All stories
61 events, 281 sessions, 676 excerpts, 52:01:34 total duration
Most common topics:
Ajahn Chah
(292)
Ajahn Pasanno
(167)
Abhayagiri
(96)
Wat Pah Pong
(70)
Ajahn Sumedho
(62)
Ajahn Amaro
(58)
Wat Pah Nanachat
(53)
Tudong
(47)
Culture/Thailand
(45)
Death
(44)
5. Reflection by Debbie Stamp: Caring for dying and grieving Abhayagiri supporters and family members. [Abhayagiri] [Sickness] [Family] [Parents] [Death] [Grief] [Health care] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo] [Christianity] [Forgiveness] [Fear] [Impermanence] [Merit] [Doubt]
Reference: Debbie transcribed Ajahn Pasanno’s 2008 Metta Retreat, published it as Abundant, Exalted, Immeasurable, and dedicated the merit to her mother. [Meditation retreats] [Dhamma books]
Story: Ajahn Ñāṇiko hikes to the top of Mount Dana to dedicate merit to deceased relatives. [Ajahn Ñāṇiko]
9. Stories about being with dying relatives. Told by Debbie Stamp and Jeanne Daskais. [Parents] [Family] [Children] [Death]
12. Comment: In Western culture, we’re not given enough space to be with death. [Culture/West] [Spaciousness] [Grief] [Death]
Story: Hospice workers took the body of my father-in-law away too quickly. [Health care]
Story: When my husband died, we kept and washed the body. [Ceremony/ritual]
Response by Debbie Stamp.
13. Stories about ageing and dying relatives. [Grief] [Humor] [Ageing] [Sickness] [Death]
15. Stories about car accidents. [Clear comprehension] [Perception]
16. Stories of two dreams about deceased Abhayagiri supporter Iris Landsberg. [Dreams] [Abhayagiri] [Death]
7. “Could you say a few words about the structure of the Thai Saṅgha and where the Thai Forest Tradition fits in?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [History/Thai Buddhism ] [Thai sects ] [Thai Forest Tradition ] // [Somdet Vajirañāṇavarorasa] [Ajahn Mun] [Ajahn Kinaree] [Ajahn Tongrat] [Ajahn Chah]
Story: Ajahn Chah asks Ajahn Mun, “Shall I reordain in the Dhammayut Order to live with you?” He responds, “Mahānikāya needs good monks also.” [Ordination]
9. Story: Ajahn Mun becomes enlightened and goes back to teach his teacher. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Mun] [Ajahn Sao] [Liberation] [Thai Forest Tradition]
Story: Ajahn Mun’s relics [Relics] [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Abhayagiri]
12. “Was Ajahn Mun well respected by the Buddhist establishment or was he more of a renegade?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Mun] [History/Thai Buddhism] [Thai Forest Tradition] // [Thai sects] [Ajahn Lee Dhammadharo]
Story: Ajahn Mun leaves the day after he is appointed abbot. [Abbot] [Seclusion]
18. Story: Ajahn Mahā Boowa bows to a newly-discovered photograph of Ajahn Mun. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Mun] [Ajahn Mahā Boowa ] [Devotional practice] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Bowing] // [Ajahn Pasanno]
8. Story: Ajahn Toon tries to disrobe repeatedly, but Ajahn Chah won’t let him. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Toon] [Disrobing] [Thai Forest Tradition] // [Patience] [Three Refuges] [Ajahn Tongrat] [Posture/Walking] [Gratitude] [Respect]
4. Story: Ajahn Ñāṇiko’s tudong up the California coast. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Ñāṇiko] [Tudong] [Abhayagiri]
Reference: “Circles of Blessing: Our Redwood Tudong”
6. Story: The two-month tudong to Pacific Hermitage told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Tudong] [Abhayagiri] [Pacific Hermitage] // [Ajahn Ñāṇiko] [Almsround]
10. “Is there a requirement for monks in the Forest Tradition to walk tudong?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Thai Forest Tradition] [Tudong ] // [Ascetic practices] [Ajahn Chah] [Restlessness and worry]
Story: Ajahn Chah tells a monk to pack his gear and walk tudong within Wat Pah Pong.
