Language
Includes tags: Language, Pāli, Translation
{120} “Was Pali ever a conversational language? Do you know of a translation of suttas that use more common, everyday words? For example, saying…letting go or releasing instead of relinquishing. I like to use simple words in the day to remind myself.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Pāli ] [History/Early Buddhism] [Sutta] [Translation ] [Language] // [Buddha/Biography] [Culture/India]
Note: Bhante Sujato’s translations (available on suttacentral.net) use less technical terms.
2014 Thanksgiving Monastic Retreat, Session 5, Excerpt 19
{150} “Is there a difference between mindfulness and awareness?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness] [Present moment awareness] // [Language ] [Translation] [Culture/West] [Pāli] [Kamma] [Thai]
Thanksgiving Retreat 2016, Session 4, Excerpt 6
{200} “Are there books or online resources for the study of Pāli?” Answered by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Pāli ] [Dhamma books] [Dhamma online]
Reference: A New Course in Reading Pāli by James W. Gair and W. S. Karunatillake (pdf) [Pāli ] [Learning]
Note: Bhikkhu Bodhi’s Reading the Buddha’s Discourses in Pāli was published in 2020.
Chanting [2018], Session 3, Excerpt 4
{250} “Is there any other language that can describe things correctly? For example, mathematics or physics?” Answered by Ajahn Amaro. [Language ] [Unconditioned] [Science ] // [Suchness]
Sutta: Ud 3.10: “Whatever you conceive it to be, it is ever other than that.”
Reference: “Suchness and the Square Root of Minus One,” Happily Ever After by Ajahn Amaro, p. 507.
3. Quote: “The language of wisdom is the language of the heart.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Ajahn Jitindriyā. [Ajahn Chah] [Language] [Discernment] [Mindfulness] // [Liberation] [Spiritual search] [Monastic life/Motivation]
10. Quote: “I feel incredibly indebted to Ajahn Chah.” — Ajahn Jitindriyā. [Gratitude] [Respect for elders] [Ajahn Chah] // [Cultural context] [Language] [Teaching Dhamma] [Goodwill] [Perfectionism]
5. Story: How Ajahn Sumedho met Ajahn Chah. Told by Ajahn Sumedho. [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [Language] [Military] [Vinaya] [Ordination]
6. Recollection: The direct and earthy culture of Northeast Thailand. Recounted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Culture/Thailand] [Language] [Ajahn Chah]
Story: A direct teaching to a man whose wife had died. [Fierce/direct teaching] [Death] [Suffering] [Teaching Dhamma] [Grief]
2. Story: “This is Ajahn Varapañño.” Told by Paul Breiter. [Paul Breiter] [Translation] [Ajahn Chah] // [Meditation] [Ardency] [Monastic life] [Humor] [Goodwill]
7. Stories on almsround with Ajahn Chah. Told by Paul Breiter. [Almsround] [Paul Breiter] [Ajahn Chah]
Quote: “Good morning, Mr. Dum.” — Ajahn Chah. [Language]
Quote: “I’m going to disrobe. I want you to find me a nice girl.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Sinuan] [Respect for elders] [Wat Pah Pong] [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Humor] [Unwholesome Roots]
4. Story: Ajahn Chah goes to Bangkok for treatment and an operation. Told by Joseph Kappel. [Sickness] [Health care] [Ajahn Chah] // [Joseph Kappel] [Medicinal requisites] [Generosity] [Saṅgha decision making] [Lodging]
Story: Ajahn Chah’s last word. [Language]
2. Recognizing subtle forms of irritation. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Aversion] [Ill-will] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of body] [Hindrances]
Tibetan Buddhism translates klesha as affliction. [Vajrayāna] [Unwholesome Roots] [Translation]
6. Reflection by Ajahn Pasanno: Our suffering is fed and sustained by clinging. [Suffering] [Cause of Suffering] [Clinging ] [Liberation] // [Translation]
3. Ajahn Buddhadāsa translates nirodha as quenching. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Buddhadāsa] [Cessation] [Translation]
5. Ajahn Buddhadāsa translates paṭinissagga as “giving back”. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Buddhadāsa] [Translation] [Relinquishment] // [Naturalness] [Mindfulness of breathing]
4. “As a guilt-ridden American, how do you respond to personal mistakes without guilt?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] [Culture/West] [Great disciples] // [Saṅgha] [Conscience and prudence] [Pāli] [Skillful qualities] [Self-identity view] [Respect] [Perception] [Virtue] [Buddha]
Story: A monk falsely accuses Sāriputta (AN 9.11). [Forgiveness]
7. “What is loving kindness? What is the body and mind’s experience when I feel metta for myself and others?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Goodwill] // [Idealism] [Culture/West] [Right Intention] [Aversion] [Thai] [Happiness] [Translation] [Bhante Gunaratana] [Tranquility] [Spaciousness]
Quote: “The base of loving-kindness is dwelling in non-aversion.”
