Winter Retreat, Jan. 1, 2013 to Mar. 31, 2013
Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery in Redwood Valley, California
44 sessions, 166 excerpts, 14:22:46 total duration
Show featured excerpts (5)
Mindfulness of dhammas as described in the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta (MN 10) encompases the Five Hindrances, Five Aggregates, Six Sense Bases, Seven Factors of Awakening and the Four Noble Truths. Ajahn Pasanno, Ajahn Karuṇadhammo, and Ajahn Jotipālo take turns reading suttas and teachings about these subjects.
Original recordings available on www.abhayagiri.orgTable of Contents
Introductory Talks: Ajahn Pasanno, January 7 – 22
The Five Hindrances: Ajahn Pasanno, January 23 – February 2
The Five Khandhas: Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo, February 5 – 28
The Six Sense Bases: Ajahn Pasanno, March 1 – 10
[Session] Dhamma talk: Ajahn Pasanno reflects at the beginning of the retreat on what is helpful to establish in the mind during a period of formal practice. Drawing on the distinction of wholesome and unwholesome dhammas he brings together the topics of the Five Hindrances, Mindfulness, Clear Comprehension, and the putting forth of effort. [Right Mindfulness]
[Session] Dhamma talk: The attention to bringing the mind to the freeing of the hindrances is essential. Ajahn Pasanno reflects on the Five Hindrances and recalls various metaphors and tools the Buddha suggests for understanding and working with the hindrances. [Hindrances]
[Session] Dhamma talk: Bringing the theme of the Five Hindrances to focus again, Ajahn Pasanno offers more advice for working with the hindrances and focuses on the positive qualities that we can turn to to enable relinquishing of the hindrances. [Hindrances]
[Session] Dhamma talk: Beginning with the Buddha’s metaphor of the skilled cook (SN 47.8) who carefully watches what his king prefers in order to gain favor. Ajahn Pasanno relates the importance and methods of relating to the meditation object in the framework of what works and what doesn’t work.
[Session] Dhamma talk: Ajahn Pasanno reflects on the importance of practicing dhamma in accordance with dhamma and how this subtle, but important shift in our intention is a key to right practice. [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma]
1. “If starting each meditation session with five minutes of skeleton contemplation, do you have any suggestions, advice, cautions?” [Unattractiveness] // [Disenchantment]
Quote: “They’ve brought their own skeleton to the monastery. Why are they shocked by seeing a skeleton in the cupboard?” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah]
2. “Sometimes ill-will is diffuse and all-encompassing. Attempting to do metta when the mind is experiencing this seems to aggravate rather than soothe.” [Ill-will ] [Goodwill ] // [Bhante Gunaratana] [Conditionality] [Self-identity view] [Investigation of states]
Sutta: Snp 1.8: The Metta Sutta (Chanting Book translation).
[Session] Dhamma talk: Ajahn Pasanno explains the Buddha’s similes for spreading well-being and awareness throughout the body and describes mindfulness of breathing in terms of inclusive awareness. [Mindfulness of body]
[Session] Dhamma talk: To commemorate the Ajahn Chah’s 21st death anniversary, Ajahn Pasanno reads three talks on meditation from Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah: “Tranquility and Insight”, “The Path in Harmony”, and “The Place of Coolness.”
[Session] Dhamma talk: Reflecting on a question, Ajahn Pasanno talks about the usage of Kor Wat, translated “protocols” or ways of relating to requisites and the community, as a basic tool for training mindfulness and circumspection. [Protocols]
[Session] Dhamma talk: Ajahn Pasanno reflects on the basic teaching of the Four Noble Truths and how investigating and contemplating dukkha enables us to see our habits and conditioning and the obstacles to practice. [Four Noble Truths]
1. [0:03] “Could you give advice on how to practice Buddhānussati? Are there any suttas useful for working with this theme?” [Recollection/Buddha ] [Sutta] // [Learning] [Human]
Reference: Recollection of the Buddha, Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 4.
Sutta: MN 11: Cūḷasīhanāda Sutta.
Sutta: MN 74.14: Dīghanakha Sutta. [Views] [Great disciples] [Upatakh]
Sutta: MN 12.58: “You might think that the jujube fruit was bigger in those days …” [Buddha/Biography] [Humor]
Sutta: SN 17.5: Dung beetle on a ball of dung. [Gain and loss]
2. [13:45] “Can one use the subtle sensations of comfort and discomfort that accompany in and out breathing as a basis for insight? If so, how much thinking/nudging the mind is useful versus simple observation?” [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of feeling ] [Insight meditation] [Directed thought and evaluation] // [Impermanence] [Not-self] [Suffering] [Right Effort]
3. [20:46] “Could you please speak about dhamma-vicaya and how to use it in meditation?” [Investigation of states ] // [Factors of Awakening] [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities] [Characteristics of existence] [Appropriate attention] [Dispassion] [Aggregates]
[Session] Readings:
Sutta: MN 10: Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta. [Right Mindfulness]
The Wings to Awakening by Ajahn Ṭhānissaro, passages from the satipaṭṭhāna section.
1. [24:12] “What does Ajahn Ṭhānissaro mean by stilling the breath sensations (The Wings to Awakening by Ajahn Ṭhānissaro, p. 122).” [Mindfulness of breathing] [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro] [Tranquility]
Sutta: MN 118.18: Ānāpānasati Sutta.
2. [26:20] “Do you have any thoughts about the two interpretations of ‘body of breath’ in MN 118.18?” [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of body] [Meditation/Techniques] // [Tranquility] [Volitional formations] [Pāli]
[Session] Readings:
Satipaṭṭhāna: The Direct Path to Realization by Venerable Anālayo, pp. 182-187. [Hindrances]
Sutta: MN 39: Mahā-Asupura Sutta.
1. [38:58] Comment: Sometimes pervading the body with rapture can take the mind away from the meditation object. Contributed by Ajahn Kaccāna. [Rapture] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Concentration]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Tranquility] [Volition] [Nature of mind] [Unification]
Reference: Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 309, “Tranquility and Insight.”
