173 excerpts, 13:28:01 total duration
{140} “How does atammayatā relate to Ajahn Chah’s simile about oil and water, the mind and the mind objects being separate?” Answered by Ajahn Amaro and Ajahn Pasanno. [Non-identification] [Ajahn Chah] [Similes ] [Nature of mind]
Quote: “Inside is Dhamma, outside is Dhamma, everything is Dhamma.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Ajahn Amaro. [Dhamma]
Quote: “All symbols and similes are partially relevant. All analogies are partial.” — Ajahn Amaro. [Symbolism/metaphor] [Similes ]
Readings from The Island [2025], Session 36, Excerpt 4
{150} Reading: One Seat. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Similes ] [Ajahn Chah] // [Mindfulness] [Buddho mantra] [Volitional formations]
Recollections of Ajahn Chah [2010], Session 10, Excerpt 4
{200} “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.
3. Teachings to Marjorie by Ajahn Chah. Thai audio with English translation. Read by Kittisaro. [Thai audio] [Ajahn Chah] // [Similes] [Moods of the mind] [Heedfulness] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Cessation of Suffering] [Dispassion] [Nibbāna] [Unconditioned]
Reference: “Living with the Cobra,” Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 233.
4. Teachings to Marjorie by Ajahn Chah, English only. Read by Kittisaro. [Ajahn Chah] // [Similes] [Moods of the mind] [Heedfulness] [Continuity of mindfulness ] [Cessation of Suffering] [Dispassion ] [Nibbāna ] [Unconditioned]
Reference: “Living with the Cobra,” Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 233.
Maintain mindfulness throughout the day and night. [Continuity of mindfulness ]
“There’s just suffering arising and passing away.” [Suffering ] [Impermanence ]
“You’ll want to make an end of things.” [Dispassion ] [Cessation ]
“This is the nature of enlightenment. It’s the extinguishing of fire, the cooling of that which was hot. This is peace. This is the end of saṃsāra, the cycle of birth and death.” [Liberation ] [Nibbāna ] [Similes] [Cessation ] [Saṃsāra]
“If the tears don’t come, we don’t really accept truth.” [Suffering ] [Truth]
Note: “Living with the Cobra” omits this quote and other more personal aspects of Ajahn Chah’s teaching to Marjorie.
1. Reading: “Meditation” from Living Dhamma by Ajahn Chah, pp. 50-53. Read by Ajahn Jitindriyā. [Meditation ]
“Cultivate the tree right from the seed.” [Similes] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma]
“To practice in a way that’s peaceful means to place the mind neither too high or too low, but at the point of balance.” [Middle Path] [Ajahn Chah]
“So many teachers, so many teachings.” [Teachers] [Doubt] [Meditation/Techniques]
“Where there is knowing, there is no need to think.” [Knowing itself] [Directed thought and evaluation] [Tranquility] [Mindfulness ] [Discernment] [Proliferation]
“Resolve that right now is the time for training the mind and nothing else.” [Ardency] [Meditation ] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Body scanning] [Relinquishment] [Sense restraint]
“Sometimes there may be doubt, so you must have sati, to be the one who knows, continually following and examining the agitated mind.” [Mindfulness ] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Restlessness and worry] [Heedfulness] [Concentration] [Feeling]
Simile: Chicken in a coop. [Similes]
12. Parable about teaching Dhamma: Two oxen pulling the same cart. [Teaching Dhamma] [Similes] [Ajahn Chah]
9. Reflection by Joseph Kappel: Jumping off the Saṅgha ocean liner. [Saṅgha] [Similes] [Joseph Kappel] [Disrobing] // [Faith] [Five Precepts] [Ajahn Chah]
1. Reflection by Paul Breiter: How do Ajahn Chah’s teachings apply to lay life? [Lay life ] [Ajahn Chah] // [Monastic life] [Culture/Thailand] [Culture/West]
When I left the monastery, I felt like a skinned cow (SN 12.63). [Similes] [Vinaya]
Story: Ajahn Chah scolds the monks for dreaming about lay life. [Work] [Family] [Commerce/economics] [Renunciation]
6. Quote: “Is the boulder heavy? ... Is a lemon sour?” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Paul Breiter. [Ajahn Chah] [Similes] [Suffering] // [Paul Breiter]
7. Quote: “If you see one monkey, you can understand the nature of monkeys.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Paul Breiter. [Ajahn Chah] [Similes] // [Lay life] [Buddha] [Recollection/Buddha]
Quote: “What are the benefits of lay life? We have more opportunities to apply the teaching, ‘Monkeys are like that.’” [Similes]
2. “My life has been hugely impacted by Ajahn Chah, his teachings, and the spiritual family he introduced me to.” Reflection by Kittisaro. [Gratitude] [Teaching Dhamma] [Saṅgha] [Ajahn Chah] // [Happiness] [Teachers] [Learning] [Respect for elders] [Meditation retreats] [Body scanning] [Conceit] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Goodwill] [Humility] [Mentoring]
Story: Ajahn Chah sniffs around like a dog. [Kittisaro] [Similes] [Humor] [Mindfulness of breathing]
Quote: “He gave me a practice path that goes on and on to this day.” [Eightfold Path]
