All stories
59 events, 266 sessions, 641 excerpts, 49:03:47 total duration
Most common topics:
Ajahn Chah
(277)
Ajahn Pasanno
(154)
Abhayagiri
(95)
Wat Pah Pong
(61)
Ajahn Sumedho
(60)
Ajahn Amaro
(57)
Wat Pah Nanachat
(50)
Culture/Thailand
(44)
Tudong
(44)
Sickness
(41)
5. “I recently went to a Zen gathering. My understanding is that they don’t focus on the Four Noble Truths. They try to be present in the moment and get to some sort of no-mind state. How did this arise and why is it considered Buddhism?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Zen] [Four Noble Truths] [Present moment awareness] [History/Mahāyāna Buddhism] // [Emptiness] [Buddha]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno visits a Dzogchen master who says, “Whatever teachings you hear, if they don’t fit into or fulfill the Four Noble Truths, then it’s just not Buddhism.” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Vajrayāna] [Hearing the true Dhamma]
5. “Can you say more about recollection of renunciation? How can this be used skillfully or not?” Answered by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Recollection/Generosity] [Renunciation] [Recollection] // [Contentment] [Self-pity] [Sickness] [Equanimity] [Buddha/Biography] [Fasting] [Devotion to wakefulness] [Lunar observance days] [Abhayagiri]
Recollection: Going without in the early days of Abhayagiri Monastery. [Almsfood]
6. “How do we deal with a world full of view and opinions?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Views ] // [Idealism] [Conditionality] [Impermanence] [Truth]
Story: Sariputta doesn’t approve of a teaching of the Buddha until he puts it into practice himself. Told by Ajahn Chah. [Great disciples] [Teaching Dhamma] [Direct experience] [Faith] [Ajahn Chah]
6. “Is there something called fierce compassion in the Theravāda tradition? If so, how is that different from resentment or anger?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Fierce/direct teaching] [Compassion] [Theravāda] [Ill-will] [Aversion] // [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Suffering] [Teaching Dhamma] [Admonishment/feedback] [Spiritual bypass] [Ajahn Chah]
Story: Ajahn Chah calls newly-arrived Tan Pasanno lazy. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Chanting]
4. “What technique to use to realize the fruits of this practice in this life? What technique is easiest and most effective?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation/Techniques ] [Stages of awakening] // [Ardency] [Energy] [Right Effort] [Learning] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma]
Quote: “I can guarantee that looking for the easiest way is the least effective way.”
Quote: “Practice is one mistake after another.” — Dōgen. [Dōgen]
Story: Someone asks the Dalai Lama, “What is the easiest and quickest way to realize emptiness?” The Dalai Lama cries. [Dalai Lama] [Emptiness] [Fierce/direct teaching]
Sutta: AN 3.137: A teaching of effort.
2. “I would appreciate further explanation of vitakka and vicāra.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Directed thought and evaluation ] // [Translation] [Investigation of states] [Bases of Success] [Desire] [Energy] [Heart/mind] [Calming meditation] [Hindrances] [Happiness]
Recollection: Ajahn Chah’s teachings about vitakka-vicāra. [Ajahn Chah]
3. “Did vibhavatanha arise in any of the monks at the loss of the Buddha? How do we notice vibhavatanha in practice, and what is a wise and compassionate response?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Craving not to become ] [Death] [Grief ] [Sutta] [Buddha/Biography] // [Stream entry] [Stages of awakening] [Recollection/Dhamma] [Three Refuges] [Precepts] [Spiritual friendship] [Devotional practice] [Suffering]
Sutta: DN 16.6.10: Mahāparinibbāna Sutta [Nibbāna]
Story: The funeral of a close Wat Pah Nanachat supporter. [Funerals] [Wat Pah Nanachat]
1. “You have so much community-building experience. Can you talk about what you have found challenging or effective in this? How did Ajahn Chah build community?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Community] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Chah] // [Saṅgha] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Virtue] [Trust] [Communal harmony] [Compassion] [Culture/Thailand] [Ajahn Chah lineage] [Recollection/Saṅgha] [Sequence of training] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Abhayagiri] [Eightfold Path] [Learning]
Sutta: MN 48: Kosambiya Sutta [Principles of Cordiality] [Goodwill] [Generosity] [Right View]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno pays respects to Ajahn Chah: “If you want to stay here, you have to stay at least five years.”
Quote: “The whole path of the Buddha is a path of learning, of education.”