Story: Ajahn Chah lets a restless three-Vassa Western monk go tudong. [Teaching Dhamma]
3. “Is walking meditation as ‘good’ as sitting meditation. Can one achieve the level of undistractedness that one needs to be able to investigate the human experience? Or is it part of the bigger picture of mindfulness for seven full days to experience stream entry?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Posture/Walking] [Posture/Sitting] [Insight meditation] [Stream entry] // [Meditation/General advice] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Concentration]
Stories about Ajahn Khao. [Ajahn Khao ]
Story: Walking meditation was Ajahn Khao’s preferred mode of practice. [Ajahn Khao ]
Story: Ajahn Khao’s relics were purple, clear, and incredibly beautiful. [Ajahn Khao ] [Relics] [Abhayagiri]
Recollection: Ajahn Khao expresses gratitude for the place he realized Awakening. [Ajahn Khao ] [Liberation] [Gratitude] [Lodging] [Bodhi Tree]
14. “Regarding the 1st precept of non-killing / non-harming, what to do on a practical / decision level regarding something like termites? I sold my last house because I didn’t want to fumigate, but I can’t keep moving to avoid killing termites / ants that eat at a house. Thank you for your compassion and explanation.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Killing] [Animal] // [Kamma]
Story: Abhayagiri deals with a cockroach infestation. [Abhayagiri]
13. “I am still very attached to my husband and children. I don’t want to relinquish the intimacy I share with my husband. I will suffer when they are gone. How do I reconcile this practice of relinquishment with the reality that I am a wife, mother and householder? With love.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Gratitude] [Family ] [Lay life] [Relinquishment ] // [Spaciousness] [Suffering] [Clinging] [Cause of Suffering] [Communal harmony]
Quote: “Relinquishment is a skillful acknowledgement of the areas where we do create suffering.”
Story: Visākhā, the stream enterer who raised 20 children. [Great disciples] [Stream entry] [Culture/India]
Quote: “Families that grow up with strong spiritual models are an incredible blessing.” [Mentoring]
17. “I am wondering if Buddha spoke about what part of us reincarnates. Is it possible to remember our past lives? Thank you.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Rebirth] [Psychic powers] // [Aggregates] [Self-identity view] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Supernatural] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Ghost]
Story: A being at Wat Pah Nanachat employs a go-between to request that Ajahn Pasanno dedicate merit. [Merit]
5. “There is a borderline between being fierceful (in a wholesome way) and being aggressive. I can’t say anything about Dhamma teachers as I have never experienced Thai Ajahns, but a few yoga teachers I’ve studied with in my opinion were rather just exercising their power over students. How to tell the difference between a teacher who genuinely means well to their students while acting fierce-fully from someone on a power trip?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Teaching Dhamma] [Fierce/direct teaching ] [Abuse/violence] // [Truth] [Compassion] [Generosity] [Personality ]
Recollection: On the surface, Ajahn Liem appears disinterested in the human condition. [Ajahn Liem] [Wat Pah Pong] [Leadership]
Recollection: Ajahn Chah could be very forceful, but the bigger picture was compassion. [Ajahn Chah]
Quote: “What is the mind of an enlightened being like?” — “Only compassion” — Ajahn Mahā Boowa. [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Arahant] [Wat Pah Nanachat]
Sutta: AN 4.243: ‘But Ānanda, since when has Anuruddha been involved in disciplinary issues in the midst of the Saṅgha?’ [Buddha/Biography] [Great disciples] [Conflict]
10. “Thank you so very much for your very compassionate, clear, and useful teachings. Can you please talk a little bit about dependent origination so that we may put an end to the causes of suffering? Thank you again for your compassionate teachings and humor. We appreciate you and the rest of the Sangha!” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Gratitude] [Dependent origination] [Cessation of Suffering] // [Conditionality] [Suffering] [Cause of Suffering]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno writes a term paper on dependent origination at university. [Ajahn Pasanno]
Quote: “When you’re falling down from a tree, you don’t have to count the branches. You just have to know that when you hit the bottom, it’s going to hurt.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah]
12. “My heart really wanted to serve you and the rest of the Sangha food today (of all days—Thanksgiving) out of gratitude and also because I thought that food had to be directly placed in the alms bowl of a monk in order for it to be consumed. So can you please give us a quick guide on the Vinaya rules regarding the offering of food and other things / requisites to monks? Thank you for your explanation so we can better serve the Sangha.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Gratitude] [Almsfood ] [Food] [Vinaya] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] // [Almsbowl] [Abhayagiri]
Story: Ajahn Ñāṇiko walks tudong from Fort Bragg. [Ajahn Ñāṇiko] [Tudong] [Lodging] [Weather]
5. “The guidance through seeing the non-self in relationship to the elements was very helpful. Can you explain what to look for in order to see the non self in relationship to strong emotions like grief. When do you look for the emptiness in emotions and when do you experience or express them. How does one balance the two?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Not-self] [Elements] [Emotion ] [Grief ]
