Thanksgiving Retreat, Nov. 16, 2010 to Nov. 25, 2010
Angela Center in Santa Rosa, California
8 sessions, 126 excerpts, 7:29:37 total duration
Show featured excerpts (38)
A classic ten-day Thanksgiving Retreat held at the Angela Center.
External websiteSessions: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1. [0:13] “How to balance saṃvega (urgency) and patience?” [Spiritual urgency] [Patience] // [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities]
2. [2:30] “What are some guidelines for distinguishing between a concentration state and Nibbāna? Is it possible to ‘absorb into’ Nibbāna as the gap between phenomena?” [Concentration] [Nibbāna] // [Impermanence] [Unconditioned]
3. [4:40] “I’ve noticed the proliferation of thoughts is different in walking meditation versus sitting. Would you recommend walking meditation for an at-home practice for the first meditation in the early morning? Would you mind sharing your experience with the effects of walking meditation?” [Proliferation] [Posture/Walking] [Everyday life] [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Thai Forest Tradition] [Abhayagiri] [Lodging] [Right Effort]
Quote: “You can get a lot of wisdom from walking meditation.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Discernment]
4. [11:56.5] “Can suññatā (emptiness) be used as a kammaṭṭhāna, and if so, how?” [Emptiness] [Meditation/Techniques] // [Seclusion] [Not-self] [Liberation] [Relinquishment]
Sutta: MN 121: The Shorter Discourse on Emptiness.
5. [16:33] “Can you please describe how you experience the breath when your awareness is strong and balanced? How specifically do you use the breath when the mind is dull?” [Mindfulness of breathing] [Sloth and torpor] // [Energy] [Visualization] [Tranquility] [Happiness] [Perception of light]
6. [24:05] “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.” [Chanting] [Buddha] [Saṅgha] [Pāli] [Christianity] // [Translation]
Note: The Pāli word is sāmi-kissaro. Definitions of sāmi and issaro in the Digital Pāḷi Dictionary.
7. [28:51] “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?” [Faith] [Liberation] [Ajahn Chah lineage] // [Faculties] [Translation] [Energy] [Ajahn Chah]
Quote: “It isn’t wisdom that gives up. It’s faith.” [Discernment] [Relinquishment]
8. [39:26] “How exactly does one enter the stream of Nibbāna for the first time (sotāpanna-magga)? Is it like the arising of jhāna where specific signs and sensations precede the actual arising? The Mahasi Sayadaw tradition teaches that there are 16 stages that precede the experience. Is this useful?” [Nibbāna] [Stream entry] [Jhāna] [Mahasi Sayadaw] // [Commentaries] [Self-identity view] [Aggregates] [Right Effort]
Sutta: SN 55.5: Factors of Stream Entry. [Factors for stream entry]
9. [48:48] “What is the difference between upekkha and indifference?” [Equanimity] // [Divine Abidings] [Skillful qualities] [Aversion] [Doubt]
Follow-up: “Can you say upekkha is acceptance?” [Discernment]
10. [51:21] “How is being the one who knows or being the knowing related to the practice of mindfully attending to present moment experience?” [Knowing itself] [Present moment awareness ] // [Discernment] [Knowledge and vision] [Conditionality]
11. [54:02] “The mind can be a trickster. Can the body be a trickster too?” [Heart/mind] [Delusion] [Body/form] // [Unattractiveness] [Elements] [Proliferation] [Mindfulness of body]
Story: “Body understands!” [Zen] [Koan]
12. [1:00:22] “The hindrance of doubt is really present now. How do I approach and skillfully deal with this?” [Doubt] // [Mindfulness of body] [Proliferation] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Ajahn Pasanno]
1. [0:08] “I can control the mind’s attitude about physical pain. Is it possible to control the pain?” [Pain] // [Rapture]
Story: Ajahn Buddhadāsa deals with the pain of an operation using samādhi. [Ajahn Buddhadāsa] [Health care] [Concentration]
Story: Ajahn Chah reflects on pain after an operation. [Ajahn Chah]
2. [3:50] “Is there anything in the chanting book about stream enters, non-returners, arahants? How is the [old] Abhayagiri Chanting Book organized? Why does the chanting book start with evening chanting? How does chanting support my practice?” [Chanting ] [Stages of awakening] // [History/Thai Buddhism] [Ajahn Vajirayan] [Sutta] [History/Sri Lankan Buddhism] [Faith] [Energy]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 7: “The four pairs, the eight kinds of noble beings.”
Story: Ajahn Mahā Boowa tries to listen to Ajahn Mun’s solitary chanting. [Ajahn Mun] [Ajahn Mahā Boowa]
3. [12:38] “As part of this retreat, I’m working on the Six Recollections, but I stumble on two things: 1) On virtue/generosity, the thought ‘not good enough’ is predominant. 2) I’ve never met a deva, so reflecting on them is difficult and based only on faith. Suggestions?” [Recollection] [Recollection/Virtue] [Recollection/Generosity] [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] [Recollection/Devas] [Faith] // [Culture/West] [Conceit] [Deva] [Kamma]
Sutta: AN 6.10: Six Recollections.
