{70} “Why is discernment a better word for wisdom?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Discernment ] [Translation] // [Pāli] [Etymology]
The Whole of the Path [2013], Session 1, Excerpt 3
{90} “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]
The Path of Practice [2019], Session 1, Excerpt 5
{130} “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. [Discernment ] [Concentration]
4.1. Teaching by Ajahn Chah: Maintain mindfulness throughout the day and night. Read by Kittisaro. [Continuity of mindfulness ] [Ajahn Chah] // [Mindfulness] [Postures] [Clear comprehension] [Discernment]
4.2. Quote: “There’s just suffering arising and passing away.” — Ajahn Chah. Read by Kittisaro. [Suffering] [Impermanence ] [Ajahn Chah] // [Mindfulness] [Clear comprehension] [Discernment] [Birth] [Death] [Continuity of mindfulness]
4.4. Quote: “This is the nature of enlightenment. It’s the extinguishing of fire, the cooling of that which was hot. This is peace. This is the end of saṃsāra, the cycle of birth and death.” — Ajahn Chah. Read by Kittisaro. [Liberation ] [Nibbāna ] [Similes] [Cessation] [Ajahn Chah] [Saṃsāra] // [Dispassion] [Discernment] [Relinquishment] [Delusion] [Unwholesome Roots] [Happiness] [Unconditioned]
3. Quote: “The language of wisdom is the language of the heart.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Ajahn Jitindriyā. [Ajahn Chah] [Language] [Discernment] [Mindfulness] // [Liberation] [Spiritual search] [Monastic life/Motivation]
5. Story: “Sleep is delicious.” Told by Ajahn Jitindriyā. [Ajahn Amaro] [Sloth and torpor] [Ajahn Chah] // [Fear] [Discernment]
7. Quote: “I never lived with him, so I never got the chance to get disillusioned with him.” — Ajahn Jitindriyā. [Discernment] [Teachers] [Ajahn Chah] // [Teaching Dhamma] [Clinging]
2. The inspiration of Ajahn Chah. Teaching by Ajahn Sumedho. [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [Mahatma Gandhi] [Discernment] [Humility] [Goodwill] [Mentoring] [Faith] [Learning]
7. How would Ajahn Chah fare in England? Teaching by Ajahn Sumedho. [History/Western Buddhist monasticism] [Culture/West] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [Respect for elders] [Culture/Thailand] [Vinaya] [Discernment] [Pace of life]
Story: An emergency landing in Rome. [Fear] [Sensual desire]
Story: Ajahn Chah was threatened while walking almsround in London. [Almsround] [Dhamma]
8. Ajahn Chah made me look at myself. Teaching by Ajahn Sumedho. [Teaching Dhamma] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho ] // [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Posture/Sitting] [Pain] [Aversion] [Admonishment/feedback] [Humor] [Patience] [Goodwill] [Discernment] [Contentment] [Cessation] [Happiness] [Saṅgha] [Views] [Relinquishment]
Quote: “Your practice now is patience.” — Ajahn Chah.
Story: Ajahn Chah chats for hours after Pāṭimokkha. [Idle chatter] [Judgementalism]
1. Reading: “Meditation” from Living Dhamma by Ajahn Chah, pp. 50-53. Read by Ajahn Jitindriyā. [Meditation ]
“Cultivate the tree right from the seed.” [Similes] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma]
“To practice in a way that’s peaceful means to place the mind neither too high or too low, but at the point of balance.” [Middle Path] [Ajahn Chah]
“So many teachers, so many teachings.” [Teachers] [Doubt] [Meditation/Techniques]
“Where there is knowing, there is no need to think.” [Knowing itself] [Directed thought and evaluation] [Tranquility] [Mindfulness ] [Discernment] [Proliferation]
“Resolve that right now is the time for training the mind and nothing else.” [Ardency] [Meditation ] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Body scanning] [Relinquishment] [Sense restraint]
“Sometimes there may be doubt, so you must have sati, to be the one who knows, continually following and examining the agitated mind.” [Mindfulness ] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Restlessness and worry] [Heedfulness] [Concentration] [Feeling]
Simile: Chicken in a coop.
