Part of key topic Meditation Practices
3. “Could you please explain about the death process…how quickly does rebirth occur?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Death ] [Rebirth] // [Recollection/Death] [Delusion] [Self-identity view] [Recollection] [Impermanence] [Not-self] [Theravāda] [History/Early Buddhism] [Sutta] [Vajrayāna] [Clinging] [Culture/Thailand] [Chanting] [Goodwill] [Relinquishment] [Ceremony/ritual] [Kamma]
References: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 55: Five Recollections; Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 12: The body is impermanent... [Craving]
Simile: Fire blown by the wind (SN 44.9: Kutūhalasālā Sutta) [Similes]
Story: A former monk asks Ajahn Chah about working with dying people to give them the opportunity for wholesome rebirth. [Ajahn Chah] [Teachers] [Fierce/direct teaching]
Quote: “I practice dying.” — The Dalai Lama. [Dalai Lama]
14. “What are the primary distinctions between Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Theravāda] [Mahāyāna] [Vajrayāna] [Spiritual traditions ] // [Dalai Lama] [Chanting] [Pāli] [History/Mahāyāna Buddhism] [Bodhisattva] [Ceremony/ritual] [History/Thai Buddhism]
1. “How can one enjoy meditation when one’s knees are on fire?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation] [Happiness] [Pain ] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Posture/Sitting] [Body/form] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Visualization] [Discernment]
Story: The monks at Winchester Cathedral used props during long chanting sessions. [Christianity] [Posture/Standing] [Chanting]
10. “I keep getting overwhelmed by a variety of intense and unpleasant bodily sensations. I have been trying to keep my focus on more neutral places in the body, but I still find that keeping the concentration anywhere in the body amplifies the unpleasant feelings, and I can’t settle into a place of ease.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Pain] [Mindfulness of body] [Neutral feeling] // [Aversion] [Restlessness and worry] [Fear] [Self-identity view] [Body/form] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Posture/Walking] [Chanting] [Goodwill]
Quote: “The energy we invest in it is where the suffering actually lies. In the end, a body is just a body.” [Suffering]
19. “Lately I’ve got more involved in fighting for social justice, especially with the Occupied Movement. It seems important in light of how messed up or system is. However, I’m finding it very difficult to keep any mindfulness or peace of mind, especially when menaced by police. Any suggestions?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Activism ] [Politics and society] [Mindfulness] [Tranquility]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Amaro lead meditation at the Occupy Wall Street demonstration in London. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Amaro] [Meditation] [Chanting]
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]
19. “Are there any times or situations where formal practice is not particularly helpful? If so, please explain why and then some alternative practices.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation/General advice] [Meditation ] // [Spiritual friendship] [Posture/Walking] [Chanting] [Culture/West] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Cleanliness] [Restlessness and worry]
Quote: “For some mental illnesses, you really want to be very careful.” [Mental illness]
3. “Was there a time in Thai history when meditation was a routine part of childhood education?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [History/Thai Buddhism] [Children] [Education] [Meditation] // [Three Refuges] [Chanting] [Right View]
Reflection: Ajahn Liem’s mother and sister were nuns with similar demeanor. [Ajahn Liem] [Family] [Mae Chee] [Wat Pah Pong] [Personality]
4. “Could you speak a little about the structure of the Pāli Canon? How much was written down in the Buddha’s time?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Tipiṭaka ] [History/Early Buddhism ] [Dhamma books] // [Culture/India] [Memory] [Chanting] [Vinaya] [Sutta] [Abhidhamma]
9. “Can you say more about trusting the seeds of meditation practice after Alzheimer’s/dementia kick in? What do you mean by going beyond liberation or consciousness? What do you mean by ‘many deeper layers’ are affected by the practice and the fruits of it will express naturally?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sickness ] [Consciousness] [Long-term practice] // [Happiness] [Proliferation] [Relinquishment] [Self-identity view]
Story: A monk with psychic abilities investigates Ajahn Chah’s mind after Ajahn Chah loses his mental faculties. [Ajahn Chah] [Psychic powers]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno brings the Wat Pah Nanachat community to Ajahn Chah’s nursing kuti to chant verses including Dependent Origination. [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Chanting] [Dependent origination]
Quote: “The fruits of practice arise through the simple quality of being the one who knows, taking the Buddha as refuge.” [Knowing itself] [Buddha] [Three Refuges]
1. “How does your relic puja work for you?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Relics] [Pūjā] [Prayer] [Devotional practice ] // [Respect] [Chanting]
Reference: “Great Chant of Universal Blessings,” Bhikkhu Manual, p. 135.