Story: Ajahn Chah describes the beings who live at Wat Pah Pong when questioned by a devoted disciple, then gives a different answer to a group of visitors. [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Non-human beings] [Realms of existence]
4. [28:06] “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.” [Empathetic joy ] [Divine Abidings] [Translation] [Gratitude] // [Jealousy]
5. [30:48] “As a long-term practitioner, I’m often touched by the beauty of the Buddha’s words and teachings. At times when I become more concentrated, this can feel liberating. And yet I can also sense that a deep emotional loss happens at times too. Is this just me or is it typical as part of the practice? Have you ever experienced this?” [Long-term practice] [Beauty] [Liberation] [Grief] // [Relinquishment] [Self-identity view]
6. [34:38] “What is a good strategy to face an intense invasion of a mix of grandiose, destructive, ugly, and seductive mental formations I couldn’t have made up myself? Where did these thoughts, pictures, sounds come from with such force? Isn’t that a waste of time?” [Meditation/Unusual experiences] [Unskillful qualities] [Proliferation] // [Humor]
7. [37:24] “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.” [Nature of mind] [Heart/mind] [Ajahn Tate] // [Language] [Ajahn Mun] [Knowing itself]
8. [41:08] “Please speak about antidotes to the judging mind.” [Judgementalism ] // [Mindfulness] [Investigation of states] [Relinquishment]
9. [44:18] “I find myself struggling with staying in the moment. [I can’t] stop planning for the future. There are so many recent catastrophes: storm Sandy, floods in Thailand, earthquakes, etc. My ageing parents are worried. Emergency preparedness kits stir up more anxiety. It seems never enough. To what extent does one plan for a disaster, and how do I gently and compassionately explain that to my parents using wise words from Dhamma?” [Disasters] [Proliferation] [Parents] [Restlessness and worry] [Teaching Dhamma] // [Winnie-the-Pooh]
10. [47:51] “Is it really possible and/or realistic to keep people in your heart but not in your life?” [Goodwill ] [Seclusion] // [Thai]
11. [50:23] “Besides my own Dhamma practice, raising my children is also very important to me. We want them to grow in wholesome dhammas. Currently, because they have shown interest in our keeping the Five Precepts, we talk about how the day went in keeping the precepts as we tuck them in at bedtime. They report on how it went, and so does each parent who is tucking them in, each of us looking at ourselves, our intentions and behaviors, and then sharing. Are there additional things we might do as parents to help our kids as we travel the path?” [Children ] [Skillful qualities] [Five Precepts] [Right Intention] [Right Action] // [Ajahn Chah]
12. [53:51] “I’m experiencing the observer watching the breath, but remember a (previous) more unified space that I am in the body or breath field, not aside from it as the watcher. How do I get back in? Does this come with the mind/heart quieting down more? This desire is dukkha, and there is awareness of that too.” [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of body] [Calming meditation] [Suffering] // [Relinquishment]
13. [55:33] “There’s a short book at the monastery about using the ever-present high-pitched buzz, also known as the sound of silence. Could you comment on how to use the sound of silence as an insight practice?” [Sound of silence] [Insight meditation] // [Ajahn Sumedho] [Ajahn Amaro] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Characteristics of existence]
Reference: Inner Listening by Ajahn Amaro.
14. [57:27] “How can we better hinder the Five Hindrances, or does that just create another hindrance?” [Hindrances]
Sutta: SN 46.51: Feeding and starving the hindrances.
15. [59:19] “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?” [Right Speech] [Idle chatter] [Lay life] // [Pāli] [Volition] [Unskillful qualities] [Restlessness and worry]
1. [0:05] “With “fading away,” what is it that fades away?” [Dispassion] // [Pāli]
2. [1:50] “Could you please tell us about some of your responsibilities as an abbot of Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery? Is being an abbot of one of Ajahn Chah’s monasteries unique compared to other monasteries?” [Abbot ] [Abhayagiri] [Ajahn Chah monasteries] // [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Culture/West] [Culture/Thailand] [Seclusion] [Mentoring]
Quote: “The garbage can at the top of the line.” — Ajahn Chah’s description of an abbot. [Ajahn Chah]
3. [5:03] “Can you speak more about posture? I’ve noticed when fatigued and I slump a tad, my breath seems to be most noticeable and stuck at the slump. Also, when I notice my body pulsating, should I allow movement or hold steady?” [Posture/Sitting ] [Sloth and torpor] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Meditation/Unusual experiences] // [Rapture] [Right Effort] [Energy] [Tranquility] [Mindfulness of body] [Body scanning]
4. [12:04] “Would you speak about the four mundane and the four supermundane jhānas as well as sāmadhi?” [Jhāna] [Concentration] // [Hindrances] [Relinquishment] [Stages of awakening] [Translation] [Thai]
5. [19:06.5] “How may the levels of concentration needed for each of the four stages of enlightenment be described? How can these be cultivated? Are the types of details seen prior to the different fruits different?” [Concentration] [Stages of awakening] // [Relinquishment] [Insight meditation] [Sensual desire] [Self-identity view] [Cessation of Suffering]
6. [21:44] “The buzzing sound in the ears (tinnitus) seems to be getting worse during the retreat. How can I handle it? Should I contemplate it and use it as a meditation object or not attend to it and move on to the breath?” [Meditation/Unusual experiences] [Mindfulness of breathing] // [Happiness] [Aversion] [Pain]
7. [25:04] “Reference to ‘spirit’ is conspicuously absent from Buddhist scripture. However, there is acknowledgement of rebirth, so the belief that man is more than physical matter exists. Why is there so little written about spirit?” [Nature of mind ] [Tipiṭaka] [Rebirth] // [Culture/West] [Sense bases] [Impermanence] [Naturalness] [Four Noble Truths]
Sutta: SN 56.31: The Handful of Leaves.