2. [44:25] Comments about translations of ekaggatā and ekodibhāvaṃ. Contributed by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Unification] [Translation] [Bhikkhu Bodhi] [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Hindrances] [Tranquility]
[Hindrances] [Factors of Awakening]
1. [0:00] Teaching: The relationship between the Five Hindrances and the Seven Factors of Awakening. // [Mindfulness of dhammas] [Āgama] [Abhidhamma]
2. [5:43] Reading: SN 46.38, Bojjhaṅgasaṁyutta, “Without Hindrances.”
Reflection: The value of listening to Dhamma. [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Stream entry]
Sutta: AN 5.26: Listening to Dhamma is one of five situations that can lead to liberation.
3. [9:18] Reading: SN 46.39, Bojjhaṅgasaṁyutta, “Trees.”
4. [13:51] Reading: SN 46.40, Bojjhaṅgasaṁyutta, “Hindrances.”
Sutta: SN 56.11.2: Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (Chanting Book translation)
5. [16:00] Reading: SN 46.55, Bojjhaṅgasaṁyutta, “Saṅgārava.” [Similes]
6. [28:49] “Do you have any thoughts about the cultivation of the later Factors of Awakening?” [Rapture] [Conditionality] // [Investigation of states] [Mindfulness] [Tranquility] [Skillful qualities]
Recollection: Ajahn Chah’s description of pīti. [Ajahn Chah] [Mindfulness of breathing]
1. [0:55] Reading: SN 3.24, Kosalasaṁyutta, “Archery.” [Generosity]
2. [10:19] “What are other possible translations of the recurring question [in the suttas], ‘What do you think?’” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Pāli] [Translation] // [Questions]
Sutta: SN 22.59.5 Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta (Chanting book translation).
3. [12:54] Reading: SN 47.5, Satipaṭṭhānasaṁyutta, “A Heap of the Wholesome.”
4. [15:29] Reading: SN 47.12, Satipaṭṭhānasaṁyutta, “Nālandā.” [Faith]
5. [25:33] Reading: MN 108: Gopakamogallāna Sutta.
[Session] Readings:
Sutta: SN 54.12, Ānāpānasaṁyutta, “In Perplexity.”
Sutta: AN 4.61, “Worthy Deeds.”
1. [14:12] “What’s the difference between sleep and sloth and torpor?” [Sloth and torpor] // [Bhikkhu Bodhi] [Translation] [Devotion to wakefulness] [Craving not to become]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno’s first meditation retreat: “You’ve been stealing sleep!” [Ajahn Pasanno]
Story: After Ajahn Pasanno’s illness, he needs to sleep an hour more. [Sickness]
2. [22:32] “Is laziness more aversion than sloth and torpor?” [Aversion] [Sloth and torpor] // [Pāli] [Energy]
3. [23:47] “What is meant by ‘sees the range’ in AN 4.61?” [Discernment] [Hindrances] [Commentaries]
4. [25:35] Reading: AN 5.23, “Defilements.” [Hindrances] [Similes]
5. [32:35] “What is the suitable basis in AN 5.23?” [Hindrances] // [Psychic powers] [Great disciples] [Jhāna]
Sutta: Ud 4.4: A yakkha clobbers Sāriputta. [Non-human beings]
Commentary: The Visuddhimagga discusses training for psychic powers, Path of Purification by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, pp. 369-427.
1. [0:00] Reading: AN 6.27, “Occasion.”
2. [4:07] Reading: AN 10.61, “Ignorance.” [Ignorance] [Nutriment]
3. [13:24] “How does good conduct bring about the Four Foundations of Mindfulness in AN 10.61?” [Virtue] [Right Mindfulness] // [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma]
4. [14:39] “Could you elaborate on the difference between nutriment [AN 10.61] and the causal relationships in Dependent Origination?” [Nutriment] [Dependent origination] [Conditionality] // [Commentaries] [Pāli] [Thai]
5. [18:54] Reading: AN 10.95, “Uttiya.” [Views]
[Session] Reading: MN 75: Māgaṇḍiya Sutta.
1. [32:07] “Do you have any advice on how to approach unwholesome habits that are based on hindrances?” [Habits] [Unskillful qualities] [Hindrances] // [Conditionality] [Mindfulness of dhammas] [Self-identity view]
Sutta: MN 75.15: Māgaṇḍiya Sutta.
2. [35:06] “Would you say that clinging is around the senses and not the sensual desires?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Clinging] [Sense bases] [Sensual desire] // [Aggregates]
Follow-up: “How do we uproot clinging?” [Discernment]
Comment by Ajahn Ñāṇiko: One can only apply the concept of inverted perception from MN 75.29 to the other sense bases. [Delusion] [Perception] [Ajahn Khao]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno: Showering after being exposed to poison oak. [Feeling]
Recollection: Ajahn Mahā Boowa perceived difficulty and problems as a whetstone for mindfulness. Recounted by Ajahn Pesalo. [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Mindfulness]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Four Noble Truths] [Conditionality]
1. [0:00] Reading: AN 5.161, “Removing Resentment (1).”
2. [2:49] “Could you speak about disregarding the person as a strategy for working with resentment (AN 5.161)?” // [Aversion]
3. [3:57] “In the practice of removing resentment (AN 5.161), how does developing equanimity differ from reflecting on kamma?” [Equanimity] [Kamma] // [Divine Abidings] [Judgementalism]
4. [7:05] Question about the practice of metta in response to ill-will. [Language] [Goodwill] [Equanimity] // [Discernment]
Sutta: AN 5.161, “Removing Resentment (1).”
5. [11:00] Readings: AN 5.162, “Removing Resentment (2);” AN 7.64, “Anger.”
6. [30:07] “In the Five Hindrances, does ill-will apply only to people?” [Hindrances] [Aversion] // [Similes]
[Session] Reading: AN 7.61, “Dozing.” [Sloth and torpor]
Ajahn Pasanno reflects on the qualities described in the lesser-known second half of this sutta. [Contentment] [Seclusion] [Relinquishment]
Sutta: MN 118: Ānāpānasati Sutta.
1. [14:02] Comment by Ajahn Jotipālo: AN 7.61 is similar to the beginning of the Metta Sutta (Snp 1.8, Chanting Book translation). [Contentment] [Humility]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
2. [15:09] “Do you have any thoughts about how to discern neutral feeling?” [Neutral feeling] [Feeling] // [Delusion] [Mindfulness] [Patience] [Restlessness and worry]
Sutta: AN 7.61.