3. How I met Ajahn Chah. Reflection by Ajahn Mahā Prasert. [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Mahā Prasert] // [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Generosity] [Monasteries] [Wat Pah Pong] [Happiness] [Teaching Dhamma] [Merit] [Joseph Kappel] [Wat Pah Nanachat]
Simile of the dusty road. [Similes] [Heart/mind]
3. Ajahn Sumedho has been so important in my life. Reflection by Jack Kornfield. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Jack Kornfield] [Gratitude] [Ajahn Chah] // [Wat Pah Pong] [Monastic life] [Teaching Dhamma]
Simile: Ajahn Sumedho explains Ajahn Chah’s jazz. [Similes]
10. Story: An elderly English Buddhist asks about Buddhist psychology and Abhidhamma. Told by Jack Kornfield. [Abhidhamma] [Ajahn Chah] // [Similes] [Humor] [Fierce/direct teaching]
23. What does not suffering mean? Reflection by Jack Kornfield. [Suffering] [Cessation of Suffering] [Ajahn Chah] // [Judgementalism] [Politics and society] [Discrimination] [Environment] [Discernment] [Compassion] [Human] [Buddha] [Proliferation] [Relinquishment]
Quote: “We human beings are constantly in combat, at war to escape the fact of being limited by so many circumstances that we can’t control...”” — Ajahn Chah. [Conflict] [Characteristics of existence]
Quote: “Doubts are natural.” — Ajahn Chah. [Doubt] [Naturalness] [Impermanence] [Not-self] [Liberation]
Quote: “The desire mind is like children.” — Ajahn Chah. [Desire] [Similes]
Story: “Scary ride, wasn’t it?” [Jack Kornfield] [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Fear] [Death]
27. Quote: “The mind, the heart, will become still in any surroundings, like a clear forest pool...” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Jack Kornfield. [Ajahn Chah] [Heart/mind] [Tranquility] [Similes] // [Mindfulness] [Naturalness] [Knowledge and vision] [Happiness] [Buddha]
4. Stories: The Chipmunk Story and The Donkey Story. Told by Kittisaro. [Kittisaro] [Depression] [Humor ] [Similes] [Ajahn Chah] // [Recreation/leisure/sport] [Perfectionism] [Meditation] [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Sickness] [Animal] [Learning] [Health care] [Self-identity view] [Joseph Kappel] [Compassion] [Energy] [Right Effort] [Equanimity] [Lawfulness]
[Session] Ajahn Pasanno elucidates the Buddha’s similes for the Five Hindrances (MN 39.14). He encourages us to investigate the tone of the mind to identify the presence or absence of hindrances and to delight in the inherent well-being of the mind when the hindrances are relinquished. [Hindrances] [Similes]
1. Simile: Sensual desire is like being in debt. (MN 39.14) — Ajahn Pasanno. [Sensual desire] [Hindrances] [Similes]
2. Simile: Ill-will is like being sick. (MN 39.14) — Ajahn Pasanno. [Ill-will ] [Hindrances] [Similes] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Sickness] [Happiness]
3. Simile: Sloth and torpor is like being in prison. (MN 39.14) — Ajahn Pasanno. [Sloth and torpor] [Hindrances] [Similes]
4. Simile: Restlessness and worry is like being a slave. — Ajahn Pasanno. [Restlessness and worry ] [Hindrances] [Similes] // [Mindfulness of body]
5. Simile: Skeptical doubt is like a merchant travelling through a dangerous desert. — Ajahn Pasanno. [Doubt] [Hindrances] [Similes]
3. The commentaries contrast the Five Hindrances with the five factors of first jhāna. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Hindrances] [Jhāna] // [Directed thought and evaluation] [Sloth and torpor] [Doubt] [Rapture] [Ill-will] [Happiness] [Restlessness and worry] [Unification] [Sensual desire]
Story: Ajahn Boon Choo dispels sloth and torpor. [Ajahn Boon Choo] [Devotion to wakefulness]
Quote: “Sensual desire is like looking for the turtle with the mustache.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Similes]
Meditation instruction: Breathing with the five factors of first jhāna. [Mindfulness of breathing]
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] [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] [Similes] [Sensual desire] [Ill-will] [Sloth and torpor] [Restlessness and worry] [Doubt]
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]
4. Discerning the fundamental mind base amidst the moods of the mind. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of mind] // [Ajahn Mun] [Ajahn Chah] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Similes] [Concentration] [Relinquishment]
1. Simile: A trap for monkeys who don’t let go. — Ajahn Pasanno. [Animal] [Clinging] [Similes]
2. Reflection by Ajahn Pasanno: We’re not diminished beings if we don’t get what we want. [Sensual desire] [Clinging] [Liberation] // [Food] [Drawbacks] [Mindfulness of breathing]
Simile: A dog gnawing on meatless bones (MN 54.15). [Similes]
1. Simile: As dawn precedes sunrise, when one recognizes the quality of appamāda (heedfulness), one can expect the unfolding of the Eightfold Path. (SN 45.55) — Ajahn Pasanno. [Similes] [Heedfulness] [Eightfold Path] [Recollection/Death] [Dispassion] // [Liberation]
1. Simile: The mind that does not allow cessation is like the derelict Chithurst House stuffed with junk. — Ajahn Pasanno. [Chithurst] [Cessation] [Similes]
