The jhanas
- Ep381: I Nearly Died - Delson Armstrong
In this interview, Delson recounts nearly drowning when floodwater filled his retreat cabin at Dhammasuka in Missouri in June, and how he escaped with a deep cut to his foot.
- Day 5 The Jhanas -Aug Retreat with Delson Armstrong
Delson explains the jhanas as a map of a progressive meditative process, not a set of goals to reach, and walks through the first to the eighth jhana, from vitakka and vicara through piti…
- Day 2 Sila - The Foundation of the Meditation -Why do we take refuges/precepts? Excellent Talk
Delson explains why the retreat's morning ritual of three refuges, eight precepts, five recollections and a Dhammapada reading is part of the meditation practice.
- Day 5 High Altitude Retreat - Energies & Enlightenment Factors
Delson explains energy as the movement of awareness, following where attention goes, and links this to jhanas, the seven enlightenment factors, and the eleven links of transcendental…
- Day 1 High Altitude Meditation Retreat with Delson Armstrong and Doug Kraft-Lessons From the Flood
Delson recounts being caught in a flash flood at Dhammasuka Meditation Center, where he nearly drowned in his cabin, cut his foot, and was rescued on foot.
- 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 4 Understanding Formations & How to Attain Cessation -Excellent!
Delson reads and comments on SN 41.6 (Kamabhu Sutta), in which the monk Kamabhu answers the householder Chitta's questions on the three formations, the attainment of cessation of…
- Day 5 The Higher Jhanas -The Signless SN 41.7 Godattasutta
Delson reads and comments on SN 41.7 (Godatta Sutta), in which the householder Citta explains the difference between four liberations of mind: by the measureless, by nothingness, by…
- Day 3 July Retreat MN 134 -A Fine Night - The Concept of Self
Delson reads and comments on the Loma Sakangiya Bhaddekaratta Sutta (MN 134) and its stanza on the "single excellent night," which says not to revive the past or build hopes on the future…
- Happiness Buffet 🍱😋 From Bad Boy to (Jedi) Meditation Master | Delson Armstrong
In this Happiness Buffet podcast interview, Delson opens with a guided gratitude practice done with eyes open, then tells his life story.
- MN 14 -The Shorter Discourse on the Mass of Suffering
Delson reads and comments on MN 14, the Culadukkhakkhandha Sutta, in which Mahanama asks why greed, hate and delusion still invade his mind after he has seen the danger in sensual pleasures.
- MN 13 The Greater Discourse on Suffering - Majjhima Series w/ Delson Armstrong
Delson reads and comments on MN 13, the Greater Discourse on Suffering (Maha Dukkhakhandha Sutta).
- 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 7 Higher Arūpa Jhanas 5-8 leading to Stream Entry
Delson explains the higher jhanas (the formless states of infinite space, infinite consciousness, nothingness, and neither perception nor non-perception), building from the fourth jhana…
- Day 5 What is Mindfulness - 4 Foundations of Mindfulness-Not McMindfulness
Delson explains the four foundations of mindfulness (satipatthana) as body, feeling, mind and mind objects, and says they are anchor points for the mind rather than stages to pass through…
- Day 6 Introduction to Jhanas 1-4 -Keys to Entering the Jhana
Delson reads from DN 2 (Samaññaphala Sutta) to set out what the Buddha says must be in place before the mind naturally enters jhana: ethical conduct, guarding the sense doors, contentment…
- The Brahma Viharas are explained - this is the first part of the Buddhist path to awakening
Delson explains what the Brahma Viharas (the divine abodes) are and why they are used as meditation objects.
- Awakening and The Four Stages - 2nd Interview with Andrzej
Delson and Andrzej discuss awakening as an experiential understanding of the Four Noble Truths, not a mystical state or a goal to be reached.
- Przebudzenie i popularne mity. Rozmowa z Delsonem Armstrog. Odosobnienie w Polsce11-20.praździenika
Delson Armstrong discusses what awakening means in the Buddhist context, presenting it as freedom from identification with a permanent self and from craving, and as an ongoing process…
- Interview: Andrzej Stasiak with Delson Armstrong-Jhanas through Awakening
Delson Armstrong and Andrzej Stasiak discuss TWIM (Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation), the jhanas, and awakening.
- Day 6 "The Jhanas 5-8" with Delson Armstrong
Delson Armstrong teaches the four formless attainments (ayatanas, or arupajhanas) as he understands them: infinite space, infinite consciousness, nothingness, and neither perception nor…
- Day 5 "The Jhanas 1-4" with Delson Armstrong
Delson explains the jhanas as stages of collectedness (samadhi) that develop once the hindrances have eased, and walks through the first four jhanas and their factors.
