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]
8. “In order to avoid any unpleasant feelings, I tend to be among the first ones in the food line. I don’t really feel good about it, but I can’t help it. Any suggestions would be appreciated.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation retreats] [Food] [Pain] // [Fear]
Commentary: Path of Purification by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, p. 39-40: Sāriputta goes against his desires regarding almsfood. [Great disciples] [Almsfood] [Renunciation]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno and vegetarian food at Wat Pah Pong. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Chah] [Vegetarianism ] [Culture/Thailand] [Judgementalism]
14. Comment: “Thank you for developing the wisdom to teach and the compassion to choose to teach. I trust we give you the opportunity to deepen your practice, especially of compassion and patience. The Buddha would be proud of you and your decision to teach instead of living in that nice little cave in a beautiful forest all peaceful and still. With metta.”—us sentient beings. [Gratitude] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Discernment] [Teaching Dhamma] [Compassion]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno: “It was actually Ajahn Chah who made me teach.” [Ajahn Chah] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Abbot]
20. “Can you please tell us about dreams? Do they reveal our defilements? Do you have any interesting dream stories?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Dreams] [Unwholesome Roots] [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Culture/Thailand]
Story: Two Western monks ask Ajahn Chah at what point he became confident that he would have a major realization. Ajahn Chah describes three dreams in response. [Ajahn Chah] [Dhamma books] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Culture/West]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 111-113.
5. “When I return to the world of speaking again, what would be a good quick mental check-in that I could use before I open my mouth and possibly make a mess of things? Any tips for Right Speech?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation retreats] [Right Speech ] // [Truth] [Skillful qualities]
Sutta: MN 58.8: True, timely, and beneficial.
Teaching from Ajahn Chah: “Don’t bring up these issues before the meal.” [Ajahn Chah] [Monastic life] [Admonishment/feedback]
6. “Can brightness of mind and fatigue coexist? Is mental fatigue a defilement?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Energy] [Sloth and torpor] [Unwholesome Roots]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno felt mental fatigue while preparing for Ajahn Chah’s cremation yet had a bright mind. [Ajahn Chah] [Funerals] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Merit]
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]
12. “I’m having alternating intense periods of spaciousness and intense periods of agitation and sleepiness. Can you speak to this? I seem to identify very strongly with both states. It takes some time before I see the dukkha. I feel a bit hopeless about identification and the possibility of relinquishing it or even getting some relief from it. Any guidance would be appreciated.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Spaciousness] [Restlessness and worry] [Sloth and torpor] [Self-identity view] [Noble Truth of Suffering] [Relinquishment] // [Cause of Suffering]
Simile from Ajahn Chah: A gardener’s duty is to prepare the soil and protect the tree. The fruit appears according to the nature of the tree. [Ajahn Chah] [Agriculture] [Similes]
18. “Would you say Nibbāna is a constant, conscious choice, creation, which is ultimately easier than creating dukkha?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Nibbāna] [Volitional formations] [Suffering]
Reflection from Ajahn Chah: Someone who is freed wouldn’t be able to kill an ant no matter how you enticed or coerced them. [Ajahn Chah] [Liberation] [Killing] [Volition]
20. “If this body is elemental and sustained by some force of nature, no self present, why do we have individual senses of ‘I am witnessing’? Kamma? So when we all become enlightened and end the cycle of rebirth (I’m hoping for tomorrow noon-ish) then what?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Elements] [Naturalness] [Self-identity view] [Kamma] [Saṃsāra] // [Cause of Suffering]
Reflection from Ajahn Chah: There’s a practical usefulness in having I and other people. [Ajahn Chah] [Conventions]
Reference: Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 23.
