Ajahn Karuṇadhammo   → Tag [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo]
281 excerpts, 16:43:58 total duration


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Brightening the Mind, Session 3 – Aug. 19, 2012

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1. “Could you speak more about the concept of relinquishment, giving up, and how it relates to giving?” [Relinquishment] [Recollection/Generosity] [Generosity] // [Clinging]


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2. Comment: I’m looking at contemplating peace as opposed to grasping for peace as a result of aversion to dukkha. There’s not the same result. [Recollection/Peace] [Clinging] [Aversion] [Suffering]

Response by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Noble Truth of Suffering] [Craving not to become] [Relinquishment] [Kamma]


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3. Comment: So you maximize the internal benefit you receive...[audio unclear]? [Recollection/Generosity] [Generosity]

Responses by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo, Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Yatiko. [Faith] [Discernment] [Clinging] [Habits] [Proliferation] [Idealism]


The Fourth Foundation of Mindfulness, Session 12 – Jan. 23, 2013

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1. Comment: Sometimes pervading the body with rapture can take the mind away from the meditation object. Contributed by Ajahn Kaccāna. [Rapture] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Concentration]

Response by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Tranquility] [Volition] [Nature of mind] [Unification]

Reference: Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 309, “Tranquility and Insight.”


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2. Comments about translations of ekaggatā and ekodibhāvaṃ. [Unification] [Translation] [Bhikkhu Bodhi] [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro]

Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Hindrances] [Tranquility]


The Fourth Foundation of Mindfulness, Session 14 – Jan. 25, 2013

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2. “What are other possible translations of the recurring question [in the suttas], ‘What do you think?’” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Pāli] [Translation] // [Questions]

Sutta: SN 22.59 Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta (Chanting book translation).


The Fourth Foundation of Mindfulness, Session 17 – Jan. 30, 2013

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2. “Would you say that clinging is around the senses and not the sensual desires?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Clinging] [Sense bases] [Sensual desire] // [Aggregates]

Follow-up: “How do we uproot clinging?” [Discernment]

Comment by Ajahn Ñāṇiko: One can only apply the concept of inverted perception from MN 75 to the other sense bases. [Delusion] [Perception] [Ajahn Khao]

Response by Ajahn Pasanno: Showeing after being exposed to poison oak. [Feeling]

Recollection: Ajahn Mahā Boowa perceived difficulty and problems as a whetstone for mindfulness. Recounted by Ajahn Pesalo. [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Mindfulness]

Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Four Noble Truths] [Conditionality]


The Fourth Foundation of Mindfulness, Session 20 – Feb. 2, 2013

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4. Comment: Reflecting on the results of good conduct is the basis for samādhi [in SN 42.13]. [Recollection/Virtue] [Concentration]

Response by Ajahn Pasanno.


The Fourth Foundation of Mindfulness, Session 25 – Feb. 9, 2013

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2. “In SN 22.2, Sāriputta equates unwholesome states with lust and attachment to the aggregates. What about ill-will and emnity?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno, Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Jotipālo. [Unskillful qualities] [Craving] [Clinging] [Aggregates] [Ill-will] [Aversion] // [Craving not to become] [Judgementalism]


The Fourth Foundation of Mindfulness, Session 26 – Feb. 12, 2013

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[Session] Readings: [Aggregates]

Satipaṭṭhāna: The Direct Path to Realization by Venerable Analayo, pp. 202-207.

Sutta: SN 22.5, Khandhasaṁyutta, “Concentration.”

Sutta: SN 22.29, Khandhasaṁyutta, “Delight.”

Sutta: SN 5.1, Bhikkhunīsaṁyutta, “Āḷavikā.”

Sutta: SN 5.9, Bhikkhunīsaṁyutta, “Selā.”


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1. Reading: Footnote in Satipatthana inferring that the concept of the Five Aggregates predated the Buddha. [History/Early Buddhism] [Aggregates]


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2. “Have you contemplated the elements as a basis for contact?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Jotipālo. [Body/form] [Elements] [Contact] [Aggregates] // [Unattractiveness] [Not-self]


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3. Comment by Ajahn Kaccāna: In contrast to the commentary, Venerable Analayo describes the aggregates as a tool for getting free of suffering. [Commentaries] [Ven. Analayo] [Cessation of Suffering] [Aggregates]

Response by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo.


