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1. Quote: “What is the essence of the Buddha’s teachings?” — “Is this a big piece of wood or a little piece of wood?” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Teaching Dhamma] [Conventions] // [Desire] [Four Noble Truths]
2. “What is the origin of asking a question three times?” [Questions] [Teaching Dhamma] [Sutta] [Buddha/Biography]
Sutta: AN 4.42: Questions
3. “Did vibhavatanha arise in any of the monks at the loss of the Buddha? How do we notice vibhavatanha in practice, and what is a wise and compassionate response?” [Craving not to become ] [Death] [Grief ] [Sutta] [Buddha/Biography] // [Stream entry] [Stages of awakening] [Recollection/Dhamma] [Three Refuges] [Precepts] [Spiritual friendship] [Devotional practice] [Suffering]
Sutta: DN 16.6.10: Mahāparinibbāna Sutta [Nibbāna]
Story: The funeral of a close Wat Pah Nanachat supporter. [Funerals] [Wat Pah Nanachat]
4. “What was the name of the rinpoche you referred to earlier?” [Trulshik Rinpoche] [Ajahn Pasanno]
5. “What was the sutta you mentioned in regard to Ananda’s question ‘What do we do about women?’” [Women in Buddhism] [Great disciples] [Sensual desire] [Sutta] [Buddha/Biography]
Suttas: DN 16.5.9: Mahāparinibbāna Sutta; SN 35.127: Bhāradvāja
6. “In your guided meditation, devotion to the teachings really touched me. Could you say more about this?” [Devotional practice] [Recollection/Dhamma ] [Generosity] [Compassion] [Sutta] [Buddha/Biography] // [Faith] [Cultural context] [Respect] [Gratitude] [Culture/Thailand] [Three Refuges] [Relinquishment] [Release]
7. “When the Buddha accepted the meal from Cunda, did he know what the consequences would be, and if so, why do you think he did that?” [Food] [Sickness] [Death] [Sutta] [Buddha/Biography]
Sutta: DN 16.4.13: Mahāparinibbāna Sutta
8. Comment: Devotion is what keeps rituals from becoming empty motions. [Devotional practice] [Ceremony/ritual]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Bowing]
9. Comment: The Mahāparinibbāna Sutta (DN 16) brings the Buddha’s quest full circle. [Sutta] [Buddha/Biography]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ageing] [Sickness] [Death]
10. Comment by Ajahn Pasanno: Throughout the whole teaching (DN 16) there is the sense of the ordinary and the transcendent together all the time. [Conventions] [Unconditioned] [Sutta] [Buddha/Biography] // [Nature of mind] [Ceremony/ritual] [Precepts] [Meditation] [Devotional practice] [Middle Path] [Release]
Sutta: Aniccā vata saṅkhārā ... (SN 6.15) [Cessation] [Happiness] [Recollection/Peace]
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?” [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.”
2. “How to balance the tension between the warrior energy (taking action), the awareness of the perfection of all that is, and the weariness and humility that leads through this?” [Right Effort] [Present moment awareness] [Disenchantment] // [Suffering] [Discernment] [Fear] [Human] [Gladdening the mind] [Aversion] [Recollection] [Nature of mind] [Tranquility]
Sutta: AN 1.296-305: The Ten Recollections
Quote: “The happy mind is easily settled.” [Happiness] [Concentration]
3. “Please offer ideas on ways Dhamma meditation communities can strike a balance between beginners and experienced meditators.” [Meditation groups] [Teaching Dhamma] [Lay teachers] [Long-term practice] // [Generosity] [Cleanliness]
4. “Our community is mostly virtual. Since we’re not together taking care of a shared environment, can you suggest other ways of building community?” [Community] [Online community ] // [Dhamma discussion]
5. “How to reach the state of peace and serenity when we’re just human beings and we strive to be good people?” [Tranquility] [Equanimity] [Human] [Virtue] // [Happiness] [Generosity] [Association with people of integrity] [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Hindrances]
Sutta: DN 2: Sāmaññaphala Sutta - Fruits of the Holy Life
Quote: When asked about his attainments as a monk, “I’m just really happy about all the things I didn’t do.” — Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Stages of awakening] [Monastic life] [Sense restraint]
6. “Are there any mindful techniques that can be used during the transition from the old self to the new high vibrational self?” [Mindfulness] [Self-identity view] // [Suffering] [Becoming] [Relinquishment]
7. “Your advice to leaders in the conflicts of 2021 in terms of the leaders themselves and how they can inspire their teams and communities?” [Leadership] [Conflict] [Community] // [Trust] [Generosity] [Compassion] [Listening] [Ajahn Chah]
Quote: “Leadership always comes by example.”
