EFFECTS OF RIGHT ACTION: full moon - Saturday 9th August 2025
Do not ignore the effect of right action saying, ‘This will come to nothing.’ Just as by the gradual fall of raindrops the water jar is filled, so in time the wise become replete with good.
DHAMMAPADA v. 122
It helps to be reminded that small moments matter. We might feel impressed by the idea of, ‘the bigger the better’, forgetting what a tremendous difference one brief, empathetic smile can make. Or, conversely, the pain and confusion that one harsh word can cause.
Q: How Important Is Physical Activity And Fitness In Practice?
(approx. 11 minutes) KEYWORDS: "How important is physical activity and fitness to the practice of Buddhism?” Ajahn Chah, practising in the city or the forest, healthy or sick, inner exploration, talking dhamma, sincerity, humility, modesty, Lyme's disease, opening, disappointment, ageing, whole body-mind, conceptual understanding, the Buddha experienced pain, Vultures’ Peak, no suffering, resisting reality, letting go.
Q: How Do We Honour Both Our Spiritual Aspirations And Our Limitations?
(approx. 12 minutes) KEYWORDS: "How do we push ourselves to higher standards in practice while at the same time, remaining compassionate towards ourselves with regards to our current spiritual limitations?" Overly idealistic, holding too tightly, goals, bearings, force, assertive, balance, goal-oriented, becoming enlightened, Newcastle-Edinburgh, humility, modesty, truthfully, loneliness, denied pain, greed, hatred, burning through, old debt, patience, contentment.
Q: How Might Those With A Scientific Background Relate To Teachings On Rebirth?
(approx. 11 minutes) KEYWORDS:Q: "For those of us with a Western scientific back ground, some of the more metaphysical teachings of the Buddha's teachings such as rebirth are hard to make sense of. And even from the perspective of the teaching on Anatta, rebirth is hard to make sense of! Please could you give advice on how to relate to those parts of the teachings that seem to require belief in things we cannot know for ourselves and also the parts of the teachings that we plain just don’t understand.” Engage the paradox, dilemma, clinging, fear, selfless just-knowing awareness, anatta, compulsively taking sides, intelligence, not-knowing, laws of materiality, laws of consciousness, gravity, conceptual formulation, trust, study, uncertainty, greed, poison, humility, modesty, abdication, True Principles, not avoiding responsibility, dilemmas are a gift.
Q: Can You Expand On, ‘Imbalance Can Also Be Beautiful’?
(approx. 7 minutes) KEYWORDS: “I have been reading this verse recently and wondered if you can expand a bit on, ‘imbalance also being beautiful’, and if you can offer any examples.” Dhammapada verse 194, Ikebana, Buddhist Society Summer School, forms, space, spirit, forest monastery, beautiful aspiration, sincere interest, relevant questions, patience, emotionally illiterate, intuitively blind, commitment, modesty, humility, soft powers, subtle beauty, materialism.