36 excerpts, 2:04:37 total duration
17. “Would you please define the khandha of perception? How does it differ from feeling and consciousness?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Perception] [Aggregates] [Feeling] [Consciousness] // [Sense bases] [Memory]
13. “Is there a chant or a few lines that you can suggest to provide a smooth transitional bridge from chanting something such as Salutation to the Triple Gem (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 9) into meditating on the breath? I feel disconnected: inspired by the meaning of the chant and then suddenly I’m focusing on my breath. Did the Buddha have a few powerful verses reminding us of the power of breath meditation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Chanting ] [Mindfulness of breathing] // [Three Refuges] [Recollection/Buddha] [Impermanence] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Pāli] [Memory] [Dhamma online]
Sutta: MN 118.15: 16 steps of mindfulness of breathing; Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 85 has both Pāli and English.
28. “What’s the difference between mental formations and perception? I’m confused.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Volitional formations] [Perception] // [Volition] [Memory]
23. “Did the Buddha have chanting in his time? Did he create any of the chants or were they all created after his passing?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Chanting ] [Buddha/Biography] [History/Early Buddhism ] // [Tipiṭaka] [Culture/India] [Memory] [Culture/Other Theravāda traditions]
Sutta: AN 6.25: The nine qualities of the Buddha (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 4). [Recollection/Buddha]
The three cardinal suttas: SN 56.11: Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (Chanting Book](Amaravati Chanting Book Volume 2, p. 2)); SN 22.59: Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta (Chanting Book); SN 35.28: Ādittapariyāya Sutta (Chanting Book). [Sutta]
Sutta: MN 2.13-17: The Four Requisites (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 53). [Requisites]
Sutta: Snp 1.8: The Buddha’s Words on Lovingkindness (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 36). [Goodwill]
Sutta: AN 4.125: “I will abide pervading one quarter...” (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 42). [Divine Abidings]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 32: Verses of Sharing and Aspiration.
Sutta: Ud 5.6.17: The Buddha praises Venerable Soṇa’s recitation.
14. “After the talk this morning, during the short meditation, I was overcome with a sense of joy that was maintained during the walking meditation that followed. As I slowly walked, reflecting on this joy, I also heard the rumble of freeway traffic. My reflection then went to how I might maintain this focus and joy when I move back into the rumble and chaos of my workaday world? Any suggestions?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Happiness] [Contact] [Everyday life] [Continuity of mindfulness] // [Memory] [Recollection/Dhamma] [Impermanence] [Recollection]
Commentary: Path of Purification by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, p. 105: The Ten Recollections.
7. “How to practice with the arising and passing away of khandas as in the fourth development [in AN 4.41]? Does one reflect on the process of being? And saññā is always unclear to me.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Impermanence] [Aggregates ] [Perception] // [Body/form] [Feeling] [Memory] [Volitional formations] [Consciousness] [Self-identity view]
Quote: “The goal of investigation and mindfulness practices is to shine a light on the constructed nature of how we identify with experience and then assume a solid sense of self, of I, of me, of mine.”
16. “You once had some recordings of chanting by a very young Sri Lankan boy who was apparently freshly reincarnated from a lifetime 1,500 years ago and chanted in the style of that time. Specifically, his rendition of the Metta Sutta. How to find?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Yatiko. [Chanting] [Rebirth] [Dhamma recordings] // [Sutta] [Protective chants] [Memory] [Insight Meditation Society]
Note: A few recordings of Dhammaruwan’s chanting can be found on Wisdom Publication’s website for Bhikkhu Anālayo’s book Rebirth in Early Buddhism and Current Research.
2. “Could you clarify the difference between perception (sañña), mental formations (saṅkhāra) and consciousness (viññana)?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Perception ] [Volitional formations] [Consciousness] // [Memory] [Mindfulness] [Translation] [Volition] [Sense bases]
10. “Could you please explain again the differences between sañña, saṅkāra, and viññana? I’m still not getting it.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Perception] [Volitional formations] [Consciousness] // [Memory] [Sense bases] [Dependent origination ] [Conditionality] [Suffering]
Quote: “All the details of the process of dependent origination....It’s like falling out of a tree. As you go down, you’re not really counting branches. You just know that when you hit the bottom, it’s going to hurt.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah]
1. “Why does the Buddha describe perception in terms of colors but consciousness in terms of tastes?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno, Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Perception] [Consciousness] [Sense bases] // [Bhikkhu Bodhi] [Commentaries] [Ven. Anālayo] [Memory] [Feeling]
Sutta: SN 22.79: Being Devoured; footnote 114 in Bhikkhu Bodhi translation.
Follow-up: “Could you say that perception is identification whereas consciousness is more refined?” [Aggregates] [Not-self] [Self-identity view] [Rebirth] [Translation] [Similes]
1. “Can you share perspectives on birth from the Thai Forest Tradition?” Answered by Ajahn Ñāṇiko and Janejira Sutanonpaiboon. [Birth] [Thai Forest Tradition] // [Ajahn Anek] [Western psychology] [Ajahn Plien] [Rebirth] [Memory]
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]
7. “I’m concerned about Alzheimer’s disease and getting stuck between life and death, losing all I’ve learned about mindfulness practice and all my dignity. Where is the silver lining in this life’s challenge?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Death] [Sickness] [Ageing ] // [Mindfulness] [Memory]
Story: The bright presence of a monk with Alzheimer’s disease. [Preah Mahāghosānanda] [Memory] [Personal presence]
2. “To abandon the cause, does it mean in that moment or completely?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Cause of Suffering ] // [Memory]
14. “The term “sati”. What does it mean? Does it mean mindfulness?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness ] [Translation] // [Christianity] [Etymology] [Perception] [Memory]
9. “How to forgive a person who has hurt and done very wrong things to you?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Forgiveness ] [Abuse/violence] // [Aversion] [Memory] [Mindfulness of body] [Kamma] [Spiritual friendship] [Proliferation]
See also the previous question, “How do you deal with anger?”
6. “Could you explain the subtle differences between perceiving and conceiving? Since our sense of attention is so involved in conceiving ‘I’, how do we practice in order to extricate this?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Perception] [Conceit] // [Suffering] [Cessation of Suffering] [Memory] [Translation] [Thai]
3. “Could you speak about the practice of being mindful of craving and allowing it to pass?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Unskillful qualities] [Mindfulness] [Craving] [Cessation] // [Hindrances] [Relinquishment] [Recollection/Dhamma] [Faith] [Memory]
Quote: “If we don’t understand the obstacle, we can’t be free from it.” [Discernment] [Liberation]
Quote: “You’ve got to be really careful because the mind is a liar and a cheat.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Nature of mind] [Heedfulness]