- Delson Armstrong on cessation vs jhanas vs anaesthesia
Delson Armstrong answers an interviewer's questions about cessation, which he distinguishes from ordinary sleep, general anaesthesia, the awareness of awareness described in non-dual…
- High Altitude Meditation Retreat Preview with Delson Armstrong and Doug Kraft -podcast
Delson Armstrong and Doug Kraft preview a seven-day retreat in California based on Doug's book High Altitude Meditation.
- 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 7 Vatthupama Sutta -The Simile of the Cloth with Delson Armstrong
Delson reads and explains MN 7, the Simile of the Cloth, which compares a defiled mind to a stained cloth that takes on the colour of any dye, and a pure mind to a clean cloth that takes…
- MN 6 Akankheyya Sutta - PRECEPTS ARE THE BASIS OF AWAKENING!
Delson reads and explains MN 6 Akankheyya Sutta, in which each "if a bhikkhu should wish" clause ends with the refrain to fulfill the precepts, develop samadhi and insight, and dwell in…
- MN 4 'Fear and Dread" Sunday Sutta Series with Delson Armstrong
Delson reads through MN 4, the Bhayabherava Sutta (Fear and Dread), in which the Buddha describes how he stayed in remote forests and shrines without fear, relying on purified conduct…
- 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.
- 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.
- MN 70-Health & Attainments - Sunday Talk with Delson Armstrong
Delson works through MN 70, the Kitagiri Sutta, beginning with the Buddha's advice to abstain from eating at night and the monks who refused it.
- Aug 10 Sunday Series -AN10.6-7 Samadhi Sutta & Sariputta
Delson reads AN 10.6 (the Samadhi Sutta) and AN 10.7 (the Sariputta Sutta), in which Ananda asks how a monk can reach a concentration where he no longer perceives the elements, the…
- Summary of Jhanas 1-4 -Rupa Jhanas - W/Delson Armstrong
Delson summarises the four rupa jhanas, the meditative absorptions.
- 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 5 Path to Nibbana - Upanisa Sutta-Transcendental DO - Delson Armstrong
Delson recaps the higher jhanas (the arupa ayatanas, from infinite space through neither-perception-nor-non-perception) and how the mind moves through them toward cessation.
- Day 4 'The Higher Jhanas (5-8)+Nibbana" - Progressing on the Path to Nibbana-Excellent
Delson explains the higher jhanas, from the fifth through the eighth attainments, which he presents as an extension of the fourth jhana into the four ayatanas: boundless space, boundless…
- Day 4 'The Higher 4 Jhanas (5-8)+Nibbana" - Progressing on the Path to Nibbana-Excellent
Delson explains the higher four jhanas, which he describes as the four ayatanas (infinite space, infinite consciousness, nothingness, and neither perception nor non-perception), and how…
- Day 5 Adv Retreat -Sn 41.7 With Godatta -Liberations -Delson Armstrong
Delson reads SN 41.7, the Godatta Sutta, in which Venerable Godatta asks whether the measureless, nothingness, emptiness and signless liberations of mind are one in meaning.
- June 15 SN 41.6 "With Kamabu" Cessation and its attainment. Sunday Sutta Study
Delson works through SN 41.6, the discourse with Kamabhu, in which the householder Chitta asks about the three formations, how the attainment of cessation of perception and feeling comes…
- 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 8 -Day 4... '12 Step' to Enlightenment -Delson Armstrong
Delson presents the Upanisa Sutta (SN 12.23) and AN 10.1-10.4 as a "12-step" sequence running from faith through gladness, joy, tranquility, comfort, samadhi and equanimity to…
- Delson's True Path, Message to Dharma Community – Tales From Nibbana Episode 4 with Delson Armstrong
Delson clarifies statements he made in his earlier Guru Viking interviews, where he presented himself as a fully awakened arahant reached through TWIM.
- Apr 13 2025 Inspiring Sign AN 47.10 & SN 22.37 Delson Armstrong
Delson reads SN 47.10 about nuns established in the four foundations of mindfulness who perceive successively loftier stages, and explains that the 6R's act as an inspiring sign that…
- Don't Talk About Nibbana – Tales From Nibbana Episode 2 With Delson Armstrong
Delson and his interviewer discuss Nibbana: what it is, how the mind of an arahant relates to it, and how it differs from nirodha samapati.
- When Dharmic Views Become Prisons – Tales From Nibbana Pilot Episode with Delson Armstrong
Delson joins a conversation about how views and conceptual frames in meditation can be useful but become limiting when held on to.
