All quotes
65 events, 265 sessions, 566 excerpts, 41:40:56 total duration
Most common topics:
Ajahn Chah
(268)
Suffering
(57)
Relinquishment
(51)
Ajahn Pasanno
(38)
Discernment
(37)
Similes
(35)
Ajahn Sumedho
(33)
Dhamma
(32)
Liberation
(32)
Teaching Dhamma
(30)
1. Recollection: My connection with Ajahn Chah. Recounted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Chah] // [Wat Pah Pong]
Quote: “If you want to stay here, you have to stay at least five years.” — Ajahn Chah. [Sequence of training]
Jack Kornfield arrives with a large picture of Ajahn Chah. [Jack Kornfield]
Story: The needlepoint Ajahn Chah portrait at Abhayagiri. [Abhayagiri] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Devotional practice]
9. Reading from the draft biography: Ajahn Chah obsesses about food. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Food] [Sensual desire] [Ajahn Chah]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 39
Quote: “Close the doors. I’m going to eat noodles today!” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno.
10. Reading from the draft biography: Ajahn Chah accepts his dying father’s request to stay as a monk for life. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Parents] [Monastic life/Motivation] [Sickness] [Death] [Ajahn Chah ] [Determination ] // [Mindfulness of body] [Spiritual urgency ] [Saṃsāra]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 40
Quote: “I dedicate my body and mind, my whole life, to the practice of the Lord Buddha’s teachings in their entirety. I will realize the truth in this lifetime … I will let go of everything and follow the teachings. No matter how much suffering and difficulty I have to endure I will persevere, otherwise there will be no end to my doubts. I will make this life as even and continuous as a single day and night. I will abandon attachments to mind and body and follow the Buddha’s teachings until I know their truth for myself.” — Ajahn Chah. [Determination ] [Ardency] [Patience] [Doubt] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Relinquishment] [Knowledge and vision]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 42
The singular quality of Ajahn Chah’s resolution. Reflection by Ajahn Pasanno. [Determination ]
1. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno: The role of walking meditation. [Posture/Walking] [Ajahn Chah] // [Thai Forest Tradition] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Lodging] [Sloth and torpor]
Quote: Ajahn Chah admonishes the monks: “I’ve looked at the huts in the forest where you monks live. I see the walking meditation paths, and I don’t see human tracks. All I see are dog tracks!” [Fierce/direct teaching]
2. Walking meditation instructions by Ajahn Chah and Ajahn Pasanno. [Posture/Walking] [Ajahn Chah] // [Buddho mantra] [Tranquility] [Continuity of mindfulness]
Reference: Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 258 “Just Do It!”
Quote: “Where we really start to see the Dhamma or taste the Dhamma is in that continuity of awareness.” [Dhamma]
5. Quote: “I sacrificed my life for the Dhamma because I had faith in the reality of enlightenment and the path to get there.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Spiritual search ] [Dhamma] [Faith ] [Eightfold Path] // [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma ] [Determination ] [Courage]
Reference: “Unshakeable Peace,” Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 453.
3. Story: A group of military generals ask Ajahn Chah to bless amulets to create a kitchen fund. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Amulets] [Ajahn Chah] [Military] [Almsfood] [Wat Pah Pong] // [Culture/Thailand] [Saṅgha decision making] [Festival days] [Almsbowl] [Ajahn Chah Stupa]
Quote: “The Buddha set up the foundation 2,500 years ago with just one baht.” — Ajahn Chah. [Buddha] [Saṅgha]
1. “You talked about having lost a great deal of institutional knowledge in the Forest Tradition through not having monasteries. Do you think Ajahn Chah wanted to have the knowledge from Ajahn Mun passed down? Is that why he had lots of monasteries?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Thai Forest Tradition] [Tudong] [Ajahn Mun] [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Ajahn Chah] [Learning] // [Culture/Thailand] [Commerce/economics] [Environment] [History/Thai Buddhism] [Politics and society]
Quote: “Nowadays there aren’t any tudong monks left. There’s only taludong (through the forest) monks.” — Ajahn Chah.
4. Reflection by Ajahn Pasanno: Why Ajahn Chah spent only three days with Ajahn Mun. [Ajahn Mun] [Ajahn Chah] // [Thai sects] [Politics and society] [Psychic powers] [Dreams]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 61
Quote: “Mahānikāya needs good monks as well.” — Ajahn Mun to Ajahn Chah.
6. Reading from the draft biography: Ajahn Chah leaves his companions and stays alone. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Tudong] [Seclusion] [Culture/Thailand] [Ajahn Chah] // [Spiritual friendship]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 89
Quote: “Where is the good person? He lies within us. If we’re good, then wherever we go, the goodness stays with us.” — Ajahn Chah. [Virtue] [Blame and praise]
1. Guided meditation: Resolve right now is the time for training the mind and nothing else. From “The Key to Liberation” by Ajahn Chah. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Calming meditation] [Proliferation] [Determination] [Ajahn Chah] // [Mindfulness] [Discernment] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Body scanning] [Relinquishment] [Unification] [Restlessness and worry] [Concentration] [Present moment awareness] [Clear comprehension] [Impermanence] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Sense restraint]
Quote: “Sitting and walking meditation are in essence the same, differing only in the posture used.” [Posture/Sitting] [Posture/Walking]
Simile: Chicken in a coop. [Similes]
Simile: Mindfulness, clear comprehension, and wisdom are like three workers lifting heavy planks.
