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1. “Was the Buddha so miserable that he kept thinking about all these ideas? Where did his motivation come from?” [Buddha/Biography ] [Suffering] [Desire] [Monastic life/Motivation] // [Western psychology] [Rebirth] [Spiritual search]
2. “If the Buddha had been born elsewhere, would he have turned out the same way?” [Buddha/Biography] [Cultural context] // [Commentaries] [Culture/India ] [Spiritual search] [Renunciation] [Mahāyāna] [Saṃsāra]
3. “I’ve been confused between intention and desire. For me, desire arises from non-conceptual craving.” [Volition] [Craving] [Desire] [Language] // [Cause of Suffering] [Right Effort] [Happiness] [Kamma] [Pāli]
4. “Are all manifestations of desire and motivation ultimately a desire for happiness or are there motivations for truly negative things?” [Desire] [Craving] [Volition] [Happiness] [Unskillful qualities] [Nature of mind] // [Ill-will] [Fear] [Discernment]
5. “I’m not sure how to be with close friends or family members who out of a desire to avoid pain and find happiness engage in self-destructive behavior that also harms those around them.” [Family] [Spiritual friendship] [Unskillful qualities] [Craving] [Compassion] // [Discernment]
Sutta: Maṅgala Sutta: Don’t associate with fools.
6. “How did you get through the 106° heat? Did you have a different schedule?” [Abhayagiri] [Culture/Natural environment] // [Mindfulness of breathing] [Work]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno attends a very hot ordination at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. [Ajahn Pasanno] [City of Ten Thousand Buddhas] [Ordination]
7. “Are there different stages of enlightenment?” [Stages of awakening] // [Stream entry]
Follow-up: “And how would one know if you’ve reached the first stage [of awakening]?” [Doubt] [Self-identity view] [Not-self] [Liberation] [Attachment to precepts and practices] [Knowledge and vision]
8. “What to do when you have a lot of freedom in your mind, but in your body you’re stuck with a bad habit?” [Desire] [Liberation] [Heart/mind] [Body/form] [Habits] [Craving] // [Direct experience] [Meditation/Techniques] [Translation] [Mindfulness of breathing]
9. “Could you speak to how we sink into a place and you lift yourself with brightness?” [Gladdening the mind] // [Concentration] [Meditation] [Language] [Spaciousness]
10. “Any advice for cures for burnout? I’m in a helping profession and feel depleted and exhausted. I need help getting the balance between giving and receiving.” [Depression] [Work] [Health] [Generosity] [Compassion ] // [Culture/West] [Idealism] [Commentaries] [Selfishness]
Quote: “Compassion in the English language means ‘to suffer with.’ If you end up suffering with too much, you end up burnt out.” [Language] [Suffering]
Quote: “Don’t think you’re a ten-wheeled dump truck when all you are is a wheelbarrow.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah]
Commentary: Path of Purification by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, p. 291: Classical cultivation of goodwill and compassion, first to yourself. [Goodwill]
Quote: “Our ability to be with others and to help and to give is dependent on our being kind and compassionate to ourselves.” [Spiritual friendship] [Self-reliance]
11. “Is sexuality and wanting an intimate connection with another considered a negative desire?” [Sensual desire] [Relationships] [Desire] [Unskillful qualities] // [Food] [Clear comprehension] [Compassion] [Selfishness] [Discernment] [Precepts] [Trust]
Quote: “It’s not so much a matter of thwarting desire, but understanding how desire works so we can build those bonds of trust and care.”