The Fourth Foundation of Mindfulness, Session 27 – Feb. 13, 2013

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[Session] Readings: [Aggregates]

Sutta: SN 45.159, Maggasaṁyutta, “The Guest House.”

Sutta: SN 5.10, Bhikkhunīsaṁyutta, “Vajirā.”

The Questions of King Milinda, I.i, “No Person is Found,” p. 29-32 (Milindapañha 25).


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1. SN 45.159 relates the Five Aggregates to the First Noble Truth, which must be understood. [Noble Truth of Suffering] [Aggregates] // [Characteristics of existence]


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2. Introduction to The Questions of King Milinda. [History/Early Buddhism] [Sutta] [Aggregates]


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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.


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4. “How do you contemplate the Five Aggregates in practice?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Cunda. [Recollection] [Aggregates] // [Not-self] [Characteristics of existence] [Direct experience] [Ageing]

Sutta: SN 22.59 Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta (Chanting book translation).


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5. “If the task is to fully understand and you have an affinity for understanding form, does that affect how you understand the other aggregates?” [Noble Truth of Suffering] [Body/form] [Aggregates] // [Thai Forest Tradition] [Mindfulness of body] [Insight meditation]

Sutta: AN 1.616: Mindfulness directed to the body and the deathless.


The Fourth Foundation of Mindfulness, Session 28 – Feb. 4, 2013

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[Session] Readings:

Sutta: SN 22.26, Khandhasaṁyutta, “Gratification (1).”

Sutta: SN 22.27, Khandhasaṁyutta, “Gratification (2).”

Sutta: SN 22.28, Khandhasaṁyutta, “Gratification (3).”

Sutta: SN 22.96, Khandhasaṁyutta, “A Lump of Cowdung.”


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1. Gratification, danger, and escape in regard to the Five Aggregates. [Aggregates] [Aspects of Understanding] [Gratification] [Drawbacks] [Escape]


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2. Comment: Downside might fit the context [of SN 22.26-28] better than danger. [Drawbacks] [Translation]

Responses by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Pasanno.


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3. “Why does SN 22.26 say both impermanent and subject to change?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Pasanno. [Impermanence] // [Sutta] [Abhidhamma] [Translation] [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro] [Teaching Dhamma] [Language]

Sutta: SN 22.59 Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta (Chanting book translation).


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4. Comment by Ajahn Kaccāna: In SN 22.96, the Buddha implies that universal impermanence may be a good thing.

Responses by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Pasanno.

Follow-up: “What’s ‘individual existence’ in Pāli?” [Translation] [Becoming]


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6. “Is there any significance to the names of the steed and the chariot in SN 22.96?” [Lunar observance days]

Sutta: MN 37.8 mentions Sakka’s Vejayanta Palace.


The Fourth Foundation of Mindfulness, Session 29 – Feb. 15, 2013

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[Session] Readings: [Aggregates]

Sutta: SN 22.99, Khandhasaṁyutta, “The Leash (1).”

Sutta: SN 22.85, Khandhasaṁyutta, “Yamika.”


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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] // [Gratification] [Self-identity view] [Commentaries] [Clinging] [Dependent origination]


The Fourth Foundation of Mindfulness, Session 30 – Feb. 17, 2013

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[Session] Reading: MN 35: Cūḷasaccaka Sutta.


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3. Comment by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Pasanno: The conclusion that what is not under our control can’t be self isn’t immediately obvious. [Volition] [Not-self]

Follow-up: “How have you come to understand this over time?” [Self-identity view] [Feeling]

Follow-up: “How does the chant, ‘I am the owner of my kamma’ relate to this?” [Kamma] [Language] [Conventions]

Sutta: AN 5.57 Five Recollections (Chanting Book translation).