1. Question about how Ajahn Chah taught to deal with people externally. Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Community] [Ajahn Chah] // [Ajahn Mun] [Virtue] [Doubt] [Monastic life] [Views]
Story: A ghost tries to align the visitors sleeping in his hall. [Culture/Thailand] [Lodging] [Ghost] [Communal harmony]
Quote: “You have to have an anchor in your own practice.” [Similes]
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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness] [Suffering] [Proliferation] // [Cessation of Suffering] [Clinging]
Quote: “The flavor of the end of suffering—I like that.”
6. Reading from the draft biography: Ajahn Chah in the early years: spare, stern, and vigorous. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Personality] [Personal presence] [Ardency] [Ascetic practices] [Ajahn Chah] // [Similes]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 137
Quote: “Nibbāna lies on the shores of death.” — Ajahn Chah. [Nibbāna] [Death]
7. Reading from the draft biography: Building the road to Tam Sang Pet. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [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.
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.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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.”
6. “What are some skillful ways to deal with anger and resentment?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Aversion] [Ill-will ] // [Suffering] [Drawbacks] [Goodwill] [Views]
Quote: “There’s no way that you can have anger and resentment and feel peaceful and happy.” [Happiness]
Sutta: Dhp 125: Throwing dust into the air. [Similes]
13. “What does it mean to fully understand what causes us to suffer?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Cause of Suffering] // [Relinquishment] [Cessation of Suffering ]
Quote: “The mind aspires to truth and beauty, but pain we obey.” — Marcel Proust. [Suffering]
8. “How did Ajahn Chah communicate to the Western monks?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Western Ajahn Chah lineage] [Language] // [Intuition] [Direct experience]
Quote: “Teaching Westerners is easy. Just like teaching buffaloes.” — Ajahn Chah. [Teaching Dhamma] [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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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]
16. “Dhammas arise and cease—nothing personal. How does that relate to our personal kamma?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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]
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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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 Mahā Boowa. [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Arahant] [Compassion] [Human]
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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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 Mahā Boowa responding to Dhamma questions by mail. [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Teaching Dhamma] [Fierce/direct teaching] [Ajahn Pasanno]
12. “Kindly share another story of Ajahn Chah. They delight and inspire.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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?” — Ajahn Chah. [Admonishment/feedback]
8. “How does one contemplate the Eight Worldly Dhammas?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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]
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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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]
18. “Thank you for your patience and assistance to fearlessly enter the dark an untamed forest of our minds. What or how would you suggest in terms of habits and practices that we may skillfully observe or interact with the sleepy mind?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sloth and torpor] // [Mindfulness of breathing] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Posture/Lying down]
Quote: “Did you fall asleep on the in-breath or the out-breath?” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno places glasses of water around his body to cultivate mindfulness while sleeping. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Determination] [Rains retreat] [Mindfulness]
6. “Whenever I try mindful breathing when trying to fall asleep, I get really alert and can’t fall asleep. What is your advice?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Devotion to wakefulness ] // [Tranquility] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Time management]
Quote: “That mindfulness is also a resting.” [Mindfulness]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno meets a monk who didn’t sleep for a month. [Tudong] [Seclusion] [Rains retreat] [Concentration]
15. “It has been helpful to pay attention to the gap between the out-breath and the subsequent in-breath. There feels to be a waiting or assumption that there is a next breath. What is paid attention to after the last breath?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Death] // [Knowing itself ] [Faith] [Calming meditation] [Tranquility] [Jhāna] [Ajahn Chah]
Quote: “I’m preparing to die.” — The Dalai Lama. [Dalai Lama] [Meditation]
4. Story: Ajahn Chah asks Ajahn Sumedho if he might go back to America as a monk. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Culture/West] [Monastic life] [Tudong] // [Almsfood] [History/Western Buddhist monasticism]
Quote: “You mean to say there are no kind people in America?” — Ajahn Chah to Ajahn Sumedho. [Compassion]
8. Quote: “In the old days, tudong monks would show up at the monastery and ask about almsfood routes, toilets, and meetings. Now the first thing tudong monks ask is, ‘Is there a cell phone signal?’” — anonymous. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Protocols] [Technology] [Culture/Thailand] [Tudong]
9. Quote: “Instead of going tudong, monks go taludong (through the forest).” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Culture/Thailand] [Tudong] // [Environment] [Commerce/economics]
2. “What is the function of a layperson who accompanies a monk on tudong?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Lay life] [Tudong] // [Sequence of training] [Abhayagiri] [Eight Precepts] [Culture/Thailand] [Ajahn Chah]
Quote: “People who ordain quickly disrobe quickly.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ordination] [Disrobing]
Story: Founding of Pacific Hermitage. [Pacific Hermitage] [Almsround] [Almsfood]
4. “Can the practice be used in a punitive or punishing way?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] // [Culture/West] [Habits] [Clear comprehension] [Craving not to become]
Quote: “Having a human mind ... It’s amazing how perverse it can be sometimes.” [Human] [Unwholesome Roots]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno can’t translate guilt into Thai. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Translation] [Culture/Thailand] [Suffering]
Quote: “All you need to do is create a cage of mindfulness around [unskillful habits].” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Sense restraint] [Mindfulness] [Unskillful qualities] [Similes]
Follow-up: “What about letting the tiger go instead of keeping it in a cage?”
