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1. Comment: Dear Ajahn, You and your crew have been and continue to be so generous with us. This abundant generosity is such an incredible teaching. It seems as though it’s the stuff that may save the planet. [Generosity ]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Monastic life] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Teaching Dhamma] [Culture/Thailand] [Children]
Reference: Vessantara Jātaka [Jātaka Tales]
2. “As followers of the Buddha and with the world going to the hell realms in a handbasket, must we save the world? May we use our lives to develop wisdom and compassion and see what flows from there?” [Buddhist identity] [Politics and society] [Discernment] [Compassion]
3. “I am wondering about how to address social anxiety. For me it seems important in terms of continuity of practice. However, I’ve never heard any teachings about it. Did the Buddha ever teach talking meditation or some equivalent?” [Community] [Fear] [Right Speech] // [False speech] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Mindfulness of body] [Tranquility]
Sutta: MN 10.8. [Clear comprehension]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno gives a talk during his first trip back to Canada.
4. “Could you speak about the place of renunciation in lay life, especially marriage and family? As the years of practice go by, I feel less and less interest and connection with so much of our society and what it offers. Unfortunately, I also get attached to my views, and so judgements of others who don’t see it this way. My wife and family know this about me, and fortunately we still love and tolerate each other.” [Renunciation] [Lay life] [Family] [Views]
Story: A monk “lets go” by not repairing the roof of his hut. [Ajahn Chah] [Lodging] [Relinquishment]
5. “Regarding the four responsibilities [corresponding to the Four Noble Truths]: 1) Are the three kinds of dukkha equivalent to fully understanding dukkha, anatta, and anicca? 2) Is full understanding of the First Noble Truth equivalent to full realization of the Third?” [Four Noble Truths] [Suffering] [Characteristics of existence] [Noble Truth of Suffering] [Cessation of Suffering] // [Nibbāna]
6. “Teachings on metta have led me to wonder about the second kind of love. It seems that holding people dear to us, especially family, is very natural. The inevitable loss also seems natural, a loss we all learn from. How to think about this?” [Goodwill] [Clinging] [Family] [Naturalness] [Impermanence] [Grief] // [Compassion]
7. “What is the meaning of life?” [Purpose/meaning]
8. “What is a good way to cultivate forgiveness and compassion deeper in the heart? What are genuine signs of progress?” [Forgiveness] [Compassion] // [Suffering] [Ignorance]
Sutta: SN 15.1: “Bound by ignorance and obstructed by craving.”
9. “By chanting the Supreme Praise of the Buddha, Dhamma and Saṅgha (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 23), we bow and ask for forgiveness and set a new intention. Although I don’t know any specific offense, is this general (just in case)? What if there are specific offenses? Is it enough to hold them in awareness?” [Chanting] [Three Refuges] [Forgiveness] // [Humility]
10. “Can you say more about the teaching, “It’s unfair!” that Debbie spoke about given by Ajahn Sumedho?” [Idealism] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [Human] [Saṃsāra] [Impermanence]
12. “Would you please share on the meaning of ‘practicing with integrity’ (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 7)?” [Recollection/Saṅgha] [Truth ] // [Pāli]
14. “In one meditation, I had the sure knowledge for a few moments that all the versions of me throughout life until the present were and are fabrications, that there is no time but the present and nothing but experience through the six sense bases and what the mind makes of it. Then a big wave of fear came into the mind, “I’m going nuts, coming unglued, unhinged, unmoored!” I swam back to safety. Was I going nuts? Or if this was experiential insight, why so scary? What allows insight to be stabilized and integrated?” [Insight meditation] [Time] [Not-self] [Fear] // [Self-identity view] [Habits] [Gradual Teaching] [Spiritual friendship] [Characteristics of existence]
Sutta: The Buddha is a kalyāṇa-mitta for the world. [Buddha]
15. “Would you contrast the samatha transformation of the Five Hindrances with the vipassanā approach of uprooting them? Is there an integration of the two?” [Calming meditation] [Insight meditation] [Hindrances ] // [Stages of awakening]
16. “In a discourse to the young Sigāla (DN 31.10), the Buddha advises against singing, dancing, and attending fairs. But fairs are fun, and song and dance can inspire. Please comment.” [Entertainment and adornment] // [Intoxicants] [Restlessness and worry] [Culture/Thailand]
Story: Two or three villagers were killed at local fairs while Ajahn Pasanno was abbot of Wat Pah Nanachat. [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Killing]
