Here’s an 109-min recorded video Dhamma Talk (219MB .mp4).

Topics:

  • Documentary, “Wandering… but not Lost”, Tibetan tradition, almsbowls, India, Nepal, Katmandu, meditation, retreat, caves, journey, merit, parami, “if you take care of the Dhamma, the Dhamma will take care of you”, Ajahn Chah Lineage, Abhayagiri, Tisarana, Luang Por Pasanno, Luang Por Viradhammo, Nissaya, Independance, travel, not handling money, Thailand, Dipabhavan, Koh Samui Island, Malaysia, Nandaka, Perlis, Sasanarakkha, Vinaya, Sangho Pariṇāyāka, Sangho Pastayaka, Assemblies, foremost, Synchronicity, MacGyver, Bhante Ariyadhammika, Bhante Sangamaji, Arrow River Forest Hermitage


Sutta References:

  • AN 2.49 - Assemblies

    “There are, mendicants, these two assemblies. What two? An unjust assembly and a just assembly. And what is an unjust assembly? An assembly where legal acts against the teaching proceed, while legal acts in line with the teaching don’t proceed. Legal acts against the training proceed, while legal acts in line with the training don’t proceed. Legal acts against the teaching are explained, while legal acts in line with the teaching aren’t explained. Legal acts against the training are explained, while legal acts in line with the training aren’t explained. This is called an unjust assembly.

    And what is a just assembly? An assembly where legal acts in line with the teaching proceed, while legal acts against the teaching don’t proceed. Legal acts in line with the training proceed, while legal acts against the training don’t proceed. Legal acts in line with the teaching are explained, while legal acts against the teaching aren’t explained. Legal acts in line with the training are explained, while legal acts against the training aren’t explained. This is called a just assembly. These are the two assemblies. The better of these two assemblies is the just assembly.”

Vinaya References:

  • Chapter 12 of BMC II: Community Transactions: duty-issue (kiccādhikaraṇa)

    Cv.IV.14.2 defines a duty-issue as “any duty or business of the community: an announcement (apalokana-kamma),

    • a motion (ñatti-kamma),

    • a motion with one proclamation (ñatti-dutiya-kamma),

    • a motion with three proclamations (ñatti-catuttha-kamma).”

    This definition refers to the four types of statements that can constitute a formal Community transaction (saṅgha-kamma), in which the Community meets and issues a statement that it is taking an action as a group. In this, duty-issues are substantially different from the other three types of issues. Other issues are problems that have to be settled in a formal way. Duty-issues, however, are formal ways of settling problems. They themselves, as Community transactions, are problems only in the sense that they have to be conducted strictly according to the correct formal pattern. If they aren’t, they are invalid, open to question, and have to be conducted again.

    When a Community performs a transaction, it is in effect acting in the name of the Saṅgha as a whole. This means that it is not the ultimate authority in judging the validity of its transactions, for other Communities do not have to accept its transactions simply on its say-so. Because it is acting in their name, they have the right to question whether its transactions are fit to stand. When a Community adheres to the correct forms in its transactions, it is showing that—on that level at least—it deserves the trust of its fellow Communities. Thus, adherence to the correct forms is not a mere formality. It is one of the ways in which Communities earn one another’s trust.

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