1. “I’ve been struggling with sleepiness while trying to meditate, having the intention to be present and aware, but finding myself dozing off.” [Sloth and torpor] [Clear comprehension] [Meditation retreats] // [Conditionality] [Lay life] [Craving not to become] [Directed thought and evaluation]
Story: Ajahn Boon Choo meditates through tiredness after staying up for days. [Ajahn Boon Choo] [Kaṭhina] [Wat Pah Pong] [Energy] [Devotion to wakefulness] [Ardency]
Quote: “The boundaries we set for ourselves are oftentime much smaller than what we can actually deal with, work with, or be with.” [Self-identity view] [Clinging] [Patience]
2. “A film came out recently called Monk with a Camera. How does one balance between pursuing one’s artistic interests and sincerely following a path of relinquishment.” [Monastic life] [Renunciation] [Artistic expression ] // [Self-identity view] [Relinquishment] [Entertainment and adornment] [Generosity] [Energy] [Devotional practice]
Story: Rev. Heng Sure uses music to teach Dhamma. [Rev. Heng Sure] [Teaching Dhamma]
Story: Two Abhayagiri monks learn icon painting from the abbot of the Ukrainian Uniate monastery next door. [Abhayagiri] [Ajahn Jotipālo] [Father Damien] [Holy Transfiguration Monastery]
3. “A lot of my life has been based on guilt, punishment, achievement, feeling driven, and perfectionism. Recently I experienced the reverse of this. Perfectionism is mixed up with wholesome desire. Could you respond?” [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] [Judgementalism] [Perfectionism] [Desire] [Contentment] // [Discernment] [Self-identity view] [Human]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno can’t translate the question ‘How do I work with guilt?’ into Thai. [Ajahn Paññānanda] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Language] [Culture/West] [Culture/Thailand] [Suffering]
4. “I’ve heard ‘not being in control’ as a description of anatta. In relation to desire, do we really have any choice or free will in the context of Buddhist understanding?” [Not-self] [Desire] [Volition] [Nature of the cosmos] // [Kamma] [Clear comprehension] [Right Effort]
5. “Do we have any control over the arising of desire?” [Volition] [Desire] // [Cause of Suffering] [Relinquishment] [Four Noble Truths] [Cessation of Suffering] [Cessation] [Pāli]
1. Comment: Secular Buddhism is a new Buddhist identity. [Secular Buddhism] [Buddhist identity]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Abhayagiri] [Monastic life] [Culture/West] [Culture/Thailand]
2. “What did the Buddha think following his teachings should mean or entail?” [Three Refuges] [Precepts] [Buddhist identity ] // [Virtue] [Lay life] [Five Precepts] [Faith] [Generosity] [Association with people of integrity] [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Learning] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Conceit]
Sutta: AN 8.26 Jīvaka Sutta
3. “Is there a way to get involved in controversial political issues and still maintain a correct [audio unclear]?” [Politics and society] [Compassion] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Environment] [Buddhist identity] // [Learning] [Corruption] [Divine Abidings] [Depression] [Ill-will] [Equanimity]
Reference: The Heart of the Revolution by Noah Levine.
4. “Why did Jīvaka ask whether a virtuous lay follower is practicing for themselves or others (AN 8.26)?” [Great disciples] [Lay life] [Virtue] [Compassion] [Buddhist identity] // [Culture/India] [Lunar observance days] [Teaching Dhamma]
Vinaya: Mahāvagga 2.1.1: Origin of Lunar Observance Days.
5. “Are the qualities in the Jīvaka Sutta (AN 8.26) listed in order of ascending goodness?” [Skillful qualities] [Buddhist identity] // [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Stream entry]
7. Comments by Rik Center about the positive reputation of Buddhism in the West. [Culture/West] [Precepts] [Idealism] [Buddhist identity]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
8. “Is one of the benefits of being a monastic having to live up to people’s expectations?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Monastic life] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Robes] [Buddhist identity] // [Conventions] [Christianity] [Idealism] [Culture/West] [Culture/Thailand]
9. “The Dalai Lama is the iconic image of Buddhism in the West, but the Theravāda lineage is not much out there. How do you spread the word?” [Dalai Lama] [Culture/West] [Theravāda] [Buddhist identity] // [Perfections] [Rebirth] [Advertizing] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Abhayagiri] [Dhamma books] [Generosity] [Virtue]
10. Comment by Rik Center regarding the power of encouraging as opposed to demanding. [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Generosity] [Abhayagiri] [Buddhist identity]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
11. Comment: People outside will sometimes make fun of our efforts to keep the First Precept. [Killing] [Culture/West] [Buddhist identity]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno]
12. Story about not killing a rattlesnake. [Killing] [Culture/West] [Animal] [Buddhist identity]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Culture/Thailand]
13. “Should someone who follows the five precepts and meditates but has their own faith and belief call themselves a Buddhist?” [Five Precepts] [Meditation] [Faith] [Spiritual traditions] [Buddhist identity ] // [Dhamma] [Truth] [Eightfold Path] [Happiness]
14. Comment: Some Buddhists get upset when they hear someone say that Buddhism is a philosophy. [Philosophy] [Aversion] [Buddhist identity]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno: “It’s a lot more than that.”