Ajahn Pasanno reflects on his feelings after Ajahn Chah died. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Chah] [Death] [Sickness] [Gratitude] [Respect]
Ajahn Pasanno’s response to his father’s death. [Parents] [Spaciousness]
9. “Can one contemplate pain using the four elements or is here a more direct way to penetrate physical pain? Many thanks for your teachings.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Pain ] [Elements ] // [Investigation of states] [Mindfulness of body] [Middle Path] [Discernment] [Sickness]
Recollection: Ajahn Pasanno spent many of his early years as a monk contemplating pain. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Monastic life]
3. “Is there a particular orientation for the intestines?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Unattractiveness]
Story: Ajahn Karuṇadhammo’s first surgery as a nursing student. [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo] [Health care]
1. Description of the Ajahn Chah Remembrance Day at Wat Pah Pong. [Ajahn Chah Remembrance Day] [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Chah] // [Devotional practice] [Gratitude]
3. Readings from the Introduction to Listening to the Heart by Kittisaro and Ṭhānissarā (commercial). Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Kittisaro]
Story: Kittisaro’s first meeting with Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Conceit] [Body scanning] [Humor]
Stories: The Squirrel Story and the Donkey Story. [Learning]
2. Recollections of visiting the morgue in Thailand. Recounted by Debbie Stamp. [Recollection/Death]
6. Story: Ajahn Sumedho brings a “farang Buddha” to Ajahn Chah. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Buddha images] [Ajahn Chah] [Culture/West]
7. Ajahn Sucitto speaks of feeling water washing through you [as a way of releasing tension related to effort]. Comment by Debbie Stamp. [Ajahn Sucitto] [Elements] [Right Effort]
Story: Khun Kesari’s brother enters concentration by visualizing drinking a glass of water. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Concentration] [Visualization]
Story: Kesari’s mother walked into Wat Ban Tad before there was a road. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Wat Pah Ban Tat] [Relics]
1. “What are the rewards for the skillful monk?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Monastic life] [Skillful qualities] [Right Mindfulness] // [Happiness] [Mindfulness] [Clear comprehension] [Concentration]
Sutta: SN 47.8: Simile of the skillful cook. [Similes]
Story: Ajahn Mun criticizes Ajahn Mahā Boowa for developing meditation like a tree stump. [Ajahn Mun] [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Admonishment/feedback]
7. Quote: “How do I get me some of that non-grasping stuff?” — Ajahn Sucitto. Quoted by Beth Steff. [Ajahn Sucitto] [Clinging] [Self-identity view] [Humor]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
Story: “Do I look macho?” Told by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Chithurst] [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo]
1. “Do the mental faculties of meditators diminish as they age?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ageing] [Memory] [Long-term practice] // [Ajahn Chah] [Sickness] [Preah Mahāghosānanda] [Personal presence]
Story: H. H. The Dalai Lama meets Preah Mahāghosānanda. [Dalai Lama]
2. “Why did the Buddha ask the monk to develop meditation in many ways [in AN 8.63]?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation] [Meditation/General advice] [Buddha/Biography] // [Directed thought and evaluation] [Rapture] [Happiness] [Equanimity] [Jhāna] [Calming meditation] [Cessation of Suffering]
Recollection: Ajahn Chah would rarely label meditation states. [Ajahn Chah]
5. “Related to the need to emerge from neither-perception-nor-non-perception and cessation of perception to contemplate the five khandhas [in AN 9.36], don’t some of the commentaries imply that that’s what you do with first jhāna; that insight is not possible even in first jhāna?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Formless attainments] [Aggregates] [Insight meditation] [Commentaries] [Jhāna] // [Views]
Recollection: Ajahn Chah emphasized that every step of the way there has to be awareness. Awareness has to form the basis of the whole practice. [Ajahn Chah] [Mindfulness] [Clear comprehension] [Right Concentration] [Right View]
2. Reflections by Ajahn Pasanno on the value of samaṇas in Indian culture. [Culture/India ] [Perception of a samaṇa ] // [Commentaries] [Buddha] [Virtue] [Truth] [Hospitality]
Recollection: Ajahn Pasanno was really cared for during his tudong in Northern India. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Tudong] [Not handling money]
2. “Can sharing merit with many types of beings tie one to society?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Merit] // [Right Effort] [Right Intention]
Story: Lama Zopa delights in sharing merit. [Lama Zopa]
2. Discussion about kamma and the results of kamma. Led by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo, Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Kamma] [Conditionality] [Feeling] // [Abuse/violence] [Abhidhamma] [Ajahn Chah] [Vajrayāna] [Sickness] [Compassion] [Culture/India] [Equanimity] [Disasters] [Christianity]
Quote: “Too much Dhamma.” — Ajahn Buddhadāsa. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Buddhadāsa]
Sutta: AN 4.77 Acinteyya: “Vexation or madness.”
