Videos
Ajahn Chandako addresses how destructive fear is in life. There are legitimate dangers in samsara to address, but there is a wise way to respond. Ajahn explains how fear can gradually be overcome though each step of Dhamma practice from the beginning stages to insight into non-self. This talk was given in Kuala Lumpur in 2017.
Dealing with Fear through Dhamma Practice and Insight, Ajahn Chandako
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Ajahn Chandako teaches an introduction to sitting and walking meditation, including a short guided meditation. Visit us at vimutti.org.nz
Introduction to Sitting and Walking Meditation
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On the occasion of Nick's anagarika ordination on June 28, 2020, Ajahn Chandako gives instruction on the proper motivation for joining the monastic community and a proper attitude towards Buddhist practice.
The Proper Way to Enter the Sangha
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This video shows the diverse and comprehensive Relic collection at Vimutti Buddhist Monastery in New Zealand. To learn more, see https://www.vimuttistupa.org/ These relics had been gradually offered to the abbot, Ajahn Chandako, and had been on public display before being enshrined in the Vimutti Stupa. Relics are small, opaque, gem-like or granular substances that remain after the bodies of the Buddha or his highly attained disciples have been cremated. After a typical wood fire cremation, there are many small pieces of bone remaining. These pieces are then collected from the ashes by relatives and friends the following day and interned. Normally the bone chips look like charred bones and stay that way. For millennia, however, it was noticed that the bone chips of meditation masters gradually transformed into gem-like substances of various colors and textures. This is what we refer to as Relics. This truth of this transformation has been proven in the 20th and 21st century with time-lapse photography of the bones of Thai Forest Masters. How exactly it happens, however, remains a bit of a mystery.
The Vimutti Buddha and Arahant Relic Gallery
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The Vimutti Stupa is a traditional Buddhist monument that was built to enshrine the Relics of the Buddha and other Awakened masters. Vimutti Buddhist Monastery in New Zealand has one of the most extensive and verified Relic collections outside of Asia. It also has an elaborate inner shrine, including a uniquely preserved edition of the Pali Canon and essential teachings of the Buddha engraved on granite plaques. The peaceful and beautiful location is conducive to meditation, devotional chanting and quiet reflection. If you wish to learn more, see https://www.vimuttistupa.org/
The Vimutti Stupa Home Page Gallery
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For those who have busy lives and not enough time to watch the full length ‘Tour of Vimutti Monastery’, here is an abridged version that still captures the natural and contemplative beauty of this peaceful refuge. Vimutti is a meditation monastery located on 150 acres south of Auckland, New Zealand. The Sangha follows the Thai Forest Tradition in the lineage of Venerable Ajahn Chah. Facilities for Dhamma practice are nestled into the spacious natural environment. We invite you to watch this video with paritta chanting as a peaceful meditation.
A Short Tour of Vimutti
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This photographic tour of Vimutti Buddhist Monastery shows the natural and contemplative beauty of this peaceful refuge. What was once bare, weed-ridden grazing land with few trees has been transformed into a serene forest with paths, meditation areas, streams and ponds. Vimutti is a meditation monastery located on 150 acres of land south of Auckland, New Zealand. The Sangha follows the Thai Forest Tradition in the lineage of Venerable Ajahn Chah. Facilities for Dhamma practice are nestled into the spacious natural environment, including 15 individual huts. We invite you to watch this video with paritta chanting as a peaceful meditation.
A Tour of Vimutti
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Ajahn Chandako discusses the positive effects of living close to nature at Vimutti and what it was like living in the forests of Thailand. Spending periods of time surrounded by nature was normal for older generations of Thai forest monks and is continued today at Vimutti Monastery. Ajahn describes staying on a small platform in a remote part of the Vimutti and the benefits for meditation. He then continues on to recount his own experiences of practicing in seclusion in Thailand and staying with Luang Por Piak.
Dhamma Practice in Nature
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On Valentine's Day 2021, Ajahn Chandako is asked about love and how to deal with being upset with others. This talk took place at Vimutti Monastery, next to the lotus pond.
