The idea for the topic and title, ‘The Secret of Happiness’, came about after reflecting on my first meeting with Ajahn Sumedho in 1977, just a few weeks after his arrival in the UK. I had been very impressed by the sense of ease and joy that he seemed to carry with him. That, in itself, it was remarkable. What made it even more remarkable was what I had been told about the monks: that they followed an extremely exacting way of life and a discipline that required them to rise at 4.00 a.m. for meditation, and to eat only one meal a day before noon. They had no money, no entertainment, no sexual contact of any kind. The list of things they had given up was long – and yet… and yet… they seemed deeply happy and at ease.

This photo-journal records a pilgrimage made in Sri Lanka in November of 2019. I had been invited numerous times to visit this ancient seedbed of Theravāda Buddhism but, prior to this present occasion, had always declined the offers. Thee reason for this was not a disinterest in the country, with its ancient Buddhist traditions and numerous holy places, rather it was that, if I was going to go, I wanted to go quietly as a pilgrim and not on a teaching tour or part of a bustling group of devotees. Sometimes I wondered if I was being too fussy or narrow on this score but, in retrospect, I am very glad to have waited for forty years to make the journey.

To honour the auspicious occasion of the 80th birthday of Luang Por Liem Ṭhitadhammo (Phra Thepvajiranyan), a faithful group of disciples has arranged to print his biography. Luang Por Liem is a senior Buddhist monk presently ordained for 60 years in the Thai Forest Tradition of the late Ven. Ajahn Chah (or “Luang Pu Chah”) of Wat Nong Pah Pong in Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand. This book covers the prominent chapters of Luang Por Liem’s life, beginning from his roots as a simple farmer in Northeast Thailand, to his quest for deeper knowledge and understanding of the Buddha’s teachings as a monk, his life in accordance with the monastic discipline, his meditation practice, the search for the guidance of a teacher, and finally his joining Wat Nong Pah Pong as a disciple of Luang Pu Chah. Presently Luang Por Liem serves as the abbot of Wat Nong Pah Pong himself, and teaches Dhamma all over the world. He has become a living example for countless people.

The content of this book is based on Luang Por Liem’s own accounts and the memories of his disciples — monks and laypeople — who have had the opportunity to meet him in all kinds of situations and circumstances in various places and countries.

Since 2018, a group of monks and laypeople have taken on the task of collecting the material, compiling and editing it, and from time to time going to see Luang Por directly for confirmation of some of the unclear details. If there are any inaccuracies remaining, we would like to apologise, and hope that they won’t prevent the reader from getting a good picture of Luang Por’s ways of training as a Buddhist monk, his meditation practice, and his approach in teaching. For the main passages, we have been able to provide an English version of the respective texts. Some of it is more of a summary than a direct translation, and not all chapters have been included in the English material.

May this compilation of episodes from the life of a great Buddhist monk and teacher be of great benefit to all. May we all take his quiet example to heart and practice diligently within the situations of our own lives.

Over the last few years I have led residential retreats specifically on the theme of dependent origination on at least five occasions – at Amaravati in the U.K., in Mae Rim, Thailand, and with Le Refuge, at Monastère de Ségriès, in the south of France. Various aspects of this rich, essential theme of Buddhist teaching have been focused upon in these different situations, according to the interests and needs of the various communities. The booklet entitled ‘Just One More…’ – Appreciative Joy: Jealousy, Selfish Desire and the Buddha’s Teaching on the Cycles of Addiction was based on the material from one of these events, a ten-day retreat held at Amaravati in July 2013. Most of the material gathered in this present book was presented at a retreat in Provence, in April 2018; the remainder is from the Mae Rim retreats of 2016-18.

The subject of dependent origination is intrinsically rich and varied, subtle and multi-dimensional, as the Buddha expressed in this notable exchange with his disciple and attendant Ven. Ānanda:

Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was living among the Kurus, near a town of theirs named Kammāsadhamma. There Ven. Ānanda approached the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down to the Blessed One, sat to one side. As he was sitting there he said to the Blessed One: ‘It’s wonderful, venerable sir, it’s marvellous, how profound this dependent origination is, and how profound its appearance, and yet to me it appears as clear as clear can be.’ ‘Do not say that, Ānanda! Do not say that! This dependent origination is profound and it appears profound. It is through not understanding and not penetrating this Dhamma that this generation has become like a tangled ball of string, matted like a bird’s nest, tangled like coarse grass and is unable to pass beyond the cycles of rebirth, beyond the planes of deprivation, woe and bad destinations.’ (D 15.1)

There have already been many erudite and wise explorations of the subject published in English, such as Dependent Origination – The Buddha’s Law of Conditionality by Ven. P.A. Payutto; the collection of five chapters on the theme in Ajahn Sumedho’s book The Way It Is; Ajahn Buddhadāsa’s book Under the Bodhi Tree: Buddha’s Original Vision of Dependent Co-arising, as well as many others. The intention of this present volume, whilst acknowledging the already great storehouse of perspectives available, is to focus upon practical means of understanding and applying the principles of dependent origination in order to support the freeing of the heart from addictive and destructive cycles of attitude and behaviour. In particular the emphasis will be on the exit points from this ‘Wheel of Becoming’ (bhavacakka) this cyclical process where the mind feels itself to be imprisoned in a habitual round of promise, gratification and disappointment.

THE TITLE OF THIS BOOK, Mind Is What Matters, brings attention to attitude. It points to the enormous difference our attitude makes as the mind receives and processes experience, and it points to that aspect of Dhamma practice of making everything our teacher. In 2017 at our open retreat at Amaravati Monastery, there were over 400 people attending. Ajahn Sumedho gave teachings every evening, and other visiting ajahns offered instruction and led question-and-answer sessions daily. For some of us, it was a very inspiring time. There were a lot of illuminating and imaginative teachings; for me it was a truly encouraging and beautiful event. But what if someone else’s attitude had been different? Even though they were hearing inspiring teachings, they could have begun to think they were not enough. Or they could have compared one teacher to another, judging who was better. Even something as noble, beautiful, and wholesome as hearing Dhamma teachings could have become a cause of suffering, disappointment or discontent if the person had taken hold of the experience in an unskilful way. Our minds can easily get caught in judgment: ‘this’ is not as good as ‘that’, or ‘now’ is not quite as real or good as ‘that prospect off in the future’ or ‘that great time back in the past’. If this is what our mind is doing, we can look at it. This feeling of disappointment, this comparing mind, can become our teacher in this moment. If we are wise, everything will teach us: the weather, our memories, our physical condition, the environment, the people around us.

Sunday Talk on the 18th September 2016

Good afternoon to you all. The theme for the Sunday talk this week is ‘Forgiving and Compassion’ so I will offer some reflections around these significant areas of our lives. I will start with forgiving.

This is a very important aspect of spiritual training and, as a way of life, it is a counterpoint to the attitude of being unforgiving, the attitude of wanting revenge, carrying grudges around. It’s about working with those attitudes of mind where we are determined to hang onto our negativity and our hurts, and to wear those proudly upon our sleeves – all the wrongs that have been done to me, the things that were unforgivable – that we are habitually conditioned to carry around and make much of. Sometimes people find themselves building their entire lives around wanting revenge, or resenting something that’s happened to them in their life, there’s something in the heart that can’t forgive.

When I speak in this way, in case any of you are wondering, I’m not reading anybody’s mind. Oftentimes when one starts talking about these themes people think, ‘How did he know!’ Please be reassured that it’s just averages, the law of statistics and how life is for many of us. I cannot read people’s minds.