1. Story: In 1995, the Saṅgha in England finally gives permission for a more permanent monastic residence in California. Master Hua offers Ajahn Sumedho 125 acres in Redwood Valley the next day. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Saṅghapāla] [Elders' Council] [Master Hsuan Hua] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Abhayagiri] // [Deva]
2. Story: Ajahn Pasanno offers to help Ajahn Amaro with the California monastery project. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Amaro] [Abhayagiri] // [Chithurst] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Saṅgha decision making]
3. The property next door: “You can either buy it or forget it.” [Abhayagiri] // [Saṅghapāla] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Amaro] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support]
4. Stories: The day before Abhayagiri opened; Ajahn Pasanno moves to Abhayagiri. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Festival days] [Ajahn Amaro] [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Abhayagiri] // [Saṅghapāla] [Wat Pah Nanachat]
5. Story: Abhayagiri’s first kutis. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Lodging] [Abhayagiri] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Building projects]
6. Recollection: Generous contributions in the early days of Abhayagiri. Recounted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Lay supporters] [Generosity] [Abhayagiri] // [Lodging] [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo]
8. Story: The original Abhayagiri Monastery. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Abhayagiri (Sri Lanka)] [History/Sri Lankan Buddhism ] // [Theravāda] [Mahāyāna] [Commentaries] [Study monks] [Conflict] [Royalty] [Stupas/monuments] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Master Hsuan Hua] [Abhayagiri]
Reference: The Path to Freedom (Vimuttimagga), translated by Bhikkhu Ñāṇatusita.
9. Reflection by Ajahn Pasanno: Our warm relationship with the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. [City of Ten Thousand Buddhas ] [Communal harmony] [Abhayagiri] // [Master Hsuan Hua] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Non-contention]
Story: Ajahn Sumedho is invited to teach from Master Hua’s Dhamma seat. [Teaching Dhamma]
Recollection: The first days of Wat Pah Nanachat. [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Pasanno]
10. Story: Ajahn Liem declares that the Abhayagiri’s Reception Hall will last at least 150 years. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Liem] [Building projects] [Lodging] [Abhayagiri]
1. Story: Anagārika Lief requests to become a novice. Told by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Ajahn Ñāṇiko] [Postulants] [Abhayagiri] // [Wat Pah Pong] [Sequence of training] [Lunar observance days] [Ajahn Amaro]
1. Recollection: The idea that Ajahn Pasanno would leave Wat Pah Nanachat never occurred to us. Recounted by Ajahn Sudanto. [Ajahn Sudanto] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Abhayagiri] // [Ajahn Jun] [Funerals] [Upatakh] [Ajahn Yatiko]
2. Recollection: Ajahn Pasanno advices Ajahn Sudanto to stay in Thailand for his navaka training. Recounted by Ajahn Sudanto. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Sudanto] [Sequence of training] [Abhayagiri]
4. Recollection: Abhayagiri looked like a Buddhist trailer park. Recounted by Ajahn Sudanto. [Lodging] [Abhayagiri]
6. Story: Ajahn Pasanno invited Ajahn Sudanto to return to Abhayagiri in 2002, where he spends most of the next 12 years. Told by Ajahn Sudanto. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Sudanto] [Tudong] [Abhayagiri]
Quote: “Twenty-five years on, we’re still building the monastery. It’s a bit like a cathedral project.” [Building projects]
9. Recollection: My first encounter with the Thai Forest Tradition. Recounted by Ajahn Sudanto. [Ajahn Sudanto] [Thai Forest Tradition] // [Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Wat Pah Nanachat]
10. Recollection: “It would be a lot nicer in a forest in America.” Recounted by Ajahn Sudanto. [Culture/Natural environment] [Geography/Thailand] [Abhayagiri] // [Weather] [Temple Monastery]
11. Recollections of early Abhayagiri monks. Recounted by Ajahn Sudanto. [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo] [Ajahn Ñāṇiko] [Abhayagiri] // [Ajahn Sudanto] [Internet]
1. Story: Ajahn Sumedho’s early visits to California. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Abhayagiri] // [Jack Kornfield] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Amaravati]
2. Reflection by Ajahn Amaro: Affinities between the communities of Ajahn Sumedho and Master Hsuan Hua. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Master Hsuan Hua ] // [City of Ten Thousand Buddhas] [Mahāyāna] [Vinaya] [Ascetic practices] [Elders' Council] [Abhayagiri]
Story: Master Hua invites Ajahn Sumedho to help conduct an ordination ceremony at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. [Ordination]
Story: Ajahn Sumedho invites Master Hua to the English monasteries.
