Ajahn Nitho

Every day we spend 9 hours sleeping, 7 hours working, 4 hours on entertainment, 1.5 hours eating and drinking, 1 hour helping each other, and 30 minutes on shopping. Yes, and then 10 minutes every day on developing knowledge and wisdom.

So I hear that you do not have time to meditate. Remember that seven of the eight factors in the Nobel Eightfold Path can be practised everywhere, regardless of whenever and whatever you are doing.

This is a question-and-answer session during a weekend retreat at Jhana Grove Meditation Retreat Centre in Perth, Australia, April 2019. The questions asked are listed below, with the timecodes of where they start in the video.

Video Timestamp – Question

0:30 – How can I deal with doubt?
6:15 – Is there any way the monks can adopt the cow?
7:00 – How effective is it do meditation with a guided voice and music?
9:10 – Meditation seems very solitary. How to cope with this?
13:30 – When I feel angry, it is challenging to stop my thought. How can I stop this rumination?
14:45 – How do you know you have entered deep meditation?
18:15 – And can you share a deep meditation experience?
22:20 – How can I stop comparing myself to others?
28:40 – Many thanks for teachings!
28:50 – What have surprised you most about monastic life?
31:15 – How to maintain stability of awareness?
33:30 – Can contemplation of nature be meditation?
35:50 – What happened to the black cow?
36:40 – When I reflect on impermanence, I feel sad, because people I am attached to, will disappear. How to contemplate impermanence, without getting negative?
42:00 – Can I practice walking meditation at home?
42:20 – Do many monastics achieve Jhanas?
43:35 – How I do know I am meditation correctly? What is the outcome of meditation?
45:05 – When doing walking or sitting meditation outside, is enjoying nature a hindrance?
47:25 – I believe I have tasted Jhana. Is it a journey of self-discovery or is guidance required?
51:50 – Is there in Buddhism any significance of colors in meditations?
54:40 – Can you suggest three important aspects to practice, to deepen your meditation?
59.05 – Why are there many teddy bears in the meditation hall?
1:02:50 – In your ten years as a monk, what is your most valuable lesson you have learned?
1:09:35 – In an ideal world, should one do walking meditation in a certain direction?
1:10:25 – Please, discuss noble silence in reference to the meditation practice.
1:12:55 – For someone with good intellectual understanding of the Buddhas teachings, how many times do one need to attain Jhana, to become a stream winner?
1:17:20 – I have not been able to meditate much, and feeling quite emotional, why is that?
1:19:50 – How do you practice at home?

Why are some people wise, and some stupid? Why are some rich, others poor? Why are some people beautiful, while others unattractive? It is our past actions that have created our present, and it is our actions and intentions today that create our conditions for the future, and these teachings of the Buddha can help keep us on the right track in our spiritual journey.

We also had a short discussion about the degrees of good and bad karma in relation to some examples.

Video Timestamp – Questions:
0:56:30 – What should be the most important teachings I should practice from the sutta?
0:57:40 – Is it good to think that sick people are the consequences of their bad karma?
0:58:55 – What does Buddhism say about protecting yourself?