Noble Eightfold Path
- Day 4 Enlightenment Factors and 6Rs
Delson continues from yesterday's talk on the Eightfold Path by explaining the seven awakening factors (mindfulness, discernment, energy, joy, tranquility, collectedness, equanimity) as…
- Day 3 8-Fold Path - Aug Retreat - Delson Armstrong at DSMC
Delson walks through the Noble Eightfold Path as the spine of the practice, taking each factor in turn: right view, right intention, right speech, right action and right livelihood (sila)…
- Day 1 Intro Aug 13-23 Tranquil Wisdom Insight Retreat at DSMC-Intro to Delson
Delson opens a retreat by giving his background and explaining the 6R's (Recognize, Release, Relax, Re-smile, Return, Repeat) as the method of right effort for letting go of distraction.
- 8 Fold Path - The Path to Stream Entry- All of the Signposts
Delson presents the Noble Eightfold Path as the spine of the Dhamma and walks through each factor.
- 8 fold Path as the Path to Stream Entry- The Buddha's Path Laid Out to Awakening
Delson presents the Eightfold Path as the spine of the Dhamma and walks through its eight factors in order, from right view through right collectedness.
- Day 2 Setting in Motion the wheel of Dhamma -8 Fold Path
Delson introduces the morning refuges, precepts and recollections as a way of setting intention for practice, then reads SN 56.11, the Buddha's first sermon on the middle way and the Four…
- Day 1 July 2-12 Advanced Retreat-Orientation and Instructions
Delson gives the orientation for a ten-day advanced TWIM retreat.
- MN 12 Greater Discourse on the Lion's Roar- Sunday Sutta Session
Delson reads through MN 12, the Greater Discourse on the Lion's Roar, in which the Buddha answers Sunakkhatta's claim that he has no superhuman states or knowledge worthy of the noble ones.
- Day 4 Right Effort - 7 Enlightenment Factors -June Retreat at DSMC
Delson explains right effort as abandoning the unwholesome and cultivating the wholesome, and frames this as the core work of samadhi.
- Day 3 8 Fold Path June Retreat with Delson Armstrong
Delson explains the Buddha's first sermon (SN 56.11) and walks through the Noble Eightfold Path as a foundation for meditation, starting with right view and ending in right collectedness.
- MN 11 The Shorter Discourse of the Lion's Roar - Only one Path to the Unconditioned
Delson works through MN 11, the Culasihanada Sutta (the Shorter Discourse on the Lion's Roar).
- What is the "I" Concept - Paramatthaka Sutta -Clinging to Views
Delson Armstrong reads and comments on the Paramatthaka Sutta (Sutta Nipata 4.9), on transcending views and not clinging even to Dhamma views.
- Day 3 8 Fold Path - The Journey w/Delson Armstrong
Delson retells the Buddha's life from the four sights through the years of indulgence and asceticism to the Middle Way, and presents the Noble Eightfold Path as the path the Buddha taught…
- MN 9 Right View - Majjhima Series with Delson Armstrong
Delson walks through MN 9, the Sammaditthi Sutta (which he calls the Samadhiti Sutta), on right view.
- MN 8 Conceit Purifying the mind. -Sunday Sutta Series with Delson Armstrong
Delson reads and comments on MN 8, the Salekha Sutta (Effacement), in which Maha Cunda asks how views about self and world are abandoned.
- MN 3 'Heirs in the Teaching" Sunday Sutta Series with Delson Armstrong
Delson reads MN 3 (Dhammadayada Sutta), in which the Buddha asks his monks to be heirs in the Dhamma rather than heirs in material things, and uses the example of two monks who receive…
- The 37 Requisites to Enlightenment -Sunday with Delson
Delson reads from the Maha Parinibbana Sutta (DN 16), where the Buddha gives his final instructions, and uses it to introduce the 37 requisites for awakening.
- AN 1.306-309 Wrong View is always Unwholesome -Sunday with Delson Armstrong
Delson reads a series of Anguttara Nikaya suttas (AN 1.306-309) on wrong view and right view, explaining that wrong view leads to unwholesome states and suffering while right view…
- MN 41 'Conduct leading to Heaven or Hell' -Sunday Sutta Series - Good Conduct leads to Nibbana.
Delson reads through MN 41, the Sala Brahmins discourse, in which the Buddha lists bodily, verbal and mental conduct that is skillful or unskillful and explains how each leads toward a…
- Austria 2025 | Awakening Intuition
Delson explains the seven factors of awakening (mindfulness, discernment, energy, joy, tranquility, collectedness and equanimity) and how they run alongside the Eightfold Path.
