Part of key topic The Noble Eightfold Path
2. “Would you explain the duties adult children have towards ageing parents and the duties of parents towards their children as taught by the Buddha?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Family] [Parents ] [Ageing] [Children ] // [Health care] [Culture/Asia]
Sutta: AN 2.33: The greatest gifts to one’s parents. [Virtue] [Generosity] [Right View]
4. “What did the Buddha say about karma in relationship to our parents and siblings? How did we end up in these families?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Kamma ] [Family ] // [Gratitude] [Parents]
Sutta: MN 117.7: Conventional Right View. [Right View]
20. “I have found Buddhist philosophy and meditation to be so helpful in this life. However, I am challenged by the concept of reincarnation, especially when the texts describe the hell realms, such as hungry ghosts, whose throats are narrow as needles and cannot pass food and water. Or hot realms of fire or even the god realms of excess desire. This sounds very different from the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. The concept of reincarnation was around before the Buddha. Can you explain how one should understand reincarnation? Is it literal or myth or what?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Rebirth] [Realms of existence ] [Four Noble Truths] [Eightfold Path] [Culture/India] // [Nature of the cosmos] [Culture/West] [Western psychology] [Right View] [Kamma] [Self-identity view]
Sutta: MN 117.7: Conventional Right View. [Right View]
10. “Did the Buddha perform any miracles?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Psychic powers ] [Buddha]
Sutta: Sutta AN 3.60: The greatest miracle is teaching the Dhamma. [Dhamma] [Right View]
1. “How can those just entering monastic life lay a good foundation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Monastic life] // [Vinaya] [Right View] [Ajahn Chah] [Virtue] [Stream entry] [Four Noble Truths] [Kamma] [Generosity] [Greed] [Communal harmony] [Happiness] [Gratitude]
Sutta: SN 55.1: Sīla of a stream enterer
Sutta: MN 117: The Great Forty [Right View]
1. “You have so much community-building experience. Can you talk about what you have found challenging or effective in this? How did Ajahn Chah build community?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Community] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Chah] // [Saṅgha] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Virtue] [Trust] [Communal harmony] [Compassion] [Culture/Thailand] [Ajahn Chah lineage] [Recollection/Saṅgha] [Sequence of training] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Abhayagiri] [Eightfold Path] [Learning]
Sutta: MN 48: Kosambiya Sutta [Principles of Cordiality] [Goodwill] [Generosity] [Right View]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno pays respects to Ajahn Chah: “If you want to stay here, you have to stay at least five years.”
Quote: “The whole path of the Buddha is a path of learning, of education.”
5. “I feel that a lot of people are disconnected with the reality world. They don’t have a place of social, and they withdraw themselves and go on the internet. So I think the fundamental problem is people [audio unclear] in this real world. Do you have any comments on how to connect people in the real world so there can be a replacement of social media?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Community] [Social media] [Internet] // [Dhamma online] [Pandemic] [Online community] [Abhayagiri] [Lunar observance days]
Sutta: SN 55.5: Spiritual friendship as a condition for Right View. [Spiritual friendship] [Right View] [Conditionality] [Appropriate attention]
3. “During times of intense joy and happiness, I find that joy and happiness itself can trigger worry, fear, or desire to control. From this morning’s teachings, I took that one way to skillfully hold happiness is to share it; another is to express gratitude for it. Do you have any advice on how to hold happiness when it feels almost too big to release into?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Happiness ] [Fear] [Gratitude] // [Self-identity view] [Compassion] [Discernment] [Right Speech] [Admonishment/feedback] [Humility]
Sutta: AN 2.126: Two conditions for the arising of Right View. [Right View] [Spiritual friendship] [Appropriate attention]
Quote: “What is the essence of the Buddha’s teachings? You are not what you think.” [Not-self] [Proliferation]