Subtag: Free distribution
11. “As wild and woolly as some of my experiences have been in the practice, I was wondering if there’s a place for wilder-ness along the path? What is crazy wisdom?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Unwholesome Roots] [Spiritual traditions] [Conventions]
Recollection: Some people thought Ajahn Tongrat was crazy. [Ajahn Tongrat]
Reference: Ajahn Utane’s biography of Ajahn Tongrat. Ajahn Mudito translated this into Portuguese in 2019, and there is a machine translation from the Portuguese. [Dhamma books]
Story: Ajahn Tongrat dies on the Dhamma seat. [Death] [Teaching Dhamma]
19. “What to do when the meditation practice seems dry and barren, a tedious, joyless exercise?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation] [Attitude] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Recollection/Saṅgha] [Dhamma books] [Ajahn Chah] [Stories]
Story: Ajahn Chah tries to make the practice even by walking for two hours, sitting for two hours, lying for two hours, and standing for two hours (Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 29). [Postures]
20. “Can you please tell us about dreams? Do they reveal our defilements? Do you have any interesting dream stories?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Dreams] [Unwholesome Roots] [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Culture/Thailand]
Story: Two Western monks ask Ajahn Chah at what point he became confident that he would have a major realization. Ajahn Chah describes three dreams in response. [Ajahn Chah] [Dhamma books] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Culture/West]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 111-113.
1. “Where was this Dhamma talk given?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Mahā Amorn] [Dhamma books] [Study monks]
3. “When Luang Ta Mahā Boowa says he’s looking for a sign or vision, what does he mean by that?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Nimitta] [Deva] // [Culture/Thailand] [Culture/West] [Dreams] [Determination]
Story: Ajahn Tiradhammo asks Ajahn Chah what event convinced him that he was on the path to liberation. [Ajahn Tiradhammo] [Ajahn Chah] [Dhamma books] [History/Thai Buddhism] [Liberation]
7. “What do monks do with [Pāli study levels]?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Education] [Pāli] [Culture/Thailand] [Study monks ] // [P. A. Payutto]
Story: Tan Chao Khun Prayoon Dhammacitto, the head of the Buddhist University in Bangkok, visits Wat Pah Nanachat. [Chao Khun Prayoon] [Learning] [Thai sects] [Wat Pah Nanachat]
Story: Ajahn Mahā Adisak, a ninth-degree Pāli scholar, spends a year at Amaravati. [Ajahn Mahā Adisak] [Amaravati] [Ajahn Sumedho]
Story: He found it difficult to translate Ajahn Amaro’s teachings to Westerners into Thai. [Ajahn Amaro] [Culture/West] [Translation] [Dhamma books]
13. “What happened to Ajahn Puriso?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Puriso] [Disrobing] // [Translation] [Dhamma books] [P. A. Payutto]
5. “Was there much contact between Thailand, Burma, and Sri Lanka at the time of Ajahn Mun?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [History/Thai Buddhism] [History/Sri Lankan Buddhism] [History/Other Theravāda traditions] [Ajahn Mun] [Thai Forest Tradition] // [Language] [Dhamma books]
22. “Ajahn Mun’s biography describes a constant fierce vigilance, watching the mind. But meeting you guys, you’re so peaceful and calm. How does this work in terms of practice?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Mun] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Right Effort] [Tranquility] // [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Culture/Thailand] [Dhamma books] [Teaching Dhamma]
Quote: “Any great teacher is not monochromatic.” [Buddha] [Arahant]
Sutta: AN 4.243: “But Ānanda, when has Anuruddha ever concerned himself with disciplinary issues in the midst of the Saṅgha?” [Great disciples] [Personality]
9. “The Dalai Lama is the iconic image of Buddhism in the West, but the Theravāda lineage is not much out there. How do you spread the word?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Dalai Lama] [Culture/West] [Theravāda] [Buddhist identity] // [Perfections] [Rebirth] [Advertizing] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Abhayagiri] [Dhamma books] [Generosity] [Virtue]
13. “Please speak a little about kataññu.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Gratitude ] // [Human] [Pāli] [Merit]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 33: Verses of Sharing and Aspiration
Story: Ajahn Liem gives Abhayagiri a handwritten essay about gratitude. [Ajahn Liem] [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Chah] [Personality] [Generosity] [Abhayagiri] [Asking forgiveness ceremony] [Dhamma books]
Reference: English translation: Gratitude by Ajahn Chah Saṅgha, p. 9.