8. [29:33] “Like everyone in my family, I suffer from a major depressive disorder. A few years ago during a stressful time with my wife, my doctor put me on antidepressants. It became easier to meditate. Life is still challenging, but I can face it. Some Buddhist friends say that I should go off medication and just be with ‘what is,’ but off them I am paralyzed. What do you think? Is it cheating?” [Depression ] [Medicinal requisites] // [Idealism] [Mental illness ] [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities]
9. [32:49.5] “You instructed us to meditate on the breath with mindfulness and continuity. You also recommended wise reflection. How does one weave and connect both together?” [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness] [Recollection]
Sutta: MN 10.3: The description of Right Mindfulness. [Right Mindfulness] [Clear comprehension]
Reflection: Ātāpi as an aspect of Right Mindfulness is the application of effort for the burning up of defilements. [Ardency ] [Right Effort] [Unwholesome Roots] [Thai]
Commentary: Path of Purification by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, p. 431: “Clear comprehension is another word for wisdom.” [Discernment]
Quote: “That function in nature that draws knowledge and attention of the sense contact into the heart.” — P. A. Payutto’s description of mindfulness. [P. A. Payutto] [Contact]
10. [41:06.5] “Why is there something instead of nothing?” [Nature of the cosmos]
11. [41:29] “After using a yellow kasiṇa as kammaṭṭhāna for two years, I’ve been able to ‘tame’ the nimitta somewhat, but I’m unclear how to use it to enter jhāna. Instead, when working with the nimitta has got me in the upacāra samādhi neighborhood, I just switch to the breath and go from there, but I’d really like to know how kasiṇa is used to enter appanā samādhi directly. Also, is it true that kasiṇa propels the yogi directly into third jhāna, bypassing first and second?” [Kasiṇa] [Nimitta] [Jhāna] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Concentration] // [Beauty] [Happiness] [Directed thought and evaluation]
12. [46:58] “Since the suttas indicate that ‘dry insight’ meditators were a relative rarity, and both anger and greedy personalities would need a certain amount of samādhi or jhāna before being capable of deep insight, can it be assumed that jhāna is a prerequisite for stream entry for a majority of yogis? Did the Buddha recommend a certain amount of jhāna in part because the letting go that allows that state to aries also supports letting go of the self to drop into the stream of Nibbāna?” [Sutta] [Insight meditation] [Jhāna] [Stream entry] [Relinquishment] // [Commentaries] [Right Concentration] [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Virtue] [Right View]
13. [50:11.5] “Is breath exactly the same not-self as consciousness?” [Mindfulness of breathing] [Not-self] [Consciousness] // [Aggregates] [Impermanence] [Mindfulness of body]
Sutta: SN 22.59: Anattalakkhaṇasutta (Chanting Book translation).
Sutta: SN 22.95: Consciousness likened to a conjurer’s trick. [Similes]
14. [53:10.5] “It is said that Nibbāna is not a state or an object or a feeling. Yet it is also said that Nibbāna produces the ultimate happiness (nibbanam paramam sukham) and produces a calm abiding. Since calm and sukha are feelings, then is Nibbāna or its residue experienced in the body as a particular set of vedanā?” [Nibbāna] [Happiness] [Tranquility] [Feeling]
Sutta: Ud 2.10: “Ah, bliss!”
15. [57:30] “I’m sitting here looking at the passion of Christ. My good friends are Christian and Muslim, and I want to be respectful and non-judgemental, but once in a great while I think they are micchā-diṭṭhi (wrong view). What does the Buddha say about other beliefs? Are they all true in their own way? How should I skillfully hold my attitude toward Jesus, Mohammed, etc.?” [Spiritual traditions ] [Christianity] [Islam] [Judgementalism] [Views] // [Kamma]
Recollection: Buddhist-Christian monastic dialogue at The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. [Monastic life] [City of Ten Thousand Buddhas]
Quote: “All religions are trying to deal with the human condition in a meaningful way....A lot of it is around the intention and integrity that individual practitioners bring to their life and practice as opposed to the label that they practice under.” [Human] [Purpose/meaning] [Truth]
1. [1:42] “How can consciousness (viññāṇa) be conscious of itself? If consciousness’s nature is like a clear crystal that takes on the color of whatever passes through it, if its true nature is colorless, how can it know itself?” [Consciousness] [Similes] // [Etymology] [Sense bases]
Quote: “If we extrapolate from a flawed image, then we end up in confusion or doubt.” [Doubt]
2. [3:57] “We hear so much about being in saṅgha and with good friends such as we do on retreats sitting together, and yet in the suttas the Buddha often tells the bhikkhus to go sit in seclusion. Personally, I often prefer sitting alone than in a group. Could you say more about this?” [Spiritual friendship] [Meditation retreats] [Sutta] [Seclusion] // [Monastic routine] [Community]
Sutta: SN 45.2: Half of the Holy Life. [Eightfold Path]
3. [11:14] “What do you think about using awareness itself as an object of meditation? Not open awareness, but awareness of the body where consciousness and the object meet.” [Knowing itself] [Mindfulness of body] // [Meditation/Techniques] [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities]
4. [13:48] “Please describe any techniques or practices for gladdening the mind.” [Gladdening the mind ] // [Recollection/Buddha] [Recollection/Dhamma] [Recollection/Saṅgha] [Goodwill] [Recollection/Generosity] [Recollection/Virtue]
Sutta: MN 118.20: “Gladdening the mind, I breathe in,” Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 89. [Mindfulness of breathing]
Story: In Sri Lanka, children write the skillful actions they have done in a book they keep all their life. It is read to them in times of illness or difficulty. [Culture/Sri Lanka] [Children] [Sickness] [Death]
5. [19:27] “I’m struggling with aversion and doubt. When do I switch to metta?” [Aversion] [Doubt] [Goodwill] // [Gladdening the mind]
Story: “I hate metta!” [Bhante Gunaratana]
6. [22:03] “What are skillful ways to increase energy (viriya)?” [Energy ] // [Gladdening the mind] [Three Refuges] [Benefit/gratification] [Happiness]
Note: Refer to the earlier question about gladdening the mind.
