{90} “During meditation when thoughts come and want to engage me, some thoughts have the power to take me into the storyline, and I don’t even know why. I don’t even know when. Is there a point, sign,or warning that can be seen before I get lost? It’s really painful to live in a virtual reality that never delivers the promise.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Restlessness and worry] [Proliferation ] [Suffering] // [Mindfulness of body ] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Feeling] [Dreams]
Quote: “Tuning into the body, I can start to feel where [the thought] is taking me.” [Mindfulness of body ]
Quote: “You know what the quickest way to enlightenment is? Just look at the thoughts, point your finger, and say ‘Liar!’” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Liberation] [Truth]
Abhayagiri Monastic Retreat 2013, Session 2, Excerpt 7
{110} “Is body scan as a meditation practice done in the Ajahn Chah tradition? Is there a sutta where the Buddha talks about it?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Body scanning ] [Ajahn Chah lineage] [Sutta] // [Unattractiveness] [Mindfulness of body ] [Elements] [Recollection/Death] [Disenchantment]
Quote: “Ajahn Chah would recommend doing anything that worked.” [Ajahn Chah] [Right Effort]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 60: Reflection on the Thirty-Two Parts.
Sutta: MN 10.4: Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, mindfulness of body section. [Mindfulness of body ]
Abhayagiri Monastic Retreat 2013, Session 3, Excerpt 1
{120} “Could you clarify ‘the body in the body?’” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Mindfulness of body ] [Right Mindfulness ] // [Translation] [Pāli] [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro] [Direct experience] [Self-identity view] [Elements] [Proliferation] [Perception]
References: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 91; Right Mindfulness by Ajahn Ṭhānissaro.
The Four Foundations of Mindfulness [2015], Session 14, Excerpt 4
{150T} “Could you kindly talk about some obstacles in your practice and how you overcame them as an encouragement to us?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Doubt] [Fear] [Mindfulness of body ] [Delusion]
Thanksgiving Retreat 2012, Session 5, Excerpt 21
{180} “Ajahn Chah and other Thai Ajahns emphasize this quality of steady practice. Ajahn Chah showed this was the way to solve the dilemma of desire being both the root of all suffering and a necessary ingredient to being able to practice at all....It seems the main obstacle to achieving steady practice is the variability of that part of my awareness that is supervising what is going on....How does one cultivate self-supervision?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Desire] [Self-reliance] [Postures] [Continuity of mindfulness ] // [Mindfulness of body ] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Mindfulness of breathing]
Quote: “The body is like a mirror for the different moods and state of the mind as we’re experiencing things.” [Mindfulness of body ] [Similes] [Mindfulness of mind]
Follow-up: “I try to practice body awareness when my mind is being supervised...” [Mindfulness of body ] [Long-term practice] [Ajahn Sucitto]
Sutta: MN 10 Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta [Right Mindfulness]
Our Roots in the Thai Forest Tradition [2014], Session 41, Excerpt 6
[Session] Using the breath to steep the body and mind with attention and awareness can reveal and dispel subtle hindrances. (Incomplete recording) [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of body] [Hindrances]
1. Bringing attention to the breath is an alternative to sensual gratification. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sensual desire] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of body] [Hindrances]
2. Recognizing subtle forms of irritation. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Aversion] [Ill-will] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of body] [Hindrances]
Tibetan Buddhism translates klesha as affliction. [Vajrayāna] [Unwholesome Roots] [Translation]
3. Preventing the settled mind from sinking into dullness. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sloth and torpor] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of body] [Hindrances]
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] [Mindfulness of body] [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] [Mindfulness of body]
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. Developing dispassion by reflecting on the body. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of body] [Unattractiveness] [Dispassion] // [Food] [Self-identity view]
15. (A) “Please say a few more words on posture. For example, I noticed that my body was leaning towards the left. If I weighted my right hand with intention, this seems to stop. Is this a correct tactic?” (B) “In my martial arts training, a goal is to relax and make the breathing easier. Is that true of vipassanā as well?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Posture/Sitting] [Mindfulness of body] [Volition] [Tranquility] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Insight meditation] // [Aggregates] [Energy] [Buddha images]
Quote: “That looks like a farang [Western] Buddha. It looks very tense.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Artistic expression] [Culture/West]
1. Guided meditation: The rhythm of the sensation of the body as it is walking. Offered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Posture/Walking ] [Mindfulness of body] [Ajahn Chah] // [Calming meditation] [Present moment awareness] [Proliferation] [Tranquility] [Investigation of states]