2. “In Thailand, dāna (generosity) usually means giving food to a monk. But is dāna more of a mindset?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Generosity] [Culture/Thailand] [Monastic life] // [Chanting] [Upatakh] [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Chah] [Cleanliness]
7. “Have you done much memorization practice?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Learning] // [Eightfold Path] [Pāli] [Right Mindfulness] [Chanting] [Energy]
10. “Did you mention what the transcendent truth of the Saṅgha was?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Saṅgha] [Truth] [Three Refuges] // [Eightfold Path] [Stages of awakening] [Conventions] [Chanting] [Recollection/Saṅgha]
12. “What can you offer dying people who didn’t have the opportunity to engage in Buddhist practice?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Death] [Compassion] // [Listening] [Patience] [Tranquility] [Equanimity] [Fear] [Right Speech] [Chanting]
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]
3. “Can you please speak to the difference in beginning metta meditation with self as opposed to beginning with an external object or person? I often feel depleted when directing outwards.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Goodwill] // [Chanting] [Compassion] [Politics and society] [Spaciousness]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 41: “May I abide in well-being.”
1. Comment: I listen to the talks and read the books, and everything is so logical and rational, but I’m still stuck in habitual patterns of living. [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Dhamma books] [Everyday life] [Habits ]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Association with people of integrity] [Community] [Monasteries] [Lunar observance days] [Online community] [Chanting] [Spiritual friendship] [Impermanence] [Monastic life/Motivation] [Generosity]
Quote: “When you’re living with a group of people, not everybody is depressed and lazy and fed up at the same time.” [Unwholesome Roots]
Sutta: SN 55.5 Sāriputta [Factors for stream entry]
2. “You mentioned more of the physical remedies to reduce drowsiness, but if there is mental fatigue or lack of joy, how could we bring up more energy?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Sloth and torpor] [Energy] // [Investigation of states] [Recollection] [Chanting] [Posture/Walking] [Clear comprehension] [Culture/West]
4. “So in contemplation there is still mental movement, but not the translation of that movement into words?” Answered by Ajahn Amaro. [Insight meditation] [Directed thought and evaluation] // [Clear comprehension] [Perception] [Chanting] [Lawfulness]
Sutta: SN 1.1.
4. “What advice would you give to future abbots and teachers of Wat Pah Pong branch monasteries so that the communities maintain the most important characteristics of Ajahn Chah’s style of leadership?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Abbot] [Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Saṅgha] [Leadership ] [Ajahn Chah] // [Dhamma] [Vinaya] [Chanting] [Translation]
Sutta: DN 16.6: Dhamma-Vinaya is your leader.
Quote: “Ajahn Chah was conservative, but he wasn’t fundamentalist.” [Monastic life]
Story: The Dalai Lama asks the Abhayagiri monks to chant the Maṅgala Sutta (Snp 2.4, Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 46) in Pāli. [Dalai Lama] [Chanting] [Pāli]
Story: Ajahn Chah was one of the first forest monks to ban smoking in the monastery. [Smoking] [Lunar observance days]
Recollection: Ajahn Chah was unique in consulting with senior monks and laypeople when making decisions. [Saṅgha decision making]