3. “What is the definition of wholesome? The word for me connotes the 50’s era of Ozzie and Harriet.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Skillful qualities ] [Culture/West] // [Pāli] [Happiness] [Tranquility] [Unwholesome Roots]
7. “What is the difference between tanha and lobha?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Craving] [Greed] // [Pāli] [Desire] [Cause of Suffering]
8. “Please explain in English the Pali chant you give as a blessing at the meal and at other occasions.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Anumodanā] [Pāli] // [Translation] [Merit] [Similes] [Three Refuges]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 50
12. “What is the Pali word for letting go or relinquishment? Is this the opposite of upādāna?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Pāli] [Relinquishment] [Clinging] // [Release] [Progress of insight ] [Ajahn Pasanno]
Sutta: MN 37: Sabbe dhammā nālaṁ abhinivesāya–All dhammas are not to be clung to. [Conditionality]
Sutta: SN 46.1: ...based upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, maturing in release.
Sutta: MN 118: Ānāpānasati Sutta [Mindfulness of breathing]
17. “What is the difference between ‘meditating on’ versus ‘contemplating’ or just thinking about something. Can you give some examples how one may skillfully meditate on something versus unskillfully? What does saṅkhāra mean?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation] [Recollection] [Directed thought and evaluation] [Skillful qualities] [Volitional formations] [Pāli] // [Concentration] [Progress of insight] [Self-identity view] [Aggregates]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 11: A passage to arouse urgency.
6. “What are the characteristics of personality? Are they conditioned by kamma and our family, culture, and nationality? How do I learn not to take mine as truth and real?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Personality ] [Conditionality] [Kamma] [Family] [Cultural context] [Self-identity view] // [Suffering] [Characteristics of existence] [Humor]
Recollection: Ajahn Chah tended to translate anicca as uncertain or not sure. [Ajahn Chah] [Impermanence ] [Translation] [Proliferation] [Direct experience]
9. “Is gladness the same as thankfulness?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Empathetic joy] [Gratitude] // [Translation] [Divine Abidings]
Sutta: AN 6.10 Mahānāma [Recollection/Dhamma] [Gladdening the mind]
10. “What does Pasanno mean?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Translation] // [Faith]
Story: Why Ajahn Pasanno’s name is mispronounced. [Wat Pah Nanachat]
14. “What are the primary distinctions between Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Theravāda] [Mahāyāna] [Vajrayāna] [Spiritual traditions ] // [Dalai Lama] [Chanting] [Pāli] [History/Mahāyāna Buddhism] [Bodhisattva] [Ceremony/ritual] [History/Thai Buddhism]
1. Explanation of the meal blessing chant. [Anumodanā] [Almsfood] // [Pāli] [Gratitude] [Merit]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 50
2. Anumodana chanting: “Yathā vāri-vahāpūrā...” and “Bhavatu sabba-maṅgalaṃ...” (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 50) offered by the Abhayagiri Saṅgha. [Anumodanā] [Almsfood] [Pāli] // [Gratitude] [Merit]
4. “When speaking of mindfulness, is it implied that full heartfulness is mindfulness as well?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness] [Heart/mind] // [Pāli] [Culture/West]
7. “Could you elaborate on what the malleable mind is and how it differs from pliable?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Heart/mind] // [Pāli]
Sutta: AN 3.101-102: Similes of a goldsmith. [Similes]
15. “The need to give love and receive love is a basic human need by most standards. What is the Pāli word for love, and what did the Buddha teach about it?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Relationships] [Pāli] // [Goodwill] [Clinging] [Grief]
Sutta: MN 87: Born from those Who Are Dear.
Sutta: MN 21.20: The Simile of the Saw.