Comment by Ajahn Jotipālo: The suttas are summaries rather than transcripts. [Sutta] [Teaching Dhamma]


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4. “What is the term ‘Agivessana’?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Pasanno. [Pāli]


The Fourth Foundation of Mindfulness, Session 31 – Feb. 20, 2013

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[Session] Readings: [Aggregates]

Sutta: SN 22.102, Khandhasaṁyutta, “Perception of Impermanence.”

Sutta: SN 22.95, Khandhasaṁyutta, “A Lump of Foam.”

Sutta: SN 22.33, Khandhasaṁyutta, “Not Yours (1).”


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1. Reflection: The way to develop the perception of impermanence is seeing all of the khandhas individually just as they are. [Impermanence] [Knowledge and vision] [Aggregates] // [Patience] [Determination]


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2. “Do you have any suggestions for contemplating the origin of the body?” [Body/form] [Birth] [Aggregates]


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3. “Is there a special meaning for which simile is compared to which khandha in SN 22.95?” [Similes] [Aggregates] // [Impermanence] [Body/form] [Feeling] [Perception] [Volitional formations] [Consciousness]


The Fourth Foundation of Mindfulness, Session 32 – Feb. 21, 2013

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[Session] Readings:

Sutta: SN 22.87, Khandhasaṁyutta, “Vakkali.”

Sutta: SN 22.86, Khandhasaṁyutta, “Anurādha.”


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1. Reflection: Venerable Vakkali (SN 22.87) used pain to impel himself towards insight. [Great disciples] [Pain] [Sickness] [Progress of insight] // [Aggregates] [Arahant] [Suicide]


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2. Comment by Ajahn Kaccāna: Venerable Vakkali had immense respect for the Buddha and the Dhamma. [Great disciples] [Respect] [Buddha] [Dhamma]

Response by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Faith]


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3. “Are there other stories similar to Vakkali asking to die outside (SN 22.87)?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Pasanno. [Great disciples] [Death] [Culture/Natural environment] // [Perception of a samaṇa]

Story: Ajahn Mun chooses the place of his death. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Mun] [Funerals]

Story: Ajahn Chah chooses a convenient time to die. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah]


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4. Reflection: SN 22.86 is a classic exposition of the unapprehendability of the Tathāgata at death. [Buddha] [Death] [Non-identification] // [Right View] [Aggregates] [Teaching Dhamma]


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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]


The Fourth Foundation of Mindfulness, Session 33 – Feb. 22, 2013

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[Session] Readings:

Sutta: SN 22.89, Khandhasaṁyutta, “Khemaka.”

Sutta: SN 22.49, Khandhasaṁyutta, “Soṇa (1).”


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1. “Is there another sutta not spoken by the Buddha in which as many people become enlightened as SN 22.89?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Pasanno. [Great disciples] [Teaching Dhamma] [Liberation]


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2. Reflection: SN 22.89 spells out the difference between the conceit ‘I am’ and sakkāyaditthi. [Conceit] [Self-identity view]


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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]


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4. Comments by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Pasanno: The source for the nine kinds of conceit. [Conceit] [Sutta] [Abhidhamma]


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5. Comment by Ajahn Cunda: The Buddha’s description of a monk who ‘does not laud himself and disparage others’ (e.g. AN 4.28) sounds similar to SN 22.49. [Conceit] [Humility]

Response by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo.


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6. “Does volition differ from intention?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Pasanno. [Volition] // [Pāli] [Translation] [Kamma] [Self-identity view] [Skillful qualities]

Follow-up: “When we talk about effort, intention, and result in the Vinaya, is cetanā the word for intention?” [Vinaya]

Follow-up: “Saṅkhāra is sometimes translated as volitional formations. How does this differ from cetanā?” [Volitional formations]

Sutta: AN 6.63.33: “Kamma is volition.”


The Fourth Foundation of Mindfulness, Session 34 – Feb. 24, 2013

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1. Readings: Background information about the bhikkhu Channa: [Buddha/Biography] // [Commentaries] [Disciplinary transactions] [Vinaya]

Vinaya: Bhikkhu Pācittiyā 12 origin story, Buddhist Monastic Code Vol. 1, p. 419.