5. “As mindfulness has increased, I find fighting drowsiness directly can empower it. I’m drawn to stepping into the experience, feeling the strong pull into mental proliferation, and gently grounding the mind back into stronger physical feeling. I slip in repeatedly but find that I can eventually make the mind stable and bright. Is this a handy strategy or a more long-term approach in knowing and dismantling the hindrances?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sloth and torpor] [Mindfulness of body] [Hindrances] // [Craving not to become]
10. “I keep getting overwhelmed by a variety of intense and unpleasant bodily sensations. I have been trying to keep my focus on more neutral places in the body, but I still find that keeping the concentration anywhere in the body amplifies the unpleasant feelings, and I can’t settle into a place of ease.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Pain] [Mindfulness of body] [Neutral feeling] // [Aversion] [Restlessness and worry] [Fear] [Self-identity view] [Body/form] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Posture/Walking] [Chanting] [Goodwill]
Quote: “The energy we invest in it is where the suffering actually lies. In the end, a body is just a body.” [Suffering]
3. Comment: You spoke about suffusing the body with extreme well-being. But I’ve been in states like that and my body seems to disappear. [Jhāna] [Happiness] [Rapture] [Mindfulness of body] [Gradual Teaching] [Meditation/Unusual experiences]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
Quote: “It isn’t so much the experience of extreme well-being that is the goal. It’s the ability to gain clarity and stability so that one can see through the experience as something that is uncertain or impermanent, has a changing nature. The mind often wants to disregard that. The tendency to identify self with experience on a refined mental level is tempered by the body experience.” [Clear comprehension] [Concentration] [Knowledge and vision] [Impermanence] [Delusion] [Self-identity view] [Mindfulness of body] [Relinquishment]
Follow-up: “Are you saying you can become attached to these states?” [Clinging]
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] [Mindfulness of body]
12. “I’m experiencing the observer watching the breath, but remember a (previous) more unified space that I am in the body or breath field, not aside from it as the watcher. How do I get back in? Does this come with the mind/heart quieting down more? This desire is dukkha, and there is awareness of that too.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of body] [Calming meditation] [Suffering] // [Relinquishment]
3. “What do you think about using awareness itself as an object of meditation? Not open awareness, but awareness of the body where consciousness and the object meet.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Knowing itself] [Mindfulness of body] // [Meditation/Techniques] [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities]
21. “Could you kindly talk about some obstacles in your practice and how you overcame them as an encouragement to us?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Doubt] [Fear] [Mindfulness of body ] [Delusion]
1. “I heard three times today to come back to the body. I don’t get this. Can you explain?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of body] // [Mindfulness]
2. “You spoke to exactly what my brain has been doing the past day and a half. Your suggestion [to investigate the embodied emotions behind the thoughts] was very helpful. However, sometimes when I look to the body, there is no emotional push there. Is there always an emotional push to a thought? What other things can I look for? Thanks for your on-the-spot talk.” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Mindfulness of body] [Emotion] [Proliferation] // [Investigation of states]
6. “In the past few years, I’ve used the narrow area near a nostril as my meditation object, without much success in calming the mind. Lately, I have been using the whole body as object. Is there a difference in depth between these two types of objects as ways to experience the breath?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Calming meditation] [Mindfulness of body] [Meditation/Techniques ] // [Desire] [Continuity of mindfulness]
7. “In the [Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta], there is a reference to contemplating the body internally, contemplating the body externally, and both internally and externally (MN 10.5). How is one supposed to use this in practice?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of body] [Right Mindfulness] // [Unattractiveness] [Elements]
8. “I have greatly appreciated the teachings on non-proliferation, especially Ajahn Karunadhammo’s answer to last night’s question regarding the underlying feeling that is often present and driving a particular proliferation. I live with an autoimmune disease which currently requires frequent adjustments to my medications.... It is quite a conundrum to care for this body and track the various symptoms, all of which I find unpleasant, and yet not to proliferate on what needs to happen next. Going to the body in my practice, while useful, is not reliably calming, and sometimes seems to add fuel to the fire. This retreat I have been practicing with Right View and Right Understanding by repeating key phrases from the daily talks and have experienced what feels like a very deep insight at times. Do you have any words of guidance for when I go off retreat on working with this human body and this all-too-human mind?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Proliferation] [Feeling] [Sickness] [Pain] [Mindfulness of body] [Right View] [Right Intention] // [Suffering] [Ajahn Chah] [Restlessness and worry] [Gladdening the mind]
Sutta: SN 36.6: Shot by two arrows.
