3.1. Different translations of dhammānupassī, the fourth Foundation of Mindfulness. [Mindfulness of dhammas] [Translation ] [Bhikkhu Bodhi] [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro] // [Pāli]
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?” [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]
6. “Please explain enjoying a pleasant meditation versus hanging out blissfully with an angelic face. At what point should a calm mind switch to insight practice, and when do you use the term awareness or mindfulness practice?” [Happiness] [Meditation] [Calming meditation] [Insight meditation ] [Mindfulness] // [Four Noble Truths] [Craving] [Learning]
8.1. Story: Ajahn Pasanno and vegetarian food at Wat Pah Pong. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Food] [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Chah] // [Vegetarianism ] [Culture/Thailand] [Judgementalism]
16. “Are desire and craving interchangeable, the same thing? Can craving or desire exist without suffering?” [Desire ] [Craving] [Suffering] // [Pāli] [Cause of Suffering] [Unwholesome Roots] [Sensual desire] [Unskillful qualities] [Bases of Success] [Skillful qualities]
17. “What did the Buddha say about giving all your assets away?” [Commerce/economics ] // [Monastic life] [Lay life] [Idealism] [Generosity] [Family] [Relinquishment] [Ajahn Pasanno]
Suttas: AN 5.41; AN 8.54; DN 31.26: Balanced living for householders.
Quote: “Money for a monk is like having wings to fly.” — Anonymous.
19. “Lately I’ve got more involved in fighting for social justice, especially with the Occupied Movement. It seems important in light of how messed up or system is. However, I’m finding it very difficult to keep any mindfulness or peace of mind, especially when menaced by police. Any suggestions?” [Activism ] [Politics and society] [Mindfulness] [Tranquility]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Amaro lead meditation at the Occupy Wall Street demonstration in London. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Amaro] [Meditation] [Chanting]
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?” [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]
11. “Which is more powerful: lovingkindness or knowledge of suffering? It seems that our noble silence and internal mindfulness put the retreatants in the mode of not making eye contact, not sharing a smile. Isn’t there room to be mindful of our Dhamma friends, even if we don’t really know most of them by offering a smile? Am I too concerned with other people’s actions? Meditation is serious business.” [Goodwill] [Meditation retreats ] [Spiritual friendship] // [Community] [Seclusion] [Conceit]
23. “Did the Buddha have chanting in his time? Did he create any of the chants or were they all created after his passing?” [Chanting ] [Buddha/Biography] [History/Early Buddhism ] // [Tipiṭaka] [Culture/India] [Memory] [Culture/Other Theravāda traditions]
Sutta: AN 6.25: The nine qualities of the Buddha (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 4). [Recollection/Buddha]
The three cardinal suttas: SN 56.11: Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (Chanting Book); SN 22.59: Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta (Chanting Book); SN 35.28: Ādittapariyāya Sutta (Chanting Book). [Sutta]
Sutta: MN 2.13-17: The Four Requisites (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 53). [Requisites]
Sutta: Snp 1.8: The Buddha’s Words on Lovingkindness (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 36). [Goodwill]
Sutta: AN 4.125: “I will abide pervading one quarter ...” (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 42). [Divine Abidings]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 32: Verses of Sharing and Aspiration.
Sutta: Ud 5.6.17: The Buddha praises Venerable Soṇa’s recitation.
