In the school yard game of tetherball, when you hit the ball, the ball goes around the post. If the chain or rope breaks the ball will fly away and perhaps be stolen by thieves or squashed by a passing car. In the same way, if we get lost in the past and future, our mindfulness can be stolen by outer distractions or inner thoughts; then defilements and suffering arise. The post is the breathing body and the ball is the mind. The rope is mindful attention that connects the mind to the body. When you hit the ball it goes around the post but does not get lost. In meditation the breathing body is in the center of awareness even though sounds and thoughts still arise and pass away in the mind. The calm awareness of breathing remains in the middle, so you don’t get exhausted. People get lost in their thoughts because they are not grounded in the present moment of “Now,” or they go to sleep because too many scattered thoughts have drained their energy.

The basic practice is using the breathing body, in whatever posture, as the focus of present moment attention. The secondary objects are the external loud sounds, bodily discomfort, itching sensations, and scattered thoughts that will distract you. You have to mentally note these potential distractions, to “know” that you are hearing, feeling and/or thinking, and getting distracted by something. This “knowing” will help you to let go and come back to the center, to sitting and breathing. If you have a pain or an itch, you do the same thing by a mental recognition that “discomfort is pulling at the mind.” This will allow you to let go of it, get objective distance to the discomfort, and relax around and through it.
Now sit down and try it.

Can Yoga and Buddhist Meditation Mix? Part 1

2010-10-07T05:39:00.000-07:00

The Physiology of Meditation

It has been a widely held belief among traditional Theravada Buddhists that the practice of Yoga and Buddhism do not or should not be mixed. Yoga comes out of the Vedas and Hindu tradition with its central belief in the “Atman” or “Supreme Self,” which appears to be diametrically opposite to the Buddha’s teaching of “Anatta” or “No-Self.” In addition to that is the stigma of the Buddha having practiced self-mortification (associated with ancient yogic practices) and ultimately rejected it being as futile. And it doesn’t help that, outside of India, Yoga is perceived and practiced mainly as a system of physical exercises for health, energy, relaxation, not to mention a good figure.

At some vipassana meditation centers there are rules against doing yoga exercises while undergoing intensive retreat; they are considered to be a distraction from the pure inward mental focus or an escape from dealing with the physical pain of long motionless sitting or from boredom. I have experienced these disapproving attitudes myself (from others) during my initial training in Asia, and when starting to teach vipassana retreats in Sri Lanka. I included some yogic breathing and exercises during these retreats. There may be a degree of truth that certain yoga postures and pranayama may not be compatible during intensive samatha/vipassana retreats. However, it doesn’t mean that we have to “throw the baby out with the bathwater.” The Buddha, in the opening segments of some prominent Pali suttas, recommended sitting cross-legged ( the full lotus yoga posture) and keeping the spine erect to begin sitting meditation. But little else concerning specific physical conditioning, besides good health and walking meditation, is mentioned in the Pali texts, the oldest of he Buddha’s teachings. In the Ningyma School of Tibetan Buddhism, a system of physical awareness exercises called Kum Nye has been developed and taught to Western practitioners. Many Chinese Buddhist practice Tai Chi, Qi Gong or other martial arts. Other than this, physical exercise as an aid to meditative/spiritual development has been largely neglected among Buddhists, besides sometimes being frowned upon. This has resulted in some earnest Buddhist meditators resorting to being “closet yogis,” not wanting to be seen doing yoga.

However, the recognition and popularity of Hatha Yoga practice among Western Buddhist meditators is increasing. Even some prominent Western Dhamma teachers have recently “come out” to more or less endorse it. A well-known Yoga magazine has done a feature article on Yoga practice for Buddhist meditators. This current Western Yoga practice is confined primarily to the notion of Yoga being a system of beneficial body and breathing exercises to promote health, cure physical problems, increase physical energy, etc….all of which are beneficial for meditation. Long-time meditators, as well as beginners, who have suffered through stiff, sluggish, or sick bodies, and restless or drowsy minds have experienced noticeable, sometimes dramatic, improvements in their meditation after practicing Yoga exercises even for just a short time.