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]
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. [Ajahn Chah] [Dependent origination] [Suffering]
17. “If Ajahn Chah were to appear here tonight, what are a couple of questions you would ask him?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Questions] // [Nature of the cosmos] [Concentration]
Recollections of talking with Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Clinging] [Relinquishment]
Story: Ajahn Chah describes the details of a spirit living at Wat Pah Pong to a long-term disciple who asked about it. [Ajahn Chah] [Ghost] [Wat Pah Pong]
Story: Right after that, a group of visitors ask if devas and ghosts really exist. [Ajahn Chah] [Deva] [Direct experience]
Story: Ajahn Chah responds to his teacher’s inquiry about developing astral travel. [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Kinaree] [Psychic powers ]
20. “Are there monasteries in this tradition in Thailand for women? Are women accepted at Wat Nong Pah Pong?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Women's monastic forms] [Wat Pah Pong] // [Ajahn Chah] [Parents] [Culture/Thailand]
23. “Could you talk about the last years of Ajahn Chah’s life when he was so sick and couldn’t talk? Do you think he chose to stay alive in that condition for so long?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Sickness] [Volition] // [Wat Pah Pong] [Health care] [Lodging] [Food] [Royalty] [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Saṅgha] [Ajahn Pasanno]
Recollection: Although bedridden for nine years, Ajahn Chah never got a bedsore. [Ajahn Chah]
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.
2. Comment: Ajahn Chah said that Nibbāna is letting go, but this is difficult to do at deep levels. [Ajahn Chah] [Nibbāna] [Relinquishment] [Suffering]
Responses by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Yatiko. [Self-identity view] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma]
2. “In the example you gave of the snake (MN 22), can you give an example of how the Dhamma can bite you?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Yatiko. [Similes] [Gradual Teaching] // [Abhidhamma] [Conflict] [Meditation/Techniques] [Clinging] [Unwholesome Roots] [Right Intention] [Learning]
Story: The teachings of Dhammakaya. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Self-identity view] [Commerce/economics] [Nibbāna] [Generosity]
Story: An Abhidhamma teacher visits Ajahn Chah. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah]
2. “In the analogy of the accountant (MN 107), it seems that the training works linearly. Are there basic practices that are important to focus on in the beginning? Are there other practices which should not be attempted in the beginning?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Similes] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Gradual Teaching] // [Faith] [Kamma] [Unconditioned] [Learning] [Relinquishment] [Concentration]
Story: A monk carrying money asks to stay at Wat Pah Pong. [Ajahn Chah] [Wat Pah Pong] [Not handling money]
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]
1. “I can control the mind’s attitude about physical pain. Is it possible to control the pain?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Pain] // [Rapture]
Story: Ajahn Buddhadāsa deals with the pain of an operation using samādhi. [Ajahn Buddhadāsa] [Health care] [Concentration]
Story: Ajahn Chah reflects on pain after an operation. [Ajahn Chah]
3. “As part of this retreat, I’m working on the Six Recollections, but I stumble on two things: 1) On virtue/generosity, the thought ‘not good enough’ is predominant. 2) I’ve never met a deva, so reflecting on them is difficult and based only on faith. Suggestions?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Recollection] [Recollection/Virtue] [Recollection/Generosity] [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] [Recollection/Devas] [Faith] // [Culture/West] [Conceit] [Deva] [Kamma]
Sutta: AN 6.10: Six Recollections.