15. “Can you say more about how living up to cultural expectations can be skillful?” [Conscience and prudence] [Skillful qualities] [Buddhist identity] // [Killing] [Sense restraint] [Clear comprehension] [Compassion] [Malicious speech] [Right Speech]
16. “If you know of an abusive situation and both the abuser and victim are stuck in it, how do you hold this? How to encourage them to follow this path?” [Abuse/violence] [Compassion] [Buddhist identity] // [Cessation of Suffering]
Quote: “You plant seeds of possibility. You can’t make the seeds grow, but you can plant the seeds.” [Similes]
17. “What is the right point to drop or ignore the desire to identify with the Buddhist identity?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Relinquishment] [Desire] [Self-identity view] [Buddhist identity] // [Suffering] [Perfectionism] [Clear comprehension] [Conventions] [Ajahn Chah] [Right Effort]
19. Comment by Ajahn Ñāṇiko: I keep coming back to true principle–what are we doing it all for? [Dhamma] [Killing] [Right Intention] [Buddhist identity]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Attachment to precepts and practices] [Suffering] [Happiness] [Skillful qualities]
1. “Could you clarify the difference between mindfulness and concentration?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Mindfulness] [Concentration ] // [Nature of mind] [Pāli] [Translation]
Follow-up: “You said earlier that mindfulness always comes before concentration, but based on what you just defined, I would think it would be the opposite.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno.
2. “I was thinking about Ajahn Chah’s advice that all you need to do is know and let go. I’m wondering about knowing, developing, and letting go. Where does development fit in?” [Ajahn Chah] [Knowing itself] [Relinquishment] [Right Effort]
1. “Is jhāna the same as samādhi?” [Concentration] [Jhāna]
2. “I’m thinking that not all samādhi is wholesome, but all jhāna is wholesome.” [Concentration] [Skillful qualities] [Jhāna] // [Right Concentration]
3. “In the jhāna formula, in what sense is the word ‘seclusion’ used?” [Seclusion] [Jhāna] // [Hindrances]
4. “Does jhāna arise only in seated meditation?” [Posture/Sitting] [Jhāna]
Reference: Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 332: Ajahn Chah talks about developing jhāna factors in walking meditation. [Ajahn Chah] [Posture/Walking]
5. “Is jhāna only in meditation?” [Meditation] [Jhāna] // [Right Concentration]
Quote: “Only farangs [Westerners] go into meditation rock climbing! Does he contemplate the Four Noble Truths?” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Culture/West] [Recreation/leisure/sport] [Four Noble Truths] [Directed thought and evaluation] [Relinquishment]
6. “If there isn’t an intention, [meditation] isn’t useful for the goal?” [Meditation] [Volition] [Jhāna] // [Volitional formations] [Kamma]
7. “The story that we hear frequently about the Buddha as a child in the cattle pasture with his father. He talks about going into a pleasant, rapturous state. Would you consider that jhāna?” [Buddha/Biography ] [Happiness] [Rapture] [Jhāna] // [Skillful qualities]
Sutta: MN 36.31 Mahāsaccaka Sutta
9. “Isn’t rapture and joy a sensual pleasure?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Rapture] [Happiness] [Sense bases] [Jhāna] // [Dhamma] [Virtue] [Generosity] [Compassion] [Recollection/Virtue]
Quote: “You can actually give yourself permission to enjoy the meditation.” — Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation]