27. “Thank you for wise and generous teachings. I’m at once grateful and also feeling sad. Every story and reference is about a man. Were there no women at the Fire Sermon (Mahāvagga 1.21)? How come there is no talk of the female disciples? Perhaps the next Buddha will be a woman. Can you speak about this absence of a female presence?” [Gratitude] [Grief] [Women in Buddhism ] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Bhikkhunī] [Theravāda] [History/Sri Lankan Buddhism]
Suttas: AN 1.188-267: Male and female great disciples. [Great disciples]
28.1. “Do you have any reflections on the instructions to guard the senses?” [Sense restraint ] // [Pāli] [Translation] [Sense bases]
17. “If Ajahn Chah were to appear here tonight, what are a couple of questions you would ask him?” [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Questions] // [Nature of the cosmos] [Concentration]
Recollections of talking with 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. [Ghost] [Wat Pah Pong]
Story: Right after that, a group of visitors ask if devas and ghosts really exist. [Deva] [Direct experience]
Story: Ajahn Chah responds to his teacher’s inquiry about developing astral travel. [Ajahn Kinaree] [Psychic powers ]
10. “How is being the one who knows or being the knowing related to the practice of mindfully attending to present moment experience?” [Knowing itself] [Present moment awareness ] // [Discernment] [Knowledge and vision] [Conditionality]
4. “What exactly is muditā of the Four Brahmavihārās? To what degree does it correspond to the popular New Age practice of ‘law of attraction and gratitude?’ The standard translation of sympathetic joy seems inexact at best.” [Empathetic joy ] [Divine Abidings] [Translation] [Gratitude] // [Jealousy]
8. “Please speak about antidotes to the judging mind.” [Judgementalism ] // [Mindfulness] [Investigation of states] [Relinquishment]
10. “Is it really possible and/or realistic to keep people in your heart but not in your life?” [Goodwill ] [Seclusion] // [Thai]
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?” [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?” [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]
3.1. “Can you speak more about posture? I’ve noticed when fatigued and I slump a tad, my breath seems to be most noticeable and stuck at the slump.” [Posture/Sitting ] [Sloth and torpor] [Mindfulness of breathing] // [Energy] [Tranquility] [Mindfulness of body] [Body scanning]
7. “Reference to ‘spirit’ is conspicuously absent from Buddhist scripture. However, there is acknowledgement of rebirth, so the belief that man is more than physical matter exists. Why is there so little written about spirit?” [Nature of mind ] [Tipiṭaka] [Rebirth] // [Culture/West] [Sense bases] [Impermanence] [Naturalness] [Four Noble Truths]
Sutta: SN 56.31: The Handful of Leaves.
8. “Like everyone in my family, I suffer from a major depressive disorder. A few years ago during a stressful time with my wife, my doctor put me on antidepressants. It became easier to meditate. Life is still challenging, but I can face it. Some Buddhist friends say that I should go off medication and just be with ‘what is,’ but off them I am paralyzed. What do you think? Is it cheating?” [Depression ] [Medicinal requisites] // [Idealism] [Mental illness ] [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities]
9.1. Reflection: Ātāpi as an aspect of Right Mindfulness is the application of effort for the burning up of defilements. [Ardency ] [Right Mindfulness] [Right Effort] [Unwholesome Roots] // [Thai]
15. “I’m sitting here looking at the passion of Christ. My good friends are Christian and Muslim, and I want to be respectful and non-judgemental, but once in a great while I think they are micchā-diṭṭhi (wrong view). What does the Buddha say about other beliefs? Are they all true in their own way? How should I skillfully hold my attitude toward Jesus, Mohammed, etc.?” [Spiritual traditions ] [Christianity] [Islam] [Judgementalism] [Views] // [Kamma]
Recollection: Buddhist-Christian monastic dialogue at The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. [Monastic life] [City of Ten Thousand Buddhas]
Quote: “All religions are trying to deal with the human condition in a meaningful way. ... A lot of it is around the intention and integrity that individual practitioners bring to their life and practice as opposed to the label that they practice under.” [Human] [Purpose/meaning] [Truth]
4. “Please describe any techniques or practices for gladdening the mind.” [Gladdening the mind ] // [Recollection/Buddha] [Recollection/Dhamma] [Recollection/Saṅgha] [Goodwill] [Recollection/Generosity] [Recollection/Virtue]
Sutta: MN 118.20: “Gladdening the mind, I breathe in,” Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 89. [Mindfulness of breathing]
Story: In Sri Lanka, children write the skillful actions they have done in a book they keep all their life. It is read to them in times of illness or difficulty. [Culture/Sri Lanka] [Children] [Sickness] [Death]
6. “What are skillful ways to increase energy (viriya)?” [Energy ] // [Gladdening the mind] [Three Refuges] [Benefit/gratification] [Happiness]
Note: Refer to the earlier question about gladdening the mind.
11. “What does the vinaya set as the standard for personal hygiene? Bathing, cleaning clothes, shaving, etc.? Is the use of deodorant within the purview of vinaya?” [Vinaya] [Cleanliness ] [Monastic life] // [Robes] [Food] [Buddha/Biography] [Culture/India]
Vinaya: Khandhaka 15.27.5: Trimming nose-hairs.
