All questions
67 events, 383 sessions, 2765 excerpts, 156:25:04 total duration
Most common topics:
Ajahn Chah
(175)
Ajahn Pasanno
(157)
Monastic life
(135)
Mindfulness of breathing
(132)
Suffering
(91)
Happiness
(87)
Proliferation
(86)
Not-self
(82)
Death
(71)
Goodwill
(71)
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3. Comment by Rik Center: I’m trying to move away from the concept of formal and informal practice. It’s just how I’m practicing in practice this moment. [Continuity of mindfulness] [Meditation] [Present moment awareness] [Everyday life]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ardency] [Tranquility] [Middle Path] [Eightfold Path]
4. “How can we skillfully take apart our preconceived notions and assumptions without undermining our ability to think?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Delusion] [Knowledge and vision] [Directed thought and evaluation] // [Noble Truth of Suffering] [Cause of Suffering] [Proliferation]
8. Comment by Ajahn Ñāṇiko: But in a sense Por Am had wisdom, questioning Ajahn Chah from every possible angle. [Ajahn Chah] [Questions] [Discernment]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 647
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Thai] [Wat Pah Pong]
11. “What is the best way to navigate the people that we love that have unskillful behaviors but we don’t want to cut out of our lives?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Family] [Spiritual friendship] [Unskillful qualities] // [Compassion] [Patience] [Truth] [Aversion] [Admonishment/feedback]
12. “The duty in regard to the First Noble Truth is to understand suffering. How do you do this?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Noble Truth of Suffering ] [Suffering] // [Fear] [Pāli] [Characteristics of existence] [Aversion] [Postures] [Direct experience] [Conditionality] [Relinquishment]
15. “When you have completed the practice, does everything become ‘down time?’” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Stages of awakening] [Recreation/leisure/sport] // [Clinging] [Almsfood] [Culture/Natural environment]
Quote: “It’s because we reflect on these ‘serious things’ that we can hold things lightly.” [Recollection]
Suttas: MN 2.13: Reflection on the requisites; AN 5.208: Benefits of chewing toothwood
16. “These readings give the sense that the Northeastern Thai Isan culture is the soil that supports the living tradition. Are there cultural attitudes or ingredients that would be helpful for laypeople in addition to the key things of sīla and Right View?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Culture/Thailand] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Culture/West] [Virtue] [Right View] // [Generosity] [Meditation] [Precepts] [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] [Happiness]
6. “You said that when Ajahn Chah was a younger monk, he was almost afraid of meditation. I was curious about that.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation] [Ajahn Chah] // [Culture/Thailand] [Psychic powers] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Forest versus city monks]
7. “How common was it for children to continue after they had ordained at such a young age and stay in the robes as adults?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Culture/Thailand] [Novices] [Ordination] [Ajahn Chah] // [Temporary ordination] [Disrobing]
8. “What kind of meditation did Ajahn Chah follow in the early days? What were the meditating monks actually doing [at that time]?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation/Techniques] [History/Thai Buddhism] [Ajahn Chah] // [Buddho mantra] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Recollection/Buddha] [Unattractiveness] [Elements]
9. “How did Isan manage to withstand the waves of Communist overthrow that came through Laos and Cambodia, which was so devastating to the monastic community? Ajahn Chah would have been very aware and impacted by that. How did the people of Isan understand themselves? How were they able to withstand that threat to their existence?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Politics and society] [History/Thai Buddhism] [History/Other Theravāda traditions] [Culture/Thailand]
Story: Ajahn Paññānanda gives a talk at an Isan school where pictures of Marx and Lenin were placed in the assembly hall. [Ajahn Paññānanda]
Story: Driving through military checkpoints on the way to Ajahn Fun’s funeral. [Ajahn Fun] [Funerals] [Ajahn Chah] [Military]
Story: Communist guerillas attend a Kaṭhina ceremony by night and government soldiers by day. [Kaṭhina] [Ajahn Waen]
10. “Why did Isan become such an epicenter for spiritual development?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Geography/Thailand] [Culture/Thailand] // [Poverty] [Simplicity] [Community]
11. “You’re one of the first Western monks that came to see and study under Ajahn Chah. How did Ajahn Chah give you lessons, especially in the beginning when you didn’t speak Thai? Dhamma talks were given in Thai. How did you understand them and how did you learn Thai?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Teaching Dhamma] [Language] [Thai] [Ajahn Chah] // [Isan] [Direct experience]
Quote: “Teaching Westerners isn’t difficult. It’s just like teaching buffaloes.” — Ajahn Chah. [Similes] [Humor]
Quote: “The language of Dhamma is the language of feeling.” — Ajahn Chah. [Dhamma]
11. “I came across a section of The Island talking about the Tenfold Path (p. 235). Could you speak a little bit about the last two (Right Knowledge and Right Liberation)?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Eightfold Path] [Knowledge and vision] [Liberation] // [Suffering]
Sutta: MN 22.37: “I teach dukkha and the end of dukkha.”
