Thanksgiving Retreat, Nov. 22, 2013 to Dec. 1, 2013
Angela Center in Santa Rosa, California
8 sessions, 137 excerpts, 7:43:27 total duration
Show featured excerpts (36)
A classic ten-day Thanksgiving Retreat held at the Angela Center before it closed due to fire damage.
External websiteSessions: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1. [0:05] “Thank you for your talk. Can you flesh out: ‘dispassionate about what?’ Also, trying to encourage dispassion along with arousing energy.” [Dispassion ] [Energy] // [Craving] [Sense bases] [Body/form] [Emotion] [Contentment] [Tranquility]
Quote: “When there’s a coolness towards the world around one, that frees up a lot of energy for directing attention to what’s actually useful and beneficial.” [Discernment]
2. [4:26] “Is it possible for an arahant to have seemingly negative thoughts or speech while free from defilement? In the Udana, Venerable Pilindavaccha gets complained about for calling monks outcastes or lowlings.” [Arahant] [Unskillful qualities] [Great disciples] [Harsh speech]
Sutta: Ud 3.6: Pilindavaccha.
Quote: “Purity or impurity—you have to know for yourself.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah]
Vinaya: Khandhaka 18.11.14 and Khandhaka 18.12.4: Students and teachers are mutually accountable. [Vinaya] [Mentoring]
3. [13:19] “Can you talk about how to work with infidelity, how to not take it personally? I recently found out that my husband of 30 years has had sex with others over the years that I didn’t know of.” [Relationships] [Sexual misconduct] // [Precepts] [Trust] [Emotion] [Suffering] [Kamma] [Equanimity]
Sutta: AN 5.57: Five Recollections (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 55).
4. [22:38] “Thank you for the wonderful teachings. ... Can you further discuss dispassion and non-attachment in the context of the ‘middle way’ (particularly for a layperson in a loving relationship)?” [Relationships] [Dispassion]
Sutta: AN 4.55: How to maintain and be reborn in relationship. [Great disciples] [Rebirth]
5. [31:37] “I notice that when my mind is drifting I don’t feel physical pain but when ‘present’ pain comes to the fore. Suggestions?” [Pain] // [Habits] [Patience] [Suffering] [Cessation]
Sutta: Dhp 183-185: Ovada Pātimokkha (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 79).
Quote: “All I’m teaching you is patient endurance.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah]
6. [38:25] “What do you think about the bed here? I believe it’s against the 8th precept.” [High and luxurious beds]
1. [0:06] “I have seen both monastics and laypeople start getting ill after they became serious about practice. Can you relate this to your talk today? (whether such illness is karmic. Etc.)” [Sickness] [Kamma] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Weather] [Culture/Thailand]
2. [3:51] “Could you clarify the difference between perception (sañña), mental formations (saṅkhāra) and consciousness (viññana)?” [Perception ] [Volitional formations] [Consciousness] // [Memory] [Mindfulness] [Translation] [Volition] [Sense bases]
3. [7:06] “Can you talk about neither-painful-nor-pleasant feelings and the benefits of being with this boringness?” [Neutral feeling ] [Mindfulness of feeling] // [Pain] [Feeling] [Unwholesome Roots]
Sutta: MN 44.25: The tendencies underlying feelings.
4. [10:34] “Could you please talk about different places in the chain of dependent origination can be broken? For example, does contact always result in vedanā? If the intention to be conscious is let go of, is that breaking the chain of ignorance conditioning saṅkhāra and saṅkhāra conditioning viññana?” [Dependent origination ] [Contact] [Feeling] [Ignorance] [Volitional formations] [Consciousness] // [Craving] [Clinging] [Becoming] [Relinquishment]
5. [13:20] “Thank you for the wonderful dhamma talk on the 5 reflections! Could you please talk about compassion in caregiving for themselves and for others.” [Recollection] [Compassion] [Health care] // [Sickness]
Vinaya: Mahāvagga 8.26.5: Good patients and caregivers.
6. [17:46] “Reflecting on your talk earlier about letting go. I’m currently at a point in my life with many important decisions to make. When trying to watch my breath, a voice in my mind keeps saying, ‘That’s too important to let go,’ as if I’m neglecting the responsibility. Wondering if you can speak about maintaining a practice during retreat and also in ‘normal’ life under circumstances (where one has to make many important decisions).” [Relinquishment] [Meditation retreats] [Lay life] // [Tranquility] [Proliferation]
7. [21:53] “During meditation when thoughts come and want to engage me, some thoughts have the power to take me into the storyline, and I don’t even know why. I don’t even know when. Is there a point, sign,or warning that can be seen before I get lost? It’s really painful to live in a virtual reality that never delivers the promise.” [Restlessness and worry] [Proliferation ] [Suffering] // [Mindfulness of body ] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Feeling] [Dreams]
Quote: “Tuning into the body, I can start to feel where [the thought] is taking me.”