Simile from Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 159: Being injected with poison. [Similes]
Quote: “It can still be uncomfortable, but it doesn’t have to be complicated.”
6. “With your instruction and the slowing down of my mind on retreat, I’ve been able to allow the proliferation of thought to subside. However, the release of emotion is another story, as it resides in the body and is not so easily released. I can’t go to the body because the emotion is there, and I can’t go to the mind, because those thoughts will feed the emotion. Any suggestions on where to go next? Even wholesome reflection seems to feed the emotional state.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Proliferation] [Emotion ] [Body/form ] [Mindfulness of body] [Recollection] // [Neutral feeling] [Nature of mind] [Self-identity view]
Quote: “Recognize that the body and emotion are not the same thing.”
[Session] Dhamma talk: Ajahn Pasanno explains the Buddha’s similes for spreading well-being and awareness throughout the body and describes mindfulness of breathing in terms of inclusive awareness. Offered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of body]
2. “Do you have any thoughts about the two interpretations of ‘body of breath’ in MN 118?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of body] [Meditation/Techniques] // [Tranquility] [Volitional formations] [Pāli]
3. Discussion of formless attainments and awareness of body. [Formless attainments] [Mindfulness of body]
7. “During meditation when thoughts come and want to engage me, some thoughts have the power to take me into the storyline, and I don’t even know why. I don’t even know when. Is there a point, sign,or warning that can be seen before I get lost? It’s really painful to live in a virtual reality that never delivers the promise.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Restlessness and worry] [Proliferation ] [Suffering] // [Mindfulness of body ] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Feeling] [Dreams]
Quote: “Tuning into the body, I can start to feel where [the thought] is taking me.” [Mindfulness of body ]
Quote: “You know what the quickest way to enlightenment is? Just look at the thoughts, point your finger, and say ‘Liar!’” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Liberation] [Truth]
8. “Dear Ajahn Pasanno, Thank you for all the guidance and encouragement. The past months have been very busy and stressful for me. Now as I begin to let my mind settle, I’m noticing lots of patterns of tension in my heart, diaphragm, belly, etc. These tensions sometimes make the breath an unpleasant object to stay with. Any advice?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of body] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Suffering] // [Body scanning] [Visualization] [Calming meditation] [Goodwill]
1. “Is body scan as a meditation practice done in the Ajahn Chah tradition? Is there a sutta where the Buddha talks about it?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Body scanning ] [Ajahn Chah lineage] [Sutta] // [Unattractiveness] [Mindfulness of body ] [Elements] [Recollection/Death] [Disenchantment]
Quote: “Ajahn Chah would recommend doing anything that worked.” [Ajahn Chah] [Right Effort]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 60: Reflection on the Thirty-Two Parts.
