Namo tassa bhagavato, arahato samma sambhudassa, Namo tassa bhagavato, arahato
samma sambhudassa, Namo tassa bhagavato, arahato samma sambhudassa
Budham Dhammam Sanghang Namassami.
So as you all know, I just returned a couple of days ago from teaching in Indonesia.
And the subject of the talk this evening, just because one of the subjects which Handaka
asked me, they always do this Q&A in front of many, many people.
And one of the questions he asked me, and I thought it was a fascinating agenda, I'm
getting old now. And of course I corrected him. You know the old joke, I'm not getting old, I am old.
But he was so safe that can you let everybody know what you've got left to do on your bucket
list? In other words, just before I pass away.
And I don't know what he's been talking about if he noticed anything changing in me, but
know how difficult it is to pass away if you were seeing your mum, because people won't
let you pass away.
I know that I've always been saying that one day I should retire, but there was a problem
when I was in Indonesia that unfortunately or fortunately there was always a bit of each
whenever you experienced surprises in your life. You always actually find good things
and bad things that always happen together. And of course the good thing was I found
that Ajahn Leum was in the same cities as I was visiting, first of all in Medan and Sumatra
and then next over in Jakarta. So I took the opportunity when I was in Medan
just on the last afternoon, finished early, and went to go and pay respects to him.
It was nice to meet him again, because it doesn't matter what happens in Sangha politics,
I still respect him very much, still good old friends, and I did remind him that this
place here in Bodhinyana Monastery was the first place overseas we invited him to come.
And that was of course many, many years ago.
I always respected Ajahn Leum because he was never came here to get any sort of funds or
any fame. He was just a lovely simple monk, and I always respect him for that.
And also the times when I would go and see him in Wat Papong, especially when I started
taking over and being the head monk here, I always remember just asking him, sort of
how is it going on with your monks in Wat Papong, once Adjan Cha past away.
Now how do you teach those monks? Are they difficult to train?
And he said, my monks are not difficult to train at all. He said, how come?
He used to tell me, he said, well if they want to go to the left, I let them go to the left.
If they want to go to the right, I let them go to the right. That's why they're not difficult to train.
And of course, I've mentioned that before, I took that very seriously because I know Ajahn
Leum is a very, very tough monk, and because of that, I realized that that's the sort of
thing which I would love to do here in Bodhinyana monastery or even in Dhamma-sara.
To trust the monks and nuns, if they feel they need to go and visit their mum or they
want to go and visit their family, of course, go with my blessing.
Keep the rules of Vinaya, you know what those are.
You've been here long enough, you should know what to do. And just to do your duties.
You always found, well I've always found, and other monks have said this, whatever they
do go to another place, that sometimes they appreciate this place even more.
And that's just a very good example of just how little stuff, things like the wandering
mind in meditation. I made a lot of words about this point that when people do have
a wandering mind, it's their right force in the mind to come back.
Come on mind, you should know better. Stay at home, stay with your body or with
the breath or whatever you need to stay with. And the mind isn't behaved is it?
And I've found that for so many years, six or seven years, my mind would always rebel.
And more I told it to stay put, the more it would tend to want to run away, to put it
quite bluntly.
And so I realized after many years, I wish somebody had told me this when I first started
meditating, it was like your attitude to your mind was not a pleasant one, it was not a
kind one.
It was not a gentle one.
You know those three things and the second factor of the eight fold path, and I don't
do anything.
Well, have motivations come from renunciation or getting more stuff, but seeing how much
you can lose.
Motivations of kindness, motivations of gentleness.
I don't know why that I thought the eight fold path was different than practice of meditation.
So when you put those two together, meditation became very easy.
Whatever I was aware of, I didn't have any motivation to try and gain something.
That just made me more stressed.
And it didn't have any sort of ill will towards my mind.
I just was very kind to it, very gentle.
And that solved that problem of restlessness.