- Mumbai Retreat February 2025 | Day 6 - Levels of Cessation
Delson explains the jhanas as levels of cessation, moving from the first jhana, where the hindrances fall away, through the four formless ayatanas of infinite space, infinite…
- Mumbai Retreat February 2025 | Day 5 - The Steps to Liberation
Delson explains liberation in Buddhist terms as the destruction of greed, hatred and delusion, and describes a path to it through relaxation, tranquility, comfort, collectedness…
- Origin of Hindrances and Cessation as a Pleasant Abiding with Delson Armstrong
Delson walks through AN 10.61 (the Avijja Sutta), which describes a chain in which the five hindrances feed ignorance, the three kinds of misconduct feed the hindrances, and so on back to…
- 2025 SN 46.54 Proof of Jhanas attained using Metta with Delson Armstrong Sunday Series at DSMC
Delson reads and comments on SN 46.54, in which the Buddha says that the liberation of mind by each brahmavihara (loving-kindness, compassion, altruistic joy, equanimity) can culminate in…
- Ep290: Answering Critics & Kriya Yoga - Delson Armstrong
Delson responds to criticism of his renunciation of attainments and his revision of the four-path and ten-fetter model, arguing that these are one model among others and that his own…
- 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…
- DO Series - The Link of BHAVA-BEING-BECOMING
Delson continues his dependent origination series by explaining bhava (existence, becoming, habitual tendencies) as the link that sits between clinging and the birth of action.
- On Retreat -Delson talks to the meditators at the Solar Eclipse Retreat
This is a question-and-answer session at a retreat where Delson answers questions from meditators.
- The link of Birth or Jati; "The Dependent Origination Series!" with Delson Armstrong
Delson reads from his booklet on jati, the link of birth in dependent origination (SN 12.11), and explains birth at cosmic, moment-to-moment and everyday levels.
- What is Nirodha-samāpatti (Delson Armstrong)
Delson explains nirodha-samapatti, usually translated as the cessation of perception, feeling and consciousness, in which concepts, bare sensations and awareness all stop.
- Forgiveness Meditation - Zoom Talk by Delson Armstrong
Delson Armstrong teaches the forgiveness practice as taught in the Suttavada and Damasuka tradition, using the statement "I forgive myself for not understanding" repeated quietly, then…
- 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.
- Talk 13 -Closing Talk- Dependent Origination Conf. with Delson Armstrong
Delson closes a multi-day dependent origination event by urging participants to see the links of dependent origination in everyday life, citing MN28, where Sariputta says that one who sees…
- Talk 11 -Nirodha and Nibbana- Dependent Origination Conf. with Delson Armstrong-4K
Delson gives a final talk on nirodha (cessation) and Nibbana, reading from several suttas: SN 41.6 and 41.7, AN 10.6 and 10.7, Iti 44, and an excerpt from DN 11.
- What Exactly is the Deep End of Meditation? | Delson Armstrong
Delson Armstrong describes his own path, from hatha yoga as a teenager through Himalayan training, Kriya, Tibetan practices and metta to TWIM.
- Talk 7 -Bhava (Being) Q&A- Dependent Origination with Delson Armstrong-4K
Delson Armstrong answers participants' questions in a Q&A on bhava (being) within a dependent origination series.
- Samadhi explained from renown meditator Delson Armstong #shorts #consciousness
Delson explains samadhi as an umbrella word that can mean an altered state or a state of collectedness, and says its levels overlap with the jhanas.
- The Path to Unconditional Freedom with Meditation Master Delson Armstrong
Delson describes his path from Hatha yoga at 13 through Himalayan study, Kriya Yoga and other mystical traditions to teaching TWIM and the 6R's within Suttavada.
- Day 4 Jhanas Cont.- Japan Retreat Dec 2023
Delson continues his talk on the jhanas by moving from the form jhanas into the formless attainments, which he calls ayatanas and treats as extensions of the fourth jhana: infinite space…
- Day 3 Enlightenment Factors & Jhana- Japan Retreat Dec 2023
Delson explains the seven enlightenment factors (mindfulness, investigation of states, energy, joy, tranquility, collectedness and equanimity) as qualities that arise naturally when…
- 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 4:Transcendental Dependent Origination -The Path to Nibbana
Delson explains the transcendental links of dependent origination, a sequence from suffering and faith through virtue, gladness, joy, tranquility, collectedness and equanimity to…
- Day 3: Awakening Factors-Netherlands Oct 2023
Delson explains the seven awakening factors as qualities that counter the five hindrances and support jhana and insight, and walks through how mindfulness, investigation, energy, joy…
- Day 3: Awakening Factors
Delson explains the seven awakening factors (mindfulness, investigation of states, energy, joy, tranquility, collectedness and equanimity) and how they arise together, with the first jhana…
- Day 3: Awakening Factors
Delson explains the seven awakening factors and how they relate to the five hindrances, the four foundations of mindfulness, and right effort.
