Thanksgiving Retreat, Nov. 18, 2010 to Nov. 27, 2010
Angela Center in Santa Rosa, California
8 sessions, 181 excerpts, 6:27:20 total duration
Show featured excerpts (41)
A classic ten-day Thanksgiving Retreat held at the Angela Center.
Sessions: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1. [0:01.5] “How can one enjoy meditation when one’s knees are on fire?” [Meditation] [Happiness] [Pain ] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Posture/Sitting] [Body/form] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Visualization] [Discernment]
Story: The monks at Winchester Cathedral used props during long chanting sessions. [Christianity] [Posture/Standing] [Chanting]
2. [6:12] “Thank you for this morning’s talk on the recollections and faith. Could you elaborate on your point about faith and anāgamī? Has anyone been fully liberated through faith?” [Faith] [Non-return] [Liberation] // [Discernment] [Energy] [Faculties] [The New Yorker] [Culture/West]
Reflection: Faith is the trigger for letting go and relinquishment. [Relinquishment]
Sutta: MN 52: Delight in the Dhamma and the third stage of liberation. [Recollection/Dhamma]
3. [12:07] “Would you kindly comment on the cultivation and use in one’s Dhamma practice of one’s creative gifts, such as music, art, dance, writing, and so on?” [Artistic expression ] // [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities] [Self-identity view] [Culture/Thailand] [Ajahn Mun] [Blame and praise]
Story: Master Hua disapproves of Rev. Heng Sure giving his instruments away. [Master Hsuan Hua] [Rev. Heng Sure] [Teaching Dhamma]
4. [18:07] “I’ve realized that I’m like a fish in aversive water and was bringing that into practice, constantly rejecting what was happening and generally losing track of my meditation object, the breath. Can you speak a bit more about attitude versus object?” [Aversion] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Attitude] // [Commentaries] [Three Refuges] [Habits] [Skillful qualities] [Buddha images] [Mindfulness of body]
1. [0:14] “I have very little faith in the possibility of being enlightened in this lifetime; perhaps stream entry. Is stream entry a realistic possibility for many of us if leading householder lives?” [Stream entry] [Lay life] // [Purpose/meaning] [Liberation]
Sutta: SN 55.1: Unshakeable confidence and being established in virtue. [Three Refuges] [Faith] [Five Precepts] [Virtue]
Reference: The Island Chapters 16-19.
2. [2:59.5] “Is it permissible to take notes during your talks?” [Hearing the true Dhamma] // [Sloth and torpor] [Royalty]
3. [4:00] “Can you speak about the balance between implementing an antidote to a hindrance and practicing patience? I’m having a lot of aversion, and as I try to use both of these practices I’m finding myself full of doubt and confusion.” [Hindrances] [Right Effort] [Patience] [Aversion] [Doubt] // [Spaciousness]
4. [6:52] “Is the concept of anattā or no-self a suitable object of meditation?” [Not-self] [Meditation/Techniques]
5. [7:46] “What’s the difference between proliferation and directed thought?” [Proliferation] [Directed thought and evaluation] // [Unwholesome Roots] [Mindfulness]
6. [8:37] “What are the characteristics/attainments of the eight noble beings? Where are they described?” [Stages of awakening] // [Sutta] [Commentaries]
7. [9:56] “On retreat, is it skillful to try to memorize some of the chants?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Meditation retreats] [Chanting] [Memory] // [Mindfulness] [Faith] [Posture/Walking] [Continuity of mindfulness]
8. [12:03] “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?” [Hindrances ] [Sloth and torpor] [Restlessness and worry] // [Doubt] [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities] [Pāli]
9. [14:55] “Could you please say a little more about the fifth hindrance, doubt? Is it self-doubt or doubt of the Dhamma?” [Doubt] // [Culture/West] [Mindfulness of body] [Pāli]
10. [17:10.5] “I keep getting overwhelmed by a variety of intense and unpleasant bodily sensations. I have been trying to keep my focus on more neutral places in the body, but I still find that keeping the concentration anywhere in the body amplifies the unpleasant feelings, and I can’t settle into a place of ease.” [Pain] [Mindfulness of body] [Neutral feeling] // [Aversion] [Restlessness and worry] [Fear] [Self-identity view] [Body/form] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Posture/Walking] [Chanting] [Goodwill]
Quote: “The energy we invest in it is where the suffering actually lies. In the end, a body is just a body.” [Suffering]
11. [21:02.5] “May I ask the whole Abhayagiri gang what is your favorite meditation object?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno, Ajahn Karuṇadhammo, Ajahn Sudhīro, Debbie Stamp and Bhante Suddhāso. [Meditation/Techniques] // [Mindfulness of breathing] [Unattractiveness] [Recollection/Death] [Goodwill] [Buddho mantra] [Mindfulness of feeling] [Sound of silence] [Impermanence]
12. [23:59] “Is it true that having images of a certain animal around will make you likely to be that animal in your next life?” [Animal] [Rebirth]
13. [24:34.5] “Do you ever work with the ‘thin line’ between sleep and waking, dreaming and lucidity? It seems like a powerful or useful fulcrum.” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Devotion to wakefulness ] [Dreams] // [Continuity of mindfulness] [Posture/Lying down] [Determination]
14. [27:10] “Can any teacher suggest that we should not pursue states of jhāna? ‘If they happen, great; if not don’t worry.’ Is a room full of about 60 devoted meditators, it seems unlikely that any of us are achieving this type of absorption. If we were, then the chiming of the bowl would be disrupting many people’s jhānic states of meditation. Is jhāna really quite rare?” [Jhāna] // [Ajahn Chah] [Tranquility] [Energy] [Happiness]
15. [30:09] “Can you please speak about how one practices on the third path or what happens leading up to the third path attainment?” [Non-return] // [Sensual desire] [Ill-will] [Relinquishment] [Concentration]
16. [31:52] “Can you share some ways to deal with pride when the ego influences feelings negatively?” [Conceit] // [Self-identity view] [Suffering] [Proliferation]
Sutta: AN 6.104: I-making and mine-making.