And that's just like how Jan Leon was telling me, living where I was to go left.
Okay, off you go to the left.
Once you go right, off you go to the right.
It made it very simple.
But then also, you know, what's the difference between that and the wandering mind?
The difference between that and the wandering mind is when the mind wanders and you just
don't want to go with it, losing your mindfulness, your awareness of what's actually happening
right now.
And so with a few people I was teaching them, they're simple, empressy questions, meditation.
Now is the most important time.
The most fascinating part about turning that into a meditation was whatever you are aware
of right now, whatever that is.
It's the most important meditation object in the whole world.
You say that because a lot of times you can start off with all sorts of strange meditation
objects.
When you begin your meditation, you can be tired, you can be sick, you can be really
weak, no energy.
You can all start from all sorts of places and just some of the most unlikely meditation
objects which you don't read about in any book.
You start from there.
It's the most important meditation in the whole world for you.
And the what is really crucial is you're in this moment, you're with this, mind, whatever
it's doing, and that you're kind to it.
That kindness, I always wanted to put that in the meditation somewhere.
And right happening now, not be kind later on when the mind behaves, but be kind right
now.
And it's most important thing to do no matter what I was aware of.
And you find it how powerful that is.
When you're kind to your body, the body tends to heal.
It gets more energy.
It tends to, you know, the problems you thought before you're aware of these problems, but
you're kind to it and they tend to vanish and disappear.
And that was such an important teaching to me.
And so I'd really try hard, not really try hard, that's maybe not the right word.
But I do always remember to try and practice what I preach.
I preach a lot, so that's a lot of practice I have to do.
And that was always trying to be kind to me every one of you, no matter who you are.
And that sort of that kindness, always this is the most important thing happening right
now, and being kind to it.
And to find that sort of, that's what that then, Liam was teaching me.
You know, whatever, whichever way you wish to go, I'll be kind to you.
Making sure you protect you, that's my job as being your preceptor or sort of the head
of this monastery is best I possibly can.
But always to trust you.
If you make a mistake, if you just do something wrong, you acknowledge it for give it, learn
from it, that's all.
So in other words, you allow to make mistakes as a nun.
Not as a monk.
Not as a monk as well.
Sometimes I say these things, just as a school for me to try and wake people up, otherwise
they get a bit bored.
So anyway, as a monk has a nun, just to give yourself that type of freedom.
And it's incredible.
You have the opportunities here.
You have the other teachings to support you, to inspire you, I hope.
And that inspiration can sometimes motivate you to do some amazing things, almost like
impossible things.
So this is actually how we try and learn how to not just meditate, but learn how to be
part of a monastery.
Sometimes it's monasteries, which we have, we harvest.
You know, we don't try to mold you into being a perfect nun or a perfect monk.
You know, you know that there'll be all sorts of different types of monks and nuns.
And that's inspiring.
I say it's inspiring because sometimes in the time of the Buddha you read some of these
texts from the tera gatha and teri gatha.
And you see that all these people who became great arrow huts, they're great teachers,
they started off from some of the most unlikely of places.
You know, the Patta caras, you know, the cassopas, the owos, the, what was it, the
juna pandaka, the fellow who just couldn't really learn anything, which just had to rub
a cross in his hand.
So all those people, you know, there's many more, better than dwarf, dhabha mala puta,
seven-year-old kid, all these people, you know, you think they were hopeless, but they
managed to do something amazingly wonderful.
How come?
And the reason was obviously because they knew how to be in this present moment.
Just made this object the most important and be kind.
And generate that kindness.
It's a kindness that's compassion, loving kindness towards this moment.
That's what generates the power, the energy, you love being here.
When you love being here, you soon become very still because you don't want to go anywhere
else.
That force looking for satisfaction somewhere else just disappears from you.
That's one of the reasons why, you know, that a long time ago you realize, now your mind,
I'm not talking about your body so much, your body needs food to get healthy, but your mind
needs happiness.