Quote: “You know what the quickest way to enlightenment is? Just look at the thoughts, point your finger, and say ‘Liar!’” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Liberation] [Truth]
8. [26:53] “Dear Ajahn Pasanno, Thank you for all the guidance and encouragement. The past months have been very busy and stressful for me. Now as I begin to let my mind settle, I’m noticing lots of patterns of tension in my heart, diaphragm, belly, etc. These tensions sometimes make the breath an unpleasant object to stay with. Any advice?” [Mindfulness of body] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Suffering] // [Body scanning] [Visualization] [Calming meditation] [Goodwill]
9. [32:19] “In letting go of thoughts that habitually arise from negative self-criticism or from past trauma defenses, how do we ask these powerful mental states to not overwhelm our mindfulness?” [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] [Mindfulness] // [Tranquility] [Goodwill]
10. [33:16] “Could you clarify whether having more than one meditation object is a help or a hindrance?” [Meditation/General advice]
11. [39:17] “Thank you for your uplifting and encouraging talks. My husband died 6 months ago. Could you give suggestions for how to contemplate anicca and anatta in the context of his life, illness, and death? I’m aware of aversion to the pain of losing him. I do want to learn from all this.” [Impermanence] [Not-self] [Sickness] [Death] [Relationships] [Aversion] [Suffering ] // [Naturalness] [Grief] [Gratitude] [Merit] [Compassion]
12. [44:45] “Is there a distinction between dispassion and equanimity?” [Dispassion] [Equanimity]
13. [46:10] “How to identify and deal with ‘pañca upādāna’ in daily life?” [Clinging] [Aggregates] // [Suffering]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 12.
14. [49:56] “Ajahn, Its seems like the first couple of days all hindrances attack to a point where I opened my eyes this morning meditation and thought: ‘How did I get here? ... Can you please comment?” [Hindrances] [Meditation retreats] // [Faith]
1. [0:00] “Is body scan as a meditation practice done in the Ajahn Chah tradition? Is there a sutta where the Buddha talks about it?” [Body scanning ] [Ajahn Chah lineage] [Sutta] // [Unattractiveness] [Mindfulness of body ] [Elements] [Recollection/Death] [Disenchantment]
Quote: “Ajahn Chah would recommend doing anything that worked.” [Ajahn Chah] [Right Effort]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 60: Reflection on the Thirty-Two Parts.
Sutta: MN 10.4: Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, mindfulness of body section.
2. [3:43] “Is there something in the body that will help you identify the defilement of delusion?” [Mindfulness of body] [Delusion ] // [Self-identity view]
3. [4:16] “If one has read the Majjhima Nikaya, what text of the Pali canon do you recommend reading next?” [Learning] [Sutta ] [Tipiṭaka]
4. [6:35] “I’m having trouble integrating some of the teachings in the context of preparing to have a child. ... How might one be fully open to the lightness and joy surrounding birth while remaining deeply aware of these other truths of existence?” [Family] [Birth ] [Characteristics of existence] // [Trust] [Heedfulness] [Generosity]
5. [12:41] “Sorry, I missed something. Did you say that instead of dwelling on our hindrances and getting depressed, we could instead work with the Factors of Enlightenment to brighten the mind? What are the Factors you would suggest?” [Factors of Awakening] [Gladdening the mind] // [Divine Abidings] [Perfections] [Right Effort] [Hindrances]
Reflections on Unbinding as a translation of Nibbāna. [Nibbāna] [Translation] [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro]
Quote: “Practicing Dhamma is like taking a screwdriver and unscrewing something rather than putting the screwdriver in and tightening it up.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Similes]
6. [17:18] “Can you please give perspective on how to work with thoughts/feelings of inadequacy and comparison to others?” [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] // [Suffering] [Conceit] [Dhamma] [Not-self] [Self-identity view]
Quote: “As long as we are coming from an I-position, there’s always going to be a sense of inadequacy.”
