Part of key topic Skillful Qualities
115 excerpts, 6:34:24 total duration
4. Story: Thousands of people receive Ajahn Chah upon his return from England. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Gratitude] [Ajahn Chah] // [Almsround] [Lay life]
2. Story: Ajahn Sumedho meets Jack Kornfield. Told by Ajahn Sumedho. [Jack Kornfield] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Ajahn Chah] // [Wat Pah Pong] [Insight Meditation Society] [Judgementalism]
Story: Ajahn Sumedho stays on Pupek Mountain. [Seclusion] [Suffering] [Aversion] [Sickness] [Self-pity] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Robes] [Humor] [Gratitude]
9. Story: Ajahn Chah expresses appreciation for a Christian abbot. Told by Jack Kornfield. [Christianity] [Monastic life] [Abbot] [Gratitude] [Ajahn Chah]
1. Story: My experiences with Ajahn Chah. Told by Nan Meister. [Gratitude] [Faith] [Ajahn Chah] // [Ajahn Liem] [Suffering] [Commerce/economics] [Spiritual urgency] [Joseph Kappel] [Bowing] [Wat Pah Pong] [Mae Chee Kumfah] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Mae Chee] [Ghost] [Conceit] [Fierce/direct teaching]
4. “Would you say a bit about the benefits of practicing loving-kindness during the dying process, both for the one who is dying as well as for the caregiver?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Goodwill] [Death] [Health care] // [Gladdening the mind] [Fear] [Clear comprehension] [Energy] [Community]
Quote: “These bodies are really high maintenance when they don’t work.” [Sickness]
Recollection: Ajahn Chah was unable to look after himself for the last nine years of his life. [Ajahn Chah] [Respect for elders] [Wat Pah Pong] [Gratitude]
5. “Eight Precepts illuminates the vanity within.’ Could you offer some encouragements or reflections on the beauty of the Dhamma as a remedy?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Eight Precepts] [Conceit] [Beauty] [Dhamma] // [Recollection/Dhamma] [Faith] [Learning] [Sutta]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 6: Recollection of the Dhamma.
Story: Ajahn Khao’s realization came from reflecting on rice. [Ajahn Khao] [Liberation] [Symbolism/metaphor] [Gratitude] [Bodhi Tree]
29. “Can you give us a short bio on each of you please?” [Western Ajahn Chah lineage] // [Birth] [Monastic life/Motivation]
Ajahn Yatiko is on his way to Tibet, but two Thai men in a restaurant persuade him to visit Wat Pah Pong. [Ajahn Yatiko] [Travel] [Vajrayāna] [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Ordination] [Gratitude]
Bhante Suddhaso finds his way to Abhayagiri through Zen. [Zen] [Ajahn Chah] [Vinaya] [Theravāda] [Abhayagiri]
Ajahn Karuṇadhammo ordains at Abhayagiri after many years of lay practice. [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo] [Lay life]
Anagārika Jordan (now Ajahn Sudhīro) learns about Buddhism in college and has just taken up anagārika training at Abhayagiri. [Postulants]
Debbie Stamp travels in Asia, hears a talk by Ajahn Buddhadasa, spends ten months at Amaravati and Chithurst, then volunteers to help start Abhayagiri. [Debbie Stamp] [Ajahn Buddhadāsa] [Amaravati] [Chithurst]
Quote: “She’s the mother of our monastery.” Ajahn Yatiko — Ajahn Yatiko.
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]
8. Story: Ajahn Toon tries to disrobe repeatedly, but Ajahn Chah won’t let him. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Toon] [Disrobing] [Thai Forest Tradition] // [Patience] [Three Refuges] [Ajahn Tongrat] [Posture/Walking] [Gratitude] [Respect]
3. “Is walking meditation as ‘good’ as sitting meditation. Can one achieve the level of undistractedness that one needs to be able to investigate the human experience? Or is it part of the bigger picture of mindfulness for seven full days to experience stream entry?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Posture/Walking] [Posture/Sitting] [Insight meditation] [Stream entry] // [Meditation/General advice] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Concentration]
Stories about Ajahn Khao. [Ajahn Khao ]
Story: Walking meditation was Ajahn Khao’s preferred mode of practice. [Ajahn Khao ]
Story: Ajahn Khao’s relics were purple, clear, and incredibly beautiful. [Ajahn Khao ] [Relics] [Abhayagiri]
Recollection: Ajahn Khao expresses gratitude for the place he realized Awakening. [Ajahn Khao ] [Liberation] [Gratitude] [Lodging] [Bodhi Tree]
5. “The guidance through seeing the non-self in relationship to the elements was very helpful. Can you explain what to look for in order to see the non self in relationship to strong emotions like grief. When do you look for the emptiness in emotions and when do you experience or express them. How does one balance the two?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Not-self] [Elements] [Emotion ] [Grief ]
Ajahn Pasanno reflects on his feelings after Ajahn Chah died. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Chah] [Death] [Sickness] [Gratitude] [Respect]
Ajahn Pasanno’s response to his father’s death. [Parents] [Spaciousness]
1. Description of the Ajahn Chah Remembrance Day at Wat Pah Pong. [Ajahn Chah Remembrance Day] [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Chah] // [Devotional practice] [Gratitude]
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] [Gratitude ] [Dhamma books]
Reference: English translation: Gratitude by Ajahn Chah Saṅgha, p. 9.
1. Story: Coming to Buddhism through the AIDS crisis. Told by Susan Barber. [Sickness] [Death] // [Gratitude] [Stephen Levine] [Spirit Rock] [Christianity]
3. Story: The first seven years of the Saṅghapāla Foundation. Told by Susan Barber. [Saṅghapāla] // [Ajahn Sumedho] [Debbie Stamp] [Meditation retreats] [City of Ten Thousand Buddhas] [Abhayagiri] [Ajahn Sundarā] [Community] [Christianity] [Gratitude]
1. Story: The first anagārika ordained on Abhayagiri property returns. Told by Mark Sponseller. [Abhayagiri] [Postulants] // [Spirit Rock] [Ajahn Amaro] [Lodging] [Gratitude] [Meditation]
1. Story: A life-changing Dhamma talk. Told by Debbie Stamp. [Hearing the true Dhamma] // [Amaravati] [Chithurst] [Generosity] [Gratitude]
7. Story: The history of Abhayagiri Monastery: Master Hua offers land to Ajahn Sumedho the day after the Elders’ Council approves a land search. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Master Hsuan Hua] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Elders' Council] [Abhayagiri ] // [Saṅghapāla] [Gratitude] [Amaravati] [Ajahn Amaro] [Ajahn Viradhammo] [Sickness]
Quote: “It had been the dream of my life to bring the Northern and Southern Traditions together again, and I never thought I was going to be able to do it until I met Sumedho.” — Master Hsuan Hua. [Mahāyāna] [Theravāda] [Communal harmony]
9. Story: Moving onto the Abhayagiri land. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Abhayagiri] // [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo] [Ajahn Amaro] [Saṅghapāla] [Gratitude]
12. Recollection: The connection with Ajahn Mahā Prasert and Casa Serena. Recounted by Ajahn Amaro. [Ajahn Mahā Prasert] [Abhayagiri] // [Gratitude] [Father Damien]
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]
1. Story: A Tibetan monk expresses appreciation for Ajahn Chah’s 1979 visit to Manjurshri Institute. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Manjushri Institute] [Ajahn Chah] [Gratitude] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Tudong]