It needs happiness from somewhere.
And if you don't sort of give it the inspirational mental happiness, then you go seek for the
sensory happinesses, which are second, third, right, after a while, when you can access the
joys of inspiration, like reading a good sutra, or the joys of seeing that someone
do a compassionate act or see someone do an inspirational act of generosity.
When you see things like that, that gives you the mental happiness.
And that's kind of a pure happiness, a happiness which you can remember without clinging to
it, without attaching to it because these are not born of clinging or attachment.
They're born of renunciation, acts where you don't think about yourself, but you think
what can I do to help somebody else?
It really is just nothing to do with a sense of ego.
It's a little by little.
I can say that word now.
You can hear the opportunity to say little by little again.
Now little by little, you find that these things, okay, I'll say it a third time, little by
little.
You find that the self of the mind gets very gently and very kindly satisfied and happy
with the inspirations of monastic life, and the times when somebody comes and says to
you, you know, Ajahn Muniswar, you've got some really good skills as being a teacher.
Well done.
Now you don't get egotistical about that because that destroys it all.
But you find out, wow, yes, you inspire somebody.
And it's beautiful.
That's wonderful.
All the other monks here who help and give talks, you know, Ajahn, happy who's been
just helping so much, you know, when I've been away and talking to all the laypeople
that say, it's great.
Thank you so much for the help you've given.
Ajahn Muniswar, Marley, when they're teaching the sutas, and you don't compare who's the
best, who's the worst.
What you do is just everybody helps in their own way to actually to make this a very powerful
tradition which we have.
And if we can keep on doing that, that becomes part of, you know, what I'm supposed to be
talking about, the bucket list.
Now what is the bucket list of a monk or a nun?
I'm not going to say, and how much you can attain.
What other states of deep meditation do you want to reach?
What other stages of enlightenment do you really need to get?
What psychic powers do you really need?
And a good monk or nun never actually thinks like that because it's not any attainments.
It's how much more can I renounce than a kabur, sankapur.
How much more can I just give up?
How much more can I sort of release?
Can I lose?
An act degree of light losing.
What is the most important thing to lose and that is one's desire and will.
I meant that will.
Especially just the desire, people understand that.
Just all those desires.
It stops you being at peace and being comfortable when you want something.
I can stay in my cave, but if I want something, I can't stay in there.
If it's too cold and I want another blanket, I want another glass of water or you want
to go to toilet.
Every time there's a want, it disturbs you.
That's one of the reasons why the bucket list, I'm never going to empty your bucket
by following every desire, everything you want to see, every place you want to go.
That's why I said the bucket is already empty.
Just we want to make sure nothing else gets into it so it never fills up.
What about all those other projects which you have to do in building these other monasteries
throughout the world and financing them?
Sometimes you feel that you work as best you possibly can to raise enough funds to help
this monastery and that monastery and some other monastery.
But after a while, you know that by the end of your life, you're not going to raise enough
funds for all those monasteries.
I'm being honest with you because whenever you build one building, we build another.
When the monastery is finished, then we have the branch monastery.
When the branch monastery is finished, we have something else.
When you have something else, already people have decided to talk about the old monks home
and the old nuns home as well.
So there's no end of stuff to build.
There's no end of ideas to actually make each monastery more beautiful, more attractive,
more comfortable for all the people who are working here.
And of course, we have the ideas, then the rules change, there are things available,
change, life changes, what's expected of as changes.
So you can't have plans that much for the future.
All those plans I had when I started this monastery, just to build a monastery, I thought
maybe 16 or 17 hearts would be more than enough.
Then I heard that 20 hearts would be enough.
Then I heard that we need more hearts, and now we've got, how many, we have 30 or 31
hearts for the range retreat.
How did that happen?
That was not in my plan at all.
It's embarrassing.
You know, sometimes overseas, people often ask, they say, how many monks have you got
in your monastery?
