This is the initial session of our 1 Day Meditation Retreat at Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage with Ajahn Medhino.

Ajahn explains the program and provides instructions for meditation, including a guided meditation. He also leads the community in taking the Triple Refuge and the five or eight precepts.

Venerable Ajahn Medhino has been ordained as a bhikkhu for 33 years. Originally from the Netherlands, he received his ordination as a Buddhist monk at Wat Pah Nanachat in Thailand. However, for the last 12 years he has lived in Sri Lanka, where he has established a hermitage in Badulla district, at Udakiruwa Forest, located roughly between Bibile and Monaragala. Ajahn plans to develop the hermitage into a full fledged monastery that will be called Mahāvana Aranya Senasanaya / Wat Pa Mahavana.

Luang Por Medhino speaks fluent English, Sinhala and Thai; and also some French and German (and native Dutch, of course 😉).

Luang Por has kindly agreed to our invitation to visit Dhammagiri from 31 March to 07 April 2026, including leading a One Day Retreat on Easter Sunday 05 April.

Details of Ajahn Medhino's program at Dhammagiri can be found here: ⁠https://www.dhammagiri.net/post/ajahn...⁠

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Ajahn Dhammasiha explains suitable meditation objects for investigation (vipassana/insight/wisdom) that we can direct our attention to, after the mind emerges from Samatha/Samādhi meditation.

Samādhi/Concentration imbues the mind with calm, tranquillity, hightened mindfulness, brightness and radiant awareness, as well as wholesome joy, rapture and bliss. At the same time, the five hindrances of sensual desire, aversion, laziness, restlessness and doubt are suppressed (or at least reduced).

Of course, all these things are desirable and very pleasant to experience in and by themselves. However, even more important is that they provide the conditions for profound insight to arise. Whenever our mind has developed a certain level of calm/samatha, we should these mental qualities to develop insight/vispassana.

We're not merely enjoying the bright and blissful qualities of samādhi, we're using them to do the work of developing wisdom, to see things as they really are (yathā-bhūta-ñāṇadassana), to investigate and analyse.

So what are the areas of investigation the Buddha recommended for that purpose?

And how are we to investigate them, in which way should we contemplate them?

In this reflection, Ajahn Dhammasiha talks about the 5 groups of clinging (pañcupādānakkhandhā) as suitable objects for profound insight contemplation:

1. Rūpa = Form
2. Vedanā = Feeling (pleasant of unpleasant of neutral)
3. Saññā = Perception (Recognizing, labelling)
4. Sankhārā = Mental formations, in particular intention (cetana) & thinking (vitakka)
5. Viññāṇa = Consciousness

Ajahn also mentions the four foundations of mindfulness, which are highly suitable meditation objects for developing insight as well, and which tend to be easier to contemplate than the 5 groups of clinging.

Venerable Ariyananda Thero explains fundmental Buddhist contemplations. We have been circling through Saṃsāra, the wheel of repeated death and rebirth, since beginningless time.

We don't know where we came from (what was our last rebirth?), we don't know where we're going (what will be our next rebirth?), and still we pretend everything's fine and try to be merry.

Instead, the Buddha ecourages us to contemplate death and impermanence, so that we don't get lost in negligence, but make the effort to escape the round of death and birth through practising the Buddha's teaching and realizing the supreme securtity from bondage, the Deathless Element, Nibbāna.

Venerable Angulgamuwa Ariyananda Mahāthera is the abbot of Na Uyana Aranya, the largest forest monastery in Sri Lanka:

⁠https://nauyana.org/⁠

He has kindly accepted our invitation to visit Dhammagiri from 2nd to 4th April.

You can find all details of his program with us here:

https://www.dhammagiri.net/post/visiting-senior-monk-at-dhammagiri-buddhist-monastery

Bhante will be accompanied by Bhante Pāsādika Thera (abbot of Dhamsuwa Forest Monastery near Melbourne), Bhante Buddhavihārī Thera, and Bhante Jinaratana Thera.

Bhante has been a monk for 33 years. He has visited Dhammagiri once before in November/December 2010, giving special blessings to our newly arrived main Buddha statue. This visit was actually the first time Bhante Ariyananda gave formal teachings in English ourside of Sri Lanka.

Bhante Ariyananda and Ajahn Dhammasiha have known each other for 31 years. Bhante has been a true Kalyāna Mitta to Ajahn Dhammasiha during his arrival at Nissaraṇa Vana: preparing him for ordination, helping him with his visa, teaching him some Sinhala, and introducing him to his Upajjhāya, Most Venerable Kadawedduwe Jinavaṃsa Mahāthera.

Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage:

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#buddhism #dhamma #dhammatalk #buddhistmonk #buddhistmeditation #meditation #death #impermanence

Ven. Ariyananda Thera explains fundmental priciples of Buddhist meditative practice, emphasising that the Buddha uses a scientific method that doesn't require belief based on pure faith, but that is open to and actually inviting investigation.

Venerable Angulgamuwa Ariyananda Mahāthera is the abbot of Na Uyana Aranya, the largest forest monastery in Sri Lanka:

https://nauyana.org/

He has kindly accepted our invitation to visit Dhammagiri from 2nd to 4th April.

