Spirit Rock Daylong, May. 18, 2018
Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California and online
4 sessions, 53 excerpts, 3:12:07 total duration
Show featured excerpts (4)
Ajahn Pasanno reflects on Ajahn Chah’s life and legacy on the 100th anniversary of his birth.
External websiteSession 1: Ajahn Chah’s Early Life
Session 2: Meal Offering
Session 3: The Legacy of Ajahn Chah
Session 4: Teachings on Meditation
[Ajahn Chah]
1. [9:39] Story: The 20-year history of Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro. [Dhamma books] [Ajahn Jayasaro] // [Sickness] [Translation]
2. [13:02] Reflections about Buddhism in Northeast Thailand. [Geography/Thailand] [Theravāda] [Culture/Thailand] // [Isan]
Reading from Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, pp. 19-20: The culture of Northeast Thailand.
3. [22:46] Story: Ajahn Chah goes to live in the monastery at age nine. [Monastic life] // [Work]
4. [24:15] Story: Ajahn Chah’s first years as a monk, his solemn resolve, and his first attempts at meditation. [Monastic life] [Meditation] [Determination] // [Forest versus city monks] [Ordination] [Study monks] [Family] [Culture/Thailand] [Death]
5. [34:08] Recollection: When asked about what qualities allowed him to succeed in practice, Ajahn Chah replied, “I dared to do it.” [Courage ] // [Jack Kornfield] [Determination] [Energy]
Reference: Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 572.
Quote: “In the ground there is water. All you need to do is dig a well.” — Ajahn Chah. [Similes]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 614.
6. [39:59] “You said that when Ajahn Chah was a younger monk, he was almost afraid of meditation. I was curious about that.” [Meditation] // [Culture/Thailand] [Psychic powers] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Forest versus city monks]
7. [42:35] “How common was it for children to continue after they had ordained at such a young age and stay in the robes as adults?” [Culture/Thailand] [Novices] [Ordination] // [Temporary ordination] [Disrobing]
8. [45:55] “What kind of meditation did Ajahn Chah follow in the early days? What were the meditating monks actually doing [at that time]?” [Meditation/Techniques] [History/Thai Buddhism] // [Buddho mantra] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Recollection/Buddha] [Unattractiveness] [Elements]
9. [49:24] “How did Isan manage to withstand the waves of Communist overthrow that came through Laos and Cambodia, which was so devastating to the monastic community? Ajahn Chah would have been very aware and impacted by that. How did the people of Isan understand themselves? How were they able to withstand that threat to their existence?” [Politics and society] [History/Thai Buddhism] [History/Other Theravāda traditions] [Culture/Thailand]
Story: Ajahn Paññānanda gives a talk at an Isan school where pictures of Marx and Lenin were placed in the assembly hall. [Ajahn Paññānanda]
Story: Driving through military checkpoints on the way to Ajahn Fun’s funeral. [Ajahn Fun] [Funerals] [Ajahn Chah] [Military]
Story: Communist guerillas attend a Kaṭhina ceremony by night and government soldiers by day. [Kaṭhina] [Ajahn Waen]
10. [56:50] “Why did Isan become such an epicenter for spiritual development?” [Geography/Thailand] [Culture/Thailand] // [Poverty] [Simplicity] [Community]
11. [58:52] “You’re one of the first Western monks that came to see and study under Ajahn Chah. How did Ajahn Chah give you lessons, especially in the beginning when you didn’t speak Thai? Dhamma talks were given in Thai. How did you understand them and how did you learn Thai?” [Teaching Dhamma] [Language] [Thai] // [Isan] [Direct experience]
Quote: “Teaching Westerners isn’t difficult. It’s just like teaching buffaloes.” — Ajahn Chah. [Similes] [Humor]
Quote: “The language of Dhamma is the language of feeling.” — Ajahn Chah. [Dhamma]
12. [1:01:56] Reading: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, pp. 93-97: Ajahn Chah trains his mind while making a bowl lid. [Work] [Meditation] [Almsbowl]
13. [1:11:45] Reading: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, pp. 97-98: “Teachings from a Barking Deer.” [Tudong] [Sickness] [Discernment]
1. [1:23:00] Reflections before the meal offering at Spirit Rock. [Almsfood] // [Requisites] [Anumodanā] [Generosity] [Perception of a samaṇa] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support]
Ajahn Chah regarding almsfood in London: “You’re not going for the food; you’re going for the people.” [Ajahn Chah] [Hampstead Vihara] [Almsround]
[Ajahn Chah]
1. [1:29:13] Reflections on the lasting benefit of Ajahn Chah’s life. // [Dhamma books] [Ajahn Jayasaro] [Sickness] [Teaching Dhamma]
2. [1:33:15] Recollection: Ajahn Pasanno’s first visit to Wat Pah Pong and impressions of Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Pah Pong] // [Monastic life] [Temporary ordination]
3. [1:36:39] Reflection: Ajahn Chah was a trustworthy human being. [Trust]
4. [1:37:08] Recollection: Ajahn Chah was hard on Ajahn Pasanno for a year before Ajahn Pasanno gave up. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Fierce/direct teaching] [Relinquishment]
5. [1:39:21] Recollection: Ajahn Chah’s lay disciples practiced all night on lunar observance days. [Lay life] [Lunar observance days] [Devotion to wakefulness] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Festival days]
6. [1:43:52] Recollection: The 100th Anniversary Ajahn Chah Remembrance Day. [Ajahn Chah Remembrance Day] // [Wat Pah Pong] [Weather] [Technology]
7. [1:48:28] Reflection: Ajahn Chah’s teachings laid the foundations for Right View and sīla, integrity. [Right View] [Virtue]
8. [1:49:28] Reflection: Ajahn Chah encouraged a mature faith in the Three Refuges. [Three Refuges ] [Faith] // [Buddha] [Dhamma] [Superstition]
Reading: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, pp. 612-614.