Quote: “[Ajahn Chah] never asked us to do something that he himself wasn’t doing.”
8. “Any advice to guide me after retirement? How to get rid of the fear of death?” [Ageing] [Fear] [Death] // [Happiness] [Merit] [Generosity] [Virtue] [Meditation] [Mindfulness]
9. “Is it true that consciousness, the universal energy in all living organisms, exists within us and outside of us? Is it everywhere?” [Consciousness] [Nature of mind] [Nature of the cosmos] // [Clinging] [Proliferation]
1. Story: In 1995, the Saṅgha in England finally gives permission for a more permanent monastic residence in California. Master Hua offers Ajahn Sumedho 125 acres in Redwood Valley the next day. [Saṅghapāla] [Elders' Council] [Master Hsuan Hua] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Abhayagiri] // [Deva]
2. Story: Ajahn Pasanno offers to help Ajahn Amaro with the California monastery project. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Amaro] [Abhayagiri] // [Chithurst] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Saṅgha decision making]
3. The property next door: “You can either buy it or forget it.” [Abhayagiri] // [Saṅghapāla] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Amaro] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support]
4. Stories: The day before Abhayagiri opened; Ajahn Pasanno moves to Abhayagiri. [Festival days] [Ajahn Amaro] [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Abhayagiri] // [Saṅghapāla] [Wat Pah Nanachat]
5. Story: Abhayagiri’s first kutis. [Lodging] [Abhayagiri] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Building projects]
6. Recollection: Generous contributions in the early days of Abhayagiri. [Lay supporters] [Generosity] [Abhayagiri] // [Lodging] [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo]
7. Reflection: Abhayagiri: a place of safety. [Fear] [Abhayagiri] // [Pāli] [Realms of existence] [Culture/West] [Competitiveness] [Abuse/violence]
8. Story: The original Abhayagiri Monastery. [Abhayagiri (Sri Lanka)] [History/Sri Lankan Buddhism ] // [Theravāda] [Mahāyāna] [Commentaries] [Study monks] [Conflict] [Royalty] [Stupas/monuments] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Master Hsuan Hua] [Abhayagiri]
Reference: The Path to Freedom (Vimuttimagga), translated by Bhikkhu Ñāṇatusita.
9. Reflection: Our warm relationship with the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. [City of Ten Thousand Buddhas ] [Communal harmony] [Abhayagiri] // [Master Hsuan Hua] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Non-contention]
Story: Ajahn Sumedho is invited to teach from Master Hua’s Dhamma seat. [Teaching Dhamma]
Recollection: The first days of Wat Pah Nanachat. [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Pasanno]
10. Story: Ajahn Liem declares that the Abhayagiri’s Reception Hall will last at least 150 years. [Ajahn Liem] [Building projects] [Lodging] [Abhayagiri]
11. Reflection: Ajahn Sumedho was a catalyst for Abhayagiri to happen. [Ajahn Sumedho ] [Abhayagiri] // [Western Ajahn Chah lineage] [Elders' Council]
Quote: “You should appreciate all that Ajahn Sumedho has done. He’s been the tank that has prepared the way for all the rest of you.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Respect for elders] [Similes]
Comment by Ajahn Ñāṇiko: Ajahn Sumedho is the most senior American bhikkhu in the world.
12. Comment: These days Ajahn Sumedho is on fire teaching Dhamma. [Ajahn Sumedho ] [Teaching Dhamma] // [Amaravati] [Ageing]
Quote: “He’s not talking a lot about the details. He’s talking about the essence. It’s very beautiful.” [Liberation] [Knowledge and vision] [Simplicity] [Proliferation]
Note: As of mid-2024, Ajahn Sumedho continues to give weekly Dhamma talks available on Amaravati’s YouTube channel.
