Just completed a nine day retreat here at Jhana Grove, down the road from my old home at Bodhinyana Monastery. The retreat was wonderful, it was so nice to see such sincerity and dedication. We all went on a journey, and afterwards nothing is quite the same.
The BSWA is wonderful as ever, such a lovely community. They are able to offer this amazing center for retreats by donation only. The food for 60 retreatants is brought every day by supporters. Quite astonishing, really. The organization has been both professional and kind, and I have nothing but praise for all those who helped make it possible.
Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!
On a more practical note, I see the number of comments on ‘Secular Buddhism’ has continued to climb. I haven’t had the chance to read all 350+ yet (!) But clearly it is a topic demanding greater attention. I will return to it, trying to break down issues into more manageable chunks. If you have raised questions for me that you would still like to see answered, please don’t feel shy to repost your comments in future threads.
Sujato’s Blog 
Great to see you back. I’d love to get to one of the BSWA retreats. You aught to think of a forum to feed off your blog, maybe http://bbpress.org/
Dear Ajahn Sujato,
Sounds like you had a great retreat, lucky you!!
Sorry to greet you with this issue on your return, but it seems I have had a dispute with a nun?? or she is suppose to be a nun?? who after two discussions and after I didn’t obey and agree to everything seemed to turn on me and put on her website slanderous comments regarding our discussion claiming I was the worst case of mental illness and that my teachers had abused me??
While I did have issues with certain practises in another tradition, I never actually said this and she has taken it out of context, and while I may have issues and question regarding Buddhism like most people, I thought (a) this was a forum people could discuss such things without being victimised and bullied and (b) apart from a few posts these were not addressed to her so do not know why this person is judging me – she is not a moderator so what the ?? (c) she claims wordpress state bloggers have a freedom of speech but constantly judges and attacks me for asking question and trying to clarify things, taking away my freedom of speech?
Anyway sorry if this issue is causing trouble and as I do not wish to be apart of unrest but cannot seem to get away from her domination and control, so I will not be posting here again but would request so that she does not twist and distort this issue any further that you remove all posts relating to this discussion (what I thought was a private discussion with her which she plastered all over her website, betraying my confiding in her) below
https://sujato.wordpress.com/2011/05/26/whose-buddhism-is-truest/#comment-9641
I have made complaints to her Abbey.
Much Metta and thank you for hosting such a free and democratic website and it is a pity that dictatorial infering influences try to take control and subvert everything to “themselves” or what they want said therefore taking away peoples freedom of speech and rights to question.
Best wishes and thank you again.
Please remove this post too if you think it is best.
Daisy
Hi Peter,
Thank you for that.
I thnk bullying is a good word and very prevalent in out society
bullying is endemic in schools, the corporate world and in religion. Having said that it is also important in many cases to have rules and discipline etc but obviously there is a difference and those that claim they are being harassed or themselves bullied when people are just standing up for what is obviously right …well that is just too stupid.
I think the issues of climate change and environmental problems are very important but also when I see on the news that a certain government has paid farmers in Australia 10 times the price of their land (which is basically desert) so that they can use it to get “COAL” and the government who bought this land is guilty of some of the most disgusting human rights abuse imaginable..and unimaginable to many in the West; then my concern is not just for the environment but also for “freedom.”
My governement has just sold over 42 farms to the Chinese government who is guilty of some of the most vile atrocities imaginable; this abuse is still happening but we are selling our country to them.
One person from such a country it was rumoured actually tried to buy a whole small city in the rural area of Australia.
Some of the atrocities inflicted on people by this government include forcing children to kill their own parents as punishment, forcing (celibate) ordained monks and nuns to copulate in the street, ! (are you feeling sick yet I am) yet we do business with them and are slowly selling off our country to the same government.
Not that I support necessarily the Buddhist practises of this country that do not follow the teachings of the Buddha; but still there is no excuse for such cruelty in this day and age and how can any western government do business with government like this.
