a short video course in Buddhist meditation
as practiced in a thriving Australian community following the early Buddhist teachings
The appeal of this approach
An introduction to this approach by Ajahn Brahmali
Meditation is a gradual process that requires skillful effort and the creation of conducive conditions. Ajahn Brahmali describes five stages one predictably experiences in their practice.
Session 1: Introduction to meditation
00:00 Introduction
00:30 Mindfulness and Buddhism
02:11 Why meditate?
03:59 What is mindfulness?
06:08 Time, place, and posture
16:30 Are you ready?
19:13 Stress reduction and relaxation
20:32 Guided meditation
The 1st stage is ‘Present-Moment Awareness’
Session 2: Silent Present-Moment Awareness
00:00 Introduction/Recap
00:48 Meditation routine
02:27 Bad meditations
05:58 Dealing with pain
09:15 Right attitude
15:47 Get into the flow
19:29 Enjoying meditation
21:36 Guided meditation
The 2nd stage is ‘Silent Present-Moment Awareness’
Session 3: Breath meditation
00:00 Introduction/Recap
00:11 The meditation of the Buddha
01:52 Mindfulness first
04:28 Waiting for the breath
06:49 No control
08:39 The evolution of breath meditation
12:25 Befriending the breath
14:32 Giving rise to joy
21:10 Guided meditation
The 3rd stage is ‘Silent Present-Moment Awareness of the Breath’
Session 4: Overcoming obstacles
00:00 Introduction/Recap
00:30 Knowing yourself
03:32 Setting up the mind
06:22 The sensory world and thinking
09:54 Overcoming ill will
14:45 Overcoming tiredness
19:11 Overcoming restlessness
20:47 Overcoming doubt
22:41 Guided meditation
The Five Hindrances
The five hindrances are obstacles that you will meet in your meditation and that you should learn to overcome. They stand between you and enlightenment. When you know them, you have a good chance of overcoming them.
If you have not yet achieved the jhanas, it means you have not fully understood these five hindrances. If you have gotten into such deep states, then you have overcome the hindrances. It is as simple as that.
The Buddha named the five hindrances as follows: sensory desire (kama-cchanda), ill will (vyapda), sloth and torpor (thina-middha), restlessness and remorse (uddhacca-kukkuca), and doubt (vicikiccha).
Session 5: Other meditations
00:00 Introduction/Recap
00:54 Walking meditation
08:47 Loving kindness
14:37 Long term supports
17:52 Summary
20:46 Guided meditation
Where this path leads
In this short course, Ajahn Brahamali limits the teaching to the beginning stages of this approach, presented as five stages. Just to keep things in perspective, the fifth stage, described below, takes one to the “doorway to the jhanas.”
A doorway into very deep practice and transformative insights.
Here are his descriptions of the last two beginning stages of practice.
The 4th stage is ‘Full Sustained Attention on the Breath’
The 5th stage is ‘Full Sustained Attention on the Beautiful Breath’
Ajahm Brahm describes the path of deep practice after one has stepped through this doorway to the jhanas in his remarkable book: Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond: A Meditator’s Handbook.
Putting it all together
Ajahn Brahm putting it all together as we wrap up this tintroductory course, with this talk on the four ways of letting go- at the core his apprach to meditaion practice.
from the video- “You don’t strive to get rid of pain – you let go of striving. You let go of craving. And a wonderful thing happens when the craving disappears – pain is. Happiness is. Suffering is. But underneath it all is peace…
Great overview of tips and tricks of the meditative path. One YouTube commenter remarked- “I love the combination of Buddhist monk and stand-up comedian.”
Pithy observation on the human will and the unfolding of understanding. Key insights to deepen your meditation practice.
Excellent overview of how he teaches meditation, delivered to a packed lecture hall in Sri Lanka. One commenter on the video put it well: “… hands down the most clarifying and useful thing I have ever heard said about meditation.”
Guided meditations led by Ajahn Brahm
Here are a few guided sessions for you to explore. You can click on the small cogwheel to the far right for more options.
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