13. Reflection: Ajahn Chah is the inspiration for all of us. [Ajahn Chah] [Faith] // [Respect for elders] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Knowing itself] [Teaching Dhamma] [Simplicity]
Quote: “If buffaloes can learn, surely these farangs [foreigners] can learn.” — Ajahn Chah. [Western Ajahn Chah lineage]
8. “In the ‘Verses of Sharing and Aspiration’ (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 33), what is the threefold bliss?” Answered by Ajahn Ñāṇiko and Ajahn Pasanno. [Happiness] // [Health] [Nibbāna] [Deva]
11. “What could I to to help myself fear death less?” Answered by Ajahn Ñāṇiko and Ajahn Pasanno. [Fear ] [Death] // [Virtue] [Restlessness and worry] [Truth] [Stream entry] [Impermanence] [Recollection/Death] [Present moment awareness] [Recollection/Virtue] [Self-identity view]
1. “How do you avoid falling in the trap of caring about something/someone too much and becoming attached to that something/someone?” [Compassion] [Clinging] // [Suffering] [Equanimity] [Goodwill] [Generosity] [Bases of Success] [Desire] [Self-identity view] [Craving] [Cessation of Suffering]
2. “How do we overcome regret and remorse associated with not being able to do good or meet our loved ones at the time of passing away?” [Restlessness and worry] [Merit] [Death] [Pandemic] [Grief] // [Goodwill] [Self-identity view] [Discernment] [Determination]
3. “I struggle to find meaning in life. ... I struggle to find what to do during my days and what to do in the future in terms of career or lifestyle. ... What would be your advice for someone who feels lost as to what to do next in his/her life?” [Purpose/meaning ] [Sickness] [Work] [Depression] // [Right Effort] [Generosity] [Virtue] [Kamma] [Happiness] [Clear comprehension]
4. “I struggle with restlessness. I always want to be doing something, and I often end up doing several things at the same time so it’s draining and not enjoyable. It’s very difficult to stop, and when I stop, I don’t know what to do, so I might grab my iPhone, clean stuff. ... Could you talk about restlessness and how to do nothing if that’s actually possible?” [Restlessness and worry ] [Pace of life] [Technology] // [Volition] [Mindfulness of mind] [Simplicity] [Present moment awareness] [Impermanence]
5. “Why do we forget past lives?” [Rebirth] [Memory]
6. “A question about Dogenji’s teaching: ‘To study the Buddha Way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be actualized by myriad things. When actualized by myriad things your body and mind as well as the bodies and minds of others drop away. No trace of enlightenment remains, and this no trace continues endlessly.’ Can you reflect on this teaching from the Theravāda Thai Forest Teachings?” [Dōgen] [Zen ] [Eightfold Path] [Not-self] [Liberation] [Theravāda] [Thai Forest Tradition] // [Teaching Dhamma] [Knowledge and vision] [Four Noble Truths] [Self-identity view] [Relinquishment] [Aggregates] [Proliferation] [Discernment] [Compassion]
Quote: “Everything is teaching us. Everything is a manifestation of Dhamma and truth.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Dhamma] [Truth] [Suchness]
7. “I’m lucky not to have any obligations such as taking care of a family, making money, working, etc., but I don’t know what to do with my life. ... Always wondering what to do with my life is a bit tough. How would you suggest I approach the situation? ... How do you figure out what to do with your life when you have too much freedom?” [Purpose/meaning] [Work] // [Culture/West] [Right Effort] [Conceit] [Generosity]
See also Question 3 in this same session.