9. Story: Ajahn Chah visits the Chithurst community and asks, “Is the community getting on well?” – “Yes.” – “Well there’s not going to be much wisdom here then, is there?” Told by Ṭhānissarā. [Chithurst] [Saṅgha] [Communal harmony] [Discernment] [Ajahn Chah] // [Ajahn Sumedho]
10. Story: Applying Ajahn Chah’s teachings to lay life in South Africa. Told by Ṭhānissarā. [Lay life] [Ajahn Chah] // [Monastic life] [Abuse/violence] [Self-reliance] [Discernment] [Compassion] [Spaciousness] [Liberation]
How would Ajahn Chah have responded to issues like feminism, democracy, engaged Buddhism, interfaith, and materialism that we’ve had to meet? [Women in Buddhism] [Politics and society] [Spiritual traditions] [Greed]
4. Recollection: Ajahn Toon’s teachings about the causes of happiness. Recounted by Ajahn Mahā Prasert. [Ajahn Toon] [Happiness] [Conditionality] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Mahā Prasert] // [Wat Tam Saeng Pet] [Vinaya] [Devotion to wakefulness] [Chanting] [Almsround] [Concentration] [Mindfulness] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Discernment]
17. Quote: “Look at others 10% of the time and look at yourself 90%; that’s about the right measure.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Jack Kornfield. [Ajahn Chah] [Judgementalism ] [Admonishment/feedback] [Discernment] // [Idealism] [Conventions] [Heart/mind] [Vinaya]
Story: Ajahn Chah’s teacher eats sloppily. [Teachers] [Food] [Suffering]
22. What is your place of suffering? What would the Buddha be like in the face of that? Reflection by Jack Kornfield. [Suffering] [Buddha] [Ajahn Chah] // [Relinquishment] [Truth] [Dignity] [Discernment] [Mindfulness of body] [Compassion] [Liberation]
23. What does not suffering mean? Reflection by Jack Kornfield. [Suffering] [Cessation of Suffering] [Ajahn Chah] // [Judgementalism] [Politics and society] [Discrimination] [Environment] [Discernment] [Compassion] [Human] [Buddha] [Proliferation] [Relinquishment]
Quote: “We human beings are constantly in combat, at war to escape the fact of being limited by so many circumstances that we can’t control...”” — Ajahn Chah. [Conflict] [Characteristics of existence]
Quote: “Doubts are natural.” — Ajahn Chah. [Doubt] [Naturalness] [Impermanence] [Not-self] [Liberation]
Quote: “The desire mind is like children.” — Ajahn Chah. [Desire] [Similes]
Story: “Scary ride, wasn’t it?” [Jack Kornfield] [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Fear] [Death]
5. Quote: “If I’ve developed any wisdom, it’s because I had such gigantic defilements.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Ajahn Amaro. [Ajahn Chah] [Discernment] [Unwholesome Roots] // [Hindrances ] [Restlessness and worry] [Aversion] [Doubt] [Sensual desire]
6. Story: Ajahn Chah vows not to look at a woman for the duration of the Rains Retreat. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Determination] [Sensual desire] [Sense restraint] [Rains retreat] [Ajahn Chah] // [Discernment]
1. Reviewing our meditation habits and the purpose of meditation. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation] [Discernment] // [Equanimity] [Knowledge and vision] [Liberation]
2. Attending to what we feel obstructed by nourishes ill-will. (SN 46.51) Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ill-will] [Hindrances] // [Divine Abidings] [Discernment]
Story: A monk with an aversive temperament worsens it with repeated asuba and death contemplation. [Aversion] [Unattractiveness] [Recollection/Death] [Idealism] [Goodwill]
1. Meditation instruction: Be present with the physical experience of the breath. Bring a sense of ease into the body. Ground awareness in the body. Offered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of body]
Quote: Keeping the breath in mind is like getting the spoon into the mouth and the mouth onto the spoon. — Ajahn Lee Dhammadharo. [Ajahn Lee Dhammadharo] [Similes]
Story: “The body understands!” [Direct experience] [Zen] [Koan] [Ajahn Pasanno]
Body and mind are not separate things. [Body/form] [Heart/mind] [Aggregates ] [Dependent origination] [Consciousness]
Water similes for the mind with and without hindrances. (SN 46.55) [Hindrances] [Sensual desire] [Ill-will] [Sloth and torpor] [Restlessness and worry] [Doubt]
Sutta: DN 2.98: “These are shoals of fish...”
Quote: “You can get a lot of wisdom from walking meditation.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Posture/Walking] [Discernment]
2. “Can you speak a little about samatha/vipassana and explain the difference between serenity and equanimity?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Calming meditation] [Insight meditation] [Equanimity] // [Commentaries] [Ajahn Chah] [Relinquishment] [Liberation] [Concentration] [Divine Abidings] [Factors of Awakening] [Discernment]
Quote: “Samatha-vipassanā is like a green mango and a ripe mango. Same mango.” — Ajahn Chah. [Similes]
6. “When there is a lot of pain in the body, it is difficult to maintain ‘right effort,’ yet sometimes through patient endurance the pain lessens or dissipates. Could you speak about right effort and the connection between right effort and samadhi?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Pain ] [Right Effort] [Patience] [Concentration] // [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities] [Fear] [Aversion] [Discernment] [Naturalness]
Recollection: Ajahn Pasanno learned from pain and illness in his early monastic life. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Sickness] [Monastic life]
8. “I’m not sure in the context of this retreat when to be resting simply with the four foundations of mindfulness and when to be reciting metta phrases. Can you please advise as to how/when to skillfully move from one practice to the other?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Right Mindfulness] [Goodwill] [Mantra] // [Emotion] [Sloth and torpor] [Mindfulness of body] [Calming meditation] [Discernment]
Sutta: MN 19: Dvedhāvitakka Sutta [Directed thought and evaluation] [Skillful qualities]
9. “What is the difference between awareness and consciousness?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Knowing itself] [Consciousness] // [Aggregates] [Sense bases] [Volitional formations] [Volition] [Conditionality] [Discernment]
