NEWS

The list of meditation retreats is going to be ready in March. You can already fill on-line application for Easter with Dhamma

MEDITATION RETREATS

on-line application

Easter with Dhamma

22.–25. April 2011, instructors: Lukáš Mezuliánek, Roman Hytych

Tradition Āyukusala

• O tradici Áyukusala
• Učitelé tradice Áyukusala

About the Āyukusala Tradition

Skillful life coping – this is the most fitting translation of that word that comes from the Old Indian language Pāli. Āyu means life and kusala indicates that it is skillful or leading to happiness. The word Āyukusala was used since 1974 by the Venerable Nyānaponika Mahāthera when he referred to the Swiss Dhamma Group. The founder of this group was a psychologist Dr. Mirko Frýba who was teaching practical methods how to live happily – these methods are based on the most original teachings of the Buddha as recorded in the Pāli Canon known as Tipitaka.

Both monks and laypeople belonging to the tradition Āyukusala are associated in the grouping called ACES, i.e. Ayukusala Central European Sangha; they live either in Europe or in the monasteries in Sri Lanka. The prominent supporters of the Āyukusala tradition were the Burmese Venerables Mahasi Sayadaw and Revatadhamma Sayadaw and the Sri Lankan Venerables Nyānaponika Thera and Piyadassi Thera. The present head of the Āyukusala tradition is the Venerable Āyukusala Thera, former Dr. Mirko Frýba who got in Sri Lanka the monastic name Kusalānanda ten years ago. There are in the Āyukusala tradition fully competent Dhamma teachers called Samana and Samanī who, however, do not use in Europe that same tropical set of clothing as they used to wear during their monastic training in Sri Lanka.

The training rules, which were formulated by the historical Buddha known as Samana Gotama, as far as they are adequate for the European conditions are valid also for the Samanas and Samanīs of the tradition Āyukusala. The most important principle of Āyukusala is to understand the Dhamma as the practical training how to diminish suffering, doing no harm neither to oneself nor to others, living happy life.