You can find all details of his program with us here:

https://www.dhammagiri.net/post/visiting-senior-monk-at-dhammagiri-buddhist-monastery

Bhante will be accompanied by Bhante Pāsādika Thera (abbot of Dhamsuwa Forest Monastery near Melbourne), Bhante Buddhavihārī Thera, and Bhante Jinaratana Thera.

Bhante has been a monk for 33 years. He has visited Dhammagiri once before in November/December 2010, giving special blessings to our newly arrived main Buddha statue. This visit was actually the first time Bhante Ariyananda gave formal teachings in English ourside of Sri Lanka.

Bhante Ariyananda and Ajahn Dhammasiha have known each other for 31 years. Bhante has been a true Kalyāna Mitta to Ajahn Dhammasiha during his arrival at Nissaraṇa Vana: preparing him for ordination, helping him with his visa, teaching him some Sinhala, and introducing him to his Upajjhāya, Most Venerable Kadawedduwe Jinavaṃsa Mahāthera.

Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.dhammagiri.net/news⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Our email Newsletter:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.dhammagiri.net/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Latest Photos

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://latest-pics.dhammagiri.net⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Our Youtube Channel:

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#science #buddhism #dhamma #dhammatalk #buddhistmonk #buddhistphilosophy

Venerable Ajahn Medhino has been ordained as a bhikkhu for 33 years. Originally from the Netherlands, he received his ordination as a Buddhist monk at Wat Pah Nanachat in Thailand. However, for the last 12 years he has lived in Sri Lanka, where he has established a hermitage in Badulla district, at Udakiruwa Forest, located roughly between Bibile and Monaragala. Ajahn plans to develop the hermitage into a full fledged monastery that will be called Mahāvana Aranya Senasanaya / Wat Pa Mahavana.

Luang Por Medhino speaks fluent English, Sinhala and Thai; and also some French and German (and native Dutch, of course 😉).

Luang Por has kindly agreed to our invitation to visit Dhammagiri from 31 March to 07 April 2026, including leading a One Day Retreat on Easter Sunday 05 April.

Details of Ajahn Medhino's program at Dhammagiri can be found here: https://www.dhammagiri.net/post/ajahn...

Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.dhammagiri.net/news⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Our email Newsletter:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.dhammagiri.net/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Latest Photos

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Our Youtube Channel:

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#buddhistmonk #hermit #srilanka #buddhiststory #dhammatalk #buddhisthermit

In response to a question about the supernatural psychic powers and unique knowledge of the Buddha, Ajahn Dhammasiha examines a passage from 'Mahā Sīhanāda Sutta' ('The Greater Discourse on the Lion's Roar'), Majjhima Nikāya / Middle Length Discourses No 12.

In this passage on the 'Tathāgata Bala' , the Buddha himself describes 10 powers he is endowed with, and 4 unshakeabilities.

You can read and download the whole sutta in English here:

https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/MN/MN12.html

Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage:

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Our email Newsletter:

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Latest Photos

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Our Youtube Channel:

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#buddha #buddhism #sutta #sutra #suttaexploration #palicanon #majjhimanikaya

With the visit of Bhante Ariyananda coming up, Ajahn Dhammasiha reminds us all:

When it comes to listening to Dhamma, it's not about quantity of input. It's about quality, and in particular about the quality of the mind of the listener.

Many of us have heard the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (First Discourse of Buddha) receited many times. But did we have the vision of Dhamma arising, did we attain stream entry like Ven. Aññā Kondañña did while listening to it only once?

All the listening and reading and studying will not lead to awakening if the mind is not ready.

We have to reduce the hindrances/defilements (nīvaraṇā), and increase the spiritual faculties (indriya), to boost our pāramī up to a level sufficient that we can realize the Dhamma we hear of contemplate.

Like a 3G phone will not be able to connec to 5G signals, we won't be able to comprehend the Dhamma on a deep level if the foundations are still too week.

Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage:

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Our email Newsletter:

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Latest Photos

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Our Youtube Channel:

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#dhammatalk #listening #spriritualteacher #buddhism #dhamma #buddhistmonk

Ajahn Nyanadipo is the abbot of Bodhipala monastery, the Ajahn Chah monastery near Adelaide.

https://www.bodhipalamonastery.org

He has recently passed the formal Thai examinations to qualify as an upajjhāya (preceptor who can ordain monks), being only the second foreign monks to do so.

Ajahn shares inspiring stories of his monastic life, in particular meeting senior monks of our tradition and attending the Ajahn Chah commemoration at Wat Nong Pah Pong.

Ajahn also talks about the large stupa project that he's overseeing: the construction of the 'Subhadda Cetiya', a 15 meter high stupa dedicated to Ajahn Chah, at Bodhipala monastery.

Ajahn has visited Dhammagiri before, for instance in March 2021 he joined us for Magha Puja, when he gave the following Dhamma Talk

Dhammagiri Forest Hermitage:

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Our email Newsletter:

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Latest Photos

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Our Youtube Channel:

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#dhammatalk #buddhistmonk #stupa #ajahnchah #buddhiststory #buddhistwisdom #buddhism