Story: Ajahn Chah to Ajahn Munindo: “If it wasn’t supposed to be this way, it wouldn’t have been this way.” Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Munindo] [Self-pity]
Thai saying: “That’s as far as their merit takes them.” [Culture/Thailand] [Death] [Merit] [Thai]
1. “What was the context in which this reflection was given by Ajahn Chah?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] // [Leadership] [Culture/Thailand] [History/Thai Buddhism]
Recollection: When Ajahn Pasanno first became abbot of Wat Pah Nanachat, he gave monthly teachings at the World Fellowship of Buddhists. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Abbot] [Teaching Dhamma]
2. “Was there a time when monks could wander the entire year in Thailand unhindered?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [History/Thai Buddhism] [Tudong] [Culture/Natural environment]
Story: Ajahn Kinaree wanders from Thailand to India. [Ajahn Kinaree]
8. “Is it possible to travel in India by bicycle?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Culture/India] [Travel] [Visiting holy sites]
Story: Ajahn Tiradhammo bicycled around India as a layperson. [Ajahn Tiradhammo]
1. Story: Ajahn Chah tells a restless junior monk to go tudong around the monastery. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Restlessness and worry] [Sequence of training] [Tudong]
2. Story: Ajahn Chah lets a restless junior Western monk go tudong in the hot season with strict conditions. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Restlessness and worry] [Sequence of training] [Tudong]
4. Story: Ajahn Mun didn’t stay consecutive Rains Retreats in the same place until he was close to 70. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Mun] [Rains retreat] [Tudong]
5. Story: Lay disciples ask Ajahn Lee Dhammadharo to take them on tudong but bring too much baggage. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Lee Dhammadharo] [Lay life] [Simplicity] [Tudong] // [Ajahn Mun] [History/Thai Buddhism]
6. Story: Ajahn Chah packs too much gear on his first tudong. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Simplicity] [Contentment] [Tudong]
7. Recollection: Ajahn Chah laments that the forests in Thailand are being destroyed so quickly that there’s not much place for monks to wander any more. Recounted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [History/Thai Buddhism] [Environment] [Culture/Natural environment] [Tudong] // [Culture/Thailand] [Ajahn Dtun]
Quote: “Nowadays it’s hard to tudong because you taludong (go through the forest).” — Ajahn Chah. [Thai]
13. “After the initial impulse and intention to go tudong, once it’s going to happen, is there an upwelling of uncertainty?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Doubt] [Tudong] // [Renunciation] [Impermanence] [Clinging] [Learning] [Ajahn Chah]
Story: Chao Khun Nor stayed in his kuti and ate the same thing every day. [Chao Khun Nor] [History/Thai Buddhism]
15. Story: Ajahn Pasanno’s tudong in India with Ajahn Jayasaro. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Jayasaro] [Culture/India] [Tudong] // [Impermanence] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Not handling money] [Hinduism] [Islam] [Lodging] [Trust] [Almsround] [Visiting holy sites] [Compassion] [Devotional practice]
Story: An Indian Kshetriya notices that Ajahn Pasanno’s etiquette matches his training. [Vinaya] [Buddha/Biography]
Story: Ajahn Jayasaro tries to explain cricket to Ajahn Pasanno. [Recreation/leisure/sport]
18. “You slept outdoors?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Lodging] [Culture/India] [Tudong]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Jayasaro stay the night at the Buddha’s kuti. [Visiting holy sites] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Jayasaro] [Buddha/Biography] [Great disciples]
6. “How did you get through the 106° heat? Did you have a different schedule?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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]
1. “I’ve been struggling with sleepiness while trying to meditate, having the intention to be present and aware, but finding myself dozing off.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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]
6. Comment about the expectations people may have of Buddhists. [Precepts] [Virtue] [Idealism] [Buddhist identity]
Story: An American asks Ajahn Chah why there are so many thieves in Thailand. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Culture/West] [Culture/Thailand] [Stealing]
12. Story about not killing a rattlesnake. [Killing] [Culture/West] [Animal] [Buddhist identity]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Culture/Thailand]
18. Story: A woman likes Buddhist teachings and principles, follows the precepts, and meditates, but hates when people identify with this and call themselves Buddhist. Told by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Dhamma] [Precepts] [Meditation] [Aversion] [Buddhist identity] [Clinging] [Self-identity view]
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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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]
