Clear Mountain Monastery Project

00:00 Intro and THAI Part-1: On Taking Precepts

07:13 ENGLISH TRANSLATION Part-1

10:28 THAI Part-2: Main Talk

21:47 ENGLISH TRANSLATION Part-2

In this talk, Luang Por Damrong Sucitto, one of the most senior disciples of Ajahn Chah, speaks about the importance of keeping sīla, or virtue, and of finding the deeper truths of the heart through observing the breath.

Bio

Luang Por Damrong Sucitto (หลวงพ่อดำรงค์ สุจิตโต - พระครูภาวนาสารคุณ)

Luang Por Damrong Sucitto (Phra Khru Bhāvanāsāraguṇa), direct disciple of Luang Por Chah and monk for over 50 years, is abbot of Wat Pah Pluem Phatthana (วัดป่าปลื้มพัฒนา) in Buriram, Thailand. 

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- Wednesday Evening Teaching & Discussion (6:00 – 7:30 pm PT, YouTube then Zoom)

- Saturday Morning Meditation, Teaching, & Coffee Social (9:30 - 11 am PT, Online & In-Person)

- Sunday Evening “Mission Majjhima!” Sutta Teaching & Discussion (5:00 - 6 pm PT, Online)

See https://www.clearmountainmonastery.org/ or visit https://linktr.ee/clear_mountain_monastery for details. Welcome!

00:00:00 THAI - Luang Por Jandee on Three Types of Drunkenness

00:15:46 ENGLISH TRANSLATION

00:32:40 Q1 - Practicing Right View as a layperson

00:33:31 THAI - Right View

00:34:36 ENGLISH TRANSLATION

00:36:08 THAI - Luang Por Chah on Right View

00:36:44 ENGLISH TRANSLATION

00:37:48 Q2 - Cultivating good health vs. getting drunk on health

00:39:06 THAI - Good Health

00:41:03 ENGLISH TRANSLATION

00:42:38 Q3 - A surprising teaching from Luang Por Chah

00:43:31 THAI - Surprising Teaching

00:45:35 ENGLISH TRANSLATION

00:48:41 Q4 - Finding encouragement during monastic suffering

00:49:43 THAI - Answer on Monastic Suffering

00:51:32 ENGLISH TRANSLATION

00:54:32 THAI - Final Summary and Inspiration

01:03:54 ENGLISH TRANSLATION

01:09:54 THAI - Concluding Remarks

01:12:39 ENGLISH TRANSLATION

01:14:27 THAI - Closing Blessing

In this talk, Luang Por Jundee, one of the most senior disciples of Luang Por Chah, expands on two original poems speaking to the brevity of life and need to be heedful. To see things with Right View, we must understand their nature to arise and pass away, and understand ourselves as subject to the same forces. As it becomes accustomed to these truths of nature, the heart may find peace. Also, it will learn, in the words of Luang Por Chah, to see ducks and ducks, chickens and chickens, and the papaya salad of practice as irresistible.

Luang Por Jundee's talk was followed by a Dhamma teaching from Luang Por Damrong Sucitto, another of Ajahn Chah's most senior disciples, on finding truth in one's own breath and practice.

Bio

Luang Por Jundee (หลวงพ่อจันดี กันตสาโร)

Luang Por Jundee Kantasāro, direct disciple of Luang Por Chah and monk for almost 50 years, is the abbot of Wat Pah Ampawan (วัดป่าอัมพวัน) in Chonburi, Thailand.

Luang Por Damrong Sucitto (หลวงพ่อดำรงค์ สุจิตโต - พระครูภาวนาสารคุณ)

Luang Por Damrong Sucitto (Phra Khru Bhāvanāsāraguṇa), direct disciple of Luang Por Chah and monk for over 50 years, is abbot of Wat Pah Pluem Phatthana (วัดป่าปลื้มพัฒนา) in Buriram, Thailand.

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Tune in with fellow practitioners for Clear Mountain’s weekly online and hybrid events!

- Wednesday Evening Teaching & Discussion (6:00 – 7:30 pm PT, YouTube then Zoom)

- Saturday Morning Meditation, Teaching, & Coffee Social (9:30 - 11 am PT, Online & In-Person)

- Sunday Evening “Mission Majjhima!” Sutta Teaching & Discussion (5:00 - 6 pm PT, Online)

See https://www.clearmountainmonastery.org/ or visit https://linktr.ee/clear_mountain_monastery for details. Welcome!

In this Q&A session, Ajahn Kovilo and Ajahn Nisabho discuss seclusion of body (kāya-viveka) and seclusion of mind (citta-viveka), how to apply the fourth establishment of mindfulness (mindfulness of dhammas) in meditation, ways of dealing with aversion, skillful means of nonviolent communication, and the benefits of retreat versus stays at monasteries.

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Tune in with fellow practitioners for Clear Mountain’s weekly online and hybrid events!