Story: Ajahn Chah describes the beings who live at Wat Pah Pong when questioned by a devoted disciple, then gives a different answer to a group of visitors. [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Non-human beings] [Realms of existence]
11. “Besides my own Dhamma practice, raising my children is also very important to me. We want them to grow in wholesome dhammas. Currently, because they have shown interest in our keeping the Five Precepts, we talk about how the day went in keeping the precepts as we tuck them in at bedtime. They report on how it went, and so does each parent who is tucking them in, each of us looking at ourselves, our intentions and behaviors, and then sharing. Are there additional things we might do as parents to help our kids as we travel the path?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Children ] [Skillful qualities] [Five Precepts] [Right Intention] [Right Action] // [Ajahn Chah]
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]
10. “Would you discuss Buddhist rites and rituals regarding death and dying? What are the rites surrounding the death and cremation of an arahant?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ceremony/ritual] [Death ] [Funerals] [Arahant] // [Cultural context] [Recollection/Virtue] [Three Refuges] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Culture/Thailand]
Recollections of Ajahn Chah’s funeral. [Ajahn Chah] [Wat Pah Pong] [Relics] [Ajahn Chah Stupa]
Follow-up: “Did you see Ajahn Chah’s relics?” [Ajahn Chah] [Amulets]
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. [Ajahn Chah] [Judgementalism] [Similes] [Human]
9. “Ajahn Chah mentioned ‘know the mind within the mind.’ Is it just as effective to share Dhamma with a person who is actively dying, but the person is in a state of mental confusion or simply unconscious? Would their ‘mind’ hear the Dhamma? Please share your experience.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Heart/mind] [Death] [Teaching Dhamma ] // [Compassion] [Personal presence ] [Chanting] [Recollection/Dhamma]
Story: “Richard, be quiet.” [Ram Dass] [Parents]
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. [Ajahn Chah] [Ageing] [Pain]
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. [Ajahn Chah] [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. [Ajahn Chah] [Concentration]
12. “Luang Por Jumnien has said that 80% of the yogis he’s known who have entered the stream did so while listening to Dhamma. He also said that most were laywomen or nuns. What are your thoughts?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Jumnien] [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Stream entry] [Women in Buddhism] // [Psychic powers] [Sutta] [Right View] [Ajahn Chah]
Vinaya: Mahāvagga 1.10: Yasa’s friends listen with a mind ready to receive Dhamma.
14. “The first time I was confronted with an English roundabout, I drove in the wrong way. I may still be going the wrong way, as I have murder in my heart. I want to eradicate an infestation of insects from my trees so they can bear fruit. Any suggestions for an approach that would keep me on track, at least an attempt at the Five Precepts?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Agriculture] [Killing ] [Animal] [Five Precepts] // [Virtue] [Culture/Thailand] [Environment]
Recollection: Dealing with termites at Wat Pah Pong. [Ajahn Chah] [Wat Pah Pong] [Lodging]
7. “Would you speak about the place of vipassanā in walking meditation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Insight meditation] [Posture/Walking] // [Recollection]
Simile from Ajahn Chah: You learn to write in school, but you don’t need to go back to the school to write a letter. [Ajahn Chah] [Meditation] [Everyday life ] [Similes]
10. “What happened to Por Pon, the Wat Pah Pong majordomo from Bung Wai Village?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Lay supporters] [Wat Pah Pong] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Family] [Ajahn Chah]
11. “What happened to Yom Manoon?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Lay supporters] // [Ajahn Chah]
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]
6. “Do you have any thoughts about the cultivation of the later Factors of Awakening?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Rapture] [Conditionality] [Hindrances] [Factors of Awakening] // [Investigation of states] [Mindfulness] [Tranquility] [Skillful qualities]
Recollection: Ajahn Chah’s description of pīti. [Ajahn Chah] [Mindfulness of breathing]
5. “How do you understand the description of fabrication in SN 22.79?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Volitional formations] // [Aggregates] [Proliferation] [Ajahn Chah]
Reading: Bhikkhu Bodhi’s footnote to SN 22.79, The Connected Discourses of the Buddha p. 1071. [Translation] [Pāli] [Volition]
9. Explanation of “The Questions of Māgaṇḍiya” (Snp 4.9) and Dr. Saddhatissa’s translation of the Sutta Nipāta. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [History/Early Buddhism] [Dr. Saddhatissa] [Translation] // [Great disciples] [Pāli] [Culture/Sri Lanka]
Story: Ajahn Chah tells Ajahn Sumedho to take Dr. Saddhatissa as the Saṅgharāja of England. [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Study monks]
2. Recollection: Ajahn Chah used the description of what happens to an enlightened being after death from SN 22.85. Recounted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Arahant] [Death] [Aggregates]
3. “Are there other stories similar to Vakkali asking to die outside (SN 22.87)?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Pasanno. [Great disciples] [Death] [Culture/Natural environment] // [Perception of a samaṇa]
Story: Ajahn Mun chooses the place of his death. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Mun] [Funerals]
Story: Ajahn Chah chooses a convenient time to die. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah]
