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1. Guided meditation: Resolve right now is the time for training the mind and nothing else. From “The Key to Liberation” by Ajahn Chah. [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.
1. Guided meditation: The rhythm of the sensation of the body as it is walking. [Posture/Walking ] [Mindfulness of body] [Ajahn Chah] // [Calming meditation] [Present moment awareness] [Proliferation] [Tranquility] [Investigation of states]
1. Reading: Beyond Doubt. [Doubt] [Ajahn Chah] // [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Teachers] [Buddha] [Spiritual search] [Relinquishment] [Present moment awareness] [Emptiness] [Characteristics of existence] [Conditionality] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Liberation]
2. Reading: Everyday. [Everyday life] [Ajahn Chah] // [Ardency] [Sloth and torpor]
Simile: A child learning to write. [Similes]
3. Reading: Catching a Lizard. [Similes] [Ajahn Chah] // [Meditation/General advice] [Sense restraint] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness] [Clear comprehension]
4. Reading: One Seat. [Similes ] [Ajahn Chah] // [Mindfulness] [Buddho mantra] [Volitional formations]
1. Question about how Ajahn Chah taught to deal with people externally. [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]
2. “Did you as a Westerner have any difficulties meeting Ajahn Chah either with Buddhism or with Thailand? How did it get resolved or did it get resolved?” [Culture/West] [Theravāda] [Culture/Thailand] [Ajahn Chah]
Story: Ajahn Chah replies evasively when asked three straightforward questions to teach his translator (Ajahn Pasanno) a lesson. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Aversion] [Questions] [Simplicity] [Teaching Dhamma] [Food] [Suffering]
3. “As an abbot taking care of a community, how do you handle it when a kerfluffle comes up?” [Abbot] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Community] [Conflict ] // [Patience] [Views] [Skillful qualities] [Four Noble Truths]
Follow-up: “What are the antidotes to the next two Noble Truths?”
4. “When I’m mindful, then I become more aware of suffering. I could just go into story and not know that I’m suffering, so why would we choose to become aware of the suffering?” [Mindfulness] [Suffering] [Proliferation] // [Cessation of Suffering] [Clinging]
Quote: “The flavor of the end of suffering—I like that.”
5. Story: Ajahn Chah’s practice matures and he receives permission to teach. [Teaching Dhamma] [Ajahn Chah] // [Wat Pah Pong] [Rapture] [Almsround] [Ajahn Kinaree]
6. Reading from the draft biography: Ajahn Chah in the early years: spare, stern, and vigorous. [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]
7. Reading from the draft biography: Building the road to Tam Sang Pet. [Wat Tam Saeng Pet] [Work] [Ajahn Chah] // [Culture/Natural environment] [Ajahn Anek] [Patience] [Perception of a samaṇa] [Ardency]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 428
Quote: “Patient endurance is the general of practice.” — Ajahn Chah.
8. Reading from the draft biography: Ajahn Chah’s ability to draw people in and respond with compassion. [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
9. Reading: Ajahn Chah’s first Western disciple. [Ajahn Sumedho] [History/Western Buddhist monasticism] [Ajahn Chah] // [Military] [Humor] [Monastic life] [Wat Pah Pong]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 486
10. Reading: Ajahn Gavesako’s first impressions of Wat Pah Pong. [Ajahn Gavesako] [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Chah] // [Almsround] [Perception of a samaṇa] [Cleanliness] [Humor] [Unwholesome Roots] [Dhamma] [Gratitude] [Upatakh]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 502
1. “What can we say to someone who is terminally ill? It seems the living can only offer sympathy. When I try to think of some way to comfort their mind, my words seem so out of touch and trivial.” [Death] [Right Speech] // [Fear] [Recollection/Death] [Compassion] [Ajahn Pasanno]
Sutta: AN 5.57: Five Subjects for Frequent Recollection Chanting Book translation.
Quote: “You can’t go with a program you’ve thought out ahead of time.”
2. “How do we forgive close friends or family who harm us by not respecting our boundaries? Is forgiveness the same as reconciliation?” [Forgiveness] [Family] // [Suffering] [Aversion] [Habits]
Reference: “Reconciliation, Right & Wrong” by Thānissaro Bhikkhu.
3. “Regarding the First Noble Truth, some say, ‘Life contains dukkha;’ others say, ‘Life is dukkha.’ What say you?” [Noble Truth of Suffering] [Suffering] // [Impermanence]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 11.