I say, I don't know.
Well, I asked me, but you're dating them, you're the teacher, you're the boss.
Yeah, I don't know.
How many nuns at Dhamma sara?
I don't know if you know.
Do you know, Ramanasawa?
No, no, that's good.
That's wonderful, when we kind of just don't know, as long as people are happy here, we're
keeping the rules, and the monks are just the nuns are living in peace and harmony, that's
more important.
So when it comes to infrastructure and building, oh yeah, we work as hard as we can, but we're
not going to finish everything, and that's one of the wonderful things I actually said
when it talked about the bucket list, that is that very beautiful teaching of Ajahn
Buddha Dassa.
I said it before, you know it, but I want to expand on it because it's very deep when
sort of, and he was building the main hall in his monastery in Nakhonsi, Tamaraat, in
Suanmok, that was the name of his monastery.
You know, I never actually got there to see that monastery.
I even had tickets, a bus ticket to go there to visit, but then my visa came through to
come here to Australia, so I never actually got to go to see Ajahn Buddha Dassas' monastery.
But nevertheless, I had so many good stories about it, and one of those stories, when he
was building his main hall, and he stopped at the beginning of the rains retreat, just
like here we try that very best to make sure that all building projects stop just before
the start of the range retreat, unless there is something which is really, really, really,
really, really sort of essential.
So anyway, we stopped, and then Ajahn Buddha Dassa stopped, and that's of course when a
layperson, one of his supporters, came down there to see his monastery just after the
range retreat started, and asked him, when is your hall going to be finished?
And he replied with beautiful wisdom, he said, the hall is finished.
What do you mean the hall is finished?
And he replied, what's done is finished.
And I kind of like that perception.
That stops all ideas of bucket lists.
He doesn't know what's done is finished.
It's a much better way of looking at life.
Otherwise nothing will ever be finished.
All of your wisdom and insights will ever be finished.
If you understand what Ajahn Buddha Dassa was talking about, you understand that what's
done is finished, this is good enough.
In other words, that is the ending.
Everything done is gone.
You don't start to think of other things you can do tomorrow morning, wait until after
the range retreat, and then, if you possibly can, put it off until then, then start to plan
what you're going to do next.
I know I feel almost like I want to apologize to Ajahn Buddha for giving him such a hard
time whenever he's asked me.
There's an invitation to go here.
Can I go here then?
Invitation to there.
Can I go there then?
Sometimes people have to plan in advance, especially the people organizing retreats and
stuff.
It's very hard to get venues.
I think you feel a bit sad, but I might prefer it if you can just say, I was an invitation
to Poland.
Can I go tomorrow?
Okay.
That'd be much nicer if you could actually do that.
The idea of planning so far in the future, sometimes it doesn't feel good for me to do
that.
I sort of feel that that's really an amazing done.
I plan way too much in advance, but obviously you've got to do that in our current world.
Nevertheless, one thing I do remember just what's done is finished.
I thought it would be wonderful to pay respects to Ajahn Lihy.
That was a nice thing to chat with him in time, a bit of love, and just ask him how
he was.
He hasn't changed much at all.
Still they're very peaceful and cool.
He said, how is your health?
His Earth is health.
It's normal.
Like Tamachar, according to nature, it's getting old, getting weaker.
He said, what about all the people who want to advise you how to keep healthy and how
to keep live a long life?
He was actually told me.
We talk with John Mark and by all people always think too much.
I kind of like that answer.
The reason I like that answer was because just earlier after the retreat I gave for the Singapore
in Sintailan, many of them went to go and see Ajahn Gungha after the retreat was finished.
Now the retreat was finished.
I obviously told him they'd just come from the retreat, talk by Ajahn Brahm.
And they said, oh, please tell Ajahn Brahm not to eat so much and to eat so much sweet
and oily food.
And when I heard Ajahn Liam say, oh no, no, people we talk with John Mark and by they
think too much.
