9. “I have an internal voice that’s concerned whether I’m doing it right; if I’m not doing it right, then I won’t get where I want to go. Is this delusion?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Perfectionism ] [Delusion] // [Suffering] [Fear]
4. “Thank you for your talk on mindfulness today—very helpful. I’ve been practicing for a long time (and have even had a few insights that made big impressions on me) and while my sīla has definitely improved, my mindfulness is a priority and I might have a tad more wisdom, my mind looks for ways to suffer. Sometimes I feel like a total failure as a Buddhist. I understand that letting go of identity view is the answer, but how? What am I missing?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Long-term practice] [Suffering] [Perfectionism] [Self-identity view] // [Aggregates] [Relinquishment] [Drawbacks] [Gladdening the mind]
Sutta: SN 22.22: The Burden (Chanting Book translation)
3. “A lot of my life has been based on guilt, punishment, achievement, feeling driven, and perfectionism. Recently I experienced the reverse of this. Perfectionism is mixed up with wholesome desire. Could you respond?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] [Judgementalism] [Perfectionism ] [Desire] [Contentment] // [Discernment] [Self-identity view] [Human]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno can’t translate the question ‘How do I work with guilt?’ into Thai. [Ajahn Paññānanda] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Language] [Culture/West] [Culture/Thailand] [Suffering]
18. Appreciation for hearing Ajahn Chah’s teachings to lay people and reflections on spiritual perfectionism. [Lay life] [Perfectionism] [Ajahn Chah]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Culture/West] [Idealism] [Culture/Thailand] [Cessation of Suffering]
8. “I’ve been reading the Venerable Ācariya Mun Bhūridatta Thera: A Spiritual Biography by Ajahn Mahā Boowa. I’m struck by how hard Ajahn Mun was on his disciples and also how hard his disciples were on themselves. I have a tendency towards self-criticism that I don’t feel is particularly helpful, but it seems that these forest monks were using self-criticism quite effectively. Can you comment?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Mun] [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Fierce/direct teaching] [Perfectionism] // [Dhamma books] [Culture/West] [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] [Culture/Thailand] [Faith] [Gratitude]
1. “I have found your teachings and example of gratitude profound. Could you speak to people who don’t yet see the value of gratitude in a Buddhist practice but are inclined towards fault-finding?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Gratitude ] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Perfectionism] // [Suffering] [Gain and loss] [Community] [Happiness] [Generosity]
Quote: “We’re not autonomous packages of meat.... Trying to prop up the sense of an autonomous individual and personality is really painful and tiring.” [Self-identity view]