4. “When speaking of mindfulness, is it implied that full heartfulness is mindfulness as well?” [Mindfulness] [Heart/mind] // [Pāli] [Culture/West]
5. “Why do so many different teachings exist, like Zen, Advaita, or others?” [Spiritual traditions ] // [Human] [Personality] [Great disciples]
Suttas: AN 1.188-267: The qualities of the great disciples.
6. “What are some skillful ways to deal with anger and resentment?” [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]
7. “What did the Buddha say about marriage? Are the Three Refuges more of a priority than a spouse?” [Relationships ] [Three Refuges] // [Lay life] [Five Precepts] [Great disciples] [Stream entry] [Monastic life]
Sutta: AN 4.55: Nakula’s mother and father. [Rebirth] [Treasures]
1. “What does ‘consciousness is dukkha’ (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 11-12) mean?” [Consciousness] [Suffering] // [Aggregates] [Self-identity view] [Sense bases]
2. “How are you ‘Ajahn’?” [Monastic titles] // [Conventions]
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?” [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.
4. “The Buddha said, ‘I teach one thing.’ If one overcomes the hindrances, eliminating the conditions that lead to dukkha, what is the focus on the Four Noble Truths, Three Characteristics, Foundations of Mindfulness, etc.” [Hindrances] [Suffering] [Cessation of Suffering] [Four Noble Truths] [Characteristics of existence] // [Eightfold Path] [Happiness]
Sutta: AN 6.63.42: Two results of suffering.
Note: SN 22.86 and other suttas where the Buddha says, ‘I teach suffering and the end of suffering’ do not mention ‘one thing.’
5. “How does one develop faith or trust?” [Faith] // [Recollection/Buddha ] [Liberation] [Buddha/Biography]
Sutta: MN 26.20: Those with little dust in their eyes.
6. “Do you think it’s possible to have fear decrease by coming back to the breath?” [Fear] [Mindfulness of breathing] // [Tranquility] [Mindfulness of body] [Hindrances]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno smells a tiger on the walking path. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Animal] [Posture/Walking] [Dtao Dum]
Sutta: MN 4.20: Fear and Dread.
7. “Could you elaborate on what the malleable mind is and how it differs from pliable?” [Heart/mind] // [Pāli]
Sutta: AN 3.101-102: Similes of a goldsmith. [Similes]
8. “Can you offer some more suggestions about dealing with sleepiness when it is very strong?” [Sloth and torpor] // [Postures] [Energy] [Posture/Walking] [Posture/Standing] [Wat Pah Nanachat]
Story: An hour walking, an hour standing, and an hour sitting. [Monastic routine] [Ajahn Pasanno]
9. “How do we work with self-destructive and harmful repetitive patterns in our life? We can’t really force change.” [Habits ] [Unskillful qualities] // [Craving not to become] [Drawbacks] [Suffering] [Self-identity view]
Sutta: AN 6.63.42: Two results of suffering.
10. “What is a skillful way of dealing with worry and aversion with respect to the current economic and political situation?” [Restlessness and worry] [Aversion] [Politics and society] // [Human] [Suffering] [Commerce/economics] [Conditionality] [Saṃsāra] [Buddha/Biography] [Cessation of Suffering]
11. “Recently I realized that I don’t have to do anything to be present or mindful. Ten years on the path. No big explosion or anything like that. This shift happened so gradually that I hardly noticed. What now?” [Mindfulness] [Long-term practice] // [Eightfold Path] [Self-identity view] [Aspects of Understanding] [Conditionality]
12. “Is it permissible to stand at the back of the room during a sitting session?” [Posture/Standing] [Meditation retreats]
13. “What does it mean to fully understand what causes us to suffer?” [Cause of Suffering] // [Relinquishment] [Cessation of Suffering ]
Quote: “The mind aspires to truth and beauty, but pain we obey.” — Marcel Proust. [Suffering]
14. “Sometimes I label thoughts as ‘planning,’ ‘memory,’ and ‘fantasy.’ How do these labels fit with the Five Hindrances. Are they forms of restlessness?” [Noting] [Hindrances] [Restlessness and worry]
15. “Some say that a fully liberated person must avoid society because they are so fully selfless that even if asked to give away their eye, they would do it, unconcerned for their own life. How would you respond to such an assumption?” [Liberation] [Everyday life] [Generosity] // [Discernment]
16. “Regarding your instruction on sloth and torpor, can you explain how to look for the light in your mind? How to work with using ‘Buddho’ without forcing? How to apply the right effort and how to invite the brightness to grow when it is present?” [Perception of light] [Buddho mantra] // [Directed thought and evaluation] [Perception]