Sutta: SN 22.87: “Whoever sees the Buddha sees the Dhamma.”
9. [1:57:11] Information about the Stillness Flowing audiobook. [Dhamma books] [Dhamma online] // [Ajahn Siripañño]
Note: The audio book was finally published in 2021.
10. [1:58:50] Reading: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, pp. 678-680. [Heedlessness] [Similes] [Lay life]
11. [2:04:19] “I came across a section of The Island talking about the Tenfold Path (p. 235). Could you speak a little bit about the last two (Right Knowledge and Right Liberation)?” [Eightfold Path] [Knowledge and vision] [Liberation] // [Suffering]
Sutta: MN 22.37: “I teach dukkha and the end of dukkha.”
12. [2:07:00] “At these celebrations [at Wat Pah Pong], are there a lot of little kids and family members? How can I encourage my seven and eight year old daughters to practice?” [Festival days] [Wat Pah Pong] [Children] [Meditation] // [Monasteries] [Culture/Thailand] [Abhayagiri] [Novices] [Culture/Natural environment]
13. [2:11:33] “Are you inviting us to the birthday party on June 17 at Abhayagiri?” [Abhayagiri] [Festival days]
14. [2:12:04] “Could you say more about Ajahn Chah’s irritability?” [Fierce/direct teaching] // [Heedlessness]
15. [2:13:27] Comment: I found reading Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro an amazing journey. ... [Dhamma books]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Jayasaro]
16. [2:15:21] “There’s tremendous value in having a teacher who can remind you or impose that urgency of practice. As a layperson who doesn’t have that resource, what strategies would you use to call the urgency back in and not get distracted?” [Spiritual urgency ] [Lay life] // [Dhamma books] [Sutta] [Dhamma online] [Time management]
17. [2:18:25] “Referring to the inner coach or the inner voice, what advice would you give in distinguishing between ferocious wisdom that redirects you back to the path and the inner critic that is just telling you that you suck?” [Spiritual urgency] [Fierce/direct teaching] [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] // [Discernment] [Skillful qualities] [Judgementalism]
18. [2:22:38] Appreciation for hearing Ajahn Chah’s teachings to lay people and reflections on spiritual perfectionism. [Lay life] [Perfectionism]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Culture/West] [Idealism] [Culture/Thailand] [Cessation of Suffering]
19. [2:25:51] A Burmese monk I met credited Ajahn Chah as the person who raised the level of monastic conduct in Thailand. Is this characterization true? [Vinaya] [History/Thai Buddhism] // [Thai Forest Tradition]
Quote: “One of the beauties of the Buddha’s teaching is that he sowed the seeds within the teaching of its own regeneration if people pick it up and practice it.” [Teaching Dhamma]
20. [2:28:24] “When Ajahn Chah was making the lid for his bowl (Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 94) and he stopped himself from thinking about working while he was resting or meditating ... how did that flow for him?” [Almsbowl] [Proliferation] [Fierce/direct teaching] // [Discernment] [Patience] [Learning] [Humor]
Quote: “If you can’t laugh at yourself as a practitioner, then you’re sunk.”