10. “I meditate. Pleasure arises, and I enjoy that. Does that mean it’s Dhamma practice?” [Meditation] [Happiness] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Jhāna] // [Investigation of states] [Feeling] [Mindfulness of mind]
11. “How are the jhāna factors causal bases for awareness to release into Nibbāna? Do they diminish craving all the way?” [Release] [Nibbāna] [Craving] [Jhāna] // [Contentment]
12. Comment: Exercise in the morning can be used to overcome sloth. [Exercise] [Sloth and torpor] [Energy]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno]
13. “Ajahn Chah said happiness and unhappiness are two ends of suffering and we should aim for peace. Is this kind of jhānic happiness different from what he was talking about?” [Ajahn Chah] [Happiness] [Suffering] [Jhāna]
14. “That sukha (happiness) is still experienced through the sense object of the mind?” [Happiness] [Rapture] [Sense bases] [Jhāna] // [Mindfulness of body]
Quote: “The way the Buddha describes the jhāna factors, all the images are grounded in the body.” (MN 39.15) [Similes]
15. “So it [jhāna] is still a conditional thing?” [Conditionality] [Jhāna]
16. “The rapture and joy that are being described are not pleasure, right?” [Rapture] [Happiness] [Jhāna] // [Pāli]
Commentary: Path of Purification by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, p. 139 [Similes]
17. “Does jhāna exclusively contain the five mental states?” [Directed thought and evaluation] [Rapture] [Happiness] [Unification] [Jhāna] // [Right Concentration]
Sutta: MN 111 Anupada Sutta
18. “As our practice develops, is it common or normal for the mind to bypass first and second jhāna and go straight to three or four?” [Long-term practice] [Jhāna] // [Ajahn Pasanno]
20. “What’s the difference between directed thought and mindfulness?” [Directed thought and evaluation] [Mindfulness] [Jhāna]
21. “When it says neither pleasant nor unpleasant, is this neutral?” [Feeling] [Neutral feeling] [Jhāna] // [Mindfulness] [Pāṭimokkha]
22. “So the rapture and joy has dropped away between second and third jhāna?” [Rapture] [Jhāna] // [Happiness] [Mindfulness] [Equanimity]
23. “When we drop directed thought and evaluation, do we drop the object of our concentration and just abide in mindfulness?” [Directed thought and evaluation] [Concentration] [Mindfulness] [Meditation] [Jhāna] // [Knowing itself]
24. “In the jhāna similes (MN 39.15), ‘He makes...’ seems very active. In dropping away things, is it a conscious dropping or an allowing?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Right Concentration] [Relinquishment] [Jhāna] // [Volitional formations] [Conditionality] [Right Effort]
Quote: “Ajahn Chah emphasizes the doing within a sphere of detachment and letting go.” [Ajahn Chah]
25. “In concentration, you’re aware of one object. If in that state you become aware of pleasure, does that mean you’ve already left jhāna?” [Right Concentration] [Unification] [Happiness] [Right Mindfulness] [Jhāna] // [Self-identity view] [Discernment] [Clinging]
1. “What is the difference between ekaggatā and vitakka?” [Unification] [Directed thought and evaluation] [Pāli] [Jhāna] // [Right Concentration]
2. “Could we say that it [unification] is expansive?” [Unification] [Spaciousness] [Jhāna] // [Right Concentration]
4. “Before the Buddha practiced the ascetic way, he already learned the seventh and eighth levels of jhāna. Why didn’t that lead to his awakening?” [Buddha/Biography] [Formless attainments] [Liberation] [Jhāna] // [Right Concentration] [Right View] [Suffering] [Middle Path] [Characteristics of existence]
