40 events, 141 sessions, 322 excerpts, 23:25:23 total duration
Most common topics:
Ajahn Chah
(144)
Suffering
(34)
Relinquishment
(30)
Ajahn Pasanno
(23)
Monastic life
(22)
Teaching Dhamma
(21)
Discernment
(19)
Liberation
(19)
Similes
(18)
Dhamma
(17)
2. Quote: “I met Ajahn Chah through the eyes and hearts of those who lived with him.” [Amaravati] [Meditation retreats] [Ajahn Amaro]
3. Quote: “The language of wisdom is the language of the heart.” — Ajahn Chah [Language] [Discernment] [Mindfulness] // [Liberation] [Spiritual search] [Monastic life/Motivation]
7. Quote: “I never lived with him, so I never got the chance to get disillusioned with him.” [Discernment] [Teachers] // [Teaching Dhamma] [Clinging]
8. Story: Ajahn Sumedho wants Ajahn Chah to affirm whether he had attained a degree of insight. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Stages of awakening] // [Impermanence] [Liberation] [Bowing] [Becoming]
Reference: Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 606
Quote: “We talk about things to develop and thigs to give up, but there’s really nothing to develop and nothing to give up.” — Ajahn Chah [Right Effort] [Relinquishment] [Emptiness] [Dispassion]
Reference: Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 102
10. Quote: “I feel incredibly indebted to Ajahn Chah.” [Gratitude] [Respect for elders] // [Cultural context] [Language] [Teaching Dhamma] [Goodwill] [Perfectionism]
3. Quote: “He made sense out of monasticism.” [Monastic life] [Saṅgha] // [Vinaya ] [Dhamma] [Trust]
4. Quote: “I think with any Westerner, we’re so full of ourselves when we go [to Asia]. We want to get enlightened....” [Culture/West] [Conceit] [Liberation] // [Mentoring] [Respect for elders]
6. How Ajahn Chah taught me. [Teaching Dhamma] // [Ageing] [Faith] [Happiness] [Vinaya] [Humor] [Self-identity view] [Culture/West] [Goodwill] [Right Effort] [Idealism] [Clinging]
Quote: “It was through example that I really learned.”
8. Ajahn Chah made me look at myself. [Teaching Dhamma] // [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Posture/Sitting] [Pain] [Aversion] [Admonishment/feedback] [Humor] [Patience] [Goodwill] [Discernment] [Contentment] [Cessation] [Happiness] [Saṅgha] [Views] [Relinquishment]
Quote: “Your practice now is patience.” — Ajahn Chah
Story: Ajahn Chah chats for hours after Pāṭimokkha. [Idle chatter] [Judgementalism]
2. Story: How I met Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Types of monks] [Wat Pah Pong] [Seclusion]
Quote: “If you want to stay here, you have to be here for five years.” — Ajahn Chah [Sequence of training]
3. Quote: “Ajahn Chah was a wonderful teacher, but more important, he was a trainer. He trained people how to live.” [Teaching Dhamma] [Monastic life] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support]
Story: Māghā Pūjā at Wat Pah Pong. [Festival days] [Lunar observance days] [Wat Pah Pong] [Meditation] [Devotion to wakefulness] [Lay life] [Saṅgha]
5. Quote: “He really didn’t give us a lot of room to feed or problems and our neuroses and our desires and our attachments....That was an extraordinary gift.” [Teaching Dhamma] [Nutriment] [Suffering] [Delusion] [Craving] [Clinging] [Gratitude]
2. Favorite verses of Ajahn Chah: “Buddhaṃ me jīvitaṃ yāva-nibbānaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi.” [Mantra] [Ajahn Chah] [Three Refuges] [Nibbāna] // [Unwholesome Roots] [Ajahn Sundarā]
Quote: “Nibbāna is complete normality.” — Ajahn Chah [Naturalness]
8. Reading from the draft biography: Ajahn Chah’s dying father asks him to remain in robes for life. [Sickness] [Recollection/Death] [Parents] [Monastic life] [Determination] // [Learning] [Culture/Thailand] [Unattractiveness] [Forest versus city monks] [Sutta] [Spiritual urgency]
Quote: “I dedicate my body and mind, my whole life, to the practice of the Lord Buddha’s teachings in their entirety. I will realize the truth in this lifetime … I will let go of everything and follow the teachings. No matter how much suffering and difficulty I have to endure I will persevere, otherwise there will be no end to my doubts. I will make this life as even and continuous as a single day and night. I will abandon attachments to mind and body and follow the Buddha’s teachings until I know their truth for myself.” — Ajahn Chah [Buddha] [Dhamma] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Knowledge and vision] [Truth] [Relinquishment] [Suffering]
Reflection: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 40 [Energy] [Doubt] [Continuity of mindfulness]
2. Quote: “Living with Ajahn Chah wasn’t easy.” [Suffering] // [Aversion] [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Monastic life]
3. Quote: “The years [ Ajahn Chah] took up his ascetic practices were something of a golden age.” [Ascetic practices] [Thai Forest Tradition] // [Ajahn Mun]
Quote: “How do you call yourself a disciple of Ajahn Mun when you only spent seven days with him?” – “If a person with good eyes comes close to something, he sees it.” — Ajahn Chah [Mentoring] [Knowledge and vision]
9. Quote: “I thought of him as the world’s most compassionate sadist.” [Compassion] [Fierce/direct teaching] [Ascetic practices] // [Teaching Dhamma]
10. Quote: “In an instant he could put you in a space where you just let go of everything, your anger, your worry, your anxiety–the things you thought you had to do a lot of work to get through and get rid of.” [Relinquishment] [Aversion] [Restlessness and worry] [Teaching Dhamma] // [Humor] [Suffering]
11. Quote: “He taught different people differently....He gave us what we needed.” [Teaching Dhamma] [Mentoring] // [Paul Breiter] [Patience] [Monastic life] [Generosity] [Upatakh] [Devotional practice]
4. Ajahn Chah was the living embodiment of these teachings. [Dhamma] // [Buddha images] [Human] [Compassion]
Quote: “It’s like taking the church with you.”