Story: Ajahn Pasanno can’t translate guilt into Thai. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Culture/Thailand] [Culture/West] [Ajahn Paññānanda]
7. [23:48] “Can you please talk about qualities one would experience in different jhāna states, not just joy, rapture, happiness, but physical sensations and other identifiable qualities? I’m not sure if I have experienced past the first jhāna and would like to know.” [Jhāna] // [Concentration] [Calming meditation] [Relinquishment] [Ajahn Chah]
8. [26:24] “Are there harmful states of concentration? How would you potentially go down the wrong path? Is there a question you could ask yourself?” [Concentration] [Wrong concentration] // [Craving] [Views]
9. [30:16] “About a year ago, I was bullied and sexually harassed by a married male coworker. ... Any guidance as to how I can work with this and move beyond it?” [Abuse/violence] [Sexual misconduct] [Work] // [Goodwill]
10. [34:10] “Would you please elaborate on mental formations and volition? I thought mental formations are thoughts and images that pop up and are not necessarily originated by our will or wish. Otherwise we could also easily will or wish them away. Our effort is in recognizing them when they arise, not cling to them, and let them pass like clouds. Am I mistaken?” [Volitional formations] [Volition] // [Emotion] [Perception]
11. [37:43] “Once I aspired to open my mind beyond this conditioned world. Now I mostly try to be at ease with my limitations. Am I mistargeting something important?” [Stages of awakening] [Unconditioned] [Contentment] // [Idealism] [Four Noble Truths]
12. [40:42] “Some monks have told me I’m selfish for being so focused on release. They say I should help others more. What are your thoughts?” [Release] [Selfishness] [Generosity] // [Idealism]
13. [42:10] “What are the four stages of enlightenment? What defilements have the four noble beings shed?” [Stages of awakening ] [Unwholesome Roots] // [Drawbacks] [Liberation]
Quote: “When we think of enlightenment, it’s a being who is willing and able to relinquish those things that are complicating and constricting.” [Relinquishment]
14. [43:45] “Could you please expand on compassionate seclusion in interactive daily life (both on and off retreat)?” [Compassion] [Seclusion ] [Everyday life] // [Time management]
15. [47:20] “Thank you Luang Por for your time and teachings. I would like to hear more about the idea of restraint (especially in regards to raising a teenager).” [Family] [Sense restraint ] [Children] // [Ajahn Chah] [Tranquility] [Happiness] [Similes]
16. [50:57] “Would you please talk a bit about karma in past lives and what specifications might lead to specific conditions in future lives? I’m asking for future karmic results and preventing negative ones.” [Kamma] [Rebirth] // [Conditionality]
Sutta: AN 4.77: Inconceivable Matters.
17. [53:16] “How do you teach noting/labeling in meditation?” [Noting] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Relinquishment] [Proliferation] [Meditation/Techniques]
18. [56:56] “I was interested to hear the definition of mental formations as volitional. When I look at my mind, it sometimes seems like an undirected random generator of flashing images and unbidden thoughts, sometimes embarrassingly perverse. I can only rest easily when I recollect not-self. Can you help me reconcile that with volitionality?” [Volitional formations ] [Volition] [Heart/mind] [Proliferation] [Not-self] // [Perception] [Relinquishment] [Mindfulness] [Discernment]
19. [59:11] “What suggestions do you have when thoughts of transgression of sīla arise. I cannot change the past, but I have regrets.” [Precepts] [Restlessness and worry] [Conscience and prudence] // [Recollection/Virtue] [Conditionality]
20. [1:04:16] “Please explain the inner workings of right intention and its karmic effect.” [Right Intention ] [Kamma] [Volition]
1. [0:00] “Please explain again: When one restores concentration by focusing on the in-and-outtake of the breath, is one using the vinnana/consciousness of the grasping mind?” [Mindfulness of breathing] [Concentration] [Consciousness] [Clinging] // [Desire]
2. [3:14] “During retreats I sometimes have dreams in which my actions are unskillful. Does one eventually keep the precepts even in dreams?” [Precepts] [Dreams]
3. [4:38] “‘Like exercise makes the body strong, inner stillness makes the mind strong.’ Why stillness and not awareness?” [Ajahn Chah] [Similes] [Calming meditation] [Tranquility] [Present moment awareness]
4. [6:19] “It has been a few years since my last retreat. May I request a reminder on how to practice metta meditation on oneself? ... I seem to have forgotten.” [Goodwill] // [Meditation retreats] [Happiness] [Concentration]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 41: “May I abide in well-being.”
Sutta: Snp 1.8: Metta Sutta (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 37).
Suttas: AN 11.1, AN 11.12, and SN 55.40: Causal chains linking gladness to samādhi.
5. [15:56] “Would you please give an example of how wholesome qualities can condition unwholesome qualities?” [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities] [Conditionality] // [Heedlessness] [Heedfulness]
6. [18:13] “I feel like a kid whose father has told a story and there is more to tell. ... Please father do tell (about non-complicated thoughts etc.).” [Proliferation]
7. [19:03] “I have a hard time ending or letting go of relationships after they no longer serve me or prove to be unskillful people. ... Is this attachment to person or aversion/ fear etc of the unknown?” [Relationships] [Relinquishment] [Clinging] [Fear] // [Habits]