8. “In our worldly life we always have expectations on things that we do. What would be the best way for us to change this habit and do everything without expectations?” [Everyday life] [Desire] [Craving] [Habits] // [Impermanence] [Bases of Success] [Skillful qualities] [Right Effort]
9. “Does Luang Por Pasanno know what happened to Ajahn Visuddhi or Christine Lee?” [Abhayagiri] // [Ajahn Amaro] [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo] [Disrobing]
7. Recollection: The Community of Abhayagiri Lay Ministers sets up a food stall at Wat Pah Pong. Recounted by Ajahn Ñāṇiko and Ajahn Pasanno. [CALM Group] [Ajahn Chah Remembrance Day] [Wat Pah Pong] [Food] [Abhayagiri]
9. Quote: “When you go to Thailand, you will realize how American you are.” — Ajahn Pasanno or Ajahn Amaro. Quoted by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Amaro] [Culture/West] [Culture/Thailand] [Ajahn Ñāṇiko]
1. “What can I do to stop judging?” [Judgementalism] // [Suffering] [Relinquishment]
2. “Thank you for your talk today. You mentioned giving the opportunity for everyone to practice and train. However, there seem to be no Ajahn Chah monasteries in the US and Canada where women can ordain and train. Would Abhayagiri be open to having a female monastic community at some point in the future?” [Women's monastic forms ] [Western Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Abhayagiri] // [Culture/Thailand] [Dhammadharini Monastery] [Karuna Buddhist Vihara] [Sīladharā] [Aloka Vihara] [Bhikkhunī] [Women in Buddhism]
3. “I remember reading in one of Ajahn Chah’s books about comparing our feelings to a snake with sadness and unhappiness at its head and happiness as its tail and how we should not touch any part of its body. ... How can we just watch [feelings] come in and out of our mind without interacting with it or getting influenced by it?” [Ajahn Chah] [Feeling] [Similes] [Happiness] [Suffering] [Equanimity] // [Appropriate attention]
Reference: “The Middle Way Within,” Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 2.
4. “What is the meaning of the inscription on the Buddha statue behind you?” [Buddha images] [Abhayagiri] // [Ajahn Jundee]
5. “A sense of causeless joy permeates awareness, yet there remains a sense of me that experiences. How to dissolve that?” [Happiness] [Knowing itself] [Conceit] // [Noble Truth of Suffering] [Suffering] [Relinquishment]
6. “Why do the monks keep their eyes closed during meditation?” [Meditation/General advice] [Postures] // [Sense bases] [Seclusion] [Sloth and torpor] [Restlessness and worry]
7. “How do you recognize when craving has arisen?” [Craving]
8. “When practicing letting go, is there any particular order to do so? For example, if I am attached to career, friends, and family (in order of increasing attachment), which shall I let go of first?” [Clinging] [Relinquishment] // [Unwholesome Roots] [Similes]
9. “If everything in life is great, and I am enjoying my life, why practice? What could get better?” [Everyday life] [Happiness] [Heedfulness] // [Discernment] [Right Effort] [Rebirth] [Noble Truth of Suffering] [Right View]
10. “How do you feel the holes? How do you feel good without the need for anything external/addictions, in other words, coping mechanisms. How do you deal with and move past what lies underneath these mechanisms?” [Craving] [Clinging] [Addiction] [Outflows] // [Mindfulness] [Clear comprehension] [Discernment] [Noble Truth of Suffering]
11. “Should we consider the brahmavihāras a form of emotion or are they kinds of knowledge or understanding?” [Divine Abidings] [Emotion] [Knowledge and vision]
12. “Can you please talk more about the three happinesses and what we should be careful about?” [Happiness] [Heedfulness] // [Everyday life] [Deva] [Nibbāna] [Hindrances] [Virtue] [Community]
Reference: Verses of Sharing and Aspiration, Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 33.
13. “I have loaned something to my brother, and he just won’t give it back to me no matter how many times I ask him. How would you approach this situation?” [Family] [Virtue] // [Right Speech] [Clear comprehension]
14. “Have you ever suffered from some sort of addiction and how did you recover from it? What would be your advice for someone suffering from an addiction?” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Addiction] [Suffering] // [Sensual desire] [Self-identity view] [Spiritual friendship] [Three Refuges] [Happiness] [Appropriate attention]
15. “Could you please explain how one practices applied and sustained thought in breath meditation?” [Directed thought and evaluation] [Mindfulness of breathing] // [Ajahn Chah]
16. “Could you please explain why the ajahn holds a fan in front of himself during the taking of refuges?” [Three Refuges] [Ceremony/ritual] // [Abhayagiri] [Kaṭhina] [Symbolism/metaphor] [Dhamma]
1. “The reflection on kamma (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 55) uses language related to family: ‘born,’ ‘heir,’ ‘related’, ‘supported.’ What are the implications of this?” [Kamma] [Family] [Language] // [Community] [Perception]
2. “I have a family and family responsibilities. How do I know I’m on the path and making right effort?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Family] [Right Effort] [Doubt] // [Four Noble Truths] [Culture/West] [Mindfulness of feeling] [Direct experience]
3. “How do I know what is the Middle Path?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno, Ajahn Amaro and Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Middle Path] // [Four Noble Truths] [Direct experience]
Quote: “It’s not a concept. It’s like are you on your bike or are you on the ground?” — Ajahn Amaro.