Story: Ajahn Chah makes a large ball of sticky rice for himself then comments, “When I was younger, I used to be able to pack it; I’m getting old now.” [Ageing] [Food]
[Ajahn Chah]
1. [2:39:26] Reflection: Ajahn Chah would encourage people to use whatever practice helped support mindfulness and reflective investigation. [Meditation/Techniques] [Mindfulness] [Recollection]
Story: When Ajahn Sumedho arrived at Wat Pah Pong, he asked Ajahn Chah if he can continue the hua tou practice he had been using. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Hua tou] [Master Hsu Yun] [Meditation/Results]
2. [2:42:44] Quote: “If you see someone going off in the ditch on the right-hand side, you say, ‘Go left, go left!’ If you see them wandering off the trail on the left-hand side, you say, ‘Go right, go right!’” — Ajahn Chah. [Jack Kornfield] [Middle Path] // [Meditation/Techniques]
3. [2:44:12] Reading: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, pp. 325-326: “The Single Chair.” [Meditation] [Mindfulness]
4. [2:48:07] Reading: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, pp. 326-327: Ajahn Chah’s teachings about meditation posture. [Posture/Sitting]
5. [2:49:16] Recollection: Ajahn Chah learned to deal with the machinations of the minds of his Western disciples. [Proliferation] [Culture/West] // [Tranquility] [Patience] [Investigation of states]
6. [2:51:28] Reading: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, pp. 373-374: Ajahn Chah’s approach to jhāna. [Jhāna] [Right Concentration] // [Wrong concentration]
A sense of ease and the quality of knowing is what takes one to places of insight. Reflection by Ajahn Pasanno. [Happiness] [Knowing itself] [Insight meditation]
7. [2:59:31] Reading: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, pp. 370-373: Ajahn Chah’s perspective on samatha and vipassanā. [Calming meditation] [Insight meditation]
8. [3:06:49] Comment: I really liked the way Ajahn Chah and you explained the chain of Dependent Origination. I’m trying to just observe and be in the moment. I’m noticing that awareness breaks the chain in Dependent Origination. [Dependent origination] [Present moment awareness] [Knowing itself]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
9. [3:08:38] “I have a question about attachment. When you mentioned 1,000 monks [at Wat Pah Pong], does this have anything to do with attachment?” [Clinging] [Ajahn Chah Remembrance Day] // [Suffering] [Cause of Suffering] [Pāli]
10. [3:11:31] “My understanding of samādhi is the one-pointedness of attention that focuses on the ānāpāna spot, whereas vipassanā is not. When you were reading about how they were the same (Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 372), my understanding went right out the window.” [Concentration] [Unification] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Insight meditation] // [Language]
“The firm establishing of the mind”—The Thai translation of samādhi. [Thai] [Translation]
Sutta: AN 3.102: Pliable and ready to work.
11. [3:14:37] “What is your view of the mindfulness movement that has happened in the United States? I think it lacks the ethical component that is taught in Buddhism.” [Secular Buddhism] [Virtue]
12. [3:15:50] “Can you speak about Ajahn Chah’s time with Ajahn Mun and the influence of that time on his sense of practice?” [Ajahn Mun ] // [History/Thai Buddhism] [Thai sects] [Vinaya] [Conscience and prudence]
Quote: “Mahānikāya needs good monks too.” — Ajahn Mun.
Quote: “In the end, what you have to understand is the difference between the moods of the mind and the essential mind, the mind itself.” — Ajahn Mun. [Moods of the mind] [Heart/mind]
Recollection: Ajahn Chah also trained with Ajahn Mun’s disciples Ajahn Kinaree and Ajahn Tongrat. [Ajahn Kinaree] [Ajahn Tongrat]
13. [3:24:49] “You made a distinction between wrong samādhi and right samādhi. I imagine wrong samādhi has a certain lack of clarity but a feeling of settledness. Earlier you mentioned that you could hear the tone of the voice of the inner critic. Can you apply the same thing to samādhi? If one becomes aware of wrong samādhi, would it be concentration or mindfulness that reveals that?” [Wrong concentration] [Right Concentration] [Investigation of states] [Concentration] [Mindfulness]
Quote: “As the mind becomes more settled, then the mind becomes more sneaky as well.” [Delusion]
Follow-up: “Is this knowing somatically or more of a mental experience?” [Mindfulness of body] [Mindfulness of mind]
14. [3:28:10] “Could you speak about metta in the context of both samādhi and vipassanā?” [Goodwill] [Concentration] [Insight meditation] // [Self-identity view] [Relinquishment]
Quote: “I never heard Ajahn Chah talk much about metta. He just oozed it.” [Ajahn Chah] [Personal presence]
15. [3:30:18] “After you became a monk, how long did it take you to have your first insight that was significant to you? What was it?” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Monastic life] [Insight meditation] // [Not-self] [Relinquishment]
16. [3:33:25] [After describing 20 years of meditation practice], “A few weeks ago, I noticed that I had a lot of wrong view. ... Now, when I sit in meditation and part of me is very calm and still, there’s a voice that comes up. I can’t tell whether it’s a doubting voice, the restlessness creeping in again, or discernment and mindfulness of not being too calm and asleep. [Concentration] [Views] [Discernment] // [Mindfulness]
17. [3:36:50] “How did Ajahn Chah distinguish between positive passing mood states and the essential qualities of the mind, the radiance of the mind?” [Moods of the mind] [Skillful qualities] [Heart/mind] [Nature of mind] // [Impermanence] [Not-self] [Self-identity view]
Quote: “It’s just that much.” — Ajahn Chah.
Follow-up: “And yet we’re not always able to rest in the radiant qualities of the essential mind either.”
18. [3:41:04] “I always hear that it’s rare to get a precious human life. Why are we incarnated? What are we achieving on this plane that we can’t achieve on a spiritual plane?” [Human] [Rebirth] [Realms of existence] // [Discernment] [Compassion]
19. [3:43:13] Reading: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, pp. 375-379: “Beyond the Monkey.” [Disenchantment] [Characteristics of existence] [Liberation]
The quality of disenchantment is bright and radiant. Reflection by Ajahn Pasanno. [Translation] [Etymology]
Sutta: AN 11.1: Causal chain from delight to disenchantment. [Happiness] [Conditionality]