17. [34:24.5] “Could you please talk about the process of cutting the chain of Dependent Origination? With a more mature practice, can one cut the chain earlier among the different links? How does this take place experientially?” [Dependent origination] // [Relinquishment] [Feeling] [Craving] [Conditionality]
Simile from Ajahn Chah: A pin pricking a balloon. [Ajahn Chah]
18. [37:00] “Has anyone ever attained enlightenment while walking meditation? What are the pros and cons of walking meditation?” [Liberation] [Posture/Walking] // [Thai Forest Tradition] [Abhayagiri] [Lodging] [Ajahn Chah] [Discernment]
19. [39:42] “How does one develop compassion such that one harbors no ill-will even when bandits dismember you with a double-handed saw (MN 21.20)?” [Compassion] [Ill-will ] [Abuse/violence] // [Suffering] [Relinquishment] [Four Noble Truths]
Quote: “For the enlightened person, there’s no choice but compassion.” — Ajahn Mahā Boowa. [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Liberation]
20. [42:57] “Please explain upekkha, which is the last of the brahmavihāras, Ten Perfections, and Seven Factors of Enlightenment. It sounds important.” [Equanimity]
21. [44:55] “Can you please speak about the differences between clear seeing and awareness? Does one precede the other?” [Nature of mind] // [Mindfulness]
22. [46:29] “I have a friend, a beloved aversive type, who has regular angry outbursts. I chalk it up to frustration, yet find myself floundering in how to respond. Should I try to practice metta and patience, limit my association? Any words would be appreciated.” [Spiritual friendship] [Aversion] [Goodwill] [Patience] [Seclusion]
23. [50:05.5] “What is the correct motivation and expectation for meditation?” [Attitude] [Meditation] // [Four Noble Truths]
1. [0:08.5] “I’m feeling spacious in my heart. it is pleasant, and then I get sleepy. Can you advise on how to cultivate interest in spaciousness?” [Spaciousness ] [Sloth and torpor] // [Perception of light] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Continuity of mindfulness]
2. [3:41] “Do you have any ghost story at Wat Pah Nanachat?” [Ghost ] [Wat Pah Nanachat] // [Funerals]
Story: The mother of a girl killed in an accident dedicates merit with the wish that her daughter be reborn in the family. The girl’s ghost haunts Wat Pah Nanachat. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Death] [Rebirth] [Family] [Merit] [Clinging]
3. [8:59] “How do you expand your concentration and awareness beyond the breath when other conditions arise?” [Mindfulness of breathing] [Concentration] [Mindfulness] // [Everyday life] [Clear comprehension] [Perception of light]
Quote: “The object of attention needs to be appropriate to the quality of mind....As the mind becomes more refined, we need to pay attention to a more refined object.” [Meditation/Techniques]
4. [13:48] “Can you talk about how different hand positions or mudras are used in meditation?” [Mudra] // [Spiritual traditions] [Posture/Sitting] [Sloth and torpor]
5. [17:04] “Eight Precepts illuminates the vanity within.’ Could you offer some encouragements or reflections on the beauty of the Dhamma as a remedy?” [Eight Precepts] [Conceit] [Beauty] [Dhamma] // [Recollection/Dhamma] [Faith] [Learning] [Sutta]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 6: Recollection of the Dhamma.
Story: Ajahn Khao’s realization came from reflecting on rice. [Ajahn Khao] [Liberation] [Symbolism/metaphor] [Gratitude] [Bodhi Tree]
6. [22:15] “Could you review again what the antidotes to the Five Hindrances are? Also, if one has not correctly identified the hindrance at the moment and uses the incorrect remedy, so what?” [Hindrances] [Investigation of states] // [Desire] [Unattractiveness] [Dispassion] [Ill-will] [Goodwill] [Sloth and torpor] [Restlessness and worry] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Doubt] [Recollection/Dhamma] [Self-reliance]
Sutta: SN 46.51: Starving the hindrances.
Simile: Throwing dust into the wind (Dhp 125). [Drawbacks] [Similes]
Sutta: AN 7.61: Antidotes for sloth and torpor.
7. [29:46] “Late night news, sports, and a sleeping pill. Any suggestions how my mind is going to be affected in the long run?” [News] [Media] [Devotion to wakefulness] // [Heedlessness] [Self-reliance]
8. [31:47] “What is the difference between abandoning personality view (sakkāya-diṭṭhi) and realizing anattā?” [Self-identity view] [Not-self] // [Aggregates] [Stream entry] [Conceit] [Arahant] [Cause of Suffering]
9. [34:56.5] “What is hasituppāda citta—consciousness producing mirth—that is the Buddha’s smile?” [Humor ] [Buddha/Biography] // [Teaching Dhamma]
Suttas: MN 81; MN 83; AN 5.180: Examples of the Buddha’s smile.
Sutta: MN 12.58: “You might think that the jujube fruit was bigger in those days...” [Ascetic practices]
Sutta: SN 17.5: A dung beetle gloats about his pile. [Gain and loss] [Fame and disrepute] [Similes] [Monastic life]
10. [38:09.5] “Thank you for teaching that listening to Dhamma is a spiritual practice, not just information download. When you opened your heart to Ajahn Chah, even though you couldn’t understand his words, would you say that was a sort of Dhamma transmission directly from one heart to another?” [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Teaching Dhamma] // [Buddha]
11. [39:59] “As wild and woolly as some of my experiences have been in the practice, I was wondering if there’s a place for wilder-ness along the path? What is crazy wisdom?” [Unwholesome Roots] [Spiritual traditions] [Conventions]
Recollection: Some people thought Ajahn Tongrat was crazy. [Ajahn Tongrat]
Reference: Ajahn Utane’s biography of Ajahn Tongrat. Ajahn Mudito translated this into Portuguese in 2019, and there is a machine translation from the Portuguese. [Dhamma books]
Story: Ajahn Tongrat dies on the Dhamma seat. [Death] [Teaching Dhamma]
12. [43:14] “Does the remembrance of mindfulness have to do with our kamma?” [Mindfulness] [Kamma]
13. [43:33.5] “I’ve been experiencing and witnessing an incredible sadness. At times it is dormant; at times it seems all-consuming. I’ve done okay at staying present, questioning its nature, its benefits, its hindrances, its source. I haven’t come up with a specific cause for this grief/sorrow. Do you have any suggestions for furthering my investigation working with sadness, and how I might someday send it on its way?” [Grief] [Aspects of Understanding] [Cause of Suffering ] [Discernment] // [Self-identity view] [Suffering] [Clinging] [Goodwill] [Divine Abidings] [Middle Path]
Quote: “Viewed from any sane perspective, the human condition is pretty sad.” [Human]
14. [48:34.5] “I remember reading that Ajahn Chah used to ask monastics to meditate in a charnel ground to alleviate lust. With no charnel ground at my disposal, how to work with this strong sensual desire in meditation?” [Sensual desire ] [Ajahn Chah] [Recollection/Death] // [Unattractiveness] [Body/form]
15. [49:56] “What kind of suffering does a non-returner experience? What makes a non-returner become an arahant?” [Non-return ] [Suffering] [Arahant] // [Conceit] [Fetters] [Craving for material existence] [Craving for immaterial existence] [Restlessness and worry]
1. [0:20] “What was that onomatopoeic word you mentioned? What does it mean?” [Language] [Pāli] // [Doubt] [Restlessness and worry]
2. [0:52.5] “I understand that you recently read Ajahn Geoff’s wonderful new book Skill in Questions. Might you share an insight that struck a fresh cord in your heart?” [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro ] [Dhamma books] // [Questions] [Doubt]
3. [2:23] “It seems that the mind and body are unreliable, not good refuges, yet everything about the Buddha, Dhamma, and Saṅgha relies upon the mind training—refining, watching, letting go. It sounds like it still relies on the mind. What am I missing?” [Aggregates] [Three Refuges ] [Meditation] // [Discernment]
Sutta: SN 15.1: “Bound by ignorance and obstructed by craving.” [Ignorance] [Craving]
4. [3:51.3] “What are mind-conditioners (e.g. MN 44.13, MN 118.19)? Are they feelings, habits, or something else?” [Heart/mind] [Volitional formations] [Feeling] [Habits] // [Pāli] [Perception]
5. [5:03.5] “While doing walking meditation today, a pleasurable sensation started unfolding in my body. When my mind reacted, it vanished. When mindfulness was reestablished, it recurred. This time I tried to lean into and investigate, and it similarly fizzled. How should I skillfully work with this?” [Posture/Walking] [Happiness] [Conditionality] // [Continuity of mindfulness] [Clinging]
6. [7:45] “When meditation is strong, awareness automatically falls upon the object, and both melt away quickly. However, sometimes hindrances cloud the mind, and the mind wanders. Is it best to develop more concentration? I’ve been experimenting with breath sensations.” [Hindrances] [Proliferation] [Concentration] [Mindfulness of breathing] // [Investigation of states]
Sutta: AN 4.170: In Conjunction.