17. “How do you recommend I work with sexual energy?” [Sensual desire] // [Naturalness] [Sexual misconduct] [Celibacy] [Unattractiveness]
18. “Questions and concerns are arising incessantly about my relationship with my partner. When it comes to important choices in life, how can one discern between a creditable intuitive sense and habitual patterns of restlessness and fear?” [Relationships] [Intuition] [Discernment] [Restlessness and worry] [Fear] // [Hindrances] [Right Speech] [Trust]
1. “Could you describe pīti?” [Rapture] // [Concentration] [Happiness] [Energy]
2. “In light of the Buddha’s realization of the Middle Way (neither self-mortification nor indulgence) and similarly Ajahn Karunadhammo’s reflection on not holding to fixed views about success, how can one make sense of Ajahn Mun’s ascetic path that was called one of deprivation or even Ajahn Chah’s training that extended one’s limits of little food or sleep? On the faith that we’re all capable of enlightenment, how can we skillfully understand the role and necessity of austerities? How can we skillfully practice these in order to develop clarifying release as opposed to further becoming or non-becoming? And how necessary are they in light of the need for a sense of positive well-being?” [Middle Path] [Ascetic practices] [Ajahn Mun] [Ajahn Chah] [Liberation] [Becoming] // [Spiritual urgency] [Relinquishment] [Fear]
Story: Ajahn Chah vows not to look up for a Rains Retreat. [Sense restraint] [Determination] [Rains retreat]
Story: Ajahn Chah and his monks sit for 12 hours every night for a month. [Sitter's practice]
3. “Is contentment the same as acceptance?” [Contentment ] // [Happiness]
4. “Right Effort seems to be about substituting wholesome mind states for unwholesome mind states. This seems much more involved and intentional than merely knowing and letting go. How do these things go together?” [Right Effort ] [Volition] [Mindfulness] [Relinquishment] // [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities] [Discernment] [Intuition] [Consciousness] [Volitional formations]
5. “Ajahn, can you see into our minds?” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Psychic powers]
6. “What does deeping the practice mean? This inner sense of expansion and one-pointedness at the same time feels non-directional, and yet there are different spaces available to us.” [Spaciousness] [Unification] // [Discernment] [Faith]
7. “I’ve been practicing mindfulness of breathing for over 15 years, and to be honest, my meditation periods consist of nearly constant daydreaming, planning, etc. It hardly seems useful. Maybe it’s time to try body sweeping or contemplation meditation or something else. What do you think?” [Mindfulness of breathing] [Meditation/Techniques] [Meditation/Results] // [Buddho mantra] [Body scanning] [Unattractiveness] [Desire] [Recollection]
8. “What are the last two [Bases of Success]?” [Bases of Success]
9. “A devoted practitioner over many years, a friend of mine, decided to call herself an atheist. Although Buddhism is over, she kept her shrine. Can beginning dementia erase something that was so important to her? This is worrisome if this could happen.” [Buddhist identity] [Atheism/agnosticism] [Sickness] // [Spiritual friendship] [Kamma]
10. “Can you speak about intuitive/esoteric meditation?” [Meditation/Techniques] // [Ajahn Pasanno]
Sutta: SN 47.9.4: The Buddha never taught with a closed fist. [Teaching Dhamma]
11. “Did the Buddha give any teaching on nurturing or expanding our relationship with plants and animals?” [Animal] [Environment] // [Killing] [Vinaya] [Consciousness]
Vinaya: Bhikkhu Pācittiyā 11 origin story: A bhikkhu cuts down a tree and harms a deva’s child. [Deva]
12. “Day three blues. These retreats are difficult. How do I keep ending up here?” [Meditation retreats] [Suffering]
13. “What did you say, getting aware of the hindrances is the foundation of what? Gradually being aware of the hindrances—does that mean transformation to something else for good?” [Hindrances] [Investigation of states] // [Relinquishment] [Happiness]
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?” [Unconditioned ] // [Personality] [Cessation of Suffering] [Great disciples] [Commentaries]
Sutta: AN 8.19.16: The taste of liberation. [Similes]
15. “The need to give love and receive love is a basic human need by most standards. What is the Pāli word for love, and what did the Buddha teach about it?” [Relationships] [Pāli] // [Goodwill] [Clinging] [Grief]
Sutta: MN 87: Born from those Who Are Dear.