Sutta: MN 10.4: Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, mindfulness of body section. [Mindfulness of body ]
2. “Is there something in the body that will help you identify the defilement of delusion?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of body] [Delusion ] // [Self-identity view]
4. “Would you talk about (describe) how to relax into ‘whole-body breathing?’ What does that mean?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of breathing ] [Mindfulness of body] // [Concentration] [Unification] [Investigation of states] [Tranquility]
6. “Ajahn Chah and other Thai Ajahns emphasize this quality of steady practice. Ajahn Chah showed this was the way to solve the dilemma of desire being both the root of all suffering and a necessary ingredient to being able to practice at all....It seems the main obstacle to achieving steady practice is the variability of that part of my awareness that is supervising what is going on....How does one cultivate self-supervision?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Desire] [Self-reliance] [Postures] [Continuity of mindfulness ] // [Mindfulness of body ] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Mindfulness of breathing]
Quote: “The body is like a mirror for the different moods and state of the mind as we’re experiencing things.” [Mindfulness of body ] [Similes] [Mindfulness of mind]
Follow-up: “I try to practice body awareness when my mind is being supervised...” [Mindfulness of body ] [Long-term practice] [Ajahn Sucitto]
Sutta: MN 10 Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta [Right Mindfulness]
1. “There seems to be a point of difference in teachings – some teachers emphasize mindfulness of the mind and others say “go for the body.” Do you have any reflections about that?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Mindfulness of mind] [Mindfulness of body] // [Cessation of Suffering] [Science]
13. Comment: I’m reminded of the encouragement to come back to the body as a basis. [Mindfulness of body] [Thai Forest Tradition]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Mun] [Knowing itself]
1. “How refined should the practice of being sensitive to the entire body be? Say, should I be able to sense my earlobe or liver? I find it hard to sense the body when it gets calm. Is it normal or is it a lack of discernment?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of body] [Mindfulness of breathing]
13. “Does the process of refining awareness by calming the breath and becoming sensitive to the body of more subtle layers purify the mind and body? In preparation for more subtle states? Or? P.S. A little wish to hear Dhamma from Ven. Kassapo too. His appearance of equanimity is a solid reference for me this week. Añjali.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of body]
[Session] Readings from Body Contemplation: A Study Guide by Ajahn Ṭhānissaro. Read by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Mindfulness of body]
AN 4.184: Janussonī; AN 10.60: Girimananda; SN 35.247: Six Animals; AN 4.45: Rohitassa; Thag 1.104: Khitaka.
Dhp 259, Dhp 299, Dhp 46; Ud 3.5.
AN 1.575 and onward, Mindfulness immersed in the body (SuttaCentral numbering).
AN 1.616 and onward, Deathless (SuttaCentral numbering).
3. “Is mindfulness of the body fabricating a wholesome mental image of the body as opposed to an unwholesome image? But how can we know the body in any way other than vedanā?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Mindfulness of body] [Visualization] [Feeling] // [S. N. Goenka] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Postures] [Clear comprehension] [Right Mindfulness] [Calming meditation] [Insight meditation] [Delusion] [Characteristics of existence]
Quote: “The availability of insight is through stepping back from the assumptions that we make, whether it’s around the body or feeling or mind or the sense of self.” [Relinquishment]
4. Discussion of which exercises described as mindfulness of the body (MN 10) are reflective techniques and which are based on vedanā. Led by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Mindfulness of body] [Recollection] [Feeling] // [Elements] [Unattractiveness] [Insight meditation] [Liberation]
Comment about S.N. Goenka’s use of the term vedanā. Contributed by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [S. N. Goenka] [Contact] [Sense bases] [Aggregates]
[Session] Reading: MN 119: This sutta describes the development of mindfulness of the body through mindfulness of breathing, the four postures, full awareness, bodily parts, elements, corpse contemplation, and the four jhānas. Read by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Mindfulness of body] [Unattractiveness]
2. “Is it common for body contemplation to veer towards aversion?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Mindfulness of body] [Unattractiveness] [Aversion] [Elements] // [Translation] [Not-self] [Ajahn Chah]
Sutta: MN 62: Mahārāhulaovāda Sutta, The Greater Discourse of Advice to Rāhula.
4. “Could you clarify ‘the body in the body?’” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Mindfulness of body ] [Right Mindfulness ] // [Translation] [Pāli] [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro] [Direct experience] [Self-identity view] [Elements] [Proliferation] [Perception]
References: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 91; Right Mindfulness by Ajahn Ṭhānissaro.
2. Comment: Ajahn Ṭhānissaro encourages mindfulness of the body. [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro] [Mindfulness of body] // [Delusion]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of body] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Jhāna]
[Session] Readings by Ajahn Pasanno: [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of body]
Right Mindfulness pp. 115-119.
Sutta: MN 80: Vekhanassa Sutta, To Vekhanassa.