3. You weren’t there to prepare for something else. Reflection by Paul Breiter. [Teaching Dhamma] // [Sequence of training] [Everyday life] [Disrobing] [Kamma] [Monastic life] [Ascetic practices] [Suffering] [Happiness] [Saṃsāra]
Quote: “Talk about the benefits of lay life....on paper you can make a good case for it. In practice it’s a constant challenge just to keep your head above water and remember how you’re supposed to deal with things. I urge people in robes to stay there.” [Lay life] [Right Action]
Quote: “Ajahn Pasanno doesn’t want me sending everyone to ordain with him, but I think you do better following his way than my way.” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Paul Breiter]
1. Teachings to Marjorie by Ajahn Chah, Part 2. Thai audio with English translation read by Kittisaro. [Thai audio] // [Dispassion] [Nibbāna] [Unconditioned] [Cessation of Suffering]
Continued from Part 1.
Reference: “Living with the Cobra,” Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 233.
Quote: “If the tears don’t come, we don’t really accept truth.” [Suffering] [Truth] [Wat Pah Pong]
Note: “Living with the Cobra” omits this quote and other more personal aspects of Ajahn Chah’s teaching to Marjorie.
2. Ajahn Amaro introduces Paul Breiter. [Paul Breiter]
Quote: “There will probably be a book of Varapañño stories.”
References: Venearble Father and One Monk, Many Masters by Paul Breiter (commercial)
4. Story: When I met Ajahn Chah. [Ṭhānissarā] // [Meditation retreats] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Personal presence] [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Liberation] [Happiness]
Story: Ajahn Chah bows to a small, neglected Buddha image in a secular meditation center and inspires Ṭhānissarā‘s faith. [Bowing] [Buddha images] [Perception of a samaṇa] [Human] [Faith]
Quote: “If you’ve been listening to this and you think this is good or you think this is bad, then you haven’t been listening properly.” — Ajahn Chah [Judgementalism] [Appropriate attention]
2. Quote: “Mindfulness is a jewel. Having mindfulness is like being near to the Buddha or being near to God.” — Ajahn Chah [Mindfulness] [Buddha] [God] // [Lay life] [Suffering]
3. Quote: “We think that this is my family, this is my home village, this is my country, and others are [not]. That’s just a delusion.” — Ajahn Chah [Goodwill] [Family] [Community] [Politics and society] [Delusion] // [Human] [Birth] [Ageing] [Death]
4. Quote: “Everybody worships knowledge. Not many people worship virtue.” — Ajahn Chah at Insight Meditation Center [Learning] [Science] [Technology] [Virtue] [Insight Meditation Society]
5. Quote: “Is the boulder heavy? ... Is a lemon sour?” — Ajahn Chah [Similes] [Suffering] // [Paul Breiter]
6. Quote: “If you see one monkey, you can understand the nature of monkeys.” — Ajahn Chah [Similes] // [Lay life] [Buddha] [Recollection/Buddha]
Quote: “What are the benefits of lay life? We have more opportunities to apply the teaching, ‘Monkeys are like that.’”