Vinaya: Bhikkhu Pācittiyā 71 origin story.

Vinaya: Bhikkhu Saṅghādisesā 12 origin story, Buddhist Monastic Code Vol. 1, p. 222.


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2. Reading: SN 22.90, Khandhasaṁyutta, “Channa.”


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3. Reflection on SN 22.90: Seeing all the khandhas as dukkha. [Aggregates] [Suffering] [Not-self]


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4. Comment by Ajahn Pasanno: A critical part of SN 22.90 is Ānanda giving Channa the confidence to believe in himself. [Great disciples] [Faith] // [Geography/India]

Responses by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo, Ajahn Cunda, Ajahn Jotipālo and Ajahn Kaccāna. [Rapture]


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5. “In SN 12.15, when it says, ‘the world depends on a duality,’ is that the process of [audio unclear]?” [Views] // [Self-identity view] [Ignorance]


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6. “Is there any significance to the elders Channa initially approaches in SN 22.90?” [Great disciples] // [Commentaries]


Right Livelihood, Session 1 – Apr. 21, 2013

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5. “Can you speak about the people who sell these things [intoxicants] versus those who make them?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Intoxicants] [Commerce/economics] [Right Livelihood] // [Kamma] [Volition]

Story: A clerk at an organic food store asks about selling wine. Told by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo.


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17. Comment: It’s not easy giving up the things we’re used to in order to follow the path. [Renunciation] [Eightfold Path] [Clinging] [Happiness] [Right Livelihood]

Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Suffering] [Commerce/economics]


Right Livelihood, Session 2 – Apr. 21, 2013

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3. “Everyone in our group is struggling with issues about livelihood. Does anyone here feel their livelihood is in tune?” Answered by Ajahn Yatiko and Ajahn Pasanno. [Work] [Idealism] // [Contentment] [Eightfold Path] [Kamma]

Quote: “Maybe it would be better phrased ‘Right-enough livelihood.’” — Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Right Livelihood]

Story: An upright career police officer in Thailand transfers in and out of a corrupt assignment. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Community] [Crime] [Corruption] [Family] [Precepts]

Comment by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo: Even monks face moral dilemmas. [Monastic life] [Vinaya]


Our Roots in the Thai Forest Tradition, Session 2 – Jan. 7, 2014

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1. Ajahn Karuṇadhammo describes the scope and format of the Winter Retreat 2014 readings.


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2. Recollection: This talk was given to a group of Western monks led by Ajahn Khantipālo paying respects to Ajahn Chah in Bangkok. Recounted by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Ajahn Khantipālo] [Ajahn Chah] // [Ajahn Sumedho] [Translation] [Hearing the true Dhamma]


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3. Reading: “The Training of the Heart” from Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, pp. 505-516.


Death and Dying, Session 1 – May. 9, 2014

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9. “Why is the story of Sarakāni controversial in Sri Lanka?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Stream entry] [Intoxicants] [History/Sri Lankan Buddhism] [Death] // [Stages of awakening]

Sutta: SN 55.24-25: Sarakāni

Comment by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo regarding the wide range of views about stream entry. [Views]


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15. “Living in the West, chances are most of us will die in a hospital, which could be quite chaotic. Any advice?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Culture/West] [Health care] [Death] // [Spiritual friendship] [Community] [Saṅgha]

Story: The Abhayagiri community attends to a dying lay supporter. [Abhayagiri]

Comments about hospitals contributed by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo.


Death and Dying, Session 2 – May. 9, 2014

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8. Comment: It’s hard to convey the naturalness of death in Western culture. [Naturalness] [Culture/West] [Death]


Thai Forest Tradition, Session 1 – Jun. 14, 2014

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6. “Could you review the transmission of the ordination between Sri Lanka and Thailand?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [History/Thai Buddhism ] [History/Sri Lankan Buddhism ] [Ordination] // [Royalty] [History/Other Theravāda traditions] [Commerce/economics] [History/Mahāyāna Buddhism]