8. [22:59] “How do you decrease the times an obsessive thought arises in the mind? The more I try to let it go and come back to my body, the more it arises and proliferates. If I do the opposite and turn attention to it, it does the same thing. What is obsession anyways?” [Proliferation ] [Restlessness and worry] // [Self-identity view] [Suffering] [Relinquishment]
9. [26:23] “I’ve been sitting on this question for the past few days. It has to do with dispassion, shedding, simplifying and being easily satisfied on the one end of the spectrum and being engaged and active in the world, even taking an unpopular stand, on the other end. How can one practice shedding internally but still be responsive and engaged regarding the suffering from environmental and social issues? It seems that would complicate things, but that is where my heart is drawn.” [Dispassion] [Simplicity] [Contentment] [Politics and society ] [Environment] // [Suffering]
Quote: “When there is displassion and shedding, a clarity arises in the mind, when can then more easily be applied to something that is useful or beneficial without complicating things.” [Clear comprehension] [Compassion]
Quote: “Do you think there’s any hope for saving all the forests in Thailand?”—“I don’t think there’s hope that it’s going to make a huge impact right now. I’m just planting the seeds for the future, and maybe something will change. It’s not an option not to do it.” — Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Culture/Thailand]
10. [33:37] “Could you please explain again the differences between sañña, saṅkāra, and viññana? I’m still not getting it.” [Perception] [Volitional formations] [Consciousness] // [Memory] [Sense bases] [Dependent origination ] [Conditionality] [Suffering]
Quote: “All the details of the process of dependent origination . ... It’s like falling out of a tree. As you go down, you’re not really counting branches. You just know that when you hit the bottom, it’s going to hurt.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah]
11. [36:32] “Is there an obligation to reconcile with family before your death or theirs (especially when family has been particularly unskillful towards us)?” [Family] [Forgiveness] [Sexual misconduct] // [Unwholesome Roots] [Kamma] [Equanimity]
Quote: “As practitioners, we have to find ways where other people’s past actions are not a source of our repeated feelings of anger, vengeance, or resentment.” [Aversion]
12. [42:43] “What is meant by fools when the Buddha says, ‘Don’t associate with fools’? (Snp 2.4, Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 46)” [Heedlessness] // [Pāli] [Unskillful qualities]
13. [43:41] “Is there anything skillful about crying, the flow of tears?” [Grief] // [Volition]
14. [45:40] “How does one reconcile the apparent complete lack of control that is experienced in meditation ... with the apparent need to control one’s circumstances off the cushion. Is it possible to live with complete non-contention and still have an organized life?” [Everyday life] [Meditation] [Volition] [Non-contention] // [Right Effort] [Self-reliance] [Relinquishment] [Buddha/Biography ] [Monastic life] [Conditionality] [Discernment] [Suffering]
Reflection: The Buddha had an organized plan to spread his teachings across India. [Buddha/Biography ] [Teaching Dhamma] [Culture/India] [History/Early Buddhism]
Vinaya: Mahāvagga 1.15: The Buddha teaches the Kassapa brothers then visits King Bimbisāra. [Buddha/Biography ]
1. [0:19] Quote: “The good thing about death is that it is one of the few things you can do just as easily lying down.” — Woody Allen. [Death] [Posture/Lying down] [Humor]
2. [0:42] “What is the funeral protocol for monks? What about non-monastics in the West?” [Funerals ] [Monastic life] [Lay life] // [Ceremony/ritual] [Culture/Thailand] [Culture/West] [Chithurst]
Recollection: Details of Ajahn Chah’s funeral. [Ajahn Chah] [Lodging] [Food]
Recollection: The complicated cremation of Venerable Master Hua. [Master Hsuan Hua]
3. [8:42] “Over the last couple of years, I’ve been noticing that memory retention isn’t quite what it used to be. ... In your experience, has meditation practice helped sharpen the memory?” [Memory] [Ageing] [Meditation] // [Mindfulness]
4. [10:37] “I’ve been reflecting on ‘no-self’ and it hasn’t quite been resonating. Instead it feels like daunting abstraction. Can you suggest a simple way to approach this?” [Not-self ] // [Self-identity view] [Impermanence] [Naturalness] [Body/form]
5. [14:05] “I saw one of your new publications ‘Don’t Hold Back.’ Why did you choose this title? The chapter on chanting answered many questions I had.” [Dhamma books] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Chanting]
6. [15:06] “Funeral and memorial services are not only important for those left behind, but maybe important for the new traveler in afterlife. Could you say more about supporting a dead person? What kind of support and how long? Years? Does ‘human support’ matter or does ‘karma’ of each individual ‘take care of it’?” [Funerals] [Death] [Rebirth] [Kamma] // [Suicide]
Story: The hunger and thirst of a fisherman adrift only subsides when his family dedicates merit. [Ceremony/ritual] [Merit] [Ajahn Paññānanda] [Superstition]
7. [23:25] “I found your explanation of the theme of ‘constancy’ in practice as a constancy in keeping a bright and awake mind more helpful and do-able than a constancy in keeping to one meditation object as is sometimes taught. Could you please say more.” [Right Effort] [Gladdening the mind] [Unification] // [Insight meditation]
8. [26:38] “Would you please comment on ‘The Highest Blessings’ where is reads: ‘Avoiding those of foolish ways ... and cherishing family.’ What if family members engage in foolish ways like addiction to alcohol and one cannot always avoid them? Can one cherish one of foolish ways?” [Family] [Spiritual friendship] [Intoxicants] // [Compassion] [Non-contention] [Idealism]
Sutta: Snp 2.4 (Chanting Book translation).