- Day 4: Jhāna 1
Delson explains the first four jhanas as he teaches them in TWIM: the mind collects around its object, and each jhana has its own factors, from joy born of seclusion in the first to…
- Day 8: Transcendental Dependant Liberation
Delson explains the links of transcendental dependent origination, which he also calls the links of transcendental dependent liberation.
- Day 5: Jhāna 2
Delson explains the formless jhanas (the ayatanas, the fifth to eighth jhanas), which he presents as extensions of the fourth jhana.
- Jhanas + Q&A Mumbai 2023 Acharya Delson Armstrong
Delson explains the jhanas as levels of cessation that unfold from a loving-kindness practice, through the four form jhanas and the formless ayatanas, to cessation and nibbana.
- Kalimpong 2023 Buddha Pāda Day 4 Jhanas
Delson explains the jhanas as levels of samadhi, a balanced and unified mind that arises after right collectedness and the earlier path factors.
- Copy of June 4, 2022 - Questions and Answers with Delson Armstrong
Delson answers a series of listener questions on TWIM practice.
- Kalimpong 2023 Buddha Pāda Day 5, Ayatanas, Jhanas 5-8
Delson explains the arupa states, which he presents as the fifth through eighth jhanas and the ayatanas, as they arise on a retreat after the fourth jhana.
- May 2021 Online Retreat Q&A 3
Delson answers audience questions at an online retreat on past-lives recognition versus the jhanas, the Angulimala story and whether good kamma helps attainment, and how to recognise the…
- MN 121 17 April 2022
Delson works through several suttas on voidness (sunyata, emptiness), reading MN 121 and SN 35.85 and then SN 41.7 and SN 41.6.
- June 4, 2022 - Questions and Answers with Delson Armstrong
Delson Armstrong answers questions submitted through the Suttavada website about TWIM practice and Dhamma.
- Kalimpong 2023 Buddha Pāda Day 3 Awakening Factors
Delson explains the seven enlightenment factors as a way of understanding what jhana is: the absence of the five hindrances with the enlightenment factors present to varying degrees.
- MN111 12 April 2022 Easter Retreat - St. Francis Retreat Center, San Juan Bautista, California, USA
Delson walks through MN111 (the Anupada Sutta), in which Sariputta examines each jhana and its factors one by one as they occur.
- Kalimpong 2023 Buddha Pāda Day 8 Transcendental DO- Upanisa Sutta
Delson explains transcendental dependent origination as the path side of the teaching, where the links are seen ceasing rather than arising.
- 13April22 DN15
Delson works through Digha Nikaya 15, the Maha Nidana Sutta, reading and explaining the links of dependent origination from consciousness and mind-body through feeling, craving, clinging…
- Day 3 UK Retreat (Sept 2023) Jhanas Pt 1
Delson explains jhana as a level of concentration, clarity and cessation that grows out of sila and samadhi, and he walks through the four jhanas using the factors of vitaka and vichara…
- Day 8 UK Retreat (Sept 2023) - Transcendental Dependent Liberation
Delson explains what he calls transcendental dependent origination, the eleven links that run from suffering to liberation, and how they relate to the Eightfold Path and the enlightenment…
- Bonhays UK Day 4- Retreat- Jhanas Pt 2
Delson continues his retreat teaching on the jhanas, covering the fourth jhana and the four immaterial states (infinite space, infinite consciousness, nothingness, and neither perception…
- The Deep End of Meditation - Rebooting the Brain | Delson Armstrong
In this interview, Delson Armstrong traces his meditation path from hatha yoga, Kriya Yoga and Tibetan practices to TWIM, and describes the jhanas, the samadhi states of yoga, and a…
- Day 8 Transcendental DO, BUDDHA PĀDA INSTITUTE, Kalimpong- Delson Armstrong
Delson explains transcendental dependent origination, the sequence running from faith grounded in suffering, through virtue, the precepts, the jhanas and equanimity, to disenchantment…
- Kalimpong 2023 Buddha Pāda Day 4 Jhanas
Delson explains the jhanas as stages of samadhi that arise from a balanced, unified mind, with loving-kindness used as the object of meditation.