4. “You spoke about the teachings and the training. What is the training for a lay practitioner other than the Five Precepts?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Amaro. [Dhamma] [Vinaya] [Lay life] [Five Precepts] // [Meditation] [Communal harmony] [Right Livelihood] [Family] [Work] [Politics and society] [Spiritual friendship]
1. Comment: I listen to the talks and read the books, and everything is so logical and rational, but I’m still stuck in habitual patterns of living. [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Dhamma books] [Everyday life] [Habits ]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Association with people of integrity] [Community] [Monasteries] [Lunar observance days] [Online community] [Chanting] [Spiritual friendship] [Impermanence] [Monastic life/Motivation] [Generosity]
Quote: “When you’re living with a group of people, not everybody is depressed and lazy and fed up at the same time.” [Unwholesome Roots]
Sutta: SN 55.5 Sāriputta [Factors for stream entry]
2. “Early on in practice, I learned that practicing sīla (virtue) leads to the bliss of the blamelessness life and creates the conditions for samādhi. What is the Pāli word that translates to ‘the bliss of the blameless life?’” [Virtue ] [Merit] [Happiness ] [Concentration] [Pāli] // [Right Livelihood] [Generosity] [Right Intention]
Quote: “Sīla is the opportunity to rise up to a life of integrity.”
3. Comment: Sīla (virtue) is like a compass. You know if you’re off. [Virtue]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Suffering] [Feeling]
Quote: “The language of Dhamma is the language of feeling.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Dhamma]
4. Comment by Rik Center: I’m appreciative of Zoom. It’s helpful on many levels, but I’m missing the actual physical presence. [Online community] [Pandemic] [Community]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Human] [Monasteries]
1. Ajahn Kovilo introduces Ajahn Pasanno with a brief biography. [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Western Ajahn Chah lineage] [Travel] [Wat Phleng Vipassanā] [Temporary ordination]
Ajahn Pasanno corrects the narrative. [Ordination] [Ajahn Chah] [Wat Pah Pong] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Wat Sai Ngam (Suphanburi)] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Vinaya]
Quote: “If you want to stay here, you have to stay at least five years.” — Ajahn Chah. [Sequence of training]
Recollection: The 1974 Māgha Pūjā gathering at Wat Pah Pong. [Festival days]
2. “It sounds like the experience at the monastery you spent the Vassa at before returning to Luang Por Chah was meditation-focused and technique-focused. Holistic practice monasteries are a new phenomenon in the West. What would you say to someone who has only had retreat experience and their practice has been measured by meditative attainment or calm based on a technique [about the] holistic approach in Ajahn Chah lineage monasteries? What’s unique about it?” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Sai Ngam (Suphanburi)] [Meditation/Techniques] [Monastic life] [Ajahn Chah monasteries ] // [Eightfold Path]
Quote: “Buddhism is not a meditation technique. It’s a training in one’s whole life of body, speech, and mind.” [Buddhist identity]
3. “I know people who have seen the fruits of the fully-developed Eightfold Path in someone [else] or have been to a monastery and felt what it feels like to live in line with that. They find the life they return to at home is very distant from that. Because of obligations or kammic ties, they aren’t able to bring their life into alignment with the Dhamma in the way they would want. What would you tell someone with one foot in the monastery and the other foot on a banana peel?” [Eightfold Path] [Monastic life] [Lay life ] // [Doubt] [Spiritual friendship] [Factors for stream entry] [Association with people of integrity] [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Idealism] [Contentment]
Story: “I could cry every day, but what’s the point? It’s better to just get on with life.” [Retirement] [Pain] [Purpose/meaning]