2. “Can you speak a little about samatha/vipassana and explain the difference between serenity and equanimity?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Calming meditation] [Insight meditation] [Equanimity] // [Commentaries] [Ajahn Chah] [Relinquishment] [Liberation] [Concentration] [Divine Abidings] [Factors of Awakening] [Discernment]
Quote: “Samatha-vipassanā is like a green mango and a ripe mango. Same mango.” — Ajahn Chah. [Similes]
3. “Could you please explain about the death process…how quickly does rebirth occur?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Death ] [Rebirth] // [Recollection/Death] [Delusion] [Self-identity view] [Recollection] [Impermanence] [Not-self] [Theravāda] [History/Early Buddhism] [Sutta] [Vajrayāna] [Clinging] [Culture/Thailand] [Chanting] [Goodwill] [Relinquishment] [Ceremony/ritual] [Kamma]
References: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 55: Five Recollections; Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 12: The body is impermanent... [Craving]
Simile: Fire blown by the wind (SN 44.9: Kutūhalasālā Sutta) [Similes]
Story: A former monk asks Ajahn Chah about working with dying people to give them the opportunity for wholesome rebirth. [Ajahn Chah] [Teachers] [Fierce/direct teaching]
Quote: “I practice dying.” — The Dalai Lama. [Dalai Lama]
9. “Could you talk more about working with the hindrance of doubt?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Doubt ] // [Fear] [Aversion] [Sensual desire] [Mindfulness of body] [Tranquility] [Mindfulness of feeling] [Right Speech] [Delusion]
Simile: A dish of muddy water placed in a dark cupboard (SN 46.55). [Similes]
8. “Please explain in English the Pali chant you give as a blessing at the meal and at other occasions.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Anumodanā] [Pāli] // [Translation] [Merit] [Similes] [Three Refuges]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 50
11. “It’s been so helpful to hear stories from your own experience. Could you talk about some of the more challenging moments in your practice and how you worked with them?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Gratitude] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Long-term practice] // [Doubt ] [Patience]
Quote: “It’s not me resolving doubt, but it’s allowing the practice or the Dhamma to work.” [Self-identity view] [Dhamma] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Faith] [Three Refuges]
Simile: “Getting in the vehicle and allowing it to carry you.” [Similes]
19. “What is the difference between pīti and sukha?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Rapture] [Happiness] // [Continuity of mindfulness] [Concentration] [Jhāna] [Tranquility] [Unification] [Mindfulness]
Simile: A traveller through a desert learns of an oasis (pīti) then drinks and bathes at the oasis (sukha) (Path of Purification by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, p. 139). [Similes]
7. “Just to clarify – when doing loving-kindness practice, is any phrase OK to repeat? They can be said as a chant, right? At any speed? Is any chant best for achieving concentration?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Goodwill] [Meditation/Techniques] [Chanting] [Concentration] // [Nature of mind]
Quote: “What is really important is not so much the phrases or the methodology but the feeling that is established within the heart of lovingkindness.” [Emotion]
Simile: A tradesman with only one tool. [Similes]
4. Teaching by Ajahn Chah: Meditation is like a single piece of wood. Insight is one end of the stick, and serenity is the other. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Similes] [Insight meditation] [Calming meditation] [Ajahn Chah] // [Naturalness]
1. Guided meditation: Resolve right now is the time for training the mind and nothing else. From “The Key to Liberation” by Ajahn Chah. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Calming meditation] [Proliferation] [Determination] [Ajahn Chah] // [Mindfulness] [Discernment] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Body scanning] [Relinquishment] [Unification] [Restlessness and worry] [Concentration] [Present moment awareness] [Clear comprehension] [Impermanence] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Sense restraint]
Quote: “Sitting and walking meditation are in essence the same, differing only in the posture used.” [Posture/Sitting] [Posture/Walking]
Simile: Chicken in a coop. [Similes]
Simile: Mindfulness, clear comprehension, and wisdom are like three workers lifting heavy planks. [Similes]
2. Reading: Everyday. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Everyday life] [Ajahn Chah] // [Ardency] [Sloth and torpor]
Simile: A child learning to write. [Similes]
3. Reading: Catching a Lizard. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Similes] [Ajahn Chah] // [Meditation/General advice] [Sense restraint] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness] [Clear comprehension]