- Austria 2025 | The Awakened Lifestyle
Delson explains the Eightfold Path as a practical, non-religious lifestyle and walks through each factor in turn, grouping them under sila, samadhi and panna.
- Is the World Eternal or....MN 63 - Sunday Talk with Delson Armstrong
Delson teaches from MN 63, the Cula Malunkyovada Sutta, in which the monk Malunkyaputta refuses to train unless the Buddha answers speculative questions about the world and the Tathagata…
- Day 9 Last Day -Ending Samsara
Delson closes his final retreat talk by asking listeners how they will carry the practice back into ordinary life, with its pain, difficult people and habitual reactions.
- Day 8 What is Karma? Delson Armstrong
Delson explains karma as the Buddha taught it: intention (chetana) is karma, expressed through body, speech and mind, while vipaka is the result that is experienced.
- Day 3 'The First 4 Jhanas" Progressing on the Path to Nibbana -Excellent
Delson explains the first four jhanas as the mind experiences them in TWIM practice: the factors of the first jhana (vitakka, vicara, piti, sukha, ekaggata), how the second, third and…
- Day 6 DN 16 'Take Care of the Dhamma... Delson Armstrong
Delson reads from the Mahaparinibbana Sutta (DN16) the "mirror of Dhamma," in which the Buddha describes how a noble disciple can know for themselves that they are a stream-winner.
- June 11 -Day 7...Karma -Delson Armstrong
Delson explains karma as the Buddha taught it: karma is intention, and it is the basis for how old and new karma arise, ripen and can cease.
- June 22 AN 5.57 -5 Reflections - Sunday Sutta Study-Delson Armstrong
Delson reads AN 5.57, the five reflections: I am subject to aging, to illness, to death, I must be parted from what is dear, and I am the owner and heir of my karma.
- June 7 -Day 3 -In Depth Jhana Talk- Excellent! Delson Armstrong
Delson explains the jhanas as taught in the Suttavada approach, distinguishing jhanas that keep a person in samsara from the right meditation (samma samadhi) that leads to liberation.
- June 6 -Day 2 -First Day Blues-Origin of Hindrances
Delson explains, on the second day of a retreat, that the difficulties beginners meet in sitting come from hindrances: the five basic distractions of sensual craving, ill will…
- Day 1 June 5 -Why are you Retreating? Orientation Talk Jun5-14th 2025
Delson gives an orientation talk for a meditation retreat, explaining right intention (nekkhama, avyapada and avihimsa) and why the precepts, samadhi and wisdom form an integrated path…
- Apr 6 2025 Sunday Suttas "Origin of Suffering" AN 6.63 Penetrative Discourse w/Delson Armstrong
Delson works through AN 6.63, the Nibbedhika Sutta (Penetrative Discourse), which lists sensual pleasures, feelings, perceptions, taints, karma and suffering as things to be understood…
- The 'Word' for 2025 with Delson Armstrong-Sunday Series at DSMC
Delson explains why he chose contentment as the word for 2025, linking it to renunciation (nekkhamma) in right intention and treating it as a non-craving state that can be cultivated in…
- Wrapping Up Sept 2024 Zoom Retreat With Delson Armstrong: The Final Discussion!
Delson closes a Zoom retreat with a short talk and then takes questions.
- What is the (Ariya) Jhana? What is Right Samadhi?
Delson explains the meaning of sammasamadhi, or right collectedness, by breaking down the word samadhi and its link to Nibbana.
- What are the (Ariya) Jhanas? What is Right Samadhi?
Delson explains right samadhi, or right collectedness (sama samadhi), as the samadhi that is proper because it leads to Nibbana.
- Delson's 5th Talk on the 8 fold path-Right Collectedness-Jhana-Nibbana
Delson explains right collectedness (samma samadhi) as the eighth path factor, following from right view through right mindfulness, and as the step that leads toward nibbana.
- Delson's 4th Talk on the 8 fold path: Right Mindfulness-Smrti????
Delson continues his eightfold path series with a talk on right effort and right mindfulness (sati), explaining how the 6R's express right effort and how sati means remembering to observe…
- Delson's 4th Talk on the 8 fold path-Right Mindfulness
Delson teaches right effort as the heart of the path and connects it to the 6R's, then explains right mindfulness (sati) as remembering to observe how attention moves between objects.