9. [30:22] “It seems that every year I expect less from myself at a retreat. It seems also, by and large, that every year retreat becomes easier, happier, and more peaceful. Would you say this is because: 1) I am getting wiser? 2) I am abandoning all intentions? or 3) I am running out of hormones?” [Long-term practice ] [Meditation retreats] [Happiness] // [Spaciousness]
10. [32:18] “Where do the Brahma-Viharas fit into the 4 Noble Truths?’” [Four Noble Truths] [Divine Abidings ] // [Eightfold Path] [Right Intention]
11. [34:30] “Thank you for the most profound expository discourse on ānānpānasati. 1) Is this available online? 2) How do you practice it? Do you memorize it and note all the aspects (tick them off and get a certificate)?” [Mindfulness of breathing] [Dhamma online]
Reference: Ānāpānasati: Mindfulness of In-and-Out Breathing – Abhayagiri Winter Retreat 2005.
12. [39:52] “Is the pursuit of peace, cessation, stillness any different from any other pursuit or desire? Is it attainable in a constant form? Is it like a sensual desire—one can achieve it often with practice but never as a constant state of being?” [Tranquility] [Cessation] [Desire ] [Impermanence] // [Knowledge and vision] [Discernment] [Equanimity]
13. [43:05] “Can you please speak about dealing with physical pain during a sit (particularly back pain and headaches)?” [Pain] [Posture/Sitting] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Patience] // [Tranquility] [Posture/Walking] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Aversion]
14. [49:38] “It seems like the ‘Reflection on the 32 Parts’ of the body is missing several parts. Nose, muscles, sex organs, etc. Is it meant to be comprehensive? Or is it just the ugly bits?” [Unattractiveness ] // [Elements] [Human] [Disenchantment] [Equanimity]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 60: Reflection on the Thirty-Two Parts.
Sutta: MN 10.10: Simile of different grains. [Similes]
15. [54:48] “Please explain which comes first birth or becoming for example with anger or any feeling or character?” [Birth ] [Becoming] [Dependent origination]
1. [0:06] “Can you tell us about how Ajahn Chah taught Western monks when he didn’t know English?” [Ajahn Chah] [History/Western Buddhist monasticism] [Teaching Dhamma] [Language] // [Similes]
Quote: “It’s just like teaching buffaloes. Pull them here, pull them there, and sooner or later they learn.” — Ajahn Chah. [Western Ajahn Chah lineage]
2. [3:40] “If this question is okay, could you please tell us any more about how Ajahn Chah challenged you in those first five years – and/or later?” [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Pasanno]
Story: Ajahn Chah keeps Ajahn Pasanno at Wat Pah Pong during the hot season. [Restlessness and worry] [Work]
3. [5:23] “I’m trying to be with the breath without controlling it. When I let go of control, the breath seems to accelerate so that I can’t keep up with it. Help!” [Mindfulness of breathing] [Volition] // [Tranquility] [Mindfulness of body] [Pāli]
4. [9:36] “Is it okay to do standing meditation in here during meditation sessions when nothing else is working for sleepiness or restlessness?” [Posture/Standing] [Sloth and torpor] [Restlessness and worry]
Recollection: The evening meditation at Wat Sai Ngam (Suphanburi) consisted of one hour each of walking, standing, and sitting meditation. [Wat Sai Ngam (Suphanburi)] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Meditation] [Postures]
5. [12:03] “In the chant ‘Suffusion with the Divine Abidings’ (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 30), what does it mean “I will abide pervading the all encompassing world with a heart imbued with loving-kindness. Likewise the second ... third ... fourth’? Why does it not say something like ‘pervading the entire heart’?” [Divine Abidings] [Heart/mind]
6. [13:15] “Thank you for the teachings. ... Could you speak about the heart and mind which appear to be used interchangeably. How can we listen with discernment to the heart? How can we cultivate its strength?” [Heart/mind] [Discernment] // [Nature of mind] [Body/form] [Mindfulness of body] [Continuity of mindfulness]
7. [18:03] “Was metta taught as a concentration earlier than Buddhaghosa? Also, how is it taught in the Thai Forest Tradition now?” [Goodwill] [Commentaries] [Thai Forest Tradition] // [History/Sri Lankan Buddhism] [Culture/Thailand]
8. [23:00] Comment: Ajahn Karunadhammo (it certainly takes a lot of ink to write out your name), your talk today was incredibly timely. [Gratitude]
9. [23:33] Comment: Thank you all for the abundant, exalted, immeasurable gratitude that I am presently experiencing as streaming out of my citta and heading right toward you. Don’t duck. [Gratitude]
10. [24:02] “In the article ‘Consciousnesses’ by Ajahn Lee, he talks about beings that inhabit the mind and body. For example, a thought in your mind could be the thought of a separate being or consciousness. Illness are also possibly caused by such beings. What are your thoughts on this? When seeing unusual phenomena that can be interpreted in this way, what is a good course of action?” [Ajahn Lee Dhammadharo] [Non-human beings] [Sickness] [Supernatural] // [Eightfold Path] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Nature of the cosmos]
11. [27:23] “Would you please describe the four ways of skillfully answering or asking questions or the different types of questions?” [Questions]
Sutta: AN 4.42: Questions.