Sutta: MN 21.20: The Simile of the Saw.
16. “Can you describe the different hand mudras and how to use them as a touchpoint? Can you give an instruction about how to anchor with the breath?” [Mudra] [Mindfulness of breathing] // [Theravāda]
Reference: Earlier question about anchoring the breath.
1. “...a bit of my body moves around. A lay teacher called this the cosmic chiropractor. It is usually pleasant, but can be unpleasant. What are your thoughts about this, and how would you work with this energy?” [Meditation/Unusual experiences] // [Mindfulness of body] [Body scanning] [Mindfulness of breathing]
2. “If there is no self, why do you think we are here, alive on Earth as individuals?” [Not-self] [Purpose/meaning] // [Craving] [Ignorance] [Self-identity view] [Saṃsāra]
Sutta: SN 15.1: “A first point is not discerned of beings roaming and wandering on, hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving.”—Bhikkhu Bodhi translation.
3. “Can dogs wake up? I notice my doggies like to sit close to me when I do sitting meditation.” [Animal] // [Human] [Rebirth] [Delusion]
4. “Please kindly explain the four pairs and the eight kinds of noble beings (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 7).” [Recollection/Saṅgha] [Stages of awakening] // [Saṅgha] [Pāli]
5. “Please speak to judgement, both from the perspective of subject and object.” [Judgementalism] // [Views] [Christianity] [Suffering] [Conceit]
6. “I want to let go of things that I dislike as fast as possible. How do I do that?” [Aversion] [Relinquishment] // [Suffering] [Craving not to become] [Drawbacks]
7. “My breath seems to have a mind/ego of its own. Whenever I start to pay attention to it, it will breathe unnaturally. Sometimes my breathing gets laborious. Lately I even have a hard time breathing naturally when I’m not sitting. How do I approach my breath gently so that it won’t mind me watching it?” [Mindfulness of breathing] [Meditation/Unusual experiences] // [Present moment awareness] [Tranquility]
Story: When he was a young monk, Ajahn Pasanno’s breath becomes comfortable after he stops meditating. [Ajahn Pasanno]
8. “How did Ajahn Chah communicate to the Western monks?” [Ajahn Chah] [Western Ajahn Chah lineage] [Language] // [Intuition] [Direct experience]
Quote: “Teaching Westerners is easy. Just like teaching buffaloes.” — Ajahn Chah. [Humor]
Quote: “Practicing Dhamma isn’t about the language, it’s about the experience.” — Ajahn Chah.
9. “How can one skillfully investigate feelings without simply getting lost in analytical thought?” [Mindfulness of feeling] [Proliferation] // [Suffering] [Directed thought and evaluation]
Quote: “The best investigation takes place when the mind is very still and not formulating a lot of ideas.” [Insight meditation] [Tranquility] [Direct experience]
10. “Can you speak a little more about the essential differences between working with vedanā, the hindrances, and mind states and the differences and similarities between ‘spiritual’ use of this and more psychological/personal growth oriented [approaches]? Is there a difference?” [Mindfulness of feeling] [Hindrances] [Mindfulness of dhammas] [Western psychology] // [Impermanence] [Suffering] [Not-self] [Self-identity view] [Happiness] [Generosity] [Virtue]
11. “Might you speak about the heat in Buddhism?” [Heart/mind] // [Language]
12. “If the Buddha were alive today, what question would it be most important for you to ask of him?” [Buddha] [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Meditation]
13. “Can you repeat the instruction regarding breathing in using the words pīti and happiness?” [Mindfulness of breathing] [Rapture] [Happiness] // [Mindfulness of feeling] [Volitional formations]
Sutta: MN 118.19: The second anāpānāsati tetrad Chanting Book translation.
14. “Was Ajahn Chah fully liberated? Do you know any living being who is?” [Ajahn Chah] [Arahant]
Recollection: Ajahn Chah likened people speculating about his attainments to birds chattering in a tree. [Stages of awakening] [Similes]
15. “What can help morph endurance into patience?” [Patience] // [Present moment awareness] [Perfections] [Equanimity]
Sutta: Dhp 184: Patience is the supreme destroyer of defilements Chanting Book translation.