Story: An Indian kshatriya notices that Ajahn Pasanno does things just like he’s been trained to do. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Tudong] [Ajahn Jayasaro]
13. “I sometimes chant the refuges to my dog. She doesn’t seem to mind. Can’t tell if she’s listening. Is it possible to help our beloved canine companions on the path? I thought I heard that of all the animals, dogs had the most chance of a human birth.” [Animal ] [Chanting] [Three Refuges] [Rebirth] [Human] // [Culture/West]
1. “I understand that ultimately old age, sickness, and death are out of our control, but we can influence those factors by how we treat our physicality, our nature. Can you talk about a skillful relationship to the body, what is skillful to let be versus what is skillful to influence?” [Ageing] [Sickness] [Death] [Body/form] [Health ] [Skillful qualities] // [Medicinal requisites]
Sutta: MN 2.14, Chanting Book translation: Reflection on the Four Requisites. [Requisites]
2. “Thank you for mentioning the usefulness of the recollections (Buddha, Dhamma, Saṅgha, etc.). I also found Ajahn Karuṇadhammo’s statement helpful about not living in the past. Could you clarify how to recollect without living in a past good experience?” [Recollection] [Present moment awareness ] // [Idealism]
Quote: “It’s with wisdom that we take the experience that we had and really learn from that.” [Discernment] [Learning]
5. “Outside retreat, I sit daily, but samādhi is usually conspicuous by its absence. Do you have any words of advice, encouragement, or consolation?” [Meditation] [Everyday life ] [Concentration] // [Recollection] [Right Intention] [Renunciation] [Goodwill] [Tranquility]
7. “How to practice with the arising and passing away of khandas as in the fourth development [of samādhi in AN 4.41]? Does one reflect on the process of being? And saññā is always unclear to me.” [Concentration] [Impermanence] [Aggregates ] [Perception] // [Body/form] [Feeling] [Memory] [Volitional formations] [Consciousness] [Self-identity view]
Quote: “The goal of investigation and mindfulness practices is to shine a light on the constructed nature of how we identify with experience and then assume a solid sense of self, of I, of me, of mine.”
10. “Would you discuss Buddhist rites and rituals regarding death and dying? What are the rites surrounding the death and cremation of an arahant?” [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?” [Amulets]
14. “Seclusion of the heart really interests me, especially because of a busy family atmosphere. Is a way to develop seclusion of the heart to work on not taking this personally, not letting the self-making perceptions insert themselves into the heart?” [Seclusion] [Family] [Non-identification ] // [Self-identity view] [Similes]
Quote: “Not being caught by the gladness or the sadness of the mind.” — Ajahn Liem. [Ajahn Liem] [Happiness] [Suffering] [Dispassion]
15. “Can you say a little more about ‘the mind going outside itself’—what that means and how it is dukkha?” [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.
21. “Could you kindly talk about some obstacles in your practice and how you overcame them as an encouragement to us?” [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Doubt] [Fear] [Mindfulness of body ] [Delusion]
6. “In the past few years, I’ve used the narrow area near a nostril as my meditation object, without much success in calming the mind. Lately, I have been using the whole body as object. Is there a difference in depth between these two types of objects as ways to experience the breath?” [Mindfulness of breathing] [Calming meditation] [Mindfulness of body] [Meditation/Techniques ] // [Desire] [Continuity of mindfulness]
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.” [Ajahn Chah] [Heart/mind] [Death] [Teaching Dhamma ] // [Compassion] [Personal presence ] [Chanting] [Recollection/Dhamma]
Story: “Richard, be quiet.” [Ram Dass] [Parents]
1. “What does a married man or woman have to do to take robes? Who does he have to ask for permission? The teacher? His wife? His parents? Can he go into robes owing debts?” [Relationships] [Ordination ] // [Requisites]
2. “You referred to the Visuddhimagga by Buddhagosa a few times this week. Is this a principle source of suttas and discourses? Would it be valuable for a layperson to study, assuming it has been translated into English?” [Commentaries ] [Sutta] [Translation] // [Tipiṭaka] [History/Early Buddhism] [History/Sri Lankan Buddhism]
Reference: Path of Purification by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli.
