Koan
Meditation / Meditation/Techniques / Koan 
13 excerpts, 50:12 total duration



Ānāpānasati: Mindfulness of In-and-Out Breathing, Session 8 – Jan. 11, 2005

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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]

Simile from Ajahn Lee Dhammadharo: Keeping the breath in mind is like getting the spoon into the mouth and the mouth onto the spoon. [Ajahn Lee Dhammadharo] [Similes]

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Story: “The body understands!” [Direct experience] [Zen] [Koan] [Ajahn Pasanno]

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Body and mind are not separate things. [Body/form] [Heart/mind] [Aggregates ] [Dependent origination] [Consciousness]


Thanksgiving Retreat 2012, Session 1 – Nov. 17, 2012

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11. “The mind can be a trickster. Can the body be a trickster too?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Heart/mind] [Delusion] [Body/form] // [Unattractiveness] [Elements] [Proliferation] [Mindfulness of body]

Story: “Body understands!” [Zen] [Koan]


Western Disciples of the Thai Forest Tradition, Session 13 – Jan. 21, 2016

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4. Story: Harata Rōshi’s response to a question about koans. Told by Ajahn Jotipālo. [Harata Rōshi] [Koan] // [Translation]

Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Knowing itself]


2021 Abhayagiri Online Thanksgiving Retreat, Session 6 – Nov. 25, 2021

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9. “During lunch I was contemplating the four elements as I ate, and a question arose in my mind: If all things are made of only four elements, why does an orange taste, smell, and feel only like an orange and not like an apple? How can there be so much variety in food?” Answered by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Food] [Elements] [Sense bases]

Story: A Zen master confronts Kalu Rinpoche with an orange. [Zen] [Vajrayāna] [Koan]


Readings from The Island, Session 37 – Mar. 3, 2025

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5. “It seems there are so many things to comment on it is kind of overwhelming. How to deal with that?” Answered by Ajahn Amaro. [Noting] // [Mindfulness of body] [Present moment awareness]

Story: “The body understands!” Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Zen] [Koan]


Readings from The Island, Session 45 – Mar. 15, 2025

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4. Story: Huineng evades his pursuers with a koan. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Koan] [Huineng]

Follow-up: “Do you know why Huineng returned after sixteen years?”

Recollection: Ajahn Buddhadāsa translated a few Chinese Buddhist texts into Thai. [Ajahn Buddhadāsa] [Translation] [Koan] [Ajahn Chah]


Abhayagiri’s 30th Anniversary Part 2, Session 5 – Jun. 27, 2026

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1. Story: Ajahn Amaro explained my koan. Told by Sakula. [Ajahn Amaro] [Koan] // [Zen] [Emptiness]