- Kalimgpong 2023 Buddha Pāda Day 5 Ayatanas
Delson explains the four arupa states that follow the fourth jhana, which he describes as the ayatanas: infinite space, infinite consciousness, nothingness, and neither perception nor…
- Day 5 The Four HIgher Jhanas - Ayatanas, BUDDHA PĀDA INSTITUTE, Kalimpong- Delson Armstrong
Delson explains the arupa states, which he calls the ayatanas, as the stages that follow the fourth jhana: infinite space, infinite consciousness, nothingness, and neither perception nor…
- Kalimpong 2023 Buddha Pāda Day 3 Awakening Factors
Delson explains the seven factors of awakening (mindfulness, investigation, energy, joy, tranquility, collectedness and equanimity) as the basis for jhana and as the path to nibbana.
- Q&A about MN 43 with Delson -Mahavedalla Sutta
Delson answers questions on MN 43, the Mahavedalla Sutta, explaining how the five sense faculties depend on vitality and heat, and what vital formations are.
- Upanisa sutta Transcendental DO with Delson Armstrong July 20,2023
Delson explains the transcendental links of dependent origination, the sequence that leads from suffering and faith through virtue, gladness, the jhanas, equanimity and disenchantment to…
- Day 3 Jhanas 1-4 Explanation with Delson Armstrong Pt 1
Delson introduces the first four jhanas as progressively deeper levels of collectedness and cessation that arise from the metta practice when the mind lets go of hindrances.
- Day 3 The Jhanas -First 4 explained- by Delson Armstrong Pt1
Delson explains the first four jhanas as progressively more settled states of mind that arise from loving-kindness (metta) practice once the mind is relaxed and free of hindrances.
- Day 4 The Arupa Jhanas explained -5-8 & Nibbana with Delson Armstrong. Jhanas Pt 2
Delson explains the four arupa jhanas (ayatanas) that follow the fourth jhana: infinite space, infinite consciousness, nothingness, and neither perception nor non-perception.
- 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.
- MN 43 Mahavedalla Sutta AN3.102 Deep Dhamma
Delson reads the Mahavedalla Sutta (MN43), a dialogue between Maha Kotthita and Sariputta, and explains its teaching on wisdom, consciousness, feeling, perception, the five faculties, and…
- Upanisa Sutta and a Deep Dependent origination discussion with Delson Armstrong
Delson Armstrong reads and explains the Upanisa Sutta (SN 12.23) on transcendental dependent origination, showing how liberation comes through a chain of supporting conditions that runs…
- The Jhanas with a Map of the 8th Jhana -Day 3 June 24, 2023
Delson reads the Culagosinga Sutta (MN 31), in which the monks Aniruddha, Nandiya and Kimbila describe their attainments of the jhanas, the formless attainments and cessation.
- 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…
- June Retreat AN 10.1 Transcendental Arising-Out of Suffering
Delson teaches the "transcendental dependent origination" from AN 10.1, in which Ananda asks the Buddha for the purpose of virtuous behaviour and the answer runs as a chain from non-regret…
- MN 111 The Path Through the Jhanas-Very Good Explanation of the Jhanas
Delson explains the jhanas as naturally arising states of collectedness that come from letting go of the hindrances and relaxing, not from forceful concentration.
- Ep201: Revealing Nirodha Samāpatti - Delson Armstrong, Shinzen Young, Chelsey Fasano, Dr Laukkonen
This panel interview, hosted by Steve (Guru Viking), discusses the study "Cessations of Consciousness in Meditation" on nirodha samapatti.
- Day 4 Talk on Enlightenment Factors and Jhanas. "Accompanied by Lovingkindness".
Delson reads SN 46.54, the Metta Sahagata Sutta, in which the Buddha answers wanderers who say their teaching matches his: the Brahmaviharas lead to liberation of the mind when they are…
- Deerpark Retreat Day 7 'Deeper Aspects of Dhamma Pt 1' w/Delson Armstrong
Delson reads and explains Majjhima Nikaya 43, the Maha Vedalla Sutta, in which Sariputta answers Maha Kotthita's questions on wisdom, consciousness, feeling and perception, the jhanas, the…
- Deerpark Retreat Day 3 MN 111 The Buddha's Map: through the Jhanas to Nibbana w/Delson Armstrong
Delson reads through MN 111, where Sariputta distinguishes each jhana and formless attainment as it occurs, and explains each stage in TWIM terms.
- Deerpark Retreat Day 1 Orientation w/Delson Armstrong
Delson gives orientation for a 10-day retreat, covering the metta practice with a smile, the choice of a spiritual friend, and the six R's for handling distractions and hindrances.
- 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 4 The Buddha's Awakening Part 1
Delson walks through the Buddha's path to awakening as told in MN 26 and MN 36, and in the sutta sequence he calls the gladness-to-collectedness sequence from DN 2.