4. Reading: One Seat. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Similes ] [Ajahn Chah] // [Mindfulness] [Buddho mantra] [Volitional formations]
1. Question about how Ajahn Chah taught to deal with people externally. Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Community] [Ajahn Chah] // [Ajahn Mun] [Virtue] [Doubt] [Monastic life] [Views]
Story: A ghost tries to align the visitors sleeping in his hall. [Culture/Thailand] [Lodging] [Ghost] [Communal harmony]
Quote: “You have to have an anchor in your own practice.” [Similes]
6. Reading from the draft biography: Ajahn Chah in the early years: spare, stern, and vigorous. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Personality] [Personal presence] [Ardency] [Ascetic practices] [Ajahn Chah] // [Similes]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 137
Quote: “Nibbāna lies on the shores of death.” — Ajahn Chah. [Nibbāna] [Death]
8. Reading from the draft biography: Ajahn Chah’s ability to draw people in and respond with compassion. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Personal presence] [Compassion] [Generosity] [Ajahn Chah] // [Wat Tam Saeng Pet] [Rains retreat] [Sickness] [Almsround] [Teaching Dhamma] [Similes] [Upatakh]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 705
6. “What are some skillful ways to deal with anger and resentment?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Aversion] [Ill-will ] // [Suffering] [Drawbacks] [Goodwill] [Views]
Quote: “There’s no way that you can have anger and resentment and feel peaceful and happy.” [Happiness]
Sutta: Dhp 125: Throwing dust into the air. [Similes]
3. “Where in the Pāli Canon does the Buddha discuss physical pain and how to deal with it? Is physical pain categorized as a sense hindrance or a mental object?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Tipiṭaka] [Pain] [Sense bases] [Volitional formations] // [Patience] [Feeling]
Sutta: SN 36.6: The Dart. [Similes]
Sutta: MN 86.17. [Kamma] [Arahant]
Sutta: MN 44.25: The underlying tendencies associated with feeling.
7. “Could you elaborate on what the malleable mind is and how it differs from pliable?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Heart/mind] // [Pāli]
Sutta: AN 3.101-102: Similes of a goldsmith. [Similes]
14. “To find out for ourselves may still be an individual truth. Wouldn’t the ultimate truth, the absolute truth, have the same flavor for everybody?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Unconditioned ] // [Personality] [Cessation of Suffering] [Great disciples] [Commentaries]
Sutta: AN 8.19.16: The taste of liberation. [Similes]
14. “Was Ajahn Chah fully liberated? Do you know any living being who is?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Arahant]
Recollection: Ajahn Chah likened people speculating about his attainments to birds chattering in a tree. [Stages of awakening] [Similes]
3. “I am working with a repetitive thought that is bringing up doubt, worry, and anxiety. It seems strong, sneaky, nagging, and insistent. I must be feeding it somehow, or why would it keep coming up again and again? How to work with a repetitive thought?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Proliferation] [Doubt] [Restlessness and worry] [Nutriment] // [Directed thought and evaluation] [Drawbacks] [Human] [Relinquishment]
Sutta: MN 20: The Removal of Distracting Thoughts. [Similes]
4. “Can the practice be used in a punitive or punishing way?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] // [Culture/West] [Habits] [Clear comprehension] [Craving not to become]
Quote: “Having a human mind...it’s amazing how perverse it can be sometimes.” [Human] [Unwholesome Roots]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno can’t translate guilt into Thai. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Translation] [Culture/Thailand] [Suffering]
Quote: “All you need to do is create a cage of mindfulness around [unskillful habits].” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Sense restraint] [Mindfulness] [Unskillful qualities] [Similes]
Follow-up: “What about letting the tiger go instead of keeping it in a cage?” [Similes]
Follow-up: “What about the case when one feels one is the tiger trapped in a metaphorical cage. How to escape?” [Similes] [Liberation] [Perception] [Self-identity view] [Spiritual friendship]
5. “If sati or mindfulness is the cage, what is the use of samatha?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Similes] [Mindfulness] [Calming meditation] [Concentration] [Unwholesome Roots] // [Tranquility] [Discernment] [Relinquishment]
6. “Could you review again what the antidotes to the Five Hindrances are? Also, if one has not correctly identified the hindrance at the moment and uses the incorrect remedy, so what?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Hindrances] [Investigation of states] // [Desire] [Unattractiveness] [Dispassion] [Ill-will] [Goodwill] [Sloth and torpor] [Restlessness and worry] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Doubt] [Recollection/Dhamma] [Self-reliance]
Sutta: SN 46.51: Starving the hindrances.