Follow-up: “What about the case when one feels one is the tiger trapped in a metaphorical cage. How to escape?” [Liberation] [Perception] [Self-identity view] [Spiritual friendship]
10. “For Lent, I practiced metta every day for six weeks for a person who I was very angry at. By the end of Lent, I was even more angry. Could you speak to this?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Goodwill] [Aversion] [Christianity] // [Right Effort] [Discernment] [Unwholesome Roots] [Relinquishment] [Self-identity view] [Clinging]
Quote: “If the kilesa (defilements) come at you high, then you duck, and if they come at you low, then you jump over them.” — Ajahn Tongrat. [Ajahn Tongrat]
11. “I’m curious about your pre-monastic life and specifically what led you to the monastic life.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno ] [Monastic life/Motivation] // [Temporary ordination] [Ajahn Chah] [Wat Pah Pong]
Quote: “If you want to stay here, you have to stay at least five years.” — Ajahn Chah to Ajahn Pasanno. [Sequence of training]
3. Quote: “You fall down, you get up, you crawl along. ” — Ajahn Mahā Boowa. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Patience] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Tudong]
4. Story: Ajahn Chah struggles through lust with patience. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Sensual desire ] [Patience] [Tudong] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Human] [Meditation/Techniques] [Impermanence]
Quote: Ajahn Chah to biographer: “If you don’t put that in the book, don’t bother printing it.” [Dhamma books]
Quote: “If you ordain as a monk, your defilements ordain with you.” — Ajahn Chah. [Monastic life] [Unwholesome Roots]
5. Quote: “You’re inspired, and you put forth effort. You’re depressed and fed up, and you put forth effort. You’re rested, and you put forth effort. You’re tired, and you put forth effort. ” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Right Effort] [Ardency] [Faith] [Tudong] [Depression] [Sloth and torpor] // [Gladdening the mind]
10. Quote: “It all comes back to that simple quality of mindfulness. From the mindfulness, then the different qualities of practice that we need to rely on are cultivated.” — Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness ] [Faculties] [Tudong] // [Concentration ] [Thai] [Translation] [Discernment] [Perfections]
Reflection: In Thai, samādhi is translated as “the firm establishing of the mind.” [Concentration ]
Quote: “The base and foundation is the mindfulness. Being the knowing is always the foundation, and then the mind is able to become still, become settled, become steady.” [Knowing itself] [Concentration ]
Recollection: “It’s rare that Ajahn Chah would use [the Pāli term] pañña on its own. More often than not, he would use satipañña, which is mindfulness and wisdom together.” [Ajahn Chah] [Pāli]
10. “I keep getting overwhelmed by a variety of intense and unpleasant bodily sensations. I have been trying to keep my focus on more neutral places in the body, but I still find that keeping the concentration anywhere in the body amplifies the unpleasant feelings, and I can’t settle into a place of ease.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Pain] [Mindfulness of body] [Neutral feeling] // [Aversion] [Restlessness and worry] [Fear] [Self-identity view] [Body/form] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Posture/Walking] [Chanting] [Goodwill]
Quote: “The energy we invest in it is where the suffering actually lies. In the end, a body is just a body.” [Suffering]
19. “How does one develop compassion such that one harbors no ill-will even when bandits dismember you with a double-handed saw (MN 21.20)?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Compassion] [Ill-will ] [Abuse/violence] // [Suffering] [Relinquishment] [Four Noble Truths]
Quote: “For the enlightened person, there’s no choice but compassion.” — Ajahn Mahā Boowa. [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Liberation]
3. “How do you expand your concentration and awareness beyond the breath when other conditions arise?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Concentration] [Mindfulness] // [Everyday life] [Clear comprehension] [Perception of light]
Quote: “The object of attention needs to be appropriate to the quality of mind. ... As the mind becomes more refined, we need to pay attention to a more refined object.” [Meditation/Techniques]
13. “I’ve been experiencing and witnessing an incredible sadness. At times it is dormant; at times it seems all-consuming. I’ve done okay at staying present, questioning its nature, its benefits, its hindrances, its source. I haven’t come up with a specific cause for this grief/sorrow. Do you have any suggestions for furthering my investigation working with sadness, and how I might someday send it on its way?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Grief] [Aspects of Understanding] [Cause of Suffering ] [Discernment] // [Self-identity view] [Suffering] [Clinging] [Goodwill] [Divine Abidings] [Middle Path]
Quote: “Viewed from any sane perspective, the human condition is pretty sad.” [Human]
24. “I’ve noticed that my heart is really open in the evenings. Will you lead us in a metta meditation one of these evenings?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Goodwill] [Rains retreat] // [Ajahn Pasanno]
Quote: “I’m a morning person.”