12. “At these celebrations [at Wat Pah Pong], are there a lot of little kids and family members? How can I encourage my seven and eight year old daughters to practice?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Festival days] [Wat Pah Pong] [Children] [Meditation] // [Monasteries] [Culture/Thailand] [Abhayagiri] [Novices] [Culture/Natural environment]
13. “Are you inviting us to the birthday party on June 17 at Abhayagiri?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Abhayagiri] [Festival days] [Ajahn Chah]
14. “Could you say more about Ajahn Chah’s irritability?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Fierce/direct teaching] [Ajahn Chah] // [Heedlessness]
15. Comment: I found reading Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro an amazing journey. ... [Dhamma books] [Ajahn Chah]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Jayasaro]
16. “There’s tremendous value in having a teacher who can remind you or impose that urgency of practice. As a layperson who doesn’t have that resource, what strategies would you use to call the urgency back in and not get distracted?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Spiritual urgency ] [Lay life] // [Dhamma books] [Sutta] [Dhamma online] [Time management]
17. “Referring to the inner coach or the inner voice, what advice would you give in distinguishing between ferocious wisdom that redirects you back to the path and the inner critic that is just telling you that you suck?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Spiritual urgency] [Fierce/direct teaching] [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] // [Discernment] [Skillful qualities] [Judgementalism]
18. Appreciation for hearing Ajahn Chah’s teachings to lay people and reflections on spiritual perfectionism. [Lay life] [Perfectionism] [Ajahn Chah]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Culture/West] [Idealism] [Culture/Thailand] [Cessation of Suffering]
19. A Burmese monk I met credited Ajahn Chah as the person who raised the level of monastic conduct in Thailand. Is this characterization true? Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Vinaya] [History/Thai Buddhism] [Ajahn Chah] // [Thai Forest Tradition]
Quote: “One of the beauties of the Buddha’s teaching is that he sowed the seeds within the teaching of its own regeneration if people pick it up and practice it.” [Teaching Dhamma]
20. “When Ajahn Chah was making the lid for his bowl (Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 94) and he stopped himself from thinking about working while he was resting or meditating ... how did that flow for him?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Almsbowl] [Proliferation] [Fierce/direct teaching] [Ajahn Chah] // [Discernment] [Patience] [Learning] [Humor]
Quote: “If you can’t laugh at yourself as a practitioner, then you’re sunk.”