Story: Master Hua discourages Rev. Heng Sure from giving away his instruments. [Rev. Heng Sure] [Artistic expression] [Vinaya] [Master Hsuan Hua] [Teaching Dhamma]
Story: Old habits arise during a recording session. [Habits] [Self-identity view]
17. Comment: Witnessing the cessation after the exhalation benefited this morning’s meditation a lot. Thank you for the wonderful tool. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Cessation]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
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?” [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]
19. “I really enjoyed the talk this morning on understanding dukkha, abandoning the cause, realizing the cessation, and understanding the path. In the Dhammacakkha Sutta (SN 56.11), it talks about the three phases and 12 aspects regarding the Four Noble Truths. What are these? Does this tie in with what you talked about this morning?” [Four Noble Truths]
20. “I could use some practical tips from the Buddhist perspective on decision making. When faced with a decision, I tend to get overwhelmed and freeze up. This can be with big life decisions and even with what meditation object to use. I feel like I have so many choices; this feels like a blessing and a curse.” [Everyday life] [Doubt] [Discernment] // [Culture/West] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Mindfulness of body]
1. “Is it possible for a layperson to become an arahant? If so, is it appropriate to leave the lay life?” [Lay life] [Arahant] [Monastic life]
2. “Does one need permission from one’s spouse to take robes?” [Ordination] [Relationships] // [Buddha/Biography]
Vinaya: Mahāvagga 1.54.4.
3. “Do you think that a person needs to be on a long silent retreat in order to enter the stream?” [Meditation retreats] [Stream entry] // [Hearing the true Dhamma]
4. “It’s interesting how no-self is not the same as having no free will. What do you think?” [Not-self] [Volition ] [Philosophy] // [Self-identity view] [Kamma] [Volitional formations]
5. “When my breathing gets very fine, I notice that my head and body will subtly lean forward. Is this common?” [Mindfulness of breathing] [Posture/Sitting] // [Becoming] [Body/form]
6. “Whenever I try mindful breathing when trying to fall asleep, I get really alert and can’t fall asleep. What is your advice?” [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]
7. “What do you think about caffeine consumption? I have a love/hate relationship with this substance, leaning towards dependency. It is socially acceptable, but I wonder sometimes. It can have quite an effect on the mind.” [Medicinal requisites] [Addiction] // [Ajahn Pasanno]
8. “Could we get the words of the monks’ reflection before eating their food?” [Almsfood] [Recollection]
Sutta: MN 2.14; (Chanting Book translation).
9. “Regarding generosity, it has been said that the merit one makes by giving is conditioned by the virtue of the recipients. For example, more merit to give food to a good monk than to an alcoholic homeless man. How is this?” [Generosity] [Merit] [Virtue] // [Association with people of integrity] [Hearing the true Dhamma]
10. “I am unable at this point to wrap my understanding around no-self. I feel truth in that form is not self, feeling is not self, perception, mental formations, and consciousness is not self. How can we be sure self is not hiding somewhere we haven’t looked? How do I cultivate an understanding of non-self? Isn’t that part of us that continually takes rebirth self or soul?” [Not-self] [Aggregates] [Rebirth] // [Spiritual traditions] [Impermanence] [Suffering] [History/Indian Buddhism] [Discrimination]
Sutta: SN 22.96: A Lump of Cow Dung. [Liberation]
Sutta: SN 22.59 Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta; (Chanting Book translation).
11. “What is the value of generosity if someone is getting rich unlawfully and then gives part of it to charity?” [Generosity ] [Crime] // [Kamma] [Culture/Thailand] [Hearing the true Dhamma]
Story: Ajahn Chah advises the owner of a string of nightclubs to change occupations. [Ajahn Chah] [Intoxicants] [Right Livelihood] [Precepts]
12. “Ajahn, would it be okay with you if we take pictures tomorrow at the closing ceremony when you are receiving your gifts? Thank you for sharing your clarity and kindness with us.” [Meditation retreats] // [Abhayagiri] [Dhamma online]
13. “Thank you for helping me get my practice out of the ditch and on to a mindful path. The retreat was the best gift I’ve had in many years. Thanks to all involved in the event.” [Meditation retreats] [Gratitude] // [Generosity]
14. “I find the translation of nirodha as ‘don’t make it a problem’ delightful. Is there anything you might add in its relationship to Dependent Origination?” [Cessation] [Translation] [Dependent origination]
Sutta: SN 56.11.11 (Amaravati Chanting Book Volume 2, p. 10): “Whatever is of the nature to arise, all that is of the nature to cease.”
