The Way to True Happiness

This book contains a number of talks given mostly to lay people by the Venerable Ajahn Dtun. The first talk, The Power of Virtue, Concentration, and Wisdom, was given in 2011 at the Bandar Uttama Buddhist Society in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. At the time it was appreciated by many listeners for being a good overview of the Buddha’s path of practice as well as describing clearly the stages of attainment on the Noble Path to Liberation. The talk has been reworked from the original oral translation so as to give greater accuracy of meaning while also filling in the small omissions that naturally occur during live translations.

Then there are four shorter pre-meal reflections. These types of reflections are frequently given by the Venerable Ajahn to the laity who come to make offerings of food and requisites at the monastery. The reader will notice a difference in tone or style within these short and pithy reflections. They emphasize fundamental points of Dhamma without going into great details. Each reflection does, however, serve to reassert the correct path of practice

As with all talks given by the meditation masters within the Thai Forest Tradition, they are very much ad lib in their style. The emphasis is always to speak from the heart and touch upon points of Dhamma that are felt to be relevant to the listener. This can be seen in the final talk, The Ten Spiritual Perfections, as it gently encourages its listeners to always persevere in their spiritual practices so that they may achieve their goals.

It is therefore sincerely hoped that the reader will gain the same benefit as the listeners did, by receiving the inspiration to either start, or keep on with, the practice of spiritual development.