Story: Ajahn Chah makes a large ball of sticky rice for himself then comments, “When I was younger, I used to be able to pack it; I’m getting old now.” [Ageing] [Food]
8. Comment: I really liked the way Ajahn Chah and you explained the chain of Dependent Origination. I’m trying to just observe and be in the moment. I’m noticing that awareness breaks the chain in Dependent Origination. [Dependent origination] [Present moment awareness] [Knowing itself] [Ajahn Chah]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
9. “I have a question about attachment. When you mentioned 1,000 monks [at Wat Pah Pong], does this have anything to do with attachment?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Clinging] [Ajahn Chah Remembrance Day] // [Suffering] [Cause of Suffering] [Pāli] [Ajahn Chah]
10. “My understanding of samādhi is the one-pointedness of attention that focuses on the ānāpāna spot, whereas vipassanā is not. When you were reading about how they were the same (Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 372), my understanding went right out the window.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Concentration] [Unification] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Insight meditation] [Ajahn Chah] // [Language]
“The firm establishing of the mind”—The Thai translation of samādhi. [Thai] [Translation]
Sutta: AN 3.102: Pliable and ready to work.
11. “What is your view of the mindfulness movement that has happened in the United States? I think it lacks the ethical component that is taught in Buddhism.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Secular Buddhism] [Virtue]
12. “Can you speak about Ajahn Chah’s time with Ajahn Mun and the influence of that time on his sense of practice?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Mun ] [Ajahn Chah] // [History/Thai Buddhism] [Thai sects] [Vinaya] [Conscience and prudence]
Quote: “Mahānikāya needs good monks too.” — Ajahn Mun.
Quote: “In the end, what you have to understand is the difference between the moods of the mind and the essential mind, the mind itself.” — Ajahn Mun. [Moods of the mind] [Heart/mind]
Recollection: Ajahn Chah also trained with Ajahn Mun’s disciples Ajahn Kinaree and Ajahn Tongrat. [Ajahn Kinaree] [Ajahn Tongrat]
13. “You made a distinction between wrong samādhi and right samādhi. I imagine wrong samādhi has a certain lack of clarity but a feeling of settledness. Earlier you mentioned that you could hear the tone of the voice of the inner critic. Can you apply the same thing to samādhi? If one becomes aware of wrong samādhi, would it be concentration or mindfulness that reveals that?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Wrong concentration] [Right Concentration] [Investigation of states] [Concentration] [Mindfulness]
Quote: “As the mind becomes more settled, then the mind becomes more sneaky as well.” [Delusion]
Follow-up: “Is this knowing somatically or more of a mental experience?” [Mindfulness of body] [Mindfulness of mind]
14. “Could you speak about metta in the context of both samādhi and vipassanā?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Goodwill] [Concentration] [Insight meditation] // [Self-identity view] [Relinquishment]
Quote: “I never heard Ajahn Chah talk much about metta. He just oozed it.” [Ajahn Chah] [Personal presence]
15. “After you became a monk, how long did it take you to have your first insight that was significant to you? What was it?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Monastic life] [Insight meditation] // [Not-self] [Relinquishment]
16. [After describing 20 years of meditation practice], “A few weeks ago, I noticed that I had a lot of wrong view. ... Now, when I sit in meditation and part of me is very calm and still, there’s a voice that comes up. I can’t tell whether it’s a doubting voice, the restlessness creeping in again, or discernment and mindfulness of not being too calm and asleep. Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Concentration] [Views] [Discernment] // [Ajahn Chah] [Mindfulness]
17. “How did Ajahn Chah distinguish between positive passing mood states and the essential qualities of the mind, the radiance of the mind?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Moods of the mind] [Skillful qualities] [Heart/mind] [Nature of mind] [Ajahn Chah] // [Impermanence] [Not-self] [Self-identity view]
Quote: “It’s just that much.” — Ajahn Chah.
Follow-up: “And yet we’re not always able to rest in the radiant qualities of the essential mind either.”
18. “I always hear that it’s rare to get a precious human life. Why are we incarnated? What are we achieving on this plane that we can’t achieve on a spiritual plane?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Human] [Rebirth] [Realms of existence] // [Discernment] [Compassion]
4. Story: Learning the Paṭimokkha. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Pāṭimokkha] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Chanting] // [Ajahn Chah] [Culture/India]
Responses by Ajahn Ñāṇiko, Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Kaccāna.