3. [20:34] Comment by Ajahn Cunda about noticing restlessness even in peaceful meditation. [Restlessness and worry] [Tranquility]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Self-identity view] [Relinquishment] [Contentment] [Patience] [Impermanence] [Dispassion] [Cessation] [Mindfulness of dhammas]
[Session] Readings:
Sutta: AN 4.128, “Astounding (2).”
Sutta: MN 23: Vammika Sutta.
Sutta: SN 42.13, Gāmaṇisaṁyutta, “Pāṭaliya.”
1. [12:18] Discussion of the symbolism in MN 23. [Symbolism/metaphor] // [Sensual desire] [Hindrances] [Thai] [Doubt]
2. [16:06] “How is sensual desire like being in debt (MN 39.14)?” [Sensual desire] [Similes]
3. [46:14] Reflections on SN 42.13: The Buddha’s clarity with definitions and bringing doubts about views back to conduct. [Teaching Dhamma] [Doubt] [Views] [Virtue]
4. [48:22] Comment by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo: Reflecting on the results of good conduct is the basis for samādhi [in SN 42.13]. [Recollection/Virtue] [Concentration]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
5. [48:56] Comment by Ajahn Kaccāna: I’m puzzled why the lucky throw on both counts happens in both cases in SN 42.13. [Views]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Virtue] [Kamma]
Sutta: AN 3.65: Kālāma Sutta.
[Session] Reading: MN 109: Mahāpuṇṇama Sutta.
1. [16:09] Reflections on MN 109: The danger in clinging to khandhas. [Clinging] [Self-identity view]
Reference: Reflection on dukkha from the Morning Chanting.
Sutta: SN 22.59 Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta (Chanting book translation).
2. [23:02] “How is nāma-rūpa usually defined?” [Consciousness] // [Volition]
Sutta: SN 12.67: Sheaves of reeds. [Similes]
3. [24:38] “Have any teachers explained the meaning of the questions in MN 109?” [Questions]
Commentarial explanation of the context of MN 109. [Teaching Dhamma] [Culture/India] [Views] [Culture/West] [Christianity]
Sutta: DN 1: Brahmajāla Sutta.
4. [31:20] “The obtuse bhikkhu who thought about what self is touched by the results of action (MN 109.14)—that’s the place where kamma comes into the question?” [Self-identity view] [Kamma] // [Views] [Middle Path] [Doctrine-of-self clinging] [Characteristics of existence]
Follow-up: “Right view talks about being being reborn. Is this a conventional use of language? It’s not talking about selves being reborn?” [Right View] [Rebirth] [Language]
Sutta: SN 5.10: Simile of the chariot. [Conventions]
[Session] Reading: MN 64: Mahāmālunkya Sutta and Bhikkhu Bodhi’s footnote explaining the Majjhima Nikāya Commentary.
1. [18:37] Comment: MN 64 speaks about the underlying tendencies even in infants, which goes against the idea of getting back to your childlike purity. [Fetters] [Children]
Responses by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Jotipālo.
2. [22:36] Teaching: MN 64.9 explains how jhāna forms the basis for insight. [Jhāna] [Characteristics of existence] [Insight meditation] // [Formless attainments]
Follow-up: “Does that imply that insight is realized during that absorption?”
3. [27:25] Discussion of formless attainments and awareness of body. [Formless attainments] [Mindfulness of body]
[Session] Readings from A Burden off the Mind by Ajahn Ṭhānissaro, pp. 14-17:
§5: SN 22.100, Khandhasaṁyutta, “The Leash.”
§6: SN 22.48, Khandhasaṁyutta, “Aggregates.”
§7: excerpt from SN 22.79.
1. [5:00] “What is your understanding of the moving picture show [in Ajahn Ṭhānissaro’s translation of SN 22.100]?” [Similes] [Artistic expression] // [Culture/India]
2. [9:07] Comment: The only difference between the aggregates and the clinging aggregates in SN 22.48 is that the clinging aggregates are clingable. [Aggregates] [Clinging]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
Sutta: SN 22.85.28: Yamaka Sutta: “… welfare and happiness for a long time.”
3. [11:47] Comment: Bhikkhu Bodhi’s new translation for practices and precepts is behaviors and precepts. [Attachment to precepts and practices] [Bhikkhu Bodhi] [Translation]
Note: See The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha p. 1882.
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Virtue] [Habits]
4. [13:18] “The Morning Chanting [in the old Abhayagiri Chanting Book] first translates upādāna as clinging, but when it goes to the various khandhas, the translation is identification. Could you reflect on clinging as identification?” [Clinging] [Translation] [Aggregates] [Self-identity view] // [Sensual desire] [Attachment to precepts and practices] [Doctrine-of-self clinging] [Fetters]
5. [20:25] “How do you understand the description of fabrication in SN 22.79?” [Volitional formations] // [Aggregates] [Proliferation] [Ajahn Chah]
Reading: Bhikkhu Bodhi’s footnote to SN 22.79, The Connected Discourses of the Buddha p. 1071. [Translation] [Pāli] [Volition]
[Session] Readings from A Burden off the Mind by Ajahn Ṭhānissaro, pp. 17-20:
§8: excerpt from MN 28: Mahāhatthipadopama Sutta.
§9: excerpt from SN 22.57.
§10: MN 44.22: Cūḷavedalla Sutta.
§11: excerpt from SN 22.57.
§12: excerpt from SN 22.57.
§13: excerpt from Sangīti Sutta (DN 33).
§14: MN 44.13: Cūḷavedalla Sutta.
§15: excerpt from SN 22.57.
§16: excerpt from SN 22.57.
§17: MN 109.9: Mahāpuṇṇama Sutta.
Sutta: SN 22.1, Khandhasaṁyutta, “Nakulapitā.”
1. [5:38] “Is there another place in the suttas (besides MN 44.24) where neutral feeling is pleasant when conjoined with mindfulness?” [Sutta] [Neutral feeling] [Happiness] [Mindfulness]
2. [6:51] The meaning of perception. [Perception] // [Sense bases] [Thai] [Memory]
Sutta: SN 22.79.