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?” [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]
16. “In the cosmology of the ‘hairball of humanity,’ is the cat who spat up the hairball considered a brahma god?” [Nature of the cosmos] [Humor]
17. “Would you please define the khandha of perception? How does it differ from feeling and consciousness?” [Perception] [Aggregates] [Feeling] [Consciousness] // [Sense bases] [Memory]
18. “I’m having a doubt attack. It all seems too deep and unfathomable and too many aeons plus unending kamma with nothing solid to hold on to. I’m overwhelmed.” [Doubt] [Nature of the cosmos ] [Kamma] // [Saṃsāra] [Suffering] [Cessation of Suffering]
19. “Could you share a story or reflection about your young disciple Todd?” [Children] // [Sickness] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Generosity] [Health care] [Death] [Dreams]
Reference: Like a River: The Life of a Boy Named Todd by Ajahn Pasanno.
Stories about Todd’s generosity and purity of heart.
20. “I have found Buddhist philosophy and meditation to be so helpful in this life. However, I am challenged by the concept of reincarnation, especially when the texts describe the hell realms, such as hungry ghosts, whose throats are narrow as needles and cannot pass food and water. Or hot realms of fire or even the god realms of excess desire. This sounds very different from the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. The concept of reincarnation was around before the Buddha. Can you explain how one should understand reincarnation? Is it literal or myth or what?” [Rebirth] [Realms of existence ] [Four Noble Truths] [Eightfold Path] [Culture/India] // [Nature of the cosmos] [Culture/West] [Western psychology] [Right View] [Kamma] [Self-identity view]
Sutta: MN 117.7: Conventional Right View.
21. “As I understand Ajahn Sumedho in The Sound of Silence and Stephen Batchelor, they do not believe in rebirth or reincarnation in a literal sense. What is your belief and understanding in regards to this? Stephen in particular says this is a holdover from the society the Buddha was born into and not really his teaching. He also comments that the Buddha was more interested in creating a new civilization than individual enlightenment. Please comment.” [Ajahn Sumedho] [Stephen Batchelor] [Rebirth] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Culture/India] [Buddha/Biography] [Politics and society] // [Sutta] [Teaching Dhamma] [Liberation]
Vinaya: Mahāvagga 1.6: The Buddha’s activities after his Awakening.
22. “Following the rapture/bliss of realization of deep insight of the sort the questioner posed last night, there inevitably seems to follow a ‘spiritual narcissism’ and other vipassanā defilements. Perhaps these are the same old obstructions, just repackaged, but they seem more insidious. Any special advice or experience to share working through these?” [Rapture] [Insight meditation] [Conceit] [Defilements of insight] // [Suffering]
23. “What is the difference between the fetter of self-view and the fetter of ‘I am’?” [Fetters] [Self-identity view] [Conceit] // [Aggregates] [Stream entry] [Arahant]
24. “What do the words, ‘Gate gate, parasamgate, bodhi svaha’ mean?” [Mantra] // [Mahāyāna]
Reference: The Heart of Prajna Paramita Sutra.
25. “What is the funniest story from your life as a monk? We humans love stories.” [Humor] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Monastic life]
26. “Does nirodha also mean cessation, no problem? I have been using nirodha to note cessation of the out-breath. Is that correct?” [Cessation] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Noting]
27. “Is dispassion the same as equanimity?” [Dispassion] [Equanimity] // [Conditionality] [Factors of Awakening]
28. Comment: Not only has the Saṅgha practiced well, it has also questioned well. Much gratitude to you all for holding the space, and to Ajahn Pasanno and his crew for an enlightening retreat. May we all grow in Dhamma for the benefit of all beings. [Saṅgha] [Questions] [Gratitude]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Desire] [Teaching Dhamma]
29. “What it the Pāli word translated as dispassion? What is the relationship between dispassion and equanimity?” [Dispassion] [Pāli] [Equanimity]
30. “Can you review the antidotes to the Five Hindrances and to the defilements?” [Hindrances] [Unwholesome Roots]
31. “I think about sharing the Dhamma with my family. Any suggestions on where to start? Has your family taken to the teachings since you’ve been on the path?” [Teaching Dhamma] [Family ] [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Habits] [Non-contention] [Renunciation] [Amaravati]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno’s sister and her six-week-old baby attend his first meditation retreat in Canada. [Meditation retreats]