And I thought, yeah, I think I prefer Ajahn Liam's wisdom.
And I do because people always think way, way too much.
And sometimes the world, I've seen the world do really weird things, strange things.
And I prefer that, rather than just thinking we can know and predict the future.
But the thing I didn't like about Ajahn Liam, I must admit, can I be honest, was that he's
about five years older than me and he's still teaching.
And I thought, oh my goodness, that's an argument which defeats my idea to retire.
He's doing a good job, people get inspired by him, he's got a natural wisdom, but he
doesn't need to work hard at that.
It's just a natural to sit there and just watch the people come and go.
And there's a very kind and generous and very happy monk.
But anyway, that's kind of I looked at him and thought, well, I wonder what's left in
his bucket list.
And of course, good monks don't think like that.
We don't have the things we want to do and to achieve.
The things we want to just let go of, as much as we possibly can.
I honestly, I really look forward to range retreat, so I wish there were going to be
more retreat than rain.
Because I love being in my cave by myself.
It's a beautiful place, I can't improve it.
It's quiet, it's peaceful, it's comfortable.
Sometimes it can be a bit cold, but then you can put a heater on, you can put more robes
around you.
And it's so quiet, it's like you're alone from the busy world.
And me, what's in there is finished in there.
It's peaceful, what model you're wanting this world.
So I always remember in that cave whenever I think of any bucket list, there's no need
anymore.
You've got a beautiful cave where you can just sit and be peaceful.
And also to know your duties to others, you know, you try and inspire as much as you possibly
can.
Teach whenever you are asked to teach, or to teach whenever it's a Wednesday night, and
I tell you I'm going to teach anyway, whether you ask me or not.
Just to try and do the best you possibly can to maintain a good Buddhist society.
Now over here in other places in the world, how can you do that?
You have no idea of getting another branch monastery here, another group over there.
You don't want to own anything.
You want to let go more and more.
And the thing, the more you let go, the more you disappear, the more you vanish, that's
a sort of teaching which I think is a beautiful, inspiring teaching.
And so often that people, they do ask me, is that, you know, should we just commit to
one teacher, you know, in this life, and be disciples of Ajahn Brahm or Ajahn, Api or
Brahmali or now Ajahn Munisura, and then whoever.
They say, of course not.
Now we are, I often emphasize this, I didn't say stress, I often emphasize this, same meaning,
that we go to refuge to the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha.
So you don't have to just feel that you are the only person who has to keep Buddhism growing
in this world, absolutely no way, no, not.
So take refuge in the Sangha in whatever wisdom, whatever kindness, whatever inspiration you
get from any person, especially the monks and the nuns, you know, who have committed
every now so much, they are wearing a brown robe, and I say that, not lay people.
Why do I say that?
It's because these brown robes are a symbol of renunciation, a symbol of letting go,
it's a symbol of just not accumulating things.
Only one who has these robes, they don't have any insignia on them to say who you are,
which is another thing which I really like.
I told that story one of my favourite stories, as I think, you all know, I'm sure Ajahn
Brahmali said this so many times, about that monk who was ordained by, was it Kachana?
Go to?
No, I forget who it was.
Anyway, ordained by one of the Buddha's disciples over in the west of India, decided to go and
visit the Buddha, and they managed to walk all the way to the Ganges Valley or close to
the Ganges Valley, and then they got to a work person's house and asked if they could
stay in their workshop overnight, had grass, it was quiet enough, and the owner of the
workshop said, yeah, sure, no trouble.
And he actually didn't say that, it said something in the party, but that's what it meant.
And then another monk came, you know, half an hour later, and he said, can I stay in here
as well and say, yeah, sure, no worries.
And both of them just were really good meditators, and so the monk from the west started meditating
and this monk who came second also started meditating and meditating together, and they
were just so enjoying the meditation and meditated all night.