1. “In the palm reader story, you mentioned that Ajahn Chah still had a lot of anger, but he chose not to act from it. So does this mean that if there was a troublesome monk, Ajahn Chah would still experience a flare of anger but have the wisdom to set it aside and consider what to do with a cool head? This sounds similar to something Ram Das said about his practice....” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Aversion ] [Discernment] [Ram Dass] [Unwholesome Roots] // [Personality] [Kamma]
Story: Ajahn Jayasaro is massaging Ajahn Chah’s feet when a monk undergoing a disciplinary procedure walks by. [Ajahn Jayasaro] [Vinaya] [Fierce/direct teaching] [Emotion]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno observes Ajahn Mahā Boowa’s fierce behavior. [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Arahant] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Rapture] [Goodwill]
Quote: “You never quite knew...you were always very careful around [Ajahn Chah] because you never knew which side was going to come out. It wasn’t as if he was just playing with you, but he always responded to the situation or the person.” [Heedlessness] [Personal presence] [Teaching Dhamma]
3. “Reflecting on your 35 years in robes, do you have any strong lessons that stand out?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Monastic life] [Long-term practice] [Discernment] // [Patience ] [Ajahn Chah] [Virtue] [Meditation retreats]
Quote: “Oftentimes we don’t really recognize the goodness that we’re doing.” [Perfectionism] [Judgementalism]
Quote: “Patience isn’t just enduring. It’s being able to be present with experience.” [Direct experience] [Present moment awareness]
12. “The near enemy to equanimity is aloofness. Can you offer clues on how to differentiate between these in oneself?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Equanimity ] [Discernment] // [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities] [Aversion] [Present moment awareness]
Quote: “Tuning into kusala/akusala sorts things out really quickly.” [Discernment]
Sutta: AN 3.65: Kālāma Sutta
12. Reading from the draft biography: Ajahn Mun’s character and legacy. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Mun ] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Ajahn Chah] // [Culture/Thailand] [Perception of a samaṇa] [Great disciples] [Ascetic practices] [Rains retreat] [Almsround] [Psychic powers] [Discernment] [Liberation] [History/Thai Buddhism]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 52
Story: Ajahn Mun disappears after being appointed abbot. [Abbot] [Seclusion]
1. Guided meditation: Resolve right now is the time for training the mind and nothing else. From “The Key to Liberation” by Ajahn Chah. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Calming meditation] [Proliferation] [Determination] [Ajahn Chah] // [Mindfulness] [Discernment] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Body scanning] [Relinquishment] [Unification] [Restlessness and worry] [Concentration] [Present moment awareness] [Clear comprehension] [Impermanence] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Sense restraint]
Quote: “Sitting and walking meditation are in essence the same, differing only in the posture used.” [Posture/Sitting] [Posture/Walking]
Simile: Chicken in a coop. [Similes]
Simile: Mindfulness, clear comprehension, and wisdom are like three workers lifting heavy planks. [Discernment]
15. “Some say that a fully liberated person must avoid society because they are so fully selfless that even if asked to give away their eye, they would do it, unconcerned for their own life. How would you respond to such an assumption?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Liberation] [Everyday life] [Generosity] // [Discernment]
18. “Questions and concerns are arising incessantly about my relationship with my partner. When it comes to important choices in life, how can one discern between a creditable intuitive sense and habitual patterns of restlessness and fear?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Relationships] [Intuition] [Discernment] [Restlessness and worry] [Fear] // [Hindrances] [Right Speech] [Trust]
4. “Right Effort seems to be about substituting wholesome mind states for unwholesome mind states. This seems much more involved and intentional than merely knowing and letting go. How do these things go together?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Right Effort ] [Volition] [Mindfulness] [Relinquishment] // [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities] [Discernment] [Intuition] [Consciousness] [Volitional formations]
6. “What does deeping the practice mean? This inner sense of expansion and one-pointedness at the same time feels non-directional, and yet there are different spaces available to us.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Spaciousness] [Unification] // [Discernment] [Faith]
2. “As followers of the Buddha and with the world going to the hell realms in a handbasket, must we save the world? May we use our lives to develop wisdom and compassion and see what flows from there?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Buddhist identity] [Politics and society] [Discernment] [Compassion]
20. “I could use some practical tips from the Buddhist perspective on decision making. When faced with a decision, I tend to get overwhelmed and freeze up. This can be with big life decisions and even with what meditation object to use. I feel like I have so many choices; this feels like a blessing and a curse.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Everyday life] [Doubt] [Discernment] // [Culture/West] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Mindfulness of body]
3. Comment: Living on faith increases your potential anxiety level. I came to Buddhism thinking this would settle my life, but I realize that being open, aware, and sensitive to the world keeps bringing me new challenges. [Faith] [Restlessness and worry] [Everyday life] [Conscience and prudence] [Tudong]
Sutta: Dhp 244-245: Life is easy for for one without shame. [Conceit] [Virtue]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno: “You get more than what you bargained for.” [Happiness] [Culture/West] [Communal harmony] [Trust] [Concentration] [Ardency] [Energy] [Discernment] [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] [Right Effort]
Sutta: AN 11.1: Virtue leads to non-remorse and samādhi.