2. “What does it mean, ‘When a monk breathes in, he satisfies the mind’ (MN 118.20)?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Gladdening the mind] // [Pāli]
Quote: “It’s a lot more fruitful than ‘I’m a serious meditator and I’m skilled at making myself miserable!’” [Meditation] [Attitude]
5. “Was Ajahn Chah an arahant? How can one tell when someone’s work is done? Also, is it inappropriate to ask one’s teacher if they are a stream enterer, once-returner, etc.?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Arahant ] [Teachers] [Stages of awakening] // [Suffering] [Unwholesome Roots]
Quote: “To me, I’m more like a tree that birds can come and feed in. ... [What they say] I am is just the chattering of the birds.” — Ajahn Chah. [Similes] [Teaching Dhamma]
Sutta: AN 4.192: Discerning another person’s wisdom. [Discernment]
Recollections of mistaken estimates of enlightenment. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Delusion] [Relics]
10. “Please share thoughts on how to bring home and develop ways to be a better spouse and father. What from the practice might help the most towards kindness, generosity, and being present?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Relationships] [Family ] [Compassion] [Generosity] [Mindfulness] // [Patience]
Quote: “Have the patience to give others time.”
17. “Could you please talk about Shakyamuni Buddha, whose teaching we learn, and the ones before him, and the one to come Maitreya? Are the teachings the same? What is important for us to know about the Buddhas?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Buddha] [Previous Buddhas] [Metteyya Bodhisatva] // [Naturalness] [Teaching Dhamma] [Discernment] [Goodwill]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book Volume 2, p. 54: The Twenty-Eight Buddhas’ Protection. [Protective chants]
Quote: “Ajahn Chah had tremendous lovingkindness, and because of that he had many, many people coming to him all the time. I’m going to focus on equanimity.” — Ajahn Liem. [Ajahn Liem] [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Chah] [Equanimity]
29. “Can you give us a short bio on each of you please?” [Western Ajahn Chah lineage] // [Birth] [Monastic life/Motivation]
Ajahn Yatiko is on his way to Tibet, but two Thai men in a restaurant persuade him to visit Wat Pah Pong. [Travel] [Vajrayāna] [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Ordination] [Gratitude]
Bhante Suddhaso finds his way to Abhayagiri through Zen. [Zen] [Ajahn Chah] [Vinaya] [Theravāda] [Abhayagiri]
Ajahn Karuṇadhammo ordains at Abhayagiri after many years of lay practice. [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo] [Lay life]
Anagārika Jordan (now Ajahn Sudhīro) learns about Buddhism in college and has just taken up anagārika training at Abhayagiri. [Postulants]
Debbie Stamp travels in Asia, hears a talk by Ajahn Buddhadāsa, spends ten months at Amaravati and Chithurst, then volunteers to help start Abhayagiri. [Ajahn Buddhadāsa] [Amaravati] [Chithurst]
Quote: “She’s the mother of our monastery.” — Ajahn Yatiko.
1. “What are some practices to deal with ill-will going repetitively towards one object?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ill-will] // [Kamma] [Cause of Suffering] [Proliferation]
Sutta: AN 5.161: Removing Resentment.
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 41: Reflection on kamma.
Quote: “If there’s a solution to the problem, why create difficulty around it? And then if there’s not a solution to the problem, why create difficulty around it?” — Shantideva. [Shantideva] [Suffering]
4. “A small window of anattā has opened. It is very fresh, light, and breezy, but the opening is small, and the rest of the window is caked with so much dirt and grime. I’m fearful that outside of the support of retreat, it could close. Even now it feels like it is opening and closing. How to best proceed?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Not-self] [Symbolism/metaphor] [Fear] [Meditation retreats] // [Insight meditation] [Restlessness and worry] [Proliferation]
Quote: “The best thing is not claiming ownership over that insight. ... Pay attention to the feeling of it.” [Non-identification] [Direct experience ] [Feeling]
Quote: “If you just stick your finger in the warm water, then you’ll know what warm water is.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Language] [Dhamma]
5. “I enjoyed the story of the healing green light used by the Thai venerable you shared with us yesterday, and I also enjoyed the teachings of Ajahn Tate this morning. But then I’m wondering if the very act of trying to ‘heal this body’ or ‘clarify and brighten this mind’ acts to pull the heart out of neutral and into the world of grasping and desire. Could you please clarify this?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Bhante Dharmawara] [Healing] [Ajahn Tate] [Right Effort] [Clinging] // [Cause of Suffering] [Discernment] [Learning] [Relinquishment] [Buddha/Biography]
Sutta: DN 16.2.23: The Buddha heals his illness. [Sickness]
Quote: “The crux of it is how to live with non-clinging as the foundation.”
7. Comment: While sitting in the dining hall, the image of a square cushion dropping away from my solar plexus occured. That brought the insight that I was neither inferior nor superior to others, as ego asserts, but we’re all equal. [Insight meditation] [Conceit]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Self-identity view] [Cause of Suffering] [Suffering] [Relinquishment]
Quote: “Friends and relatives in old age, sickness and death.” — a common way to begin a Dhamma talk in Thailand. [Birth] [Ageing] [Death] [Culture/Thailand]
17. “What did the Buddha say about giving all your assets away?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Commerce/economics ] // [Monastic life] [Lay life] [Idealism] [Generosity] [Family] [Relinquishment] [Ajahn Pasanno]
Suttas: AN 5.41; AN 8.54; DN 31.26: Balanced living for householders.
Quote: “Money for a monk is like having wings to fly.” — Anonymous.
