Thai Society and the Teachings of the Buddha

by Venerable Ajahn Brahm

Abbot of Bodhinyana Monastery, Perth, Western Australia

Date: Monday 6 December 2010

Time: 6:30 p.m.

Place: The Siam Society

Venerable Ajahn Brahm was born in London in 1951. In the late 1960s AjahnBrahm won a scholarship to study Theoretical Physics at Cambridge University.

Ajahn Brahm regarded himself a Buddhist at the age of 17 after he discovered Buddhism while browsing on the wrong shelves of a London bookshop. Buddhism, especially meditation, prevented him from wrecking himself through many popular indulgences of the time. After he graduated from Cambridge, he taught in high school for one year before travelling to Thailand to become a monk. He was ordained in Bangkok at the age of 23 by the Abbot of Wat Saket and subsequently spent nine years studying and training in the forest meditation tradition under Venerable Ajahn Chah in Ubon Rachathani. In 1983 he was invited to help establish a forest monastery near Perth, Western Australia.

He is now the Abbot of Bodhinyana Monastery in Serpentine, Western Australia; the Spiritual Director of the Buddhist Society of Western Australia; Spiritual Adviser to the Buddhist Society of Victoria; Spiritual Adviser to the Buddhist Society of South Australia; Spiritual Patron of the Buddhist Fellowship Singapore; and Spiritual Patron of Bodhikusuma Centre in Sydney. In 2004, Ajahn Brahm was awarded the John Curtin Medal for his vision, leadership and service to the Australian community by Curtin University. Ajahn Brahm was granted the ecclesiastical title of Phra Visutisangvornthera on June 10th, 2006. Ajahn Brahm is the author of Opening the Door of Your Heart, and Other Buddhist Tales of Happiness (later published as Who Ordered This Truckload of Dung?) and Mindfulness, Bliss and Beyond: A Meditator’s Handbook.

Free admission for the evening.

The Siam Society is deeply grateful to the James H.W. Thompson Foundation for its generous support of the 2010 - 2011 Lecture Series.

The Society premises are situated on Asoke Montri Road (Sukhumvit Soi 21) two minutes walk from Sukhumvit subway station (exit 1)

and five minutes walk from Asoke skytrain station (exit 3).

The Siam Society Under Royal Patronage

131 Asoke Montri Road, Sukhumvit 21, Bangkok 10110, THAILAND

Tel. +66 (2) 661-6470-7

www.siam-society.org

From someone who goes to this lecture, maybe you could ask Ajahn Brahm to formulate a lecture entitled; American Society and the teachings of the Buddha...

Or British society and Buddhism, since Aj Brahm is British.

I guess If he were delivering the talk in America or Britain his talk would be so entitled, I'm not sure the content would be much different

I wonder whether Aj Brahm will comment on the controversy surrounding the ordination of bhikkhunis at his monastery in Australia.

Reminder, for anyone interested.

I wonder whether Aj Brahm will comment on the controversy surrounding the ordination of bhikkhunis at his monastery in Australia.

I suspect that he won't, this being Thailand. Or if he does he will be rather circumspect in his comments, I would imagine.

No need tweaking the nose of the sleeping Tiger, is there.

He will conduct two more activities, tomorrow and on Wednesday :

Day 2: Tuesday 7 December

Topic: ‘Transforming the Action, Heart and Mind

Time: 9.00am - 10.00am Registration

10.00am – 12.30pm Talk & Guided Meditation session

12.30pm – 1.30pm Lunch break

1.30pm – 3.30pm Talk & Guided Meditation session

3.30pm – 4.00pm Questions & Answers

Venue: World Fellowship of Buddhist Headquarters

…as above…

Free Admission. No reservation required.

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Day 3: Wednesday 8 December

Topic: ‘Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times’

Time: 3.00-4.00pm Registration

4.00 -6.00pm Talk , Q&A, Refreshments

Venue: Henri Dunant Hall, Royal Bangkok Sports Club

1 Henri Dunant Road, Pathumwan

BTS: Siam Station

Free Admission. No reservation required.