5. “If sati or mindfulness is the cage, what is the use of samatha?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Similes] [Mindfulness] [Calming meditation] [Concentration] [Unwholesome Roots] // [Tranquility] [Discernment] [Relinquishment]
10. “For Lent, I practiced metta every day for six weeks for a person who I was very angry at. By the end of Lent, I was even more angry. Could you speak to this?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Goodwill] [Aversion] [Christianity] // [Right Effort] [Discernment] [Unwholesome Roots] [Relinquishment] [Self-identity view] [Clinging]
Quote: “If the kilesa (defilements) come at you high, then you duck, and if they come at you low, then you jump over them.” — Ajahn Tongrat. [Ajahn Tongrat] [Discernment]
10. Quote: “It all comes back to that simple quality of mindfulness. From the mindfulness, then the different qualities of practice that we need to rely on are cultivated.” — Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness ] [Faculties] [Tudong] // [Concentration ] [Thai] [Translation] [Discernment] [Perfections]
Reflection: In Thai, samādhi is translated as “the firm establishing of the mind.” [Concentration ]
Quote: “The base and foundation is the mindfulness. Being the knowing is always the foundation, and then the mind is able to become still, become settled, become steady.” [Knowing itself] [Concentration ]
Recollection: “It’s rare that Ajahn Chah would use [the Pāli term] pañña on its own. More often than not, he would use satipañña, which is mindfulness and wisdom together.” [Ajahn Chah] [Pāli] [Discernment]
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]
2. “Thank you for this morning’s talk on the recollections and faith. Could you elaborate on your point about faith and anāgamī? Has anyone been fully liberated through faith?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Faith] [Non-return] [Liberation] // [Discernment] [Energy] [Faculties] [The New Yorker] [Culture/West]
Reflection: Faith is the trigger for letting go and relinquishment. [Relinquishment]
Sutta: MN 52: Delight in the Dhamma and the third stage of liberation. [Recollection/Dhamma]
18. “Has anyone ever attained enlightenment while walking meditation? What are the pros and cons of walking meditation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Liberation] [Posture/Walking] // [Thai Forest Tradition] [Abhayagiri] [Lodging] [Ajahn Chah] [Discernment]
13. “I’ve been experiencing and witnessing an incredible sadness. At times it is dormant; at times it seems all-consuming. I’ve done okay at staying present, questioning its nature, its benefits, its hindrances, its source. I haven’t come up with a specific cause for this grief/sorrow. Do you have any suggestions for furthering my investigation working with sadness, and how I might someday send it on its way?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Grief] [Aspects of Understanding] [Cause of Suffering ] [Discernment] // [Self-identity view] [Suffering] [Clinging] [Goodwill] [Divine Abidings] [Middle Path]
Quote: “Viewed from any sane perspective, the human condition is pretty sad.” [Human]
3. “It seems that the mind and body are unreliable, not good refuges, yet everything about the Buddha, Dhamma, and Saṅgha relies upon the mind training—refining, watching, letting go. It sounds like it still relies on the mind. What am I missing?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Aggregates] [Three Refuges ] [Meditation] // [Discernment]
Sutta: SN 15.1: “Bound by ignorance and obstructed by craving.” [Ignorance] [Craving]
20. “Can a person be enlightened without ever sitting? Or without ever hearing the Dhamm? Was anyone ever enlightened before the Buddha?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Liberation] [Posture/Sitting] [Hearing the true Dhamma] // [Buddha] [Mindfulness] [Discernment] [Tranquility]
Simile from Ajahn Chah: “Chickens sit for a long period of time, and they don’t get very far.” [Ajahn Chah] [Animal] [Similes]
Recollection: When Ajahn Chah sat meditation, it was like seeing a mountain sitting there.