7. [10:04] “What is the most skillful thing to do when we can feel that there are a lot of blockages around the various energy centers in our body?” [Body/form] // [Mindfulness of breathing]
8. [11:36] “Are the Dhamma talks being taped for CDs or audio downloads on the internet?” [Dhamma recordings]
9. [12:03] “If Ajahn Pasanno could go back in time and give a word of advice to Ven. Pasanno on the day of his ordination, what would he say?” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ordination] // [Questions ] [Ajahn Chah] [Sickness]
10. [13:32] “Could you explain the role of enjoyment within the context of taking food with the purpose of nourishment?” [Food] [Sensual desire] [Happiness] // [Cultural context]
Vinaya: Khandhaka 15.31: The Buddha allows toothwoods and explains that using toothwoods makes you enjoy your food. [Vinaya] [Cleanliness] [Benefit/gratification]
11. [16:08] “Can you review the 16 steps of mindfulness of breathing (MN 118.15)?” [Mindfulness of breathing] // [Right Mindfulness] [Mindfulness of body] [Tranquility]
12. [18:37] “I often find myself wondering if it is equanimity or indifference I’m experiencing. Could you please enlighten me?” [Equanimity] // [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities] [Happiness] [Mindfulness]
13. [20:02] “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?” [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.
14. [22:48] “Are transitions from stream entry to once-returner and once-returner to non-returner subtle or are there strong insight experiences? Will one be able to tell if he or she has moved to the next stage?” [Stream entry] [Once return] [Non-return] // [Delusion]
15. [24:29] “If weeping starts to happen while sitting, is it best to leave the hall or okay if some sound happens while in the group?” [Grief] [Posture/Sitting] [Meditation retreats]
16. [25:58] “I’ve been feeling a large space/awareness in my body and in my head. I feel the outline of my form. What is a skillful way to deepen this place?” [Spaciousness ] // [Mindfulness] [Tranquility] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of body] [Knowing itself]
17. [28:40] “Can you elaborate on how to bring practice within the daily life setting? Even here, I feel I can walk around within my own bubble with my attention mostly focused inwardly. Can you describe how practice works when attention needs to be engaged in the fast-paced external world?” [Everyday life ] [Meditation retreats] [Pace of life] // [Mindfulness of body] [Contact]
18. [30:55] “Can you recommend any particular books which share the teachings of the Buddha in more user-friendly ways—“Dhamma for Dummies”? I found the readings from the discourses/Canon repetitive and hard to relate to, yet you share so many Dhamma tidbits that are captivating and memorable.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno, Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Yatiko. [Dhamma books ] [Tipiṭaka] [Teaching Dhamma] // [Bhikkhu Bodhi]
Reference: Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness by Bhante Gunaratana (commercial). [Eightfold Path]
Reference: In the Buddha’s Words by Bhikkhu Bodhi (commercial). [Sutta]
Reference: The Life of the Buddha According to the Pali Canon by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli. [Buddha/Biography]
19. [34:45.5] “What to do when the meditation practice seems dry and barren, a tedious, joyless exercise?” [Meditation] [Attitude] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Recollection/Saṅgha] [Dhamma books] [Ajahn Chah] [Stories]
Story: Ajahn Chah tries to make the practice even by walking for two hours, sitting for two hours, lying for two hours, and standing for two hours (Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 29). [Postures]
20. [38:15] “Can a person be enlightened without ever sitting? Or without ever hearing the Dhamm? Was anyone ever enlightened before the Buddha?” [Liberation] [Posture/Sitting] [Hearing the true Dhamma] // [Buddha] [Mindfulness] [Discernment] [Tranquility]
Simile from Ajahn Chah: “Chickens sit for a long period of time, and they don’t get very far.” [Ajahn Chah] [Animal] [Similes]
Recollection: When Ajahn Chah sat meditation, it was like seeing a mountain sitting there.
Sutta: SN 15.1: “Bound by ignorance and obstructed by craving.” [Ignorance] [Craving]
21. [41:55] A question in Thai asking for an explanation of hiri-otappa. [Conscience and prudence] // [Translation] [Respect]
22. [42:57.5] “Could you speak about the subtle ringing in the ear known as the sound of silence as a meditation object, both on its own and in conjunction with ānāpānasati?” [Sound of silence] [Mindfulness of breathing] // [Ajahn Sumedho] [Ajahn Amaro]
23. [44:29] “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)?” [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]
24. [49:48] “I’ve noticed that my heart is really open in the evenings. Will you lead us in a metta meditation one of these evenings?” [Goodwill] [Rains retreat] // [Ajahn Pasanno]
Quote: “I’m a morning person.”
1. [0:4.5] “Are we born with a sense of self or is this delusion seeded and cultivated by the world around us? If a child was raised being taught non-self and non-identity, how would they turn out?” [Self-identity view] [Delusion] [Conditionality] [Children ] [Not-self] [Non-identification] // [Gratitude] [Generosity] [Compassion]
2. [1:46] “What does it mean, ‘When a monk breathes in, he satisfies the mind’ (MN 118.20)?” [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]
3. [3:07] “At times the breath becomes very subtle, almost imperceptible. I try to focus on the still point, but don’t seem to be able to absorb. No lights have yet appeared. The space is quite pleasant, but eventually the refinement seems to dissipate and fade. Anything else to ‘do?’” [Mindfulness of breathing] [Concentration] [Perception of light] [Spaciousness] [Happiness] // [Proliferation] [Knowing itself]
4. [4:57] “Any suggestions for calming the breath/body when its mind is set on racing?” [Mindfulness of breathing] [Body/form] [Tranquility] // [Visualization]
5. [6:20] “Was Ajahn Chah an arahant? How can one tell when someone’s work is done? Also, is it inappropriate to ask one’s teacher if they are a stream enterer, once-returner, etc.?” [Ajahn Chah] [Arahant ] [Teachers] [Stages of awakening] // [Suffering] [Unwholesome Roots]
Quote: “To me, I’m more like a tree that birds can come and feed in....[What they say] I am is just the chattering of the birds.” — Ajahn Chah. [Similes] [Teaching Dhamma]
Sutta: AN 4.192: Discerning another person’s wisdom. [Discernment]
Recollections of mistaken estimates of enlightenment. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Delusion] [Relics]
6. [9:40] “As I finished one length of my walking path, I realized that I was not the same person as when I started, that I was making myself each moment based on choices I made. How do I develop or at least remember this so I don’t fall back into habitual patterns? It seems like each morning I have to rebuild my awareness.” [Posture/Walking] [Insight meditation] [Memory] [Habits] // [Mindfulness]
7. [10:32] “Before my Dhamma eye opened, all I could see was macro-suffering. But now I can see nano-suffering on a massive scale. Sometimes I don’t want to look. Any words of advice or encouragement?” [Suffering] // [Politics and society] [Cause of Suffering]
Simile from Ajahn Chah: “You’ve got dog shit in your bag, so it stinks everywhere you go.” [Ajahn Chah] [Similes]
8. [12:58] “How should a stream enterer skillfully deal with delusional others, especially when it comes to family members? I feel like things can get really weird when the view of a stream enterer is so different from the rest.” [Stream entry] [Delusion] [Family] // [Suffering] [Monastic life] [Views]
9. [14:17] “What is the proper hand position while bowing? I see many various positions in the laypeople and some variation in the monastics.” [Bowing] [Mudra] // [Ajahn Chah] [Continuity of mindfulness]
Simile from Ajahn Chah: Positioning the hands of a corpse. [Funerals]
10. [16:07] “Please share thoughts on how to bring home and develop ways to be a better spouse and father. What from the practice might help the most towards kindness, generosity, and being present?” [Relationships] [Family ] [Compassion] [Generosity] [Mindfulness] // [Patience]
Quote: “Have the patience to give others time.”
