Episode Details

Ep. 26 | Samaneri Jayasara, a Theravādin renunciate in the Thai Forest tradition, became inspired to record readings of profound wisdom texts written by the great spiritual masters of all time and traditions, put them to music (in most cases), and post them on YouTube. Intending simply to share the gift of wisdom, Jayasara didn’t expect much in the way of listeners, maybe 100 or so. But with her sublime understanding and exquisite voice, accompanied by beautiful music tailored to the individual texts, Jayasara has turned mere readings into transmissions of wisdom and healing that are helping and inspiring people around the globe, and she now has upward of 70,000 followers. In this conversation, Jayasara talks about the power of the spoken word to bypass intellectual filters and enter straight into your heart, how listening can result in unexpected awakenings, how contemplating death can shift our illusions and wake us up, and the story of how she came to be a contemplative. In this episode, she also treats listeners to two lovely samples of her readings, from St. John of the Cross and Chuang Tzu. Recorded October 14, 2021.

“Silence is God’s first language.” – St. John of the Cross

(For Apple Podcast users, click here to view the complete show notes on the episode page.)

Topics & Time Stamps

• The inspiration behind reading wisdom texts on YouTube: the advantage of absorbing dharma wisdom through listening (03:11)
• The power of the spoken word to go straight to the heart (06:12)
• Samaneri Jayasara, a rare Theravadin to have studied such a broad variety of religious traditions (13:38)
• Theravada: The Teaching of the Elders based on the Pali Sutras (15:37)
• The Thai Forest tradition focuses on practice (16:44)
• St. John of the Cross reading (17:49)
• The intention: a heartfelt sharing of the dharma; as the Buddha said, “The greatest gift you can give is the gift of the dharma.” (22:34)
• How Jayasara came to be a contemplative: suffering, dissatisfaction, and the teachings of Buddha and Krishnamurti (24:44)
• How one can support Jayasara’s practice and the Viveka Hermitage (33:15)
• Hearing teachings expressed in different ways, different conceptualizations with different traditions, can enliven your practice, make the wisdom go deeper, and help you not get stuck (33:48)
• The “flow and rhythm” of the spiritual life and the poetry of Ram Dass (35:28)
• How does Jayasara choose which text to read? (37:58) 
• On the transmission of wisdom (40:44)
• Chuang Tzu reading (46:24)
• When striving in our practice turns to opening to what is latent within us (51:35)
• Sudden awakening versus gradual awakening (54:44)
• How death contemplations can shift the illusion and wake us up (56:46)
• The story of Ramana: pure awareness and the deathless realm (01:02:26)
• The tendency to pick up a new identity after an ego death (01:04:24)
• What’s next? Mother Mountain Gulaga retreat (01:07:16)
• Choosing the music that goes with the readings (01:11:23)

Resources & References

• Samaneri Jayasara, Wisdom of the Maste