Retreat, Jul. 13, 2025
Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in Hertfordshire, England
8 excerpts, 39:41 total duration
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Ajahn Pasanno answers questions during a day retreat with Amaravati Lay Buddhist Association (ALBA).
Original recordings available on www.abhayagiri.org
1. [5:50] “Have you had experiences of clarifying motivation that go beyond the theoretical or abstract?” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Spiritual urgency] // [Ajahn Chah] [Wat Pah Pong] [Relinquishment]
Quote: “Was it suffering?” — Ajahn Chah. [Suffering] [Self-identity view]
Story: Ajahn Chah used ancient stones to mark the Wat Pah Pong sīmā. [Sīmā]
Quote: “Are these rocks heavy?” — Ajahn Chah. [Cessation of Suffering]
Sutta: SN 22.86: Dukkha and the ending of dukkha.
2. [12:19] “Lately I’ve noticed a decline in my earnestness and diligence. While I feel commitment and contentment in keeping the precepts, my focus and energy for formal practice often fades. Can you please advise on how to rekindle that sense of energy and enjoyment in formal practice?” [Energy] [Meditation] // [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Spiritual friendship] [Amaravati] [Abhayagiri] [Dhamma online]
Sutta: SN 45.2: Half of the Holy Life.
Sutta: AN 2.126: Conditions for the arising of Right View. [Right View] [Appropriate attention]
3. [18:20] “People are fortunate these days because teachings are readily accessible. Could you talk about the difficulties you had [accessing the teachings 50 years ago]?” [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Learning] [Dhamma books] [Travel] [Culture/Thailand]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno stays in a hotel in ??? and goes to a monastery to read an English-language Tipiṭaka every day. [Tipiṭaka]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno’s first meditation retreat was a month-long solitary Mahasi Sayadaw-style retreat. [Meditation retreats] [Mahasi Sayadaw]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno takes temporary ordination at Wat Phleng Vipassanā. [Temporary ordination] [Wat Phleng Vipassanā]
4. [25:16] “Could you give some sutta references on positive desire (chanda)?” [Desire]
Reference: The Wellbeing Cascade by Ajahn Kovilo.
Reference: Buddhadhamma by P. A. Payutto, Chapter 11, “The Nature and Importance of Desire.”
Story: P.A. Payutto completes the Thai Pāli studies curriculum as a novice. The King sponsors his ordination. [P. A. Payutto ] [Sutta] [Novices] [Pāli] [Sickness] [Study monks] [King Rama IX]
5. [33:40] Comment: I found the differentiation that you made between wholesome desire and unwholesome desire very useful. [Desire] [Craving]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Discernment] [Kamma] [Volition] [Appropriate attention] [Relinquishment] [Happiness]
6. [37:16] “There are suttas where people talk about honoring their parents. Are there examples of people who had very unskillful parents or childhood PTSD and brought these questions to the Buddha?” [Western psychology] [Sutta] [Parents] [Abuse/violence] // [Culture/India] [Saṅgha] [Virtue]
Sutta: Ud 5.3: Suppabuddha the Leper. [Gradual Teaching] [Stream entry]
7. [42:08] “We have the fifth precept about refraining from alcohol and drugs. Were there lots of alcoholics and drug addicts in the Buddha’s time? Can this be applied in 2025 to people struggling with addiction to watching news, mobile phones, or social media?” [Intoxicants] [News] [Social media] // [Abhayagiri] [Suffering]
Quote: “We’re addicted to suffering.”
8. [43:36] “Could you speak about world-weariness?” [Disenchantment] // [Gratitude] [Suffering] [Skillful qualities] [Happiness]
Sutta: AN 11.1: Causal chain of well-being including disenchantment. [Conditionality]
Story: Ajahn Mahā Boowa reflects on the drawbacks of lust. [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Unattractiveness] [Sensual desire] [Drawbacks]
Note: The audio file ends mid-sentence.