8. “Can we approach chanting as praying for someone in a difficult situation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Prayer] [Christianity] [Family] [Healing] [Chanting] // [Skillful qualities] [Compassion] [Right Intention] [Merit] [Abhayagiri] [Nature of the cosmos]
9. “How can you use chanting to work with long-term physical pain and other people’s healing?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Pain] [Healing] [Chanting ] // [Tranquility] [Concentration] [Fear] [Release]
10. “Are there any chants that are inappropriate for laypeople to chant?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Lay life] [Chanting]
11. “How can you chant to generate energy?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Energy] [Chanting] // [Postures] [Mindfulness of breathing]
12. “Is there any danger to chanting?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Chanting]
13. “The fourth precept used to be translated as false and harmful speech. In the new chanting book, it’s just lying. Is there a reason for this?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [False speech] [Pāli] [Chanting] // [Right Speech]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 130
Sutta: MN 41: Saleyyaka Sutta
1. “Sometimes there’s no pause between the words we’re chanting. Why?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [History/Early Buddhism] [Chanting] [Pāli]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 129: Five Precepts.
2. “Are the dots under m and n [ṃ, ṇ] that inscrutable non-English sound that was mentioned earlier?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Chanting] [Pāli]
Follow-up: “And that has nothing to do with the pitch going down? That’s the carat mark?” [History/Western Buddhist monasticism]
3. Comment: It seems like we stretch out ‘saha’ in the request for the Five Precepts (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 126). [Chanting] [Pāli]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
4. “Can you explain the rhythm and scanning of the seventh of the Eight Precepts (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 135)?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Eight Precepts] [Entertainment and adornment] [Chanting] [Pāli]
5. Comment: I also get tripped up chanting the fifth precept (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 130). [Five Precepts] [Intoxicants] [Chanting] [Pāli]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Thai]
7. Comment: We usually chant like that [a simple style] in primary school. It changes when we get to high school. [Culture/Thailand] [Chanting] [Pāli]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
8. “Do you have any suggestions for audio support for chanting?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Dhamma online] [Chanting] [Pāli]
Reference: Abhayagiri Chanting Karaoke
Note: The recordings on this website come from the older 2010 Abhayagiri Chanting Book.
9. “Are there any standards for the high and low tone marks?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno, Ajahn Ñāṇiko and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Chanting] [Pāli] // [Thai]
1. “Are the paritta chants not as effective in English?” Answered by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Translation] [Language] [Pāli] [Chanting] [Protective chants] // [Devotional practice]
2. “Do you find these chants as resonant here as in Thailand?” Answered by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Culture/Thailand] [Culture/West] [Chanting] [Protective chants] // [Faith]
3. “I notice that most of the paritta chants don’t have English translations. Is there a place we can find these?” Answered by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Translation] [Chanting] [Protective chants] // [Sutta]
Suttas: DN 32: Āṭānāṭiya Sutta; SN 46.14-16: Sick [Sickness] [Factors of Awakening]
4. “Are there books or online resources for the study of Pāli?” Answered by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Pāli ] [Dhamma books] [Dhamma online]
Reference: A New Course in Reading Pāli by James W. Gair and W. S. Karunatillake (pdf) [Learning]
Note: Bhikkhu Bodhi’s Reading the Buddha’s Discourses in Pāli was published in 2020.
5. Comment: There are a couple books that have some parittas in English. [Translation] [Dhamma books] [Chanting] [Protective chants]
Reference: The Book of Protection by Piyadasi Thera
Response by Ajahn Ñāṇiko: Suggestion to read the Suttanipāta commentaries available in Bhikkhu Bodhi’s translation of this text. [Sutta] [Commentaries] [Bhikkhu Bodhi]
7. “Is there a rule of thumb for the pitches for the paritta chanting?” Answered by Ajahn Ñāṇiko and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Chanting] [Protective chants] // [Thai]
8. “The Verses of Sharing and Aspiration translates paccekabuddha as ‘The Solitary Buddha is my noble guide.’ What’s going on here?” Answered by Ajahn Ñāṇiko and Ajahn Pasanno. [Chanting] [Translation] [Paccekabuddha] // [Merit] [Teaching Dhamma]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 33
1. “Do you find labelling helpful?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Noting] [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Proliferation]
Simile: The hammer looking for nails everywhere.