1. Reflection: From idealism to the way it is. [Idealism] [Equanimity] // [Culture/Thailand] [Culture/West] [Suffering] [Delusion] [Aversion]
Story: A Thai monk’s perspective on worldly stupidity. [Military]
Quote: “Someone with that kind of pure presence is really a mirror.” [Personal presence] [Teaching Dhamma]
4. “His way of teaching was direct....He would use the essential teaching of the Buddha, the Four Noble Truths.” [Teaching Dhamma] [Four Noble Truths] // [Noble Truth of Suffering] [Human] [Culture/Thailand] [Ageing] [Sickness] [Death] [Spiritual traditions] [Self-identity view]
Quote: “It’s the suffering that awakens you.” — Ajahn Chah [Suffering] [Liberation]
5. Story: “Sumedho, Wat Pah Pong, is it suffering?” [Wat Pah Pong] [Suffering] // [Lunar observance days] [Work] [Monastic crafts] [Aversion] [Cleanliness]
Quote: “To want something that’s not present, something you don’t have, is suffering.” [Craving] [Cause of Suffering] [Culture/Natural environment] [Saṅgha] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Culture/West]
7. Quote: “When I saw Luang Por Chah when he had his stroke, I felt an almost unbearable sense of grief and loss. Then I remembered, ‘This is the way it is.’” [Sickness] [Grief] [Equanimity] // [Faith] [Aversion] [Relinquishment]
2. “My life has been hugely impacted by Ajahn Chah, his teachings, and the spiritual family he introduced me to.” [Gratitude] [Teaching Dhamma] [Saṅgha] // [Happiness] [Teachers] [Learning] [Respect for elders] [Meditation retreats] [Body scanning] [Conceit] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Goodwill] [Humility] [Mentoring]
Story: Ajahn Chah sniffs around like a dog. [Kittisaro] [Similes] [Humor] [Mindfulness of breathing]
Quote: “He gave me a practice path that goes on and on to this day.” [Eightfold Path]
3. Story: Ajahn Sundarā stays with a nun who lived at Wat Pah Pong with Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Sundarā] [Mae Chee ] [Wat Pah Pong]
Story: The first nun at Wat Pah Pong. [Artistic expression] [Determination] [Sequence of training] [Eight Precepts]
Story: The Wat Pah Pong nuns go pindapat. [Almsround]
Quote: “Does anyone find having nuns around difficult?” – “Yes.” – “Well, you can go then.” — Ajahn Chah [Pāṭimokkha] [Women in Buddhism]
Story: A woman brings only enough food for the monks, so Ajahn Chah asks the nuns to chant the blessing. [Generosity] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Chanting] [Fierce/direct teaching]
Ajahn Chah’s inner freedom. [Liberation] [Courage] [Conventions] [Unconditioned] [Teaching Dhamma] [Dhamma books] [Personal presence]
The confidence to be totally yourself. [Faith] [Self-reliance] [Gratitude] [Ajahn Chah lineage] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Aversion]
4. Story: Half a million people attend Ajahn Chah’s funeral. [Funerals] [Ajahn Sundarā] // [Food] [Free distribution] [Meditation] [Stupas/monuments] [Chanting]
Quote: “The heart of [Ajahn Chah’s] teaching is the ability to bring people together.” [Teaching Dhamma] [Saṅgha] [Community]
Story: The cremation pyre catches fire and number 16 wins the lottery. [Humor]
1. “How did Ajahn Chah relate to the lay community around him and tailor the Dharma to their own circumstances?” Answered by Ajahn Sumedho and Ṭhānissarā. [Lay life] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support]
Story: Thai villagers tell Ajahn Sumedho that they never understood Buddhism until they met Luang Por Chah. Told by Ajahn Sumedho. [Culture/Thailand] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Monastic life] [Generosity] [Meditation] [Community] [Family] [Mindfulness]
Quote: “He didn’t respond to the external cues but went to the heart and grabbed you in that way.” — Ṭhānissarā [Conventions] [Fierce/direct teaching] [Not-self]
2. “Did Ajahn Chah pass his teaching style to you or do you use your own separate style?” Answered by Ajahn Sumedho and Paul Breiter. [Personality]
Story: Ajahn Sumedho, first abbot of Wat Pah Nanachat. Told by Ajahn Sumedho. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Abbot] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Sequence of training] [Culture/West] [Joseph Kappel] [Selfishness] [Aversion] [Suffering] [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] [Humor]
Quote: “The special thing about Luang Por Chah was that he was at ease and completely himself.” — Ajahn Sumedho [Contentment]
Response by Paul Breiter: “The elements are there, but different teachers are expressing them in a living way.”