4. “Today I saw a milk carton being thrown away. I’m not sure if everyone knows they are recyclable. This sight initiated a fire for me. I told myself, ‘It’s just thrown away.’ Then I told myself, ‘It’s just my mind on fire.’ Can you speak about Right View? Does it come back to what I can truly know? How do I consider long-term patterns that may not be apparent right away? One milk carton is not a big deal. One milk carton a day starts to add up.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Contact] [Feeling] [Environment] [Right View] // [Kamma] [Cause of Suffering] [Cessation of Suffering]
Quote: “We can be right and still create tremendous suffering.” [Views] [Suffering]
9. “Meditation is work. Sometimes I’m very tired, can’t think, can’t hear, can’t sit, can’t sleep; I just show up and breathe. How are you doing? What keeps you going? I’m so touched with your generous presence, patience, and deep commitment.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation] [Sloth and torpor] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Energy] [Gratitude] // [Not-self] [Relinquishment]
Quote: “There’s only two things you need to do in Dhamma practice: know and let go.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Mindfulness]
32. “What’s that meat hook doing in my back? Not that again! Or my knees screaming for movement. Not that again! Or my mind racing with judgement. Not that again! Yet I settle down, breathe in and out, watch closely, and then a moment of peaceful, sublime feeling. Not that either?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Pain] [Judgementalism] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Tranquility] // [Feeling]
Quote: “The language of Dhamma is the language of feeling.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Dhamma]
33. “You mentioned the Twenty-Eight Buddhas Protection Chant (Amaravati Chanting Book Volume 2, p. 54). It mentions several lists: 10 powers, 18 kinds of Buddhadhamma, 32 major and 80 minor marks of a great being. Where can I find these lists?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Protective chants] [Buddha]
Quote: “I’d go to Google!” [Dhamma online]
1. “When a discrete awareness arises and passes away with respect to each mental image, sound, etc., should it be characterized as mindfulness (saṅkhāric aggregate) or consciousness (viññāṇa aggregate)? Are the mental images, sounds, etc. characterized as mind object consciousness, sound consciousness, etc.? What about when consciousness arises and passes away in turn by itself?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness] [Consciousness] [Aggregates] [Sense bases] // [Proliferation]
Quote: “Knowing and letting go.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Relinquishment]
Simile from Ajahn Chah: Investigating Dependent Origination is like falling out of a tree. You don’t have to count every branch as you’re going down. You just have to know that when you hit the bottom it’s going to hurt. [Dependent origination] [Suffering]
4. “Can you speak to the relation between anattā and metta? While doing contemplation of the sense bases, the heart seems to strongly respond to offering metta in the space where there is no I or other.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Not-self] [Goodwill] [Sense bases] [Non-identification]
Quote: “Once we get out of the way, something rather beautiful happens.” [Beauty]
1. “Could you expand about the layers of understanding of thought, perception, and dukkha?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Yatiko. [Discernment] [Directed thought and evaluation] [Perception] [Suffering] // [Proliferation] [Relinquishment]
Quote: “First you study the Dhamma, then you know the Dhamma, then you see the Dhamma, they you be the Dhamma.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Dhamma] [Progress of insight]
Commentary: Path of Purification by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, p. 631: The highest level of understanding is giving up.
3. “How does one look at intention?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Yatiko. [Volition] [Right Intention] // [Four Noble Truths] [Discernment] [Delusion]
Quote: “Sometimes you don’t want to look at intention too closely because you’ll convince yourself of anything.” — Ajahn Pasanno.
7. “In the West, there are so many religious practices from the East. How do we relate to them all.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Spiritual traditions] [Hinduism] [Gradual Teaching] // [Buddha/Biography] [Teaching Dhamma]
Sutta: MN 95: Caṅkī Sutta [Conditionality] [Faith]
Quote: “I’ve been an abbot for thirty years, and I’m quite happy. One of the reasons I’m happy is I don’t feel I have to go and convince anybody of anything.” — Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Monastic life] [Happiness] [Contentment]
3. Comment: You spoke about suffusing the body with extreme well-being. But I’ve been in states like that and my body seems to disappear. [Jhāna] [Happiness] [Rapture] [Mindfulness of body] [Gradual Teaching] [Meditation/Unusual experiences]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
Quote: “It isn’t so much the experience of extreme well-being that is the goal. It’s the ability to gain clarity and stability so that one can see through the experience as something that is uncertain or impermanent, has a changing nature. The mind often wants to disregard that. The tendency to identify self with experience on a refined mental level is tempered by the body experience.” [Clear comprehension] [Concentration] [Knowledge and vision] [Impermanence] [Delusion] [Self-identity view] [Relinquishment]
Follow-up: “Are you saying you can become attached to these states?” [Clinging]
9. “Can you speak more about the impermanence of goodness?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Impermanence] [Virtue] [Gradual Teaching] // [Conditionality] [Happiness] [Compassion] [Fear] [Suffering] [Clinging]
Sutta: AN 8.39: Five great gifts which give freedom from fear. [Generosity] [Five Precepts]