11. [17:34] “I heard in your ghost story about dedicating merit. How do I do this? I would like to improve the kamma of my mother and little brother.” [Merit] [Kamma] [Family] // [Recollection/Generosity]
12. [19:55] “Can you speak more about perception? Confusion arises when I see perception and also see that the perception is accurate to what has occurred, that is the other person was disregarding, attacking, etc. So not only my memory, I also see identifying dukkha. Can you speak to this?” [Perception] [Memory] [Suffering] // [Heart/mind] [Volitional formations] [Cause of Suffering] [Self-reliance]
13. [22:49.5] “Did anyone ever need a knee replacement as a result of being on retreat? Is it okay to set up a few more chairs? Metta to knees everywhere.” [Health] [Meditation retreats] [Posture/Sitting] [Goodwill] // [Pain] [Ajahn Pasanno]
14. [23:58] “I get great satisfaction from learning new skills and subjects. However, I get easily immersed, finely focused, and no mindfulness. Sometimes I take refuge in this state as it helps me sweep aside what I would rather not face. Can you offer any advice? Also, are there investigations I might pursue during retreat that may be helpful? P. S. I hear that ‘accomplished in learning and craftsman’s skills’ is a higher blessing (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 47).” [Learning] [Work] [Mindfulness] // [Heart/mind] [Investigation of states] [Mindfulness of body] [Tranquility]
15. [25:57] “So that glass of wine at dinner is going to eliminate my chances of stream entry? How about moderation in all things?” [Intoxicants] [Stream entry]
16. [26:26] “Would you please explain the concept of a Bodhisattva, a largely Mahāyāna teaching in the Theravāda tradition?” [Bodhisattva] [Mahāyāna] [Theravāda ] // [Buddha/Biography] [Perfections] [History/Early Buddhism] [Culture/Thailand]
Story: Somdet Toh waits for a dog sleeping on his robe to wake up. [Somdet Toh] [Amulets] [Robes] [Animal]
17. [30:17.5] “Could you please talk about Shakyamuni Buddha, whose teaching we learn, and the ones before him, and the one to come Maitreya? Are the teachings the same? What is important for us to know about the Buddhas?” [Buddha] [Previous Buddhas] [Metteyya Bodhisatva] // [Naturalness] [Teaching Dhamma] [Discernment] [Goodwill]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book Volume 2, p. 54: The Twenty-Eight Buddhas’ Protection. [Protective chants]
Quote: “Ajahn Chah had tremendous lovingkindness, and because of that he had many, many people coming to him all the time. I’m going to focus on equanimity.” — Ajahn Liem. [Ajahn Liem] [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Chah] [Equanimity]
18. [33:53] “Is it atta that carries kamma? Is it atta that takes a rebirth? How can we talk about atta?” [Kamma] [Rebirth] // [Suffering] [Naturalness] [Not-self ] [Middle Path] [Spiritual traditions] [Pāli] [Self-identity view] [Relinquishment]
19. [36:37] “Did you know Ajahn Paññāvaḍḍho? I saw the DVD about him that Abhayagiri offers and listened to some of his Dhamma talks and was touched by how gentle he seemed. Is it true that a rainbow appeared during the cremation of his body?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Yatiko. [Ajahn Paññāvaḍḍho ] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Funerals] // [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Hampstead Vihara] [Wat Pah Ban Tat]
20. [39:09] “Can you offer some inspiration to the group as to observing the Eight Precepts on the Uposatha Days? I’ve been observing every quarter moon, and it would be comforting to know that I’m part of a larger group. Please reflect on the value of restraint outside the retreat environment.” [Eight Precepts] [Lunar observance days ] [Sense restraint] [Everyday life] // [Culture/Thailand] [Wat Pah Pong] [Wat Pah Nanachat]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno’s first Uposatha Day at Wat Pah Pong. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Lay life]
Sutta: AN 8.41: “Suppose the lay people spent a day and a night living like the arahants.” [Arahant]
21. [42:00] “Did you say in a previous Q&A that only through Buddhadhamma can one become liberated? No one in any other wisdom/spiritual tradition? While I am profoundly grateful to the Triple Gem, it seems dangerously fundamentalist to assume there is no other path possible. Is it so?” [Dhamma] [Liberation] [Spiritual traditions] [Three Refuges] [Dogmatism] // [Paccekabuddha]
22. [42:44] “How does one use the kasiṇa and nimitta in meditation?” [Kasiṇa ] [Nimitta] // [Concentration]
23. [44:05] “How does one overcome the threefold conceit (māna)? By seeing anicca and anattā in both self and other?” [Conceit ] [Impermanence] [Not-self] // [Relinquishment]
24. [45:19] “Any tips for stirring up the energy (viriya) that fuels Right Effort when coffee isn’t enough?” [Energy ] [Right Effort] // [Desire]
25. [45:55] “Is the Deathless element, the knowing as Ajahn Chah called it, and rigpa as the Tibetans call it the same thing? And how is that different from the fifth khanda, consciousness? How can one practice with seeing the grasping of that khandha in meditation?” [Deathless] [Ajahn Chah] [Knowing itself] [Vajrayāna] [Consciousness] [Clinging] // [Sense bases] [Volitional formations] [Suffering] [Self-identity view]
26. [48:10] “The quality of breath can change to very light, creating some pleasant changes like pain control. To what extent can breath be manipulated? Doesn’t pure awareness act as an agent of change as well? What is the difference? Is the the source of self-healing?” [Mindfulness of breathing] [Pain] [Knowing itself] [Healing] // [Tranquility]
Story: A 102-year-old monk falls in the bathroom then completely heals his head injury in one day. [Bhante Dharmawara] [Wat Pah Pong] [Sickness] [Nimitta]
27. [50:45.5] “Most of the time I feel like a duck in a world full of chickens. Any advice on techniques to prevent the urge to compare myself to others would be greatly appreciated.” [Similes] [Conceit] // [Suffering] [Communal harmony]
Simile from Ajahn Chah: Why aren’t the ducks more like chickens? [Ajahn Chah]
28. [52:45] “What’s the difference between mental formations and perception? I’m confused.” [Volitional formations] [Perception] // [Volition] [Memory]
29. [54:01] “Can you give us a short bio on each of you please?” [Western Ajahn Chah lineage] // [Birth] [Monastic life/Motivation]
Ajahn Yatiko is on his way to Tibet, but two Thai men in a restaurant persuade him to visit Wat Pah Pong. [Ajahn Yatiko] [Travel] [Vajrayāna] [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Ordination] [Gratitude]
Bhante Suddhaso finds his way to Abhayagiri through Zen. [Zen] [Ajahn Chah] [Vinaya] [Theravāda] [Abhayagiri]
Ajahn Karuṇadhammo ordains at Abhayagiri after many years of lay practice. [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo] [Lay life]
Anagārika Jordan (now Ajahn Sudhīro) learns about Buddhism in college and has just taken up anagārika training at Abhayagiri. [Postulants]
Debbie Stamp travels in Asia, hears a talk by Ajahn Buddhadasa, spends ten months at Amaravati and Chithurst, then volunteers to help start Abhayagiri. [Debbie Stamp] [Ajahn Buddhadāsa] [Amaravati] [Chithurst]
Quote: “She’s the mother of our monastery.” Ajahn Yatiko — Ajahn Yatiko.