3. [8:34] “Is it significant that SN 22.79 describes perception in terms of color and consciousness in terms of taste?” [Perception] [Consciousness] [Sense bases]
4. [13:36] “How is it that knowledge makes neutral feeling pleasant (MN 44.24)?” [Neutral feeling] [Happiness]
5. [14:33] “MN 44.14 defines perception and feeling as mental formations. I thought those were just conditional arising on account of contact (MN 109.9)?” [Perception] [Feeling] [Volitional formations] [Conditionality] [Contact] // [Pāli]
Ajahn Buddhadāsa’s translation of the Ānāpānasati Sutta (MN 118.19; Chanting Book translation) translates cittasaṅkhāra as the mental conditioner. [Ajahn Buddhadāsa] [Translation] [Mindfulness of breathing]
Reference: Mindfulness with Breathing by Ajahn Buddhadāsa, p. 72.
Follow-up: “The bodily fabrication doesn’t seem to involve volition, but vitakka and vicāra do.” [Body/form] [Volition] [Directed thought and evaluation] [Aggregates]
Comment: In the Ānāpānasati Sutta, much of the practice is intentionally calming different saṅkhāras. [Tranquility] [Mindfulness of body]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
6. [20:43] Discussion about different meanings and contexts of saṅkhāra. [Pāli] [Volitional formations] // [Nibbāna] [Meditation] [Ven. Anālayo]
1. [0:00] Reading: SN 22.2, Khandhasaṁyutta, “At Devadaha” and Bhikkhu Bodhi’s footnote on p. 1045.
Reflection: This is a nice snapshot of the Saṅgha at the time of the Buddha. [Saṅgha] [Buddha/Biography] [Great disciples]
Simile: Sāriputta as a midwife (MN 141.5).
2. [12:03] “In SN 22.2, Sāriputta equates unwholesome states with lust and attachment to the aggregates. What about ill-will and enmity?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno, Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Jotipālo. [Unskillful qualities] [Craving] [Clinging] [Aggregates] [Ill-will] [Aversion] // [Craving not to become] [Judgementalism]
3. [16:48] “In SN 22.2, Bhikkhu Bodhi translates displeasure, but our morning chanting has grief. Are they the same?” [Grief] [Translation]
4. [17:39] “What does fever mean in SN 22.2?” [Pāli] // [Sensual desire]
5. [18:51] “Why does Sāriputta recommend teaching the aggregates to people who don’t know about Buddhism (SN 22.22)?” [Teaching Dhamma] [Aggregates] // [Questions] [Culture/India]
6. [21:38] “Was the word saṅkhāra used before the Buddha?” [Volitional formations] [Pāli] // [Language] [Teaching Dhamma] [Aggregates]
7. [24:08] “Did the paradigm of the khandhas exist before the Buddha’s time?” [Aggregates] [History/Indian Buddhism]
Sutta: SN 22.59 Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta (Chanting book translation).
8. [25:46] Reading: SN 22.3, Khandhasaṁyutta, “Hāliddakāni (1)” and Snp 4.9 (Dr. Saddhatissa translation).
9. [26:11] Explanation of “The Questions of Māgaṇḍiya” (Snp 4.9) and Dr. Saddhatissa’s translation of the Sutta Nipāta. [History/Early Buddhism] [Dr. Saddhatissa] [Translation] // [Great disciples] [Pāli] [Culture/Sri Lanka]
Story: Ajahn Chah tells Ajahn Sumedho to take Dr. Saddhatissa as the Saṅgharāja of England. [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Study monks]
10. [39:01] Reflection: In SN 22.3, Venerable Mahākaccāna extrapolates from the literal to the figurative. [Great disciples] [Teaching Dhamma] [Symbolism/metaphor] // [Commentaries] [Aggregates] [Sense bases] [Proliferation]
[Session] Readings:
Satipaṭṭhāna: The Direct Path to Realization by Venerable Anālayo, pp. 202-207.
Sutta: SN 22.5, Khandhasaṁyutta, “Concentration.”
Sutta: SN 22.29, Khandhasaṁyutta, “Delight.”
Sutta: SN 5.1, Bhikkhunīsaṁyutta, “Āḷavikā.”
Sutta: SN 5.9, Bhikkhunīsaṁyutta, “Selā.”
1. [0:40] Reading: Footnote in Satipatthana inferring that the concept of the Five Aggregates predated the Buddha. [History/Early Buddhism]
2. [9:33] “Have you contemplated the elements as a basis for contact?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Jotipālo. [Body/form] [Elements] [Contact] // [Unattractiveness] [Not-self]
3. [19:05] Comment by Ajahn Kaccāna: In contrast to the commentary, Venerable Anālayo describes the aggregates as a tool for getting free of suffering. [Commentaries] [Ven. Anālayo] [Cessation of Suffering]
Response by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo.
[Session] Readings:
Sutta: SN 45.159, Maggasaṁyutta, “The Guest House.”
Sutta: SN 5.10, Bhikkhunīsaṁyutta, “Vajirā.”
The Questions of King Milinda, I.i, “No Person is Found,” p. 29-32 (Milindapañha 25).
1. [3:32] SN 45.159 relates the Five Aggregates to the First Noble Truth, which must be understood. [Noble Truth of Suffering] // [Characteristics of existence]
2. [9:11] Introduction to The Questions of King Milinda. [History/Early Buddhism] [Sutta]
3. [17:54] Comment by Ajahn Jotipālo: Most people would say that all the parts together comprise the chariot. [Similes] [Not-self]
Responses by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Cunda.
4. [20:55] “How do you contemplate the Five Aggregates in practice?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Cunda. [Recollection] // [Not-self] [Characteristics of existence] [Direct experience] [Ageing]
Sutta: SN 22.59 Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta (Chanting book translation).
5. [24:26] “If the task is to fully understand and you have an affinity for understanding form, does that affect how you understand the other aggregates?” [Noble Truth of Suffering] [Body/form] // [Thai Forest Tradition] [Mindfulness of body] [Insight meditation]
Sutta: AN 1.616: Mindfulness directed to the body and the deathless.
[Session] Readings:
Sutta: SN 22.26, Khandhasaṁyutta, “Gratification (1).”
Sutta: SN 22.27, Khandhasaṁyutta, “Gratification (2).”