Simile: Throwing dust into the wind (Dhp 125). [Drawbacks] [Similes]
Sutta: AN 7.61: Antidotes for sloth and torpor.
9. “What is hasituppāda citta—consciousness producing mirth—that is the Buddha’s smile?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Humor ] [Buddha/Biography] // [Teaching Dhamma]
Suttas: MN 81; MN 83; AN 5.180: Examples of the Buddha’s smile.
Sutta: MN 12.58: “You might think that the jujube fruit was bigger in those days...” [Ascetic practices]
Sutta: SN 17.5: A dung beetle gloats about his pile. [Gain and loss] [Fame and disrepute] [Similes] [Monastic life]
20. “Can a person be enlightened without ever sitting? Or without ever hearing the Dhamm? Was anyone ever enlightened before the Buddha?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Liberation] [Posture/Sitting] [Hearing the true Dhamma] // [Buddha] [Mindfulness] [Discernment] [Tranquility]
Simile from Ajahn Chah: “Chickens sit for a long period of time, and they don’t get very far.” [Ajahn Chah] [Animal] [Similes]
Recollection: When Ajahn Chah sat meditation, it was like seeing a mountain sitting there.
Sutta: SN 15.1: “Bound by ignorance and obstructed by craving.” [Ignorance] [Craving]
5. “Was Ajahn Chah an arahant? How can one tell when someone’s work is done? Also, is it inappropriate to ask one’s teacher if they are a stream enterer, once-returner, etc.?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Arahant ] [Teachers] [Stages of awakening] // [Suffering] [Unwholesome Roots]
Quote: “To me, I’m more like a tree that birds can come and feed in....[What they say] I am is just the chattering of the birds.” — Ajahn Chah. [Similes] [Teaching Dhamma]
Sutta: AN 4.192: Discerning another person’s wisdom. [Discernment]
Recollections of mistaken estimates of enlightenment. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Delusion] [Relics]
7. “Before my Dhamma eye opened, all I could see was macro-suffering. But now I can see nano-suffering on a massive scale. Sometimes I don’t want to look. Any words of advice or encouragement?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Suffering] // [Politics and society] [Cause of Suffering]
Simile from Ajahn Chah: “You’ve got dog shit in your bag, so it stinks everywhere you go.” [Ajahn Chah] [Similes]
27. “Most of the time I feel like a duck in a world full of chickens. Any advice on techniques to prevent the urge to compare myself to others would be greatly appreciated.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Similes] [Conceit] // [Suffering] [Communal harmony]
Simile from Ajahn Chah: Why aren’t the ducks more like chickens? [Ajahn Chah] [Similes]
15. “Could you speak about the importance of intention and volition as related to karma and to the story about the chicken who set the intention to lay on her eggs but didn’t follow through (SN 22.101)?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Volition] [Kamma] [Similes] // [Energy]
Sutta: AN 6.63.33: Karma is volition.
12. “I’m having alternating intense periods of spaciousness and intense periods of agitation and sleepiness. Can you speak to this? I seem to identify very strongly with both states. It takes some time before I see the dukkha. I feel a bit hopeless about identification and the possibility of relinquishing it or even getting some relief from it. Any guidance would be appreciated.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Spaciousness] [Restlessness and worry] [Sloth and torpor] [Self-identity view] [Noble Truth of Suffering] [Relinquishment] // [Cause of Suffering]
Simile from Ajahn Chah: A gardener’s duty is to prepare the soil and protect the tree. The fruit appears according to the nature of the tree. [Ajahn Chah] [Agriculture] [Similes]
9. “After 40 or so years of dedicating your life to the practice, is there anything about the ‘Dhamma soup’ that makes you think, ‘Hmm...a bit more or less salt perhaps,’ or is it the perfect soup?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Meditation] [Dhamma] [Similes] // [Recollection] [Learning] [Buddha] [Teachers] [Liberation]
1. Comment by Ajahn Yatiko: In the image of planting a seed (AN 1.314-315), for Dhamma practice it needs to be a seed that comes from the Buddha. [Similes] [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Teaching Dhamma] [Gradual Teaching] [Buddha]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Right View] [Christianity]
2. “In the example you gave of the snake (MN 22), can you give an example of how the Dhamma can bite you?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Yatiko. [Similes] [Gradual Teaching] // [Abhidhamma] [Conflict] [Meditation/Techniques] [Clinging] [Unwholesome Roots] [Right Intention] [Learning]
Story: The teachings of Dhammakaya. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Self-identity view] [Commerce/economics] [Nibbāna] [Generosity]
Story: An Abhidhamma teacher visits Ajahn Chah. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah]
6. Comment: The simile of the snake (MN 22) describes my practice. I’ve been bitten quite a lot. [Similes] [Gradual Teaching]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Yatiko. [Suffering] [Humility]