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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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]
6. “Do any of you who reside at the monastery vote in local or national elections? I also wonder if you get involved in public discussions on local policies as they pertain to or potentially affect the monastery?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Monastic life] [Politics and society ] // [Culture/Thailand] [Culture/Sri Lanka]
Story: Abhayagiri engages with local people and the Forestry Department to block a timber harvest. [Abhayagiri] [Environment]
15. “There is a mean streak in my family, a tendency to be dishonest and manipulative. I can see how it has been passed down over generations. I have worked hard to overcome these habits in myself. At this stage of life my familiar relationships are mostly positive and harmonious, but I still sometimes run across their manipulation or dishonesty. I would like to discuss or address it within my family, but there is no apparent recourse or means of addressing the situation. Any suggestions?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Family] [False speech] [Habits]
Quote: “I don’t teach my family anything.” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Teaching Dhamma]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno’s mother visits Abhayagiri. [Parents] [Kaṭhina]
23. “It seems that nimittas can appear before the mind is fully settled in concentration. Is it useful to understand what that is happening? Should one ignore the nimitta until concentration is firmly established? Or is there some other response or skillful way to work with the nimitta while establishing samadhi?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Nimitta ] [Concentration] // [Proliferation] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Ajahn Pasanno]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno has a nimitta of bowing to the Buddha but then realizes that he is nodding. [Bowing] [Sloth and torpor]
7. “I’m concerned about Alzheimer’s disease and getting stuck between life and death, losing all I’ve learned about mindfulness practice and all my dignity. Where is the silver lining in this life’s challenge?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Death] [Sickness] [Ageing ] // [Mindfulness] [Memory]
Story: The bright presence of a monk with Alzheimer’s disease. [Preah Mahāghosānanda] [Personal presence]
11. “Please demonstrate how to bow. Are there any cultural differences?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Bowing ] [Cultural context] // [Ajahn Chah] [Culture/Thailand] [Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Tranquility] [Continuity of mindfulness]
Story: Ajahn Chah corrects a candidate’s bowing posture at his ordination ceremony. [Ordination]
13. “Please speak a little about kataññu.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Gratitude ] // [Human] [Pāli] [Merit]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 33: Verses of Sharing and Aspiration
Story: Ajahn Liem gives Abhayagiri a handwritten essay about gratitude. [Ajahn Liem] [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Chah] [Personality] [Generosity] [Abhayagiri] [Asking forgiveness ceremony] [Dhamma books]
Reference: English translation: Gratitude by Ajahn Chah Saṅgha, p. 9.
9. “Can you say more about trusting the seeds of meditation practice after Alzheimer’s/dementia kick in? What do you mean by going beyond liberation or consciousness? What do you mean by ‘many deeper layers’ are affected by the practice and the fruits of it will express naturally?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sickness ] [Consciousness] [Long-term practice] // [Happiness] [Proliferation] [Relinquishment] [Self-identity view]
Story: A monk with psychic abilities investigates Ajahn Chah’s mind after Ajahn Chah loses his mental faculties. [Ajahn Chah] [Psychic powers]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno brings the Wat Pah Nanachat community to Ajahn Chah’s nursing kuti to chant verses including Dependent Origination. [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Chanting] [Dependent origination]
Quote: “The fruits of practice arise through the simple quality of being the one who knows, taking the Buddha as refuge.” [Knowing itself] [Buddha] [Three Refuges]
13. “How important is chanting for one’s practice? Do you have any tips for how to recite/remember the Pali chants?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Chanting ] [Memory] [Pāli] // [Monastic life] [Recollection] [Devotional practice] [Energy] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Long-term practice] [Dhamma recordings] [Posture/Walking] [Almsround] [Mindfulness]
Story: Ajahn Mun would chant for over an hour each evening before he started meditating. [Ajahn Mun] [Monastic routine]
Suttas: AN 10.60 Girimānanda Sutta; SN 56.11: Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (Chanting Book translation).
Story: The evening program at Wat Fah Krahm is three hours of chanting followed by a three-hour sit. [Wat Fah Krahm] [Meditation]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 138: Rhythm of the Pāli language.
Sutta: SN 48.9: Mindfulness related to memory.
