Honoring the Buddha: The Mahāparinibbāna Sutta
Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Ñāṇiko
Upāsikā Day, Apr. 25, 2021
Online from Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery in Redwood Valley, California
10 excerpts, 35:13 total duration

Under the umbrella theme of “Devotion & Ritual,” the first Upāsika Day of 2021 was on the topic of Honoring the Buddha: The Mahāparinibbāna Sutta, DN 16.

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Ajahn Pasanno – Apr. 25, 2021 Download audio (3:32:42)
[Sutta] [Buddha/Biography]

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1. [2:54:02] Comment: Thank you for the opportunity to re-take my precepts. I found Ajahn Pasanno’s inquiry questions regarding fixed views very useful. [Gratitude] [Five Precepts] [Views]


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2. [2:55:04] “What is the origin of asking a question three times?” [Questions] [Teaching Dhamma]

Sutta: AN 4.42: Questions


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3. [3:00:17] “Did vibhavatanha arise in any of the monks at the loss of the Buddha? How do we notice vibhavatanha in practice, and what is a wise and compassionate response?” [Craving not to become] [Death] [Grief] // [Stream entry] [Stages of awakening] [Recollection/Dhamma] [Three Refuges] [Precepts] [Spiritual friendship] [Devotional practice] [Suffering]

Sutta: DN 16: Mahāparinibbāna Sutta [Nibbāna]

Story: The funeral of a close Wat Pah Nanachat supporter. [Funerals] [Wat Pah Nanachat]


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4. [3:10:11] “What was the name of the rinpoche you referred to earlier?” [Trulshik Rinpoche] [Ajahn Pasanno]


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5. [3:11:29] “What was the sutta you mentioned in regard to Ananda’s question ‘What do we do about women?’” [Women in Buddhism] [Great disciples] [Sensual desire]

Suttas: DN 16: Mahāparinibbāna Sutta; SN 35.127: Bhāradvāja


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6. [3:13:44] “In your guided meditation, devotion to the teachings really touched me. Could you say more about this?” [Devotional practice] [Recollection/Dhamma] [Generosity] [Compassion] // [Faith] [Cultural context] [Respect] [Gratitude] [Culture/Thailand] [Three Refuges] [Relinquishment] [Release]


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7. [3:20:24] “When the Buddha accepted the meal from Cunda, did he know what the consequences would be, and if so, why do you think he did that?” [Food] [Sickness] [Death]

Sutta: DN 16: Mahāparinibbāna Sutta


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8. [3:24:34] Comment: Devotion is what keeps rituals from becoming empty motions. [Devotional practice] [Ceremony/ritual]

Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Bowing]


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9. [3:25:41] Comment: The Mahāparinibbāna Sutta (DN 16) brings the Buddha’s quest full circle.

Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ageing] [Sickness] [Death]


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10. [3:27:22] Comment by Ajahn Pasanno: Throughout the whole teaching (DN 16) there is the sense of the ordinary and the transcendant together all the time. [Conventions] [Unconditioned] // [Nature of mind] [Ceremony/ritual] [Precepts] [Meditation] [Devotional practice] [Middle Path] [Release]

Sutta: Aniccā vata saṅkhārā... (SN 6.15) [Cessation] [Happiness] [Recollection/Peace]