2. “In the analogy of the accountant (MN 107), it seems that the training works linearly. Are there basic practices that are important to focus on in the beginning? Are there other practices which should not be attempted in the beginning?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Similes] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Gradual Teaching] // [Faith] [Kamma] [Unconditioned] [Learning] [Relinquishment] [Concentration]
Story: A monk carrying money asks to stay at Wat Pah Pong. [Ajahn Chah] [Wat Pah Pong] [Not handling money]
5. “In regards to the simile of the path to Rājagaha (MN 107), could you describe classic mistakes made by sincere beginning, intermediate and advanced practitioners?” Answered by Ajahn Yatiko and Ajahn Jotipālo. [Similes] [Gradual Teaching] // [Faith] [Doubt] [Truth] [Virtue] [Liberation] [Conditionality] [Christianity] [Suffering]
8. “How do we know when to ask for directions on the path as opposed to just continuing farther? What would we ask?” Answered by Ajahn Yatiko. [Questions] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Gradual Teaching] // [Suffering] [Discernment] [Conditionality] [Faith]
Sutta: SN 12.23: Suffering is the cause of faith.
Follow-up: “What about when things are pleasant, but we’re not headed in the right direction?” [Happiness] [Mindfulness] [Deva] [Relinquishment]
Sutta: MN 75: Simile of the leper. [Similes]
Sutta: SN 56.35: Stream entry after 100 years. [Stream entry] [Four Noble Truths]
13. “Is breath exactly the same not-self as consciousness?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Not-self] [Consciousness] // [Aggregates] [Impermanence] [Mindfulness of body]
Sutta: SN 22.59: Anattalakkhaṇasutta (Chanting Book translation).
Sutta: SN 22.95: Consciousness likened to a conjurer’s trick. [Similes]
1. “How can consciousness (viññāṇa) be conscious of itself? If consciousness’s nature is like a clear crystal that takes on the color of whatever passes through it, if its true nature is colorless, how can it know itself?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Consciousness] [Similes] // [Etymology] [Sense bases]
Quote: “If we extrapolate from a flawed image, then we end up in confusion or doubt.” [Similes] [Doubt]
14. “Seclusion of the heart really interests me, especially because of a busy family atmosphere. Is a way to develop seclusion of the heart to work on not taking this personally, not letting the self-making perceptions insert themselves into the heart?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Seclusion] [Family] [Non-identification ] // [Self-identity view] [Similes]
Quote: “Not being caught by the gladness or the sadness of the mind.” — Ajahn Liem. [Ajahn Liem] [Happiness] [Suffering] [Dispassion]
15. “Can you say a little more about ‘the mind going outside itself’—what that means and how it is dukkha?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Proliferation] [Suffering] [Cause of Suffering ] // [Knowing itself] [Craving] [Tranquility]
Reference: Gifts He Left Behind by Ajahn Dune, p. 3.
Quote: “Still, flowing water.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Equanimity] [Similes]
Reference: Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, pp. 380-381.
4. “Could you expand on the causes necessary to enter the stream? Is it simply a question of amassing these causes and the experience of the eventual fruit or does the practitioner also need to ‘get in shape’ like an athlete preparing for an event who must be in top form? If the latter simile applies, does the yogi need to give it his all or does he merely need to just hang in there long enough for the cause to bear fruit, with just the right amount of dynamic tension?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Stream entry] [Conditionality] [Energy] // [Factors for stream entry] [Discernment]
Sutta: SN 55.5: Factors for stream entry explained in terms of the Eightfold Path. [Eightfold Path]
Simile of splitting a log with an axe. [Right Effort] [Similes]
7. Comment: The mind is quite tricky. When I notice conflict arise or aversion to another and respond emotionally, I look to the Dhamma and practice and see where to let go, offer compassion and kindness to what is happening, and try to see the moment as impermanent and we will all die. Then the mind and body settle a bit, and I begin to think, ‘Why can’t the other person do this before they become so dramatic? I’m trying, why can’t they?’ And suddenly I’m tense and the mind comes back again to making a me. It tricks me into this loop, so I have to keep catching it. Māra keeps finding ways in, yet I keep practicing with faith. [Nature of mind] [Proliferation] [Aversion]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Suffering] [Self-reliance]
Quote: “The quickest way to enlightenment is to look directly at the mind, point your finger, and say ‘Liar!’” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Liberation] [Delusion]
Quote: “Why can’t these ducks be more like chickens?” — Ajahn Chah. [Judgementalism] [Similes] [Human]
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.”