7. [24:39] “What is with the kasiṇa? In many years of practice, this has never been taught by any of my teachers. How would it benefit one’s practice compared to a life of contemplating the Four Noble Truths? How is the color chosen?” [Kasiṇa] // [Calming meditation] [Commentaries] [Thai Forest Tradition]
Commentary: Path of Purification by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, p. 104: 40 subjects of meditation.
8. [28:08] “I found the story of Ajahn Tate instructive and inspiring. I searched the web and found a brief autobiography and just a few teachings. Do you know of any other resources to learn from and about this wise thera?” [Ajahn Tate]
Reference: Issues Through the Moss by Karin Bagøien.
9. [30:10] “Would you please repeat the phrasing of the Four Noble Truths and the mind that you spoke about this morning? (I am grasping and suffering.)” [Four Noble Truths] [Clinging] [Suffering] // [Ajahn Dune]
Reference: Gifts He Left Behind by Ajahn Dune, p. 3.
10. [32:10] “What role is there for Buddhist nuns in North America? Are there any plans for a monastery for Buddhist nuns?” [Women's monastic forms] // [Dhammadharini Monastery] [Aloka Vihara]
11. [33:31] “What does the vinaya set as the standard for personal hygiene? Bathing, cleaning clothes, shaving, etc.? Is the use of deodorant within the purview of vinaya?” [Vinaya] [Cleanliness ] [Monastic life] // [Robes] [Food] [Buddha/Biography] [Culture/India]
Vinaya: Ajahn Chah
Story: An Indian kshatriya notices that Ajahn Pasanno does things just like he’s been trained to do. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Tudong] [Ajahn Jayasaro]
12. [39:10] “How are we to reflect on the use of food as not for fun, not for pleasure, only for the maintenance and nourishment of this body when offered Paul’s spectacular cooking?” [Food] [Recollection] [Meditation retreats] // [Sense restraint] [Gratitude] [Vinaya]
Sutta: MN 2.14, Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 53. [Almsfood]
Quote: “That’s what the use of reflection is. It isn’t necessarily that you’re going to mandate what you’re feeling or thinking, but you’re keeping a perspective on it.”
Sutta: AN 5.208: Using toothwoods makes food taste better. [Cleanliness]
13. [41:47] “I sometimes chant the refuges to my dog. She doesn’t seem to mind. Can’t tell if she’s listening. Is it possible to help our beloved canine companions on the path? I thought I heard that of all the animals, dogs had the most chance of a human birth.” [Animal ] [Chanting] [Three Refuges] [Rebirth] [Human] // [Culture/West]
14. [43:14] “After the talk this morning, during the short meditation, I was overcome with a sense of joy that was maintained during the walking meditation that followed. As I slowly walked, reflecting on this joy, I also heard the rumble of freeway traffic. My reflection then went to how I might maintain this focus and joy when I move back into the rumble and chaos of my workaday world? Any suggestions?” [Happiness] [Contact] [Everyday life] [Continuity of mindfulness] // [Memory] [Recollection/Dhamma] [Impermanence] [Recollection]
Commentary: Path of Purification by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, p. 105: The Ten Recollections.
15. [47:41] “Please explain what gave rise to the 28 Buddhas Protection Discourse (Amaravati Chanting Book Volume 2, p. 54). Is this a sutta? It didn’t start with ‘Thus have I heard.’ Did Buddha ever mention or acknowledge the existence of other Buddhas?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno, Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Yatiko. [Protective chants] [Sutta] [Previous Buddhas] // [Metteyya Bodhisatva] [Culture/Thailand] [Ghost] [History/Sri Lankan Buddhism] [Children] [Fear]
Sutta: DN 14: Descriptions of six previous Buddhas.
Sutta: DN 26.25: The future Buddha Metteyya.
Sutta: DN 32: The Āṭānāṭiya Protection.
Suttas: SN 12:4-10 mention six previous Buddhas who understood Dependent Origination.
1. [0:00] “I understand that ultimately old age, sickness, and death are out of our control, but we can influence those factors by how we treat our physicality, our nature. Can you talk about a skillful relationship to the body, what is skillful to let be versus what is skillful to influence?” [Ageing] [Sickness] [Death] [Body/form] [Health ] [Skillful qualities] // [Medicinal requisites]
Sutta: MN 2.14, Chanting Book translation: Reflection on the Four Requisites. [Requisites]
2. [2:50] “Thank you for mentioning the usefulness of the recollections (Buddha, Dhamma, Saṅgha, etc.). I also found Ajahn Karuṇadhammo’s statement helpful about not living in the past. Could you clarify how to recollect without living in a past good experience?” [Recollection] [Present moment awareness ] // [Idealism]
Quote: “It’s with wisdom that we take the experience that we had and really learn from that.” [Discernment] [Learning]
3. [5:54] “Did you ever consider ordaining as a nun? Why or why not? If there had been a Theravādin monastery for nuns 15 years ago in the Bay Area, would that have affected your decision?” Answered by Debbie Stamp. [Debbie Stamp] [Women's monastic forms] [Monastic life/Motivation] // [Amaravati] [Chithurst] [Saṅghapāla] [Abhayagiri] [Ajahn Pasanno]
4. [8:25] “Am I not ambitious enough or not believing enough in getting enlightened in this lifetime? I don’t want to stress myself out with something I have no control over. Balancing life with my practice, enjoying some quality of life in the circle of family and friends, and enlightenment would be a bonus.” [Liberation] [Lay life] [Happiness] // [Conditionality]
5. [13:03] “Outside retreat, I sit daily, but samādhi is usually conspicuous by its absence. Do you have any words of advice, encouragement, or consolation?” [Meditation] [Everyday life ] [Concentration] // [Recollection] [Right Intention] [Renunciation] [Goodwill] [Tranquility]
6. [18:30] “How does one practice with perception of light? I was told to ignore it (as a nimitta) and that it was a metaphor.” [Perception of light] [Nimitta] [Symbolism/metaphor] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Mindfulness of breathing]
Sutta: AN 4.41: Four kinds of concentration. [Concentration]
7. [21:03] “How to practice with the arising and passing away of khandas as in the fourth development [in AN 4.41]? Does one reflect on the process of being? And saññā is always unclear to me.” [Impermanence] [Aggregates ] [Perception] // [Body/form] [Feeling] [Memory] [Volitional formations] [Consciousness] [Self-identity view]
Quote: “The goal of investigation and mindfulness practices is to shine a light on the constructed nature of how we identify with experience and then assume a solid sense of self, of I, of me, of mine.”
