Ajahn Chah Subhaddo   Teachings by Ajahn Chah
Teachers / Monastic teachers / Thai Forest Tradition / Ajahn Chah Subhaddo
Part of key topic Teaching and Teachers
557 excerpts, 36:18:26 total duration

Events (3) All excerpts (560) Most relevant (475) Questions about (104) Answers involving (169) Stories (188) Quotes (144) Readings (37) References (3)

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Abhayagiri 2015 Winter Retreat, Session 11 – Jan. 18, 2015

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2. “Is it common for body contemplation to veer towards aversion?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Mindfulness of body] [Unattractiveness] [Aversion] [Elements] // [Translation] [Not-self] [Ajahn Chah]

Sutta: MN 62: Mahārāhulaovāda Sutta, The Greater Discourse of Advice to Rāhula.


Abhayagiri 2015 Winter Retreat, Session 15 – Jan. 24, 2015

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4. “Can you speak about the roots of wholesome and unwholesome desire?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Energy] [Desire] [Becoming] [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities] // [Discernment] [Right Effort] [Learning] [Ajahn Chah]

Sutta: AN 10.58.

Reference: Listening to the Heart by Kittisaro and Ṭhānissarā (commercial).


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5. “How can you strive without becoming tense and grim?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Right Effort] [Humor] // [Mindfulness of body] [Ajahn Chah]


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6. Story: Ajahn Sumedho brings a “farang Buddha” to Ajahn Chah. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Buddha images] [Ajahn Chah] [Culture/West]


Abhayagiri 2015 Winter Retreat, Session 17 – Jan. 26, 2015

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6. Comments by Abhayagiri Saṅgha about the nature of practice. [Forgiveness] [Similes] [Aversion] [Right Mindfulness]

Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Habits] [Idealism] [Patience] [Ajahn Chah] [Goodwill] [Long-term practice]

Comment: Patience remind me of going through deep grief. Contributed by Beth Steff. [Grief]


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7. Quote: “Do you still have anger?” “Yes, but I don’t take it.” — Ajahn Dune. Quoted by Debbie Stamp. [Ajahn Dune] [Aversion] [Right Mindfulness]

Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Arahant]

Follow-up: “Do we know if the Buddha had anger?” [Buddha] [Tipiṭaka]

Comment: Māra came to the Buddha many times after the Buddha’s enlightenment. Contributed by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Māra] [Buddha/Biography]

Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Idealism] [Culture/West] [Ajahn Chah]


Abhayagiri 2015 Winter Retreat, Session 20 – Jan. 31, 2015

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1. “What is your experience of directed thought and evaluation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Directed thought and evaluation]

Quote: “Directed thought [vitakka] is like lifting up the object in the mind. Evaluation is then looking at it from different angles.” — Ajahn Chah [Ajahn Chah] [Similes]


Abhayagiri 2015 Winter Retreat, Session 27 – Feb. 10, 2015

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1. “What is the Thai that is translated as “mind” and “mind objects?”” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Thai] [Translation] [Heart/mind] [Moods of the mind] // [Ajahn Mun] [Ajahn Chah]


Abhayagiri 2015 Winter Retreat, Session 29 – Feb. 15, 2015

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1. “Do the mental faculties of meditators diminish as they age?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ageing] [Memory] [Long-term practice] // [Ajahn Chah] [Sickness] [Preah Mahāghosānanda] [Personal presence]

Story: H. H. The Dalai Lama meets Preah Mahāghosānanda. [Dalai Lama]


Abhayagiri 2015 Winter Retreat, Session 32 – Feb. 21, 2015

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2. “Why did the Buddha ask the monk to develop meditation in many ways [in AN 8.63]?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation] [Meditation/General advice] [Buddha/Biography] // [Directed thought and evaluation] [Rapture] [Happiness] [Equanimity] [Jhāna] [Calming meditation] [Cessation of Suffering]

Recollection: Ajahn Chah would rarely label meditation states. [Ajahn Chah]


Abhayagiri 2015 Winter Retreat, Session 33 – Feb. 22, 2015

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5. “Related to the need to emerge from neither-perception-nor-non-perception and cessation of perception to contemplate the five khandhas [in AN 9.36], don’t some of the commentaries imply that that’s what you do with first jhāna; that insight is not possible even in first jhāna?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Formless attainments] [Aggregates] [Insight meditation] [Commentaries] [Jhāna] // [Views]

Recollection: Ajahn Chah emphasized that every step of the way there has to be awareness. Awareness has to form the basis of the whole practice. [Ajahn Chah] [Mindfulness] [Clear comprehension] [Right Concentration] [Right View]


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8. “Do you have to emerge from jhāna to contemplate the characteristics of the aggregates?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Jhāna] [Insight meditation] [Aggregates] // [Mindfulness] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Knowing itself]

Sutta: AN 9.36: “Jhāna.”