4. “You talk about coming from the meditation monastery where you ordained to Ajahn Chah’s [monastery] and seeing the beauty of the interaction between the laypeople and the monastics. What is your vision of a healthy monastery and by extension, a healthy monk? People come to a monastery with a very high ideal that a monastery should be just meditation ...” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Phleng Vipassanā] [Wat Pah Pong] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Monastic life] [Idealism] [Travel] // [Learning] [Dhamma books]
5. “Would you tell the story of the tiger in Dtao Dum?” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Animal] [Dtao Dum ] // [Tudong] [Lodging] [Posture/Walking] [Fear] [Recollection/Death] [Renunciation]
Sutta: MN 4: Bhayabherava Sutta. [Buddha/Biography]
6. “[Ajahn Pasanno], do you practice now also? If so, how do you practice?” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Meditation] // [Long-term practice]
Quote: “You realize that there’s this truth of the Dhamma, the truth of reality, and there’s this capacity of the heart to penetrate it and let go of all perceptions of self and clinging. And that’s all you need to do.” [Truth ] [Dhamma] [Relinquishment] [Self-identity view] [Clinging]
7. “In 2005 you lead a retreat at Abhayagiri talking about the breath, and Debbie has now turned that into a book. In conversation you mentioned that you will add how your understanding of breath meditation has changed over the last 15-20 years ...” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Meditation retreats] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Debbie Stamp] [Long-term practice] // [Naturalness]
Note: A 14-second silence due to a streaming glitch has been removed.
Sutta: AN 10.61: Rain falling on a mountain. [Similes]
8. “Could you say a little more about that clarity? You talked about knowing that there is this factor of the truth of Dhamma? How do you be into that?” [Knowledge and vision] [Truth] [Dhamma ] // [Cause of Suffering] [Unwholesome Roots]
Quote: “It’s intrinsic to us all, but we get in the way.”
Sutta: AN 1.49: “This mind, bhikkhus, is radiant, but it is defiled by adventitious defilements.” [Nature of mind]
Follow-up: “Does the academic speculation about AN 1.49 fall away when you’re actually practicing?” [Views] [Direct experience]
Quote: “First you have to know the Dhamma. Then you have to see the Dhamma. Then you have to be the Dhamma.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Insight meditation] [Relinquishment] [Self-identity view]
Follow-up: “In Ajahn Chah’s progression of knowing Dhamma and seeing Dhamma and then being Dhamma, what is Dhamma in that context?”
9. “How long should we stick to a meditation technique? How do we know when we should change things up?” [Meditation/Techniques] // [Direct experience]
10. “Is it possible to get enlightened living in a Muslim country where there are no monasteries?” [Liberation] // [Dhamma online] [Association with people of integrity]
Quote: “You mean there are no good people in America?” — Ajahn Chah to Ajahn Sumedho. [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Culture/West] [Virtue]
11. “Is there a difference between metta and non-hatred?” [Goodwill] // [Ajahn Sumedho] [Right Intention]
12. “Are there any misunderstandings of Buddhism that have developed as it comes to the West that you would correct?” [Culture/West] // [Monastic life] [Selfishness] [Community] [Environment] [Abhayagiri] [Dogmatism]
13. “What would you say to two young monks on a mission to maybe start a community in Seattle?” [Clear Mountain] // [Patience] [Truth]
1. “What was it like growing up in such an isolated place? Did this influence you towards spiritual or philosophical inquiry from a young age?” [Culture/Natural environment] [Spiritual search] [Ajahn Pasanno]
2. “After you grew up and went to college, you travelled around the world and ended up in Thailand. What set you off on this journey around the world?” [Travel] [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Spiritual search] [Learning] [Zen]
Follow-up: “What attracted you to Thailand?” [Culture/Thailand]
3. “Did you go on a retreat in Thailand? How did you end up ordaining in Bangkok?” [Meditation retreats] [Ordination] [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Mahasi Sayadaw] [Temporary ordination]
4. “How did it come to be that you ended up with Ajahn Chah? What was it like the first time you met him?” [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Determination] [Wat Pah Pong]
Quote: (To himself) “Five years if five years. You’ve got to do it.”