3. “I enjoy reading suttas, but rarely remember them well. Any suggestions for recalling all these wonderful itemized lists?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Yatiko. [Sutta] [Memory ] // [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Dhamma online]
Reference: Mapping the Dharma: A Concise Guide to the Middle Way of the Buddha by Paul Gerhards. (commercial)
5. “I notice that in retreats of this length, there is a certain trajectory of depth of concentration. During the final one or two days, the mind is a bit busier, more slippery. This is not because of being disengaged in the process, it is just what is (for me). Is it skillful use of this remaining time to turn to contemplations of well-being as a way to aim, calm and soothe, or better to try to simply watch the process of the mind emerging from the depths of retreat?” [Meditation retreats ] [Concentration] [Proliferation] [Goodwill] // [Calming meditation] [Investigation of states] [Unwholesome Roots]
6. “To whom did you attribute the different formulation of the Four Noble Truths?” [Four Noble Truths] [Ajahn Dune ] // [Ajahn Mun] [Geography/Thailand] [Wat Burapha] [Seclusion] [Personality] [Ajahn Pasanno]
Quote: “Why do you let your mind go out there?” — Ajahn Dune regarding the noise of the elephant festival. [Contact]
Reference: Gifts He Left Behind by Ajahn Dune.
9. “How can we balance knowing and letting go with investigation? In what circumstances should one be used rather than the other?” [Mindfulness] [Relinquishment] [Investigation of states] [Discernment ] // [Ajahn Chah] [Calming meditation]
Quote: “The most efficacious investigation comes when the mind has stopped thinking.” — Ajahn Chah. [Concentration]
14.1. “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?” [Agriculture] [Killing ] [Animal] [Five Precepts] // [Virtue] [Culture/Thailand] [Environment]
Recollection: Dealing with termites at Wat Pah Pong. [Ajahn Chah] [Wat Pah Pong] [Lodging]
1. “It seems that little is written about love in Buddhist texts, at least compared to other traditions. Am I missing something?” [Sutta] [Goodwill] // [Clinging ] [Cause of Suffering] [Emotion] [Divine Abidings]
Sutta: MN 87: Piyajātika Sutta.
5. “To my Western mind, the words ‘mental objects’, ‘objectification,’ ‘mental fabrications,’ and so on do not help to clarify what I simply call thinking. I understand an aspect of meditation as a means to stopping thinking, stopping the internal dialogue, putting an end to discursive thought, yet the English word thinking is rarely used by the Ajahns. Could you expand on the difference between thinking and Tan Geoff’s use of the word objectifications?” [Volitional formations] [Directed thought and evaluation ] [Proliferation] [Tranquility] [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro] // [Jhāna]
6. “With your instruction and the slowing down of my mind on retreat, I’ve been able to allow the proliferation of thought to subside. However, the release of emotion is another story, as it resides in the body and is not so easily released. I can’t go to the body because the emotion is there, and I can’t go to the mind, because those thoughts will feed the emotion. Any suggestions on where to go next? Even wholesome reflection seems to feed the emotional state.” [Proliferation] [Emotion ] [Body/form ] [Mindfulness of body] [Recollection] // [Neutral feeling] [Nature of mind] [Self-identity view]
Quote: “Recognize that the body and emotion are not the same thing.”
7. “Would you speak about the place of vipassanā in walking meditation?” [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]
15. “I’ve always felt a draw to the Fire Sermon (SN 35.28). Could you expound a bit more on this teaching?” [Sutta ] [Teaching Dhamma] // [Sense bases] [Similes] [Unwholesome Roots] [Disenchantment] [Buddha/Biography] [Insight meditation]
The three cardinal suttas give different frameworks for investigation:
Sutta: SN 56.11: Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta; Amaravati Chanting Book Volume 2, p. 2. [Four Noble Truths]
Sutta: SN 22.59: Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta; Amaravati Chanting Book Volume 2, p. 14. [Not-self] [Aggregates]
Sutta: SN 35.28: Ādittapariyāya Sutta; Amaravati Chanting Book Volume 2, p. 24.
2. “Sometime ill-will is diffuse and all-encompasing. Attempting to do metta when the mind is experiencing this seems to aggravate rather than soothe.” [Ill-will ] [Goodwill ] // [Bhante Gunaratana] [Conditionality] [Self-identity view] [Investigation of states]
Sutta: Snp 1.8: The Metta Sutta (Chanting Book translation).
1. “Could you give advice on how to practice Buddhānussati? Are there any suttas useful for working with this theme?” [Recollection/Buddha ] [Sutta] // [Learning] [Human]
Reference: Recollection of the Buddha, Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 4.
Sutta: MN 11: Cūḷasīhanāda Sutta.