12. [28:40] “In ‘Homage to the Sangha’ chant, what are the ‘Four pairs, the eight kinds of Noble Beings’ (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 7)?” [Recollection/Saṅgha] [Stages of awakening]
13. [29:52] “It makes sense that loving-kindness is the antidote to a person-directed ill-will, but what is the antidote to a more recurring, low-level, general aversion to experience?” [Goodwill] [Ill-will] [Aversion ] // [Heart/mind] [Visualization]
14. [35:26] “Where are the paramis listed and described in the Pali Canon?” [Perfections] [Tipiṭaka] // [Commentaries]
15. [37:23] “What would you say to someone who committed suicide if you could?” [Suicide] [Teaching Dhamma] // [Depression] [Goodwill] [Loneliness] [Craving not to become] [Cessation of Suffering] [Funerals] [Merit]
16. [41:41] “Why does the chanting book begin with the evening chanting first?” [Chanting] // [Ajahn Amaro]
Reference: Old Abhayagiri Chanting Book.
17. [42:11] “Is there anything in the teachings/scriptures that would relate to the idea of organ donation?” [Health care] [Body/form] [Generosity] // [Culture/Thailand] [Merit] [Christianity]
18. [45:14] “After your 17 talks on anāpānāsati (Winter Retreat 2005), were you out of breath?” [Mindfulness of breathing] [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Dhamma online] [Ajahn Soṇa]
19. [47:55] “Are there any times or situations where formal practice is not particularly helpful? If so, please explain why and then some alternative practices.” [Meditation/General advice] [Meditation ] // [Spiritual friendship] [Posture/Walking] [Chanting] [Culture/West] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Cleanliness] [Restlessness and worry]
Quote: “For some mental illnesses, you really want to be very careful.” [Mental illness]
1. [0:08] “Would you mind sharing some of the difficulties you have had in your practice and how you resolved them?” [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Doubt] [Patience] [Saṅgha] [Community] [Ajahn Chah]
Quote: “It isn’t as if there’s some magic wand of the right bit of information or the right insight that will finally clear all the difficulties away. It’s more being willing to be patient and work with them, be present with them.” [Long-term practice]
2. [4:30] “Can you talk about karma? Is reaping negative karma from my past actions from the same situation? For example, if I steal, I get stolen from ... ? If I get a situation that I’ve never done, is it from past life actions?” [Kamma ] [Rebirth] // [Conditionality]
Sutta: AN 3.100.
3. [8:22] “As the Buddha referred to his past lives in measurements of eons and eons, is there any information he offered about the locality of his lives? Were they on planet Earth? This could be useful information for scientists to know the origin of life.” [Previous Buddhas] [Realms of existence] [Science]
4. [10:58] “How is being ‘the one who knows’ as it is suggested, related to anatta? I thought one is not to identify with anything, including the knowing?” [Knowing itself] [Not-self] // [Impermanence] [Non-identification] [Skillful qualities]
5. [12:36] “I’ve been reflecting on the buildup of 30 water bottles outside the hall, including mine. We are all 30 seconds to one minute from our rooms. Will we die of thirst or have we all become greatly attached to our water bottles? Can you speak about how we find security in such objects please?” [Meditation retreats] [Clinging] [Culture/West]
6. [13:58] “Is the following correct? -The Three Characteristics can be seen as verbs? The end of dukkha occurs when the Three Characteristics are fully understood so that it is realized that there is no subject or I to whom the object is ‘dukkha-ing’? Dukkha in the outside world continues but one who realized the truth is not ‘dukkha-ed’ because anattā is understood?” [Characteristics of existence] [Cessation of Suffering] [Not-self]
7. [15:56] “Today, and several times on retreat, I’ve found myself in a heavy mood and feeling torn between equanimity with the experience and using intention to shift my mental state. I sunk further into confusion and depression. This is a pattern for me. Any thoughts are much appreciated. Also, related to this—how does volition fit with anatta?” [Equanimity] [Gladdening the mind] [Depression] [Volition] [Not-self] // [Impermanence] [Right Effort]
8. [19:14] “Is there consciousness (awareness, knowing) in the experience of nibbana or is there a complete cessation of all six senses, as some traditions say. (Particularly in relation to the experience of stream-entry, which is sometimes described as a cessation.)” [Nibbāna ] [Sense bases] [Stream entry] [Cessation] // [Liberation] [Ajahn Chah] [Sutta] [Thai Forest Tradition]
Sutta: SN 22.59.11 Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta: knowledge of liberation (Chanting Book translation).
9. [22:19] “Mudita, gladness, joy, can be felt by listening to Dhamma, chanting, an uplifting shrine. ... I heard that muditā can be a moment or a way of enlightenment. Could you comment please.” [Empathetic joy] [Gladdening the mind] [Liberation] // [Divine Abidings]
10. [25:48] “How do you atone for past unskillful behavior that you know you have done? Will this lower the negative karma you reap?” [Kamma] // [Determination] [Divine Abidings]
Sutta: SN 42.8: The Conch Blower.
11. [29:24] “My mind went to the elements today and how the senses feel them. But can all senses feel all elements? For example, can hearing sense earth? On death, air and fire are gone but water and earth remain. Is this correct? Are these skillful reflections?” [Elements] [Sense bases] [Death] // [Recollection/Death]
12. [33:00] “Would you kindly review the four ways to respond to questions?” [Questions]
Sutta: AN 4.42: Questions.