4. “I was wondering if the merit we have done for meditation practice can be dedicated to the people (dead or alive) we pray for? How do we know it? Also, I have heard that the merit from practicing meditation will accumulate and stay with ones who have practiced that, which also carries over throughout the life or the subsequent incarnations. Can you clarify this?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Merit] [Prayer] [Rebirth] // [Theravāda] [Mahāyāna] [Vajrayāna] [Science] [Faith] [Selfishness]
Stories told by Ajahn Paññānanda about dedication of merit. [Ajahn Paññānanda] [Culture/Thailand] [Superstition] [Death]
8. “What chants would you recommend as suitable to use for patients who may be in hospice or close to death? Can Buddhist monks give last rites?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Death] [Chanting] [Ceremony/ritual] // [Goodwill] [Three Refuges] [Protective chants] [Culture/Thailand] [Buddho mantra] [Recollection/Saṅgha]
Story: Ajahn Chah requests an army truck to pick up Por Puang’s body. [Ajahn Chah] [Wat Pah Pong] [Contentment] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Recollection/Death]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 662.
1. “Should we judge the quality of our meditation only by the time we spend in focused concentration?” Answered by Ajahn Jotipālo, Ajahn Ñāṇiko, Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and the Abhayagiri Saṅgha. [Ajahn Ñāṇadhammo] [Meditation/Results ] [Concentration] // [Mindfulness] [Right Effort] [Investigation of states] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Hindrances]
References: Walking Meditation by Ajahn Ñāṇadhammo; “The Five Hindrances,” from The Anthology Vol. 1 by Ajahn Sumedho, pp. 35–44.
Story: Ajahn Tate and the bhavaṅga states. Told by Ajahn Jotipālo and Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Ajahn Tate] [Wrong concentration] [Ajahn Mun] [Mindfulness of body]
Story: Ajahn Khao meditates all night with no awareness. Told by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Ajahn Khao]
4. The habitual perceptual patterns condition what we seek out to experience. Comment by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Habits] [Perception] [Craving] // [Ignorance]
Reference: Kamma and the End of Kamma by Ajahn Sucitto.
We can see how our body and mnd are in constant flux, but we see others as fixed and solid. Comment by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Impermanence] [Views] [Community]
Story: A peaceful sīladhara no longer tells stories in her mind. Told by Ajahn Jotipālo. [Proliferation] [Equanimity]
3. Further discussion about the role of desire in practice. Led by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Desire] [Sensual desire] [Naturalness] [Craving] // [Noble Truth of Suffering] [Conditionality] [Human] [Monastic life] [Judgementalism]
Comment: If you aren’t willing to see desire as a dhamma, then you’ll never see Dhamma. [Dhamma] [Culture/West] [Guilt/shame/inadequacy]
Reference: “Why Come to a Monastery?” by Ajahn Candasiri in Friends on the Path by Ajahn Sundarā and Ajahn Candasirī, pp. 13-21.
A practitioner tells Ajahn Paññāvaḍḍho that sexual desire is natural. He replies, “So is the Dhamma.” [Ajahn Paññāvaḍḍho]
Recollection of Ajahn Karuṇadhammo’s advice to an anagārika about different approaches to dealing with lust. Recounted by Ajahn Pesalo. [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo] [Unattractiveness] [Characteristics of existence]
1. “During the development of Abhayagiri over the years, has there been a shift in how strictly some practices, activities are followed?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Debbie Stamp. [Amaravati] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Ascetic practices] [Culture/West] [Divine Abidings] [Abhayagiri] // [Ajahn Chah] [Devotion to wakefulness] [Work] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Admonishment/feedback] [Protocols] [Ajahn Amaro] [Guilt/shame/inadequacy]
Story: Can we ask for soymilk? [Food] [Simplicity]
Recollection: The effects of the gap in seniority between Ajahn Amaro and (then) Tan Karuṇadhammo. [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo] [Sequence of training]
Recollection: Ajahn Pasanno is lighter and softer now. Recounted by Debbie Stamp. [Personal presence]
Recollection: The gung-ho early days of Chithurst and Amaravati. Recounted by Debbie Stamp. [Chithurst] [Disrobing]
Recollection: The beginning of sharing circles. Recounted by Debbie Stamp. [Sharing circles] [Culture/Thailand]
2. Comment by Ajahn Ñāṇiko: Abhayagiri works because the abbots empower members of the community to be in charge of different aspects of the monastery. [Abhayagiri] [Abbot] [Saṅgha decision making ]
Recollection: Ajahn Pasanno asks the Saṅgha before accepting invitations. [Ajahn Pasanno]
Quote: “Ajahn Pasanno is genuinely open to junior members’ opinions.” [Admonishment/feedback] [Humility]
Comment: Less admonishment in korwat is needed now at Abhayagiri because momentum has built and you can follow the group. [Protocols]
Response by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo.