- 3 Right Action 8 fold path series w/Delson Armstrong
Delson explains the three factors of sila on the Eightfold Path: right speech, right action and right livelihood.
- Delson's 2nd talk: 8 Fold Path Series-Right Intention
Delson explains right intention (sammasankappa) as the second factor of the Noble Eightfold Path, working from the Pali and from MN 117.
- Delson Armstrong 8 Fold Path Series - Right Intention
Delson explains right intention (sammasankappa) as resolve or wholesome determination, grounded in right view and developed through renunciation, non-ill will and non-cruelty.
- Delson Armstrong 8 Fold Path Series - Right View
Delson opens a study series on the Eightfold Path with right view (samma ditthi), using MN117 (the Mahacattarisaka Sutta) as his source.
- Delson's 1st talk: 8 Fold Path Series-RIGHT VIEW
Delson opens a series on the Eightfold Path by explaining that the path is the fourth noble truth and that right effort runs through all of its factors.
- Day 7 8 Fold Path- Japan Retreat Dec 2023
Delson explains the Noble Eightfold Path as the fourth noble truth and as a practical lifestyle, going through each factor from right view to right collectedness.
- Final Day Q&A Day 3/3 Bandra, Mumbai Sept 2023 w/Delson Armstrong Sept 7-9, 2023
Delson explains that practice after retreat is a lifelong commitment built on sila, samadhi and panna, and he walks through the Noble Eightfold Path factor by factor, from right view to…
- Day 8: Noble Eightfold Path Netherlands
Delson Armstrong gives a talk, recorded at the end of a retreat, on how to cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path in daily life after retreat.
- Day 1: Introduction and Meditation Instructions
Delson opens a retreat by explaining the basic practice: there is no goal, the aim is a light heart and mind, and a smile.
- Day 9: Noble Eightfold Path
Delson closes a retreat by explaining the Noble Eightfold Path as a way of living, not only a sitting practice.
- Day 8: Transcendental Dependant Liberation
Delson explains the links of transcendental dependent origination, which he also calls the links of transcendental dependent liberation.
- Kalimpong 2023 Buddha Pāda Day 9 8 Fold Path-Last Day
Delson closes a retreat by explaining how the Eightfold Path applies off the cushion.
- Copy of June 4, 2022 - Questions and Answers with Delson Armstrong
Delson answers a series of listener questions on TWIM practice.
- 14 Dec 2021 Online Retreat. Dhamma talk with Delson Armstrong.
Delson reads and explains MN19, the Dvedhavitakka Sutta (Two Kinds of Thought), as guidance for the first day of a retreat, when restlessness, sloth and torpor, and other distractions…
- June 4, 2022 - Questions and Answers with Delson Armstrong
Delson Armstrong answers questions submitted through the Suttavada website about TWIM practice and Dhamma.
- Kalimpong Buddha Pāda 2023 Day 1 Introduction
Delson opens a 10-day Brahmavihara retreat at Kalimpong Buddha Pada with a feeling-based loving-kindness (metta) practice.
- Day 6 UK Retreat (Sept 2023) - Dependent Origination Pt 2
Delson concludes his teaching on dependent origination by covering the links from contact through to birth and rebirth, including the sense bases, nama rupa, formations, ignorance and the…
- Day 9 UK Retreat (Sept 2023) - Noble Eightfold Path
Delson walks through the Noble Eightfold Path factor by factor, from right view and right intention through right speech, action and livelihood to right effort, mindfulness and…
- Bonhays Day 6 Dependent Origination Part 2
Delson concludes his teaching on dependent origination, covering contact and the six sense bases, nama rupa, the five aggregates, formations, and ignorance.
- Bonhays Day 9 Noble Eight-fold Path Last Day of Retreat
Delson Armstrong gives the last-day talk of a nine-day retreat on the Noble Eightfold Path, presenting it as the practice to continue off the cushion.
- Last Day of the Retreat advice for Meditators - July 22, 2023
Delson gives closing advice on the last day of a retreat about carrying the retreat mindset into ordinary life.
- 37 Requisites with Delson Armstrong. MN 77
Delson Armstrong reads and explains MN 77, the Maha Sakuludayi Sutta, in which the Buddha says his disciples honor him for five qualities and then lists the 37 requisites of awakening.