4. “Please kindly explain the four pairs and the eight kinds of noble beings (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 7).” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Recollection/Saṅgha] [Stages of awakening] // [Saṅgha] [Pāli]
8. “How did Ajahn Chah communicate to the Western monks?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Western Ajahn Chah lineage] [Language] // [Intuition] [Direct experience]
Quote: “Teaching Westerners is easy. Just like teaching buffaloes.” — Ajahn Chah. [Humor]
Quote: “Practicing Dhamma isn’t about the language, it’s about the experience.” — Ajahn Chah. [Language]
11. “Might you speak about the heat in Buddhism?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Heart/mind] // [Language]
5. “Kindly comment on the differences in meaning and in experience between the sensual desire of taṇhā and the hindrance of sensual desire associated with chanda, the neutral desire.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sensual desire] [Craving] [Desire] // [Pāli]
11. “Is there a Buddhist equivalent or analog to the soul?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Nature of mind] // [Cause of Suffering] [Self-identity view] [Not-self] [Translation] [Pāli] [Middle Path]
14. “Regarding the bare mind separate from its object, which of the Five Aggregates is it? Presumably even this mind is impermanent, yes?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Nature of mind] [Aggregates] [Impermanence] // [Liberation] [Language]
Sutta: MN 43.9: Feeling, perception, and consciousness are conjoined.
12. “Would you please share on the meaning of ‘practicing with integrity’ (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 7)?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Recollection/Saṅgha] [Truth ] // [Pāli]
14. “I find the translation of nirodha as ‘don’t make it a problem’ delightful. Is there anything you might add in its relationship to Dependent Origination?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Cessation] [Translation] [Dependent origination]
Sutta: SN 56.11.11 (Amaravati Chanting Book Volume 2, p. 10): “Whatever is of the nature to arise, all that is of the nature to cease.”
29. “What it the Pāli word translated as dispassion? What is the relationship between dispassion and equanimity?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Dispassion] [Pāli] [Equanimity]
4. “Can the practice be used in a punitive or punishing way?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] // [Culture/West] [Habits] [Clear comprehension] [Craving not to become]
Quote: “Having a human mind...it’s amazing how perverse it can be sometimes.” [Human] [Unwholesome Roots]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno can’t translate guilt into Thai. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Translation] [Culture/Thailand] [Suffering]
Quote: “All you need to do is create a cage of mindfulness around [unskillful habits].” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Sense restraint] [Mindfulness] [Unskillful qualities] [Similes]
Follow-up: “What about letting the tiger go instead of keeping it in a cage?”
Follow-up: “What about the case when one feels one is the tiger trapped in a metaphorical cage. How to escape?” [Liberation] [Perception] [Self-identity view] [Spiritual friendship]
10. Quote: “It all comes back to that simple quality of mindfulness. From the mindfulness, then the different qualities of practice that we need to rely on are cultivated.” — Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness ] [Faculties] [Tudong] // [Concentration ] [Thai] [Translation] [Discernment] [Perfections]
Reflection: In Thai, samādhi is translated as “the firm establishing of the mind.” [Concentration ] [Translation]
Quote: “The base and foundation is the mindfulness. Being the knowing is always the foundation, and then the mind is able to become still, become settled, become steady.” [Knowing itself] [Concentration ]
Recollection: “It’s rare that Ajahn Chah would use [the Pāli term] pañña on its own. More often than not, he would use satipañña, which is mindfulness and wisdom together.” [Ajahn Chah] [Pāli]
8. “Sometimes I experience what one of my teachers has called a multiple hindrance attack. For me this manifests as sloth and torpor and restlessness, feeling as if they are arising simultaneously. Sloth and torpor may be primary; I’m not sure. Any wise words?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Hindrances ] [Sloth and torpor] [Restlessness and worry] // [Doubt] [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities] [Pāli]
9. “Could you please say a little more about the fifth hindrance, doubt? Is it self-doubt or doubt of the Dhamma?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Doubt] // [Culture/West] [Mindfulness of body] [Pāli]
1. “What was that onomatopoeic word you mentioned? What does it mean?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Language] [Pāli] // [Doubt] [Restlessness and worry]
4. “What are mind-conditioners (e.g. MN 44.13, MN 118.19)? Are they feelings, habits, or something else?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Heart/mind] [Volitional formations] [Feeling] [Habits] // [Pāli] [Perception]
13. “Is there a chant or a few lines that you can suggest to provide a smooth transitional bridge from chanting something such as Salutation to the Triple Gem (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 9) into meditating on the breath? I feel disconnected: inspired by the meaning of the chant and then suddenly I’m focusing on my breath. Did the Buddha have a few powerful verses reminding us of the power of breath meditation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Chanting ] [Mindfulness of breathing] // [Three Refuges] [Recollection/Buddha] [Impermanence] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Pāli] [Memory] [Dhamma online]
Sutta: MN 118.15: 16 steps of mindfulness of breathing; Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 85 has both Pāli and English.