- Day 3 The Jhanas
Delson explains the jhanas through a sutta passage in which the Buddha describes ever more refined pleasures, from sensual pleasure through the four jhanas, the formless attainments, and…
- Day 8 MN 112 The Six Fold Purity -What is an Arahant -Delson Armstrong
Delson reads MN 112, the Chabbisodhana Sutta on the six-fold purity, and comments on it section by section.
- Kundalini Revelations with Delson Armstrong -Master Yogi
Delson Armstrong, speaking with an interviewer, describes his years of intensive Kundalini practice and explains why he now considers it a conditioned experience rather than the path.
- 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.
- Live Dhamma QA with Delson Armstrong Aug 6
Delson answers ten questions from a live online session covering dependent origination, the precepts, jhana practice in TWIM, the eighth and signless states, and craving.
- 31 Realms -Buddhist Cosmology Explained by Delson Armstrong
Delson describes the 31 realms of Buddhist cosmology, from the hell realms at the bottom through the animal, human, deva and brahma realms up to the formless realms.
- 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…
- Delson Armstrong - Part I - Marvels of Mind & “High Altitude” States of Meditative Absorption(Jhana)
Delson Armstrong is interviewed on a podcast about his background and his teaching in TWIM.
- Day 8- 10 Day Retreat June 2022 MN 43 Voidness and Vital Formations
Delson reads through MN 43, the Maha Vedalla Sutta, with commentary, from a 2022 retreat.
- 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 9 May Retreat AN 10.2 'After the Retreat' with Delson Armstrong
Delson reads AN 10.2 (Chetana, Volition) as a guide to what to do after retreat.
- Day 3 May Retreat SN 46.54.4 "Accompanied by Lovingkindness" with Delson Armstrong
Delson reads SN 46.54 (Accompanied by Lovingkindness), in which the Buddha says the liberation of mind by loving-kindness, compassion, altruistic joy and equanimity has a culmination, and…
- Day 2 May Retreat MN 107 Ganaka Moggalana Sutta with Delson Armstrong -Distractions
Delson reads MN 107, the Ganaka Moggallana Sutta, and explains the gradual training it describes: precepts, restraint of the senses, moderation, wakefulness, full awareness, then seclusion…
- Day 8 Apr Retreat - Mulapariyaya Sutta MN 1- The Root of All Things with D. Armstrong
Delson reads MN 1, the Mulapariyaya Sutta (the root of all things), and explains how a worldling conceives self in the five aggregates, earth, beings, jhanas and Nibbana, while a disciple…
- Day 5 Apr Retreat-Dn15 -Part 2 -Dependent Origination: Stations of Consciousness
Delson continues reading the Maha Nidana Sutta (DN 15), covering the seven stations of consciousness and the two realms, and relates them to the jhanas and formless attainments.
- Day 6 Apr Retreat-Dn15 -Part 2 -Dependent Origination: Stations of Consciousness
Delson continues his reading of the Maha Nidana Sutta (DN 15) from a retreat, going through the seven stations of consciousness and the two spheres.
- Day 3 Apr Retreat-MN 111 One by One - the Jhanas lead to Nibbana
Delson works through the Anupada Sutta (MN 111), reading how Sariputta recognized each of the four jhanas and the four formless attainments one by one as they occurred.
- Day 7 - Talk on Nibbana, Cessation, Nirodha- MN121, SN 41.6&7 with Delson Armstrong
Delson reads and comments on MN 121 (the Shorter Discourse on Voidness) and SN 41.6 and SN 41.7.
- Suttavada Foundation Online Retreat 17 Dec 2021 Many kinds of Feeling With Delson Armstrong
Delson walks through the Lahu Vedaniya Sutta (MN 59) and the jhana sequence, describing the four jhanas and the formless attainments as levels of experience and cessation.
- MN 109 : The Greater Discourse on the Full-Moon Night - Delson Armstrong
Delson reads and comments on MN 109, the Maha Punnama Sutta, explaining the five aggregates affected by clinging, how craving and identification sustain them, and how seeing them as…
- Online Retreat 23 Dec 2021 Group Q & A With Delson Armstrong
Delson answers questions from participants at a group Q&A closing an online retreat, opening with a reading from SN 56.10 on talk that leads to Dhamma.
