This year, Abhayagiri turns 30 on June 1st. Due to the growing size of our community and some logistical considerations, the current plan is to celebrate this occasion in two separate, but related events. It happens that Vesakha Puja - the full moon of May commemorating the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and final nibbāna - is Sunday, May 31st. This is an amazing coincidence that it falls so close…
Update: The teachings and readings from the winter retreat are now available via this link: https://www.abhayagiri.org/talks/collections/1/177-winter-retreat-2026-the-foundation-of-mindfulness The monastery entered the annual three-month winter retreat on January 3, 2026. Our Abbot, Ajahn Nyaniko, will be in Thailand until early March and on solitary retreat for most of March with the exception of…
We live in so many worlds. There’s the world of work, the world of our family, the world of our imaginations. When we meditate, we’re creating a world apart, one that’s not involved in the other worlds. We start out by focusing on the breath. As the Buddha said, you focus on the body in and of itself. In the case of the breath, this means simply being with the sensation of the breathing as it comes in and as it goes out. As for how that connects with the world outside, you try to cut all those connections. When the Buddha describes mindfulness, it’s basically two activities. One is keeping one…
This Dhamma talk was offered on April 4, 2026 at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery.