5. “The old people need Dhamma too.” — Jack Kornfield imagining Ajahn Chah. [Ageing] [Culture/West]
6. Quote: “I hope you’re not afraid of suffering.” — Ajahn Chah [Jack Kornfield] [Suffering] [Fear] // [Wat Pah Pong] [Ghost] [Monastic life] [Liberation]
7. Wat Pah Pong: A place of dignity and surrender. [Wat Pah Pong] [Dignity] [Perception of a samaṇa] [Relinquishment] // [Cleanliness] [Conflict] [Military] [Suffering] [Respect] [Virtue] [Almsround] [Pain] [Chanting] [Monastic crafts] [Bowing]
Quote: “An island of sanity in a sea of madness.” [Three Refuges]
Quote: “Everything you do in your life in this monastery is a chance to awaken.” — Ajahn Chah [Liberation] [Continuity of mindfulness]
8. Quote: “This is as cold as it gets.” — Ajahn Chah [Jack Kornfield] [Wat Tam Saeng Pet] [Culture/Natural environment] // [Almsround] [Mentoring] [Suffering] [Teaching Dhamma] [Sickness] [Fierce/direct teaching] [Humor] [Relinquishment]
15. Quote: “He just accepted life on its own terms from this place in the center.” [Equanimity] [Truth] [Dignity] // [Present moment awareness] [Knowledge and vision] [Relinquishment]
16. Quote: “The Eightfold Path is here within us. Two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, a tongue, and a body.” — Ajahn Chah [Eightfold Path] [Sense bases] // [Heart/mind] [Buddha] [Dhamma] [Four Noble Truths]
17. Quote: “Look at others 10% of the time and look at yourself 90%; that’s about the right measure.” — Ajahn Chah [Judgementalism] [Admonishment/feedback] [Discernment] // [Idealism] [Conventions] [Heart/mind] [Vinaya]
Story: Ajahn Chah’s teacher eats sloppily. [Teachers] [Food] [Suffering]
18. Story: Jack Kornfield ask Ajahn Chah to leave Wat Pah Pong. [Jack Kornfield] [Monastic life] [Wat Pah Pong] // [Culture/Other Theravāda traditions] [Seclusion] [Meditation] [Work] [Teachers] [Liberation]
Quote: “If I look like the Buddha to you, then you’ll still thing the Buddha is out here somewhere.” Ajahn Chah [Buddha] [Conventions]
21. Quote: After listening to Jack Kornfield’s adventures, Ajahn Chah responds, “Something else to let go of, isn’t it?” [Jack Kornfield] [Travel] [Culture/Other Theravāda traditions] [Relinquishment] // [Meditation retreats] [Concentration] [Abhidhamma] [Ajahn Jumnien] [Liberation] [Clinging] [Suffering]
23. What does not suffering mean? [Suffering] [Cessation of Suffering] // [Judgementalism] [Politics and society] [Discrimination] [Environment] [Discernment] [Compassion] [Human] [Buddha] [Proliferation] [Relinquishment]
Quote: “We human beings are constantly in combat, at war to escape the fact of being limited by so many circumstances that we can’t control...”” — Ajahn Chah [Conflict] [Characteristics of existence]
Quote: “Doubts are natural.” — Ajahn Chah [Doubt] [Naturalness] [Impermanence] [Not-self] [Liberation]
Quote: “The desire mind is like children.” — Ajahn Chah [Desire] [Similes]
Story: “Scary ride, wasn’t it?” [Jack Kornfield] [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Fear] [Death]
25. Quote: “What is the Buddha?” — Ajahn Chah [Buddha ] // [Three Refuges] [Knowledge and vision] [Unconditioned] [Recollection/Dhamma] [Liberation]
27. Quote: “The mind, the heart, will become still in any surroundings, like a clear forest pool...” — Ajahn Chah [Heart/mind] [Tranquility] [Similes] // [Mindfulness] [Naturalness] [Knowledge and vision] [Happiness] [Buddha]
3. Story: Kittisaro’s parents visit Wat Pah Pong. [Kittisaro] [Parents] [Wat Pah Pong] // [Culture/West] [Learning] [Monastic life] [Renunciation] [Fear] [Cults] [Children] [Ordination] [Compassion]
Quote: “Wanting your parents to understand is suffering.” — Ajahn Sumedho [Ajahn Sumedho] [Family] [Suffering]
Quote: “The Communists you really need to be concerned about, the ones who can really hurt you, are the ones who hide inside your own heart.” — Ajahn Chah [Politics and society] [Unwholesome Roots]
3. Quote: “You’ve been studying your whole lives, and what good has it done you?” — Ajahn Chah [Culture/West] [Learning]
7. Stories on almsround with Ajahn Chah. [Almsround] [Paul Breiter]
Quote: “Good morning, Mr. Dum.” — Ajahn Chah [Language]
Quote: “I’m going to disrobe. I want you to find me a nice girl.” — Ajahn Chah [Ajahn Sinuan] [Respect for elders] [Wat Pah Pong] [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Humor] [Unwholesome Roots]
8. Quote: “Luang Por Chah always allowed margins for differences and for practice.” [Conventions] [Monastic life] // [Western Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Attachment to precepts and practices]
1. Quote: “Don’t you say that so lightly–old age, sickness, and death.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Jack Kornfield. [Sickness] [Ageing ] [Death] // [Health care]
5. Quote: “If I’ve developed any wisdom, it’s because I had such gigantic defilements.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Ajahn Amaro. [Discernment] [Unwholesome Roots] // [Restlessness and worry] [Aversion] [Doubt] [Sensual desire]
8. Story: When asked about the potential for sacred sexuality, Ajahn Chah picks his nose. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Sensual desire] [Fierce/direct teaching] // [Insight Meditation Society]
Quote: “There’s nothing more to it than that except what your mind adds to it.” — Ajahn Chah [Proliferation]
12. Story: Ajahn Sumedho brings a group of Western women to meet Mae Chee Kumfah, only to discover she has converted to Christianity. Told by Ṭhānissarā. [Ṭhānissarā] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Mae Chee Kumfah] [Christianity] // [Impermanence] [Suffering]
Quote: “Maybe she’s right.” — Ajahn Chah to Ajahn Sumedho [Fierce/direct teaching]