And in the morning, when they came out of the meditation before they went on arms round,
you know, the monk who came from the west said, no, you're a good meditator.
And the monk who just came second said, yeah, you're a really good meditator too, where
are you from?
And the monk who came first, and I came from the west coast of India.
And I was ordained by one of the Buddha's chief disciples, and now I'm just traveling
by stages to see if I can find and pay respects to the Buddha.
And the second monk said, yeah, you're a good monk.
And the second monk said, you're a good monk too, who's your teacher?
I'm glad you laughed there, because that always makes me just kind of inspired.
The second monk said, I am the Buddha, I've got no teacher.
And that four first monk, can imagine what that must be like.
You know, you just want to go and see the Buddha, and then you just spend the night with the
Buddha just meditating.
You don't pay respect for anything, because you don't know who he is.
And of course he bowed, and I forgive you.
He said, no, no problem at all.
He said, you're a good monk.
And so I always remember that story.
It was the Buddha had nothing on the outside, which actually you could recognize that that
was the Buddha.
It was his humility, his kindness, and his deep degree of renunciation.
That's what really was inspiring.
And so these are things which I always remember.
That's how good monks should always operate.
To see how much we can let go and win out, it's not how much more we can achieve.
There's achievement, finishing off things, building things, writing more books.
Oh my goodness.
That's one thing which please don't write books.
If you do, please don't have them published into Indonesian.
And I say that.
Yeah, I was okay to have them published into Indonesian.
But every time I go to Indonesia, I suffer because of the books.
I suffer because they always print loads of new copies.
The latest copy was a compendium of three other stories from the, they call them the
Chatching the Worm books.
And they now have like these stories like two fabrics and a wall open the door of your
heart.
And the ones in the two main books, plus a few more.
There's 365 stories, a compendium.
You can listen to or rather read a new story every day of the year.
And of course they're really popular.
So A.H.
Pasico, they printed them all.
And once they printed them, they said them all the events.
And once they sold them, they were really popular.
I had to sign them all.
And even the last event, 2,500 people or something, that's a lot of books to sign.
And you can see just afterwards, after you've given your talk, all these people were lined
up.
And as far as the eye could see with their books, they come and you sign, they come and
you sign, they come and you sign.
And they would do the photographs, Satu duri tika, Satu duri tika.
That's one, two, three.
I think it's time to smile.
So you'd sign it.
I was very happy though, that I got a short name, Ajahn Brahm.
If it was even Ajahn Brahmali, that's a lot longer.
Ajahn Sangharatana, you'd be dead.
But there's still a lot of signatures on my poor hand afterwards.
And it was sore.
It wasn't as bad as one of the first times I did that in Medan.
You know sometimes, I don't know if this is a guy thing or a female thing.
I think it must be a guy thing because they said a thousand books I had to sign.
So can you do it one hour before the talk started?
So I thought it was like a challenge, like a Guinness Book of Records thing.
See if you can sign one of thousand books in one hour.
And I did it.
I finished it.
And I did my arm in as well.
Finished that.
It was really sore.
I could hardly lift it.
It was repetitive straight injury, the sudden an hour of misuse.
But then they went back to the place I was staying, which was a place where monks could
stay in Midan, which was very well organised.
And I was fortunate there were other monks there because one of the monks could do this
time massage.
And they offered to do a massage on my arm, tie star.
I never had that done before.
You know not proper massage.
Yeah it was a tough massage and it sort of hurt at first.
But after half an hour the injury was totally gone.
I could have a good night's sleep, which I needed to get up early in the morning to
fly somewhere else to give a talk.
But I was really impressive.
So that was, yeah I did stupid things like signing too many books too fast.
But nevertheless I had some good karma because it was for others for their happiness and
the well being, and they sort of maybe I thought the merit which I'd made for doing that for
others was why I could actually get the benefits from the time of massage.
But it really worked.
I was so happy with that.
I don't usually get sick.