Sutta: SN 22.28, Khandhasaṁyutta, “Gratification (3).”
Sutta: SN 22.96, Khandhasaṁyutta, “A Lump of Cowdung.”
1. [8:40] Gratification, danger, and escape in regard to the Five Aggregates. [Aggregates] [Aspects of Understanding] [Benefit/gratification] [Drawbacks] [Escape]
2. [10:18] Comment: Downside might fit the context [of SN 22.26-28] better than danger. [Drawbacks] [Translation]
Responses by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Pasanno.
3. [11:27] “Why does SN 22.26 say both impermanent and subject to change?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Pasanno. [Impermanence] // [Sutta] [Abhidhamma] [Translation] [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro] [Teaching Dhamma] [Language]
Sutta: SN 22.59 Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta (Chanting book translation).
4. [24:31] Comment by Ajahn Kaccāna: In SN 22.96, the Buddha implies that universal impermanence may be a good thing. [Impermanence]
Responses by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Pasanno.
Follow-up: “What’s ‘individual existence’ in Pāli?” [Translation] [Becoming]
5. [25:46] Discussion of the concept of eternity in SN 22.96. [Impermanence] [Time]
6. [26:49] “Is there any significance to the names of the steed and the chariot in SN 22.96?” [Lunar observance days]
Sutta: MN 37.8 mentions Sakka’s Vejayanta Palace.
[Session] Readings:
Sutta: SN 22.99, Khandhasaṁyutta, “The Leash (1).”
Sutta: SN 22.85, Khandhasaṁyutta, “Yamika.”
1. [19:53] “Can you clarify the simile of the khandhas as a murderer in SN 22.85?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo, Ajahn Pasanno and the Abhayagiri Saṅgha. [Similes] [Drawbacks] // [Benefit/gratification] [Self-identity view] [Commentaries] [Clinging] [Dependent origination]
2. [25:56] Recollection: Ajahn Chah used the description of what happens to an enlightened being after death from SN 22.85. Recounted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Arahant] [Death]
[Session] Reading: MN 35: Cūḷasaccaka Sutta.
1. [29:04] Comment: MN 35 demonstrates how the Buddha asks questions to elicit people’s reactions and train them. [Buddha/Biography] [Questions] [Teaching Dhamma]
Reference: Skill in Questions by Ajahn Ṭhānissaro.
2. [29:56] “Why do the Buddha’s listeners immediately reply that what is impermanent is suffering?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Questions] [Impermanence] [Suffering] // [Translation]
Sutta: SN 22.59.5 Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta (Chanting book translation).
3. [31:35] Comment by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Pasanno: The conclusion that what is not under our control can’t be self isn’t immediately obvious. [Volition] [Not-self]
Follow-up: “How have you come to understand this over time?” [Self-identity view] [Feeling]
Follow-up: “How does the chant, ‘I am the owner of my kamma’ relate to this?” [Kamma] [Language] [Conventions]
Sutta: AN 5.57 Five Recollections (Chanting Book translation).
Comment by Ajahn Jotipālo: The suttas are summaries rather than transcripts. [Sutta] [Teaching Dhamma]
4. [32:16] “What is the term ‘Agivessana’?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Pasanno. [Pāli]
5. [40:38] Comment: When people at work ask me about not-self, I say, ‘Can you tell your body not to get old?’ [Not-self] [Ageing]
Sutta: MN 35: Cūḷasaccaka Sutta.
[Session] Readings:
Sutta: SN 22.102, Khandhasaṁyutta, “Perception of Impermanence.”
Sutta: SN 22.95, Khandhasaṁyutta, “A Lump of Foam.”
Sutta: SN 22.33, Khandhasaṁyutta, “Not Yours (1).”
1. [4:43] Reflection: The way to develop the perception of impermanence is seeing all of the khandhas individually just as they are. [Impermanence] [Knowledge and vision] // [Patience] [Determination]
2. [6:58] “Do you have any suggestions for contemplating the origin of the body?” [Body/form] [Birth]
3. [17:36] “Is there a special meaning for which simile is compared to which khandha in SN 22.95?” [Similes] // [Impermanence] [Body/form] [Feeling] [Perception] [Volitional formations] [Consciousness]
[Session] Readings:
Sutta: SN 22.87, Khandhasaṁyutta, “Vakkali.”
Sutta: SN 22.86, Khandhasaṁyutta, “Anurādha.”
1. [9:42] Reflection: Venerable Vakkali (SN 22.87) used pain to impel himself towards insight. [Great disciples] [Pain] [Sickness] [Progress of insight] // [Aggregates] [Arahant] [Suicide]
2. [12:15] Comment by Ajahn Kaccāna: Venerable Vakkali had immense respect for the Buddha and the Dhamma. [Great disciples] [Respect] [Buddha] [Dhamma]
Response by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Faith]
3. [13:13] “Are there other stories similar to Vakkali asking to die outside (SN 22.87)?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Pasanno. [Great disciples] [Death] [Culture/Natural environment] // [Perception of a samaṇa]
Story: Ajahn Mun chooses the place of his death. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Mun] [Funerals]
Story: Ajahn Chah chooses a convenient time to die. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah]
4. [22:38] Reflection: SN 22.86 is a classic exposition of the unapprehendability of the Tathāgata at death. [Buddha] [Death] [Non-identification] // [Right View] [Aggregates] [Teaching Dhamma]
5. [25:45] “How would you answer the questions in SN 22.86 for a puthujjana (a person who has not entered the stream of Dhamma)?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Death] [Aggregates] [Clinging] // [Kamma] [Views]
Sutta: SN 44.9: Flame blown by the wind. [Rebirth] [Similes]
[Session] Readings:
Sutta: SN 22.89, Khandhasaṁyutta, “Khemaka.”
Sutta: SN 22.49, Khandhasaṁyutta, “Soṇa (1).”