4. Quote: “The sawdust of water.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Gail Kappel.
5. Story: Ajahn Chah asks for forgiveness. Told by Gail Kappel. [Asking forgiveness ceremony] [Ceremony/ritual] // [Joseph Kappel] [Humility]
Quote: “If you cry a little bit, it’s good. If you cry a lot, you’re a fool.” — Ajahn Chah [Suffering]
7. “When we enter this life, everything is so funny.” Reflection by Ajahn Sundarā. [Monastic life] [Humor] // [Ṭhānissarā] [Ajahn Amaro] [Ajahn Sundarā] [Vinaya]
Quote: “It was a hell of a life in the beginning.”
9. Quote: “You’re strong. Now you need to make your heart as strong as your body.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Joseph Kappel. [Heart/mind] // [Joseph Kappel] [Humility] [Family] [Culture/Natural environment]
5. Caring for Ajahn Chah. Reflection by Joseph Kappel. [Sickness] [Health care] // [Joseph Kappel] [Compassion] [Gratitude]
Quote: “It helped the community prepare for his death and offer gratitude.” [Saṅgha] [Death] [Generosity]
6. Quote: “Ajahn Chah was a terrible patient.” — Ajahn Pasanno [Health care] [Sickness]
Quote: “Don’t doctors die also?” — Ajahn Chah [Death]
8. Ajahn Chah’s time of illness was a gift to the Saṅgha. Reflection by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sickness] [Generosity] [Saṅgha] // [Bodhisattva] [Renunciation] [Communal harmony]
Ajahn Chah’s emphasis on Saṅgha was unique. [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Teachers] [Conflict] [Personal presence] [Three Refuges]
Quote: “People in the world are attached to status. People in the religion are attached to their views.” — Thai saying [Monastic life] [Views] [Saṅgha decision making]
12. Quote: “You’re living of the karma of the Buddha.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Jack Kornfield. [Almsround] [Kamma] [Buddha] [Jack Kornfield] // [Liberation] [Compassion] [Culture/Thailand] [Gratitude] [Monastic life] [Ajahn Chah lineage]
6. Recollection: The June 2000 Saṅgha Meeting concludes in harmony. [Wat Pah Pong] [Saṅgha] [Saṅgha decision making] [Communal harmony] // [Views] [Harsh speech] [Asking forgiveness ceremony] [Three Refuges] [Culture/West]
Quote: “Luang Por Chah wasn’t giving us views and opinions....[He gave] us all a confidence in the unspoken unity of our humanity.” [Faith] [Human]
7. Quote: “Luang Por Chah was always pointing us beyond the limitations of ourself.” [Self-identity view] [Liberation] [Not-self]
1. Quote: “It looks like there’s a veritable blizzard of questions. That’s always encouraging.” [Questions]
2. “Can you speak a little about samatha/vipassana and explain the difference between serenity and equanimity?” [Calming meditation] [Insight meditation] [Equanimity] // [Commentaries] [Ajahn Chah] [Relinquishment] [Liberation] [Concentration] [Divine Abidings] [Factors of Awakening] [Discernment]
Quote: “Samatha-vipassanā is like a green mango and a ripe mango. Same mango.” — Ajahn Chah [Similes]
3. “Could you please explain about the death process…how quickly does rebirth occur?” [Death ] [Rebirth] // [Recollection/Death] [Delusion] [Self-identity view] [Recollection] [Impermanence] [Not-self] [Theravāda] [History/Early Buddhism] [Sutta] [Vajrayāna] [Clinging] [Culture/Thailand] [Chanting] [Goodwill] [Relinquishment] [Ceremony/ritual] [Kamma]
References: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 55: Five Recollections; Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 12: The body is impermanent... [Similes] [Craving]
Simile: Fire blown by the wind (MN 72: Aggivacchagotta Sutta)
Story: A former monk asks Ajahn Chah about working with dying people to give them the opportunity for wholesome rebirth. [Ajahn Chah] [Teachers] [Fierce/direct teaching]
Quote: “I practice dying.” — The Dalai Lama [Dalai Lama]
7. “What is loving kindness? What is the body and mind’s experience when I feel metta for myself and others?” [Goodwill] // [Idealism] [Culture/West] [Right Intention] [Aversion] [Thai] [Happiness] [Translation] [Bhante Gunaratana] [Tranquility] [Spaciousness]
Quote: “The base of loving-kindness is dwelling in non-aversion.”