14. “This retreat has greatly reinforced my gratitude for this birth and for my ability to practice the Dhamma. Especially as I am ageing, I feel more of an urgency to awaken. Unfortunately, I live in a small town on the central coast, and there are no Buddhist centers within hundreds of miles. How can I continue to deepen my practice in the absence of a living teacher?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Gratitude] [Spiritual urgency] [Long-term practice] [Teachers] // [Dhamma online] [Abhayagiri] [Dhamma books] [Monastic routine] [Meditation groups] [Lunar observance days]
12. “Have you ever put a publication together on the retreat questions? Are the talks of this retreat being recorded?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation retreats] [Questions] [Dhamma recordings] // [Internet] [Dhamma books]
Reference: Abundant, Exalted, Immeasurable by Ajahn Pasanno transcribes the talks and questions from the 2008 Metta Retreat.
1. “Did Ajahn Sumedho have a period when he was more influenced by Zen teachings?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Zen] // [Dhamma books] [Master Hsu Yun]
Reference: Ch’an and Zen Teachings by Charles Luk (commercial).
Reference: Word of the Buddha by Venerable Ñāṇatiloka.
Reference: The Four Noble Truths by Ajahn Sumedho.
10. “What is a good balance between listening to Dhamma and practicing more deeply? How long should one keep one’s practices, and when to expand or shrink them?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Hearing the true Dhamma ] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma ] [Determination ] [Dhamma online] // [Four Noble Truths] [Direct experience] [Ajahn Chah] [Dhamma books] [Mindfulness of mind] [Learning]
9. “Can Ajahn Pasanno teach us how Ajahn Chah teaches or gives techniques on physical states and mental states? Can you tell us more about Ajahn Chah’s biography, for example, when and how Ajahn Chah wanted to become a monk?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Body/form] [Heart/mind] // [Christianity] [Conditionality]
Recollection: Ajahn Chah engaged in conversation with the villagers before the meal to reveal the junior monks’ desires around food. [Idle chatter] [Food] [Sensual desire]
Advice from Ajahn Chah: “Don’t admonish anybody before the meal.” [Admonishment/feedback]
Update about the progress on the new Ajahn Chah biography. [Dhamma books] [Ajahn Jayasaro] [Ajahn Kovilo]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro
Story: Nine year old Ajahn Chah goes to the monastery after getting fed up with household chores. [Culture/Thailand] [Geography/Thailand] [Faith] [Monasteries] [Family] [Work]
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]
2. “I lead two Zoom sessions a week and am running out of material. Can you suggest guided meditations from this tradition?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Teaching Dhamma] // [Trust] [Dhamma books] [Amaravati] [Self-reliance]
4. “You talk about coming from the meditation monastery where you ordained to Ajahn Chah’s [monastery] and seeing the beauty of the interaction between the laypeople and the monastics. What is your vision of a healthy monastery and by extension, a healthy monk? People come to a monastery with a very high ideal that a monastery should be just meditation ...” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Phleng Vipassanā] [Wat Pah Pong] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Monastic life] [Idealism] [Travel] // [Learning] [Dhamma books]
3. “Is there a difference between citta and poo roo?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Amaro. [Heart/mind ] [Knowing itself] [Nature of mind] // [Thai] [Language] [Proliferation] [Dhamma] [Buddha] [Ajahn Amaro] [Dhamma books]
Quote: “If there’s anything left, just throw it to the dogs.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Ajahn Amaro. [Ajahn Chah] [Relinquishment]