Valentine's Day Dhamma
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The old generation of Thai Forest monks would live simply and close to nature. Their umbrella and mosquito net (glot) was part of their basic requisites and used regularly whether staying in a small hut or when staying outside in the jungle. In the back of Vimutti Monastery there is thick native bush that feels similar to a Thai jungle, but without the oppressively heat, biting flies, biting ants, malaria or dengue fever. It is a beautiful spot near the stream, where there is a simple 1 x 2m platform as a dwelling. When Anagarika Nick was given the opportunity to stay there for a week of solitude, he not only jumped at the chance but also decided to fast for the entire week. This video was made on 2 Feb, 2021 after he came off retreat. Now there is a queue of others planning to do the same.
Jungle Solitude Practice
YouTube Video VVUxLXlIWmNhbWwxbTdUNFZEemJfc3lRLmVsc241NV9tWm9j
People ask about how to be true to yourself or finding your 'true self'. However, the Buddha taught us to question the assumption that there is a true self. He encourages us to investigate how sense contact and mental impressions can lead to identification and attachment to our experience as me and 'my life'. Through mindfulness and insight, we can see though the illusion of self, gradually reduce this possessive identification based on delusion and increasingly live peacefully and at ease.
Self... the Crux of the Issue
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Theoretically? Yes, certainly there were examples of lay people realizing stages of enlightenment in the time of the Buddha. Practically in modern times, with a job and family? Ajahn Chandako is realistically skeptical. It's not having robes and a shaved head that make the difference, per se, but the lifestyle. There are a few lay women or 8-precept nuns who've lived in Thai Forest monasteries who are reputed to have realized some of these stages, but it is extremely rare. After 30 years of conversations with Thai Forest Masters, Ajahn concludes that even Stream Entry is much more exalted than most people think.
Can you Become Enlightened as a Lay Person?
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Is it better to be ignorant and good or self-aware and bad? When taking up meditation and practicing the Dhamma, sometimes things can look more messy before the peace and bliss set in. If you have a dusty and disorganized closet full of junk, as long as you keep the door closed it looks tidy. Dhamma opens the door.
Cleaning out the Closet
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Anxiety can arise during our meditation and daily life. These feelings of fear, worry or apprehension are sometimes in response to seemingly small or everyday situations, however, they can overpower us. Ajahn Chandako gives some practical suggestions to reduce these unpleasant feelings.
Meditation Advice for Anxiety
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In this video Luang Por Sumedho joins Ajahn Chandako to prepare the Buddha and Arahant Relic containers for enshrining in the Vimutti Stupa. Luang Por Sumedho was Ajahn Chah’s first Western disciple and a leading figure in the Thai Forest Tradition. Ajahn Chandako is abbot of Vimutti Buddhist Monastery. To learn more, see https://www.vimuttistupa.org/
Luang Por Sumedho and Ajahn Chandako Prepare Relics for the Stupa
YouTube Video VVUxLXlIWmNhbWwxbTdUNFZEemJfc3lRLnc2S1I0UUdEd1hN
We have everything we need to practice the teachings of the Buddha right here and right now. All that’s lacking is motivation. There is a tradition that says the Dhamma teachings will last for 5000 years after the death of the Buddha. Having access to the teachings is rare, but sometimes we feel like our lives are too busy to practice. All the conditions to practice are all here. Meditation is only a part of the life of a Buddhist, so even if we don’t feel we have time to meditate there are many ways we can practice the Buddhadhamma. Ajahn Chandako offers some encouragement on integrating the teachings into our busy daily lives and making the best use of our valuable time.
No Excuse Not to Practice
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On New Year's Eve, ending 2020 and bringing in 2021, two men take anagarika ordination at Vimutti Monastery. Ajahn Chandako offers some general advice for practicing Dhamma in a monastic environment.
Midnight Ordination
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The path to Awakening, or Nibbana, involves stepping away from the familiar forms of identification and self, stepping away from our home. In the forest tradition ordination path is walked gradually beginning with shaving ones head and ordaining in white robes.
Stepping into Homelessness
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