8. “How does one contemplate the Eight Worldly Dhammas?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Worldly Conditions ] [Recollection] // [Craving] [Arahant] [Pain] [Naturalness]
Quote: “Even if someone calls you a dog, all you’ve got to do is look to see if you have a tail.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Harsh speech] [Blame and praise] [Culture/Thailand]
13. “Did anyone ever need a knee replacement as a result of being on retreat? Is it okay to set up a few more chairs? Metta to knees everywhere.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Health] [Meditation retreats] [Posture/Sitting] [Goodwill] // [Pain] [Ajahn Pasanno]
6. “The buzzing sound in the ears (tinnitus) seems to be getting worse during the retreat. How can I handle it? Should I contemplate it and use it as a meditation object or not attend to it and move on to the breath?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation/Unusual experiences] [Mindfulness of breathing] // [Happiness] [Aversion] [Pain]
3. “Can you talk about neither-painful-nor-pleasant feelings and the benefits of being with this boringness?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Neutral feeling ] [Mindfulness of feeling] // [Pain] [Feeling] [Unwholesome Roots]
Sutta: MN 44.25: The tendencies underlying feelings.
3. “If you keep chipping away at a theme of contemplation, you keep doing it, doing it, and nothing is changing in your experience, at some stage you feel this isn’t working, do you just have to move on and try something else? Is it the case that you just have to try them all? No-one can tell you which is going to work for you?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Depression] [Recollection] // [Patience] [Spiritual friendship]
Story: Ajahn Wanchai has a spinal injury and is in chronic pain but doesn’t refer to himself. Told by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Ajahn Wanchai] [Suffering] [Sickness] [Pain] [Conceit]
9. “Sometimes I’ve been sitting a long time and am too tired to keep sitting, walk, or stand. Any suggestions?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Postures] [Devotion to wakefulness] [Sloth and torpor] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Pain] [Posture/Standing]
9. “How does one work with the vedanā and neutral sensations?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of feeling] [Feeling] [Neutral feeling] // [Happiness] [Pain] [Unwholesome Roots] [Delusion] [Mindfulness] [Continuity of mindfulness]
10. “For those of us who need to routinely rest more due to aging, illness, or disability, could you share some suggestions and advice for how to optimize this time as mediation in a lying down posture?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ageing] [Sickness] [Posture/Lying down ] // [Determination] [Body scanning] [Clear comprehension] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Pain] [Buddha images] [Tranquility] [Perception]
Recollection: Ajahn Pasanno develops lying down meditation after breaking his pelvis. [Ajahn Pasanno]
1. Question about views on whether the cause of suffering is desire or clinging to desire. Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Craving] [Clinging] [Cause of Suffering] // [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro] [Idealism] [Suffering] [Cessation of Suffering]
Reference: Salutation to the Triple Gem: “Rūpūpādānakkhandho...”
Follow-up: “Is the greater suffering the reaction to pain?” [Pain] [Feeling] [Aversion]
Quote: “All these different teachings and expressions of teachings....We don’t have to make them mesh, but try to figure out what they are pointing to.” [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Recollection/Dhamma]
6. “How do you handle physical sensations like an itch during meditation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation/General advice] [Contact] // [Mindfulness] [Patience] [Pain]
5. “In your guided meditation you mentioned noticing, ‘This is bearable.’ When is it skillful to bear with and when it is skillful to put effort towards change, whether in action or in the mind?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Patience] [Equanimity] [Right Effort] // [Discernment] [Pain] [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities] [Happiness] [Clear comprehension]
5. “Could you speak more about how to prevent feelings from becoming aversion or desire? How does this relate to Dependent Origination?” Answered by Ajahn Amaro. [Feeling] [Aversion] [Craving] [Dependent origination] // [Arahant] [Buddha] [Pain] [Mindfulness] [Birth] [Impermanence] [Happiness] [Direct experience] [Proliferation] [Master Hsuan Hua]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno breaks his pelvis in Thailand. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Pain]
5. “When Sariputta and Moggallāna died, [the Buddha] expressed almost a sense of grief in the context of the absence from the assembly. I wonder how that fits with the idea of Nibbāna.” Answered by Ajahn Amaro. [Great disciples] [Death] [Buddha/Biography] [Grief] // [Pain] [Suffering] [Emotion] [Tranquility] [Theravāda]
Sutta: SN 47.14: Ukkacelā Sutta: “This assembly appears to me empty now....”
Sutta: SN 36.6: The Arrow.
Story: Ajahn Sumedho’s experience of his mother’s death. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Parents]