21. A question in Thai asking for an explanation of hiri-otappa. Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Conscience and prudence] // [Translation] [Respect]
23. “I have had more of a pedestrian view of the Dhamma, and for the first time I’m having trouble even referring to the Buddha as ‘the Lord’ (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 23). Can you review taking refuge in the Buddha? Likewise, who is Lord Sahampati in the chant of requesting a Dhamma talk (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 124)?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Buddha] [Chanting] [Respect] [Three Refuges] [Brahma gods] // [Translation] [Culture/West] [Devotional practice] [Gratitude] [Recollection/Buddha] [Discernment] [Compassion] [Virtue]
Sutta: MN 26.20: The Brahma Sahampati invites the Buddha to teach. [Buddha/Biography] [Teaching Dhamma]
2. “What does it mean, ‘When a monk breathes in, he satisfies the mind’ (MN 118.20)?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Gladdening the mind] // [Pāli]
Quote: “It’s a lot more fruitful than ‘I’m a serious meditator and I’m skilled at making myself miserable!’” [Meditation] [Attitude]
18. “Is it atta that carries kamma? Is it atta that takes a rebirth? How can we talk about atta?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Kamma] [Rebirth] // [Suffering] [Naturalness] [Not-self ] [Middle Path] [Spiritual traditions] [Pāli] [Self-identity view] [Relinquishment]
3. “I’m confused about the distinctions between the third and fourth [Foundations of Mindfulness]. It seems like there’s overlap. Some teachers put the hindrances under phenomena. Can you explain please?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of mind] [Mindfulness of dhammas] [Hindrances] // [Investigation of states]
Sutta: MN 10.34-35: Mindfulness of mind.
Different translations of dhammānupassī, the fourth Foundation of Mindfulness. [Translation ] [Bhikkhu Bodhi] [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro] [Pāli]
4. “A small window of anatta has opened. It is very fresh, light, and breezy, but the opening is small, and the rest of the window is caked with so much dirt and grime. I’m fearful that outside of the support of retreat, it could close. Even now it feels like it is opening and closing. How to best proceed?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Not-self] [Symbolism/metaphor] [Fear] [Meditation retreats] // [Insight meditation] [Restlessness and worry] [Proliferation]
Quote: “The best thing is not claiming ownership over that insight....Pay attention to the feeling of it.” [Non-identification] [Direct experience ] [Feeling]
Quote: “If you just stick your finger in the warm water, then you’ll know what warm water is.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Language] [Dhamma]
11. “Hypothetically, a meditator through practice gains an experiential understanding of the Four Noble Truths and is established in mindfulness and equanimity. Life is good, and the glass is half full. However, there isn’t a belief in rebirth and that suffering will end in this lifetime. Why should the meditator continue of the path?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Four Noble Truths] [Happiness] [Rebirth] [Cessation of Suffering] // [Relinquishment]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 6: Opanayiko: Leading inwards/onwards. [Recollection/Dhamma] [Translation]
13. “What is the Pāli word meaning not-made-of-that, non-fashioning, non-proliferation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Pāli] [Non-identification]
16. “Are desire and craving interchangeable, the same thing? Can craving or desire exist without suffering?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Desire ] [Craving] [Suffering] // [Pāli] [Cause of Suffering] [Unwholesome Roots] [Sensual desire] [Unskillful qualities] [Bases of Success] [Skillful qualities]
28. “I’ve appreciated your reflections on the origins and translations of key words. For example, this morning was the first time I noticed the ‘enchantment’ and ‘illusion’ in disenchanted and disillusioned. They seem very positive words now. Do you have any reflections on the instructions to guard the senses?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Etymology] [Translation] [Disenchantment] [Sense restraint ] // [Pāli] [Sense bases]
36. “Is jhāna more alert or more trance-like?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Jhāna] // [Right Concentration] [Translation] [Mindfulness] [Clear comprehension]
16. “Can you recommend a beginning Pāli vocabulary book?” Answered by Bhante Suddhāso and Ajahn Pasanno. [Pāli] [Dhamma books] // [Sutta] [Ajahn Pasanno]
Reference: Pali Buddhist Texts: An Introductory Reader and Grammar by Rune Johansson (commercial).