1. [13:42] “Is there another sutta not spoken by the Buddha in which as many people become enlightened as SN 22.89?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Pasanno. [Great disciples] [Teaching Dhamma] [Liberation]
2. [14:20] Reflection: SN 22.89 spells out the difference between the conceit ‘I am’ and sakkāyadiṭṭhi. [Conceit] [Self-identity view]
3. [15:22] “What is the difference between someone who has broken through fetters (self-identity view, etc.) and someone who hasn’t as discussed in SN 22.89?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Pasanno. [Fetters] [Self-identity view] [Conceit] [Aggregates] [Similes] // [Perception] [Not-self]
4. [21:23] Comments by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Pasanno: The source for the nine kinds of conceit. [Conceit] [Sutta] [Abhidhamma]
5. [26:06] Comment by Ajahn Cunda: The Buddha’s description of a monk who ‘does not laud himself and disparage others’ (e.g. AN 4.28) sounds similar to SN 22.49. [Conceit] [Humility]
Response by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo.
6. [27:17] “Does volition differ from intention?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Pasanno. [Volition] // [Pāli] [Translation] [Kamma] [Self-identity view] [Skillful qualities]
Follow-up: “When we talk about effort, intention, and result in the Vinaya, is cetanā the word for intention?” [Vinaya]
Follow-up: “Saṅkhāra is sometimes translated as volitional formations. How does this differ from cetanā?” [Volitional formations]
Sutta: AN 6.63.33: “Kamma is volition.”
7. [35:59] “When Ajahn Chah uses the expression, ‘the mind is no longer moving forward, moving backward, nor standing still,’ how does this relate to volition?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Nature of mind] [Volition] // [Self-identity view] [Conditionality]
1. [0:00] Readings: Background information about the bhikkhu Channa: [Buddha/Biography] // [Commentaries] [Disciplinary transactions] [Vinaya]
Vinaya: Bhikkhu Pācittiyā 12 origin story, Buddhist Monastic Code Vol. 1, p. 419.
Vinaya: Bhikkhu Pācittiyā 71 origin story.
Vinaya: Bhikkhu Saṅghādisesā 12 origin story, Buddhist Monastic Code Vol. 1, p. 222.
2. [5:36] Reading: SN 22.90, Khandhasaṁyutta, “Channa.”
3. [14:49] Reflection on SN 22.90: Seeing all the khandhas as dukkha. [Aggregates] [Suffering] [Not-self]
4. [16:40] Comment by Ajahn Pasanno: A critical part of SN 22.90 is Ānanda giving Channa the confidence to believe in himself. [Great disciples] [Faith] // [Geography/India]
Responses by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo, Ajahn Cunda, Ajahn Jotipālo and Ajahn Kaccāna. [Rapture]
5. [19:16] “In SN 12.15, when it says, ‘the world depends on a duality,’ is that the process of [audio unclear]?” [Views] // [Self-identity view] [Ignorance]
6. [21:42] “Is there any significance to the elders Channa initially approaches in SN 22.90?” [Great disciples] // [Commentaries]
[Session] Readings:
Sutta: SN 22.94, Khandhasaṁyutta, “Flowers.”
Sutta: SN 22.122, Khandhasaṁyutta, “Virtuous.”
1. [4:30] SN 22.94 grounds views about the world in the experience of the aggregates. [Views] [Aggregates] // [Worldly Conditions] [Buddha] [Similes]
2. [8:10] “Would you be willing to speak about translating saṅkhāra as volitional formations?” [Volitional formations] [Translation] // [Aggregates] [Volition] [Emotion] [Feeling]
Follow-up: “Do volitional formations include both thought and emotion?” [Directed thought and evaluation]
3. [16:10] Comment by Ajahn Ñāṇiko: SN 22.122 is is stark contrast to the concept of secret teachings in Tibetan Buddhism. [Teaching Dhamma] [Vajrayāna]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Buddha]
Sutta: DN 16.2.25: “I never taught with a closed fist.”
4. [17:57] Discussion of how saṅkhāra relates to the other khandhas. [Volitional formations] [Aggregates] // [Consciousness] [Volition] [Emotion] [Feeling] [Conditionality]
Story: A psychology experiment demonstrating the physical effects of cultural responses to anger. [Western psychology] [Cultural context] [Aversion]
5. [27:14] “Do even involuntary volitional formations below the level of direct awareness produce kamma?” [Volitional formations] [Kamma] [Volition] // [Aversion]
Story: The Dalai Lama suggests that psychologists study virtuous people. [Dalai Lama] [Western psychology] [Virtue]
Sutta: AN 3.68: Comparison of greed, hatred, and delusion. [Unwholesome Roots]
6. [35:08] “Why is greed harder to remove than anger (AN 3.68)?” [Greed] [Aversion]
[Session] Readings:
Sutta: SN 22.53, Khandhasaṁyutta, “Engagement.”
Sutta: SN 22.54, Khandhasaṁyutta, “Seeds.”
Sutta: MN 22.36.
Sutta: SN 12.64.
Sutta: Snp 758-759.
Sutta: SN 12.38.
Skill in Questions by Ajahn Ṭhānissaro p. 349.
Reading about Luang Por Dun (similar to Gifts He Left Behind by Ajahn Dune, p. 77).
1. [6:53] SN 22.53-54 describe how the aggregates bring consciousness into being and consciousness relies on the aggregates. [Aggregates] [Consciousness] // [Nibbāna] [Unestablished consciousness]
Sutta: AN 3.76-77: Kamma is the field. [Kamma]
Reference: The Island by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Amaro Chapter 8: Unsupported and Unsupportive.
Suttas: DN 11.85 and MN 49.25 refer to unestablished consciousness.
Reading: MN 22.36.
2. [24:18] The Buddha is pointing to something beyond the normal functioning of the mind which is a basis for freedom from all dukkha. [Nibbāna] [Cessation of Suffering] // [Secular Buddhism] [Liberation] [Feeling] [Nature of mind] [Aggregates]
Reference: Skill in Questions by Ajahn Ṭhānissaro p. 349.
Quote: “Objects of the mind that are likeable or unlikeable” — Ajahn Liem. [Ajahn Liem] [Moods of the mind] [Clinging]
Sutta: SN 10.3: “Your touch is unpleasant.”
Sutta: AN 5.208: Five reasons for chewing toothwoods.