5. As Westerners, we don’t like the idea of committing, certainly not for life. Comment by Sol Hanna. [Culture/West] [Determination]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno: “Commitment is anathema.” [Sensual desire] [Ajahn Chah] [Perception of a samaṇa]
6. “Were there any memories from that period of training with Ajahn Chah that really stand out in your mind? In what ways did you find it difficult?” [Ajahn Chah] [Monastic life] [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Poverty] [Requisites] [Posture/Sitting] [Monastic routine]
Quote: “It was difficult, but it was also very satisfying. It felt like exactly what I wanted to be doing and should be doing.” [Ardency] [Faith]
7. “There were quite a few Westerners who went to train in Thailand at the time. Not all of them made it. What got you through that period of time? What kept you going?” [Monastic life] [Monastic life/Motivation ] [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Ajahn Chah] [Faith] [Truth]
8. “How did you come to be abbot of Wat Pah Nanachat?” [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Abbot] [Ajahn Pasanno ] // [Ajahn Sumedho] [Ajahn Jāgaro] [Ajahn Puriso] [Ajahn Brahmavaṃso] [Wat Keuan] [Ajahn Chah]
Follow-up: “How did you feel about it?” [Culture/West] [Fear] [Trust]
9. Under your leadership, Wat Pah Nanachat grew in size and more monks came to practice there. Comment by Sol Hanna. [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Abbot] [Ajahn Pasanno]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno: “I think I did okay.” [Humility] [Ajahn Chah] [Sickness]
10. You were quite involved in Ajahn Chah’s funeral as well. I heard that a million Thai people visited during the funeral period. Comment by Sol Hanna. [Ajahn Chah] [Funerals] [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Trust]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Building projects]
Follow-up: “How do you think it went?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Wat Pah Pong] [Lodging] [Food] [Eating after noon] [Not handling money] [Free distribution]
11. “As abbot of Wat Pah Nanachat, you were involved in a model reforestation project. How did this come about and what motivated you to promote reforestation in Thailand?” [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Environment ] [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Culture/Thailand] [Commerce/economics] [Geography/Thailand] [Food] [Agriculture] [Community]
Quote: “It’s not just forest that you want to pay attention to. ... The villagers need to make a living.” [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Right Livelihood] [Learning]
Quote: “I had good people helping me. It wasn’t just me.”
12. “How did you come to join Ajahn Amaro as co-abbot of the newly established Abhayagiri Monastery in California?” [Ajahn Amaro] [Abbot] [Abhayagiri] [Ajahn Pasanno ] // [Saṅghapāla] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Jack Kornfield] [Elders' Council] [Chithurst]
13. “What was it like establishing a forest monastery with the strict Vinaya of the Forest Tradition in California in the 1990s?” [Abhayagiri] [Vinaya] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Culture/West] // [Conscience and prudence] [Trust] [Precepts]
14. “Abhayagiri is not near a major city, but there has been plenty of interest from both laypeople and those wishing to ordain. What do you credit for the successful establishment phase of Abhayagiri Monastery?” [Abhayagiri] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Monastic life/Motivation] // [Teaching Dhamma] [Trust] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Vinaya]
Quote: “We are what we say we are. That helps.” [Truth]
15. “How many monastics are there at Abhayagiri right now?” [Abhayagiri] [Monastic life]
16. “During your time in the United States, how do you think the knowledge and practice of Buddhism has changed?” [Culture/West] [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Abhayagiri] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support]
17. “In 2018 you stepped away from the role of abbot of Abhayagiri, passing the role to Ajahn Karunadhammo and Ajahn Ñāṇiko. Both these monks are American and have mostly trained in the United States at Abhayagiri. How do you feel about this milestone?” [Abhayagiri] [Abbot] [Retirement] [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo] [Ajahn Pasanno ] [Ajahn Ñāṇiko] [History/Western Buddhist monasticism] [Culture/West] // [Monastic life]
18. “You’ve lived a life dedicated to the spiritual quest of a Buddhist monk. What advice would you give to someone who’s starting out on the Eightfold Path and may have an interest in ordaining as a monk or nun?” [Spiritual search ] [Monastic life] [Eightfold Path] [Monastic life/Motivation] [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Appropriate attention] [Culture/West] [Perfectionism] [Happiness] [Right Effort] [Patience]
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