Sutta: MN 74: Dīghanakha Sutta. [Views] [Great disciples] [Upatakh]
Sutta: MN 12.58: “You might think that the jujube fruit was bigger in those days ...” [Buddha/Biography] [Humor]
Sutta: SN 17.5: Dung beetle on a ball of dung. [Gain and loss]
2. “Can one use the subtle sensations of comfort and discomfort that accompany in and out breathing as a basis for insight? If so, how much thinking/nudging the mind is useful versus simple observation?” [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of feeling ] [Insight meditation] [Directed thought and evaluation] // [Impermanence] [Not-self] [Suffering] [Right Effort]
3. “Could you please speak about dhamma-vicaya and how to use it in meditation?” [Investigation of states ] // [Factors of Awakening] [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities] [Characteristics of existence] [Appropriate attention] [Dispassion] [Aggregates]
3. “Could you talk more about the particular professions that the Buddha laid out as wrong livelihood (AN 5.177)? Why is being in the military not on the list?” [Work] [Military] [Right Livelihood ] // [Unskillful qualities] [Kamma] [Killing] [Intoxicants] [Rebirth]
Story: The widow of a wealthy man divests from Singha Beer. [Commerce/economics]
12. “The Buddha taught the five forms of wrong livelihood [AN 5.177]. This is from the producer side. Is there a similar teaching from the consumer side?” [Commerce/economics ] [Right Livelihood] // [Idealism] [Politics and society] [Buddha/Biography] [Skillful qualities]
16. “Some people want to help but find themselves in situations in which profit dictates the priorities. How can they protect their integrity in such situations?” [Compassion] [Health care] [Commerce/economics] [Right Intention] [Right Livelihood ] // [Education] [Idealism] [Requisites] [Happiness]
Story: Ajahn Karuniko studies engineering, then quits a job in the arms industry to become a monk. [Military] [Monastic life/Motivation]
25. “There are many people without access to resources for education or training without many choices. How does this all fit together?” [Poverty ] [Learning] [Politics and society] [Right Livelihood] // [Buddha] [Idealism]
Sutta: DN 27: Agañña Sutta
26. “In DN 31.26, what is investment versus savings?” [Commerce/economics ] [Right Livelihood]
Comments by various participants about the nature of investment. [Unskillful qualities] [Greed] [Work]
Sutta: DN 31.32: Siṅgālasutta Sutta: Five duties of an employer to employees; interpreted in A Constitution for Living by P. A. Payutto, p. 7.
5. “What is your take on satisfaction, being in tune, and stagnation?” [Contentment ] [Energy] [Ardency ] // [Skillful qualities] [Discernment] [Buddha/Biography] [Spiritual search] [Right Effort]
Sutta: AN 2.5: Effort and non-contentment with wholesome states.
Story: The Thai government made it illegal for monks to teach contentment. [History/Thai Buddhism] [Monastic life] [Teaching Dhamma]
Comment about the simile of the lute. [Middle Path] [Similes]
Sutta: AN 6.55: Soṇa Sutta
3. “Why is discernment a better word for wisdom?” [Discernment ] [Translation] // [Pāli] [Etymology]
1.1. “What do we do at the monastery? What happens on a daily basis?” [Monastic routine ] [Abhayagiri]
8. “I appreciate your emphasis on clarity, stability, and spaciousness. How does concentration relate to these?” [Clear comprehension] [Unification] [Spaciousness] [Concentration ] // [Pāli] [Thai] [Etymology] [Tranquility] [Happiness] [Rapture] [Conditionality]
Suttas: AN 10.3: Virtuous Behavior; AN 6.10 Mahānāma [Virtue]
Quote: “The way my mind worked before was, ‘Boy, when I get my concentration together, I’m going to be happy ...’” [Ajahn Pasanno]
Quote: “The happy mind is easily concentrated.” [Hindrances] [Relinquishment] [Knowledge and vision]
4. “Is there a state of the calm mind when you’re not thinking about anything or is meditation more about reflecting?” [Directed thought and evaluation] [Recollection] [Tranquility ] [Proliferation] // [Concentration] [Restlessness and worry] [Perfectionism] [Ardency]
1. “Thank you for your talk. Can you flesh out: ‘dispassionate about what?’ Also, trying to encourage dispassion along with arousing energy.” [Dispassion ] [Energy] // [Craving] [Sense bases] [Body/form] [Emotion] [Contentment] [Tranquility]
Quote: “When there’s a coolness towards the world around one, that frees up a lot of energy for directing attention to what’s actually useful and beneficial.” [Discernment]
2. “Could you clarify the difference between perception (sañña), mental formations (saṅkhāra) and consciousness (viññana)?” [Perception ] [Volitional formations] [Consciousness] // [Memory] [Mindfulness] [Translation] [Volition] [Sense bases]
3. “Can you talk about neither-painful-nor-pleasant feelings and the benefits of being with this boringness?” [Neutral feeling ] [Mindfulness of feeling] // [Pain] [Feeling] [Unwholesome Roots]
Sutta: MN 44.25: The tendencies underlying feelings.