5. “When I read a story that someone has awakened, what does this mean? Does it mean that the practice continues on another level?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Yatiko. [Liberation] [Gradual Teaching] // [Language] [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Faith] [Discernment]
6. “In the evening chant, it refers to the Buddha and the Saṅgha as ‘my lord’ (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 23). What is the Pāli that is used in this expression, and could you expand on what it means? How does it compare to the Christian use of this word? Being a former Christian, use of the word lord is troubling as one who should be worshipped.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Chanting] [Buddha] [Saṅgha] [Pāli] [Christianity] // [Translation]
Note: The Pāli word is sāmi-kissaro. Definitions of sāmi and issaro in the Digital Pāḷi Dictionary.
7. “Thanks for highlighting faith and devotion in the morning talk. What is the ‘look and feel’ of a practice where the faculty of faith leads the way to liberation? Are there any teachers in Ajahn Chah’s lineage who emphasize the way way or theme of release through faith?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Faith] [Liberation] [Ajahn Chah lineage] // [Faculties] [Translation] [Energy] [Ajahn Chah]
Quote: “It isn’t wisdom that gives up. It’s faith.” [Discernment] [Relinquishment]
4. “What exactly is muditā of the Four Brahmavihārās? To what degree does it correspond to the popular New Age practice of ‘law of attraction and gratitude?’ The standard translation of sympathetic joy seems inexact at best.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Empathetic joy ] [Divine Abidings] [Translation] [Gratitude] // [Jealousy]
7. “Can you say more about how the heart (jai) stays here and the mind (citta) investigates and moves out? Especially for those of us who are taught that jai is heart/mind.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Nature of mind] [Heart/mind] [Ajahn Tate] // [Language] [Ajahn Mun] [Knowing itself]
15. “Please explain the Fourth Precept, especially the idle talk part. It seems that we laypeople have idle talk all the time. Are we breaking this precept every day without knowing it?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Right Speech] [Idle chatter] [Lay life] // [Pāli] [Volition] [Unskillful qualities] [Restlessness and worry]
1. “With “fading away,” what is it that fades away?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Dispassion] // [Pāli]
4. “Would you speak about the four mundane and the four supermundane jhānas as well as sāmadhi?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Jhāna] [Concentration] // [Hindrances] [Relinquishment] [Stages of awakening] [Translation] [Thai]
8. “There are two different Pāli words that are translated as compassion in our chants: karuna (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 42) and anukampa (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 2). Do these words have different meanings in Pāli?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Compassion] [Pāli] // [Divine Abidings]
10. “Could you expand on the concepts of hiri and otappa, which the Buddha called the protectors of the world (Iti 42)?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Conscience and prudence] // [Translation] [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro] [Skillful qualities] [Virtue] [Sense restraint] [Kamma] [Happiness]
2. “You referred to the Visuddhimagga by Buddhagosa a few times this week. Is this a principle source of suttas and discourses? Would it be valuable for a layperson to study, assuming it has been translated into English?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Commentaries ] [Sutta] [Translation] // [Tipiṭaka] [History/Early Buddhism] [History/Sri Lankan Buddhism]
Reference: Path of Purification by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli.
2. “Do you have any thoughts about the two interpretations of ‘body of breath’ in MN 118?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of body] [Meditation/Techniques] // [Tranquility] [Volitional formations] [Pāli]
2. Comments about translations of ekaggatā and ekodibhāvaṃ. Contributed by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Unification] [Translation] [Bhikkhu Bodhi] [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Hindrances] [Tranquility]
2. “What are other possible translations of the recurring question [in the suttas], ‘What do you think?’” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Pāli] [Translation] // [Questions]
Sutta: SN 22.59 Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta (Chanting book translation).