3. Story: The formation of Saṅghapāla Foundation in December 1988. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Saṅghapāla] [Abhayagiri] // [Ajahn Sumedho]
4. Story: Ajahn Sumedho visits the Bay Area in 1990 and chooses Ajahn Amaro to lead the California project. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Ajahn Amaro] [Abhayagiri] // [Ajahn Sundarā]
5. Story: Ajahn Amaro leads a series of temporary California vihāras. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Ajahn Amaro] [Abhayagiri] // [Saṅghapāla] [Elders' Council] [Disrobing]
6. Story: In May 1994, the English Saṅgha Trust gives Ajahn Amaro permission to start looking for property in California. Master Hua offers 125 acres of forest in Mendocino County the next day. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Elders' Council] [Ajahn Amaro] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Master Hsuan Hua] [Abhayagiri] [Generosity] // [Amaravati] [Ajahn Viradhammo]
7. Story: Ajahn Amaro visits the Abhayagiri property for the first time. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Ajahn Amaro] [Lodging] [Culture/Natural environment] [Abhayagiri] // [Master Hsuan Hua] [Funerals] [City of Ten Thousand Buddhas] [Debbie Stamp] [Lay supporters] [Simplicity] [Holy Transfiguration Monastery]
8. Story: Buying the property next to the land Master Hua donated. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Saṅghapāla] [Commerce/economics] [Generosity] [Lodging] [Abhayagiri] // [Lay supporters] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Ajahn Amaro]
9. Story: Moving onto the Abhayagiri land. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Lodging] [Abhayagiri] // [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo] [Postulants] [Ajahn Amaro] [Saṅghapāla] [Lay supporters]
10. Story: Ajahn Pasanno’s involvement in the Abhayagiri project. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Abbot] [Abhayagiri] // [Forest versus city monks] [Humility] [Ajahn Amaro] [Personality] [City of Ten Thousand Buddhas] [Hua tou] [Three Conditions Monastery] [Communal harmony]
11. Serendipitous generosity in the early days of Abhayagiri. Recollections by Ajahn Amaro. [Lay supporters] [Generosity] [Abhayagiri] // [Buddha images] [Building projects] [Lodging]
1. Recollection: Evolution of the Wan Phra all-night vigil at Abhayagiri. Recounted by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Lunar observance days] [Devotion to wakefulness] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Abhayagiri] // [Robes] [Pūjā]
2. Story: Ajahn Ñāṇiko’s first all-night sit. Told by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Ajahn Ñāṇiko] [Lunar observance days] [Devotion to wakefulness] [Abhayagiri] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Debbie Stamp] [Pūjā] [Sloth and torpor]
3. Story: Ajahn Pasanno teaches Chi Gong on Wan Phra after the 3 am pūjā. Told by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Chi Gong] [Lunar observance days] [Devotion to wakefulness] [Abhayagiri] // [Ajahn Ñāṇiko] [Health]
4. Recollection: A day building the chedi at Wat Phu Din Dang. Recounted by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Building projects ] [Stupas/monuments] [Work] [Wat Phu Din Dang] // [Ajahn Mahā Suporn] [Ajahn Jayanto] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Ajahn Liem] [Medicinal requisites] [Merit]
6. Recollection: The annual January gathering at Wat Pah Pong. Recounted by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Ajahn Chah Remembrance Day] [Wat Pah Pong] [Abhayagiri] // [Lodging] [Food] [Stupas/monuments] [Communal harmony]
7. Recollection: The Community of Abhayagiri Lay Ministers sets up a food stall at Wat Pah Pong. Recounted by Ajahn Ñāṇiko and Ajahn Pasanno. [CALM Group] [Ajahn Chah Remembrance Day] [Wat Pah Pong] [Food] [Abhayagiri]
8. Reflection by Ajahn Ñāṇiko: Practice doesn’t have to be grim. [Eightfold Path] [Ardency] [Perfectionism] [Abhayagiri] // [Happiness] [Ajahn Ñāṇiko]
Recollection: Old video footage of Abhayagiri. [Mae Chee Sansanee] [Kaṭhina]
10. Recollections of almsround and learning Thai at Wat Pah Nanachat. Recounted by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Almsround] [Ajahn Ñāṇiko] [Learning] [Thai]
Quote: “If you want to learn something, recite it every morning on almsround.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah]
8. “What duty do we have to parents who often act foolishly and use harmful and abusive language?” Answered by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Parents] [Abuse/violence] // [Right Speech]
Story: Ajahn Ñāṇiko’s grandfather vows to treat his children with kindness. [Family] [Goodwill]
10. “What is the illumination that appears during sitting meditation? Is the false or the true? Is it from inside or outside or neither?” Answered by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Suffering] [Questions] [Proliferation]
Refer to the previous question.
Story: Well, I contemplated impermanence and nothing happened. [Impermanence] [Recollection] [Meditation/Results]
5. “Could you speak more about how to prevent feelings from becoming aversion or desire? How does this relate to Dependent Origination?” Answered by Ajahn Amaro. [Feeling] [Aversion] [Craving] [Dependent origination] // [Arahant] [Buddha] [Pain] [Mindfulness] [Birth] [Impermanence] [Happiness] [Direct experience] [Proliferation] [Master Hsuan Hua]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno breaks his pelvis in Thailand. [Ajahn Pasanno]
1. “In reference to the fragrance of the flower....There are many roses in the courtyard across the street....Why do we cultivate beauty? Where does beauty arise from?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Beauty] // [Clinging] [Happiness] [Master Hsuan Hua] [Empathetic joy] [Unconditioned]
Sutta: MN 37: Sabbe dhamma nalam abhinivesaya. (Nothing whatsoever should be clung to.)