2. “When I’m following my breathing, sometimes I have a compulsion to breathe deeply into my chest and hold it. ... Is that something you should recognize as trying to control the breath?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Meditation/Unusual experiences] // [Investigation of states] [Tranquility] [Learning]
3. “You spoke of experiencing the breath and experiencing feelings and mind. Are you suggesting that we experience the mind knowing the breath or when it’s doing other things?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of feeling] [Mindfulness of mind] // [Right Mindfulness] [Volitional formations] [Conditionality]
Suttas: MN 118: Ānāpānasati Sutta; MN 10: Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta
4. “Is the fourth foundation of mindfulness as simple as, for example, with the third foundation I identify aversion, and then in the fourth foundation I identify aversion as a hindrance?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of dhammas] [Mindfulness of mind] // [Āgama] [Sutta] [Hindrances] [Four Noble Truths] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Progress of insight]
Suttas: MN 10: Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta; MN 118: Ānāpānasati Sutta [Right Mindfulness]
Reference: Satipaṭṭhāna Perspectives by Bhante Analayo (commercial)
5. “Could you please address judgement and discernment?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Judgementalism] [Discernment ] // [Self-identity view] [Skillful qualities] [Four Noble Truths] [Culture/West] [Impermanence] [Conditionality]
6. “How do you handle physical sensations like an itch during meditation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation/General advice] [Contact] // [Mindfulness] [Patience] [Pain]
7. “How do discoveries about the gut microbiome fit in with the Buddha’s teachings?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Science] [Dhamma] // [Not-self] [Self-identity view] [Mindfulness of body] [Clear comprehension] [Naturalness]
Follow-up: “How does the relate to monks who subsist on almsfood and sometimes don’t get enough, considering that the gut is controlling the brain?” [Monastic life] [Almsfood] [Health] [Ajahn Soṇa] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support]
Sutta: MN 17: Vanapattha Sutta.
10. “Is Dtao Dum just for monks?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Dtao Dum] [Monastic life] [Lay life] // [Environment]
11. “Did Ajahn Soṇa go on one of the trips to Dtao Dum with you?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Soṇa] [Dtao Dum] [Ajahn Pasanno]
12. “When you weren’t getting enough food, had you been older and smarter, would you have been able, as a monk, to ask for vegetables?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Monastic life] [Health] [Vinaya] [Almsfood] // [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Generosity]
13. “Could you say something about the fact that extreme hardship exists in the world?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Poverty ] [Compassion] // [Culture/Thailand]
Sutta: AN 4.162: Modes of Practice
Sutta: AN 8.2: Worldly Winds [Worldly Conditions]
Vinaya: Bhikkhu Pārājikā 1.2: The famine in Verañjā. [Buddha/Biography]
Recollection: The vast majority of 20th century Thai meditation masters are from the Northeast. They come from a region and area of great difficulty. [History/Thai Buddhism] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Patience] [Energy] [Faith]
Recollection: More Westerners came to study with Ajahn Chah than Central or Southern Thais. [Ajahn Chah] [History/Western Buddhist monasticism]
14. “What are your thoughts about maintaining a practice you’re at the bedside of someone actively passing away?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sickness] [Death ] // [Listening] [Fear] [Personal presence] [Intuition]
Story: Ram Dass anxiously tries to guide his stepmother through the dying process. [Ram Dass] [Teaching Dhamma] [Restlessness and worry] [Mindfulness of mind] [Recollection/Death]
15. “Was there specific advice from the Buddha to the monks about [advising a dying person]?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Monastic life] [Death] // [Sickness] [Compassion] [Goodwill]
Vinaya: Mahāvagga 8.26.7: Attributes of a carer.