8. Quote: “I appreciate people’s questions. I enjoy the questions, and I never quite know what’s going to come out when people present a question. It’s interesting to me as well.” [Questions] [Ajahn Pasanno]
2. “What happens when someone carefully builds the fire, but it turns into a forest fire–uncontrollable–and the person experiences mania, delusions, and paranoia? What is the spiritual treatment?” [Mental illness] [Delusion] // [Precepts] [Association with people of integrity] [Generosity] [Becoming] [Medicinal requisites] [Thai] [Work]
Quote: “One of the first spiritual treatments is to get them to stop meditating.” [Meditation]
Recollection: Ajahn Pasanno learned by experience that meditation is not a panacea. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Pah Nanachat]
1. “One of my lay insight mediation teachers said, ‘The Western lay practitioner is an experiment in Buddhism.’ What do you think? To me it seems our lay teachers are also an experiment.” [Culture/West] [Lay life] [Lay teachers] // [Monastic life] [Abhayagiri] [Sīladharā] [Culture/Thailand]
Quote: “Because the monastic presence is so strong in Asia, oftentimes people overlook the strength of the tradition of lay practice and lay teachers.” [Cultural context]
Story: The Buddha tells Māra he will found the fourfold assembly (UD 6.1). [Buddha/Biography] [Māra] [Fourfold Assembly] [Stages of awakening] [Learning]
2. “This is a common scenario: I’m caught in a story of praise and blame. I notice. A voice says, ‘That was very quick. You’re getting good at this.’ I wake up again. ‘Ah, I know you Mara….’ Mara seems to co-opt every moment of awakening to feed the ego. Is there something you can suggest?” [Blame and praise] [Māra] [Liberation] [Self-identity view] [Patience] // [Impermanence] [Mindfulness of dhammas] [Not-self] [Aggregates] [Dependent origination] [Knowing itself]
Quote: “It’s really hard to underestimate how important patient endurance is to the practice.”
6. “Can you speak about working with fear and loss of ego identity, fear, and death?” [Fear] [Self-identity view] [Death] // [Goodwill] [Aggregates] [Impermanence] [Delusion] [Faith] [Eightfold Path] [Perfections] [Recollection]
Reference: Description of dukkha. [Suffering]
Quote: “We respond to teachings on liberation and Nibbāna with a curious sense of fear and trepidation.” — Ajahn Mahā Boowa speaking about Ajahn Mun [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Ajahn Mun] [Liberation] [Nibbāna] [Family] [Clinging]
1. “Realized beings abound these days. Care to comment? When the conditions are conducive and the inquiry is in earnest, is it possible to wake up quickly?” [Stages of awakening] [Saṅgha] [Progress of insight] [Ardency] [Conditionality] // [Patience] [Ajahn Pasanno]
Quote: “Buddhism hasn’t come to America yet.” — Ajahn Chah [Ajahn Chah] [Culture/West] [Insight Meditation Society]
4. “Would you say a bit about the benefits of practicing loving-kindness during the dying process, both for the one who is dying as well as for the caregiver?” [Goodwill] [Death] [Health care] // [Gladdening the mind] [Fear] [Clear comprehension] [Energy] [Community]
Quote: “These bodies are really high maintenance when they don’t work.” [Sickness]
Recollection: Ajahn Chah was unable to look after himself for the last nine years of his life. [Ajahn Chah] [Respect for elders] [Wat Pah Pong] [Gratitude]
10. “Would you share some of your personal journey, including the time before you became a monk, and why you became a monk, and how the holy life can help people grow and change?” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Monastic life/Motivation] [Monastic life] // [Culture/West] [Travel] [Culture/Thailand]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno begins meditation with a month-long Mahasi Sayadaw retreat. [Meditation retreats] [Mahasi Sayadaw] [Devotion to wakefulness] [Fierce/direct teaching]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno’s first visit to Wat Pah Pong. [Ordination] [Ajahn Chah] [Wat Pah Pong]
Quote: “If you want to stay here, you have to stay at least five years.” — Ajahn Chah [Sequence of training]
Reflection: “Five years is five years. I’ll go back and give myself to Ajahn Chah.” — Ajahn Pasanno [Relinquishment] [Mentoring]
Quote: “There’s no such thing as the ideal monastic or the ideal practitioner.” [Idealism] [Lay life] [Faith] [Disrobing] [Suffering] [Energy] [Patience] [Long-term practice]
11. “It’s been so helpful to hear stories from your own experience. Could you talk about some of the more challenging moments in your practice and how you worked with them?” [Gratitude] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Long-term practice] // [Doubt] [Patience]
