All excerpts
68 events, 513 sessions, 3976 excerpts, 217:40:21 total duration
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Ajahn Chah
(883)
Ajahn Pasanno
(428)
Suffering
(332)
Relinquishment
(291)
Self-identity view
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Mindfulness of breathing
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Abhayagiri
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Teaching Dhamma
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Monastic life
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Discernment
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1. “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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Consciousness] [Similes] // [Etymology] [Sense bases]
Quote: “If we extrapolate from a flawed image, then we end up in confusion or doubt.” [Doubt]
2. “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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Spiritual friendship] [Meditation retreats] [Sutta] [Seclusion] // [Monastic routine] [Community]
Sutta: SN 45.2: Half of the Holy Life. [Eightfold Path]
3. “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.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Knowing itself] [Mindfulness of body] // [Meditation/Techniques] [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities]
4. “Please describe any techniques or practices for gladdening the mind.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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. “I’m struggling with aversion and doubt. When do I switch to metta?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Aversion] [Doubt] [Goodwill] // [Gladdening the mind]
Story: “I hate metta!” [Bhante Gunaratana]
6. “What are skillful ways to increase energy (viriya)?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Energy ] // [Gladdening the mind] [Three Refuges] [Benefit/gratification] [Happiness]
Note: Refer to the earlier question about gladdening the mind.
7. “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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Kasiṇa] // [Calming meditation] [Commentaries] [Thai Forest Tradition]
Commentary: Path of Purification by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, p. 104: 40 subjects of meditation.
8. “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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Tate]
Reference: Issues Through the Moss by Karin Bagøien.
9. “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.)” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Four Noble Truths] [Clinging] [Suffering] // [Ajahn Dune]
Reference: Gifts He Left Behind by Ajahn Dune, p. 3.
10. “What role is there for Buddhist nuns in North America? Are there any plans for a monastery for Buddhist nuns?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Women's monastic forms] // [Dhammadharini Monastery] [Aloka Vihara]
11. “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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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. “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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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. “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.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Animal ] [Chanting] [Three Refuges] [Rebirth] [Human] // [Culture/West]
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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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. “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. “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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ageing] [Sickness] [Death] [Body/form] [Health ] [Skillful qualities] // [Medicinal requisites]
Sutta: MN 2.14, Chanting Book translation: Reflection on the Four Requisites. [Requisites]
2. “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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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. “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. “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.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Liberation] [Lay life] [Happiness] // [Conditionality]
5. “Outside retreat, I sit daily, but samādhi is usually conspicuous by its absence. Do you have any words of advice, encouragement, or consolation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation] [Everyday life ] [Concentration] // [Recollection] [Right Intention] [Renunciation] [Goodwill] [Tranquility]
6. “How does one practice with perception of light? I was told to ignore it (as a nimitta) and that it was a metaphor.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Perception of light] [Nimitta] [Symbolism/metaphor] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Mindfulness of breathing]
Sutta: AN 4.41: Four kinds of concentration. [Concentration]
7. “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.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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. “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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Compassion] [Pāli] // [Divine Abidings]
9. “Is a monk allowed to hug his mother?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Vinaya] [Parents]
10. “Would you discuss Buddhist rites and rituals regarding death and dying? What are the rites surrounding the death and cremation of an arahant?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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. “Is the pleasant experience when one is abiding within one’s mind a sensation and/or a mental formation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Happiness] [Contact] [Volitional formations] // [Feeling]
12. “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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Happiness] [Tranquility] // [Nature of mind]
Quote: “So much of practice is just learning how to get out of the way.”
13. “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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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. “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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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. “Can you say a little more about ‘the mind going outside itself’—what that means and how it is dukkha?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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. “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. “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. “What are skillful views and opinions? And what are the indicators of a Dhammic conversation/dialogue?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Views] [Right View] [Right Speech] // [Conflict] [Suffering]
19. “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.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Happiness] [Aversion] [Malicious speech] [Blame and praise] // [Drawbacks] [Mindfulness of body]
20. “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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] [Self-identity view] // [Drawbacks] [Recollection] [Perception]
21. “Could you kindly talk about some obstacles in your practice and how you overcame them as an encouragement to us?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Doubt] [Fear] [Mindfulness of body ] [Delusion]
22. “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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Concentration] [Body/form] // [Tranquility]
23. “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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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. “I heard three times today to come back to the body. I don’t get this. Can you explain?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of body] // [Mindfulness]
2. “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. “Some spiritual teachers reference the concept of oneness, sort of anattā by virtue of all selves. What does Theravāda say about this?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Spiritual traditions] [Not-self] [Doctrine-of-self clinging] [Theravāda] // [Relinquishment]
4. “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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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. “What is the threefold bliss (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 33)?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Happiness] // [Human] [Deva] [Nibbāna]
6. “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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Calming meditation] [Mindfulness of body] [Meditation/Techniques ] // [Desire] [Continuity of mindfulness]
7. 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. 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. “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.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Heart/mind] [Death] [Teaching Dhamma ] // [Compassion] [Personal presence ] [Chanting] [Recollection/Dhamma]
Story: “Richard, be quiet.” [Ram Dass] [Parents]
10. “Could you expand on the concepts of hiri and otappa, which the Buddha called the protectors of the world (Iti 42)?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Conscience and prudence] // [Translation] [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro] [Skillful qualities] [Virtue] [Sense restraint] [Kamma] [Happiness]
11. “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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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. 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. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Insight Meditation Society] [Questions]
Quote: “I’m getting old and my knees hurt.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ageing] [Pain]
1. “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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Relationships] [Ordination ] // [Requisites]
2. “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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Commentaries ] [Sutta] [Translation] // [Tipiṭaka] [History/Early Buddhism] [History/Sri Lankan Buddhism]
Reference: Path of Purification by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli.