But that time I know it's really a thought I'm going to be in big trouble.
So anyway that was one of the reasons why you do all these stuff.
You know I say I've written too many books or too many stories but it's still good.
It helps with a lot of people and it sort of saves people's lives.
So that makes me feel very good.
That's a sort of things like bucket mists.
Not doing things which you need to and what more tamas you need to get or whatever.
Just the ability to teach the Dharma, to spread the Dharma, to make the Buddhism really good
Buddhism last much longer.
The idea of doing your best to push that wheel of the Dharma a bit longer, for a bit more.
We know you can't always do that forever.
So one of the best things about my bucket list is not what I do but how you can encourage
other people to continue that teaching, that inspiration, to teaching good ways.
So now have communities of monks and nuns who live in harmony together, in peace together.
Just like they used to say in Nandhya, Kimbula, I was going the other one along, Anarudha,
that's right.
Yeah, that was it.
Those three.
Whoever came back first would set things out, whoever left last would do the cleaning
up.
They never had wasters.
It was just when somebody needed to be done, it was done.
And they just lived like they, you know, the other people's minds were their minds.
Their hearts were almost joined together just by kindness towards one another.
And that sort of ideal monastery, I always try and remember, so always be kind to one
another, be forgiving to one another.
You all come from so many different places, so much many different conditionings.
You all have different ideas that's to be natural, to be expected.
There's no way you can force other people to be just right here.
It would be a terrible monastery if everybody was the same, all clones of Ajahn Appi.
But if everyone was the best, you wouldn't be the best anymore, would you?
You've got to keep your edge.
So that's one of the reasons why, you know, we can talk, we can discuss, we can disagree.
But we're still just really good friends.
And we can go back to our rooms and still be in peace and harmony, look after one another.
That's kind of the bucket list which I like.
And even years ago, it was, maybe you don't know this, but many of the monasteries over
in places like Thailand, you would never have more than one terror in a monastery.
The idea of having so many senior monks in just one monastery was just unknown of.
So it's amazing that, you know, all of you who are Ajahn's, thank you for putting up
with me.
Thank you for putting up with one another.
And it's brilliant that you've learnt this art of living together in peace and not always
imposing your views on others.
As I hope I'm not imposing my views on you, which means that you don't all have to eat
condensed milk in the morning.
Oh, saying this, I've told this story before.
But sometimes, you know, in Thailand, it happened many times.
The senior monk was the boss.
I mean, really the boss.
If he didn't like anybody in the monastery, now you can actually call the police and the
police would have to force them to go to another monastery.
That's what happens in my time, to be careful, don't laugh too much.
Anyhow, that was in that place.
But, you know, it kind of worked for some time, but sometimes the regroup of monks, totally
different, can actually live together in peace and harmony and make the best use of the place.
There was something inspiring about that.
That's why I think I tell you the lay people.
I'm actually really believing this.
I don't make this up.
I get inspired of just how many different people can live in peace and harmony in this
monastery.
The people who are highly intelligent, the people who are highly intelligent but got
no qualifications.
The people who are highly intelligent, who can't chant very well, the people who are
highly intelligent.
I mean, I'm saying this because you're all highly intelligent.
The very fact you become monks and nuns, to me that's a symbol of really high intelligence.
It's not what you know, but what you see, what you understand.
That's what's really important.
The ability to be kind, that takes a huge amount of intelligence.
The ability to be generous with your time and forgiveness.
That's brilliant.
That's beautiful.
So when that can be seen, to me that is inspirational to our lay community.
We don't have like a Thai temple in Perth.
We have a Sri Lankan temple, but some of these Sri Lankans come here.
Burmese temple, lots of Burmese come here, Cambodian temple.
We take, I shouldn't say this.
We go to their temple, they come to our temple.
We live together in such peace and harmony, which is brilliant.