1. [0:01] “What are some practices to deal with ill-will going repetitively towards one object?” [Ill-will] // [Kamma] [Cause of Suffering] [Proliferation]
Sutta: AN 5.161: Removing Resentment.
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 41: Reflection on kamma.
Quote: “If there’s a solution to the problem, why create difficulty around it? And then if there’s not a solution to the problem, why create difficulty around it?” — Shantideva. [Shantideva] [Suffering]
2. [5:40] “I believe we all found Ajahn Yatiko’s comment on true insight shattering our beliefs pretty intriguing. I’m fairly certain that I’m millions of miles away from true insight, but what about those meditative moments where you go, ‘Oh! I’ve never thought about that before, but how true.’? Are these possibly akin to true insight?” [Insight meditation] [Views] [Ajahn Yatiko] [Truth] // [Intuition] [Faith]
3. [7:04] “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?” [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. [10:07] “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?” [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]
5. [12:54] “I enjoyed the story of the healing green light used by the Thai venerable you shared with us yesterday, and I also enjoyed the teachings of Ajahn Tate this morning. But then I’m wondering if the very act of trying to ‘heal this body’ or ‘clarify and brighten this mind’ acts to pull the heart out of neutral and into the world of grasping and desire. Could you please clarify this?” [Bhante Dharmawara] [Healing] [Ajahn Tate] [Right Effort] [Clinging] // [Cause of Suffering] [Discernment] [Learning] [Relinquishment] [Buddha/Biography]
Sutta: DN 16.2.23: The Buddha heals his illness. [Sickness]
Quote: “The crux of it is how to live with non-clinging as the foundation.”
6. [16:12.5] “Please explain enjoying a pleasant meditation versus hanging out blissfully with an angelic face. At what point should a calm mind switch to insight practice, and when do you use the term awareness or mindfulness practice?” [Happiness] [Meditation] [Calming meditation] [Insight meditation ] [Mindfulness] // [Four Noble Truths] [Craving] [Learning]
7. [20:10] Comment: While sitting in the dining hall, the image of a square cushion dropping away from my solar plexus occured. That brought the insight that I was neither inferior nor superior to others, as ego asserts, but we’re all equal. [Insight meditation] [Conceit]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Self-identity view] [Cause of Suffering] [Suffering] [Relinquishment]
Quote: “Friends and relatives in old age, sickness and death.” — a common way to begin a Dhamma talk in Thailand.. [Birth] [Ageing] [Death] [Culture/Thailand]
8. [22:33] “In order to avoid any unpleasant feelings, I tend to be among the first ones in the food line. I don’t really feel good about it, but I can’t help it. Any suggestions would be appreciated.” [Meditation retreats] [Food] [Pain] // [Fear]
Commentary: Path of Purification by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, p. 39-40: Sāriputta goes against his desires regarding almsfood. [Great disciples] [Almsfood] [Renunciation]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno and vegetarian food at Wat Pah Pong. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Chah] [Vegetarianism ] [Culture/Thailand] [Judgementalism]
9. [28:30] “How do Tibetan monks generate so much body heat to melt snow? I’d like to learn that and warm up this sometimes quite cold hall at night.” [Vajrayāna] [Body/form] // [Perception] [Concentration] [Nimitta]
Story: Ajahn Supah goes wandering through India, Tibet, and China. He described the Himalayas as cold. [Ajahn Supah] [Tudong] [Travel]
10. [30:29] “What’s the relationship between a deep insight experience (what’s called kensho in Zen) and stream entry?” [Zen] [Insight meditation] [Stream entry] // [Ajahn Pasanno]
11. [31:11] “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?” [Four Noble Truths] [Happiness] [Rebirth] [Cessation of Suffering] // [Relinquishment]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 6: Opanayiko: Leading inwards/onwards. [Recollection/Dhamma] [Translation]
12. [33:04] “For several months now, I’ve been trying not to get caught up in stories and just focus on the feelings. Every time I stop the story, the feeling seems to consistently stop as well, and I can no longer focus on it. What am I missing?” [Proliferation] [Feeling] [Cessation] // [Suffering]
13. [34:38] “What is the Pāli word meaning not-made-of-that, non-fashioning, non-proliferation?” [Pāli] [Non-identification]
14. [35:08] Comment: “Thank you for developing the wisdom to teach and the compassion to choose to teach. I trust we give you the opportunity to deepen your practice, especially of compassion and patience. The Buddha would be proud of you and your decision to teach instead of living in that nice little cave in a beautiful forest all peaceful and still. With metta.”—us sentient beings. [Gratitude] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Discernment] [Teaching Dhamma] [Compassion]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno: “It was actually Ajahn Chah who made me teach.” [Ajahn Chah] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Abbot]
15. [36:20] “Could you speak about the importance of intention and volition as related to karma and to the story about the chicken who set the intention to lay on her eggs but didn’t follow through (SN 22.101)?” [Volition] [Kamma] [Similes] // [Energy]
Sutta: AN 6.63.33: Karma is volition.
16. [37:51] “Are desire and craving interchangeable, the same thing? Can craving or desire exist without suffering?” [Desire ] [Craving] [Suffering] // [Pāli] [Cause of Suffering] [Unwholesome Roots] [Sensual desire] [Unskillful qualities] [Bases of Success] [Skillful qualities]
17. [40:49] “What did the Buddha say about giving all your assets away?” [Commerce/economics ] // [Monastic life] [Lay life] [Idealism] [Generosity] [Family] [Relinquishment] [Ajahn Pasanno]
Suttas: AN 5.41; AN 8.54; DN 31.26: Balanced living for householders.
Quote: “Money for a monk is like having wings to fly.” — Anonymous.