Reference: Skill in Questions by Ajahn Ṭhānissaro.
13. [34:58] “How can we awaken the sense of metta within the heart and would you help me understand the beautiful image of the heart being a vessel filled with loving kindness that you bring people into rather than sending it out.” [Goodwill] [Heart/mind] [Symbolism/metaphor] // [Translation]
14. [41:23] “Can you please talk a little bit about merit. How do you make it? Does it have to be intentional?” [Merit] [Volition] // [Translation] [Happiness]
Sutta: Iti 22: “Don’t be afraid of puñña. Puñña is another name for happiness.”
15. [43:54] “Is there a difference in doing a good deed for a monastic versus a lay-person in regards to generating merit? Can only humans create merit? What about devas and animals?” [Kamma] [Merit] [Monastic life] [Realms of existence] // [Virtue] [Truth]
16. [46:56] “When meditating, I’ve begun to ask myself: ‘What is the cause of suffering?’ A couple of sense desires arise, namely, the lack of intimacy and lack of a healthy relationship with a partner. Do I need to let these (seemingly normal) desires go to get down the path?” [Cause of Suffering] [Relationships] [Sensual desire] [Eightfold Path] // [Goodwill] [Virtue]
17. [49:46] “One practice is to cultivate joy, happiness, and the peaceful mind. But if these are ‘defilements of insight,’ I feel empty. Any comment?” [Gladdening the mind] [Happiness] [Insight meditation] [Defilements of insight] [Characteristics of existence] // [Clinging] [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities] [Discernment]
18. [52:28] “Can you talk about path and fruit in regards to the stages of awakening? What are they? How are they different?” [Stages of awakening ] // [Insight meditation] [Relinquishment] [Fetters] [Stream entry] [Self-identity view] [Aggregates] [Attachment to precepts and practices] [Doubt] [Once return] [Sensual desire] [Ill-will] [Non-return] [Arahant]
19. [56:12] “Could you please talk a bit more about the 3 types of liberation (signless, desireless, not self?). Is it a liberation in the sense of being free from suffering?” [Release] [Cessation of Suffering] // [Emptiness] [Concentration]
20. [57:21] “May I ask what was done with the ashes/bones of [Ajahn Chah]?” [Ajahn Chah] [Funerals] [Relics] // [Ajahn Chah Stupa] [Ajahn Mun] [Ajahn Khao] [Abhayagiri]
21. [1:01:21] “Would you be willing to tell as a little about the first steps that led you out of Northern Manitoba towards becoming an abbot in Thailand?” [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Suffering]
22. [1:02:54] “Thank you for your talk today. Could you please expand further on how to maintain/practice tranquility in everyday life, especially as we ‘pick up’ many of the things in our lives.” [Everyday life] [Tranquility] [Continuity of mindfulness] // [Right View] [Characteristics of existence] [Ajahn Chah] [Virtue] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Mindfulness of body]
23. [1:03:13] “Could you please tell us the translation of Luang Por and also if its appropriate for laity to address you by this term?” [Monastic titles] // [Ageing] [Respect for elders]
24. [1:07:13] “One of the questions last night talked about the breath becoming rapid when not controlled. I’m confused. Am I right that we are not supposed to control our breath. Anapanasati is not like pranayama or a breathing exercise. Please clarify.” [Mindfulness of breathing]
25. [1:08:53] “Seems like the more I ‘see clearly,’ the more depressed (bordering on suicidal at times) I feel rather than freedom. Nothing seems to be of interest or worth bothing with. The level of depression borderlines on suicidal sometimes, which concerns me. When I feel this way, I can’t seem to meditate to help the situation; I get frozen. Any practice suggestions?” [Insight meditation] [Depression] // [Aversion] [Craving not to become] [Virtue] [Generosity] [Three Refuges]
Vinaya: Mahāvagga 1.11: “Go out for the welfare and happiness of all beings.”
26. [1:14:30] “After 20 plus years of having a daily practice and Dharma being first priority, I just up and stopped meditating one day about two years ago. ... Can you talk about this ‘rolling up the mat’ [phenomenon]? Why it happens, how and when, etc?” [Meditation] [Long-term practice ] // [Idealism] [Purpose/meaning] [Right Effort] [Spiritual friendship]
27. [1:18:46] “Why would consciousness not be considered self?” [Consciousness] [Not-self] // [Impermanence] [Sense bases]
Sutta: SN 12.61: You’d be better off taking the body as self. [Body/form]
28. [1:20:01] “What is the ‘10,000 fold universal world system’ mentioned in The Discourse on Setting in Motion the Wheel of Dhamma?” [Realms of existence]
Sutta: SN 56.11.13: Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (Amaravati Chanting Book Volume 2, p. 12).
Reference: Dawn of the Dhamma by Ajahn Sucitto.