Sutta: SN 15.1: “Bound by ignorance and obstructed by craving.” [Ignorance] [Craving]
23. “I have had more of a pedestrian view of the Dhamma, and for the first time I’m having trouble even referring to the Buddha as ‘the Lord’ (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 23). Can you review taking refuge in the Buddha? Likewise, who is Lord Sahampati in the chant of requesting a Dhamma talk (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 124)?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Buddha] [Chanting] [Respect] [Three Refuges] [Brahma gods] // [Translation] [Culture/West] [Devotional practice] [Gratitude] [Recollection/Buddha] [Discernment] [Compassion] [Virtue]
Sutta: MN 26.20: The Brahma Sahampati invites the Buddha to teach. [Buddha/Biography] [Teaching Dhamma]
5. “Was Ajahn Chah an arahant? How can one tell when someone’s work is done? Also, is it inappropriate to ask one’s teacher if they are a stream enterer, once-returner, etc.?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Arahant ] [Teachers] [Stages of awakening] // [Suffering] [Unwholesome Roots]
Quote: “To me, I’m more like a tree that birds can come and feed in....[What they say] I am is just the chattering of the birds.” — Ajahn Chah. [Similes] [Teaching Dhamma]
Sutta: AN 4.192: Discerning another person’s wisdom. [Discernment]
Recollections of mistaken estimates of enlightenment. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Delusion] [Relics]
17. “Could you please talk about Shakyamuni Buddha, whose teaching we learn, and the ones before him, and the one to come Maitreya? Are the teachings the same? What is important for us to know about the Buddhas?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Buddha] [Previous Buddhas] [Metteyya Bodhisatva] // [Naturalness] [Teaching Dhamma] [Discernment] [Goodwill]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book Volume 2, p. 54: The Twenty-Eight Buddhas’ Protection. [Protective chants]
Quote: “Ajahn Chah had tremendous lovingkindness, and because of that he had many, many people coming to him all the time. I’m going to focus on equanimity.” — Ajahn Liem. [Ajahn Liem] [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Chah] [Equanimity]
5. “I enjoyed the story of the healing green light used by the Thai venerable you shared with us yesterday, and I also enjoyed the teachings of Ajahn Tate this morning. But then I’m wondering if the very act of trying to ‘heal this body’ or ‘clarify and brighten this mind’ acts to pull the heart out of neutral and into the world of grasping and desire. Could you please clarify this?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Bhante Dharmawara] [Healing] [Ajahn Tate] [Right Effort] [Clinging] // [Cause of Suffering] [Discernment] [Learning] [Relinquishment] [Buddha/Biography]
Sutta: DN 16.2.23: The Buddha heals his illness. [Sickness]
Quote: “The crux of it is how to live with non-clinging as the foundation.”
14. Comment: “Thank you for developing the wisdom to teach and the compassion to choose to teach. I trust we give you the opportunity to deepen your practice, especially of compassion and patience. The Buddha would be proud of you and your decision to teach instead of living in that nice little cave in a beautiful forest all peaceful and still. With metta.”—us sentient beings. [Gratitude] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Discernment] [Teaching Dhamma] [Compassion]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno: “It was actually Ajahn Chah who made me teach.” [Ajahn Chah] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Abbot]
22. “Can you please explain more about bodhisattva’s path? How can a being cultivate wisdom and avoid becoming a stream enterer? Bodhisattvas mus not realize the Dhamma all the way to last life, correct?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Bodhisattva] [Discernment] [Stream entry] // [Determination]
Story: Ajahn Mun persuades Ajahn Sao to relinquish his resolve to become a paccekabuddha. [Ajahn Sao] [Ajahn Mun] [Liberation] [Gratitude] [Psychic powers] [Paccekabuddha] [Arahant]
34. “Contemplation: The heart is still, the mind is calm, the thoughts come, and the thoughts go. The thoughts are not thought about, kind of like a free riding in the mind. The heart stays peaceful. Insights do arise with this free flow. Can you please speak on contemplation as a form of meditation and these insights?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Recollection] [Tranquility] [Concentration] [Insight meditation] // [Craving] [Cause of Suffering] [Proliferation] [Bases of Success] [Discernment] [Investigation of states]
1. “Could you expand about the layers of understanding of thought, perception, and dukkha?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Yatiko. [Discernment] [Directed thought and evaluation] [Perception] [Suffering] // [Proliferation] [Relinquishment]
Quote: “First you study the Dhamma, then you know the Dhamma, then you see the Dhamma, they you be the Dhamma.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Dhamma] [Progress of insight]
Commentary: Path of Purification by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, p. 631: The highest level of understanding is giving up. [Discernment]
4. “What is the difference between mindfulness, bare attention, and clear comprehension? Can you flesh out the word understanding?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness] [Direct experience] [Clear comprehension] // [Right Effort] [Discernment] [Right Mindfulness] [Ardency] [Investigation of states] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Greed] [Aversion]
Sutta: MN 118: Ānāpānasati Sutta
5. “Sometimes you hear something...[audio unclear]....What is your opinion?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Gladdening the mind] [Discernment] [Release] [Cessation of Suffering]
Sutta: AN 8.19: “Just as the ocean has only one taste...” [Liberation]
3. Comment: So you maximize the internal benefit you receive...[audio unclear]? [Recollection/Generosity] [Generosity]
Responses by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo, Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Yatiko. [Faith] [Discernment] [Clinging] [Habits] [Proliferation] [Idealism]
3. “How does one look at intention?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Yatiko. [Volition] [Right Intention] // [Four Noble Truths] [Discernment] [Delusion]
Quote: “Sometimes you don’t want to look at intention too closely because you’ll convince yourself of anything.” — Ajahn Pasanno.
5. “When I read a story that someone has awakened, what does this mean? Does it mean that the practice continues on another level?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Yatiko. [Liberation] [Gradual Teaching] // [Language] [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Faith] [Discernment]
8. “How do we know when to ask for directions on the path as opposed to just continuing farther? What would we ask?” Answered by Ajahn Yatiko. [Questions] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Gradual Teaching] // [Suffering] [Discernment] [Conditionality] [Faith]
Sutta: SN 12.23: Suffering is the cause of faith.