Thai Forest Tradition, Session 2 – Jun. 14, 2014

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1. Reading: “Visions of a Sāmaṇa” from Samaṇa by Ajahn Mahā Boowa, p. 11. [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Thai Forest Tradition] // [Monastic life/Motivation] [Ajahn Mun]


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11. “As the mind takes fabrications as its object, does the mind expand?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Upasikā Kee Nanayon] [Volitional formations] [Heart/mind] [Mindfulness of mind] [Thai Forest Tradition] // [Relinquishment]


Thai Forest Tradition, Session 3 – Jun. 14, 2014

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2. Reading: Santi – Peace Beyond Delusion by Ajahn Liem, p. 17. [Ajahn Liem] [Thai Forest Tradition]


2014 Thanksgiving Monastic Retreat, Session 2 – Nov. 23, 2014

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14. “Regarding the 1st precept of non-killing / non-harming, what to do on a practical / decision level regarding something like termites? I sold my last house because I didn’t want to fumigate, but I can’t keep moving to avoid killing termites / ants that eat at a house. Thank you for your compassion and explanation.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Killing] [Animal] // [Kamma]

Story: Abhayagiri deals with a cockroach infestation. [Abhayagiri]


2014 Thanksgiving Monastic Retreat, Session 3 – Nov. 24, 2014

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13. “Dear Aj. Karuṇadhammo, could you say a bit more about how you find a belief in rebirth to be motivational? And that it ‘just makes sense?’ Do you think, perhaps, about the person who will inherit your rebirth and how it would be good to load them up with good kamma? Thanks!” [Rebirth] [Kamma] [Faith] // [Death] [Nature of mind] [Body/form] [Views] [Spiritual urgency]


2014 Thanksgiving Monastic Retreat, Session 6 – Nov. 27, 2014

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2. “What is left once there is no self? Is it the same as enlightenment? Can a person still function in a daily life (drive a car for example)?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Self-identity view ] [Stages of awakening]

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Quote: “What’s it like being the abbot of a big monastery?” — “I come out of my kuti and I do the things that I need to do, and then I go back to my kuti. And if some people want to call that being an abbot, well that’s their business.” — Ajahn Liem. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Ajahn Liem ] [Abbot ] [Wat Pah Pong] [Work] [Conventions] [Simplicity]


The Four Foundations of Mindfulness, Session 5 – Jan. 10, 2015

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[Session] Readings from Body Contemplation: A Study Guide by Ajahn Ṭhānissaro. [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).


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1. “Do you need to be a non-returner to be free from the fear of death?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Non-return] [Fear] [Death] [Sensual desire] // [Arahant] [Conceit] [Stream entry] [Faith]


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2. “In this passage where the Buddha lists illnesses and calamities (AN 10.60), he separates kamma out as a cause of those things. However the cause of being subject to these things is because of making good or bad kamma. Is kamma [in this list] a direct, proximate cause?” [Kamma] [Sickness] [Conditionality]

Sutta: SN 36.21 Sīvaka: The Buddha refutes the notion that kamma causes everything.


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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?” [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]


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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]


The Four Foundations of Mindfulness, Session 6 – Jan. 11, 2015

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[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. [Mindfulness of body] [Unattractiveness]


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1. “What is mesentery?” [Unattractiveness]

Reference: Abhayagiri Chanting Book, p. 37.


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2. “Why are some body parts omitted from this list?” [Unattractiveness] // [Commentaries] [Sensual desire] [Self-identity view]

Reference: Abhayagiri Chanting Book, p. 37.


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4. “What do the Pāḷi terms translated as impurity and foulness mean?” [Pāli] [Translation] [Aversion] [Unattractiveness] // [Etymology] [Sensual desire]

Simile: MN 119.7: Sack of grains.