Story: Ajahn Pasanno’s mother sends his old letters to Abhayagiri. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Abhayagiri]
Recollection: Ajahn Chah was unshakeable in the midst of all the things that were happening around him and responded warmly and compassionately to the people around him. [Ajahn Chah] [Equanimity] [Compassion] [Family] [Monastic life/Motivation]
1. “Is misery the absence of happiness?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Suffering] [Happiness] // [Language] [Conditionality] [Pāli]
Derivation of dukkha: du = not good or not comfortable; kha = where the axle goes into the wheel.
Story: Driving a car with frozen wheels is dukkha. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Similes]
4. “Am I what I feel? We have a lot of feelings as humans, and then a lot more feelings have come up since COVID. There’s a lot of depression, hurt feelings, regret, death, end of relation and of income, end of status. A lot of us want to know how to work with this or even change these really hard emotional states.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Emotion] [Human] [Self-identity view] [Pandemic] [Grief] // [Suffering] [Spiritual friendship] [Compassion]
Recollection: “Sometimes Ajahn Chah would consciously make things difficult for us....He’s always pointing back to the heart.” [Ajahn Chah] [Fierce/direct teaching] [Heart/mind]
6. “Is there a right speed to silent walking?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Posture/Walking] // [Abhayagiri] [Postures] [Continuity of mindfulness]
Story: Jack Kornfield asks Ajahn Chah, “Whenever you teach walking meditation, you always teach the monks to walk slowly. But whenever you walk meditation, you walk really fast. [Ajahn Chah] [Jack Kornfield] [Teaching Dhamma] [Exercise]
Translations of sampajañña (clear comprehension) and its role in Dhamma practice. [Clear comprehension ] [Translation] [Mindfulness]
7. “How to turn grief of the planet and humankind into creative action?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Grief] [Environment] [Human ] [Activism] // [Generosity] [Gratitude] [Purpose/meaning] [Community] [Aversion]
Quote: “If you think you’ve got to solve the problem completely yourself, that stirs one into inaction.”
Recollection: The nonprofit organization founded by Ajahn Pasanno to protect forests in Thailand is still operating. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Non-profit organizations] [Culture/Thailand]
3. “Is there a time and place for intentionally breathing or using the breath as a means of calming the mind?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Volition] [Calming meditation] [Mindfulness of breathing] // [Tranquility] [Energy]
Sutta: MN 118: Ānāpānasati Sutta.
Recollection: To deal with the restless mind, Ajahn Chah taught to breath in deeply and not breathe out. [Restlessness and worry] [Ajahn Chah]
5. “How does one know the difference between appropriate grieving and honoring the memory of a beloved versus clinging and attachment?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Grief ] [Clinging] // [Cause of Suffering] [Self-identity view] [Spiritual urgency]
Recollection: Grieving for Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Recollection/Saṅgha]
Quote: “It’s that personalization of experience that gets us into trouble over and over again in different ways.” [Suffering]
7. “I’m a mother to four kids, one of whom has special needs. I’m lucky if I can meditate 10-15 minutes a day. Are there practices one can do when one is frequently around little ones?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Children ] [Meditation/General advice] // [Posture/Sitting] [Three Refuges] [Precepts] [Recollection/Virtue] [Recollection/Generosity] [Gladdening the mind] [Mindfulness of body] [Clear comprehension]
Commentary: Path of Purification by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, p. 104: Forty subjects of meditation.
Sri Lankan Buddhists keep a book of good deeds which is read near the time of death. [Culture/Sri Lanka] [Merit] [Death]
Story: Debbie Stamp served as primary caregiver to her father during the pandemic. [Debbie Stamp] [Parents] [Pandemic]
20. “I wake remembering dreams my dreams often and at times in the dream I know that I am dreaming. There are interesting aspects to this, but also at times I find it intense or tiring. Meditation before bed seems to intensify this. Suggestions?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Dreams ] // [Clear comprehension] [Relinquishment] [Mindfulness]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno’s Tibetan doctor insists he needs more sleep. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Health care] [Devotion to wakefulness] [Ageing]
21. “My husband died 10 years ago. There was sadness but also relief that his journey was over and sadness and relief for myself. I can still hear his advice regarding my medications. Is this clinging? He lives in my heart. What do you do with memories and teachings yourself?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Family] [Death] [Grief] [Memory] [Clinging]
Recollection: I still hear Ajahn Chah’s voice. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Chah] [Dreams] [Ajahn Mahā Boowa]
4. “Would you be willing to share memories of Ajahn Chah?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] // [Ajahn Pasanno ] [Temporary ordination] [Personality] [Not-self] [Equanimity]
When asked about the core essence of the Buddha’s teachings, Ajahn Chah replies, “Is this a big stick or a little stick?” [Teaching Dhamma] [Conventions] [Cause of Suffering]