1. “What’s the difference between sleep and sloth and torpor?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sloth and torpor] // [Bhikkhu Bodhi] [Translation] [Devotion to wakefulness] [Craving not to become]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno’s first meditation retreat: “You’ve been stealing sleep!” [Ajahn Pasanno]
Story: After Ajahn Pasanno’s illness, he needs to sleep an hour more. [Sickness]
2. “Is laziness more aversion than sloth and torpor?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Aversion] [Sloth and torpor] // [Pāli] [Energy]
4. “Could you elaborate on the difference between nutriment [AN 10.61] and the causal relationships in Dependent Origination?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Nutriment] [Dependent origination] [Conditionality] // [Commentaries] [Pāli] [Thai]
4. Question about the practice of metta in response to ill-will. Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Language] [Goodwill] [Equanimity] [Ill-will] // [Discernment]
Sutta: AN 5.161, “Removing Resentment (1).”
4. “The obtuse bhikkhu who thought about what self is touched by the results of action (MN 109.14)—that’s the place where kamma comes into the question?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Self-identity view] [Kamma] [Aggregates] // [Views] [Middle Path] [Doctrine-of-self clinging] [Characteristics of existence]
Follow-up: “Right view talks about being being reborn. Is this a conventional use of language? It’s not talking about selves being reborn?” [Right View] [Rebirth] [Language]
Sutta: SN 5.10: Simile of the chariot. [Conventions]
3. Comment: Bhikkhu Bodhi’s new translation for practices and precepts is behaviors and precepts. [Attachment to precepts and practices] [Bhikkhu Bodhi] [Translation]
Note: See The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha p. 1882.
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Virtue] [Habits]
4. “The Morning Chanting [in the old Abhayagiri Chanting Book] first translates upādāna as clinging, but when it goes to the various khandhas, the translation is identification. Could you reflect on clinging as identification?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Clinging] [Translation] [Aggregates] [Self-identity view] // [Sensual desire] [Attachment to precepts and practices] [Doctrine-of-self clinging] [Fetters]
5. “How do you understand the description of fabrication in SN 22.79?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Volitional formations] // [Aggregates] [Proliferation] [Ajahn Chah]
Reading: Bhikkhu Bodhi’s footnote to SN 22.79, The Connected Discourses of the Buddha p. 1071. [Translation] [Pāli] [Volition]
5. “MN 44.14 defines perception and feeling as mental formations. I thought those were just conditional arising on account of contact (MN 109.9)?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Perception] [Feeling] [Volitional formations] [Conditionality] [Contact] // [Pāli]
Ajahn Buddhadasā‘s translation of the Ānāpānasati Sutta (MN 118; Chanting Book translation) translates cittasaṅkhāra as the mental conditioner. [Ajahn Buddhadāsa] [Translation] [Mindfulness of breathing]
Reference: Mindfulness with Breathing by Ajahn Buddhadāsa, p. 72.
Follow-up: “The bodily fabrication doesn’t seem to involve volition, but vitakka and vicāra do.” [Body/form] [Volition] [Directed thought and evaluation] [Aggregates]
Comment: In the Ānāpānasati Sutta, much of the practice is intentionally calming different saṅkhāras. [Tranquility] [Mindfulness of body]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
6. Discussion about different meanings and contexts of saṅkhāra. [Pāli] [Volitional formations] // [Nibbāna] [Meditation] [Ven. Anālayo]
3. “In SN 22.2, Bhikkhu Bodhi translates displeasure, but our morning chanting has grief. Are they the same?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Grief] [Translation]
4. “What does fever mean in SN 22.2?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Pāli] // [Sensual desire]
6. “Was the word saṅkhāra used before the Buddha?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Volitional formations] [Pāli] // [Language] [Teaching Dhamma] [Aggregates]
9. Explanation of “The Questions of Māgaṇḍiya” (Snp 4.9) and Dr. Saddhatissa’s translation of the Sutta Nipāta. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [History/Early Buddhism] [Dr. Saddhatissa] [Translation] // [Great disciples] [Pāli] [Culture/Sri Lanka]
Story: Ajahn Chah tells Ajahn Sumedho to take Dr. Saddhatissa as the Saṅgharāja of England. [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Study monks]
2. Comment: Downside might fit the context [of SN 22.26-28] better than danger. [Drawbacks] [Translation]
Responses by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Pasanno.
3. “Why does SN 22.26 say both impermanent and subject to change?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Pasanno. [Impermanence] // [Sutta] [Abhidhamma] [Translation] [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro] [Teaching Dhamma] [Language]
Sutta: SN 22.59 Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta (Chanting book translation).