3. “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. “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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Contentment] [Gratitude] [Happiness] [Proliferation] [Mindfulness] [Defilements of insight] // [Equanimity] [Protective Meditations]
5. “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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation retreats ] [Concentration] [Proliferation] [Goodwill] // [Calming meditation] [Investigation of states] [Unwholesome Roots]
6. “To whom did you attribute the different formulation of the Four Noble Truths?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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. “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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of body] [Right Mindfulness] // [Unattractiveness] [Elements]
8. “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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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. “How can we balance knowing and letting go with investigation? In what circumstances should one be used rather than the other?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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. “What were you like before you became a monk? Were you always so kind, generous, warm, and trustworthy?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Personality]
11. “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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Deva] [Ghost] [Nature of mind] [Not-self] [Realms of existence] // [Impermanence] [Rebirth] [Saṃsāra]
12. “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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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. “When I asked a Thai friend what her kammaṭṭhāna was, she said, ‘pong waa,’ then added, ‘deng wa.’ Can you explain?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation/Techniques] [Thai] // [Emptiness] [Liberation] [Not-self] [Concentration] [Impermanence] [Suffering]
14. “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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Agriculture] [Killing ] [Animal] [Five Precepts] // [Virtue] [Culture/Thailand] [Environment]
Recollection: Dealing with termites at Wat Pah Pong. [Ajahn Chah] [Wat Pah Pong] [Lodging]
1. “It seems that little is written about love in Buddhist texts, at least compared to other traditions. Am I missing something?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sutta] [Goodwill] // [Clinging ] [Cause of Suffering] [Emotion] [Divine Abidings]
Sutta: MN 87: Piyajātika Sutta.
2. “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.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Goodwill] // [Bhante Gunaratana]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 41: Reflection on Universal Well-Being.
3. “What is the antidote to the mind’s tendency to overestimate [and] overinterpret one’s experiences?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation/Results] // [Suffering]
4. “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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Insight meditation] [Not-self]
5. “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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Volitional formations] [Directed thought and evaluation ] [Proliferation] [Tranquility] [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro] // [Jhāna]
6. “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.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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. “Would you speak about the place of vipassanā in walking meditation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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. “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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Characteristics of existence] [Sutta] // [Commentaries]
Commentary: Path of Purification by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, p. 667.
9. “What happened to Wat Keun after Ajahn Puriso left?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Wat Keuan] [Ajahn Puriso] // [Ajahn Boon Choo] [Ajahn Liem] [Wat Pah Pong]
10. “What happened to Por Pon, the Wat Pah Pong majordomo from Bung Wai Village?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Lay supporters] [Wat Pah Pong] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Family] [Ajahn Chah]
11. “What happened to Yom Manoon?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Lay supporters] // [Ajahn Chah]
12. “If you had to pick one of the following, which one would be more important: Understanding/insight into kamma or understanding/insight into anicca?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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. “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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Attachment to precepts and practices] [Fetters] [Chanting] [Ceremony/ritual] [Lay life]
14. “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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ordination] [Commerce/economics] [Monastic teachers] [Posture/Sitting] // [Monastic life] [Abhayagiri]
15. “I’ve always felt a draw to the Fire Sermon (SN 35.28). Could you expound a bit more on this teaching?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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. 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. “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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Thai Forest Tradition] [Koan] [Stream entry] [Conditionality] // [Desire] [Insight meditation]
18. 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. “I’ve forgotten the sutta number and name when the Buddha changes the eating to not after midday for the monastics.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Eating after noon] [Sutta] // [Buddha/Biography]
Sutta: MN 66: The Simile of the Quail.
20. Meditation instruction: Use the end of noble silence to investigate the habits of mind regarding speech. Offered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation retreats] [Right Speech] [Everyday life] // [Idle chatter]
[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. Offered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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. Offered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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. Offered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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. Offered by Ajahn Pasanno.
[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. Offered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma]
1. “If starting each meditation session with five minutes of skeleton contemplation, do you have any suggestions, advice, cautions?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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. “Sometime ill-will is diffuse and all-encompasing. Attempting to do metta when the mind is experiencing this seems to aggravate rather than soothe.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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. Offered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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.” Offered by Ajahn Pasanno.
[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. Offered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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. Offered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Four Noble Truths]
1. “Could you give advice on how to practice Buddhānussati? Are there any suttas useful for working with this theme?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Recollection/Buddha ] [Sutta] // [Learning] [Human]
Reference: Recollection of the Buddha, Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 4.
Sutta: MN 11: Cūḷasīhanāda Sutta.
Sutta: MN 74: 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. “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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of feeling ] [Insight meditation] [Directed thought and evaluation] // [Impermanence] [Not-self] [Suffering] [Right Effort]
3. “Could you please speak about dhamma-vicaya and how to use it in meditation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Investigation of states ] // [Factors of Awakening] [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities] [Characteristics of existence] [Appropriate attention] [Dispassion] [Aggregates]
[Session] Readings by Ajahn Pasanno:
Sutta: MN 10: Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta. [Right Mindfulness]
The Wings to Awakening by Ajahn Ṭhānissaro, passages from the satipaṭṭhāna section.
1. “What does Ajahn Ṭhānissaro mean by stilling the breath sensations (The Wings to Awakening by Ajahn Ṭhānissaro, p. 122).” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro] [Tranquility]
Sutta: MN 118: Ānāpānasati Sutta.
2. “Do you have any thoughts about the two interpretations of ‘body of breath’ in MN 118?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of body] [Meditation/Techniques] // [Tranquility] [Volitional formations] [Pāli]
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