16. “Dhammas arise and cease—nothing personal. How does that relate to our personal kamma?” [Impermanence] [Not-self] [Kamma ]
Quote: “Nothing personal, but nobody else gets it either!”
17. “What are hallmarks or signs or markers of stream entry? Is this a realistic goal for a modern lay person?” [Stream entry ] [Lay life] // [Faith] [Three Refuges] [Virtue] [Self-identity view] [Attachment to precepts and practices] [Doubt]
Quote: “If you’re going to have a goal in life, this is the one to have.” [Purpose/meaning]
Sutta: SN 55.5: Sāriputta teaches four factors of stream entry. [Factors for stream entry] [Association with people of integrity] [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Appropriate attention] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma]
1. “How would you investigate despair and fear? What does investigation look like?” [Depression] [Fear] [Investigation of states] // [Present moment awareness] [Direct experience]
2. Comment: This retreat feels like specializing in silence. [Meditation retreats] [Seclusion]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Community]
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?” [Proliferation] [Doubt] [Restlessness and worry] [Nutriment] // [Directed thought and evaluation] [Drawbacks] [Human] [Relinquishment]
Sutta: MN 20: The Removal of Distracting Thoughts. [Similes]
4. “Please help with a right understanding of the reflection on the 32 parts. I have had problems with this for two reasons: 1) The ‘bag of the body’ is not sealed. Gases, liquids, and solids pass continually in and out of it. 2) Unattractive...hmmm. It does seem to correct any idealized fantasy of the body to keep from falling of the path into a ditch of sensuous indulgence, however, might the squeamish and highly opinionated view expressed in this reflection lead to the equivalent of falling into the ditch on the other side? After all, I’m grateful to the bones, blood, pus, sweat, etc. that keep the old body ticking along.” [Unattractiveness] [Body/form] [Sensual desire] [Gratitude] // [Aversion]
Commentary: Path of Purification by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, p. 184: A bag with nine holes.
Vinaya: Bhikkhu Pārājikā 3: Monks obsessed with unattractiveness commit suicide. [Suicide] [Mindfulness of breathing]
5. “Kindly comment on the differences in meaning and in experience between the sensual desire of taṇhā and the hindrance of sensual desire associated with chanda, the neutral desire.” [Sensual desire] [Craving] [Desire] // [Pāli]
6. “Is Nibbāna the ending of kamma or rather the fruition of skillful kamma? What is meant by kamma that results in neither good nor bad kamma in light of the Buddha’s explanation of the four kinds of action (MN 57.7)? How to understand volition/intention in relation to kamma and Nibbāna?” [Nibbāna] [Kamma] [Volition] // [Suffering] [Rebirth] [Non-identification]
Sutta: AN 6.63.33: The formula of the Four Noble Truths applied to kamma. [Four Noble Truths]
Quote: “For an enlightened being, there is no response to the human condition other than compassion.” — Ajahn Māha Boowa. [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Arahant] [Compassion] [Human]
7. “It seems that letting go is a process, and it doesn’t happen quickly. Is this true for you, or can you let go immediately?” [Relinquishment] [Ajahn Pasanno]
8. “In today’s talk, you said thought, feeling, and experiences are not-self, not personal, and to approach them as such. Yet in a previous talk, it was said that all of our experiences are the fruit of our action, our kamma. If we each have unique and personal kamma, how can this not be a sense of self, and how can we know how to approach different experiences?” [Not-self] [Kamma] [Personality] // [Conditionality] [Impermanence]
9. “Could you talk a little bit on karma or kamma? We’re here, living cushy lives in comparison, clean water, comfortable houses, food, because of past good deeds. Can you explain why one might be reborn into hunger, AIDS, civil war, etc.?” [Kamma] [Poverty] // [Conditionality] [Nature of the cosmos] [Rebirth]
Sutta: AN 4.77.