5. “Is the purpose of jhāna and meditation to build up the strength of the mind so we will be able to contemplate the Four Noble Truths?” [Meditation] [Heart/mind] [Four Noble Truths] [Jhāna] // [Calming meditation] [Insight meditation]
Sutta: AN 4.170: In Conjunction
6. “The jhānas seem foundational to the practice, yet Ajahn Chah was reluctant to talk about them. Is this a view that was pervasive among the other Krooba Ajahns?” [Ajahn Chah] [Teaching Dhamma] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Jhāna ] // [Desire]
Follow-up: “If the jhānas aren’t accessible to everyone, can you still go far along the path without them?” [Eightfold Path] [Right Effort] [Right Concentration] [Self-identity view]
7. “I practice the brahmavihāras, and not just on the cushion. How do these relate to jhāna?” [Divine Abidings] [Posture/Sitting] [Posture/Walking] [Jhāna] // [Continuity of mindfulness] [Skillful qualities]
Quote: “You can sit on your cushion for a long time. Chickens sit for a long time, and they don’t get enlightened!” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Liberation] [Animal]
8. “What would you respond to the perspective, ‘Those jhānas seem impossible to attain, so I’m going to forget about them.’” [Jhāna] // [Continuity of mindfulness] [Skillful qualities] [Directed thought and evaluation] [Self-identity view] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Goodwill] [Happiness]
9. Comment: Hearing about vitakka and vicāra, I just realized that they’re not exclusive to getting jhāna. [Directed thought and evaluation] [Jhāna]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Becoming]
10. Comment: This wanting mind becomes doing something... [Desire] [Jhāna]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Feeling] [Craving] [Ardency] [Happiness] [Tranquility] [Mindfulness of body]
11. Comment: In mindfulness of breathing, you feel the breath throughout the body. This suffusion is similar in jhāna. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of body] [Jhāna]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Right Mindfulness]
Suttas: MN 10: Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, MN 118: Ānāpānasati Sutta
12. “Ajahn Chah talks about the one who knows. Is this a purely mental exercise or is it embodied?” [Ajahn Chah] [Knowing itself ] [Mindfulness of body] [Jhāna] // [Culture/West] [Nature of mind]
Quote: “The Thai Krooba Ajahns translate ‘Buddho’ as ‘being the one who knows.’” [Thai Forest Tradition] [Buddho mantra] [Translation]
13. “So the one who knows includes the other five sense bases?” [Knowing itself] [Sense bases] [Jhāna]
1. “Equanimity...your thoughts?” [Equanimity ] // [Divine Abidings] [Impermanence] [Kamma] [Conditionality] [Factors of Awakening]
Sutta: AN 5.57: Five Subjects for Frequent Recollection (Chanting Book translation)
2. “Please explain wise action. How can one see that it is not influenced by craving?” [Discernment] [Craving]
3. “This morning you talked about crossing the floods of obsessive thought by not holding on to or pushing them away. I get that, but it feels like there’s something missing – a hole that needs to be filled up with something – a solution?” [Proliferation] [Becoming]
4. “What should we do during eating? How to eat with meditation?” [Food ] // [Pace of life] [Present moment awareness]
Quote: “Learn how to slow down and chew your food well.” — The Supreme Patriarch’s advice to new monks. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Health]
5. “Could you please repeat the name of the sutta you mentioned this morning that laid out the ‘whole spiritual path’ in a conversation with the devas?”