Follow-up: “What about when things are pleasant, but we’re not headed in the right direction?” [Happiness] [Mindfulness] [Deva] [Relinquishment]
Sutta: MN 75: Simile of the leper. [Similes]
Sutta: SN 56.35: Stream entry after 100 years. [Stream entry] [Four Noble Truths]
3. “I’ve noticed the proliferation of thoughts is different in walking meditation versus sitting. Would you recommend walking meditation for an at-home practice for the first meditation in the early morning? Would you mind sharing your experience with the effects of walking meditation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Proliferation] [Posture/Walking] [Everyday life] [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Thai Forest Tradition] [Abhayagiri] [Lodging] [Right Effort]
Quote: “You can get a lot of wisdom from walking meditation.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Discernment]
7. “Thanks for highlighting faith and devotion in the morning talk. What is the ‘look and feel’ of a practice where the faculty of faith leads the way to liberation? Are there any teachers in Ajahn Chah’s lineage who emphasize the way way or theme of release through faith?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Faith] [Liberation] [Ajahn Chah lineage] // [Faculties] [Translation] [Energy] [Ajahn Chah]
Quote: “It isn’t wisdom that gives up. It’s faith.” [Discernment] [Relinquishment]
9. “What is the difference between upekkha and indifference?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Equanimity] // [Divine Abidings] [Skillful qualities] [Aversion] [Doubt]
Follow-up: “Can you say upekkha is acceptance?” [Discernment]
10. “How is being the one who knows or being the knowing related to the practice of mindfully attending to present moment experience?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Knowing itself] [Present moment awareness ] // [Discernment] [Knowledge and vision] [Conditionality]
9. “You instructed us to meditate on the breath with mindfulness and continuity. You also recommended wise reflection. How does one weave and connect both together?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness] [Recollection]
Sutta: MN 10.3: The description of Right Mindfulness. [Right Mindfulness] [Clear comprehension]
Reflection: Ātāpi as an aspect of Right Mindfulness is the application of effort for the burning up of defilements. [Ardency ] [Right Effort] [Unwholesome Roots] [Thai]
Commentary: Path of Purification by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, p. 431: “Clear comprehension is another word for wisdom.” [Discernment]
Quote: “That function in nature that draws knowledge and attention of the sense contact into the heart.” — P. A. Payutto’s description of mindfulness. [P. A. Payutto] [Contact]
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]
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]
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.
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. [Discernment ] [Concentration]
3. “What is meant by ‘sees the range’ in AN 4.61?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Discernment] [Hindrances] [Commentaries]
2. “Would you say that clinging is around the senses and not the sensual desires?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Clinging] [Sense bases] [Sensual desire] // [Aggregates]
Follow-up: “How do we uproot clinging?” [Discernment]
Comment by Ajahn Ñāṇiko: One can only apply the concept of inverted perception from MN 75 to the other sense bases. [Delusion] [Perception] [Ajahn Khao]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno: Showeing after being exposed to poison oak. [Feeling]
Recollection: Ajahn Mahā Boowa perceived difficulty and problems as a whetstone for mindfulness. Recounted by Ajahn Pesalo. [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Mindfulness]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Four Noble Truths] [Conditionality]
4. Question about the practice of metta in response to ill-will. Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Language] [Goodwill] [Equanimity] [Ill-will] // [Discernment]
Sutta: AN 5.161, “Removing Resentment (1).”
21. Quote: “The Buddha’s function was not to make grand pronouncements that apply universally, everywhere, all the time. He gave guidelines to reflect a variety of circumstances, personal effects, social effects, and then make a decision from there.” — Ajahn Pasanno. [Buddha] [Idealism] [Discernment] [Conditionality] [Right Livelihood] [Kamma] [Community] [Politics and society]
22. Comments about thinking versus feeling out the quality of the heart in decision making. [Directed thought and evaluation] [Mindfulness of mind] [Discernment] [Clear comprehension] [Right Livelihood]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
5. “What is your take on satisfaction, being in tune, and stagnation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Contentment ] [Energy] [Ardency ] // [Skillful qualities] [Discernment] [Buddha/Biography] [Spiritual search] [Right Effort]
Sutta: AN 2.5: Effort and non-contentment with wholesome states.
Story: The Thai government made it illegal for monks to teach contentment. [History/Thai Buddhism] [Monastic life] [Teaching Dhamma]
Comment about the simile of the lute. [Middle Path] [Similes]
Sutta: AN 6.55: Soṇa Sutta
3. “Why is discernment a better word for wisdom?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Discernment ] [Translation] // [Pāli] [Etymology]
3. “Can you give some suggestions on dealing with betrayal in relationships?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Relationships] [Sexual misconduct] [Trust] // [Spiritual friendship] [Faith] [Virtue] [Generosity] [Discernment] [Judgementalism] [Monastic life]
Sutta: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 46: The Highest Blessings (Maṅgala Sutta, Snp 2.4)
4. “Can you say more about the practice of awareness of arising and ceasing in relation to discernment and right view?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Becoming] [Cessation] [Mindfulness] [Discernment] [Right View] // [Impermanence] [Ajahn Chah] [Conditionality] [Self-identity view] [Happiness] [Mindfulness of mind] [Patience]
Reading from an unnamed recent Ajahn Chah book. [Relinquishment] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Discernment]
Quote: “I don’t teach you guys much. Just be patient.” — Ajahn Chah.
