Right Action (sammā-kammanta)
Part of key topic The Noble Eightfold Path
Includes tags: Right Action, Killing, Stealing, Sexual misconduct



Remembering Ajahn Chah Weekend, Session 31 – Apr. 29, 2001

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4. Story: A hit man hired to kill Ajahn Chah ordains instead. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Crime] [Killing] [Ordination] [Ajahn Chah] // [Older monks]


Thanksgiving Retreat 2010, Session 7 – Nov. 26, 2010

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16. “In a discourse to the young Sigāla (DN 31.10), the Buddha advises against singing, dancing, and attending fairs. But fairs are fun, and song and dance can inspire. Please comment.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Entertainment and adornment] // [Intoxicants] [Restlessness and worry] [Culture/Thailand]

Story: Two or three villagers were killed at local fairs while Ajahn Pasanno was abbot of Wat Pah Nanachat. [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Killing]

Story: Master Hua discourages Rev. Heng Sure from giving away his instruments. [Rev. Heng Sure] [Artistic expression] [Vinaya] [Master Hsuan Hua] [Teaching Dhamma]

Story: Old habits arise during a recording session. [Habits] [Self-identity view]


Tudong Stories at Spirit Rock, Session 3 – Jun. 2, 2011

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8. Story: Ajahn Pasanno gets a foot infection on tudong. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Sickness] [Culture/Thailand] [Health care] [Tudong] // [Killing] [Goodwill]


2014 Thanksgiving Monastic Retreat, Session 2 – Nov. 23, 2014

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14. “Regarding the 1st precept of non-killing / non-harming, what to do on a practical / decision level regarding something like termites? I sold my last house because I didn’t want to fumigate, but I can’t keep moving to avoid killing termites / ants that eat at a house. Thank you for your compassion and explanation.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Killing] [Animal] // [Kamma]

Story: Abhayagiri deals with a cockroach infestation. [Abhayagiri] [Killing]


Buddhist Identity in the Modern World – Aug. 15, 2015

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6. Comment about the expectations people may have of Buddhists. [Precepts] [Virtue] [Idealism] [Buddhist identity]

Story: An American asks Ajahn Chah why there are so many thieves in Thailand. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Culture/West] [Culture/Thailand] [Stealing]


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12. Story about not killing a rattlesnake. [Killing] [Culture/West] [Animal] [Buddhist identity]

Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Culture/Thailand]


Suttas You've Never Heard Of, Session 2 – Jun. 25, 2016

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1. Story: A man in an airport asks Ajahn Chah, “If everyone is Buddhist, why are there so many thieves in Thailand?” Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Culture/Thailand] [Stealing] [Virtue] [Precepts]


Thanksgiving Retreat 2016, Session 3 – Nov. 21, 2016

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13. “I remember reading some stories of Ajahn Chah teaching lay people about herbal medicines. I know some Tibetan monks practice medicine. Is there such a tradition in Thailand? Are there any stores of Ajahn Chah healing people physically with traditional medicines?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Health care] [Medicinal requisites ] [Culture/Thailand] [Healing] // [Thai Forest Tradition] [History/Thai Buddhism] [Vinaya] [Right Livelihood] [Almsfood]

Recollection: Walking around the forest with Ajahn Chah. [Culture/Natural environment]

Story: Bung Wai villagers walk to Wat Pah Pong to practice meditation all night on Wan Phra. [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Wat Pah Pong] [Lunar observance days] [Monastic routine] [Meditation]

Story: Por Am argues with Ajahn Chah for three days. [Doubt] [Precepts]

Story: Ajahn Chah teaches Por Am to be a herbal doctor so he can keep the precepts.

Recollection: The hunter-gatherer culture of Northeast Thailand. [Food] [Agriculture] [Killing] [Geography/Thailand]


Devotion and Ritual: Becoming the Buddha, Session 3 – Apr. 30, 2017

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10. A detailed description of the paramī as qualities that can transform ourselves and others. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Perfections ] // [Generosity] [Virtue] [Culture/West] [Renunciation] [Discernment] [Energy] [Right Effort] [Patience] [Ajahn Chah] [Truth] [Determination] [Goodwill] [Equanimity]

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Story: Master Hsu Yun and the bandits. [Master Hsu Yun] [Stealing] [Bowing] [Tudong]

Sutta: SN 56.11.11: The Dhamma Eye: “All that has the nature to arise....”


Readings from The Island, Session 16 – Feb. 1, 2025

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2. “Does Ajahn Chah’s phrase, ‘Right in fact but wrong in Dhamma,’ imply that there is an objective world of facts and then a world above that which is Dhamma?” Answered by Ajahn Amaro and Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Truth] [Dhamma] // [Etymology] [Conventions] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Harsh speech]

Note: This phrase was discussed during the previous session.

Stories about the Buddha’s disciples who had killed people. [Great disciples] [Killing]

Suttas: MN 86: Aṅgulimāla Sutta; the story of Kuṇḍalakesī (Commentary to Dhp 102-103, Dhamma Verses Commentary translated by E. W. Burlingame and Ānandajoti Bhikkhu, p. 500).

Recollection: The lay disciple Pansak would sometimes show up drunk after work and spend the night under Ajahn Chah’s kuti. Recounted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Lay supporters] [Intoxicants]

Story: The monk Por Suey had been a hit man hired to kill Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah lineage] [Crime] [Wat Pah Nanachat]