7. “When Ajahn Chah uses the expression, ‘the mind is no longer moving forward, moving backward, nor standing still,’ how does this relate to volition?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Nature of mind] [Volition] // [Self-identity view] [Conditionality]
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. [Ajahn Chah] [Relinquishment] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma]
Quote: “I don’t teach you guys much. Just be patient.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah]
1. “You spoke about recognizing that when the mind goes off into busyness that there’s not just that particular quality. Could you talk more about this?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Tranquility] [Proliferation] // [Appropriate attention] [Impermanence] [Knowing itself] [Ajahn Mun] [Ajahn Chah] [Clinging] [Suffering]
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]
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]
10. “Could you please explain again the differences between sañña, saṅkāra, and viññana? I’m still not getting it.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Perception] [Volitional formations] [Consciousness] // [Memory] [Sense bases] [Dependent origination ] [Conditionality] [Suffering]
Quote: “All the details of the process of dependent origination . ... It’s like falling out of a tree. As you go down, you’re not really counting branches. You just know that when you hit the bottom, it’s going to hurt.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah]
2. “What is the funeral protocol for monks? What about non-monastics in the West?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Funerals ] [Monastic life] [Lay life] // [Ceremony/ritual] [Culture/Thailand] [Culture/West] [Chithurst]
Recollection: Details of Ajahn Chah’s funeral. [Ajahn Chah] [Lodging] [Food]
Recollection: The complicated cremation of Venerable Master Hua. [Master Hsuan Hua]
1. “Can you tell us about how Ajahn Chah taught Western monks when he didn’t know English?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [History/Western Buddhist monasticism] [Language]
2. “If this question is okay, could you please tell us any more about how Ajahn Chah challenged you in those first five years – and/or later?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Pasanno]
9. “Is there consciousness (awareness, knowing) in the experience of nibbana or is there a complete cessation of all six senses, as some traditions say. (Particularly in relation to the experience of stream-entry, which is sometimes described as a cessation.)” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Nibbāna ] [Sense bases] [Stream entry] [Cessation] // [Liberation] [Ajahn Chah] [Sutta] [Thai Forest Tradition]
Sutta: SN 22.59.11 Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta: knowledge of liberation (Chanting Book translation).
24. “Thank you for your talk today. Could you please expand further on how to maintain/practice tranquility in everyday life, especially as we ‘pick up’ many of the things in our lives.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Everyday life] [Tranquility] [Continuity of mindfulness] // [Right View] [Characteristics of existence] [Ajahn Chah] [Virtue] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Mindfulness of body]
12. “You mentioned that Ajahn Chah stated that samadhi should be accompanied by alertness. Does this mean that Jhana should not be a ‘zoned out’ state?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Right Concentration] [Clear comprehension] [Jhāna]
3. Comment: You spent time with Ajahn Buddhadāsa. Some people call his teachings secular because he didn’t really focus on the supernatural, pretty much similar to Ajahn Chah. This way of thinking [phrase in Thai]. Some people consider that secular. [Ajahn Buddhadāsa] [Secular Buddhism] [Supernatural] [Ajahn Chah]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno: “I doubt that Ajahn Buddhadāsa did.” [Ajahn Chah]
5. “You said you have to adjust and think about contemplating. But how can you do that in your working time?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Right Effort] [Directed thought and evaluation] [Discernment] [Everyday life] // [Mindfulness] [Clear comprehension] [Happiness] [Recollection]
Quote: “In daily life, in contact with the world, do you still breathe?” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Mindfulness of breathing]
Follow-up: “In Bangkok, there is lots of news that makes people crazy and divisive. When you see this news, you feel upset and angry.” [News ] [Conflict] [Aversion] [Right Speech] [Politics and society] [Proliferation]
Quote: “I don’t care. Not in the sense that I don’t think it’s serious or that it’s not a problem. But I don’t care in the sense that I don’t want to be getting involved in whatever side people are working themselves up about, because the problem is much deeper than that. We have to pay attention to the deeper problem, both in the human condition and politically.” [Human]
6. “I find I do need some pleasures even though they don’t last, things like fine arts and being in nature. I’m curious, how did you manage as a monk in your early years at Ajahn Chah’s monastery where there’s almost no pleasure. ... How did you manage to keep going over the years until the present?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sensual desire] [Artistic expression] [Culture/Natural environment] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Monastic life] [Ajahn Chah] [Food] [Entertainment and adornment] [Monastic life/Motivation] // [Cessation of Suffering] [Happiness ] [Simplicity ] [Association with people of integrity] [Empathetic joy] [Human] [Hindrances] [Jhāna] [Virtue] [Discernment]
Quote: “One of the extraordinary perks of being a monk is that everyone tries to be good around you.”