32. “What would be your advice on how to approach the study and practice of the Abhidhamma?” [Abhidhamma ] // [Ajahn Chah] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Culture/Other Theravāda traditions]
1. Story: Ajahn Pasanno attempts tudong in California. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Abhayagiri] [Tudong] // [Ageing] [Health]
2. Story: Ajahn Chah lets a restless junior monk go tudong in the hot season. [Ajahn Chah] [Restlessness and worry] [Sequence of training] [Culture/Natural environment] [Tudong]
3. Story: Ajahn Jotipālo’s tudong north along the Mississippi. [Ajahn Jotipālo] [Tudong] // [Robes] [Sickness] [Culture/West] [Almsfood]
4. Story: Ajahn Chah asks Ajahn Sumedho if he might go back to America as a monk. [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]
5. Story: Ajahn Mun doesn’t spend consecutive rains retreats in the same place until his mid-70s. [Ajahn Mun] [Rains retreat] [Ageing] [Tudong] // [Stages of awakening] [Seclusion] [Teaching Dhamma]
Story: Saṅgha authorities appoint Ajahn Mun abbot of a monastery in Chiang Mai. He leaves before dawn the next day. [Abbot] [History/Thai Buddhism] [Saṅgha decision making]
Story: One million people attend the funeral of Ajahn Mahā Boowa. [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Funerals]
6. Story: Ajahn Kinaree walks to India over the course of 15 years in the 1920s and 30s. [Ajahn Kinaree] [Visiting holy sites] [Tudong]
7. Story: Ajahn Supah chooses tudong over further studies. [Ajahn Supah] [Culture/Thailand] [Study monks] [Learning] [Tudong] // [Liberation] [Goodwill] [Simplicity] [Virtue] [Recollection/Virtue]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno’s mother cries when she meets Ajahn Supah. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Faith] [Rapture]
Story: A python begins to eat Ajahn Supah. [Animal] [Determination]
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. [Protocols] [Technology] [Culture/Thailand] [Tudong]
9. Quote: “Instead of going tudong, monks go taludong (through the forest).” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Culture/Thailand] [Tudong] // [Environment] [Commerce/economics]
1. “Did you walk from Mendocino?” [Tudong]
2. “What is the function of a layperson who accompanies a monk on tudong?” [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]
3. Comment: Living on faith increases your potential anxiety level. I came to Buddhism thinking this would settle my life, but I realize that being open, aware, and sensitive to the world keeps bringing me new challenges. [Faith] [Restlessness and worry] [Everyday life] [Conscience and prudence] [Tudong]
Sutta: Dhp 244-245: Life is easy for for one without shame. [Conceit] [Virtue]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno: “You get more than what you bargained for.” [Happiness] [Culture/West] [Communal harmony] [Trust] [Concentration] [Ardency] [Energy] [Discernment] [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] [Right Effort]
Sutta: AN 11.1: Virtue leads to non-remorse and samādhi.
4. “Can the practice be used in a punitive or punishing way?” [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]
5. “If sati or mindfulness is the cage, what is the use of samatha?” [Similes] [Mindfulness] [Calming meditation] [Concentration] [Unwholesome Roots] // [Tranquility] [Discernment] [Relinquishment]
6. “Could you tell of your personal experience with a tiger?” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Animal] [Tudong]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno hears and smells a tiger while doing walking meditation. [Dtao Dum] [Culture/Natural environment] [Posture/Walking] [Fear] [Death] [Impermanence] [Mindfulness] [Clear comprehension]
Sutta: MN 4: Fear and Dread
7. “Is there a distinction between the awareness and the naming? Does naming bring intellect or self into play? Is confusion the nagging sense of self or self-consciousness?” [Knowing itself] [Perception] [Noting] [Self-identity view] [Delusion] // [Investigation of states] [Proliferation] [Relinquishment] [Equanimity] [Doubt] [Mindfulness of body] [Continuity of mindfulness]
8. “In the trio of attraction, aversion, and confusion, what does confusion mean?” [Unwholesome Roots] [Delusion]
9. “I have an internal voice that’s concerned whether I’m doing it right; if I’m not doing it right, then I won’t get where I want to go. Is this delusion?” [Eightfold Path] [Perfectionism] [Delusion] // [Suffering] [Fear] [Mindfulness of body] [Volitional formations]
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?” [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.” [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]