16. “When you talk about conditioning, how does this relate to Pavlovian conditioning?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Conditionality] [Science] // [Habits]
17. “The Buddha had the talent of knowing precisely what to say to a person at a given moment. The teaching ajahns have developed this as well, but I’ve never heard of it as part of the training. Can you reflect on that?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Teaching Dhamma] [Buddha/Biography] [Monastic teachers] // [Personality] [Discernment] [Idealism] [Ajahn Chah] [Suffering] [Humility] [Relinquishment] [Fear] [Self-identity view]
18. “Before we relinquish the self, there needs to be a recognition of what’s going on. I often realize this minutes or hours later. Any suggestions for this initial step of noticing?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Relinquishment] [Self-identity view] [Mindfulness] // [Investigation of states] [Mindfulness of feeling] [Cessation] [Spaciousness]
19. Comment: I have one of these thinking minds, and over the years I’m learning more and more to just watch where my thoughts go. I’m getting more comfortable with that. At the same time, I’ve heard teachings that as you improve your concentration on the primary object, your mindfulness increases as well. [Directed thought and evaluation] [Mindfulness] [Concentration]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Language] [Generosity] [Conditionality] [Desire] [Craving]
Quote: “The same word that is translated as concentration in English, when it’s translated in Thai, is ‘the firm establishing of the mind.’ That has a different feel to it.” [Translation] [Thai]
20. “Did Buddhism find you in Northern Manitoba, or did you leave? What led you to Buddhism?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Learning] [Culture/West] [Zen] [Culture/Thailand]
1. “In Canada, medical assistance in death is legal. As an old person who will be sick and dying not too far off, it raises the question: If I got to the point where I felt even with good palliative and hospice care, I couldn’t withstand the pain any longer, it’s an option. But what about the first precept of not taking life?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sickness] [Pain] [Death] [Health care ] [Euthanasia] [Killing] // [Relinquishment] [Self-identity view] [Idealism]
Quote: “Being present for the falling apart of the body opens doorways to release that don’t really happen with, ‘I just want to be done with this. This totally sucks.’” [Present moment awareness] [Mindfulness of body] [Release] [Aversion] [Fear] [Clinging] [Saṃsāra]
2. “For some people, death comes with extreme pain. Part of being able to navigate through the dissolution of self requires clarity of mind. My understanding is that a lot of pain management involves morphine or other mind-numbing drugs. How does one navigate the pain?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Death] [Pain] [Relinquishment] [Self-identity view] [Clear comprehension] [Health care] [Intoxicants] // [Fear]
3. “According to the first precept, how would you look at the case of abortion?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Killing] [Abortion] // [Vinaya] [Politics and society] [Judgementalism] [Health care]
4. “What about animal euthanasia?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Animal] [Euthanasia] [Killing] // [Compassion] [Sickness] [Ageing]
5. “Years ago I considered the Buddha someone who practiced harm reduction. But having worked in the field, I’ve started to have a lot of conflict around when people request paraphernalia to help them use [drugs]. The idea is to keep them alive, but now it’s become very complicated because people are still dying. Is this a violation of right livelihood? Could you speak about wisdom and compassion?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Intoxicants] [Health care] [Death] [Right Livelihood] [Discernment] [Compassion] [Gratitude] // [Right Intention] [Crime] [Politics and society]
Quote: “As a person who is trying to help, you have to learn harm reduction to yourself.” [Depression]
6. Comment: I’m concerned about how much time people spend on computers, and I think it’s sad that people use electronic devices rather than talk with each other. [Technology] [Community]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
Follow-up: “Should I say anything to my son who is on his device half the time during his brief, infrequent visits?” [Children] [Right Speech]
Story: Abhayagiri’s computer policy for monks. [Abhayagiri] [Social media] [Sense restraint] [Vinaya]