5. “What is the role of emotion in our practice?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Emotion] [Feeling] // [Faith] [Compassion] [Generosity] [Four Noble Truths] [Relinquishment] [Discernment]
3. “In the suttas, if you recognize a defilement like ill-will, you need to do something about it. How can we reconcile this with the Ajahn Chah teaching you just read (‘Receiving Visitors’ in In Simple Terms)?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sutta] [Right Effort] [Ajahn Chah] [Tranquility] [Proliferation] // [Discernment]
Quote: “Practice is really easy. If the defilements come at you high, you duck, and if they come at you low, you jump over them.” — Ajahn Tongrat. [Ajahn Tongrat] [Unwholesome Roots]
1. “Thank you for your talk. Can you flesh out: ‘dispassionate about what?’ Also, trying to encourage dispassion along with arousing energy.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Dispassion ] [Energy] // [Craving] [Sense bases] [Body/form] [Emotion] [Contentment] [Tranquility]
Quote: “When there’s a coolness towards the world around one, that frees up a lot of energy for directing attention to what’s actually useful and beneficial.” [Discernment]
18. “I was interested to hear the definition of mental formations as volitional. When I look at my mind, it sometimes seems like an undirected random generator of flashing images and unbidden thoughts, sometimes embarrassingly perverse. I can only rest easily when I recollect not-self. Can you help me reconcile that with volitionality?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Volitional formations ] [Volition] [Heart/mind] [Proliferation] [Not-self] // [Perception] [Relinquishment] [Mindfulness] [Discernment]
6. “Thank you for the teachings...Could you speak about the heart and mind which appear to be used interchangeably. How can we listen with discernment to the heart? How can we cultivate its strength?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Heart/mind] [Discernment]
5. “You said you have to adjust and think about contemplating. But how can you do that in your working time?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Right Effort] [Directed thought and evaluation] [Discernment] [Everyday life] // [Mindfulness] [Clear comprehension] [Happiness] [Recollection]
Quote: “In daily life, in contact with the world, do you still breathe?” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Mindfulness of breathing]
Follow-up: “In Bangkok, there is lots of news that makes people crazy and divisive. When you see this news, you feel upset and angry.” [News ] [Conflict] [Aversion] [Right Speech] [Politics and society] [Proliferation]
Quote: “I don’t care. Not in the sense that I don’t think it’s serious or that it’s not a problem. But I don’t care in the sense that I don’t want to be getting involved in whatever side people are working themselves up about, because the problem is much deeper than that. We have to pay attention to the deeper problem, both in the human condition and politically.” [Human]
6. “I find I do need some pleasures even though they don’t last, things like fine arts and being in nature. I’m curious, how did you manage as a monk in your early years at Ajahn Chah’s monastery where there’s almost no pleasure....How did you manage to keep going over the years until the present?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sensual desire] [Artistic expression] [Culture/Natural environment] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Monastic life] [Ajahn Chah] [Food] [Entertainment and adornment] [Monastic life/Motivation] // [Cessation of Suffering] [Happiness ] [Simplicity ] [Association with people of integrity] [Empathetic joy] [Human] [Hindrances] [Jhāna] [Virtue] [Discernment]
Quote: “One of the extraordinary perks of being a monk is that everyone tries to be good around you.”
Sutta: MN 36.32: “Why am I afraid of that happiness?” [Buddha/Biography] [Ascetic practices] [Suffering] [Skillful qualities] [Eightfold Path]
Quote: “As a monk, I can look back on forty years of living in a way where I don’t have to feel remorseful or regret anything.”
1. “I was struck by the simile of the stone being heavy, but you won’t know it’s heavy unless you pick it up, and it’s just like suffering. You don’t have to pick it up. I’m battling a loss in my life, and I’m suffering. I didn’t pick up the stone. It was flung at me. I’m not sure how to deal....” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Similes] [Ajahn Chah] [Suffering] [Grief] [Christianity] // [Human] [Naturalness ] [Equanimity] [Self-identity view] [Goodwill] [Discernment]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 55: Five Recollections [Characteristics of existence] [Recollection/Death] [Kamma]
Quote: “Whenever you get into a fight with nature, you always lose.”
Quote: “What makes it heavy is the ‘me’ bit.”
5. “When is it useful to determine to stick with a single practice, even when it doesn’t seem to work, instead of exploring other options?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation/General advice] [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Pain] // [Suffering] [Right Effort] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Mindfulness of mind] [Discernment] [Direct experience] [Self-identity view]
4. “What does “the longing for the good is the cause of the trouble” mean?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Mun] [Craving] [Skillful qualities] [Right Effort] // [Eightfold Path] [Aggregates] [Liberation] [Self-identity view] [Virtue] [Relinquishment] [Jhāna] [Ignorance] [Cause of Suffering]
Story: Sixth Patriarch Sutra: “No mirror, no dust.”
