Ajahn Nyaniko reflects on the natural environment at Abhayagiri and the evolving nature of both the deer and practitioners, emphasizing the timelessness of the Buddha’s teachings. He explores mindfulness, especially mindfulness of the body, and the importance of contemplating impermanence to gain insight into the nature of existence. Ajahn Nyaniko encourages the community to engage fully in their practice, cultivating harmony and teamwork, while making the most of their remaining time during the winter retreat. This talk was offered on March 8, 2025 at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery.
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Surrender, Accept, Adapt
Ajahn Nyaniko talks about his continuing experiences with pain resulting from Sciatica. He talks about the mental suffering that results from wishing that things were different from the way they are. He also discusses the suffering that arises from endless, self-referential, proliferating thoughts, especially around planning and doubt. He covers various antidotes to this suffering, like how to overcome it by continually bringing the mind back to the clear, expansive nature of the present moment, and continually rooting awareness in the body. This talk was offered on March 6, 2025 at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery.
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Pain
Ajahn Nyaniko talks about his recent experiences with pain resulting from Sciatica. He discusses various ways in which pain can be a useful tool for dhamma practice, how it can be used to build equanimity, how feeling is a mental phenomenon instead of physical, and the unsatisfactory nature of having a body. This talk was offered on March 1, 2025 at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery.
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Saddha
Ajahn Nyaniko talks about saddha, which is a Pali word that can be translated as faith or trust. He discusses how we can develop it and use it to overcome doubt in our practice. He talks about having the ability to drop things in our life if they no longer serve us, even when we’ve been holding onto them for a long time. He also points out that practice that cultivates a sense of well-being and trends upward over time is better than a meditation practice that seeks out peak experiences. He also emphasizes the value of being at a monastery and how it provides opportunities to cultivate virtue. This talk was offered on February 22, 2025 at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery.
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Extracting Your Distractions
Ajahn Cunda talks about distraction. He discusses how it affects our practice and ways to overcome it, as well as the process of learning how we are causing our own suffering, how to use the tools of the Buddha’s teaching to examine our experience, and how our practice should progress in a positive direction over time. This talk was offered on February 15, 2025 at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery.
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