Quote: “It’s not me resolving doubt, but it’s allowing the practice or the Dhamma to work.” [Self-identity view] [Dhamma] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Faith] [Three Refuges]
Simile: “Getting in the vehicle and allowing it to carry you.” [Similes]
15. (A) “Please say a few more words on posture. For example, I noticed that my body was leaning towards the left. If I weighted my right hand with intention, this seems to stop. Is this a correct tactic?” (B) “In my martial arts training, a goal is to relax and make the breathing easier. Is that true of vipassanā as well?” [Posture/Sitting] [Mindfulness of body] [Volition] [Tranquility] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Insight meditation] // [Aggregates] [Energy] [Buddha images]
Quote: “That looks like a farang [Western] Buddha. It looks very tense.” — Ajahn Chah [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Artistic expression] [Culture/West]
16. “I had an experience yeserday in which I may have seen a group of beings above us, particularly above you....I don’t think I’m crazy, but I’m very interested in what the Dhamma says about otherworldly/non-material beings.” [Deva] [Goodwill] [Compassion] [Mental illness] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Culture/Thailand] [Realms of existence] [Culture/Natural environment]
Recollection: Spirits at Wat Pah Nanachat would request Ajahn Pasanno to dedicate merit. [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Funerals] [Ghost] [Merit]
Quote: “They always had to use an intermediary because I was thick, thick, thick.” [Psychic powers]
Story: Ajahn Plien declares Casa Serena free of ghosts. [Ajahn Plien] [Abhayagiri] [Rebirth]
18. “When I think of people with spontaneous open generous hearts, they are full of mettā, karuṇā, and muditā, but do not seem equanimous. Can upekkhā come naturally or is it a result of cultivation?” [Divine Abidings] [Equanimity] [Conditionality] // [Becoming] [Liberation] [Craving] [Technology]
Quote: “When we say not moved, it doesn’t mean dull, shut down, closed off, but being completely in tune, being very clear, and then not being shaken by anything.” [Clear comprehension]
1. “In the palm reader story, you mentioned that Ajahn Chah still had a lot of anger, but he chose not to act from it. So does this mean that if there was a troublesome monk, Ajahn Chah would still experience a flare of anger but have the wisdom to set it aside and consider what to do with a cool head? This sounds similar to something Ram Das said about his practice....” [Ajahn Chah] [Aversion] [Discernment] [Ram Dass] [Unwholesome Roots] // [Personality] [Kamma]
Story: Ajahn Jayasaro is massaging Ajahn Chah’s feet when a monk undergoing a disciplinary procedure walks by. [Ajahn Jayasaro] [Vinaya] [Fierce/direct teaching] [Emotion]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno observes Ajahn Mahā Boowa’s fierce behaivor. [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Arahant] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Rapture] [Goodwill]
Quote: “You never quite knew...you were always very careful around [Ajahn Chah] because you never knew which side was going to come out. It wasn’t as if he was just playing with you, but he always responded to the situation or the person.” [Heedlessness] [Personal presence] [Teaching Dhamma]
3. “Reflecting on your 35 years in robes, do you have any strong lessons that stand out?” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Christianity] [Monastic life] [Long-term practice] [Discernment] // [Patience] [Ajahn Chah] [Virtue] [Meditation retreats]
Quote: “Oftentimes we don’t really recognize the goodness that we’re doing.” [Perfectionism] [Judgementalism]
Quote: “Patience isn’t just enduring. It’s being able to be present with experience.” [Direct experience] [Present moment awareness]
7. “Just to clarify – when doing loving-kindness practice, is any phrase OK to repeat? They can be said as a chant, right? At any speed? Is any chant best for achieving concentration?” [Goodwill] [Meditation/Techniques] [Chanting] [Concentration] // [Nature of mind]
Quote: “What is really important is not so much the phrases or the methodology but the feeling that is established within the heart of lovingkindness.” [Emotion]
Simile: A tradesman with only one tool. [Similes]
12. “The near enemy to equanimity is aloofness. Can you offer clues on how to differentiate between these in oneself?” [Equanimity] [Discernment] // [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities] [Aversion] [Present moment awareness]
Quote: “Tuning into kusala/akusala sorts things out really quickly.”