And just the other Buddhist temples, even the Mahayana temples, you know, this famous
Burmese, is going to go over to the Korean temple, again, the Korean temple, just towards
the end of the rain, to do some teaching.
But really, yeah, teaching, call it what it is, teaching.
They just wanted to actually talk, what it's like being a young monk in Perth.
That's connections there, which is really beautiful.
And we see all those jogjay-autom monks who come over here.
That's gorgeous.
And people are welcome.
See the even in Vajrayana nuns who come over for the ASA meetings.
That is something which is inspiring.
We can actually work together and be friends together.
That's beautiful.
So those are the sorts of things which, you know, I would say part of my bucket list,
is to break down a lesson, those barriers between good practitioners.
So we can share some of the different techniques and also different places where we can go
to practice.
It's really hard building new branch monasteries all over the place.
I think you know that.
The nuns know that now with all the hard work to get Santi going.
And the monks know that.
Just how hard it is to get places going back in Albany.
I'm sure you're listening down there.
You're doing excellent job, a great job.
But it's hard work.
But eventually it happens.
When it happens, I don't know.
But please remember what's done is finished and have a good range retreat so you can have
a rest.
And if you do need to work, then fine.
But just remember, meditations are most important and inspirational too.
And then also we find that it's hard work but then eventually it happens.
Other monasteries in other parts of the world which are sometimes empty.
So I like that idea when I was visiting Sri Lanka, you know, to see just how much like
someone like Vennel Pasado has grown.
A very wonderful monk.
And just walking all over the place.
And just inspiring himself and others.
Just how in other Buddhist world our monasteries, not just Bodhinyana monasteries or Damasava,
you've got a world of places you can go to.
If you feel that that's where you need to be.
And it's a beautiful place.
You're part of this Buddhist tradition.
And that is inspiring.
I would love to make sure that we make more connections like that in different parts of
the world.
So you can find that if you really just need this in space, you don't have to be in your
home monastery, there's other monasteries as well.
As you can see that this futurableism in our world, some of you will become great teachers.
And when you do become great teachers, you can spread that down around if you feel that
that's what you need to do.
That's your karma.
And if you do spread that teaching around.
It's amazing for our whole world.
It becomes other places in the world which your friends can go to, go and visit and go
and enjoy each other's company.
Because wherever you go, if this is kind, if you're not telling people what to do, they're
not telling you what to do, you know what to do, you're inspired what to do.
You live a life of peace.
You always will be welcome.
You're well trained.
You know the Vinaya.
You know the Dhamma, well enough to be able to live in a place and practice and see more
and more departments just disappear.
So that's one of the lovely reasons why you can go to many places in this world.
See more monasteries being built.
That's why Agen-Leon was in Medan because some people were building another monastery
out there.
And this was actually outside of the city.
You know, it's still like paddy fields or other fields, but it was just at least it was outside
and a little bit more quiet.
And it's causing a lot of a lot of money, but there was some very generous people over
there to try and make it happen.
When they do, and they got good teachers there, to me that's something which is lovely to
be able to see.
So when it comes to like a bucket list, that's a sort of bucket list which I would want to
see.
In the bucket list, you won't see it finished, never will.
This wheel of Dhamma continues to roll.
Every one of you has your opportunity to push a little way, push a little bit further, but
don't ever do it.
And little by little, it's not something you have to do.
Some of you won't do much at all.
And that's fine.
That's what we push that wheel for.
So to help all other beings later on when it's a time, this lifetime or another lifetime,
and you just do your bit.
And this is actually a beautiful way of looking at just how we do our service and how we do
our renunciation, our kindness, our gentleness.
We build that more and more and more.
It's not just words as things we actually do.
See how much we can lose, how much we can lessen, how much we can disappear.
And in the meantime, as we disappear more and more, we keep this wheel of Dhamma going
faster and faster.
It's all parts of this world.
So anyway, that's my talk for this evening.
I would apologize on this topic, if you have some desire.