Quote: “Contemplation gets really good when you stop thinking.” — Ajahn Chah [Ajahn Chah] [Directed thought and evaluation]


Abhayagiri 2015 Winter Retreat, Session 36 – Feb. 27, 2015

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2. “Are people experiencing jhāna in different ways?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Jhāna] // [Views] [Ajahn Chah] [Tranquility] [Self-identity view] [Suffering] [Ajahn Lee Dhammadharo]


Abhayagiri 2015 Winter Retreat, Session 45 – Mar. 15, 2015

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9. “Is the goal (Nibbāna) a thought-less state of mind?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Pasanno. [Nibbāna] [Heart/mind] [Directed thought and evaluation] [Formless attainments] // [Cessation of Suffering] [Relinquishment] [Impermanence]

“Who is the only person who doesn’t think? An arahant? A Buddha?” “No. The only person who doesn’t think is a dead person.” – Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Arahant] [Buddha] [Death]


Abhayagiri 2015 Winter Retreat, Session 47 – Mar. 17, 2015

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2. Discussion about kamma and the results of kamma. Led by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo, Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Kamma] [Conditionality] [Feeling] // [Abuse/violence] [Abhidhamma] [Ajahn Chah] [Vajrayāna] [Sickness] [Compassion] [Culture/India] [Equanimity] [Disasters] [Christianity]

Quote: “Too much Dhamma.” — Ajahn Buddhadāsa. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Buddhadāsa]

Sutta: AN 4.77 Acinteyya: “Vexation or madness.”

Story: Ajahn Chah to Ajahn Munindo: “If it wasn’t supposed to be this way, it wouldn’t have been this way.” Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Munindo] [Self-pity]

Thai saying: “That’s as far as their merit takes them.” [Culture/Thailand] [Death] [Merit] [Thai]


Abhayagiri 2015 Winter Retreat, Session 50 – Mar. 23, 2015

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1. “What was the context in which this reflection was given by Ajahn Chah?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] // [Leadership] [Culture/Thailand] [History/Thai Buddhism]

Recollection: When Ajahn Pasanno first became abbot of Wat Pah Nanachat, he gave monthly teachings at the World Fellowsip of Buddhists. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Abbot] [Teaching Dhamma]


Abhayagiri 2015 Winter Retreat, Session 52 – Mar. 25, 2015

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1. “When did Luang Por Liem come to Wat Pah Pong?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Ajahn Liem] [Wat Pah Pong] // [Ajahn Chah]

Reference: No Worries by Ajahn Liem. [Tudong]


On Pilgrimage and Tudong, Session 4 – Apr. 25, 2015

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1. Story: Ajahn Chah tells a restless junior monk to go tudong around the monastery. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Restlessness and worry] [Sequence of training] [Tudong]


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2. Story: Ajahn Chah lets a restless junior Western monk go tudong in the hot season with strict conditions. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Restlessness and worry] [Sequence of training] [Tudong]


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6. Story: Ajahn Chah packs too much gear on his first tudong. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Simplicity] [Contentment] [Tudong]


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7. Recollection: Ajahn Chah laments that the forests in Thailand are being destroyed so quickly that there’s not much place for monks to wander any more. Recounted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [History/Thai Buddhism] [Environment] [Culture/Natural environment] [Tudong] // [Culture/Thailand] [Ajahn Dtun]

Quote: “Nowadays it’s hard to tudong because you taludong (go through the forest).” — Ajahn Chah [Ajahn Chah] [Thai]


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13. “After the initial impulse and intention to go tudong, once it’s going to happen, is there an upwelling of uncertainty?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Doubt] [Tudong] // [Renunciation] [Impermanence] [Clinging] [Learning] [Ajahn Chah]

Story: Chao Khun Nor stayed in his kuti and ate the same thing every day. [Chao Khun Nor] [History/Thai Buddhism] [Ajahn Chah]


The Middle Way of Not-Self, Session 1 – May. 27, 2015

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9. “Is renting a good metaphor for not-self?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Similes] [Not-self] // [Ajahn Chah]

Quote: “We only rent this house. We don’t own it.”