12. “If I saw you and the monks walking down the streets of Fairfax, I’m not sure I would know what to do. How should I approach you?” [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Almsround] [Tudong] // [Almsbowl] [Almsfood] [Not handling money]
13. “To what extent is spreading the teachings part of the tudong tradition?” [Teaching Dhamma] [Tudong] // [Culture/Thailand]
Vinaya: Mahāvagga 1.23: Venerable Assaji’s demeanor inspires Sariputta. [Great disciples] [Perception of a samaṇa]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno goes tudong and is asked for lottery numbers. [Ajahn Pasanno]
14. “I travelled for six weeks in Thailand and India and found that time really shifted. Having been home about two months, even with a daily meditation practice, time speeds up. How is life at the monastery versus tudong, and what do you have to say to laypeople about the speeding up of time?” [Pace of life] [Culture/Thailand] [Culture/India] [Culture/West] [Tudong] [Everyday life] [Monastic life] // [Craving] [Devotional practice]
15. “Is it possible to visit the monastery?” [Gratitude] [Monasteries] [Abhayagiri] // [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support]
16. Meditation instructions: Walking meditation. [Posture/Walking] // [Abhayagiri]
1. Story: Ajahn Chah’s first tudong. [Ajahn Chah] [Renunciation] [Spiritual search] [Simplicity] [Tudong]
2. Story: Ajahn Chah obsesses about getting robes. [Ajahn Chah] [Poverty] [Robes] [Greed] [Tudong] // [History/Thai Buddhism] [Determination] [Simplicity] [Craving] [Ajahn Kinaree]
3. Quote: “You fall down, you get up, you crawl along. ” — Ajahn Mahā Boowa. [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Patience] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Tudong]
4. Story: Ajahn Chah struggles through lust with patience. [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. [Ajahn Chah] [Right Effort] [Ardency] [Faith] [Tudong] [Depression] [Sloth and torpor] // [Gladdening the mind]
6. Story: How Ajahn Pasanno became abbot of Wat Pah Nanachat. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Abbot] [Tudong] // [Ajahn Chah] [Saṅgha decision making]
7. Story: Ajahn Pasanno’s tudong practice. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Seclusion] [Tudong] // [Meditation] [Sickness] [Ajahn Amaro] [Abhayagiri] [Patience]
8. Story: Ajahn Pasanno gets a foot infection on tudong. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Sickness] [Culture/Thailand] [Health care] [Tudong] // [Killing] [Goodwill]
9. Story: Ajahn Pasanno loses his vision on tudong. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Sickness] [Health care] [Tudong] // [Patience] [Seclusion] [Dtao Dum]
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.” [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]
1. “How can one enjoy meditation when one’s knees are on fire?” [Meditation] [Happiness] [Pain ] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Posture/Sitting] [Body/form] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Visualization] [Discernment]
Story: The monks at Winchester Cathedral used props during long chanting sessions. [Christianity] [Posture/Standing] [Chanting]
2. “Thank you for this morning’s talk on the recollections and faith. Could you elaborate on your point about faith and anāgamī? Has anyone been fully liberated through faith?” [Faith] [Non-return] [Liberation] // [Discernment] [Energy] [Faculties] [The New Yorker] [Culture/West]
Reflection: Faith is the trigger for letting go and relinquishment. [Relinquishment]
Sutta: MN 52: Delight in the Dhamma and the third stage of liberation. [Recollection/Dhamma]
3. “Would you kindly comment on the cultivation and use in one’s Dhamma practice of one’s creative gifts, such as music, art, dance, writing, and so on?” [Artistic expression ] // [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities] [Self-identity view] [Culture/Thailand] [Ajahn Mun] [Blame and praise]
Story: Master Hua disapproves of Rev. Heng Sure giving his instruments away. [Master Hsuan Hua] [Rev. Heng Sure] [Teaching Dhamma]
4. “I’ve realized that I’m like a fish in aversive water and was bringing that into practice, constantly rejecting what was happening and generally losing track of my meditation object, the breath. Can you speak a bit more about attitude versus object?” [Aversion] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Attitude] // [Commentaries] [Three Refuges] [Habits] [Skillful qualities] [Buddha images] [Mindfulness of body]
1. “I have very little faith in the possibility of being enlightened in this lifetime; perhaps stream entry. Is stream entry a realistic possibility for many of us if leading householder lives?” [Stream entry] [Lay life] // [Purpose/meaning] [Liberation]
Sutta: SN 55.1: Unshakeable confidence and being established in virtue. [Three Refuges] [Faith] [Five Precepts] [Virtue]
Reference: The Island Chapters 16-19.