Story: Ajahn Chah pretends to forget simple questions in order to embarrass his translator. [Forest versus city monks] [Media] [Aversion] [Questions] [Translation] [Similes]
Recollection: Ajahn Pasanno writes to his family that he’s staying in Thailand because Ajahn Chah is peaceful, solid, clear, and unshakeable in the midst of all that’s going on around him. [Family] [Tranquility] [Clear comprehension]
3. Recollection of the deaths of key Abhayagiri contributors. Recounted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Death] [Lay supporters] [Abhayagiri] // [Recollection/Death] [Generosity]
5. How I decided to ordain at Abhayagiri. Recollection by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo ] [Monastic life/Motivation] [Abhayagiri] // [Ajahn Amaro] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Wat Pah Nanachat]
6. Story: The first few years of Abhayagiri. Told by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Abhayagiri] // [Ajahn Amaro] [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo ] [Ajahn Visuddhi] [Debbie Stamp] [Lodging] [Ajahn Pasanno]
8. I arrived when Abhayagiri turned five. Recollection by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Ajahn Ñāṇiko ] [Abhayagiri] // [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo] [Ajahn Sudanto] [Ordination] [Debbie Stamp] [Sīladharā]
Recollection: The little house was the beating heart of Abhayagiri. [Lodging] [Ajahn Amaro] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Questions] [Gratitude] [Goodwill]
Quote: “I want to ordain. What do I do?” — Ajahn Ñāṇiko’s first email to the Abhayagiri guestmonk. [Ajahn Achalo] [Idealism]
Story: “Look, I’m not here to make friends. I’m here to practice.” [Spiritual friendship]
Quote: “Don’t think about it too much.” — Ajahn Pasanno to Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Monastic life/Motivation] [Proliferation]
9. Recollection: When I first arrived at Abhayagiri. Recounted by Ajahn Cunda. [Abhayagiri] // [Lodging] [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo] [Wat Metta]
10. Story: Chatting loudly with the windows open. Told by Ajahn Cunda. [Idle chatter] [Abhayagiri] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Admonishment/feedback]
11. Story: Living down the street from Abhayagiri for Winter Retreat 2006. Told by Ajahn Cunda. [Abhayagiri] // [Lodging] [Weather] [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo]
12. Story: What “duly noted” means in English. Told by Ajahn Cunda. [Language] [Abhayagiri] // [Ajahn Amaro]
15. Story: From rough beginnings, J contributes to the Abhayagiri community for six years. Told by Ajahn Cunda. [Lay supporters] [Abhayagiri] // [Food] [Personality] [Death]
16. Abhayagiri history: The people and the places. Recollections by Ajahn Ṭhitapañño. [Abhayagiri] // [Community] [Sharing circles] [Devotion to wakefulness] [Lunar observance days]
1. Story: Ajahn Dune visits Wat Pah Nanachat. His followers ask the young abbot Ajahn Pasanno to give a Dhamma talk. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Ajahn Dune] [Teaching Dhamma] [Nibbāna]
Story: After the talk, someone asks, “What is Nibbāna like?” Ajahn Pasanno responds, “Nibbāna is not like anything.” Ajahn Dune approves. [Similes] [Direct experience]
6. Recollection: Ajahn Chah taught that the precepts are a mirror for the mind to understand the intention behind actions of body, speech, and mind. Recounted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Precepts] [Virtue] [Volition] [Ajahn Chah]
1. “Please tell us where the nuns [attending this event] are from?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Bhikkhunī] // [Aranya Bodhi Hermitage] [Dhammadharini Monastery] [Ayya Tathālokā] [Ajahn Mahā Prasert] [Lodging]
Story: Ajahn Chah tells the early Wat Pah Nanachat monks to clear the underbrush. [Ajahn Chah] [Wat Pah Nanachat]
2. “Any advice for an upāsikā who is able to spend long periods on retreat but finds herself tossed around when at home?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Lay life] [Everyday life] [Meditation retreats] // [Three Refuges] [Spiritual friendship] [Online community]
Story: Ajahn Amaro advises a layman having difficulty with his Theravāda group to practice with Thubten Chodron. [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo] [Ajahn Amaro] [Thubten Chodron] [Vajrayāna]
4. “How did Ajahn Chah speak about non-self and consciousness?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Not-self] [Consciousness] // [Impermanence] [Doctrine-of-self clinging] [Language] [Thai ] [Pāli] [Sense bases] [Unestablished consciousness] [Knowing itself] [Cessation of Suffering]
Quote: “One of the beauties of the Thai language is that it is wonderfully imprecise....it’s a feeling language.” [Thai ] [Proliferation]
Story: George Sharp asks Ajahn Chah why he teaches “Buddho” all the time. Ajahn Chah responds, “Namo viññāṇa dhātu” [Homage to the element of consciousness]. [George Sharp] [Buddho mantra] [Elements]
5. “Can you give some context to the story of Ajahn Chah getting angry and yelling at a monk and then regretting it, practicing with it?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Aversion] // [Unwholesome Roots] [Fierce/direct teaching] [Protocols]
Recollection: Ajahn Chah said that it wasn’t until he took on the responsibility of teaching others that he really gained wisdom. [Teaching Dhamma] [Discernment]
Reference: “Toilets on the Path,” Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 723.