To be fair, Yoga is an ancient spiritual science of body and mind that also has as its goals, “Enlightenment” and “Moksha” (liberation from “Samsara,” the repeated rounds of birth and death), as does Buddhism. And, like Buddhism, Yoga has its own version of the “Eight-fold Path;” “Ashtanga Yoga” (Eight-Limbed Yoga”). “Asana” and “pranayama” (posture and breath control), which comprise current popular Yoga, are the third and fourth steps of that eightfold path. They precede the higher “inner practices” of concentration and meditation. Under the Yogic system, purifying, strengthening, and balancing the respiration, circulation, glandular, and nervous systems are seen as necessary prerequisites for deeper meditation to progress steadily toward the goals of “Realization” and “Enlightenment.” Whether the Hindu/Yoga goal of “self-Realization” and “Moksha” is equivalent to the Buddha’s “Enlightenment” and “Liberation” is beyond the scope of this article, and could be a testy debate among scholars.

What would probably not be a testy debate is the connection between the body and mind, at least on the relative level where most of us live and meditate most of the time. The body affects the mind and the mind affects the body. When one is sick, in chronic pain, or weak in energy, one finds it difficult to put forth the effort to meditate. If the body is stiff with poor blood and life force circulation, if one cannot keep the spine erect and sitting is uncomfortable, then meditation is less enjoyable, painful, discouraging and of slow progress. Only those who have already attained a high level of meditative development could perhaps transcend the body/mind connection. Physical pain and drowsiness are two main obstacles that hinder the beginner in meditation. A regular practice of Hatha Yoga can help correct and alleviate some of the physical and energy blocks that make meditation more difficult than it needs to be. And this holds true for other body/energy based disciplines like Tai Chi and Qi Gong, both of which are also gaining a modest following among Buddhist meditators in Western countries.

The main purpose or effect of Hatha Yoga is to purify and condition the body/mind nervous system so that it becomes a fit vehicle for the practice of meditation. Meditation happens through the nervous system. The mind is affected by the state of the nervous system. Purifying and strengthening the body allows you to progress in meditation without undue physical hindrances such as poor circulation, inability to keep the back straight, pain due to stiff joints or tense, tight muscles, low energy, or poor health. Hatha Yoga deals with generating and circulating generous amount of vital life force called prana (Chi in Chinese) throughout the entire body/brain nervous system. You can think of prana as the invisible cosmic electricity which pervades the Universe and which sustain all life forms, animate and inanimate. If you believe in Astronomy, then each star is a sun and all of their energy combined pervades the entire solar system. Since there are millions of suns throughout the Universe, it is not hard to imagine and/or sympathize with this concept of prana. We all know what happens when exposure to sunlight is cut off for too long. Similarly, prana is not oxygen, hydrogen, or nitrogen, but it is what gives life to these essential elements which keeps our cells alive. Prana is referred to in Yoga as the “cosmic plasma.”

This body, any material body, is made up of billions of cells. Prana life force must pass through each cell to keep it charged up. This is similar to how a battery is kept charged by the steady current flowing from the positive to negative post. If the flow of the current is interrupted then the battery loses its power and the battery becomes dead. Sickness, disease, undue aches and pains, and even mental problems arise when not enough life force is available and/or is not circulating properly to maintain the body’s defenses and other vital functions. The breathing and physical exercises in Hatha Yoga are designed to keep this prana life force flowing through the body in a harmonious way and in perfect balance. (See fig1.)

The body receives most of the prana through the breathing process. Smaller amounts come in through the food eat and the water we drink. Prana circulates through the body along innumerable invisible etheric channels called nadis, which allow the life force to reach all areas/cells of the body. In yoga anatomy, these nadis pass through major nerve plexi (such as solar plexus) and those located along the spine. These nerve plexi are associated with centers called chakras that have specific emotional and psychic characteristics associated with them. The circulation of prana can become inadequate and inhibited due to poor shallow breathing, slouching posture, stiffness and inflexibility of muscle tissue and joints, and even by negative emotions such as anger, lust, stress, anxiety and fear. When the flow of prana is inadequate, disturbed or blocked, pain and many other physical and psychological problems can ensue. Restoring the adequate and free flow of the vital force is most important for the overall health of the body/mind system. This is all the more true and pertinent for people who are beginning to meditate or who have been meditating but find that their progress is stagnating or degenerating; they are meditating more but enjoying it less.