Quote: “The basis of Right View is knowing that this cup is a broken glass.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Right View]
3. “I’ve noticed the proliferation of thoughts is different in walking meditation versus sitting. Would you recommend walking meditation for an at-home practice for the first meditation in the early morning? Would you mind sharing your experience with the effects of walking meditation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Proliferation] [Posture/Walking] [Everyday life] [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Thai Forest Tradition] [Abhayagiri] [Lodging] [Right Effort]
Quote: “You can get a lot of wisdom from walking meditation.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Discernment]
7. “Thanks for highlighting faith and devotion in the morning talk. What is the ‘look and feel’ of a practice where the faculty of faith leads the way to liberation? Are there any teachers in Ajahn Chah’s lineage who emphasize the way or theme of release through faith?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Faith] [Liberation] [Ajahn Chah lineage] // [Faculties] [Translation] [Energy] [Ajahn Chah]
Quote: “It isn’t wisdom that gives up. It’s faith.” [Discernment] [Relinquishment]
2. “Could you please tell us about some of your responsibilities as an abbot of Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery? Is being an abbot of one of Ajahn Chah’s monasteries unique compared to other monasteries?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Abbot ] [Abhayagiri] [Ajahn Chah monasteries] // [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Culture/West] [Culture/Thailand] [Seclusion] [Mentoring]
Quote: “The garbage can at the top of the line.” — Ajahn Chah’s description of an abbot. [Ajahn Chah]
9. “You instructed us to meditate on the breath with mindfulness and continuity. You also recommended wise reflection. How does one weave and connect both together?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness] [Recollection]
Sutta: MN 10.3: The description of Right Mindfulness. [Right Mindfulness] [Clear comprehension]
Reflection: Ātāpi as an aspect of Right Mindfulness is the application of effort for the burning up of defilements. [Ardency ] [Right Effort] [Unwholesome Roots] [Thai]
Commentary: Path of Purification by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, p. 431: “Clear comprehension is another word for wisdom.” [Discernment]
Quote: “That function in nature that draws knowledge and attention of the sense contact into the heart.” — P. A. Payutto’s description of mindfulness. [P. A. Payutto] [Contact]
15. “I’m sitting here looking at the passion of Christ. My good friends are Christian and Muslim, and I want to be respectful and non-judgemental, but once in a great while I think they are micchā-diṭṭhi (wrong view). What does the Buddha say about other beliefs? Are they all true in their own way? How should I skillfully hold my attitude toward Jesus, Mohammed, etc.?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Spiritual traditions ] [Christianity] [Islam] [Judgementalism] [Views] // [Kamma]
Recollection: Buddhist-Christian monastic dialogue at The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. [Monastic life] [City of Ten Thousand Buddhas]
Quote: “All religions are trying to deal with the human condition in a meaningful way. ... A lot of it is around the intention and integrity that individual practitioners bring to their life and practice as opposed to the label that they practice under.” [Human] [Purpose/meaning] [Truth]
1. “How can consciousness (viññāṇa) be conscious of itself? If consciousness’s nature is like a clear crystal that takes on the color of whatever passes through it, if its true nature is colorless, how can it know itself?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Consciousness] [Similes] // [Etymology] [Sense bases]
Quote: “If we extrapolate from a flawed image, then we end up in confusion or doubt.” [Doubt]
12. “How are we to reflect on the use of food as not for fun, not for pleasure, only for the maintenance and nourishment of this body when offered Paul’s spectacular cooking?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Food] [Recollection] [Meditation retreats] // [Sense restraint] [Gratitude] [Vinaya]
Sutta: MN 2.14, Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 53. [Almsfood]
Quote: “That’s what the use of reflection is. It isn’t necessarily that you’re going to mandate what you’re feeling or thinking, but you’re keeping a perspective on it.”
Sutta: AN 5.208: Using toothwoods makes food taste better. [Cleanliness]
2. “Thank you for mentioning the usefulness of the recollections (Buddha, Dhamma, Saṅgha, etc.). I also found Ajahn Karuṇadhammo’s statement helpful about not living in the past. Could you clarify how to recollect without living in a past good experience?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Recollection] [Present moment awareness ] // [Idealism]
Quote: “It’s with wisdom that we take the experience that we had and really learn from that.” [Discernment] [Learning]
7. “How to practice with the arising and passing away of khandas as in the fourth development [of samādhi in AN 4.41]? Does one reflect on the process of being? And saññā is always unclear to me.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Concentration] [Impermanence] [Aggregates ] [Perception] // [Body/form] [Feeling] [Memory] [Volitional formations] [Consciousness] [Self-identity view]
Quote: “The goal of investigation and mindfulness practices is to shine a light on the constructed nature of how we identify with experience and then assume a solid sense of self, of I, of me, of mine.”
12. “Is it [the pleasant experience when one is abiding within one’s mind] a universal energy that is always available and that we only fleetingly tap into when in the calm, open, relaxed meditative state?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Happiness] [Tranquility] // [Nature of mind]
Quote: “So much of practice is just learning how to get out of the way.”
