Kalyāṇa-mittatā
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Search complete. 20 mentions across 6 episodes found for "Kalyāṇa-mittatā".
Oct 9, 2026
speaker_0UNKNOWN
A lot of what we do here in the monastery is we support each other in our practice.
speaker_0UNKNOWN
So this is Kalyanamitta.
speaker_0UNKNOWN
This is good friendship.
speaker_0UNKNOWN
And so there's seven qualities of a good friend.
Ajahn SumedhoHOST
And that's the Buddha position, the Buddha position of being a witness to the way it is rather than trying to create a paradisiacal lifestyle with an iPhone.
Ajahn SumedhoHOST
And yet the Buddha said, "Kalyāṇamitta, friendship is the greatest blessing for the holy life." So in the sangha, we have a lot of kalyāṇamittas or dharma friends.
Ajahn SumedhoHOST
And yet with the only amount of dharma friends we might have, we still get lonely.
Ajahn SumedhoHOST
So loneliness is to be understood.
Ajahn SumedhoHOST
But when we see it personally, then we become frightened because it's, it, we do feel very exposed to being hurt, damaged physically or mentally, emotionally, because the forms are very imperfect.
Ajahn SumedhoHOST
And even one who has a perfect form still has to experience the sensitivity that we have through the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, through the brain, through the thinking process.
Ajahn SumedhoHOST
So the Kalyāṇamitta position is, how do we do that? How do we see everyone as Kalyāṇamitta? Or when we, the critical mind is oftentimes busy telling us what's wrong with this person, this monk, this nun, this layman.
Ajahn SumedhoHOST
You know, the critical mind, the thinking mind is, is based on criticism, whether you like or don't like something, whether you approve or disapprove of something.
Ajahn BrahmaliHOST
And the ability to discriminate is actually fundamental to the Buddhist path.
Ajahn BrahmaliHOST
If you don't discriminate, how are you going to make any progress? One of the fundamental aspects of the spiritual practice is the idea of Kalyanamitta.
Ajahn BrahmaliHOST
You know the word Kalyanamitta? Yeah, you know it? Okay, you know it.
Ajahn BrahmaliHOST
You know it? Kalyanamitta? Yeah, Kalyanamitta? Okay, you know it.
Ajahn BrahmaliHOST
Good, excellent.
Ajahn BrahmaliHOST
Kalyanamitta, if you don't know this word, it's a beautiful word in the Pali language.
Ajahn BrahmaliHOST
The idea of kalyana really means beautiful or delightful or something like that.
Ajahn BrahmaliHOST
And mitta is friendship.
Milla GregorHOST
And today I'd like to draw a few of these threads together, thinking about these webs of practice and thinking about for a last time about these magnets and filters and maybe ways that we can create our own cultural or subcultural magnets and filters.
Milla GregorHOST
So I'm going to touch on a few different topics, consideration of lineage, consideration of collective or communal practice, and the notion of a spiritual friend, a good friend, a Kalyanamita in the Pali.
Milla GregorHOST
and possibly the practice of dana or generosity as well.
Milla GregorHOST
And in all these cases, my interest is about thinking about bringing together the inner and outer, using the tools of the dharma for both inner and outer exploration, inner and outer sati and sampajana.
9 MINS LATER
Milla GregorHOST
So I have some other things to share, but maybe let's get into practice.
Milla GregorHOST
Maybe I'll just say a little bit about spiritual friendship.
Milla GregorHOST
So spiritual friendship, Kalyanamita.
Milla GregorHOST
The Buddha says, just as the dawn is the forerunner of the sunrise, so good friendship is the forerunner for the arising of the Noble Eightfold Path.
AnandabodhiGUEST
So, yeah, giving those a moment.
AnandabodhiGUEST
And also having good friends, you know, Kalyanamitta.
AnandabodhiGUEST
So that word Kalyana again, Kalyana, lovely or beautiful.
AnandabodhiGUEST
So Dhamma is Kalyana, beautiful in the beginning, middle and end.
AnandabodhiGUEST
And also spiritual friends are known as Kalyanamitta.
AnandabodhiGUEST
So beautiful friends or beautiful friendship or lovely friendship.
AnandabodhiGUEST
And that's friends who... who really want the best for us, you know, who can show us when we're going off and who can give us the benefit of the doubt and allow us to make mistakes and start again and hold us to that also.
Mushim IkedaGUEST
Good morning and good day, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Black, Indigenous, people of color, and multi-heritage Sangha friends.
Mushim IkedaGUEST
Sangha, as we know, means spiritual community, and so in spiritual community, we're friends in a very special way, which is called spiritual friendship, also Kalyāṇamitra.
Mushim IkedaGUEST
Kalyāṇamitra.
Mushim IkedaGUEST
We're spiritual friends.
Mushim IkedaGUEST
What are spiritual friends? Because it's good to have friend friends, any kind of friends, good friends.