The ABCs or foundation of yogic breathing is learning how to breathe into the three main sections of the lungs. (See fig.2) This is called three-part breathing or complete breathing, (vibhaga pranayama). The lungs have three main lobe/sections; the lower or abdominal lobes, the middle or intercostal lobes and the upper clavicle lobes. Each of these lobes affects the flow of prana life force to a specific part of the body, Air in the lower lobes affect the flow of prana to the pelvis, hips and legs; mid-lobe breathing affects the whole trunk section of the body and the vital organs therein; upper lobe breathing sends prana up to the neck, head/brain and arms. If we do not breathe sufficiently into these three lobes, then those corresponding body areas do not receive enough vital force to maintain optimum correct functioning; therefore, many associated problems may arise. It is a fact that most people under normal conditions breathe only about one tenth of the lung’s capacity, usually only a small amount into the lower or middle lobes. Rarely does air reach up to the high lobes unless one is doing some heavy exertion. Nature made the lungs the shape and size they are for a good reason—to use fully! But, because of slouching postures, modern stress, neuroses and other negative emotional states, breathing in most people is short, quick and shallow. Because of short, shallow breathing, the body must breathe quickly in order to get more oxygen to keep the cells alive.

From a yoga point of view this is unhealthy. Healthier breathing is slower, deeper, complete breathing that evenly bathes the whole body, including the brain, with gentle waves of cosmic electricity. An ideal rate of breathing involves taking between four to eight seconds to breathe into all three lobes, holding the breath for three or four seconds (to allow for the complete absorption of the oxygen into the blood), allowing four to eight seconds for breathing out, and pausing one or two seconds before breathing in again. Training one to breathe like this, even just for three to five minutes several times a day, allows more oxygen and life force to be brought in and evenly distributed throughout the whole body in a relaxing mellow way so respiration rate and heart rate may go down. This is one of the main reasons why Yogis practice pranayama breathing; to regulate, purify and slow their respiration in order to facilitate the practice of deeper meditation. Breathing in this regulated way also helps as an initial concentration technique to draw attention inside and get the mind off the external world and out of our thoughts.

In addition to three-part breathing, the body itself needs to be strong and flexible so that it can handle and distribute the vital life force in the most effective way, especially in terms of aiding meditation. Asana (literally, firm seat) is the third step of the Yogic Eightfold Path. Traditionally this seat is one of the various cross-legged sitting positions; generally, the padma asana or lotus posture. In order to develop deep concentration (Samadhi) the body should be held still for long periods of time (one to three hours) with the spine erect so that the breath and prana energy can flow freely, allowing the mind to become calm, concentrated and focused. If the joints and muscle tissue are stiff and inflexible, then blood and life force has difficulty penetrating them. Numbness, discomfort, and pain easily arise to disturb the mind, hindering concentration. This is where yoga exercises come in.

There are two main ways of doing yoga exercises. Postures can be held for varying periods of time—thirty seconds to three minutes. Or, they can be done as rhythmic movements in coordination with deep slow breathing. In this latter method, one goes into a position with a slow (4-6 seconds) in-breath, holds the position with the breath a few moments, then returns to the starting position or opposite direction on a slow (4-6 seconds) out-breath. One pauses a moment or two and repeats the sequence two more times for a total of three repetitions. Then, one takes a longer pause to relax and feel the subtle body sensations before going on to different exercises done in the same flowing, mindful way.