Sutta: Ud 7.8: “Kaccāna.”
Sutta: MN 62: Mahārāhulaovāda Sutta, The Greater Discourse of Advice to Rāhula.
[Session] Readings by Ajahn Pasanno: [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of body] [Elements] [Mindfulness of feeling]
Right Mindfulness pp. 119-121.
Sutta: MN 28: Mahāhatthipadopama Sutta, The Greater Discourse on the Simile of the Elephant’s Footprint.
4. Comment by Rik Center about working with not-self in direct experience in relation to discomfort and awareness of embodied release. [Direct experience] [Feeling] [Suffering] [Impermanence] [Not-self] [Mindfulness of body] [Relinquishment] [Fear]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Proliferation]
14. “That sukha (happiness) is still experienced through the sense object of the mind?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Happiness] [Rapture] [Sense bases] [Jhāna] // [Mindfulness of body]
Quote: “The way the Buddha describes the jhāna factors, all the images are grounded in the body.” (MN 39.15) [Similes] [Mindfulness of body]
11. Comment: In mindfulness of breathing, you feel the breath throughout the body. This suffusion is similar in jhāna. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of body] [Jhāna]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Right Mindfulness]
Suttas: MN 10: Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, MN 118: Ānāpānasati Sutta
12. “Ajahn Chah talks about the one who knows. Is this a purely mental exercise or is it embodied?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Knowing itself ] [Mindfulness of body] [Jhāna] // [Culture/West] [Nature of mind]
Quote: “The Thai Krooba Ajahns translate ‘Buddho’ as ‘being the one who knows.’” [Thai Forest Tradition] [Buddho mantra] [Translation]
3. “You spoke of using the body as reference, backdrop for the breath. Always coming back to the body. Doesn’t this foster a sense of attachment to the body as mine? And what if the body is not in good shape, ill, and hurting?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of body] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Body/form] [Clinging] [Self-identity view] [Sickness] // [Relinquishment]
1. “Should we judge the quality of our meditation only by the time we spend in focused concentration?” Answered by Ajahn Jotipālo, Ajahn Ñāṇiko, Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and the Abhayagiri Saṅgha. [Ajahn Ñāṇadhammo] [Meditation/Results ] [Concentration] // [Mindfulness] [Right Effort] [Investigation of states] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Hindrances]
References: Walking Meditation by Ajahn Ñāṇadhammo; “The Five Hindrances,” from The Anthology Vol. 1 by Ajahn Sumedho, pp. 35–44.
Story: Ajahn Tate and the bhavaṅga states. Told by Ajahn Jotipālo and Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Ajahn Tate] [Wrong concentration] [Ajahn Mun] [Mindfulness of body]
Story: Ajahn Khao meditates all night with no awareness. Told by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Ajahn Khao]
1. “Do the Thai Forest masters emphasize hair, teeth, nails, and skin in their body contemplation because those are more obvious to cultivate?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Thai Forest Tradition] [Mindfulness of body] [Unattractiveness] // [Ordination]
2. “Do you contemplate the body before you contemplate mind?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Thai Forest Tradition] [Mindfulness of body] [Mindfulness of mind] // [Culture/West] [Nature of mind] [Sense bases] [Aggregates]
Follow-up: “Do you need to let go of the body before you can go deep into the mind?” [Mindfulness of body]
5. Story: Ajahn Kalyano instructs monks to memorize the organs while watching an autopsy. Told by Ajahn Jotipālo. [Ajahn Kalyāṇo] [Unattractiveness] [Mindfulness of body] // [Aversion]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Disenchantment] [Dispassion] [Skillful qualities]
2. Question about the differences between expansive knowing, concentration, and divided knowing or awareness; difference between viññāṇa and paññā. [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of body] [Consciousness] [Concentration] [Spaciousness] // [Energy] [Unification] [Continuity of mindfulness]
3. “How do you apply mindfulness of the body in terms of jhana practice?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of body] [Jhāna ] // [Mindfulness of breathing] [Similes ] [Rapture] [Happiness]
Sutta: MN 118 Ānāpānasati Sutta.
Sutta: MN 119.18: Similes for jhāna.