- June 23, 2023 MN 128 Upakilesa Sutta Day 2 Distractions
Delson reads and comments on MN 128, the Upakkilesa Sutta, in which the Buddha's disciple Aniruddha lists the imperfections of the mind that disturbed his collectedness and the light and…
- May 2023 Retreat -Day 8- MN 117 The 8 fold Path - How it all works together
Delson reads and explains MN 117, the Maha Cattarisaka Sutta (the Great Forty), to show how the Noble Eightfold Path works as a set of mutually supporting factors.
- Delson Armstrong MN 117 The 8 Fold Path - How all the folds come together
Delson reads and comments on MN 117, the Maha Chattarisaka Sutta (the Great Forty), and explains the eightfold path as a set of factors that support one another and lead to right…
- Deerpark Retreat Day 4 Noble Truths w/Delson Armstrong
Delson Armstrong reads the Four Noble Truths section of the Maha Satipatthana Sutta (DN 22) and explains it as a practical diagnosis: suffering, its origin in craving, its cessation, and…
- First Discourse of the Buddha at Deerpark - Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta
Delson reads and comments on SN 56.11, the Buddha's first discourse at Isipatana (Deer Park) near Varanasi.
- First Discourse at Deerpark - Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta
Delson visits Deer Park (Isipatana) and reads through the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (SN 56.11), the Buddha's first teaching to the group of five.
- Deerpark Retreat Day 8 'Deeper Aspects of Dhamma Pt 2' w/Delson Armstrong
Delson reads through MN44, the discourse where the nun Dhammadinna explains identity, its origin, its cessation and the path to Visakha, and he comments on each answer.
- Deerpark Retreat Day 5 'Right View' w/Delson Armstrong
Delson reads from the Sammaditthi Sutta (MN 9) on right view and explains its list of wrong and right views, wholesome and unwholesome conduct, and the links of dependent origination.
- Day 10 The Buddha's Awakening Part 2
Delson, with a co-speaker, continues the account of the Buddha's awakening from the Mahavagga and the Udana, covering the seven weeks after his awakening under different trees.
- Day 8 Wise Friendship
Delson closes a retreat with a talk on wise friendship (kalyanamitta), the companions who support a person's practice.
- Day 7 The Steadfast State & The Eightfold Path
The talk, given on a retreat, reads MN 106 (Anenjasappaya Sutta) on ways to the steadfast state, the arupa states beyond the fourth jhana, and how to sit longer to reach them.
- Day 9- Retreat June 2022 MN 117 Eight Fold Path with Delson Armstrong
Delson walks through MN 117, the Great Forty discourse, explaining the eight factors of the noble path as supports for right collectedness.
- Day 8 2022 MN 77 37 Requisites -July Retreat - -with Delson Armstrong
Delson reads MN 77, the Maha Sakuludayi Sutta, in which the Buddha explains why his disciples respect him, and uses it to introduce the 37 requisites for awakening.
- Day 9 2022 AN 10.3 -Transcendental Dependent Origination -with Delson Armstrong
Delson reads AN 10.3 (Virtuous Behavior) and explains transcendental dependent origination, the chain that runs from keeping the precepts through non-regret, joy, rapture, tranquility…
- Day 4 2022 MN 139 Exposition of Non-Conflict - What is Beneficial
Delson reads MN 139, the Exposition of Non-Conflict, and explains it as a guide to avoiding conflict through the middle way and the Eightfold Path.
- Day 9 2022 MN 44 Cullavedalla Sutta -July Retreat - -with Delson Armstrong
Delson reads through MN 44, the Culavedalla (Shorter Questions and Answers) Sutta, in which the layman Visakha questions the nun Dhammadinna about identity, its origin and cessation, the…
- Day 2 June 2022 Day DN 2 Distractions -Retreat with Delson Armstrong
Delson reads and comments on DN2, the Samaññaphala Sutta, in which King Ajatasattu asks about the visible fruits of the homeless life and the Buddha answers by starting with morality.
- Day 7 May Retreat Talk MN149 /MN77 Suttas with Delson Armstrong
Delson reads MN 149 (Mahasalayatanika Sutta) and explains how not knowing the six sense bases as they actually are leads to craving, clinging and renewed becoming, and how seeing…
- Day 2 Apr Retreat -MN 39 Distractions and Hindrances
Delson reads from MN39 (the Maha Asapura Sutta) on the qualities of a recluse: shame and fear of wrongdoing, purified conduct in body, speech, mind and livelihood, sense restraint…
- Suttavada Foundation Online Retreat 15 Dec 2021 Dealing With Hinderances With Delson Armstrong
Delson Armstrong gives a day-one retreat talk on dealing with hindrances, reading and commenting on MN 19, the Two Kinds of Thought.