7. “Would you speak about the place of vipassanā in walking meditation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Insight meditation] [Posture/Walking] // [Recollection]
Simile from Ajahn Chah: You learn to write in school, but you don’t need to go back to the school to write a letter. [Ajahn Chah] [Meditation] [Everyday life ] [Similes]
15. “I’ve always felt a draw to the Fire Sermon (SN 35.28). Could you expound a bit more on this teaching?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sutta ] [Teaching Dhamma] // [Sense bases] [Similes] [Unwholesome Roots] [Disenchantment] [Buddha/Biography]
The three cardinal suttas give different frameworks for investigation: [Insight meditation]
Sutta: SN 56.11: Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta; Amaravati Chanting Book Volume 2, p. 2. [Four Noble Truths]
Sutta: SN 22.59: Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta; Amaravati Chanting Book Volume 2, p. 14. [Not-self] [Aggregates]
Sutta: SN 35.28: Ādittapariyāya Sutta; Amaravati Chanting Book Volume 2, p. 24.
5. Reading: SN 46.55, Bojjhaṅgasaṁyutta, “Saṅgārava.” Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Similes] [Hindrances] [Factors of Awakening]
4. Reading: AN 5.23, “Defilements.” Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Hindrances] [Similes]
6. “In the Five Hindrances, does ill-will apply only to people?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Hindrances] [Aversion] [Ill-will] // [Similes]
2. “How is sensual desire like being in debt (MN 39.14)?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sensual desire] [Similes]
2. “How is nama-rupa usually defined?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Consciousness] [Aggregates] // [Volition]
Sutta: SN 12.67: Sheaves of reeds. [Similes]
1. “What is your understanding of the moving picture show [in Ajahn Ṭhānissaro’s translation of SN 22.100]?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Similes] [Artistic expression] // [Culture/India]
3. Comment by Ajahn Jotipālo: Most people would say that all the parts together comprise the chariot. [Similes] [Not-self] [Aggregates]
Responses by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Cunda. [Similes]
1. “Can you clarify the simile of the khandhas as a murderer in SN 22.85?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo, Ajahn Pasanno and the Abhayagiri Saṅgha. [Similes] [Drawbacks] [Aggregates] // [Benefit/gratification] [Self-identity view] [Commentaries] [Clinging] [Dependent origination]
3. “Is there a special meaning for which simile is compared to which khandha in SN 22.95?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Similes] [Aggregates] // [Impermanence] [Body/form] [Feeling] [Perception] [Volitional formations] [Consciousness]
5. “How would you answer the questions in SN 22.86 for a puthujjana (a person who has not entered the stream of Dhamma)?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Death] [Aggregates] [Clinging] // [Kamma] [Views]
Sutta: SN 44.9: Flame blown by the wind. [Rebirth] [Similes]
3. “What is the difference between someone who has broken through fetters (self-identity view, etc.) and someone who hasn’t as discussed in SN 22.89?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Pasanno. [Fetters] [Self-identity view] [Conceit] [Aggregates] [Similes] // [Perception] [Not-self]
5. “What is your take on satisfaction, being in tune, and stagnation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Contentment ] [Energy] [Ardency ] // [Skillful qualities] [Discernment] [Buddha/Biography] [Spiritual search] [Right Effort]
Sutta: AN 2.5: Effort and non-contentment with wholesome states.
Story: The Thai government made it illegal for monks to teach contentment. [History/Thai Buddhism] [Monastic life] [Teaching Dhamma]
Comment about the simile of the lute. [Middle Path] [Similes]
Sutta: AN 6.55: Soṇa Sutta [Similes]
6. “Regarding the lute simile (AN 6.55), I notice that even properly tuned instruments gradually creep out of tune. Is finding the balance a lifelong effort?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Middle Path] [Right Effort] [Similes] [Long-term practice]
Comment about the need to put work into perspective. [Work] [Culture/West]
5. “Sorry, I missed something. Did you say that instead of dwelling on our hindrances and getting depressed, we could instead work with the Factors of Enlightenment to brighten the mind? What are the Factors you would suggest?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Factors of Awakening] [Gladdening the mind] // [Divine Abidings] [Perfections] [Right Effort] [Hindrances]
Reflections on Unbinding as a translation of Nibbāna. [Nibbāna] [Translation] [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro]
Quote: “Practicing Dhamma is like taking a screwdriver and unscrewing something rather than putting the screwdriver in and tightening it up.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Similes]
14. “It seems like the ‘Reflection on the 32 Parts’ of the body is missing several parts. Nose, muscles, sex organs, etc. Is it meant to be comprehensive? Or is it just the ugly bits?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Unattractiveness ] // [Elements] [Human] [Disenchantment] [Equanimity]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 60: Reflection on the Thirty-Two Parts.