It is this style of doing yoga exercises, coupled with deep slow breathing, which I have found to be of the greatest benefit especially for practicing body-based vipassana meditation. Awareness of the breathing is the first foundation of mindfulness. Coordinating slow, even breathing with the repetition of fairly simple bending and stretching movements generates a powerful but soothing current of life-force sensation which can be noticeably felt. It tranquilizes the nervous system naturally and helps the mind become calm and concentrated. If done just before sitting in meditation it allows for a nice light breathing/body awareness and one feels nicely grounded, hitting the cushion already meditating or having created the space for deeper mediation.

In yoga, the body is regarded as a temple that needs to be fit enough to sustain the development of spiritual awareness. The mind has to function through the body/brain nervous system to accurately experience and understand the conditioned world in its three characteristics, “Anicca,” “Dukkha,” and “Anatta” (impermanence, suffering, and “not-self”), in order to transcend attachment/clinging to experience the spiritual dimensions. If respiration and circulation are faulty, this disturbs the nervous system and other vital organs that, in turn, give rise to many disturbances in the mind/body. This makes it all the more difficult to develop mindfulness, concentration and wisdom.

In brief, this is the physiology of meditation. This outlines the benefits of yoga on meditation practice and demonstrates how it is appropriate for vipassana and other Buddhist meditators.

The Ego and Desire

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The feeling of a separate 'I' or ego consciousness is directly related to the strength of our ignorance, greed and hatred. One could even say that the deepest meaning or level of ignorance is the believing in, identifying with and clinging to this sense of a separate I. It manifests as thoughts and feelings of I, Me and Mine. In reality this separate sense of I, which divides us from others, is nothing more than a deeply engrained mental phenomena. It arises like a parasite with each moment of consciousness. It has the non-substance of an illusion or shadow bound up with consciousness which appears to the uninformed to be real or somehow substantial. The uninformed person believes and assumes it is their own personal Self. They think that they are the owner or controller of this consciousness. And because of this tight identification and clinging to I or Myself, ego consciousness along with attachment/desire, anger/hatred and ignorance arise and repeatedly gain strength.

Because the sense of separate 'I' is essentially a mentally created illusion, it needs constant activity in order to continue existing in the mind. Like and dislike, attachment, aversion, jealousy, pride etc. are the main overt activities of the ego. The more of these mental activities/qualities we have the more alive we feel, the more the ego seems to be real and concrete. The bottom line is, the ego depends on desire and wanting, its' life blood is desire. The ego and desire are like the two sides of a coin--one cannot exist without the other. It is like riding a bike. As long as we go on pedalling the bicycle keeps moving foward. But if we stop pedalling the bicycle will start slowing down and eventually collapse. The more we go on generating desire the I/ ego seems very real. When desiring stops (as when in deep meditation) the ego begins dissolving and appears as an illusion. That is why it is almost impossible to give up desire and aversion. Giving up desire entirely is something like committing ego suicide.

This relationship of the desire and the ego is really the crux of the Buddha's Teaching, especially the 2nd Noble Truth and Anatta : The cause of Suffering is Craving; the cause of craving is Ignorance, the deepest level being the clinging to 'I', the conceit, 'I am'. This means not understanding Anatta.
Desire cannot be satisfied as long a person still ignorantly clings to the sense of 'I'. Actually the objects we desire or hate are not really that important, though at the moment we are caught up in them, we think they are. They are mainly scapegoats or excuses for more activity of the ego/self, to prevent ego death. Any object or situation will do. To keep from appearing foolish, superficial or unwise the ego comes up with all kinds of good sounding reasons, justifications and convincing arguments for why it needs to acquire something or react to something. This could be an underlying reason why yard-sales and garage-sales are so popular in America. People have attics, closets and garages full of stuff they don't use any longer, and not because it is necessarily worn out or broken. Some of it--clothing, toys, gadgets, tools etc. were probably not used much or perhaps never. But people need to empty out their closets, garages etc.- in order to make room for more!
Many activities like shopping trips, hobbies and other pastimes are clever activities to preserve the sense of Self. Even getting upset, irritated and angry at others, often for trivial things, is just more excited energy to make the ego seem more alive. The unfortunate irony is that at the same time many of these activities and emotions entail a lot of un-necessaring suffering for ourself and others. So we can see this direct connection between Ignorance, Craving (clinging to Self) and Suffering.