6. “You mentioned that often Ajahn Chah pushed his students through their suffering in order to help them let go. Can you share specific examples of this happening?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Suffering] [Teaching Dhamma] [Relinquishment]
Story: A restless ex-monk asks to reordain. Ajahn Chah says he will keep him as an anagārika for seven years. [Restlessness and worry] [Postulants] [Sequence of training]
Story: After one year, the restless monk asks to go tudong. [Tudong]
7. “You mentioned how much Ajahn Chah emphasized the importance of letting go. As a lay person, how do we do that? And how do we reconcile letting go with being kind to ourselves? For instance, it could be seen as a kindness to oneself to listen to one’s favorite music or eat one’s favorite foods.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Relinquishment] [Lay life] [Compassion] // [Right Effort] [Idealism] [Eight Precepts] [Contentment]
Story: A monk practices letting go by not fixing his roof. [Lodging]
5. Story: A woman asked Ajahn Chah if she would have to give up listening to music to practice Buddhism. Ajahn Chah replied that learning to listen to the peaceful heart would be more pleasurable and satisfying. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Artistic expression] [Tranquility] [Happiness] // [Cessation] [Nature of mind]
Reference: Recollections of Ajahn Chah, p. 52.
Quote: “That quality of being without boundaries can be so peaceful. It’s much more compelling.” [Spaciousness]
Sutta: AN 3.32: “This is peaceful, this is sublime...”
7. Story: When asked to teach about vipassanā, Ajahn Chah instructed practitioners to observe a wilting flower. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Insight meditation ] [Impermanence] // [Thai Forest Tradition] [Liberation] [Manjushri Institute]
1. “What was your experience of Ajahn Chah’s personality and character? What was most inspiring about how he conducted himself?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah ] [Personality] [Personal presence] // [Teaching Dhamma] [Admonishment/feedback] [Not-self] [Equanimity] [Humor]
Quote: “If you tried to create a CV for what a Bodhisattva should be, Luang Por Chah would fit that bill.” [Bodhisattva]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno chose to stay with Ajahn Chah for five years because he aspired to Ajahn Chah’s unshakeability. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Pah Nanachat]
Story: Ajahn Chah gave the farang monks playful Thai names. [Thai] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Ajahn Amaro]
9. “How do we cultivate faith?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Faith ] // [Culture/West] [Sutta] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Buddha images] [Devotional practice] [Recollection/Saṅgha]
Recollection: Ajahn Liem estimates he has built at least 20 monasteries. [Ajahn Liem] [Building projects] [Master Hsu Yun]
11. “Whatever you do, if you do it with care and attention, it takes longer. If I rush, the task would not be done so well. How do we give care and attention in a quick manner?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness] [Clear comprehension] [Time management] // [Right Mindfulness] [Ardency]
Story: A man moves so slowly paying care and attention that he annoys his family. [Family]
Quote: “A good thief is really mindful.” Ajahn Chah [Ajahn Chah]
2. “Something that I’ve noticed is that my wish to translate something differently at one point in my practice changes later when I realize, ‘Hmm…perhaps I’m just trying to get around the point.’ I feel uncomfortable with that translation and then later on realize I have to practice with this one. Does that sometimes happen to you?” Answered by Ajahn Amaro. [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Translation] // [Truth]
Story: Jack Kornfield translates for Ajahn Chah at Insight Meditation Center and puts his own spin on the precepts. Ajahn Chah figures it out. [Jack Kornfield] [Ajahn Chah] [Joseph Kappel] [Insight Meditation Society] [Precepts]
4. Comment: Exploring the different qualities or expressions of Nibbāna, I was comparing them with the Sinhalese language. You said Nibindatti. Bindinava means breaking up in Sinhalese. The second half of Nibbāna is bana. To give an example of what bana means, let’s say you have a truckload of things. Taking the things out, lowering them down and putting them down is bana. So the whole process is emptying out. Contributed by Randula Haththotuwa. [Nibbāna] [Pāli] [Sinhalese] // [Etymology] [Ven. Ananda Maitreya]
Story: Ajahn Anando gives a retreatant his empty coffee cup to wash. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Meditation retreats] [Ajahn Anando]
5. “When Sariputta and Moggallāna died, [the Buddha] expressed almost a sense of grief in the context of the absence from the assembly. I wonder how that fits with the idea of Nibbāna.” Answered by Ajahn Amaro. [Great disciples] [Death] [Buddha/Biography] [Grief] // [Pain] [Suffering] [Emotion] [Tranquility] [Theravāda]
Sutta: SN 47.14: Ukkacelā Sutta: “This assembly appears to me empty now....”
Sutta: SN 36.6: The Arrow.