Sutta: MN 36.32: “Why am I afraid of that happiness?” [Buddha/Biography] [Ascetic practices] [Suffering] [Skillful qualities] [Eightfold Path]
Quote: “As a monk, I can look back on forty years of living in a way where I don’t have to feel remorseful or regret anything.”
1. “I was struck by the simile of the stone being heavy, but you won’t know it’s heavy unless you pick it up, and it’s just like suffering. You don’t have to pick it up. I’m battling a loss in my life, and I’m suffering. I didn’t pick up the stone. It was flung at me. I’m not sure how to deal ...” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Similes] [Ajahn Chah] [Suffering] [Grief] [Christianity] // [Human] [Naturalness ] [Equanimity] [Self-identity view] [Goodwill] [Discernment]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 55: Five Recollections [Characteristics of existence] [Recollection/Death] [Kamma]
Quote: “Whenever you get into a fight with nature, you always lose.”
Quote: “What makes it heavy is the ‘me’ bit.”
2. Recollection: This talk was given to a group of Western monks led by Ajahn Khantipālo paying respects to Ajahn Chah in Bangkok. Recounted by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Ajahn Khantipālo] [Ajahn Chah] // [Ajahn Sumedho] [Translation] [Hearing the true Dhamma]
4. “Was this talk given on a formal occasion?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Teaching Dhamma] [Ajahn Chah] // [Thai sects]
5. “What did Ajahn Chah mean by ‘Nowadays there are only sterile remains of the Dhamma.’” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Dhamma] // [Culture/Thailand] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Liberation]
2. “Was there much contact between the sphere of Wat Pah Pong and the sphere of Wat Asokaram (Ajahn Lee’s monastery)?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Chah] [Wat Asokaram] [Ajahn Lee Dhammadharo] // [Ajahn Anan] [History/Thai Buddhism] [Thai sects] [Conflict]
3. “Why was the Dhammayut/Mahanikai split so strong?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Thai sects] [Conflict] // [Ajahn Chah]
5. “Before Ajahn Chah, were there any Mahanikai teachers worthy of respect?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Thai sects] // [Ajahn Kinaree] [Ajahn Tongrat] [Ajahn Mun]
1. Reading: Interview with Ajahn Bprasert Thavaro from Twigs and Branches of the Bodhinyana. Read by Ajahn Kaccāna. [Ajahn Chah] // [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Impermanence]
3. “What does paṭipadā mean?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Eightfold Path] // [Continuity of mindfulness] [Ajahn Chah] [Investigation of states]
1. “Ajahn Chah took Ajahn Mahā Amon and Ajahn Sumedho to visit Luang Ta Mahā Boowa and Ajahn Kaew. What happened?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Mahā Amorn] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Ajahn Khao] // [Teaching Dhamma] [Simplicity]
Story: Ajahn Chah turned on a tape recorder, but the only part of the conversation that was recorded was when Ajahn Kaew farted. [Ajahn Chah] [Technology] [Psychic powers]
Note: A partially similar story appears in Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 189.