Sutta: MN 10.10: Simile of different grains. [Similes]
1. “I was struck by the simile of the stone being heavy, but you won’t know it’s heavy unless you pick it up, and it’s just like suffering. You don’t have to pick it up. I’m battling a loss in my life, and I’m suffering. I didn’t pick up the stone. It was flung at me. I’m not sure how to deal....” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Similes] [Ajahn Chah] [Suffering] [Grief] [Christianity] // [Human] [Naturalness ] [Equanimity] [Self-identity view] [Goodwill] [Discernment]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 55: Five Recollections [Characteristics of existence] [Recollection/Death] [Kamma]
Quote: “Whenever you get into a fight with nature, you always lose.”
Quote: “What makes it heavy is the ‘me’ bit.”
4. “Do you have any advice about how to hold a particularly strong “fighting spirit” teaching, like Ajahn Dtun?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Fierce/direct teaching] [Teaching Dhamma ] [Ajahn Dtun] // [Culture/Thailand] [Ardency] [Right Effort] [Restlessness and worry] [Heedfulness] [Discernment] [Goodwill]
Sutta: AN 1.49: The mind is radiant.
Quote: “If you invite visitors into your home [the mind] and they just make a mess, then you want to close the door on them before they come in. You can’t be too polite.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Similes] [Unwholesome Roots]
11. “She talks about making a story out of denying your defilements. Does the story of having fun denying your defilements come from that space of dwelling in that state of continuous mindfulness, or does continuous mindfulness come about from going through the suffering of forcing yourself not to enjoy anything?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Upasikā Kee Nanayon] [Unwholesome Roots] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Conditionality] // [Discernment]
Quote: “Relinquishment isn’t so much a giving up something that we have but enjoying the non-moving to get or trying to make.” [Relinquishment] [Cessation of Suffering] [Non-identification]
Simile: Learning to drive or walk. — Ajahn Kaccāna. [Similes]
13. “Is that where when one isn’t meditating per se but where virtue would come in to inform whether we have slipped or not?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Virtue] // [Upasikā Kee Nanayon] [Ajahn Chah] [Conscience and prudence] [Similes] [Spiritual friendship]
Quote: “The defilements have their wisdom also.” — Ajahn Chah. [Unwholesome Roots] [Discernment] [Delusion]
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.” [Similes] [Mindfulness of mind]
Follow-up: “I try to practice body awareness when my mind is being supervised...” [Long-term practice] [Similes] [Ajahn Sucitto]
Sutta: MN 10 Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta [Right Mindfulness]
3. Reflection by Ajahn Ñāṇiko on Ajahn Buddhadāsa’s use of analogies. [Ajahn Buddhadāsa] [Similes] [Suffering]
1. “Sometimes I will see a bit of greed come up, I apply an antidote, for example, if its craving, apply some asuba; but it seems to exacerbate it–do you have any encouragement or similes from Ajahn Chah?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Unwholesome Roots] [Right Effort] [Meditation/Results] [Ajahn Chah] // [Investigation of states] [Patience]
Simile: Putting a tiger in a cage. [Similes] [Mindfulness] [Discernment]
4. Comment: The story you told where a monk was punched, I really didn’t see the point of that. [Ajahn Jia] [Admonishment/feedback] [Fierce/direct teaching]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Cunda: Enlightened people still have personalities. [Cleanliness] [Liberation] [Personality] [Ajahn Tate] [Spiritual friendship] [Vinaya]
Quote: “Gold wrapped in a dirty rag.” — Ajahn Mahā Boowa describing Ajahn Jia. [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Similes]
Recollection: Ajahn Chah was always the center of attention. Recounted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Personal presence]
Story: Some monks go to spend Vassa with Ajahn Jia, but he leaves to take care of his teacher. Told by Ajahn Cunda. [Rains retreat] [Ajahn Khao]
17. Comment: You spoke of death as the dissolution of the body and awareness coming home. The life that we think we’re leading is not the life that we know about when we’re aware. [Body/form] [Knowing itself] [Nature of mind] [Death]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno: When death comes, our life is like something that is built up out of crystal that becomes a pile of rubble in the end. It’s so important to recognize that within that there is this possibility of awareness and purity of heart. [Similes]
4. “What is a plowshare? ...So mindfulness is both the goad and the plowshare?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness] [Similes] [Right Mindfulness]
Reference: Snp 1.4: The Farmer Bhāradvāja
6. Comments by the Abhayagiri Saṅgha about the nature of practice. [Forgiveness] [Similes] [Aversion] [Right Mindfulness]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Habits] [Idealism] [Patience] [Ajahn Chah] [Goodwill] [Long-term practice]
Comment: Patience remind me of going through deep grief. Contributed by Beth Steff. [Grief]