Discernment (paññā)
Includes tags: Discernment, Investigation of states, Appropriate attention
[Discernment] (pañña) includes correct perception and skillful choices at any level of refinement. [Investigation of states] (dhamma-vicaya) refers specifically to identifying skillful and unskillful states of mind inmeditation. [Appropriate attention] (yoniso manasikāra) refers to acts of discernment related to the field of attention.
3. “Have you ever regretted choosing the monastic life? Has your mother ever thought you made a wrong choice?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Monastic life/Motivation] [Doubt] [Parents] // [Gratitude] [Retirement] [Energy] [Mentoring] [Christianity] [Abhayagiri]
Reflections on leadership. [Leadership ] [Ajahn Chah] [Abbot] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Discernment]
Quote: “You can’t lead just by telling people what to do and they are going to obey. Forget it!” [Leadership ]
Quote: “Everybody else is a mirror for oneself if one is willing to learn in teaching or leading others.” [Leadership ] [Discernment] [Learning]
1. “From the Christian perspective, I understand we get knowledge or wisdom from God, but it is through our human effort that we get a taste of the wisdom. You mentioned [neither] moving backward, forward, or being still. In Zen meditation, they taught being present. Is this grace or effort?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Christianity] [Discernment] [God] [Human] [Right Effort] [Zen] // [Relinquishment] [Faith ] [Three Refuges]
Sutta: SN 1.1
Quote: “To me it’s much more faith that surrenders, that relinquishes, that’s willing to let go.” [Faith ] [Discernment]
Quote: “Suffering and being stuck in saṃsāra and in the world is just a bad habit.” [Suffering] [Saṃsāra] [Habits]
1. “What should one consider when looking for a teacher or guru to guide one’s personal journey?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Teachers ] [Mentoring] [Discernment] // [Ajahn Chah] [Determination] [Truth] [Perfectionism] [Personality]
Quote: “I saw many people show up [at Wat Pah Pong] with their list of what they thought a perfect teacher should be. ... and they would leave.”
Quote: “It is only when we are willing to give ourselves to truth or reality that the teacher makes sense.” [Relinquishment]
5. “Can you give some context to the story of Ajahn Chah getting angry and yelling at a monk and then regretting it, practicing with it?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Aversion] // [Unwholesome Roots] [Fierce/direct teaching] [Protocols]
Recollection: Ajahn Chah said that it wasn’t until he took on the responsibility of teaching others that he really gained wisdom. [Teaching Dhamma] [Discernment]
Reference: “Toilets on the Path,” Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 723.
1. “Would you say that with the ending of greed, hatred, and delusion that these are eradicated and don’t arise anymore?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Unwholesome Roots] [Cessation] // [Knowledge and vision] [Cause of Suffering] [Buddha] [Arahant]
Follow-up: “We hear sometimes that it arises, but the person isn’t grasping it.”
Comment by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo: This is similar to Ajahn Chah’s declaration, “Yes, I have a lot of anger, but I don’t pick it up.” [Ajahn Chah] [Aversion] [Relinquishment]
Story: Ajahn Chah explains that the many lines in his palm mean that he had lots of suffering. [Suffering] [Ajahn Viradhammo] [Teaching Dhamma] [Discernment]
1. “Could [the principles in AN 3.102] also be related to practicing anāpānāsati?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Investigation of states] [Right Effort] [Mindfulness of breathing]
Quote: “Dhamma is that which is just right.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Dhamma]
Quote: “Dhamma is neither high nor low, not dark or light, not tall or short. It’s just right.” — Ajahn Kinaree. [Ajahn Kinaree] [Middle Path]
2. “In practice, how do you know if you are tending towards laziness or restlessness, etc.?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Investigation of states] // [Concentration] [Direct experience] [Clear comprehension] [Ajahn Sumedho]
Sutta: AN 3.102: “The mind becomes malleable, wieldy, luminous, not brittle ...”
7. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno: The four bases of clinging are a theme for investigation. [Clinging] [Discernment] [Relinquishment] // [Sensual desire] [Views] [Attachment to precepts and practices] [Doctrine-of-self clinging] [Not-self]
Sutta: Dhp 160: “Attā hi attano nātho” – “The self is the refuge of the self.”