8. [25:40] “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?” [Compassion] [Pāli] // [Divine Abidings]
9. [27:20] “Is a monk allowed to hug his mother?” [Vinaya] [Parents]
10. [28:00] “Would you discuss Buddhist rites and rituals regarding death and dying? What are the rites surrounding the death and cremation of an arahant?” [Ceremony/ritual] [Death ] [Funerals] [Arahant] // [Cultural context] [Recollection/Virtue] [Three Refuges] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Culture/Thailand]
Recollections of Ajahn Chah’s funeral. [Ajahn Chah] [Wat Pah Pong] [Relics] [Ajahn Chah Stupa]
Follow-up: “Did you see Ajahn Chah’s relics?” [Amulets]
11. [45:54] “Is the pleasant experience when one is abiding within one’s mind a sensation and/or a mental formation?” [Happiness] [Contact] [Volitional formations] // [Feeling]
12. [47:25] “Is it [the pleasant experience when one is abiding within one’s mind] a universal energy that is always available and that we only fleetingly tap into when in the calm, open, relaxed meditative state?” [Happiness] [Tranquility] // [Nature of mind]
Quote: “So much of practice is just learning how to get out of the way.”
13. [48:53] “From experience I know that lots more walking and less sitting is better for pain management. Should I just continue to sit and work on enduring the unendurable or walk more?” [Posture/Walking] [Posture/Sitting] [Pain] [Patience] // [Continuity of mindfulness]
Quote: “You can learn a lot from pain, but it also wears you down.” [Learning] [Energy]
Recollection: Ajahn Khao walked meditation for nine hours a day. [Ajahn Khao] [Monastic routine]
14. [52:59.5] “Seclusion of the heart really interests me, especially because of a busy family atmosphere. Is a way to develop seclusion of the heart to work on not taking this personally, not letting the self-making perceptions insert themselves into the heart?” [Seclusion] [Family] [Non-identification ] // [Self-identity view] [Similes]
Quote: “Not being caught by the gladness or the sadness of the mind.” — Ajahn Liem. [Ajahn Liem] [Happiness] [Suffering] [Dispassion]
15. [56:50.5] “Can you say a little more about ‘the mind going outside itself’—what that means and how it is dukkha?” [Proliferation] [Suffering] [Cause of Suffering ] // [Knowing itself] [Craving] [Tranquility]
Reference: Gifts He Left Behind by Ajahn Dune, p. 3.
Quote: “Still, flowing water.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Equanimity] [Similes]
Reference: Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, pp. 380-381.
16. [59:50.5] “You once had some recordings of chanting by a very young Sri Lankan boy who was apparently freshly reincarnated from a lifetime 1,500 years ago and chanted in the style of that time. Specifically, his rendition of the Metta Sutta. How to find?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Yatiko. [Chanting] [Rebirth] [Dhamma recordings] // [Sutta] [Protective chants] [Memory] [Insight Meditation Society]
Note: A few recordings of Dhammaruwan’s chanting can be found on Wisdom Publication’s website for Bhikkhu Anālayo’s book Rebirth in Early Buddhism and Current Research.
17. [1:01:19] “Topics to avoid in conversation for the sake of harmony: politics, good, money, people who aren’t present, sports, scandals, etc. Where is the long list printed?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Idle chatter]
Reference: BMC I p. 397: Explanation of animal talk in the discussion of Bhikkhu Pācittiyā 6.
Sutta: AN 10.69.
18. [1:02:10] “What are skillful views and opinions? And what are the indicators of a Dhammic conversation/dialogue?” [Views] [Right View] [Right Speech] // [Conflict] [Suffering]
19. [1:03:06] “One day at tea time, a guest at the monastery was sharing her feelings about a coworker who was always upbeat and positive. It irritated this guest because she felt her coworker was not being genuine. I was laughing to myself because at my job I am that big ball of sunshine most of the time, and it can annoy my coworkers. They love talking about the faults of others, and it irritates them when I counter their comments with something positive about ‘their victim.’ But lately, their habits have been rubbing off, and I find myself fault-finding more and more. Any advice about not getting sucked into negativity would be much appreciated.” [Happiness] [Aversion] [Malicious speech] [Blame and praise] // [Drawbacks] [Mindfulness of body]
20. [1:06:03] “I’m one of those people who tend to focus on/identify with my faults. Could you please talk about ways to stop ourselves from identifying with our characteristics, both good and bad?” [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] [Self-identity view] // [Drawbacks] [Recollection] [Perception]
21. [1:09:45.5] “Could you kindly talk about some obstacles in your practice and how you overcame them as an encouragement to us?” [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Doubt] [Fear] [Mindfulness of body ] [Delusion]
22. [1:12:36] “I notice that with increased concentration, the formations of physical fluids decreases. When I start thinking about it, the swallowing reflex and the gurgling in the guts kick in. Please clarify. What is the experience of monks who stay in day-long samādhi? Any association with the stages of concentration?” [Concentration] [Body/form] // [Tranquility]
23. [1:14:25] “I understand that it isn’t okay for any monk or human being to say that they are enlightened. How come the Buddha himself proclaimed the enlightened one, the knower of the world? Did people write this down or quote the Buddha?” [Liberation] [Buddha] // [Devotional practice] [Buddha/Biography] [Teaching Dhamma]
Sutta: MN 26.25: The Buddha’s encounter with Upaka.