4. “Could you please talk about different places in the chain of dependent origination can be broken? For example, does contact always result in vedanā? If the intention to be conscious is let go of, is that breaking the chain of ignorance conditioning saṅkhāra and saṅkhāra conditioning viññana?” [Dependent origination ] [Contact] [Feeling] [Ignorance] [Volitional formations] [Consciousness] // [Craving] [Clinging] [Becoming] [Relinquishment]
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.” [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]
11. “Thank you for your uplifting and encouraging talks. My husband died 6 months ago. Could you give suggestions for how to contemplate anicca and anatta in the context of his life, illness, and death? I’m aware of aversion to the pain of losing him. I do want to learn from all this.” [Impermanence] [Not-self] [Sickness] [Death] [Relationships] [Aversion] [Suffering ] // [Naturalness] [Grief] [Gratitude] [Merit] [Compassion]
1. “Is body scan as a meditation practice done in the Ajahn Chah tradition? Is there a sutta where the Buddha talks about it?” [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.
2. “Is there something in the body that will help you identify the defilement of delusion?” [Mindfulness of body] [Delusion ] // [Self-identity view]
3. “If one has read the Majjhima Nikaya, what text of the Pali canon do you recommend reading next?” [Learning] [Sutta ] [Tipiṭaka]
4. “I’m having trouble integrating some of the teachings in the context of preparing to have a child. ... How might one be fully open to the lightness and joy surrounding birth while remaining deeply aware of these other truths of existence?” [Family] [Birth ] [Characteristics of existence] // [Trust] [Heedfulness] [Generosity]
13. “What are the four stages of enlightenment? What defilements have the four noble beings shed?” [Stages of awakening ] [Unwholesome Roots] // [Drawbacks] [Liberation]
Quote: “When we think of enlightenment, it’s a being who is willing and able to relinquish those things that are complicating and constricting.” [Relinquishment]
14. “Could you please expand on compassionate seclusion in interactive daily life (both on and off retreat)?” [Compassion] [Seclusion ] [Everyday life] // [Time management]
18. “I was interested to hear the definition of mental formations as volitional. When I look at my mind, it sometimes seems like an undirected random generator of flashing images and unbidden thoughts, sometimes embarrassingly perverse. I can only rest easily when I recollect not-self. Can you help me reconcile that with volitionality?” [Volitional formations ] [Volition] [Heart/mind] [Proliferation] [Not-self] // [Perception] [Relinquishment] [Mindfulness] [Discernment]
8. “How do you decrease the times an obsessive thought arises in the mind? The more I try to let it go and come back to my body, the more it arises and proliferates. If I do the opposite and turn attention to it, it does the same thing. What is obsession anyways?” [Proliferation ] [Restlessness and worry] // [Self-identity view] [Suffering] [Relinquishment]
9. “I’ve been sitting on this question for the past few days. It has to do with dispassion, shedding, simplifying and being easily satisfied on the one end of the spectrum and being engaged and active in the world, even taking an unpopular stand, on the other end. How can one practice shedding internally but still be responsive and engaged regarding the suffering from environmental and social issues? It seems that would complicate things, but that is where my heart is drawn.” [Dispassion] [Simplicity] [Contentment] [Politics and society ] [Environment] // [Suffering]
Quote: “When there is displassion and shedding, a clarity arises in the mind, when can then more easily be applied to something that is useful or beneficial without complicating things.” [Clear comprehension] [Compassion]
Quote: “Do you think there’s any hope for saving all the forests in Thailand?”—“I don’t think there’s hope that it’s going to make a huge impact right now. I’m just planting the seeds for the future, and maybe something will change. It’s not an option not to do it.” — Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Culture/Thailand]
10. “Could you please explain again the differences between sañña, saṅkāra, and viññana? I’m still not getting it.” [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?” [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]
4. “I’ve been reflecting on ‘no-self’ and it hasn’t quite been resonating. Instead it feels like daunting abstraction. Can you suggest a simple way to approach this?” [Not-self ] // [Self-identity view] [Impermanence] [Naturalness] [Body/form]
9. “It seems that every year I expect less from myself at a retreat. It seems also, by and large, that every year retreat becomes easier, happier, and more peaceful. Would you say this is because: 1) I am getting wiser? 2) I am abandoning all intentions? or 3) I am running out of hormones?” [Long-term practice ] [Meditation retreats] [Happiness] // [Spaciousness]
10. “Where do the Brahma-Viharas fit into the 4 Noble Truths?’” [Four Noble Truths] [Divine Abidings ] // [Eightfold Path] [Right Intention]
14. “It seems like the ‘Reflection on the 32 Parts’ of the body is missing several parts. Nose, muscles, sex organs, etc. Is it meant to be comprehensive? Or is it just the ugly bits?” [Unattractiveness ] // [Elements] [Human] [Disenchantment] [Equanimity]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 60: Reflection on the Thirty-Two Parts.