3. [32:09] “Can the experience of an unpleasant contact be experienced at the level of feeling and perception without going into the reactive state which generates a volitional formation?” [Pain] [Contact] [Feeling] [Perception] [Volitional formations]
Quote: “It’s ordinary for light to be bright. It’s ordinary for sound to make noise.” — Ajahn Dune. [Ajahn Dune] [Sense bases] [Seclusion]
4. [34:42] “What is the significance of the introduction of personal pronouns in the last sentences of SN 22.53-54?” [Language] // [History/Early Buddhism] [Conventions] [Faith]
[Session] Reading: “The Fount of Wisdom,” Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 583-598.
1. [30:28] “Could you say something about watching the mind where the sense objects all meet?” [Mindfulness of mind] [Contact]
[Session] Readings:
Sutta: Overview from the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta (MN 10.40).
Sutta: SN 35.232, Saḷāyatanasaṁyutta, “Koṭṭhita.”
Sutta: SN 35.26, Saḷāyatanasaṁyutta, “Full Understanding (1).”
1. [3:29] The Five Khandhas lead towards understanding and relinquishment of attachment to self; the ayatanas (sense bases) relate to the relinquishment of desire. [Aggregates] [Self-identity view] [Sensual desire]
2. [6:29] The meaning of fetter in terms of the sense bases. [Fetters] // [Sensual desire]
Sutta: MN 10.40: The sense bases.
Reading: SN 35.232, Saḷāyatanasaṁyutta, “Koṭṭhita.”
3. [16:23] “Is the fetter in terms of the sense bases (SN 35.232) equivalent to gratification, danger, and escape?” [Aspects of Understanding] // [Sensual desire] [Benefit/gratification]
4. [17:04] Comment: There’s a sutta (AN 6.61) which likens craving to a seamstress sewing together the sense bases and their objects. [Craving] [Similes]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
5. [17:48] “Does craving create a sense of continuity in the mind?” [Craving] // [Benefit/gratification] [Ignorance]
6. [18:58] “Is yoniso manasikāra like the scissors cutting out desire?” [Appropriate attention] [Similes] [Craving]
7. [19:41] “How does craving relate to the Five Khandhas?” [Craving] [Aggregates] // [Suffering] [Clinging]
Quote: “You don’t have to count the branches as you fall down.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Dependent origination]
Comment by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo: In the Fire Sermon (SN 35.28), desire, hatred, and delusion arise on everything. [Unwholesome Roots]
8. [28:27] In SN 35.26, the Buddha describes the cosmological All in terms of the sense bases. [Nature of the cosmos] // [Cessation of Suffering] [Liberation]
[Session] Readings:
Sutta: SN 35.60, Saḷāyatanasaṁyutta, “The Full Understanding of all Clinging.”
Sutta: SN 35.63, Saḷāyatanasaṁyutta, “Migajāla” (1).”
Sutta: SN 35.64, Saḷāyatanasaṁyutta, “Migajāla” (2).”
Sutta: SN 35.69, Saḷāyatanasaṁyutta, “Upasena.”
1. [9:06] “What is the distinction between delight, infatuation, and bondage?” [Craving] [Clinging] // [Translation] [Pāli]
2. [13:20] Comment: SN 35.63 is one-sided in that it emphasizes the pleasurable rather than the way the mind gets bound up with something that is not pleasurable. [Sensual desire] [Clinging] [Aversion]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Relationships]
3. [19:14] Comment by Ajahn Jotipālo: SN 35.54 describes a bhikkhu who does not delight in desirable sense objects, but Migajāla delights in the Buddha’s words. [Dispassion] [Gladdening the mind]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Pāli]
4. [20:36] “Delight is to craving as what is to aversion?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno, Ajahn Ñāṇiko and Ajahn Jotipālo. [Benefit/gratification] [Craving] [Aversion] // [Craving not to become] [Sensual desire]
Sutta: SN 56.11.4: Taṇhā is the cause of dukkha.
5. [24:35] “What is the significance of asking for a teaching in brief in SN 35.64?” [Teaching Dhamma]
Quote: “When you pick up one little bit of Dhamma, everything else comes with it as well.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Dhamma]
6. [30:25] Discussion regarding Upasena being bitten by a snake in SN 35.69. [Great disciples] // [Family]
[Session] Readings:
Sutta: SN 35.70, Saḷāyatanasaṁyutta, “Upavāṇa.”
Sutta: SN 35.74, Saḷāyatanasaṁyutta, “Sick (1).”
Sutta: SN 35.88, Saḷāyatanasaṁyutta, “Puṇṇa.”
Sutta: SN 35.93, Saḷāyatanasaṁyutta, “The Dyad (2).”
1. [3:29] SN 35.70 explains that the Dhamma is directly visible whether or not lust is present. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Sense bases] [Sensual desire] [Dhamma]
2. [11:34] “SN 35.70 and SN 35.74 mention lust. Is aversion, the opposite of lust, implicitly included?” [Sensual desire] [Aversion] // [Unwholesome Roots]
3. [19:33] Comment: Comparison of Ajahn Lee going to Bangkok with Venerable Puṇṇa going to Sunāparanta (SN 35.88). [Ajahn Lee Dhammadharo] [History/Thai Buddhism] [Great disciples] [Teaching Dhamma]
Comment: Ajahn Lee discovered breath meditation method 2 while coping with a heart attack in the wilderness. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Sickness]
4. [25:46] “SN 35.93 shows how the edifice of the mind is based on impermanent phenomena.” [Nature of mind] [Impermanence] // [Doctrine-of-self clinging]
5. [27:40] Comment: SN 35.93 is a wonderful analysis of the intimacy of nāma-rūpa and consciousness. [Aggregates] [Consciousness]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
Sutta: SN 12.67.7: Sheaves of reeds leaning against each other. [Similes]
6. [28:17] “When contemplating the impermanence of the sense bases, is it better to focus on any sense base where impermanence comes into focus or stay with a particular sense base?” [Impermanence] [Sense bases] [Meditation/Techniques]
7. [30:01] “In SN 35.93, does intention refer to saṅkhāra?” [Volition] [Volitional formations]
8. [30:49] “Is there a way to see how mind consciousness arises and disappears?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Jotipālo. [Heart/mind] [Consciousness] [Impermanence]
[Session] Readings:
Sutta: SN 35.95, Saḷāyatanasaṁyutta, “Māluṅkyaputta.”
Sutta: SN 35.96, Saḷāyatanasaṁyutta, “Decline.”
Sutta: SN 35.116, Saḷāyatanasaṁyutta, “Going to the End of the World.”