6. “What is the difference between piti and sukha? Also equanimity and emptiness as a felt sense?” [Rapture ] [Happiness ] [Equanimity] [Emptiness ] // [Self-identity view] [Theravāda] [Relinquishment]
Teaching: The difference between pīti and sukha. [Rapture ] [Happiness ] [Emotion]
Commentary: Path of Purification by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, p. 139: Similes for pīti and sukha. [Similes] [Rapture ] [Happiness ]
7. “I volunteer in hospice and was in attendance for the passing of my parents. I notice vast differences in the way people experience their passage. What can we do, while still alive, to prepare for a peaceful and ‘wakeful’ passing? Other than ‘being present,’ is there anything that can be of benefit to others?” [Death] // [Recollection/Death] [Equanimity] [Impermanence] [Sickness] [Idealism] [Compassion] [Generosity]
Sutta: AN 5.57: Five Subjects for Frequent Recollection (Chanting Book translation)
Vinaya: Mahāvagga 8.26.8: Qualities of a good nurse. [Monastic life] [Health care]
Story: Ajahn Chah advises Paul Breiter about the limits of spiritual hospice work. [Ajahn Chah] [Paul Breiter] [Buddho mantra] [Fierce/direct teaching]
8. “Would you tell us again the name of the sutta you spoke of last night and in today’s Dhamma talk?”
9. “What is the best approach to deal with guilt?” [Guilt/shame/inadequacy ] // [Culture/West] [Conscience and prudence] [Learning] [Faith] [Discernment] [Self-identity view] [Not-self] [Aggregates]
Sutta: MN 22.58: “Whatever is not yours, abandon it.”
10. “For those of us who need to routinely rest more due to aging, illness, or disability, could you share some suggestions and advice for how to optimize this time as mediation in a lying down posture?” [Ageing] [Sickness] [Posture/Lying down ] // [Determination] [Body scanning] [Clear comprehension] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Pain] [Buddha images] [Tranquility] [Perception]
Recollection: Ajahn Pasanno develops lying down meditation after breaking his pelvis. [Ajahn Pasanno]
1. “What are the general similarities and differences between the practice of ānāpānasatiand satipaṭṭhāna? Are they the same practice?” [Right Mindfulness] [Mindfulness of breathing]
Sutta: MN 118: Ānāpānasati Sutta
2. “Praise for the question and answer session. Every question is important; can you answer them all?” [Questions] // [Meditation retreats]
3. “Can you say something about forgiveness practice?” [Forgiveness ] // [Goodwill] [Clinging] [Asking forgiveness ceremony]
Reference: Bhikkhu Manual, p. 254: Asking for forgiveness ceremony
Vinaya: Bhikkhu Saṅghādisesā 12: The community grows through mutual support and mutual admonition.
4. “What do you recommend for pet owners with aging, sick pets? Do they get to live out their lives or is a merciful end at the hands of a vet OK?” [Animal] [Ageing] [Sickness] [Euthanasia] [Precepts]
5. “Could you share some suggestions and advice for using the breath-body as an object of meditation? This seems like a skillful way of meditating when the gross physical body is experiencing a lot of pain. Is there any drawback to that?” [Mindfulness of breathing] [Pain]
6. “Can you address dependent origination and causation?” [Dependent origination] [Conditionality ] // [Impermanence] [God] [Cessation]
Sutta: Ud 1.3: “When this is, that is...”