7. “You spoke this morning about how monks don’t have money and don’t handle money. How does a monastery deal with purchasing materials?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Not handling money] [Commerce/economics] // [Monastery organizational structure] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Abhayagiri] [Building projects] [Almsfood]
Story: A wheel falls off the old Abhayagiri van. [Simplicity]
8. Comment: Yesterday you differentiated between chanda and taṇhā. Nature has always had a strong attraction for me, and I was uneasy because I thought this was a kind of craving. Three or four years ago, Ajahn Tiradhammo gave a talk and I asked him about this. He said, ‘Don’t worry about it. There’s good craving and bad craving.’ Your teaching has clarified this for me. [Desire] [Craving] [Culture/Natural environment] [Ajahn Tiradhammo] [Gratitude]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Happiness] [Ajahn Viradhammo] [Animal]
9. “When strong feelings associated with conceit come, what to do?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Conceit] [Feeling] // [Noble Truth of Suffering] [Mindfulness of feeling] [Clear comprehension] [Nutriment] [Relinquishment] [Patience]
10. “I find a lot of meditation time is taken up with psychoanalyzing and thinking, ‘Oh, this is a discovery!’ What is the line between realizing that you’re caught again?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation] [Western psychology] [Directed thought and evaluation] // [Mindfulness of feeling] [Proliferation] [Clear comprehension]
11. Comment: I’m improving my skill at seeing the greed or aversion when there are pleasant or unpleasant feelings, but I often don’t see the neutral feeling state so clearly. [Mindfulness of feeling] [Feeling] [Unwholesome Roots] [Neutral feeling] [Delusion] // [Mindfulness of body] [Restlessness and worry] [Fear] [Present moment awareness]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
Sutta: SN 35.116: “That whereby one is a conceiver of the world, a perceiver of the world, that is the world.” [Nature of the cosmos] [Proliferation] [Perception]
12. “Could you talk about the difference between experiencing an unpleasant feeling and perpetuating an unpleasant feeling?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Feeling ] [Discernment] [Cessation of Suffering] // [Compassion] [Mindfulness] [Patience] [Suffering]
Simile: Two arrows (SN 36.6).
13. “I live with my 96-year old mother. Her mind is quite good, but her body is ageing and there is pain in both legs. She has a stubborn will to carry on. We have our fights, but get through them quickly. I’m wanting to go to another level to develop patience. Can you comment?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ageing] [Parents] [Pain] [Patience] // [Empathetic joy] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Relinquishment] [Gratitude] [Idealism]
Quote: “Even monks have mothers.”
14. “Even reading scripturally-oriented material can be used as an escape; it’s easier than meditating. I was wondering about the precept on entertainment, beautification and adornment. Can you give some advice on how to interpret this in practical terms?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Learning] [Craving not to become] [Entertainment and adornment] // [Idealism] [Discernment] [Idle chatter] [Spiritual friendship] [Faith] [Media] [Ajahn Soṇa] [Abhayagiri] [Dhamma online] [Ajahn Pasanno]
1. “Do you feel metta is to be developed or do you feel metta is just an outcome of your life and your practice?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Goodwill] [Right Effort] [Conditionality] // [Meditation] [Precepts] [Calming meditation] [Suffering] [Aversion] [Appropriate attention] [Gratitude]
2. “Let’s say there’s someone causing harm and I wish them well-being. But in their mind, the harm they are causing brings them well-being. What kind of well-being am I wishing for them?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Goodwill] [Compassion] [Generosity] // [Divine Abidings]
3. Comment: Coming out of a long-term relationship where someone was killed in an accident after 42 years, the way you presented the disadvantages and advantages of a conventional loving relationship was perhaps a little light on the advantages. [Relationships] [Death] // [Monastic life/Motivation] [Gratitude] [Long-term practice] [Suffering] [Courage]
Response by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Saṅgha] [Saṃsāra] [Spiritual urgency]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Buddha/Biography] [Ageing] [Rebirth] [Treasures]
Reference: AN 4.55: Nakula’s mother and father aspire to see each other in this life and the next.