2. “Is it permissible to take notes during your talks?” [Hearing the true Dhamma] // [Sloth and torpor] [Royalty]
3. “Can you speak about the balance between implementing an antidote to a hindrance and practicing patience? I’m having a lot of aversion, and as I try to use both of these practices I’m finding myself full of doubt and confusion.” [Hindrances] [Right Effort] [Patience] [Aversion] [Doubt] // [Spaciousness]
4. “Is the concept of anattā or no-self a suitable object of meditation?” [Not-self] [Meditation/Techniques]
5. “What’s the difference between proliferation and directed thought?” [Proliferation] [Directed thought and evaluation] // [Unwholesome Roots] [Mindfulness]
6. “What are the characteristics/attainments of the eight noble beings? Where are they described?” [Stages of awakening] // [Sutta] [Commentaries]
7. “On retreat, is it skillful to try to memorize some of the chants?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Meditation retreats] [Chanting] [Memory] // [Mindfulness] [Faith] [Posture/Walking] [Continuity of mindfulness]
8. “Sometimes I experience what one of my teachers has called a multiple hindrance attack. For me this manifests as sloth and torpor and restlessness, feeling as if they are arising simultaneously. Sloth and torpor may be primary; I’m not sure. Any wise words?” [Hindrances ] [Sloth and torpor] [Restlessness and worry] // [Doubt] [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities] [Pāli]
9. “Could you please say a little more about the fifth hindrance, doubt? Is it self-doubt or doubt of the Dhamma?” [Doubt] // [Culture/West] [Mindfulness of body] [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.” [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]
11. “May I ask the whole Abhayagiri gang what is your favorite meditation object?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno, Ajahn Karuṇadhammo, Ajahn Sudhīro, Debbie Stamp and Bhante Suddhāso. [Meditation/Techniques] // [Mindfulness of breathing] [Unattractiveness] [Recollection/Death] [Goodwill] [Buddho mantra] [Mindfulness of feeling] [Sound of silence] [Impermanence]
12. “Is it true that having images of a certain animal around will make you likely to be that animal in your next life?” [Animal] [Rebirth]
13. “Do you ever work with the ‘thin line’ between sleep and waking, dreaming and lucidity? It seems like a powerful or useful fulcrum.” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Devotion to wakefulness ] [Dreams] // [Continuity of mindfulness] [Posture/Lying down] [Determination]
14. “Can any teacher suggest that we should not pursue states of jhāna? ‘If they happen, great; if not don’t worry.’ In a room full of about 60 devoted meditators, it seems unlikely that any of us are achieving this type of absorption. If we were, then the chiming of the bowl would be disrupting many people’s jhānic states of meditation. Is jhāna really quite rare?” [Jhāna] // [Ajahn Chah] [Tranquility] [Energy] [Happiness]
15. “Can you please speak about how one practices on the third path or what happens leading up to the third path attainment?” [Non-return] // [Sensual desire] [Ill-will] [Relinquishment] [Concentration]
16. “Can you share some ways to deal with pride when the ego influences feelings negatively?” [Conceit] // [Self-identity view] [Suffering] [Proliferation]
Sutta: AN 6.104: I-making and mine-making.
17. “Could you please talk about the process of cutting the chain of Dependent Origination? With a more mature practice, can one cut the chain earlier among the different links? How does this take place experientially?” [Dependent origination] // [Relinquishment] [Feeling] [Craving] [Conditionality]
Simile from Ajahn Chah: A pin pricking a balloon. [Ajahn Chah]
18. “Has anyone ever attained enlightenment while walking meditation? What are the pros and cons of walking meditation?” [Liberation] [Posture/Walking] // [Thai Forest Tradition] [Abhayagiri] [Lodging] [Ajahn Chah] [Discernment]
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)?” [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]
20. “Please explain upekkha, which is the last of the Brahmavihāras, Ten Perfections, and Seven Factors of Enlightenment. It sounds important.” [Equanimity]
21. “Can you please speak about the differences between clear seeing and awareness? Does one precede the other?” [Nature of mind] // [Mindfulness]
22. “I have a friend, a beloved aversive type, who has regular angry outbursts. I chalk it up to frustration, yet find myself floundering in how to respond. Should I try to practice metta and patience, limit my association? Any words would be appreciated.” [Spiritual friendship] [Aversion] [Goodwill] [Patience] [Seclusion]
23. “What is the correct motivation and expectation for meditation?” [Attitude] [Meditation] // [Four Noble Truths]
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