On November 5, 2018, Ajahn Amaro visited DRBU. Ajahn Amaro is a Theravāda Buddhist monk, author, and abbot of Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in England. He and several fellow monks toured the Sudhana Center and the University Building, met with DRBU faculty, and learned about DRBU’s academic programs.

Later that evening, Ajahn Amaro offered a talk and Q&A as part of DRBU’s Symposium lecture program.

In his talk, he outlined the five guidelines from the Buddhist tradition on giving feedback to others. These included:
Is the feedback you plan to give characterized by an attitude of kindness for others? If you feel there is aversion within yourself, wait until the motivation behind the feedback is purely for others, not for yourself.

• Ask for permission from the person before bringing feedback up.
• Give feedback in the right time, the right place, and in the right situation.
• Stick to the facts, not hearsay or assumptions.
• To give advice or feedback to others, you yourself must be free of the same fault.

Ajahn Amaro left the audience with a question: Between a huge pile of gold and honest feedback from others, which one is more valuable? You can watch the full talk on YouTube to hear more.