Vinaya: Bhikkhu Pācittiyā 8: The rule against revealing superior human states. [Vinaya] [Gain and loss]
1. [0:02] “I heard three times today to come back to the body. I don’t get this. Can you explain?” [Mindfulness of body] // [Mindfulness]
2. [2:12] “You spoke to exactly what my brain has been doing the past day and a half. Your suggestion [to investigate the embodied emotions behind the thoughts] was very helpful. However, sometimes when I look to the body, there is no emotional push there. Is there always an emotional push to a thought? What other things can I look for? Thanks for your on-the-spot talk.” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Mindfulness of body] [Emotion] [Proliferation] // [Investigation of states]
3. [5:40] “Some spiritual teachers reference the concept of oneness, sort of anattā by virtue of all selves. What does Theravāda say about this?” [Spiritual traditions] [Not-self] [Doctrine-of-self clinging] [Theravāda] // [Relinquishment]
4. [6:48] “Could you expand on the causes necessary to enter the stream? Is it simply a question of amassing these causes and the experience of the eventual fruit or does the practitioner also need to ‘get in shape’ like an athlete preparing for an event who must be in top form? If the latter simile applies, does the yogi need to give it his all or does he merely need to just hang in there long enough for the cause to bear fruit, with just the right amount of dynamic tension?” [Stream entry] [Conditionality] [Energy] // [Factors for stream entry] [Discernment]
Sutta: SN 55.5: Factors for stream entry explained in terms of the Eightfold Path. [Eightfold Path]
Simile of splitting a log with an axe. [Right Effort] [Similes]
5. [10:57] “What is the threefold bliss (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 33)?” [Happiness] // [Human] [Deva] [Nibbāna]
6. [11:47] “In the past few years, I’ve used the narrow area near a nostril as my meditation object, without much success in calming the mind. Lately, I have been using the whole body as object. Is there a difference in depth between these two types of objects as ways to experience the breath?” [Mindfulness of breathing] [Calming meditation] [Mindfulness of body] [Meditation/Techniques ] // [Desire] [Continuity of mindfulness]
7. [15:03] Comment: The mind is quite tricky. When I notice conflict arise or aversion to another and respond emotionally, I look to the Dhamma and practice and see where to let go, offer compassion and kindness to what is happening, and try to see the moment as impermanent and we will all die. Then the mind and body settle a bit, and I begin to think, ‘Why can’t the other person do this before they become so dramatic? I’m trying, why can’t they?’ And suddenly I’m tense and the mind comes back again to making a me. It tricks me into this loop, so I have to keep catching it. Māra keeps finding ways in, yet I keep practicing with faith. [Nature of mind] [Proliferation] [Aversion]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Suffering] [Self-reliance]
Quote: “The quickest way to enlightenment is to look directly at the mind, point your finger, and say ‘Liar!’” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Liberation] [Delusion]
Quote: “Why can’t these ducks be more like chickens?” — Ajahn Chah. [Judgementalism] [Similes] [Human]
8. [20:11] Comment: Whenever I trim my nose-hairs, I’ll be envisioning goblins and monastics from now on. [Cleanliness] [Vinaya] [Humor]
Vinaya: Khandhaka 15.27.5.
9. [20:35] “Ajahn Chah mentioned ‘know the mind within the mind.’ Is it just as effective to share Dhamma with a person who is actively dying, but the person is in a state of mental confusion or simply unconscious? Would their ‘mind’ hear the Dhamma? Please share your experience.” [Ajahn Chah] [Heart/mind] [Death] [Teaching Dhamma ] // [Compassion] [Personal presence ] [Chanting] [Recollection/Dhamma]
Story: “Richard, be quiet.” [Ram Dass] [Parents]
10. [27:30] “Could you expand on the concepts of hiri and otappa, which the Buddha called the protectors of the world (Iti 42)?” [Conscience and prudence] // [Translation] [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro] [Skillful qualities] [Virtue] [Sense restraint] [Kamma] [Happiness]
11. [34:04] “Would you please explain bhāvanā-mayā paññā? What exactly is it? Does it only happen when we are at least a sotāpanna or can it happen to a puttujana? Does it only happen in one mind-moment and may happen again or does it stay with you once it happens?” [Meditation] [Discernment] [Stream entry] [Time] [Impermanence] [Insight meditation] // [Commentaries] [Hearing the true Dhamma]
Note: A retreatant later explains that DN 33.1.10 (43) mentions the three kinds of wisdom.
12. [39:47.5] Quote: “I’m feeling a bit like a prisoner. People take me upstairs to stay and then they bring me down from time to time for questioning.” — Ajahn Chah leading the 1979 retreat at Insight Meditation Society. [Ajahn Chah] [Insight Meditation Society] [Questions]
Quote: “I’m getting old and my knees hurt.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ageing] [Pain]
1. [0:02] “What does a married man or woman have to do to take robes? Who does he have to ask for permission? The teacher? His wife? His parents? Can he go into robes owing debts?” [Relationships] [Ordination ] // [Requisites]
2. [1:54] “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?” [Commentaries ] [Sutta] [Translation] // [Tipiṭaka] [History/Early Buddhism] [History/Sri Lankan Buddhism]
Reference: Path of Purification by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli.