18. [42:49] “Several years ago, I remember reading your little book The Last Breath by Ajahn Paññāvaḍḍho about your experience supporting a Thai Buddhist at the death chamber [in San Quentin Prison]. I was very impressed how someone who as facing the last hours of his life still had sati and clear consciousness, practiced generosity, requested food for the monks, and was humble and kind. Would you mind telling us about Jay’s mindfulness again?” [Dhamma books] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Prisons] [Death] [Mindfulness] [Generosity]
Story: Jay offers Ajahn Pasanno a meal in prison and makes sure that his family and the guards have an opportunity to hear Dhamma. [Happiness] [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Questions]
Story: Jay pays his last respects ot Ajahn Pasanno. [Respect] [Equanimity] [Thai]
19. [46:16.5] “Lately I’ve got more involved in fighting for social justice, especially with the Occupied Movement. It seems important in light of how messed up or system is. However, I’m finding it very difficult to keep any mindfulness or peace of mind, especially when menaced by police. Any suggestions?” [Activism ] [Politics and society] [Mindfulness] [Tranquility]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Amaro lead meditation at the Occupy Wall Street demonstration in London. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Amaro] [Meditation] [Chanting]
20. [47:56] “Can you please tell us about dreams? Do they reveal our defilements? Do you have any interesting dream stories?” [Dreams] [Unwholesome Roots] [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Culture/Thailand]
Story: Two Western monks ask Ajahn Chah at what point he became confident that he would have a major realization. Ajahn Chah describes three dreams in response. [Ajahn Chah] [Dhamma books] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Culture/West]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 111-113.
21. [51:01.5] “Did I understand correctly that thought is saṅkhāra, which is distinct because of volition? It is clear that some thought is volitional, but what about the many random, crazy thoughts that arise unbidden?” [Directed thought and evaluation] [Volitional formations] [Volition] [Proliferation] // [Conditionality]
22. [51:54.5] “How much karma is carried in thought? I’ve been observing what feels like the result of past unmindful thought. Is the karmic charge neutralized through mindful awareness of unwholesome thought?” [Kamma] [Proliferation] [Mindfulness]
23. [52:30] “Do neutral feelings equal equanimity?” [Neutral feeling] [Equanimity] // [Divine Abidings] [Factors of Awakening]
24. [53:38] “Do you have any news you can share about the relationship between Ajahn Brahm and the rest of the saṅgha in the Ajahn Chah lineage? I heard that he was going to meet with some elder monks in England.” [Ajahn Brahmavaṃso] [Ajahn Chah lineage] [Western Ajahn Chah lineage] // [Abhayagiri]
1. [0:00] “Ajahn Karuṇadhammo’s talk truly resonated with me. While years of breath practice has yielded only a few, albeit very important, experiences of concentration, I’ve grown more and more clear about the depths of my defilements and the programs that run through my brain. (Wow! I’m neurotic.) I’m feeling a bit hopeless, but can this possibly be good? Rather than an object and trying for concentration, should I focus on something else for a while until I’ve developed skillful means? is it possible that one’s kamma is such that deep concentration is unlikely or that the background mind can be too aversive for concentration? I really need some anattā here, don’t I?” [Mindfulness of breathing] [Concentration] [Long-term practice] [Unwholesome Roots] [Meditation/Techniques] [Kamma] [Not-self] // [Desire] [Right Effort]
2. [2:34] “Is it skillful to dig up sensual thoughts and contemplate the ugly side of it during vipassanā?” [Sensual desire] [Unattractiveness] [Insight meditation]
3. [2:42] “I’d like to swap the order of precepts around when it gets dull. Is it a waste of effort?” [Precepts] [Chanting]
4. [3:22] “Today I saw a milk carton being thrown away. I’m not sure if everyone knows they are recyclable. This sight initiated a fire for me. I told myself, ‘It’s just thrown away.’ Then I told myself, ‘It’s just my mind on fire.’ Can you speak about Right View? Does it come back to what I can truly know? How do I consider long-term patterns that may not be apparent right away? One milk carton is not a big deal. One milk carton a day starts to add up.” [Contact] [Feeling] [Environment] [Right View] // [Kamma] [Cause of Suffering] [Cessation of Suffering]
Quote: “We can be right and still create tremendous suffering.” [Views] [Suffering]
5. [5:01] “When I return to the world of speaking again, what would be a good quick mental check-in that I could use before I open my mouth and possibly make a mess of things? Any tips for Right Speech?” [Meditation retreats] [Right Speech ] // [Truth] [Skillful qualities]
Sutta: MN 58.8: True, timely, and beneficial.
Teaching from Ajahn Chah: “Don’t bring up these issues before the meal.” [Ajahn Chah] [Monastic life] [Admonishment/feedback]
6. [6:59] “Can brightness of mind and fatigue coexist? Is mental fatigue a defilement?” [Energy] [Sloth and torpor] [Unwholesome Roots]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno felt mental fatigue while preparing for Ajahn Chah’s cremation yet had a bright mind. [Ajahn Chah] [Funerals] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Merit]
7. [9:08] “[Ajahn Karuṇadhammo’s] reflection on the parts of the body and the whole body helped me contemplate and relinquish. Is it possible to read that reflection somewhere? Will it be on the CD?” [Unattractiveness] [Recollection] [Relinquishment]
8. [10:01] “Could the summary of this week’s rich teachings be represented graphically? For some people, it is helpful to see the flow of a process visually, including all the players, interactions, and scenarios. There are so many details in the chain of events that it’s easy to miss one.” [Teaching Dhamma] [Learning] [Visualization]
9. [10:42] “Meditation is work. Sometimes I’m very tired, can’t think, can’t hear, can’t sit, can’t sleep; I just show up and breathe. How are you doing? What keeps you going? I’m so touched with your generous presence, patience, and deep commitment.” [Meditation] [Sloth and torpor] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Energy] [Gratitude] // [Not-self] [Relinquishment]
Quote: “There’s only two things you need to do in Dhamma practice: know and let go.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Mindfulness]
10. [12:48] “What is the position of the monastics in relation to the lay community? Are we viewed as essentially impure and filled with defilements? I read that somewhere.” [Monastic life] [Lay life] [Unwholesome Roots] // [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support]
11. [14:04] “Which is more powerful: lovingkindness or knowledge of suffering? It seems that our noble silence and internal mindfulness put the retreatants in the mode of not making eye contact, not sharing a smile. Isn’t there room to be mindful of our Dhamma friends, even if we don’t really know most of them by offering a smile? Am I too concerned with other people’s actions? Meditation is serious business.” [Goodwill] [Meditation retreats ] [Spiritual friendship] // [Community] [Seclusion] [Conceit]
12. [15:40.5] “I’m having alternating intense periods of spaciousness and intense periods of agitation and sleepiness. Can you speak to this? I seem to identify very strongly with both states. It takes some time before I see the dukkha. I feel a bit hopeless about identification and the possibility of relinquishing it or even getting some relief from it. Any guidance would be appreciated.” [Spaciousness] [Restlessness and worry] [Sloth and torpor] [Self-identity view] [Noble Truth of Suffering] [Relinquishment] // [Cause of Suffering]
Simile from Ajahn Chah: A gardener’s duty is to prepare the soil and protect the tree. The fruit appears according to the nature of the tree. [Ajahn Chah] [Agriculture] [Similes]
13. [18:54] “Is the experience of Nibbāna (that is the cessation of all formations) the same for a stream enterer, once-returner, etc., or does the experience manifest differently depending on the level of realization? Do the suttas or commentaries touch on this subject? Any stories from the Forest Tradition related to it?” [Nibbāna] [Stages of awakening] [Sutta] [Commentaries] // [Cessation] [Becoming] [Relinquishment]
14. [20:55] “How do the Thais, and especially Buddhist practitioners, perceive the flooding disasters in Thailand? Is it just an unfortunate chain of effects due to bad weather, and that is how it is, so neutral, no feelings?” [Disasters] [Culture/Thailand] [Perception] [Weather] [Neutral feeling] // [Commerce/economics] [Lodging] [Compassion]
15. [24:16.8] “You mean all I have to do is drop dukkha from the mind? Why didn’t you tell me that years ago?” [Cessation of Suffering] [Teaching Dhamma]
16. [24:38] “Is atammayatā like nippapañca (non-proliferation)?” [Non-identification] [Proliferation]
17. [25:16.5] “Would an opposite of dukkha be contentment not dependent on conditioning?” [Suffering] [Contentment] // [Happiness] [Cessation of Suffering] [Equanimity]
18. [26:08.8] “Would you say Nibbāna is a constant, conscious choice, creation, which is ultimately easier than creating dukkha?” [Nibbāna] [Volitional formations] [Suffering]
Reflection from Ajahn Chah: Someone who is freed wouldn’t be able to kill an ant no matter how you enticed or coerced them. [Ajahn Chah] [Liberation] [Killing] [Volition]
19. [27:31.5] “Do you have any ideas or feelings on the question, ‘Who created life?’ Did Buddha know how it all began?” [Nature of the cosmos] [Buddha] // [Four Noble Truths]
Sutta: AN 4.77: Inconceivable Matters.