This is why it is so difficult for the average person to quieten their mind or to experience total rest. One of the hardest things for the average person to do is to sit still in the middle of the day, close the eyes, not move any part of the body, and not go to sleep. After a few minutes they would most likely become increasingly restless, wanting to do something. This is one of the reasons why many people have difficulty going into deeper states of meditation. The ego shrinks away from the increasing body and mental stillness because it feels like death-ego death.

'I' consciousness arises as a resistance to the flow of impermanence coming through the senses. Resistance manifests as attraction or aversion to sense stimuli, including our thoughts, memories, emotions etc. When attraction and aversion subside resistance also subsides, thus weakening the strength of I consciouness. This ratio or corresponding amount of resistance to ego consciousness can be directly observed during meditation. In following this train of observation one could say that the sense of 'I' is nothing more than resistance (grasping and aversion) to what is. One could even give a mathematical equation of suffering as follows: S=PxR or suffering = pain x resistance.

Desire and the ego is also directly related to the past and future. When we see, hear, smell, taste and feel touch on/in the body the conditioned mind automatically brings in our past memories of attraction/aversion with these same or similiar sensations and objects. Within miliseconds these are projected into the future causing similiar or related susequent thoughts, emotions and reactions to arise in a chain reaction. The mind constantly moves between the past and the future in this way creating the illusion of time. It is like the pendulum of a grandfather clock that keeps swinging from right to left. If the pendulum stops swinging, the time on the clock stops. Both the ego and time are simultaneously created and regenerate moment after moment through the deepest inner activities of the mind powered by ignorance and desire.

The practice of mindfulness and vipassana meditation is a mental training that keeps attention in the present moment, remaining aware of whatever the body and mind is doing moment by moment. One tries not to allow the mind to get carried away with attachment or aversion to sense stimuli or get lost in thoughts. The calm but alert attention is gradually tuned into the flow of impermanence continually arising and vanishing through the six senses. One developes the ability to simply watch and let go of resistance to discomfort or pain or other distractions while opening up and relaxing more and more into the ongoing present moment, without reacting or thinking of the past and future. At some point the feeling of time, desire, the ego and suffering will all dissolve. This is direct experience of the Dhamma, The Four Noble Truths.

Bhante Rahula's Travel updates and Teaching Schedule

2010-09-12T01:03:00.000-07:00

December 23rd-January 11th Riverside, California
Dec.30th-January2nd
New Years eve Retreat at TTVMC, Riverside, CA.

2011
January 11th-20th
Northern Virginia, Wat Yarn

Feburary 2nd-April 18th--South America
Febuary 2nd-March 1st--Trip to Chile/Argentina Patagonia
March 2nd-16th-SanPaulo
March 17th-31th Rio de Janeiro
April-13th-Brasilia
April 14th-18th-Belo Horizonte

April 19th-May 15th-Riverside California

May 15th-July 10th-Europe
May16th-May28th-Buddha Haus/Metta Vihara, Allagau near Kempten, Soth Germany.
Retreat at Buddha Haus May 21-28th.

June 10th-19th- retreat at Haus Der Stille, Roseburg, Northern Germany (40 kms east of Hamburg)

June 23-26th retreat at Lotus Vihara, Berlin

June 30th-July 10th at Samadhi Center with Bhante Wimala in Czech Republic

July 11th-October--Spending vassa TBA, but probably in Germany.

Oct. 20th-31st Bhavana Society, West Virginia
retreat Oct. 24th-31st.

Canada
Ottawa OBA retreat November 4th-11th.
Stay a week or two before or after the retreat at Tisarana Monastery in Perth, Ont.

Southern Dharma near Asheville North Carolina
Meditation retreat- November 15th-20th

California November 20th-December 1st

Maharashtra India January 3rd-March 1st

March-April Nepal (tentative)