3. [4:47] “I enjoy reading suttas, but rarely remember them well. Any suggestions for recalling all these wonderful itemized lists?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Yatiko. [Sutta] [Memory ] // [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Dhamma online]
Reference: (book mentioned by AY)
Reference: Mapping the Dharma: A Concise Guide to the Middle Way of the Buddha by Paul Gerhards. (commercial)
4. [7:46] “With age, contentment and gratitude and even joy come swiftly and easily to my meditation. I’ve good reasons for them. They can also seem like roadblocks to mindfulness, slowing my mind, which is still proliferating and not investigating. What should I do when I feel this?” [Contentment] [Gratitude] [Happiness] [Proliferation] [Mindfulness] [Defilements of insight] // [Equanimity] [Protective Meditations]
5. [12:46] “I notice that in retreats of this length, there is a certain trajectory of depth of concentration. During the final one or two days, the mind is a bit busier, more slippery. This is not because of being disengaged in the process, it is just what is (for me). Is it skillful use of this remaining time to turn to contemplations of well-being as a way to aim, calm and soothe, or better to try to simply watch the process of the mind emerging from the depths of retreat?” [Meditation retreats ] [Concentration] [Proliferation] [Goodwill] // [Calming meditation] [Investigation of states] [Unwholesome Roots]
6. [16:48] “To whom did you attribute the different formulation of the Four Noble Truths?” [Four Noble Truths] [Ajahn Dune ] // [Ajahn Mun] [Geography/Thailand] [Wat Burapha] [Seclusion] [Personality] [Ajahn Pasanno]
Quote: “Why do you let your mind go out there?” — Ajahn Dune regarding the noise of the elephant festival.. [Contact]
Reference: Gifts He Left Behind by Ajahn Dune.
7. [20:47] “In the [Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta], there is a reference to contemplating the body internally, contemplating the body externally, and both internally and externally (MN 10.5). How is one supposed to use this in practice?” [Mindfulness of body] [Right Mindfulness] // [Unattractiveness] [Elements]
8. [24:06] “I have greatly appreciated the teachings on non-proliferation, especially Ajahn Karunadhammo’s answer to last night’s question regarding the underlying feeling that is often present and driving a particular proliferation. I live with an autoimmune disease which currently requires frequent adjustments to my medications.... It is quite a conundrum to care for this body and track the various symptoms, all of which I find unpleasant, and yet not to proliferate on what needs to happen next. Going to the body in my practice, while useful, is not reliably calming, and sometimes seems to add fuel to the fire. This retreat I have been practicing with Right View and Right Understanding by repeating key phrases from the daily talks and have experienced what feels like a very deep insight at times. Do you have any words of guidance for when I go off retreat on working with this human body and this all-too-human mind?” [Proliferation] [Feeling] [Sickness] [Pain] [Mindfulness of body] [Right View] [Right Intention] // [Suffering] [Ajahn Chah] [Restlessness and worry] [Gladdening the mind]
Sutta: SN 36.6: Shot by two arrows.
Simile from Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 159: Being injected with poison. [Similes]
Quote: “It can still be uncomfortable, but it doesn’t have to be complicated.”
9. [33:06] “How can we balance knowing and letting go with investigation? In what circumstances should one be used rather than the other?” [Mindfulness] [Relinquishment] [Investigation of states] [Discernment ] // [Ajahn Chah] [Calming meditation]
Quote: “The most efficacious investigation comes when the mind has stopped thinking.” — Ajahn Chah. [Concentration]
10. [37:23] “What were you like before you became a monk? Were you always so kind, generous, warm, and trustworthy?” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Personality]
11. [38:17] “Please explain how the Buddha believes in devas and ghosts, but not in a soul. Wouldn’t these sort of spirits and souls fit into a similar realm?” [Deva] [Ghost] [Nature of mind] [Not-self] [Realms of existence] // [Impermanence] [Rebirth] [Saṃsāra]
12. [41:25.5] “Luang Por Jumnien has said that 80% of the yogis he’s known who have entered the stream did so while listening to Dhamma. He also said that most were laywomen or nuns. What are your thoughts?” [Ajahn Jumnien] [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Stream entry] [Women in Buddhism] // [Psychic powers] [Sutta] [Right View] [Ajahn Chah]
Vinaya: Mahāvagga 1.10: Yasa’s friends listen with a mind ready to receive Dhamma.
13. [45:40] “When I asked a Thai friend what her kammaṭṭhāna was, she said, ‘pong waa,’ then added, ‘deng wa.’ Can you explain?” [Meditation/Techniques] [Thai] // [Emptiness] [Liberation] [Not-self] [Concentration] [Impermanence] [Suffering]
14. [49:55] “The first time I was confronted with an English roundabout, I drove in the wrong way. I may still be going the wrong way, as I have murder in my heart. I want to eradicate an infestation of insects from my trees so they can bear fruit. Any suggestions for an approach that would keep me on track, at least an attempt at the Five Precepts?” [Agriculture] [Killing ] [Animal] [Five Precepts] // [Virtue] [Culture/Thailand] [Environment]
Recollection: Dealing with termites at Wat Pah Pong. [Ajahn Chah] [Wat Pah Pong] [Lodging]
1. [0:10] “It seems that little is written about love in Buddhist texts, at least compared to other traditions. Am I missing something?” [Sutta] [Goodwill] // [Clinging ] [Cause of Suffering] [Emotion] [Divine Abidings]
Sutta: MN 87: Piyajātika Sutta.
2. [5:03] “A few years ago on the Metta Retreat, you taught a phrase that you use in your practice, ‘May I have the patience, courage, understanding, and determination to face and overcome obstacles, difficulties, and failures in life.’ Please speak on how you use this phrase in practice.” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Goodwill] // [Bhante Gunaratana]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 41: Reflection on Universal Well-Being.