Recollection: Ajahn Chah taught you could grasp at either samut (the conventional) or vimut (the transcendent). [Ajahn Chah] [Conventions] [Unconditioned] [Clinging] [Discernment]
1. “I am curious about ways to know if one is lying to oneself and what to do?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Truth] [Delusion] // [Suffering] [Discernment] [Bases of Success]
Recollection: Ajahn Chah said the fastest way to enlightenment is to look directly at the mind, point your finger, and say “Liar!” [Ajahn Chah] [Liberation] [Proliferation]
3. “In the reading there was a lot of emphasis on solitude. Here we have a lot of time for that especially right now with our Winter Retreat, but we also have a lot of responsibilities and engagement in community. How would you recommend us balancing the two or using them to help each other?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Seclusion] [Abhayagiri] [Community] [Work] [Personality] // [Culture/Thailand] [Culture/India] [Ajahn Chah] [Unwholesome Roots] [Discernment] [Generosity] [Culture/West] [Self-identity view]
4. “Do you have any advice about how to hold a particularly strong “fighting spirit” teaching, like Ajahn Dtun?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Fierce/direct teaching] [Teaching Dhamma ] [Ajahn Dtun] // [Culture/Thailand] [Ardency] [Right Effort] [Restlessness and worry] [Heedfulness] [Discernment] [Goodwill]
Sutta: AN 1.49: The mind is radiant.
Quote: “If you invite visitors into your home [the mind] and they just make a mess, then you want to close the door on them before they come in. You can’t be too polite.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Similes] [Unwholesome Roots]
6. “Could that “quality of knowing” be a variation on the teaching of sati-sampajañña, mindfulness and clear comprehension?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness] [Clear comprehension] // [Discernment]
7. Reading: “It’s Easy if You are not Attached,” Gifts He Left Behind by Ajahn Dune, p. 77. Read by Ajahn Ahiṃsako. [Ajahn Dune] [Wat Burapha] // [Rains retreat]
Quote: “It’s the nature of light to be bright; it’s the nature of noise to be loud.” [Contact ] [Sense restraint] [Discernment]
8. “When she is talking about the mind at normalcy, her description is having the meditation object always at least in the background, constantly in awareness, being aware of the mind-state and also doing whatever you are doing, walking, washing dishes etc. Her emphasis is on cultivating it so this is something that you would be doing twenty-four hours a day. When Ajahn Chah spoke of normalcy of the mind, did he describe it in the same way?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Upasikā Kee Nanayon] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Mindfulness of mind] [Ajahn Chah] // [Discernment] [Happiness] [Unification]
9. Comment: She talks about within this state of normalcy constantly contemplating the three characteristics of all phenomena occurring in awareness. To me that sounds like juggling a bunch of things! [Upasikā Kee Nanayon] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Conditionality]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Discernment]
11. “She talks about making a story out of denying your defilements. Does the story of having fun denying your defilements come from that space of dwelling in that state of continuous mindfulness, or does continuous mindfulness come about from going through the suffering of forcing yourself not to enjoy anything?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Upasikā Kee Nanayon] [Unwholesome Roots] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Conditionality] // [Discernment]
Quote: “Relinquishment isn’t so much a giving up something that we have but enjoying the non-moving to get or trying to make.” [Relinquishment] [Cessation of Suffering] [Non-identification]
Simile: Learning to drive or walk. — Ajahn Kaccāna. [Similes]
13. “Is that where when one isn’t meditating per se but where virtue would come in to inform whether we have slipped or not?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Virtue] // [Upasikā Kee Nanayon] [Ajahn Chah] [Conscience and prudence] [Similes] [Spiritual friendship]
Quote: “The defilements have their wisdom also.” — Ajahn Chah. [Unwholesome Roots] [Discernment] [Delusion]
14. “She talks about virtue being the other hand of discernment in the meditation experience, and whenever discernment discerns stress, virtue is what lets go of the cause of stress, that virtue does the disbanding of it. Is virtue an unusual word to use there?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Upasikā Kee Nanayon] [Virtue] [Discernment] [Cessation of Suffering] [Dispassion] // [Pāli] [Conscience and prudence] [Ajahn Chah]
Commentary: Path of Purification by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, p. 14: Many levels of sīla. [Commentaries] [Eightfold Path]
4. “What is the distinction Chao Khun Upāli makes between lokuttara discernment and higher discernment?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Chao Khun Upāli] [Discernment] [Impermanence] [Aggregates] [Suffering] [Cause of Suffering] // [Commentaries] [Ajahn Chah] [Study monks]
2. Comment about the purpose and function of the path. Contributed by Ajahn Kaccāna. [Eightfold Path] [Cessation of Suffering] [Concentration] [Discernment]
Responses by Ajahn Ñāṇiko and Ajahn Pasanno. [Right View] [Relinquishment] [Self-identity view]