1. “Where was this Dhamma talk given?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Mahā Amorn] [Dhamma books] [Study monks]
2. “Luang Ta Mahā Boowa often says, “You kill the kilesas” whereas Ajahn Chah in this talk [”Unshakeable Peace”] speaks of the path doing battle with the kilesas. Is this just the translation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Ajahn Chah] [Unwholesome Roots ] [Eightfold Path] [Teaching Dhamma]
Recollection: When Ajahn Chah would use personal pronouns, he often used we as opposed to you. [Ajahn Chah] [Language] [Naturalness]
4. “Is the samatha versus vipassanā debate still active in Thailand?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Calming meditation] [Insight meditation] [Culture/Thailand] [Views] // [Ajahn Chah]
Sutta: AN 6.46 Cunda Sutta: Study monks versus meditation monks. [Study monks]
4. “What does “the longing for the good is the cause of the trouble” mean?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Mun] [Craving] [Skillful qualities] [Right Effort] // [Eightfold Path] [Aggregates] [Liberation] [Self-identity view] [Virtue] [Relinquishment] [Jhāna] [Ignorance] [Cause of Suffering]
Story: Sixth Patriarch Sutra: “No mirror, no dust.”
Recollection: Ajahn Chah taught you could grasp at either samut (the conventional) or vimut (the transcendent). [Ajahn Chah] [Conventions] [Unconditioned] [Clinging] [Discernment]
6. “Is this similar to the Buddha’s teaching to let go of the path?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Eightfold Path] [Relinquishment] // [Ajahn Chah] [Non-identification] [Right Effort] [Ajahn Mun] [Thai]
Sutta: SN 1.1 Oghataraṇa: Crossing the Flood.
3. “When Luang Ta Mahā Boowa says he’s looking for a sign or vision, what does he mean by that?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Nimitta] [Deva] // [Culture/Thailand] [Culture/West] [Dreams] [Determination]
Story: Ajahn Tiradhammo asks Ajahn Chah what event convinced him that he was on the path to liberation. [Ajahn Tiradhammo] [Ajahn Chah] [Dhamma books] [History/Thai Buddhism] [Liberation]
4. “Did any of the Western monks go to Ajahn Chah to ask about their dreams?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Dreams] // [Ajahn Pasanno]
6. “Do you have any information about what the Level 3 Pāli includes?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Education] [Pāli] [History/Thai Buddhism] // [Ajahn Chah] [Commentaries]
Story: P.A. Payutto passes the ninth level Pāli studies as a novice. [P. A. Payutto] [Learning] [Novices] [Ordination] [Royalty]
[Session] Reading: “Unshakeable Peace” (continued) from Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, pp. 453-471. Read by Ajahn Sudhīro. [Ajahn Chah]
1. “Was Ajahn Chah talking about samādhi or stream entry when he spoke about “not going backwards”?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Concentration] [Stream entry] [Ajahn Chah]
2. “Did Ajahn Chah tend to emphasize certain Dhammas for Westerners and for Thais?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Teaching Dhamma] [Culture/West ] [Culture/Thailand] [Ajahn Chah]
3. “Was Ajahn Ñāṇadhammo’s experience of being pushed unusual for Western monks?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Ñāṇadhammo] [Fierce/direct teaching] [Culture/West] [Ardency] [Ajahn Chah] [Suffering]
Jack Kornfield’s recollections of Ajahn Chah at Insight Meditation Society. Recounted by Ajahn Jotipālo. [Jack Kornfield] [Ajahn Chah] [Insight Meditation Society] [Meditation retreats]
4. “Before Ajahn Chah had his stroke how many branch monasteries were there at that time?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Ajahn Chah]
5. “Was Ajahn Chah involved in training the abbots of those monasteries?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Abbot] [Mentoring] [Ajahn Chah] // [Wat Tam Saeng Pet] [Wat Pah Nanachat]
6. “Was the tradition of a monk going to another monastery in their third rains happening in Ajahn Chah’s time?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sequence of training] [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Ajahn Chah]
7. “Did Ajahn Chah ever have to use any especially powerful methods of pushing people away when the time came for them to go somewhere else?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Fierce/direct teaching] [Ajahn Chah] // [Respect]
Story: The unpopular branch monastery. [Wat Pah Supattaram] [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Building projects] [Abbot] [Fasting]