Comment: Words themselves like “impure” are culturally loaded. [Language] [Cultural context] [Culture/India]


The Four Foundations of Mindfulness, Session 7 – Jan. 14, 2015

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[Session] The contemplation of the parts of the body can be used to reduce sexual craving, to still the mind, and to induce insight into the nature of the body. In the first slideshow, Ajahn Karuṇadhammo gives a brief description of the structure and function of each of the thirty-two parts. The Abhayagiri Chanting Book, p. 37 lists the thirty-two parts in Pali and English. Many of the slide show images come from 32parts.com, an internet resource for body contemplation. [Sensual desire] [Calming meditation] [Insight meditation] [Unattractiveness ]


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1. “What is the length of an average small intestine?” [Unattractiveness]


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2. “How long does it take food to make its way through the digestive tract?” [Food] [Unattractiveness]


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3. “Is blood only red when it’s outside the body?” [Unattractiveness]


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4. “Is there a biological function for tears?” [Unattractiveness] // [Emotion]


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5. “How does phlegm relate to mucus?” [Unattractiveness]


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6. Comment: When I go through the list [of the 32 parts], I separate the object from my body and envision my body with it absent. [Visualization] [Unattractiveness]

Response by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Ajahn Chah] [Not-self] [Sensual desire] [Calming meditation] [Sloth and torpor]


The Four Foundations of Mindfulness, Session 8 – Jan. 15, 2015

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[Session] Ajahn Karuṇadhammo reviews the slideshow again with an emphasis on internal contemplation and insight. [Recollection] [Insight meditation] [Unattractiveness]


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1. “Why is there no liquid blood in the photographs of flesh and sinews?” [Unattractiveness]

Reference: Thirty-two parts slideshow video.


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2. “Where does a stomach ache originate from?” [Sickness] [Unattractiveness]


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3. “Is there a particular orientation for the intestines?” [Unattractiveness]

Story: Ajahn Karuṇadhammo’s first surgery as a nursing student. [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo] [Health care]


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4. “During the meditation, is it appropriate to envision the stomach itself with undigested food?” (The stomach isn’t listed in the 32 parts.) [Visualization] [Food] [Unattractiveness]


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5. Comment: Perhaps the thirty-one parts were part of the medical culture at the time of the Buddha. [Unattractiveness]

Comment by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo: The brain had a lot less significance in those days. [History/Early Buddhism]


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7. “Why are the first five parts chosen for special contemplation?” [Unattractiveness] // [Ajahn Mun] [Sensual desire]


The Four Foundations of Mindfulness, Session 10 – Jan. 17, 2015

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[Session] Readings: [Recollection/Death]

Nine point death meditation from the Lam Rim.

Sutta: AN 6.19: Mindfulness of Death (1).

Sutta: AN 6.20: Mindfulness of Death (2).

Sutta: MN 10: Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, The Foundations of Mindfulness, Charnel ground contemplations.

“Only the Practice of Dharma Can Help Us at the Time of Death,” Larry Rosenberg, Tricycle, Summer 2000.


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1. Comments by Beth Steff about the Lam Rim teachings. [Vajrayāna] [Bhikkhu Bodhi] [Recollection/Death]

Response by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo.


The Four Foundations of Mindfulness, Session 11 – Jan. 18, 2015

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[Session] Readings: [Elements]

Sutta: MN 10: Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, The Foundations of Mindfulness, Elements.

Sutta: MN 62: Mahārāhulaovāda Sutta, The Greater Discourse of Advice to Rāhula.

“Wholehearted training” in Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 635 (excerpt).

“Why Are We Here?” in Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 131 (excerpt).


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1. “Has there been discussion of getting a skeleton for Abhayagiri?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Unattractiveness] [Abhayagiri]


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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.


The Four Foundations of Mindfulness, Session 14 – Jan. 23, 2015

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2. “How can one be mindful of the beginning of thought?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno, Ajahn Kaccāna and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Directed thought and evaluation] [Mindfulness] [Right Mindfulness] // [Appropriate attention] [Perception] [Proliferation]

Comments about observing proliferating thoughts. [Conditionality] [Right Effort] [Restlessness and worry] [Mindfulness of mind]

Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Feeling]

Sutta: MN 118 Ānāpānasati Sutta.


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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.


The Four Foundations of Mindfulness, Session 16 – Jan. 25, 2015

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3. “Why doesn’t the passage (SN 47.7) mention obsession with painful objects?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Desire] [Aversion] [Right Mindfulness]


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