1. [0:09] “Just curious—is there any explanation of how bones turn to crystal?” [Relics] // [Ajahn Chah]
2. [1:48] “At what point did your practice change from serving yourself (to end your own suffering) to selfless service?” [Long-term practice] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Cessation of Suffering] [Generosity ]
Sutta: MN 128.12: “Why don’t I set aside what I want to do and do what’s of benefit to the others?”
3. [5:10] Comment: I relinquished my anger. ... and I had no idea what a heavy burden I was clinging to until it was gone. [Aversion]
4. [5:38] “Would you talk about (describe) how to relax into ‘whole-body breathing?’ What does that mean?” [Mindfulness of breathing ] [Mindfulness of body] // [Concentration] [Unification] [Investigation of states] [Tranquility]
5. [9:53] “How much did the Buddha encourage his disciples to become enlightened to ‘get off the wheel’ versus experiencing freedom from suffering in this lifetime?” [Cessation of Suffering ] [Rebirth]
6. [10:50] “What do you see as the future for women ordaining in Theravada Buddhism?” [Women's monastic forms] [Theravāda]
7. [11:54] “In the chant ‘10 Subject for Frequent Recollection’ (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 57), what does ‘one who had gone forth’ mean? Anyone on the path or only monastics? If it’s anyone on the path, what does it mean, ‘My very life is sustained by the gifts of others?’” [Recollection] [Monastic life] [Generosity] // [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Human] [Culture/West]
8. [15:46] “Can we talk at breakfast please?” [Right Speech] [Meditation retreats]
9. [16:16] “How can one work with feeling the element of water in sitting or walking meditation?” [Elements] [Posture/Sitting] [Posture/Walking] [Not-self] // [Contact]
10. [18:29] “In the ‘Supreme Praise of the Dhamma [and] the Saṅgha’ (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 25), why are the Dhamma and Saṅgha referred to as ‘My Lord and guide?’” [Three Refuges] [Chanting] // [Culture/West]
11. [20:15] “I had a hard time getting up this morning. Then I had the thought, ‘This is not mine, I am not this thought.’ That helped a lot. Any other advice on getting up? Getting up with alacrity hasn’t worked for me.” [Sloth and torpor] [Devotion to wakefulness] [Not-self] // [Determination] [Energy] [Faith] [Posture/Lying down]
Reference: Winter Retreat 2005: Viriya.
12. [27:36] “You mentioned that Ajahn Chah stated that samadhi should be accompanied by alertness. Does this mean that Jhana should not be a ‘zoned out’ state?” [Ajahn Chah] [Right Concentration ] [Clear comprehension] [Jhāna ] // [Mindfulness of body] [Happiness]
Sutta: MN 39.15: Description of the jhānas.
13. [30:25] “Also, What are the 4 aspects of bhavana that you mentioned?” [Meditation] [Right Mindfulness] // [Ardency] [Clear comprehension] [Mindfulness] [Equanimity]
14. [32:12] “I’ve been experiencing a similar type of irritation as Debbie mentioned in her talk. I feel I’m present as it arise and think I’m letting it go only to find its turned into a big clump or irritation. I’m still unclear as to how to work with this. Please advise.” [Aversion] // [Suffering] [Patience]
15. [34:17] “There is no-self in the created or the un-created’ (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 13). Does this statement conceal an asymmetry? Surely we investigate the created to separate from it – But can we investigate the uncreated? And if so, is it not to identify with it?” [Not-self] [Unconditioned] [Self-identity view] // [Pāli] [Volitional formations] [Nibbāna]
16. [38:25] “Do you miss Ajahn Amaro?” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Amaro] // [Abhayagiri] [Abbot]
Simile: Two tigers sharing the same cave. [Similes]
17. [41:08] “I seem to recollect that the Buddha cautioned against unwholesome thoughts in a way that seemed to raise their results as similar to an unwholesome action, not just for example as a caution against cultivating bad patterns or habits, but as producing manifest external as well as internal results kammically. Is this so?” [Unskillful qualities] [Conditionality] [Kamma] // [Heart/mind] [Volition]
18. [43:27] “Does the 5th precept include coffee or prescription drugs as drugs to avoid? Does the precept mean never drink alcohol or don’t abuse alcohol for a lay person? Does Right Livelihood mean one cannot work in a place that serves and/or sells alcohol, coffees, or drugs? Or, does it mean don’t work where alcohol and drugs are made?” [Intoxicants] [Medicinal requisites] [Right Livelihood] // [Precepts] [Commerce/economics] [Virtue]
19. [50:33] “Today is the 23rd anniversary of my grandmother’s passing. I am particularly thinking of her today and realize that she might be back to a 23 or younger man or woman’s body, so I am dedicating lovingkindness meditation to her soul, this probable person alive somewhere. Is this a meritorious act or is this fantasy?” [Death] [Family] [Rebirth] [Goodwill] [Merit]
20. [52:17] “Please explain the difference between aggregates and faculties.” [Aggregates] [Faculties]
21. [54:08] “What is the difference between ignorance and delusion?” [Ignorance] [Delusion] // [Translation] [Unwholesome Roots]