3. [9:24] “What is the antidote to the mind’s tendency to overestimate [and] overinterpret one’s experiences?” [Meditation/Results] // [Suffering]
4. [12:07] “I feel like I keep having the same insight into not-self from slightly different angles. It seems like a big deal at the moment, but when I think about it later, I realize that I already knew that. Is this normal or am I just slow?” [Insight meditation] [Not-self]
5. [13:27] “To my Western mind, the words ‘mental objects’, ‘objectification,’ ‘mental fabrications,’ and so on do not help to clarify what I simply call thinking. I understand an aspect of meditation as a means to stopping thinking, stopping the internal dialogue, putting an end to discursive thought, yet the English word thinking is rarely used by the Ajahns. Could you expand on the difference between thinking and Tan Geoff’s use of the word objectifications?” [Volitional formations] [Directed thought and evaluation ] [Proliferation] [Tranquility] [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro] // [Jhāna]
6. [16:58] “With your instruction and the slowing down of my mind on retreat, I’ve been able to allow the proliferation of thought to subside. However, the release of emotion is another story, as it resides in the body and is not so easily released. I can’t go to the body because the emotion is there, and I can’t go to the mind, because those thoughts will feed the emotion. Any suggestions on where to go next? Even wholesome reflection seems to feed the emotional state.” [Proliferation] [Emotion ] [Body/form ] [Mindfulness of body] [Recollection] // [Neutral feeling] [Nature of mind] [Self-identity view]
Quote: “Recognize that the body and emotion are not the same thing.”
7. [22:20] “Would you speak about the place of vipassanā in walking meditation?” [Insight meditation] [Posture/Walking] // [Recollection]
Simile from Ajahn Chah: You learn to write in school, but you don’t need to go back to the school to write a letter. [Ajahn Chah] [Meditation] [Everyday life ] [Similes]
8. [25:46] “The three things you mentioned this morning that obscure seeing the Three Characteristics—continuity, posture, and all-in-oneness–are these described in the suttas?” [Characteristics of existence] [Sutta] // [Commentaries]
Commentary: Path of Purification by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, p. 667.
9. [27:09] “What happened to Wat Keun after Ajahn Puriso left?” [Wat Keuan] [Ajahn Puriso] // [Ajahn Boon Choo] [Ajahn Liem] [Wat Pah Pong]
10. [28:08] “What happened to Por Pon, the Wat Pah Pong majordomo from Bung Wai Village?” [Lay supporters] [Wat Pah Pong] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Family] [Ajahn Chah]
11. [29:49] “What happened to Yom Manoon?” [Lay supporters] // [Ajahn Chah]
12. [32:19] “If you had to pick one of the following, which one would be more important: Understanding/insight into kamma or understanding/insight into anicca?” [Knowledge and vision] [Kamma] [Impermanence] // [Liberation] [Teaching Dhamma]
Sutta: AN 6.63.33: Kamma formulated in the pattern of the Four Noble Truths. [Four Noble Truths]
13. [35:13] “Can you please explain the fetter of attachment to rites and rituals? How does this relate to the beautiful monastic chanting and other rituals? Does it have applications in lay life?” [Attachment to precepts and practices] [Fetters] [Chanting] [Ceremony/ritual] [Lay life]
14. [38:12] “As is usual when on retreat, the desire to reordain arises. However, it is understood that one must be free of debt before ordaining. Does this also include student loans from the government? Also, when reordaining, with whom should one do so if one has multiple teachers? Should it be with the most senior? Is there any protocol in this? Also, papiap and kneeling are not possible for any real duration. Is this a problem?” [Ordination] [Commerce/economics] [Monastic teachers] [Posture/Sitting] // [Monastic life] [Abhayagiri]
15. [41:30] “I’ve always felt a draw to the Fire Sermon (SN 35.28). Could you expound a bit more on this teaching?” [Sutta ] [Teaching Dhamma] // [Sense bases] [Similes] [Unwholesome Roots] [Disenchantment] [Buddha/Biography]
The three cardinal suttas give different frameworks for investigation: [Insight meditation]
Sutta: SN 56.11: Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta; Amaravati Chanting Book Volume 2, p. 2. [Four Noble Truths]
Sutta: SN 22.59: Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta; Amaravati Chanting Book Volume 2, p. 14. [Not-self] [Aggregates]
Sutta: SN 35.28: Ādittapariyāya Sutta; Amaravati Chanting Book Volume 2, p. 24.
16. [45:59.8] Comment: At mealtime I became full of emotion and some tears from deep gratitude to you for your teaching, your practice, and your dedication to the Dhamma. Thanks to this time here, I’ve just a little less dust in my eyes. [Gratitude] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Meditation retreats]
17. [47:03] “From reading about or hearing talks and stories of some of the great Thai Forest masters, its seems that many of them were particularly fascinated pre-enlightenment with a single Dhamma principle. They then intensely investigated said principle almost like a Zen koan until they entered the stream. Was the Dhamma koan the cause of their stream entry or was triggering it just part of the greater process?” [Thai Forest Tradition] [Koan] [Stream entry] [Conditionality] // [Desire] [Insight meditation]
18. [50:07] Comment: Thank you for wonderful teachings and steady guidance....Thanks also for the monastic and lay saṅgha for holding the space. Though each must ‘work out our own salvation,’ it is also true that we are somehow all in this together. Deep bow. [Gratitude] [Meditation retreats] [Community]
19. [50:53] “I’ve forgotten the sutta number and name when the Buddha changes the eating to not after midday for the monastics.” [Eating after noon] [Sutta] // [Buddha/Biography]
Sutta: MN 66: The Simile of the Quail.
20. [53:15] Meditation instruction: Use the end of noble silence to investigate the habits of mind regarding speech. [Meditation retreats] [Right Speech] [Everyday life] // [Idle chatter]