1. Comment to Ajahn Ñāṇiko: I really appreciate the honest of your sharing. In terms of self-criticism over the years, what brought about any shift was being authentic, but whilst I wanted not to be critical, it was still there. By watching that process and not identifying with it so much, it gradually shifted until I was able to wish myself well more genuinely. [Truth] [Judgementalism] [Long-term practice] [Direct experience] [Not-self] [Goodwill] // [Buddhist identity] [Faith]
Response by Ajahn Ñāṇiko.
4. “I thought to be self-critical was to improve yourself, to know how and where you need to improve yourself. How is being self-critical not good for yourself?” Answered by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Judgementalism] [Right Effort] // [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] [Energy] [Goodwill] [Idealism] [Unwholesome Roots]
Story: Eight months to Enlightenment. [Ajahn Ñāṇiko] [Abhayagiri] [Liberation]
5. Simile: Sculpting different materials requires different tools. This practice is more molding than hammering. [Similes] [Right Effort]
Response by Ajahn Ñāṇiko: Ajahn Amaro used to say, “The beatings won’t stop until morale improves.” At a certain point, you have to decide to stop. [Goodwill] [Ajahn Amaro] [Judgementalism] [Cessation]
3. “My natural tendency is to push the world away and to have the attitude that enjoyment is wrong. I’m working on trying to enjoy life. Do you have any ideas about this?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Craving not to become] [Christianity] [Hinduism] [Ascetic practices] [Happiness] [Skillful qualities] // [Monastic life] [Ajahn Sucitto] [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] [Culture/West]
The Rule of St. Benedict and Ajahn Sucitto’s talk “Fellow Worms.” [Humility]
Story: A BBC interviewer asks King Rama IX about original sin. [Media] [King Rama IX] [Culture/Thailand] [Nature of mind]
Causal processes leading to sāmadhi and dispassion have different starting points, but they all go through delight and happiness. [Conditionality] [Concentration] [Dispassion]
Sutta: Iti 22: “Monks, do not be afraid of puñña.” [Merit] [Fear] [Liberation]
Quote: “The happy mind is easily concentrated.”
4. “There are teachings about different levels of generosity (e.g. AN 7.52). Are there similar teachings about love or attachment?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Generosity] [Goodwill] [Clinging] // [Dhamma] [Desire] [Teaching Dhamma] [Aggregates] [Mindfulness] [Relationships] [Spaciousness]
5. “Is there a sutta about preferring the [forest] to the village, and then the bare earth, becoming more and more simple?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sutta] [Seclusion] [Simplicity] // [Emptiness] [Elements] [Relinquishment] [Generosity] [Goodwill]
Sutta: MN 121: The Lesser Discourse on Emptiness
6. Comment: There are two kinds of desire, chanda (good) and taṇha (bad). [Desire] [Craving] [Pāli]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Goodwill] [Clinging] [Generosity] [Teaching Dhamma]
7. Comment by Rik Center: Words that I haven’t grown up with like skillfulness and wholesomeness have the spectrum to reflect on the different levels of these qualities. [Language] [Culture/West] [Skillful qualities]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
8. “Could you say some more about the process of change?... You can have a big tool kit and apply it with the best of intentions. Sometimes magical things happen, and sometimes nothing happens.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Right Effort] [Conditionality] [Right Intention] [Progress of insight ] // [Goodwill] [Relinquishment] [Ajahn Chah] [Impermanence] [Long-term practice] [Learning] [Dependent origination] [Not-self] [Mindfulness]
9. Question about cultivating goodwill towards a difficult coworker. Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Work] [Goodwill] [Forgiveness] // [Suffering] [Right Effort] [Craving] [Relinquishment] [Kamma]
Comment: Sometimes having metta means leaving the situation. [Association with people of integrity] [Clear comprehension]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 46
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