Quote: “All you really need to know is that it’s going to hurt when you hit the bottom.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah]
7. “Can you tell us your story of when you decided to become a monk?” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Monastic life/Motivation] // [Learning] [Travel] [Culture/Thailand] [Meditation] [Mahasi Sayadaw] [Temporary ordination] [Ajahn Chah]
Quote: “If you want to stay here, you have to stay at least five years.” — Ajahn Chah. [Wat Pah Pong] [Sequence of training] [Determination]
8. “Is it important in this practice to ask for forgiveness for intentional/non-intentional actions both in this life and in past lives?” [Forgiveness] [Volition] [Rebirth]
9. “Do you have any suggestions for the position of the hands during standing meditation?” [Posture/Standing] [Mudra]
1. “As inspiration for the rest of us, would you please talk about some of your milestone insights over your years of practice and what kept you going over the years, especially when you hit roadblocks?” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Monastic life/Motivation] [Long-term practice] // [Ajahn Jayasaro] [Ajahn Chah] [Impermanence] [Right Mindfulness] [Self-identity view]
Sutta: MN 10: Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta
2. “Inclining mind toward happiness, joy, lightness, exhilaration, the good, sometimes feels a bit Pollyanna-ish. What about all the wars, refugees, my job, illness, pain, etc. Aren’t these also the way things are – unpleasant, dark, and negative?” [Happiness ] [Gladdening the mind] [Suffering] // [Buddha/Biography] [Aspects of Understanding]
3. “You spoke of using the body as reference, backdrop for the breath. Always coming back to the body. Doesn’t this foster a sense of attachment to the body as mine? And what if the body is not in good shape, ill, and hurting?” [Mindfulness of body] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Body/form] [Clinging] [Self-identity view] [Sickness] // [Relinquishment]
4. “I am doing well when sitting or walking – my container of mindfulness is filling. However, it seems to be leaking during every other activity. Walking to the meal, in my room, going to the bathroom, eating. Help! I seem to be defeating my own efforts.” [Continuity of mindfulness ] [Meditation retreats] // [Mindfulness of body] [Benefit] [Investigation of states] [Self-identity view]
5. “How can we apply the law of cause and effect in daily life? How can we apply this law to such a simple thing to remove suffering?” [Conditionality ] [Cessation of Suffering] // [Happiness]
6. “Would you remind us what ‘the four pairs, the eight kinds of noble beings’ means and perhaps in a nutshell what is the English translation of the meal blessing?” [Recollection/Saṅgha] [Stages of awakening] [Anumodanā]
7. “Could you offer a bit of advice on how to deal with the apparent dichotomy between seeing people (including myself) as real & solid (for example when sending them metta), and the doctrine of no-self whereby there is no such imagined solidity at all – just an ever-changing combination of the khandas?” [Not-self ] [Aggregates] // [Middle Path] [Pāli] [Impermanence] [Proliferation] [Relinquishment] [Liberation]
8. “What if a short breath never comes? Am I stuck on the long breath or can I create a short breath and move on? Are the steps to ānāpānasati sequential, and do I observe them, cultivate them, or both?” [Mindfulness of breathing] // [Continuity of mindfulness] [Tranquility]
9. “How does one avoid controlling the breath when observing it?” [Mindfulness of breathing ] // [Mindfulness of body] [Tranquility]
10. “In addition to being aware of our body, is it acceptable to use visual imagery? For example, seeing oneself standing by the ocean breathing in air created by the waves.” [Visualization] [Mindfulness of breathing]
11. “Could you describe the meaning of abide, pervading, and imbued in the phrase ‘I will abide pervading one quarter with a mind imbued with lovingkindness?’” [Goodwill]
12. “Does the breath body exist as an object of mind? As the Buddha mentions it so specifically, I would be grateful for more clarification on the ‘breath body.’” [Mindfulness of breathing]
13. “I notice that the calmer my mind becomes, the more imperceptible my breath is – to the point of feeling a suspension of breathing and at times a complete cessation. This sometimes seems to lead to sleepiness and torpor. How can I bring my mind back to a state of focus without manipulating my breath?” [Mindfulness of breathing] [Sloth and torpor]
14. “When negative feelings arise, whether they be fear, anxiety, loneliness, etc., how do we investigate them? Does breathing into these feelings and being fully present (without trying to push them away) help to become aware of the true cause of these feelings? Is the cause of these feelings always craving of some kind?” [Emotion] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Cause of Suffering] [Craving]
15. “In a Dhamma talk at Abhayagiri, you quoted Luang Por Chah as saying ‘Nibbāna lies on the shores of death.’ Could you say more about this?” [Nibbāna] [Death] [Ajahn Chah] // [Relinquishment]
Quote: “Oftentimes we’re really not ready to let go until there’s absolutely no alternative left.”
16. “How are you satisfied and/or dissatisfied with students?” [Teaching Dhamma] // [Blame and praise]
Quote: “Whatever expectations I have are my expectations.” [Suffering]