Sutta: SN 35.120, Saḷāyatanasaṁyutta, “Sāriputta.”
Sutta: SN 35.239, Saḷāyatanasaṁyutta, “The Simile of the Chariot.”
1. [12:12] “In SN 35.96, is ‘the arising of evil, unwholesome states, memories and intentions connected with the fetters’ an expansion of the terms craving and clinging?” [Unwholesome Roots] [Craving] [Clinging]
Follow-up: “Would the sense base operating without any craving or clinging imply arahantship?” [Sense bases] [Arahant]
2. [21:36] “Is there another sutta about reaching the end of the world through travelling?” [Nature of the cosmos] // [Psychic powers] [Liberation]
Sutta: SN 2.26: Rohitassa Sutta and Bhikkhu Bodhi’s footnote to this sutta.
3. [31:05] Reflection: Restraint is not constraint, but is the basis for happiness and joy. [Sense restraint ] [Happiness] // [Right Effort]
4. [32:27] “How can one set an effective intention to get up when one is very tired when going to sleep?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno, Ajahn Cunda and Ajahn Jotipālo. [Devotion to wakefulness] // [Posture/Walking] [Conditionality] [Chanting] [Habits] [Ajahn Chah]
[Session] Readings:
Sutta: SN 35.127, Saḷāyatanasaṁyutta, “Bhāradvāja.”
Sutta: SN 35.135, Saḷāyatanasaṁyutta, “The Opportunity.”
Sutta: SN 35.153, Saḷāyatanasaṁyutta, “Is There a Method?.”
Sutta: SN 35.155, Saḷāyatanasaṁyutta, “A Speaker on the Dhamma.”
1. [7:52] “Is there a place in the suttas where a bhikkhu asks, ‘How does one not grasp at the signs and features?’ and the Buddha replies with the Four Foundations of Mindfulness?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Sense restraint] [Right Mindfulness] // [Appropriate attention]
2. [10:21] “In order to guard the sense doors continually, is it necessary to find a sense of ease in the body to serve as an anchor?” [Sense restraint] [Tranquility] // [Mindfulness] [Right Effort]
Sutta: SN 36.6, The Dart: An undeveloped person knows no escape from dukkha other than sensual pleasure.
Story: Ajahn Chah resolves not to look up for three months. [Ajahn Chah] [Sensual desire]
Follow-up: “What is beneficial as opposed to just looking down?” [Conditionality] [Concentration] [Unification]
3. [24:28] “Does SN 35.153 indicate that keeping an eye on the mind and knowing when defilements are present lead all the way to the final goal?” [Mindfulness of mind] [Unwholesome Roots] [Liberation]
Story: A monk logs hours of meditation but is frustrated with the results. [Meditation/Results]
Follow-up: “Does this mean that you can’t just apply a single skill without investigating whether it is actually helping?” [Meditation/Techniques] [Right Effort]
4. [29:36] Reflection: SN 35.155 makes it beautifully clear what the Buddha praises: disenchantment, dispassion, and cessation. [Disenchantment] [Dispassion] [Cessation]
[Session] Readings:
Sutta: SN 35.235, Saḷāyatanasaṁyutta, “The Exposition on Burning.”
Sutta: SN 35.238, Saḷāyatanasaṁyutta, “The Simile of the Vipers.”
Sutta: SN 35.241, Saḷāyatanasaṁyutta, “The Simile of the Great Log (1).”
Sutta: SN 35.231, Saḷāyatanasaṁyutta, “The Milk-Sap Tree.”
Sutta: SN 35.234, Saḷāyatanasaṁyutta, “Udāyī.”
1. [7:16] “There’s a tradition that if one keeps the Five Precepts, one stays in the human realm. SN 35.235 implies that if one’s senses are unrestrained, one could end up in the lower realms. Any thoughts?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Five Precepts] [Human] [Sense restraint] [Hell] // [Death] [Conditionality]
2. [8:07] “SN 35.235 contains the phrase, ‘grasp the sign through the features.’ Does this differ from the more frequent ‘signs or features?’” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Sense bases] [Sense restraint] // [Sensual desire] [Commentaries]
3. [10:33] Story: A monk worried about his robe takes rebirth an insect in his robe. Told by Ajahn Jotipālo and Ajahn Pasanno. [Robes] [Restlessness and worry] [Rebirth] [Animal]
Commentary: Dhamma Verses Commentary translated by E. W. Burlingame and Ānandajoti Bhikkhu, p. 832.
4. [27:39] Comment by Ajahn Cunda: SN 35.231 mentions that sense objects do not obsess the mind [of an arahant] rather than one not experiencing things. [Sense bases] [Arahant] [Clinging]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Mahāyāna]
[Session] Readings:
Sutta: SN 35.243, Saḷāyatanasaṁyutta, “Exposition on the Corrupted.”
Sutta: SN 35.246, Saḷāyatanasaṁyutta, “The Simile of the Lute.”
Sutta: SN 35.247, Saḷāyatanasaṁyutta, “The Simile of the Six Animals.”
1. [11:20] “Does SN 35.243 imply that as long as one is not an arahant, one is overwhelmed by sense objects?” [Arahant] [Sense bases] // [Feeling] [Teaching Dhamma]
Comment by Ajahn Jotipālo: Bhante Gunaratana points out that mindfulness is not an Awakening Factor until it is 100% continuous. [Bhante Gunaratana] [Mindfulness] [Factors of Awakening]
Sutta: SN 56.33: Tossing up a stick. [Rebirth] [Similes]
2. [14:39] “Was it ever clear what kind of back condition the Buddha had?” [Buddha/Biography] [Sickness] // [Ageing] [Ascetic practices]
3. [21:05] “In SN 35.246, why did the king become unhappy with the lute?” [Similes] // [Self-identity view] [Aggregates] [Spiritual search]
4. [23:20] “In SN 35.246, does ‘to the extent there is a range for [the Five Aggregates]’ mean everything that we might experience?” [Aggregates] // [Proliferation]
5. [24:09] “What is a useful way to hold the image of beating the bull that wanders into the barley field in SN 35.246?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Cunda. [Similes] [Sense restraint] // [Contentment] [Tranquility] [Conscience and prudence]