13. “From experience I know that lots more walking and less sitting is better for pain management. Should I just continue to sit and work on enduring the unendurable or walk more?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Posture/Walking] [Posture/Sitting] [Pain] [Patience] // [Continuity of mindfulness]
Quote: “You can learn a lot from pain, but it also wears you down.” [Learning] [Energy]
Recollection: Ajahn Khao walked meditation for nine hours a day. [Ajahn Khao] [Monastic routine]
14. “Seclusion of the heart really interests me, especially because of a busy family atmosphere. Is a way to develop seclusion of the heart to work on not taking this personally, not letting the self-making perceptions insert themselves into the heart?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Seclusion] [Family] [Non-identification ] // [Self-identity view] [Similes]
Quote: “Not being caught by the gladness or the sadness of the mind.” — Ajahn Liem. [Ajahn Liem] [Happiness] [Suffering] [Dispassion]
15. “Can you say a little more about ‘the mind going outside itself’—what that means and how it is dukkha?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Proliferation] [Suffering] [Cause of Suffering ] // [Knowing itself] [Craving] [Tranquility]
Reference: Gifts He Left Behind by Ajahn Dune, p. 3.
Quote: “Still, flowing water.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Equanimity] [Similes]
Reference: Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, pp. 380-381.
7. Comment: The mind is quite tricky. When I notice conflict arise or aversion to another and respond emotionally, I look to the Dhamma and practice and see where to let go, offer compassion and kindness to what is happening, and try to see the moment as impermanent and we will all die. Then the mind and body settle a bit, and I begin to think, ‘Why can’t the other person do this before they become so dramatic? I’m trying, why can’t they?’ And suddenly I’m tense and the mind comes back again to making a me. It tricks me into this loop, so I have to keep catching it. Māra keeps finding ways in, yet I keep practicing with faith. [Nature of mind] [Proliferation] [Aversion]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Suffering] [Self-reliance]
Quote: “The quickest way to enlightenment is to look directly at the mind, point your finger, and say ‘Liar!’” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Liberation] [Delusion]
Quote: “Why can’t these ducks be more like chickens?” — Ajahn Chah. [Judgementalism] [Similes] [Human]
12. Quote: “I’m feeling a bit like a prisoner. People take me upstairs to stay and then they bring me down from time to time for questioning.” — Ajahn Chah leading the 1979 retreat at Insight Meditation Society. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Insight Meditation Society] [Questions]
Quote: “I’m getting old and my knees hurt.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ageing] [Pain]
6. “To whom did you attribute the different formulation of the Four Noble Truths?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Four Noble Truths] [Ajahn Dune ] // [Ajahn Mun] [Geography/Thailand] [Wat Burapha] [Seclusion] [Personality] [Ajahn Pasanno]
Quote: “Why do you let your mind go out there?” — Ajahn Dune regarding the noise of the elephant festival. [Contact]
Reference: Gifts He Left Behind by Ajahn Dune.
8. “I have greatly appreciated the teachings on non-proliferation, especially Ajahn Karunadhammo’s answer to last night’s question regarding the underlying feeling that is often present and driving a particular proliferation. I live with an autoimmune disease which currently requires frequent adjustments to my medications. ... It is quite a conundrum to care for this body and track the various symptoms, all of which I find unpleasant, and yet not to proliferate on what needs to happen next. Going to the body in my practice, while useful, is not reliably calming, and sometimes seems to add fuel to the fire. This retreat I have been practicing with Right View and Right Understanding by repeating key phrases from the daily talks and have experienced what feels like a very deep insight at times. Do you have any words of guidance for when I go off retreat on working with this human body and this all-too-human mind?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Proliferation] [Feeling] [Sickness] [Pain] [Mindfulness of body] [Right View] [Right Intention] // [Suffering] [Ajahn Chah] [Restlessness and worry] [Gladdening the mind]
Sutta: SN 36.6: Shot by two arrows.
Simile from Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 159: Being injected with poison. [Similes]
Quote: “It can still be uncomfortable, but it doesn’t have to be complicated.”
9. “How can we balance knowing and letting go with investigation? In what circumstances should one be used rather than the other?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness] [Relinquishment] [Investigation of states] [Discernment ] // [Ajahn Chah] [Calming meditation]
Quote: “The most efficacious investigation comes when the mind has stopped thinking.” — Ajahn Chah. [Concentration]
6. “With your instruction and the slowing down of my mind on retreat, I’ve been able to allow the proliferation of thought to subside. However, the release of emotion is another story, as it resides in the body and is not so easily released. I can’t go to the body because the emotion is there, and I can’t go to the mind, because those thoughts will feed the emotion. Any suggestions on where to go next? Even wholesome reflection seems to feed the emotional state.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Proliferation] [Emotion ] [Body/form ] [Mindfulness of body] [Recollection] // [Neutral feeling] [Nature of mind] [Self-identity view]
Quote: “Recognize that the body and emotion are not the same thing.”