4. Comment by Ajahn Kaccāna: In SN 22.96, the Buddha implies that universal impermanence may be a good thing. [Impermanence]
Responses by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Pasanno.
Follow-up: “What’s ‘individual existence’ in Pāli?” [Translation] [Becoming]
2. “Why do the Buddha’s listeners immediately reply that what is impermanent is suffering?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Questions] [Impermanence] [Suffering] // [Translation]
Sutta: SN 22.59 Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta (Chanting book translation).
3. Comment by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Pasanno: The conclusion that what is not under our control can’t be self isn’t immediately obvious. [Volition] [Not-self]
Follow-up: “How have you come to understand this over time?” [Self-identity view] [Feeling]
Follow-up: “How does the chant, ‘I am the owner of my kamma’ relate to this?” [Kamma] [Language] [Conventions]
Sutta: AN 5.57 Five Recollections (Chanting Book translation).
Comment by Ajahn Jotipālo: The suttas are summaries rather than transcripts. [Sutta] [Teaching Dhamma]
4. “What is the term ‘Agivessana’?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Pasanno. [Pāli]
6. “Does volition differ from intention?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Pasanno. [Volition] // [Pāli] [Translation] [Kamma] [Self-identity view] [Skillful qualities]
Follow-up: “When we talk about effort, intention, and result in the Vinaya, is cetanā the word for intention?” [Vinaya]
Follow-up: “Saṅkhāra is sometimes translated as volitional formations. How does this differ from cetanā?” [Volitional formations] [Translation]
Sutta: AN 6.63.33: “Kamma is volition.”
19. Comment by Ajahn Yatiko: Right Livelihood isn’t about judging other people’s livelihood. [Judgementalism] [Right Livelihood]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Eightfold Path] [Pāli] [Cessation of Suffering] [Happiness]
3. “Why is discernment a better word for wisdom?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Discernment ] [Translation] // [Pāli] [Etymology]
2. [When talking about the qualities for developing the Eightfold Path: seclusion, cessation, and dispassion.] “Could you distinguish between cessation and dispassion?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Eightfold Path] [Progress of insight] [Cessation] [Dispassion] // [Pāli] [Etymology]
3. “Could you give the Pāli words for dispassion, cessation, and maturing? Also the word you used with otappa?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Pāli] [Dispassion] [Cessation] [Release] [Conscience and prudence] // [Seclusion]
4. Comment: Saṃvega comes in there somewhere. [Spiritual urgency] [Pāli]
8. “I appreciate your emphasis on clarity, stability, and spaciousness. How does concentration relate to these?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Clear comprehension] [Unification] [Spaciousness] [Concentration ] // [Pāli] [Thai] [Etymology] [Tranquility] [Happiness] [Rapture] [Conditionality]
Suttas: AN 10.3: Virtuous Behavior; AN 6.10 Mahānāma [Virtue]
Quote: “The way my mind worked before was, ‘Boy, when I get my concentration together, I’m going to be happy...’” [Ajahn Pasanno]
Quote: “The happy mind is easily concentrated.” [Hindrances] [Relinquishment] [Knowledge and vision]
2. “Could you clarify the difference between perception (sañña), mental formations (saṅkhāra) and consciousness (viññana)?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Perception ] [Volitional formations] [Consciousness] // [Memory] [Mindfulness] [Translation] [Volition] [Sense bases]
5. “Sorry, I missed something. Did you say that instead of dwelling on our hindrances and getting depressed, we could instead work with the Factors of Enlightenment to brighten the mind? What are the Factors you would suggest?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Factors of Awakening] [Gladdening the mind] // [Divine Abidings] [Perfections] [Right Effort] [Hindrances]
Reflections on Unbinding as a translation of Nibbāna. [Nibbāna] [Translation] [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro]
Quote: “Practicing Dhamma is like taking a screwdriver and unscrewing something rather than putting the screwdriver in and tightening it up.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Similes]
1. “Can you tell us about how Ajahn Chah taught Western monks when he didn’t know English?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [History/Western Buddhist monasticism] [Language]
2. Recollection: This talk was given to a group of Western monks led by Ajahn Khantipālo paying respects to Ajahn Chah in Bangkok. Recounted by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Ajahn Khantipālo] [Ajahn Chah] // [Ajahn Sumedho] [Translation] [Hearing the true Dhamma]