12. “When I try to fully experience the body, I seem to hold the in-breath too tightly, causing tension in the abdomen. Do you have any tips for loosening up diaphragm or the belly area?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of body]
4. Comment by Rik Center: That [MN 19.8] feels like it goes to the Four Foundations of Mindfulness of knowing when the mind is here, knowing what’s happening to the body. [Right Mindfulness] [Mindfulness of body] [Directed thought and evaluation]
4. “When you go into your body to feel the underlying emotion behind a thought, what happens when the bodily feeling is so uncomfortable that you really don’t want to feel it?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Mindfulness of body] [Emotion] [Directed thought and evaluation] [Suffering ] [Aversion] [Fear] // [Recollection/Buddha] [Recollection/Saṅgha] [Recollection/Virtue] [Faith]
Follow-up: “It seems really difficult to think of Dhamma or the refuges while in such a wrapped-up state. I don’t know if I could do that.” [Noble Truth of Suffering] [Visualization] [Goodwill] [Compassion]
6. “I’m struggling with developing a personal faith that I can trust in my body and not hurt myself and accept myself.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Faith] [Mindfulness of body] // [Faculties] [Language]
11. Comment by Rik Center about developing faith in the practice by watching energies move, change, and dissipate in the body. [Faith] [Mindfulness of body] // [Grief]
2. Comment: Our group talked about body scanning, coming back to the body, as a way to find your center. Everyone was conscious of skillful means in knowing themselves. We all had different ways of knowing what works and adapting to different circumstances that arise. [Body scanning] [Mindfulness of body] [Right Effort] [Directed thought and evaluation]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of body] [Long-term practice]
10. “I’ve heard that someone asked Ajahn Chah if he could read his students’ minds. He replied that he didn’t need to; he just watched how they walked in the door and bowed. Do you get a feel for this over time?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Psychic powers] [Teaching Dhamma] [Mindfulness of body] [Monastic life] [Saṅgha] [Bowing]
1. “In Canada, medical assistance in death is legal. As an old person who will be sick and dying not too far off, it raises the question: If I got to the point where I felt even with good palliative and hospice care, I couldn’t withstand the pain any longer, it’s an option. But what about the first precept of not taking life?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sickness] [Pain] [Death] [Health care ] [Euthanasia] [Killing] // [Relinquishment] [Self-identity view] [Idealism]
Quote: “Being present for the falling apart of the body opens doorways to release that don’t really happen with, ‘I just want to be done with this. This totally sucks.’” [Present moment awareness] [Mindfulness of body] [Release] [Aversion] [Fear] [Clinging] [Saṃsāra]
13. Quote: Abhayagiri ethos: “We all live in the forest. Everyone’s in a kuti.” — Ajahn Amaro. [Lodging ] [Culture/Natural environment ] [Abhayagiri] // [Amaravati] [Ajahn Amaro] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Weather]
Quote: “Mindfulness of the body is an absolute necessity.” [Mindfulness of body]
7. “How do you understand the phrase, ‘The body within the body?’” Answered by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Right Mindfulness] [Mindfulness of body] // [Views] [Discernment] [Relinquishment]
4. “Thinking about sensuality and thinking about noticing and cognizing all this stuff. So is noticing just a pure mental exercise or does bodily sensation also have a place?” Answered by Ajahn Amaro. [Insight meditation] [Mindfulness of body] // [Discernment] [Personality] [Ajahn Sucitto] [Ajahn Amaro]
Follow-up: “So do we try to find our own way or do we try to balance our attitudes?” [Attitude]
Reference: Meditation: A Way of Awakening by Ajahn Sucitto.
4. “What does contemplating the body internally and externally mean [in MN 10.5]?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of body] // [Mindfulness] [Clear comprehension] [Ajahn Chah]
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] [Mindfulness of body]
4. Recollection: Ajahn Chah’s advice for establishing mindfulness in the midst of strong emotions. Recounted by Ajahn Amaro and Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Mindfulness] [Emotion] // [Ajahn Amaro] [Food] [Suffering] [Conditionality] [Equanimity] [Mindfulness of body] [Greed]
Story: Ajahn Chah eats 37 mangoes.