1. “If starting each meditation session with five minutes of skeleton contemplation, do you have any suggestions, advice, cautions?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Unattractiveness] // [Disenchantment]
Quote: “They’ve brought their own skeleton to the monastery. Why are they shocked by seeing a skeleton in the cupboard?” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah]
11. Quote: “Different people will be comfortable at different degrees of contentment and ability to live simply.” — P. A. Payutto. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [P. A. Payutto] [Personality] [Contentment] [Simplicity] [Right Livelihood] [Happiness]
21. Quote: “The Buddha’s function was not to make grand pronouncements that apply universally, everywhere, all the time. He gave guidelines to reflect a variety of circumstances, personal effects, social effects, and then make a decision from there.” — Ajahn Pasanno. [Buddha] [Idealism] [Discernment] [Conditionality] [Right Livelihood] [Kamma] [Community] [Politics and society]
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]
1. “Could you tell us how you became a monk?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ordination] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Monastic life/Motivation] // [Culture/Thailand] [Meditation]
Quote: “I stumbled into it.” [Monastic life]
4. “Can you say more about the practice of awareness of arising and ceasing in relation to discernment and right view?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Becoming] [Cessation] [Mindfulness] [Discernment] [Right View] // [Impermanence] [Ajahn Chah] [Conditionality] [Self-identity view] [Happiness] [Mindfulness of mind] [Patience]
Reading from an unnamed recent Ajahn Chah book. [Relinquishment] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma]
Quote: “I don’t teach you guys much. Just be patient.” — Ajahn Chah.
8. “I appreciate your emphasis on clarity, stability, and spaciousness. How does concentration relate to these?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Clear comprehension] [Unification] [Spaciousness] [Concentration ] // [Pāli] [Thai] [Etymology] [Tranquility] [Happiness] [Rapture] [Conditionality]
Suttas: AN 10.3: Virtuous Behavior; AN 6.10 Mahānāma [Virtue]
Quote: “The way my mind worked before was, ‘Boy, when I get my concentration together, I’m going to be happy ...’” [Ajahn Pasanno]
Quote: “The happy mind is easily concentrated.” [Hindrances] [Relinquishment] [Knowledge and vision]
9. “For me, the practice starts with concentration to get to a place of well-being. Is there a missing piece here?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Concentration] [Happiness] // [Cultural context] [Generosity] [Precepts] [Culture/West] [Western psychology] [Meditation]
Quote: “It is helpful to get a picture of the whole path and realize how integrated and mutually nourishing those path factors are.” [Eightfold Path] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma]
3. “In the suttas, if you recognize a defilement like ill-will, you need to do something about it. How can we reconcile this with the Ajahn Chah teaching you just read (‘Receiving Visitors’ in In Simple Terms)?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sutta] [Right Effort] [Ajahn Chah] [Tranquility] [Proliferation] // [Discernment]
Quote: “Practice is really easy. If the defilements come at you high, you duck, and if they come at you low, you jump over them.” — Ajahn Tongrat. [Ajahn Tongrat] [Unwholesome Roots]
1. “Thank you for your talk. Can you flesh out: ‘dispassionate about what?’ Also, trying to encourage dispassion along with arousing energy.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Dispassion ] [Energy] // [Craving] [Sense bases] [Body/form] [Emotion] [Contentment] [Tranquility]
Quote: “When there’s a coolness towards the world around one, that frees up a lot of energy for directing attention to what’s actually useful and beneficial.” [Discernment]
2. “Is it possible for an arahant to have seemingly negative thoughts or speech while free from defilement? In the Udana, Venerable Pilindavaccha gets complained about for calling monks outcastes or lowlings.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Arahant] [Unskillful qualities] [Great disciples] [Harsh speech]
Sutta: Ud 3.6: Pilindavaccha.
Quote: “Purity or impurity—you have to know for yourself.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah]
Vinaya: Khandhaka 18.11.14 and Khandhaka 18.12.4: Students and teachers are mutually accountable. [Vinaya] [Mentoring]
7. “During meditation when thoughts come and want to engage me, some thoughts have the power to take me into the storyline, and I don’t even know why. I don’t even know when. Is there a point, sign,or warning that can be seen before I get lost? It’s really painful to live in a virtual reality that never delivers the promise.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Restlessness and worry] [Proliferation ] [Suffering] // [Mindfulness of body ] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Feeling] [Dreams]
Quote: “Tuning into the body, I can start to feel where [the thought] is taking me.”
Quote: “You know what the quickest way to enlightenment is? Just look at the thoughts, point your finger, and say ‘Liar!’” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Liberation] [Truth]
1. “Is body scan as a meditation practice done in the Ajahn Chah tradition? Is there a sutta where the Buddha talks about it?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Body scanning ] [Ajahn Chah lineage] [Sutta] // [Unattractiveness] [Mindfulness of body ] [Elements] [Recollection/Death] [Disenchantment]
Quote: “Ajahn Chah would recommend doing anything that worked.” [Ajahn Chah] [Right Effort]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 60: Reflection on the Thirty-Two Parts.
Sutta: MN 10.4: Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, mindfulness of body section.
5. “Sorry, I missed something. Did you say that instead of dwelling on our hindrances and getting depressed, we could instead work with the Factors of Enlightenment to brighten the mind? What are the Factors you would suggest?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Factors of Awakening] [Gladdening the mind] // [Divine Abidings] [Perfections] [Right Effort] [Hindrances]
Reflections on Unbinding as a translation of Nibbāna. [Nibbāna] [Translation] [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro]
Quote: “Practicing Dhamma is like taking a screwdriver and unscrewing something rather than putting the screwdriver in and tightening it up.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Similes]
13. “What are the four stages of enlightenment? What defilements have the four noble beings shed?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Stages of awakening ] [Unwholesome Roots] // [Drawbacks] [Liberation]
Quote: “When we think of enlightenment, it’s a being who is willing and able to relinquish those things that are complicating and constricting.” [Relinquishment]