- 4 Dec 2021 Online Retreat Q & A With Delson Armstrong Session 1 of 2
Delson answers questions from a retreat Q&A on doctrine and practice.
- MN 9 Samma Ditthi Sutta with Delson Armstrong at DSMC
Delson Armstrong works through MN 9, the Sammaditthi Sutta on right view, in which Sariputta explains right view as understanding the unwholesome and the wholesome and the Four Noble Truths.
- Samma Ditthi Sutta MN 9 with Delson Armstrong - The Personality Oct 20, 2021
Delson Armstrong works through the Samma Ditthi Sutta (MN 9), in which Sariputta explains right view by taking up the wholesome and unwholesome, the four noble truths and each link of…
- Interview#6: Dependent Origination, Nibbana, Relax Step & 6Rs with Delson Armstrong
Delson Armstrong explains nibbana as the quenching of the fires of greed, hatred and delusion, and as the stopping of mental proliferation.
- Interview#4: Mindfulness Re-defined and the Jhanas Re-defined - Conversations with Delson
Delson explains that mindfulness (sati, from smriti, meaning to remember) is best understood as observing how the mind's attention moves, rather than focusing narrowly on an object such as…
- July 3, 2021– DN 33 – The Chanting Together – Third Recitation - sets of Ten
Delson reads through the sets of ten in Digha Nikaya 33 (the Sangiti Sutta) and comments on each item, treating the ten protective qualities as a path toward nibbana.
- June 19, 2021– DN 33 – The Chanting Together – Sets of Eight
Delson works through the Sangiti Sutta (DN 33) and its sets of eight, explaining each wrong or ineffective factor of the path, the eight occasions of indolence and of effort, the eight…
- June 12, 2021– DN 33 – The Chanting Together – Fourth Recitation – Sets of seven
Delson recites and comments on the fourth recitation of DN 33, the sets of seven, covering the seven Aryan treasures, the seven factors of enlightenment, the seven stations of…
- Mar 7 2021 - MN 8 - Effacement - The Path and 44 Factors Leading to the Destruction of Conceit
Delson reads and comments on MN 8, the Salekha Sutta (Effacement).
- Feb 28 2021 - MN 23 - The Anthill - Right Effort Leads to the Mind of the Arahant
Delson reads and explains MN 23, the Vammika Sutta, in which the Buddha explains to Kumara Kassapa the riddle of the anthill, the brahmin and the knife.
- Jan 17 2021 - MN 3 - Heirs in Dhamma - The Noble Eightfold Path is the Inheritance
Delson reads MN 3, the Dhammadayada Sutta (Heirs in the Dhamma), from Bhikkhu Bodhi's translation and comments on it as he goes.
- Dec 6 MN 28 The Greater Discourse on the Simile of the Elephant's Footprint - The Four Noble Truths
Delson reads MN 28 and explains how Sariputta's discourse analyses the Four Noble Truths, with the five aggregates affected by clinging as suffering.
- Day-6 QA - Online 10-day Retreat (Nov-17) with Delson Armstrong
In this question-and-answer session from an online retreat, Delson Armstrong explains continued existence as a cycle in which consciousness, conditioned by craving and clinging, produces…
- Day-4 QA - Online 10-day Retreat (Nov-3) with Delson Armstrong
Delson answers questions from a day-4 online retreat Q&A.
- Day-1 QA - Online 10-day Retreat (Nov-17) with Delson Armstrong
Delson answers questions from the first day of an online 10-day retreat.
- Nov 1 2020 - MN 141 The Analysis of the Truths - Applying the Four Noble Truths
Delson reads MN 141, the Analysis of the Truths, in which Sariputta explains the four noble truths, including suffering in the five aggregates and the eightfold path ending in right…
- Oct 4 MN 117 - The Great Forty - The Effect of Precepts in Meditation
Delson reads MN 117 (the Great Forty) and explains the eightfold path as the Buddha describes it, with right view coming first and each factor supported by right effort and right…
- Oct 4 2020 - MN 117 - The Great Forty - The Effect of Precepts in Meditation #2
Delson reads and comments on MN 117, the Great Forty, which presents right view as the first factor of the Noble Eightfold Path and shows each factor being developed with right effort and…
- Day 5 Foundations of Mindfulness - Discussing the Satipatthana Sutta -What is Mindfulness?
Delson explains right effort in the context of the Satipatthana teaching, describing it as abandoning unwholesome states and cultivating wholesome ones.