- Online Retreat 20 Dec 2021 Dhamma talk MN 38 and Q & A With Delson Armstrong
Delson reads MN 38, the Mahatanhasankhaya Sutta, and explains dependent origination as a chain from ignorance through formations, consciousness, contact, feeling, craving and clinging to…
- Ep136: Meeting of the Dharmas - Daniel Ingram & Delson Armstrong
Daniel Ingram and Delson Armstrong discuss the four-path model of awakening (stream entry, once-returner, non-returner, arahant), comparing their personal experiences and doctrinal…
- 9 Dec 2021 Q & A with Delson Armstrong second session
Delson answers questions at the close of a retreat on sharing merit and loving kindness for beings in the lower realms, and on the higher knowledges.
- Ep127: Siddha Tales - Delson Armstrong 2
In this interview, Delson Armstrong recounts mentors he met early on, including a Bombay cobbler who he says could read people's karma through samskaras, and a man with 13 near-death…
- 4 Dec 2021 Online Retreat Q & A With Delson Armstrong Session 2 of 2
Delson answers questions from a retreat on the nature of the present moment, meditation pain versus physical pain, posture, and craving for subtle states.
- 1 Dec 2021 Online Retreat Q & A with Delson # 1 part 2 of 2
Delson answers questions from retreat participants in the first online Q&A of a retreat.
- Neuroscience & the Meditation Path sponsored by FitMind App
Delson Armstrong, interviewed by Liam from FitMind, describes his practice path from Hatha and Kriya yoga and the Yoga Sutras, through Tibetan Rigpa, to the early Buddhist texts and TWIM.
- Ep120: Meditation Virtuoso - Delson Armstrong
Delson Armstrong describes his path from a Catholic-raised childhood in New Jersey to hatha yoga at 13, then Himalayan training from age 16 in the Yoga Sutras, six degrees of Kriya Yoga…
- 30 Oct 2021 Online Retreat Q & A #3
Delson answers participants' questions at the close of an online Suttavada retreat.
- Interview#5: Does Metta/Lovingkindness practice lead to Nibbana. What is Enlightenment?
Delson answers questions about using metta and the other brahmaviharas to enter jhana, which he says works because the uplifted feeling draws the mind into collectedness.
- 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…
- Zoom Talk MN 106 with Delson Armstrong -The Imperturbable
Delson reads and comments on MN 106 (Ananjasappaya Sutta, "The Way to the Imperturbable"), which describes how a practitioner moves from the fourth jhana through the formless attainments…
- Interview#3: 31 Planes of Existence - the Agony and the Ecstasy -Conversations with Delson
Delson Armstrong, interviewed by Karuna at Dhammasukha Meditation Center, explains samsara as conditioned existence driven by karma and describes the 31 planes of existence in Buddhist…
- Interview#2: Upcoming Research with Delson -What will Jhana or Cessation look like?
Delson describes a two-day study with researchers from the University of Amsterdam that recorded his brain and body during waking, focused attention, sleep and nirodha (cessation of…
- Interview#1: Dhamma Conversations with Delson Armstrong-Introduction & Jhanas
Delson describes his path from yoga, Yoga Sutra samadhis and Kriya Yoga to TWIM and the six R's, and explains why he sees these earlier practices as concentration that suppresses the…
- 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 26, 2021– DN 33 – The Chanting Together – Third Recitation: Sets of nine
Delson continues reading the Sangiti Sutta (DN 33) at the sets of nine, covering the causes and overcoming of malice, the nine abodes of beings, the nine unfortunate times for the holy…
- June 2021 Online Retreat Q&A 2
Delson answers audience questions on the second Q&A of a June 2021 online retreat.
- 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…
- June 5, 2021– DN 33 – The Chanting Together – Third Recitation – sets of six
Delson Armstrong works through the third recitation of the Sangiti Sutta (DN 33), the sets of six, reading each set and explaining it in his own terms.
- May 2021 Online Retreat Q&A 1
Delson answers questions from the first Q&A session of a May 2021 online retreat.
- May 15, 2021 – MN 43 – The Greater Series of Questions and Answers
Delson reads MN 43, the Maha Vedalla Sutta, on wisdom, consciousness, feeling and perception, and on the jhanas, the faculties, cessation, and the signless and voidness deliverances of mind.
- May 1, 2021 MN 7 - The Simile of the Cloth - The Effect of Faith on Meditation Practice
Delson reads and comments on MN 7, the Vatthupama Sutta (the simile of the cloth), in Bhikkhu Bodhi's translation.
- April 2021 Online Retreat Q&A 3
Delson answers questions from retreat participants on the precepts as habits, the seventh jhana and light versus darkness, dependent origination, flow states, and daily schedules.
- April 24 2021 - MN 4 - Fear & Dread - Letting Go of Hindrances Leads to the Natural Freedom of Mind
Delson reads MN 4, the Bhayabherava Sutta (Fear and Dread), and comments on how the Buddha's solitude in the forest was free of fear because his conduct was purified and he recognized and…
- April 2021 Online Retreat Q&A 1
In this Q&A, a practitioner describes getting distracted in the jhanas, mainly by restlessness, and asks whether determinations would help at this stage.