Is there nothing that money cannot buy! Has greed completely blinded us!
Best wishes
Daisy
Daisy,
I honestly didn’t follow this conflict very closely, but you might consider noting your reaction to it (as you obviously already have!) and letting it go.
Just Say No to Papañca!
Bhante Sujato,
I would like to request again that you remove from this blog posts by me and related comments by Buddhafolk on the following thread:
https://sujato.wordpress.com/2011/05/26/whose-buddhism-is-truest/#comment-9641
These comments were made in confidence with the belief that I was speaking to a Buddhist Nun who understood the practises of certain tradtional Buddhists, apparently this assumption was incorrect.
Instead this person seems have taken my comments, which originally she claimed were just past life experiences and put them on her website, then claiming (without my knowledge and when I would go along with her analysis of the situation) that I had a mental illness and was being abused by my teachers.
I am not too sure how her commentaries on this situation went from being ‘it is just your past life and not a problem and your teachers are just doing what is in there culture tradition etc’ on this blogsite, to becoming on her blogsite ‘an example of a person with a serious mental illness who is being abused by her teachers’, but this is what happened.
I did not strictly claim the practises were abuse nor do I believe it is her place or business to make this claim; if I believed it to be so I would make that claim myself – to them – not on an unrelated blogsite somewhere in cyberspace.
Also as these posts fit the category of being “too personal” in nature and therefore do not meet your moderation guidelines I am requesting that they be removed from your site.
Regards
Daisy
Done, thanks for the reminder.
Daisy I will be sad if you do not post here again :(. Especially if it is because you feel you are being bullied. With lots and lots of good wishes.
Ah, sādhanā! Hi Bhante Sujato. Metta.
If you would like to here a talk from Bhante’s retreat. Here is one of my favorite:
[audio src="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3203007/12%20jhanas%20%28talk%20only%29.%20Jhanas.mp3" /]
Thank you for this link! I have only been able to listen to about half of it so far. It’s great!
So, this is one of the talks Bhante Sujato just gave during this recent retreat? It’s outstanding.
My first bit of confusion arose over the distinction between the word usually translated as “tranquility” or “serenity” (as found in the Upanisa Sutta, for example) and the word usually translated as “equanimity” (which does not appear in the Upanisa Sutta, but which is often cited as a factor of the jhanas).
Why are joy, rapture, tranquility/serenity and happiness/pleasure listed in the Upanisa sutta, but equanimity is not? Is equanimity like the ekaggatā, vitakka, and vicara, something like techniques of the jhanas rather than states achieved by the meditator?
If there are more talks that you can share, please do!
This is another one from the Bandarawela 2011 retreat lead by A Brahm:
http://www.dhammaloka.org.au/downloads/itemlist/category/60-2011-bandarawela.html
Thanks so much for posting this Dania! Are the other talks available? I looked on the Dhammaloka website but don’t see them.
With metta,
Linda
They are not available yet but soon will be. This was just ‘hot off the press’. They will be available on the bswa website soon. However there are many talks from retreats by Ajahn Brahm on the bswa website as well which are outstanding. I expect Bhante Sujato’s talks to appear in a few days since I just posted them in the mail to the webmaster. Might take a few days to upload them:)
Dania,
Regarding your note below…that you’ll be popping all talks on the website… Thanks!!!!
It would’ve been lovely to have actually been there or to at least have offered a little bit of dana for you all. And I was disappointed that I wasn’t able to even offer dana to Bhante when he was at Bodhinyana or Dhammaloka (due to a rather unpleasantly lingering little cold/flu virus that I didn’t want to offer along with the dana)! So I’m very much looking forward to getting comfy in front of the computer and listening to the talks.
It really is very very much appreciated. Thank you so much!
It was indeed an AWESOME retreat
Bhante
Welcome back – I look forward to you giving a detailed critque of secular Buddhism.
All the best
Geoff