3. Recollection: Ajahn Pasanno consults the group rather than dictating decisions. Recounted by Ajahn Jotipālo. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Abbot ] [Abhayagiri] [Saṅgha decision making] [Leadership]
Quote: “Sometimes it’s better to be harmonious than to be right.” — Ajahn Pasanno. [Communal harmony] [Views]
Quote: “I must hurry, for there they go, and I am their leader.” — Sign above a boss’s desk. Quoted by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Humor]
4. Story: Carrying wood to the Cloth Yurt. Told by Ajahn Jotipālo. [Ajahn Jotipālo] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Lodging] [Work] [Abhayagiri]
5. Story: “How is it going? There are a lot of weeds growing on your walking path.” Told by Debbie Stamp. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Work] [Posture/Walking]
Response by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Gratitude]
3. “Can you recommend a book of koans for inspiration?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Zen] [Koan] [Dhamma books] // [Ajahn Sumedho] [Hua tou] [Master Hsu Yun]
Story: Ajahn Chah encourages Ajahn Sumedho to develop the hua tou technique. [Ajahn Chah] [Mahasi Sayadaw] [Ven. Ñāṇatiloka]
Reference: Word of the Buddha by Venerable Ñāṇatiloka.
4. Story: Harata Rōshi’s response to a question about koans. Told by Ajahn Jotipālo. [Harata Rōshi] [Koan] // [Translation]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Knowing itself]
3. “Could you give some guidance on when to patiently endure and when to use discernment to deal with something?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno, Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Jotipālo. [Patience ] [Discernment] // [Right Effort] [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities]
Story: A fortune teller reads Ajahn Chah’s palm. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Aversion]
2. Story: Entering a cold river is just saṅkhāra, told by Ajahn Jotipālo. [Ajahn Kusalo] [Bhante Rahula] [Volitional formations] // [Ajahn Jotipālo] [Arrow River]
6. Story: Ajahn Khemadhammo creates Buddha groves in prisons. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Khemadhammo] [Prisons] [Buddha images] // [Ceremony/ritual] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Tranquility]
7. Story: The inmate leading the Buddhist group was caught selling drugs. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Khemadhammo] [Prisons] [Intoxicants]
Comments about intoxicants, crime, and prisons. Contributed by Beth Steff and Ajahn Pasanno. [Crime]
1. “At what point does it become unskillful to continue to reflect on one’s own good deeds?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Beth Steff. [Recollection/Virtue] [Unskillful qualities] // [Self-identity view] [Right Effort] [Recollection/Generosity] [Culture/West] [Christianity] [Guilt/shame/inadequacy]
Quote: “In Buddhism, we don’t believe in original sin. We believe in original purity.” — King Rama IX to a BBC interviewer. [King Rama IX] [Nature of mind]
Reference: The 1979 BBC interview on YouTube.
Commentary: Path of Purification by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, p. 104: Forty subjects of meditation.
Story: Western researchers find Tibetans who have been tortured don’t suffer post-traumatic stress. [Abuse/violence] [Vajrayāna] [Three Refuges] [Compassion]
Story: God’s finger over the “Smite” button. [God] [The Far Side]
Comment by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo: The Dalai Lama emphasizes the effect of faith in the law of kamma. [Dalai Lama] [Kamma] [Faith]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Right View]
2. Discussion about evaluating the results of practice. Led by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation/Results] [Right Effort] // [Faith] [Investigation of states] [Self-identity view] [Not-self]
Comment: I notice that I have preconceptions about the way I evaluate my practice.
Response: Ajahn Pasanno distinguishes between investigation and evaluation.