Story: Ajahn Sumedho’s experience of his mother’s death. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Parents]
1. Story: Reprinting The Enlightened Nuns from the Time of the Buddha by Panadure Vajira Silmatha. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Dhamma books] [Bhikkhunī] [Buddha/Biography] // [Ajahn Candasirī] [Ajahn Amaro] [Artistic expression] [Non-return] [Bodhisattva]
Story: The wanderer Upaka falls in love with Cāpā, marries her, then returns to the Buddha, ordains as a monk, and becomes a non-returner. [Commentaries]
Vinaya: Mahāvagga 1.6: Upaka meets the Buddha.
Sutta: Thig 13.3: Cāpātherīgāthā (Upaka is apparently called Kāḷa here).
Reference: Upaka, The Dictionary of Pāli Proper Names by G P Malalasekera.
Sutta: SN 2.24 mentions Upaka as a non-returner.
1. Comment: I heard that often when Ajahn Buddhadāsa would ist receiving guests he might have a chicken under his arm. And if a mosquito landed on him, he would gently move the chicken towards the mosquito, and that way he wasn’t breaking the Vinaya. [Ajahn Buddhadāsa ] [Animal] [Killing]
Response by Ajahn Amaro: His presence was like sitting in front of a living mountain. [Personal presence]
Story: Ajahn Amaro’s visit to Suan Mokh in 1998. [Wat Suan Mokkh] [Ajahn Amaro] [Ajahn Paññānanda] [Non-identification] [Teaching Dhamma] [Ajahn Santikaro]
3. “How do you tell the difference between genuine insight and conceptual fabrication?” Answered by Ajahn Amaro. [Insight meditation] [Proliferation] // [Cessation of Suffering] [Spiritual friendship] [Suffering] [Lawfulness] [Doubt] [Stream entry] [Self-reliance]
Follow-up: “The fact that it can’t be verified intuitively makes me uncomfortable. I can see how that would lead to delusion of falsity.” [Delusion]
Story: Ajahn Sumedho asks Ajahn Chah whether he [Ajahn Sumedho] is a stream enterer. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Ajahn Chah]
3. “When Luang Por Sumedho talks about resting in awareness in which everything is included, is this connected to the subject part [of non-duality] or is this neither there nor in between (Ud 1.10)?” Answered by Ajahn Amaro. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Knowing itself] [Non-identification] [Equanimity] [Advaita Vedanta] // [Buddhist identity] [Not-self] [Language] [Ajahn Chah] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Unestablished consciousness] [Brahma gods]
Recollection: When Ajahn Amaro first arrived at Wat Pah Nanachat, a monk recommended Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. [Ajahn Amaro] [Zen]
4. “I’ve heard that to become a Buddha one must ask the blessing of an existing Buddha. Is this true?” Answered by Ajahn Amaro. [Previous Buddhas] [Buddha] [Bodhisattva] // [Determination]
Story: The Brahmin Sumedha vows to become a Buddha (found in the Buddhavaṃsa and Jātaka tales).
Follow-up: “This makes it even more surprising that the Buddha doubted to fulfill his role (MN 26.19).” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Amaro. [Buddha/Biography] [Doubt] [Brahma gods] [Teaching Dhamma] [Addiction]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 124: Dhamma talk request.
4. “When you talked about the little girl crying, was she really crying because she was miserable?” Answered by Ajahn Amaro. [Suffering] [Happiness]
Story: A little girl cries because she got what she wanted. [Desire]
3. Story: Ajahn Mahā Boowa argues with Ajahn Mun, then can’t access higher states of concentration. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Ajahn Mahā Boowa ] [Ajahn Mun] [Concentration] // [Conceit] [Insight meditation]
Story: Mae Chee Kaew insisted that meditation connected with [supernatural] beings was the right way; Ajahn Mahā Boowa threw her out. Told by Ajahn Sundarā. [Mae Chee Kaew] [Non-human beings] [Fierce/direct teaching]
3. “Does the Buddha speak about karma in relation to the family we find ourselves in?” Answered by Ajahn Amaro. [Tipiṭaka] [Kamma] [Family] // [Jātaka Tales] [Great disciples] [Rebirth] [Buddha/Biography] [Previous Buddhas] [Ajahn Sumedho]
Sutta: MN 81 Ghaṭīkāra Sutta
Story: An eight-year-old girl remembers being her grandmother’s mother.
4. “I’ve been pondering Ajahn Chah’s phrase, ‘Right but not true; true but not right.’ I’ve never been able to figure our ‘Right but not true....’” Answered by Ajahn Amaro. [Ajahn Chah] [Truth] // [Clear comprehension]
Quote: “You are right in fact but wrong in Dhamma.” — Ajahn Chah. [Dhamma]
Story: Ajahn Sumedho reports Ajahn Buddhadāsa’s different approach to Vinaya to Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Ajahn Buddhadāsa] [Vinaya]
Story: Ajahn Sumedho criticizes an outspoken monk’s loud speech at Paṭimokkha. The monk leaves Wat Pah Pong soon after. [Harsh speech] [Admonishment/feedback]
2. “Does Ajahn Chah’s phrase, ‘Right in fact but wrong in Dhamma,’ imply that there is an objective world of facts and then a world above that which is Dhamma?” Answered by Ajahn Amaro and Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Truth] [Dhamma] // [Etymology] [Conventions] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Harsh speech]
Note: This phrase was discussed during the previous session.