3. “Did Ajahn Chah talk about how to approach the nimitas?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Nimitta] // [Proliferation]
1. “I am curious about ways to know if one is lying to oneself and what to do?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Truth] [Delusion] // [Suffering] [Discernment] [Bases of Success]
Recollection: Ajahn Chah said the fastest way to enlightenment is to look directly at the mind, point your finger, and say “Liar!” [Ajahn Chah] [Liberation] [Proliferation]
2. “There are photos of Luang Ta Mahā Boowa looking very fierce and also photos of him looking very joyful, laughing, and the same with Ajahn Chah, a bit more stern I’d say. Do you think the same could be said of Ajahn Mun, not that there are photos but there could have been?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Ajahn Chah] [Happiness] [Ajahn Mun] [Technology] // [Culture/Thailand]
Quote: “Those farangs, they really like teeth.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Culture/West]
3. “In the reading there was a lot of emphasis on solitude. Here we have a lot of time for that especially right now with our Winter Retreat, but we also have a lot of responsibilities and engagement in community. How would you recommend us balancing the two or using them to help each other?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Seclusion] [Abhayagiri] [Community] [Work] [Personality] // [Culture/Thailand] [Culture/India] [Ajahn Chah] [Unwholesome Roots] [Discernment] [Generosity] [Culture/West] [Self-identity view]
4. “Do you have any advice about how to hold a particularly strong “fighting spirit” teaching, like Ajahn Dtun?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Fierce/direct teaching] [Teaching Dhamma ] [Ajahn Dtun] // [Culture/Thailand] [Ardency] [Right Effort] [Restlessness and worry] [Heedfulness] [Discernment] [Goodwill]
Sutta: AN 1.49: The mind is radiant.
Quote: “If you invite visitors into your home [the mind] and they just make a mess, then you want to close the door on them before they come in. You can’t be too polite.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Similes] [Unwholesome Roots]
7. “In the Luang Por Baen reading, he encouraged his monks to admonish each other, but Ajahn Chah said to put 90% of your attention on yourself and only 10% on other people. Could you describe the context of these two statements?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Baen] [Admonishment/feedback ] [Ajahn Chah] // [Culture/Thailand] [Culture/West]
Quote: “If someone criticizes you, then you should raise your hands in añjāli and say ‘Sadhu!’ because you don’t have to hire them to do it for you!” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Respect] [Gratitude]
8. “Isn’t there a story about when Ajahn Chah wanted to give feedback to a senior monk and he waited 20 or 30 years?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Admonishment/feedback] [Right Speech] // [Ajahn Baen] [Vinaya] [Protocols] [Cleanliness]
5. “In another Ajahn Geoff translation, I have seen him use “supposings” or “fashionings.’ Is that the same word?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro] [Translation] [Thai] // [Conventions] [Ajahn Chah] [Liberation]
3. “I’m interested in the theme mentioned of the body and mind being separate from each other. The questioner asks ‘Don’t they have influence on one another?’ I’m curious about how to reflect on that.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Body/form] [Nature of mind] // [Ajahn Chah] [Sickness] [Knowing itself]
Story: Ajahn Chah retreats into the peace and stability of the mind to cope with a lung infection. [Ajahn Chah]
1. Background information about Paul Brieter and Being Dhamma. [Paul Breiter] // [Ajahn Chah] [Translation] [Dhamma books]
5. “It’s interesting that he equates the extreme of self mortification to aversion, ill-will, and pushing away.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Middle Path] [Aversion] [Ill-will] // [Ajahn Chah] [Desire] [Ajahn Liem] [Relinquishment] [Arahant] [Idealism]
7. Reflection about the Buddha saying, “Māra, I see you!” Contributed by Ajahn Jotipālo. [Buddha/Biography] [Māra]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno about the definition of an arahant being “one who is far from defilements” and insight into not self. [Ajahn Chah] [Not-self] [Stream entry] [Self-identity view]
Sutta: MN 123 Acchariya-abbhūta Sutta: Wonderful and Marvelous.