10. “Can, and if so, how, may one formally take refuge as your lay disciple? Do you think it is useful if one is genuine and sincere about it?” [Ceremony/ritual] [Teachers] [Lay life] [Three Refuges] // [Buddha/Biography] [Ordination]
Quote: “As we continue to explore these refuges, it forms the core or kernel of liberation.” [Liberation]
Recollections of Ajahn Māha Boowa responding to Dhamma questions by mail. [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Teaching Dhamma] [Fierce/direct teaching] [Ajahn Pasanno]
11. “Why such a big deal about suffering? Why trying to get out when we know it’s impermanent?” [Suffering] [Escape] [Impermanence]
12. “Kindly share another story of Ajahn Chah. They delight and inspire.” [Ajahn Chah] [Stories]
Story from Ajahn Chah: Two mating lizards fall out of a tree. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Almsround] [Sensual desire] [Drawbacks]
Quote: “Is it suffering?” [Admonishment/feedback]
13. “We see the suffering that follows when the housebuilder saṅkhāra builds again (Dhp 153-154), yet humans are storytelling animals. Culture, even pop culture, can inspire. Any comment?” [Suffering] [Volitional formations] [Cultural context] [Faith]
14. “I can know and let go of a past hurt, but what is a good Buddhist to do when the hurt is direct and in your face? For example, repeated verbal abuse by my partner? Lovingkindness can only go so far.” [Relinquishment] [Abuse/violence ] [Buddhist identity] [Harsh speech] [Relationships] [Goodwill] // [Buddha/Biography] [Vinaya] [Admonishment/feedback]
Ajahn Pasanno recounts the mistakes he made admonishing monks as a new abbot. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Abbot] [Fierce/direct teaching] [Right Speech]
Recollection: Ajahn Chah was the person with the most lovingkindness I ever met, but if somebody was out of line, they would know about it. [Ajahn Chah]
Story: Ajahn Chah admonishes a big Western monk. [Truth]
15. “I notice how my mind not only loves story, but it also loves to be the main character. When I sit down at the mealtime or cross paths in the hall, I watch the mind become restless, thoughts of how I am affecting others or what other are thinking of me. Is this conceit? Shall I continue to watch this feeling like all others? Any advice?” [Proliferation] [Restlessness and worry] [Conceit] // [Drawbacks] [Relinquishment]
16. “Please clarify the meaning of ‘the Solitary Buddha is my noble Lord (Abhayagiri Chanting Book, p. 27).’” [Paccekabuddha] // [Three Refuges] [Buddha] [Devotional practice]
Note: The newer Amaravati Chanting Book translates this as ‘noble guide.’
1. “This morning I had my brightest, deepest, most still meditation ever. As I sensed the hour coming to an end, I counted my breaths down to 100, knowing you would ring the bell during that time. When I got to zero, no bell. So I decided to hold my breath until I heard the bell. Luckily, you rang it right then. What did the Buddha teach regarding synchronicities?” [Time] // [Concentration] [Psychic powers]
Sutta: AN 4.77: Inconceivable Matters.
2. “Ajahn, how are you doing? Is teaching a retreat as busy as being involved at the monastery? It is so pleasant to have a group of monastics here. Chanting and the whole energy is like sweet medicine. Wishing you all well, and thank you so much for coming here.” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Meditation retreats] [Teaching Dhamma] [Monastic life] [Gratitude]
3. “Today there will be hundreds of thousands of turkeys killed for Thanksgiving dinner. Can we dedicate our evening chanting to them? May they be reborn as humans and practice Dhamma.” [Animal] [Killing] [Chanting] // [Festival days]
4. “What did the Buddha say about karma in relationship to our parents and siblings? How did we end up in these families?” [Kamma ] [Family ] // [Gratitude] [Parents]
Sutta: MN 117.7: Conventional Right View. [Right View]
5. “As mindfulness has increased, I find fighting drowsiness directly can empower it. I’m drawn to stepping into the experience, feeling the strong pull into mental proliferation, and gently grounding the mind back into stronger physical feeling. I slip in repeatedly but find that I can eventually make the mind stable and bright. Is this a handy strategy or a more long-term approach in knowing and dismantling the hindrances?” [Sloth and torpor] [Mindfulness of body] [Hindrances] // [Craving not to become]
6. “When preparing to meditate, is it better to have going in an issue that you want to spend your time on or to get into the meditation and allow the mind to settle on an issue that arises?” [Meditation/General advice]
7. “The Buddha wasn’t tortured like Jesus. Why did he set such high standards to tolerate pain with equanimity (MN 21.20)? Almost impossible to do for a human. Maybe som Tibetan monks can endure Chinese torture in such a detached way.” [Abuse/violence] // [Cessation of Suffering] [Liberation]
Sutta: AN 4.161-163: Modes of practice.