3. “When the mind rests in awareness and it’s not going out, it feels very natural. It knows that this is the place to be, but still over and over again, no matter how clearly it sees this pure quality and peaceful quality, it still goes out to thoughts. The mind keeps going out. It keeps grabbing, it keeps identifying, even though it knows this is dukkha.” Answered by Ajahn Amaro and Ajahn Pasanno. [Knowing itself] [Clinging] [Suffering] [Long-term practice] // [Noting] [Mindfulness of mind] [Idealism] [Discernment] [Food] [Feeling] [Birth]
Quote: “It’s just that much.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Discernment]
10. “If you are constantly around someone who engages you with prolonged and agitated discussion, how do you handle that?” Answered by Ajahn Amaro and Ajahn Pasanno. [Idle chatter] // [Mindfulness] [Clear comprehension] [Admonishment/feedback]
Sutta: MN 2: Sabbāsava Sutta.
Quote: “Never give feedback to your fellow samaṇas before the meal.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Monastic life]
Quote: “We can be completely mindful of taking initiative. Our capacity to act is part of the way things are.” — Ajahn Amaro. [Right Action ] [Discernment] [Right Mindfulness] [Buddha/Biography]
7. “What is the difference between unsupported and unsupportive [consciousness]?” Answered by Ajahn Amaro and Ajahn Pasanno. [Unestablished consciousness] // [Direct experience] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Self-identity view] [Appropriate attention]
Reference: The Island by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Amaro, p. 133.
Quote: “We say the mind is empty, but it’s actually full of wisdom.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Ajahn Amaro. [Ajahn Chah] [Emptiness] [Discernment]
Reference: Wisdom Develops Samādhi by Ajahn Mahā Boowa
3. “For good or right contemplation, do you need some amount of samādhi so that it won’t proliferate in thinking?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Amaro. [Discernment] [Concentration] [Proliferation] // [Thai Forest Tradition]
7. Comment: The translation of the Nibbāna Sutta (Ud 8.3) in The Island renders paññāyati as ‘discerned;’ the Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 49 translates it as ‘possible.’ Contributed by Ajahn Kaccāna. [Discernment] [Translation] [Chanting]
Response by Ajahn Amaro and Ajahn Pasanno.
Quote: “If you can’t go forward, if you can’t go backwards, if you can’t stand still, where do you go?” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Ajahn Amaro and Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Koan]
Sutta: Ud 8.1.
7. “How did Luang Por Chah cultivate his wisdom (satipañña)? How did he generate his energy (viriya)?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Discernment] [Energy] [Ajahn Chah] // [Doubt] [Teaching Dhamma]
Quote: “He was always curious to reflect, to investigate, to experiment, to try out things and to see what worked and what didn’t work.” [Personality] [Appropriate attention] [Discernment]
7. Recollection: He was always willing to push us beyond what we thought we could do. Recounted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Fierce/direct teaching] [Ajahn Chah] // [Intuition]
Quote: “I hope you’re not afraid of suffering. ... If you’re afraid of suffering, you’re not going to grow in wisdom here.” — Ajahn Chah to Jack Kornfield. [Jack Kornfield] [Fear] [Suffering] [Discernment]
Quote: “If you want to stay here, you have to stay at least five years.” — Ajahn Chah to Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Sequence of training] [Determination]
Story: Ajahn Chah asks the young Ajahn Pasanno to become abbot of Wat Pah Nanachat. [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Abbot] [Sickness]
1. Quote: “Whatever speech doesn’t take into account the reality of impermanence is not the speech of wise person.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Right Speech] [Discernment] [Impermanence]
3. “Could you speak about the practice of being mindful of craving and allowing it to pass?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Unskillful qualities] [Mindfulness] [Craving] [Cessation] // [Hindrances] [Relinquishment] [Recollection/Dhamma] [Faith] [Memory]
Quote: “If we don’t understand the obstacle, we can’t be free from it.” [Discernment] [Liberation]
Quote: “You’ve got to be really careful because the mind is a liar and a cheat.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Nature of mind] [Heedfulness]
10.1. Reflection by Ajahn Pasanno: The qualities of the Buddha: wisdom, compassion, purity. [Recollection/Buddha ] [Arahant] [Discernment] [Compassion] // [Pūjā]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 3: Homage to the Buddha.