Sutta: AN 3.65: Kālāma Sutta
13. “In your opinion, why do you think Mogallana is portrayed in the scriptures as mostly an idiot/unwise and Sariputta is portrayed as wise?” [Tipiṭaka] [Great disciples] // [Psychic powers] [Saṅgha] [Conflict] [Mahāyāna] [Personality]
Quote: “But Ānanda, since when has Anuruddha been involved in disciplinary issues in the midst of the Saṅgha?” AN 4.243 [Vinaya]
Story: Moggallāna sees a yakkha clobber Sāriputta. Ud 4.4 [Non-human beings]
16. “What could American culture learn from Thai culture?” [Culture/West] [Culture/Thailand] // [P. A. Payutto] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Cultural context]
Quote: “Mai bpen rai.”
Quote: “‘If there was a culture that was steeped in Buddhism, that would really solve all the problems of the world.’ No it wouldn’t. There are still human beings there. They’ll create suffering wherever they go.” [Politics and society] [Human] [Suffering]
1. Recollection: My connection with Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Wat Pah Pong]
Quote: “If you want to stay here, you have to stay at least five years.” — Ajahn Chah [Sequence of training]
Jack Kornfield arrives with a large picture of Ajahn Chah. [Jack Kornfield]
Story: The needlepoint Ajahn Chah portrait at Abhayagiri. [Abhayagiri] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Devotional practice]
9. Reading from the draft biography: Ajahn Chah obsesses about food. [Food] [Sensual desire]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 39
Quote: “Close the doors. I’m going to eat noodles today!” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno.
10. Reading from the draft biography: Ajahn Chah accepts his dying father’s request to stay as a monk for life. [Parents] [Monastic life/Motivation] [Sickness] [Death] [Determination] // [Mindfulness of body] [Spiritual urgency] [Saṃsāra]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 40
Quote: “I dedicate my body and mind, my whole life, to the practice of the Lord Buddha’s teachings in their entirety. I will realize the truth in this lifetime … I will let go of everything and follow the teachings. No matter how much suffering and difficulty I have to endure I will persevere, otherwise there will be no end to my doubts. I will make this life as even and continuous as a single day and night. I will abandon attachments to mind and body and follow the Buddha’s teachings until I know their truth for myself.” — Ajahn Chah [Ardency] [Patience] [Doubt] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Relinquishment] [Knowledge and vision]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 42
The singular quality of Ajahn Chah’s resolution. Reflection by Ajahn Pasanno.
1. Teaching: The role of walking meditation. [Posture/Walking] // [Thai Forest Tradition] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Lodging] [Sloth and torpor]
Quote: Ajahn Chah admonishes the monks: “I’ve looked at the huts in the forest where you monks live. I see the walking meditation paths, and I don’t see human tracks. All I see are dog tracks!” [Fierce/direct teaching]
2. Walking meditation instructions by Ajahn Chah and Ajahn Pasanno. [Posture/Walking] // [Buddho mantra] [Tranquility] [Continuity of mindfulness]
Reference: Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 258 “Just Do It!”
Quote: “Where we really start to see the Dhamma or taste the Dhamma is in that continuity of awareness.” [Dhamma]
5. Quote: “I sacrificed my life for the Dhamma because I had faith in the reality of enlightenment and the path to get there.” — Ajahn Chah [Spiritual search] [Dhamma] [Faith] [Eightfold Path] // [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Determination] [Courage]
3. Story: A group of military generals ask Ajahn Chah to bless amulets to create a kitchen fund. [Amulets] [Ajahn Chah] [Military] [Almsfood] [Wat Pah Pong] // [Culture/Thailand] [Saṅgha decision making] [Festival days] [Almsbowl] [Stupas/monuments]
Quote: “The Buddha set up the foundation 2,500 years ago with just one baht.” — Ajahn Chah [Buddha] [Saṅgha]
1. “You talked about having lost a gread deal of institutional knowledge in the Forest Tradition through not having monasteries. Do you think Ajahn Chah wanted to have the knowledge from Ajahn Mun passed down? Is that why he had lots of monasteries?” [Thai Forest Tradition] [Tudong] [Ajahn Mun] [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Learning] // [Culture/Thailand] [Commerce/economics] [Environment] [History/Thai Buddhism] [Politics and society]
Quote: “Nowadays there aren’t any tudong monks left. There’s only taludong (through the forest) monks.” — Ajahn Chah
4. Reflection: Why Ajahn Chah spent only three days with Ajahn Mun. [Ajahn Mun] // [Thai sects] [Politics and society] [Psychic powers] [Dreams]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 61
Quote: “Mahānikāya needs good monks as well.” — Ajahn Mun to Ajahn Chah
6. Reading from the draft biography: Ajahn Chah leaves his companions and stays alone. [Tudong] [Seclusion] [Culture/Thailand] // [Spiritual friendship]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 89
Quote: “Where is the good person? He lies within us. If we’re good, then wherever we go, the goodness stays with us.” — Ajahn Chah [Virtue] [Blame and praise]