Reference: “Our Real Home” in Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 145


The Middle Way of Not-Self, Session 2 – May. 27, 2015

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3. “Ajahn Mun taught Ajahn Chah to distinguish between the mind and mind objects. Is the mind that distinguishes between these a development of ordinary mind or a larger mind that we tap into as we develop wisdom?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Mun] [Ajahn Chah] [Heart/mind] [Moods of the mind] [Not-self] [Nature of mind] [Discernment] // [Conditionality] [Liberation] [Direct experience]

Response: Both of these are wrong. [Proliferation]

Sutta: MN 11 Cūḷasīhanāda Sutta


Desire or Aspiration, Session 1 – Jun. 14, 2015

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10. “Any advice for cures for burnout? I’m in a helping profession and feel depleted and exhausted. I need help getting the balance between giving and receiving.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Depression] [Work] [Health] [Generosity] [Compassion] // [Culture/West] [Idealism] [Commentaries] [Selfishness]

Quote: “Compassion in the English language means ‘to suffer with.’ If you end up suffering with too much, you end up burnt out.” [Language] [Suffering]

Quote: “Don’t think you’re a ten-wheeled dump truck when all you are is a wheelbarrow.” — Ajahn Chah [Ajahn Chah]

Commentary: Path of Purification by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, p. 291: Classical cultivation of goodwill and compassion, first to yourself. [Goodwill]

Quote: “Our ability to be with others and to help and to give is dependent on our being kind and compassionate to ourselves.” [Spiritual friendship] [Self-reliance]


Buddhist Identity in the Modern World – Aug. 15, 2015

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6. Comment about the expectations people may have of Buddhists. [Precepts] [Virtue] [Idealism] [Buddhist identity]

Story: An American asks Ajahn Chah why there are so many thieves in Thailand. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Culture/West] [Culture/Thailand] [Stealing]


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17. “What is the right point to drop or ignore the desire to identify with the Buddhist identity?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Relinquishment] [Desire] [Self-identity view] [Buddhist identity] // [Suffering] [Perfectionism] [Clear comprehension] [Conventions] [Ajahn Chah] [Right Effort]


Jhāna: A Practical Approach, Session 1 – Oct. 10, 2015

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2. “I was thinking about Ajahn Chah’s advice that all you need to do is know and let go. I’m wondering about knowing, developing, and letting go. Where does development fit in?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Knowing itself] [Relinquishment] [Right Effort]


Jhāna: A Practical Approach, Session 3 – Oct. 10, 2015

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4. “Does jhāna arise only in seated meditation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Posture/Sitting] [Jhāna]

Reference: Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 332: Ajahn Chah talks about developing jhāna factors in walking meditation. [Ajahn Chah] [Posture/Walking]


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5. “Is jhāna only in meditation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation] [Jhāna] // [Right Concentration]

Quote: “Only farangs [Westerners] go into meditation rock climbing! Does he contemplate the Four Noble Truths?” — Ajahn Chah [Ajahn Chah] [Culture/West] [Recreation/leisure/sport] [Four Noble Truths] [Directed thought and evaluation] [Relinquishment]


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13. “Ajahn Chah said happiness and unhappiness are two ends of suffereing and we should aim for peace. Is this kind of jhānic happiness different from what he was talking about?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Happiness] [Suffering] [Jhāna]


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24. “In the jhāna similies (MN 39.15), ‘He makes...’ seems very active. In dropping away things, is it a conscious dropping or an allowing?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Right Concentration] [Relinquishment] [Jhāna] // [Volitional formations] [Conditionality] [Right Effort]

Quote: “Ajahn Chah emphasizes the doing within a sphere of detachment and letting go.” [Ajahn Chah]