- Wednesday Evening Teaching & Discussion (6:00 – 7:45 pm PT, YouTube then Zoom)

- Saturday Morning Meditation, Teaching, & Coffee Social (9:30 - 11 am PT, Online & In-Person)

- Sunday Evening “Mission Majjhima!” Sutta Teaching & Discussion (5:00 - 6 pm PT, Online)

See https://www.clearmountainmonastery.org/ or visit https://linktr.ee/clear_mountain_monastery for details. Welcome!

In this talk—given on July 4th, 2026—Ajahn Kovilo speaks about dependence (nissaya, paccaya), interdependence (aññāmaññapaccaya), and independence (anissita) in their various Theravāda Buddhist contexts.

Tune in with fellow practitioners for Clear Mountain’s weekly online and hybrid events!

- Wednesday Evening Teaching & Discussion (6:00 – 7:30 pm PT, YouTube then Zoom)

- Saturday Morning Meditation, Teaching, & Coffee Social (9:30 - 11 am PT, Online & In-Person)

- Sunday Evening “Mission Majjhima!” Sutta Teaching & Discussion (5:00 - 6 pm PT, Online)

See https://www.clearmountainmonastery.org/ or visit https://linktr.ee/clear_mountain_monastery for details. Welcome!

In this session, Ajahn Kovilo and Ajahn Nisabho speak with Kaira Jewel Lingo, teacher, author, and former nun whose work integrates the traditions of Zen and Vipassana with a focus on social, racial, and environmental justice (http://www.kairajewel.com/).

00:00:00 Introduction

00:01:38 Discussion on the dichotomy of softness and directness in teaching

00:02:35 Personal history: Growing up in spiritual and international communities

00:03:05 Key moments leading to Buddhist faith and ordination

00:07:41 The search for spiritual community after leaving childhood home

00:08:22 First encounter with Plum Village and Thich Nhat Hanh

00:09:53 Early inspirations from Catholic nuns in Kenya

00:10:33 Specific resonances of Buddhist teachings compared to Christianity

00:12:37 Transition from yoga and meditation to practical Buddhism

00:13:54 Mindfulness as a common language for international community

00:14:05 Impact of reading Old Path White Clouds and learning about Thich Nhat Hanh

00:16:38 The practice of curiosity and mindfulness in daily activities

00:20:09 Building trust through shared practice in diverse groups

00:22:32 Overview of the Five Mindfulness Trainings and gatha practice

00:24:44 A portrait of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's life and work

00:26:12 The origin and application of Engaged Buddhism

00:28:12 Thich Nhat Hanh's commitment to peace and nonviolence despite exile

00:30:10 Foundations of the Plum Village lineage and core sutras

00:31:44 Interfaith respect and the unification of spiritual traditions

00:33:40 Adapting mindfulness for secular contexts and specific groups

00:36:48 Advice on finding and building community in a modern age

00:40:20 Creating a sangha in families and local groups

00:41:51 Deep dive into the Five Mindfulness Trainings as a North Star

00:45:19 Why Thich Nhat Hanh reframed precepts as Mindfulness Trainings

00:48:29 Navigating ethical dilemmas and nourishing compassion

00:52:49 Addressing race, privilege, and inclusion in Buddhist spaces

00:56:46 Understanding privilege as part of the spiritual path

01:01:18 The path of downward mobility and perspective of monastics

01:01:47 Sharing daily gatas for waking, mirrors, and sweeping

01:03:32 Reflecting on the end of the day and diligence in practice

01:04:11 Closing remarks and future connections

Kaira Jewel Lingo's Biography:

Kaira Jewel Lingo is a senior Dharma teacher in the Plum Village Zen lineage and a Vipassana teacher, and a member of the Plum Village North American Dharma Teachers Council of Elders. Her work continues the Engaged Buddhism developed by Thich Nhat Hanh, drawing inspiration from her parents’ lives of service and her father’s work with Martin Luther King, Jr. After living as an ordained nun for 15 years in Thich Nhat Hanh’s monastic community, Kaira Jewel now teaches internationally in the Zen and Vipassana traditions, as well as in secular mindfulness contexts. Her teaching focuses on the intersection of racial, climate, and social justice, with particular care for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities, as well as activists, artists, educators, families, and youth. Based in New York, she offers spiritual mentoring and is faculty in a Buddhist Eco-Chaplaincy training, and one of the guiding teachers of One Earth Sangha. She is the author of We Were Made for These Times: Ten Lessons in Moving Through Change, Loss, and Disruption, and co-author of Healing Our Way Home: Black Buddhist Teachings on Ancestors, Joy, and Liberation. More information about Kaira's teachings and events can be found at http://www.kairajewel.com/

Mindfulness Training Gathas: https://mindfulgatha.wordpress.com/gathas/

Tune in with fellow practitioners for Clear Mountain’s weekly online and hybrid events!

- Wednesday Evening Teaching & Discussion (6:00 – 7:30 pm PT, YouTube then Zoom)

- Saturday Morning Meditation, Teaching, & Coffee Social (9:30 - 11 am PT, Online & In-Person)

- Sunday Evening “Mission Majjhima!” Sutta Teaching & Discussion (5:00 - 6 pm PT, Online)

See https://www.clearmountainmonastery.org/ or visit https://linktr.ee/clear_mountain_monastery for details. Welcome!