- April 17 - MN 53 - The Disciple in Higher Training - The Qualities of a Sotapanna (Stream Enterer)
Delson reads MN 53, the Sekha Sutta, in which Ananda describes the disciple in higher training who has entered the stream.
- GTOG Sunday Meditation Session: Delson Armstrong Sutta reading & explanation Upanisa Sutta
Delson reads and explains SN 12.23 (Upanisa Sutta), in which the Buddha traces the links of transcendental dependent origination backward from the destruction of the taints to the starting…
- Apr 10 2021 - MN 1 - The Root of All Things - Deconceptualizing Reality through Non-Identification
Delson reads and comments on MN 1, the Mula Pariyaya Sutta (The Root of All Things), using Bhikkhu Bodhi's translation.
- Mar 28 2021 - MN 113 - The True Person - Total Non-Identification with Experiences Leads to Nibbana
Delson reads MN 113 (the Sappurisa Sutta, "The True Person") and explains how the Buddha contrasts an untrue person, who takes pride in family, status, gain, learning, ascetic practices or…
- 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 21 2021 - MN19 - Two Types of Thought - Right Intention, Awakening Factors & Threefold Knowledge
Delson reads and comments on MN19, the Buddha's account of dividing thoughts into those of wrong intention and those of right intention, and of recognizing and releasing unwholesome…
- Jan 31 2021 - MN 137 - The Analysis of the Six Sense Fields
Delson reads and comments on MN 137, the Salayatana Vibhanga Sutta (the analysis of the six sense fields), covering the six internal and external bases, the six types of consciousness and…
- Jan 24 2021 - MN 64 - The Greater Discourse to Mālunkyāputta - Paths of the Anagami and the Arahant
Delson reads MN 64, the Greater Discourse to Malunkyaputta, and explains the five lower fetters, their underlying tendencies, and how they are abandoned through seeing the five aggregates…
- Nov 22 2020 - MN 121 - The Shorter Discourse on Voidness - The Signless and Empty Mind of an Arahant
Delson reads MN 121, the Cula Sunnata Sutta, in which the Buddha describes abiding in voidness by noticing what is absent from experience and what remains.
- Day-5 QA - Online 10-day Retreat (Nov-17) with Delson Armstrong
Delson answers questions from day five of an online ten-day retreat in November 2020.
- Day-4 QA - Online 10-day Retreat (Nov-17) with Delson Armstrong
Delson answers participant questions on day four of an online 10-day retreat.
- Day-3 QA - Online 10-day Retreat (Nov-17) with Delson Armstrong
Delson answers questions from day three of an online ten-day retreat in November 2020.
- Day-2 QA - Online 10-day Retreat (Nov-3) with Delson Armstrong
Delson answers participants' questions on a day-two online retreat, covering MN10 contemplation of internal and external phenomena, bare observation as mindfulness, and balancing the seven…
- Day-8 QA - Online 10-day Retreat (Nov-3) with Delson Armstrong
Delson answers audience questions from the seventh day of an online retreat.
- Day-1 QA - Online 10-day Retreat (Nov-3) with Delson Armstrong
Delson answers participants' questions on the first day of an online retreat.
- Day-9 QA - Online 10-day Retreat (Nov-3) with Delson Armstrong
In this closing question-and-answer session from day nine of an online ten-day retreat, Delson Armstrong answers questions on whether lay people can become arahants without joining the…
- Day-3 QA - Online 10-day Retreat (Nov-3) with Delson Armstrong
This question-and-answer session from an online retreat covers jhana objects, development by application, and how to recognize jhana factors without verbalizing them.
- Nov 15 2020 - MN 143 - Advice to Anāthapiṇḍika - Disengaging Consciousness Towards Nibbana
Delson reads and comments on MN 143, the Anathapindikovada Sutta, in which Sariputta advises the dying householder Anathapindika to stop clinging to the six senses, their contact and…
- Nov 8 2020 - MN 138 - The Exposition of a Summary - Non-Grasping Consciousness Leads to Nibbana
Delson reads MN 138 (the Exposition of a Summary), in which Maha Kacchana explains the Buddha's brief teaching that a mind not scattered externally, not stuck internally, and not clinging…
- Oct 25 2020 - MN105 - To Sunakkhatta - The Power of Letting go
Delson reads and comments on MN105 (Sunakkhatta Sutta), in which the Buddha says some monks who declare final knowledge do so rightly and others overestimate themselves.