Sutta: MN 10.10: Simile of different grains. [Similes]
15. “Please explain which comes first birth or becoming for example with anger or any feeling or character?” [Birth ] [Becoming] [Dependent origination]
13. “It makes sense that loving-kindness is the antidote to a person-directed ill-will, but what is the antidote to a more recurring, low-level, general aversion to experience?” [Goodwill] [Ill-will] [Aversion ] // [Heart/mind] [Visualization]
19. “Are there any times or situations where formal practice is not particularly helpful? If so, please explain why and then some alternative practices.” [Meditation/General advice] [Meditation ] // [Spiritual friendship] [Posture/Walking] [Chanting] [Culture/West] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Cleanliness] [Restlessness and worry]
Quote: “For some mental illnesses, you really want to be very careful.” [Mental illness]
2. “Can you talk about karma? Is reaping negative karma from my past actions from the same situation? For example, if I steal, I get stolen from ... ? If I get a situation that I’ve never done, is it from past life actions?” [Kamma ] [Rebirth] // [Conditionality]
Sutta: AN 3.100.
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.)” [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).
20. “Can you talk about path and fruit in regards to the stages of awakening? What are they? How are they different?” [Stages of awakening ] // [Insight meditation] [Relinquishment] [Fetters] [Stream entry] [Self-identity view] [Aggregates] [Attachment to precepts and practices] [Doubt] [Once return] [Sensual desire] [Ill-will] [Non-return] [Arahant]
28. “After 20 plus years of having a daily practice and Dharma being first priority, I just up and stopped meditating one day about two years ago. ... Can you talk about this ‘rolling up the mat’ [phenomenon]? Why it happens, how and when, etc?” [Meditation] [Long-term practice ] // [Idealism] [Purpose/meaning] [Right Effort] [Spiritual friendship]
2. “At what point did your practice change from serving yourself (to end your own suffering) to selfless service?” [Long-term practice] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Cessation of Suffering] [Generosity ]
Sutta: MN 128.12: “Why don’t I set aside what I want to do and do what’s of benefit to the others?”
4. “Would you talk about (describe) how to relax into ‘whole-body breathing?’ What does that mean?” [Mindfulness of breathing ] [Mindfulness of body] // [Concentration] [Unification] [Investigation of states] [Tranquility]
5. “How much did the Buddha encourage his disciples to become enlightened to ‘get off the wheel’ versus experiencing freedom from suffering in this lifetime?” [Cessation of Suffering ] [Rebirth]
5.1. “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?” [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 ...” [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. “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?” [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. [Language] [Naturalness]
7. Recollection: Ajahn Pasanno describes Ajahn Mun’s skillful use of language. [Ajahn Mun ] [Thai] [Language] [Artistic expression] [Teaching Dhamma]
Reference: Venerable Ācariya Mun Bhūridatta Thera: A Spiritual Biography by Ajahn Mahā Boowa [Fierce/direct teaching]
Reference: Regarding the photo in Abhayagiri’s Dhamma Hall: “This is the most warm and fuzzy picture of Ajahn Mun.”