8. “How does one contemplate the Eight Worldly Dhammas?” [Worldly Conditions ] [Recollection] // [Craving] [Arahant] [Pain] [Naturalness]
Quote: “Even if someone calls you a dog, all you’ve got to do is look to see if you have a tail.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Harsh speech] [Blame and praise] [Culture/Thailand]
9. “Could you explain the Saṅgha described in the chants (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 7) versus lay saṅgha?” [Saṅgha ] [Chanting] [Lay life] // [Stages of awakening] [Monastic life]
10. “If I understand this afternoon’s reflection correctly, then the body is capable of responding to things independently of the mind. So while I may have learned to refrain from facial, verbal, and other expressions of anger, impatience, humiliation, etc., the body may still respond. As I sit now, day after day, I feel all of that stored up tension in my neck and waves of anxiety in my belly. How to help the body release the pent-up emotions I have stuffed?” [Body/form ] [Heart/mind] [Aversion] [Emotion] // [Conditionality] [Tranquility] [Mindfulness of breathing]
Sutta: SN 54.8: “When I practiced mindfulness of breathing, neither my body nor my eyes were tired.” [Buddha/Biography]
11. “Is there a Buddhist equivalent or analog to the soul?” [Nature of mind] // [Cause of Suffering] [Self-identity view] [Not-self] [Translation] [Pāli] [Middle Path]
12. “When you do ānāpānasati, do you do all 16 steps in a row? When or how do you decide to move on to the next step or is it more free-form than that?” [Mindfulness of breathing] // [Desire]
Sutta: MN 118: Ānāpānasati Sutta.
13. “What is the difference in practice between mindfulness, vipassanā (insight), and concentration (samatha)? How does directed and non-directed practice fit here? To build continuity, what about time not in formal practice?” [Mindfulness] [Insight meditation] [Calming meditation] [Concentration] [Continuity of mindfulness] // [Everyday life] [Precepts] [Perfections] [Spiritual friendship]
14. “Regarding the bare mind separate from its object, which of the Five Aggregates is it? Presumably even this mind is impermanent, yes?” [Nature of mind] [Aggregates] [Impermanence] // [Liberation] [Language]
Sutta: MN 43.9: Feeling, perception, and consciousness are conjoined.
15. “Can one enter the absorptive states through mindfulness of breathing or is single-pointed jhāna meditation required?” [Jhāna] [Mindfulness of breathing]
Sutta: MN 39.15: Descriptions of jhāna.
16. “I’m struggling with body pain while sitting in meditation. I realize shifting my body position causes me to temporarily lose my concentration. At times I can sit with the pain; other times I am concerned that I may be injuring my back or knees. How is most beneficial to work with this?” [Pain] [Posture/Sitting] [Concentration] // [Tranquility] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Meditation retreats] [Mindfulness]
Quote: “Chickens sit on their nest for long periods of time, and I don’t see them getting enlightened.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Liberation]
Quote: “You’re never going to be comfortable in a human body.” [Human]
17. “Please speak about ‘unburdened with duties’ (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 37). I notice it’s not ‘unburdened by duties.’ Does this mean we should attempt to minimize our responsibilities? What does this have to do with metta?—From a chronically busy person.” [Work] [Simplicity ] [Goodwill] // [Restlessness and worry]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 41: “May I abide in well-being.”
18. “Might you expound on the aspect of Right Intention? Also, are the Five Spiritual Powers meant to be the positive side of the coin in correlation to the Five Hindrances? Also, what is saṃvega?” [Right Intention] [Faculties] [Hindrances] [Spiritual urgency] // [Idealism] [Skillful qualities]
19. “Today I had pure moments of concentration on bliss. No matter what I did, I felt fully present, aware, and mindful. Does that mean I was an enlightened being for a few minutes? Too bad I lost concentration when I started writing this!” [Happiness] [Meditation/Results] [Liberation]
20. “What or how was the father-son relationship of the Buddha and his son Rāhula? Are there any suttas or teachings in regards to their own relationship and their family?” [Buddha/Biography ] [Parents] [Family] // [Ordination]
Vinaya: Mahāvagga 1.54: Rāhula asks for his inheritance. [Great disciples] [Novices]
Sutta: MN 61: Teachings to Rāhula as a boy. [False speech]
Sutta: MN 62: Comprehensive teachings to Rāhula.
Vinaya: Bhikkhu Pācittiyā 5.2.1: Lodgings for Rāhula.
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