Stories about the Buddha’s disciples who had killed people. [Great disciples] [Killing]
Suttas: MN 86: Aṅgulimāla Sutta; the story of Kuṇḍalakesī (Commentary to Dhp 102-103, Dhamma Verses Commentary translated by E. W. Burlingame and Ānandajoti Bhikkhu, p. 500).
Recollection: The lay disciple Pansak would sometimes show up drunk after work and spend the night under Ajahn Chah’s kuti. Recounted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Lay supporters] [Intoxicants]
Story: The monk Por Suey had been a hit man hired to kill Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah lineage] [Crime] [Wat Pah Nanachat]
5. Story: The parents of a four-year-old wish their child to attain Nibbāna in this life. Told by Ajahn Kaccāna. [Parents] [Nibbāna] [Desire]
Response by Ajahn Amaro. [Happiness]
3. “I don’t have any clear memory of past lives, and I’m happy not to overly speculate about that. But some monks suggested that you need to take on the doctrine of rebirth as part of Right View. Do you have any thoughts about this?” Answered by Ajahn Amaro and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Rebirth ] [Right View] // [Self-reliance] [Ajahn Amaro] [Four Noble Truths] [Ajahn Chah] [Becoming]
Sutta: MN 117.6: Definition of Right View.
Quote: “You don’t have to believe in past lives or future lives in order to be a practicing Buddhist, do you?” — The Dalai Lama. Quoted by Ajahn Amaro. [Dalai Lama] [Buddhist identity]
Story: Ajahn Chah describes the supernatural beings who live at Wat Pah Pong to two sincere Dhamma practitioners, then refuses to answer inquiries about this topic by a group from Bangkok. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Non-human beings] [Wat Pah Pong]
4. “When developing disenchantment and dispassion by seeing the way things are, how do we not go to the extreme of aversion or the craving of unbecoming?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Disenchantment] [Dispassion] [Aversion] [Craving not to become] // [Suffering] [Four Noble Truths]
Story: Ajahn Chah prods Ajahn Pasanno to reflect on suffering. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Pasanno]
1. “Would you say that with the ending of greed, hatred, and delusion that these are eradicated and don’t arise anymore?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Unwholesome Roots] [Cessation] // [Knowledge and vision] [Cause of Suffering] [Buddha] [Arahant]
Follow-up: “We hear sometimes that it arises, but the person isn’t grasping it.”
Comment by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo: This is similar to Ajahn Chah’s declaration, “Yes, I have a lot of anger, but I don’t pick it up.” [Ajahn Chah] [Aversion] [Relinquishment]
Story: Ajahn Chah explains that the many lines in his palm mean that he had lots of suffering. [Suffering] [Ajahn Viradhammo] [Teaching Dhamma] [Discernment]
3. “Typically it seems that Luang Por Sumedho uses more passive language [in regards to abandoning defilements]. Lately I’ve come across teachings from Ajahn Geoff and Ajahn Chah that use much more aggressive language, even ‘go to war with your defilements.’ It seems contradictory to me.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro] [Ajahn Chah] [Language] [Unwholesome Roots] // [Teaching Dhamma] [Culture/West ]
Recollection: A Westerner asks Ajahn Chah why he scolds the Thai monks more than the Western monks. [Monastic life] [Fierce/direct teaching] [Guilt/shame/inadequacy]
Comment by Sister Ñāṇasirī: “In Thailand, we can be extremely lax, so we need a little bit more push.” [Culture/Thailand]
Recollection: Ajahn Chah would rarely speak in personal terms. Instead he tried to get people to reflect on how we can take Dhamma as a refuge. Recounted by Ajahn Kaccāna and Ajahn Pasanno. [Dhamma] [Ajahn Mahā Boowa]
3. “I have the impression that Ajahn Chah concentrated on direct realization and the practice of meditation. He didn’t recommend reading too much, but instead reading our mind. You mentioned the 37 faculties/tools to purify our mind. For a lay person, this is a long study. Is it enough for us as laypeople to just have the practice of being here now?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Meditation] [Aids to Awakening] [Lay life] [Present moment awareness] // [Paul Breiter] [Four Noble Truths] [Right View] [Faith] [Learning]
Quote: “There needs to be a catalyst. We have to challenge the mind. That’s where the structure of the teachings is important.” [Teaching Dhamma] [Delusion]
Follow-up: “If we practice meditation, does understanding come naturally?” [Discernment]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Liberation] [Spiritual friendship] [Appropriate attention] [Tranquility] [Relinquishment]
Story: Ajahn Sumedho spends his first year as a monk in solitary meditation reading only Word of the Buddha by Venerable Ñāṇatiloka. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Monastic life]
Follow-up: “Having kids is a big structure.” [Children]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.