20. [28:11.5] “If this body is elemental and sustained by some force of nature, no self present, why do we have individual senses of ‘I am witnessing’? Kamma? So when we all become enlightened and end the cycle of rebirth (I’m hoping for tomorrow noon-ish) then what?” [Elements] [Naturalness] [Self-identity view] [Kamma] [Saṃsāra] // [Cause of Suffering]
Reflection from Ajahn Chah: There’s a practical usefulness in having I and other people. [Ajahn Chah] [Conventions]
Reference: Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 23.
21. [28:38] “After his enlightenment, did the Buddha ever feel anger or sadness? Were those entries wiped from his program?” [Buddha] [Liberation] [Aversion] [Grief] [Emotion] // [Cessation of Suffering]
22. [31:10] “Can you please explain more about bodhisattva’s path? How can a being cultivate wisdom and avoid becoming a stream enterer? Bodhisattvas mus not realize the Dhamma all the way to last life, correct?” [Bodhisattva] [Discernment] [Stream entry] // [Determination]
Story: Ajahn Mun persuades Ajahn Sao to relinquish his resolve to become a paccekabuddha. [Ajahn Sao] [Ajahn Mun] [Liberation] [Gratitude] [Psychic powers] [Paccekabuddha] [Arahant]
23. [33:35] “Did the Buddha have chanting in his time? Did he create any of the chants or were they all created after his passing?” [Chanting ] [Buddha/Biography] [History/Early Buddhism ] // [Tipiṭaka] [Culture/India] [Memory] [Culture/Other Theravāda traditions]
Sutta: AN 6.25: The nine qualities of the Buddha (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 4). [Recollection/Buddha]
The three cardinal suttas: SN 56.11: Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (Chanting Book](Amaravati Chanting Book Volume 2, p. 2)); SN 22.59: Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta (Chanting Book); SN 35.28: Ādittapariyāya Sutta (Chanting Book). [Sutta]
Sutta: MN 2.13-17: The Four Requisites (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 53). [Requisites]
Sutta: Snp 1.8: The Buddha’s Words on Lovingkindness (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 36). [Goodwill]
Sutta: AN 4.125: “I will abide pervading one quarter...” (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 42). [Divine Abidings]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 32: Verses of Sharing and Aspiration.
Sutta: Ud 5.6.17: The Buddha praises Venerable Soṇa’s recitation.
24. [40:06] “Dhamma advice please for one who wants to maintain a clean and sober life after this monastic retreat.” [Intoxicants] [Addiction] // [Determination] [Spiritual friendship] [Time management] [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Dhamma online]
25. [40:45] “I am thinking of visiting Wat Pah Nanachat for practice, but the idea of shaving my head and eyebrows terrifies me. What do I need to know?” [Wat Pah Nanachat]
26. [41:16] “How do you open to suffering, yours and others?” [Suffering] [Noble Truth of Suffering] // [Human] [Proliferation] [Conceit]
27. [42:28] “Thank you for wise and generous teachings. I’m at once grateful and also feeling sad. Every story and reference is about a man. Were there no women at the Fire Sermon (Mahāvagga 1.21)? How come there is no talk of the female disciples? Perhaps the next Buddha will be a woman. Can you speak about this absence of a female presence?” [Gratitude] [Grief] [Women in Buddhism ] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Bhikkhunī] [Theravāda] [History/Sri Lankan Buddhism]
Suttas: AN 1.188-267: Male and female great disciples. [Great disciples]
28. [45:00.5] “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?” [Etymology] [Translation] [Disenchantment] [Sense restraint ] // [Pāli] [Sense bases]
29. [46:26] “I had a body sensation. My perception was my heart pounding, but the more I felt it, the more it separated into the actual contraction of the heart muscle. Was this sensation, perception, sensation, perception, mental formation? And is it even possible to feel the heart muscle contract and the flow of blood?” [Body/form] [Sense bases] [Perception] [Volitional formations]
Sutta: MN 43.9: Conjoined not disjoined.
30. [47:56] “What is the relationship between atammayatā (non-fashioning) and jhāna? Are jhānas experienced regularly only those who have experienced insight? Is abiding in atammayatā the same as abiding in Nibbāna?” [Non-identification] [Jhāna] [Insight meditation] [Nibbāna] // [Emptiness]
Sutta: MN 113.21: Inclining the mind towards atammayatā.