The very pattern, “What will make me good enough?” is suffering. Comment by Ajahn Kaccāna. [Habits] [Cause of Suffering]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
Story: Aversion towards the nada sound and the importance of having a teacher. Told by Ajahn Jotipālo. [Teachers] [Ajahn Jotipālo] [Sound of silence] [Aversion] [Insight Meditation Society] [Ajahn Amaro]
3. “Ajahn Ñāṇiko, during your time in India, was there a big takeaway from your experience or stories or experiences you would be willing to share?” Answered by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Ajahn Ñāṇiko] [Visiting holy sites] // [Culture/India] [Sickness] [Poverty]
Story: Going almsround outside Bodh Gaya: “It’s rare to be able to give to a samaṇa.” [Perception of a samaṇa] [Types of monks]
5. Story: Ajahn Kalyano instructs monks to memorize the organs while watching an autopsy. Told by Ajahn Jotipālo. [Ajahn Kalyāṇo] [Unattractiveness] [Mindfulness of body] // [Aversion]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Disenchantment] [Dispassion] [Skillful qualities]
2. “At what point in the Forest Tradition do you use a “warrior strategy” to conquer pain, defilements?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Unwholesome Roots] [Pain] [Thai Forest Tradition] // [Determination] [Self-identity view] [Spaciousness] [Right Effort]
Comment: The Krooba Ajahns can get intense and fiery, but what they are actually doing is making their minds calm and then contemplating and understanding pain and defilements. [Fierce/direct teaching] [Tranquility] [Discernment]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Culture/West] [Abuse/violence] [Culture/Thailand]
Story: A gung-ho five vassa monk tears down the spirit house in a southern Thai fishing village. [Superstition] [Rains retreat] [Ajahn Chah]
2. “Does insight arise from deeper concentration or can it also arise from different things?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Concentration] [Insight meditation] // [Tranquility]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno experiences insight on a bus in Bangkok. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Contact]
1. Recollection: Ajahn Dohn’s recollection of teaching on mindfulness to develop right speech. Recounted by Ajahn Jotipālo. [Ajahn Dohn] [Mindfulness] [Right Speech]
4. Story: Personality of the Abhayagiri co-abbots: “Is he the one with the personality or is he the one who laughs all the time?” Told by Ajahn Jotipālo. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Amaro] [Personality] [Humor]
5. “Do people confuse the definitions of ego and self?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Western psychology ] [Self-identity view] // [Four Noble Truths]
Story: An applicant to Wat Pah Nanachat writes a letter avoiding all personal pronouns.
6. Discussion about psychotherapy models, attachment, and self. Led by Ajahn Pasanno. [Western psychology] [Self-identity view] [Clinging] // [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro] [Four Noble Truths]
Story: Meditation helps a psychiatrist treat other psychiatrists. [Meditation] [Language]
1. Ajahn Pasanno recollects visiting the Japanese temple in Vesali described in Chapter 9 of Rude Awakenings by Ajahn Sucitto and Nick Scott. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Visiting holy sites] // [Ajahn Jayasaro] [Nichiren Buddhism]
4. “Would you speak on skillful and unskillful ways to approach restraint?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Kondannyo Bhikkhu. [Sense restraint] [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities] // [Self-identity view] [Vinaya] [Monastic life] [Culture/Natural environment] [Spiritual friendship] [Continuity of mindfulness]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno gets frustrated with meditation and starts sweeping. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Meditation] [Generosity] [Cleanliness]
Story: Paul Breiter did not consider Abhayagiri cushy. Told by Ajahn Jotipālo. [Paul Breiter] [Abhayagiri]
Comment: When you see the danger in investing outside, you don’t need a straightjacket. [Disenchantment]
2. “Did Ajahn Chah have a common statement about his own core practice?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Ajahn Chah] [Meditation/Techniques] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Teaching Dhamma]
Sutta: MN 118: Ānāpānasati Sutta.
Story: Ajahn Piak reports that Ajahn Chah reaches jhāna quickly. [Ajahn Piak] [Psychic powers] [Jhāna]
3. Reflections by Ajahn Kaccāna and Ajahn Pasanno about Ajahn Sumedho and Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Ajahn Chah] // [Habits] [Seclusion] [Monastic life/Motivation]
Story: Ajahn Sumedho becomes so fed up living with Westerners at Tam Seang Pet that he leaves. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Wat Tam Saeng Pet] [Western Ajahn Chah lineage] [Tudong]
Description of Wat Tam Saeng Pet. [Culture/Natural environment]
5. Story: Ajahn Chah spends Vassa at Wat Tam Saeng Pet. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Sickness] [Wat Tam Saeng Pet] [Rains retreat] // [Health care]
6. Story: Ajahn Pasanno goes to Wat Pah Nanachat to work on a bowl stand and gets sick. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Monastic crafts] [Sickness] // [Rains retreat]
8. “Were you on tudong for a year?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Tudong] // [Seclusion] [Dtao Dum] [Ajahn Chah]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno takes a restless novice on tudong. [Novices] [Food]
9. Story: Ajahn Pasanno founds Dtao Dum Monastery. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Dtao Dum ] // [Environment] [Ajahn Chah] [Joseph Kappel] [Rains retreat] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Ajahn Gavesako]