31. [49:32] “To me, at least for now, the part of the mind most imbued with a sense of self is the decision-maker, that which decided to come to this retreat, to be aware, to remember to be aware. Which part of the mind is that, and how can one gain more insights into the decisions we seemingly make?” [Self-identity view] [Volition] [Insight meditation] // [Impermanence]
32. [51:23] “What’s that meat hook doing in my back? Not that again! Or my knees screaming for movement. Not that again! Or my mind racing with judgement. Not that again! Yet I settle down, breathe in and out, watch closely, and then a moment of peaceful, sublime feeling. Not that either?” [Pain] [Judgementalism] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Tranquility] // [Feeling]
Quote: “The language of Dhamma is the language of feeling.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Dhamma]
33. [52:18] “You mentioned the Twenty-Eight Buddhas Protection Chant (Amaravati Chanting Book Volume 2, p. 54). It mentions several lists: 10 powers, 18 kinds of Buddhadhamma, 32 major and 80 minor marks of a great being. Where can I find these lists?” [Protective chants] [Buddha]
Quote: “I’d go to Google!” [Dhamma online]
34. [53:06] “Contemplation: The heart is still, the mind is calm, the thoughts come, and the thoughts go. The thoughts are not thought about, kind of like a free riding in the mind. The heart stays peaceful. Insights do arise with this free flow. Can you please speak on contemplation as a form of meditation and these insights?” [Recollection] [Tranquility] [Concentration] [Insight meditation] // [Craving] [Cause of Suffering] [Proliferation] [Bases of Success] [Discernment] [Investigation of states]
35. [56:18.5] “Is the experience of jhāna required for stream entry?” [Jhāna] [Stream entry] // [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Right View]
36. [57:04.5] “Is jhāna more alert or more trance-like?” [Jhāna] // [Right Concentration] [Translation] [Mindfulness] [Clear comprehension]
1. [0:20] “When a discrete awareness arises and passes away with respect to each mental image, sound, etc., should it be characterized as mindfulness (saṅkhāric aggregate) or consciousness (viññāṇa aggregate)? Are the mental images, sounds, etc. characterized as mind object consciousness, sound consciousness, etc.? What about when consciousness arises and passes away in turn by itself?” [Mindfulness] [Consciousness] [Aggregates] [Sense bases] // [Proliferation]
Quote: “Knowing and letting go.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Relinquishment]
Simile from Ajahn Chah: Investigating Dependent Origination is like falling out of a tree. You don’t have to count every branch as you’re going down. You just have to know that when you hit the bottom it’s going to hurt. [Dependent origination] [Suffering]
2. [3:33] “It seems that having some Western psychological understanding or undergoing therapy can be helpful to a Buddhist practitioner. What are the dangers, drawbacks associated with integrating these different ways of working with the mind?” [Western psychology] [Benefit/gratification] [Drawbacks] // [Cause of Suffering] [Cessation of Suffering]
3. [4:18] “When there is no movement in the mind, I think you referred to this as a cessation of dukkha. However, spaciousness is impermanent. Is it thus not dukkha also?” [Tranquility] [Cessation of Suffering] [Spaciousness] [Impermanence] [Suffering] // [Feeling] [Characteristics of existence]
4. [6:12] “Can you speak to the relation between anattā and metta? While doing contemplation of the sense bases, the heart seems to strongly respond to offering metta in the space where there is no I or other.” [Not-self] [Goodwill] [Sense bases] [Non-identification]
Quote: “Once we get out of the way, something rather beautiful happens.” [Beauty]
5. [7:26.5] “Is sati a saṅkhāra-khanda and thus part of the Five Khandhas? Where does it originate?” [Mindfulness] [Volitional formations] [Aggregates] [Conditionality] // [Volition]
6. [8:00] “What did the Buddha mean by delighting in seclusion? Was he not a people person?” [Seclusion] [Community] // [Arahant] [Leadership]
Suttas: SN 45.11-12; SN 54.9; SN 54.11: The Buddha goes on retreat. [Buddha/Biography] [Meditation retreats]
7. [9:32] “Ajahn Brahm says, ‘Stillness is bliss.’ All I feel is a peaceful calm. What gives?” [Ajahn Brahmavaṃso] [Tranquility] [Happiness]
8. [10:31] “Do you make a distinction between desire and clinging as the cause of dukkha? Clinging seems more manageable to me. Taṇhā will happen, will arise, but how I relate to this push and pull can maybe change with practice.” [Craving] [Clinging] [Cause of Suffering] // [Meditation retreats] [Relinquishment]
9. [12:33] “After 40 or so years of dedicating your life to the practice, is there anything about the ‘Dhamma soup’ that makes you think, ‘Hmm...a bit more or less salt perhaps,’ or is it the perfect soup?” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Meditation] [Dhamma] [Similes] // [Recollection] [Learning] [Buddha] [Teachers] [Liberation]
10. [13:57] “There are so many ways to focus the Dhamma lens. Do you recommend a systematic approach, that is, for this time, I will view experience through the Three Characteristics, Four Noble Truths, or what have you? Or better to just let the mind see what arises?” [Dhamma] [Recollection] // [Determination]
11. [15:35] “Is there spirituality in Buddhism, or are we sense-machines?” [Nature of mind] [Atheism/agnosticism] // [Unconditioned] [Cause of Suffering]
12. [16:51] “What is passed on during reincarnation?” [Rebirth] // [Etymology] [Kamma] [Habits]
13. [18:08] “Is there any sense that suffering and great joy go hand-in-hand? That is, love of kids, husband, wife, etc.?” [Suffering] [Happiness] [Clinging] [Family]
14. [19:19] “There is a well-known vipassanā teacher whose interpretation of the teachings are such that one does indeed burn off or slough off past kamma if it arises in the presence of awareness and equanimity, leading to a purification of the mind. Any thoughts on how this interpretation could arise from the teachings or commentaries?” [Kamma] [Mindfulness] [Equanimity] // [Hinduism]
15. [20:57] Comment: Thank you for your generosity in teaching, the clarity of the teachings, and especially for your friendliness and humor. Today I had the insight that rather than teaching us a metta concentration practice, you’ve been showing us how to have metta for ourselves in our practice. [Generosity] [Teaching Dhamma] [Goodwill]
16. [21:29] “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).
17. [22:58] “If Ajahn Chah were to appear here tonight, what are a couple of questions you would ask him?” [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Questions] // [Nature of the cosmos] [Concentration]
Recollections of talking with Ajahn Chah. [Clinging] [Relinquishment]
Story: Ajahn Chah describes the details of a spirit living at Wat Pah Pong to a long-term disciple who asked about it. [Ghost] [Wat Pah Pong]
Story: Right after that, a group of visitors ask if devas and ghosts really exist. [Deva] [Direct experience]
Story: Ajahn Chah responds to his teacher’s inquiry about developing astral travel. [Ajahn Kinaree] [Psychic powers ]
18. [29:55] “If there is no self in the created or the uncreated (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 13), what gets reborn? I feel myself as not my body as I am walking. I don’t know how to know that experience and let go.” [Not-self] [Rebirth] [Mindfulness] [Relinquishment] // [Kamma] [Impermanence] [Non-identification]
19. [31:23.5] Comment: What is the sound of one turkey clapping?...The point is to thank you all for keeping such good humor in the mix. Humor is essential to the path. [Koan] [Humor] [Gratitude]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
20. [32:15] “Are there monasteries in this tradition in Thailand for women? Are women accepted at Wat Nong Pah Pong?” [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Women's monastic forms] [Wat Pah Pong] // [Ajahn Chah] [Parents] [Culture/Thailand]
21. [33:43] “Can you review [the types of craving] and how to identify these?” [Craving] // [Sensual desire] [Becoming] [Craving not to become]
22. [35:38] A review of the Seven Factors of Enlightenment. [Factors of Awakening]
23. [36:14] “Could you talk about the last years of Ajahn Chah’s life when he was so sick and couldn’t talk? Do you think he chose to stay alive in that condition for so long?” [Ajahn Chah] [Sickness] [Volition] // [Wat Pah Pong] [Health care] [Lodging] [Food] [Royalty] [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Saṅgha] [Ajahn Pasanno]
Recollection: Although bedridden for nine years, Ajahn Chah never got a bedsore.
24. [42:50] Comments about an odd couple of farm animals and an expression of gratitude. [Animal] [Gratitude]
25. [44:28] Comment: Upon news of her death, and even though she held no royal title at the time, Tony Blair called Diana ‘the people’s princess.’ Debbie, you are the people’s ajahn of Abhayagiri. Thank you for the inspired Dhamma talk and blessing today and for honoring Mary and all the women of the mountain. [Royalty] [Debbie Stamp] [Abhayagiri] [Gratitude]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
26. [45:45] Expressions of gratitude for Ajahn Pasanno’s teaching and the presence of the Abhayagiri Saṅgha at the end of the 2011 Thanksgiving Retreat. [Gratitude] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Teaching Dhamma] [Abhayagiri]