Jhāna: A Practical Approach, Session 4 – Oct. 10, 2015

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6. “The jhānas seem foundational to the practice, yet Ajahn Chah was reluctant to talk about them. Is this a view that was pervasive among the other Krooba Ajahns?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Teaching Dhamma] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Jhāna] // [Desire]


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8. “I practice the brahmavihāras, and not just on the cushion. How do these relate to jhāna?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Divine Abidings] [Posture/Sitting] [Posture/Walking] [Jhāna] // [Continuity of mindfulness] [Skillful qualities]

Quote: “You can sit on your cushion for a long time. Chickens sit for a long time, and they don’t get enlightened!” — Ajahn Chah [Ajahn Chah] [Liberation] [Animal]


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13. “Ajahn Chah talks about the one who knows. Is this a purely mental excercise or is it embodied?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Knowing itself] [Mindfulness of body] [Jhāna] // [Culture/West] [Nature of mind]

Quote: “The Thai Krooba Ajahns translate ‘Buddho’ as ‘being the one who knows.’” [Thai Forest Tradition] [Buddho mantra] [Translation]


2015 Thanksgiving Monastic Retreat, Session 1 – Nov. 21, 2015

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7. “I volunteer in hospice and was in attendance for the passing of my parents. I notice vast differences in the way people experience their passage. What can we do, while still alive, to prepare for a peaceful and ‘wakeful’ passing? Other than ‘being present,’ is there anything that can be of benefit to others?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Death] // [Recollection/Death] [Equanimity] [Impermanence] [Sickness] [Idealism] [Compassion] [Generosity]

Sutta: AN 5.57: Five Subjects for Frequent Recollection (Chanting Book translation)

Vinaya: Kd 8.26.8: Qualities of a good nurse. [Monastic life] [Health care]

Story: Ajahn Chah advises Paul Breiter about the limits of spiritual hospice work. [Ajahn Chah] [Paul Breiter] [Buddho mantra] [Fierce/direct teaching]


2015 Thanksgiving Monastic Retreat, Session 2 – Nov. 22, 2015

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6. “Can you address dependent origination and causation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Dependent origination] [Conditionality ] // [Impermanence] [God] [Cessation]

Sutta: Ud 1.3: “When this is, that is...”

Quote: “All you really need to know is that it’s going to hurt when you hit the bottom.” — Ajahn Chah [Ajahn Chah]


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7. “Can you tell us your story of when you decided to become a monk?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno ] [Monastic life/Motivation] // [Learning] [Travel] [Culture/Thailand] [Meditation] [Mahasi Sayadaw] [Temporary ordination] [Ajahn Chah]

Quote: “If you want to stay here, you have to stay at least five years.” — Ajahn Chah [Ajahn Chah] [Wat Pah Pong] [Sequence of training] [Determination]


2015 Thanksgiving Monastic Retreat, Session 3 – Nov. 23, 2015

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1. “As inspiration for the rest of us, would you please talk about some of your milestone insights over your years of practice and what kept you going over the years, especially when you hit roadblocks?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Monastic life/Motivation] [Long-term practice] // [Ajahn Jayasaro] [Ajahn Chah] [Impermanence] [Right Mindfulness] [Self-identity view]

Sutta: MN 10: Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta


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15. “In a Dhamma talk at Abhayagiri, you quoted Luang Por Chah as saying ‘Nibbāna lies on the shores of death.’ Could you say more about this?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Nibbāna] [Death] [Ajahn Chah] // [Relinquishment]

Quote: “Oftentimes we’re really not ready to let go until there’s absolutely no alternative left.”


2015 Thanksgiving Monastic Retreat, Session 4 – Nov. 24, 2015

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1. “What are the consequences of breaking a precept?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Precepts ] [Conscience and prudence ] // [Pāli] [Learning] [Volition] [Ajahn Chah]

The root of hiri and otappa. [Translation] [Truth] [Kamma] [Respect]


2015 Thanksgiving Monastic Retreat, Session 5 – Nov. 25, 2015

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2. “How could you accomplish studying Buddhism in Thailand with Luang Por Chah? How did Luang Por Chah teach you as a you were a foreigner new monk? How did you cope with the language issue?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Chah ] [Teaching Dhamma] [Monastic life] [Language] // [Culture/Thailand] [Patience] [Wat Pah Pong] [Novices]

Quote: “It’s just like teaching buffaloes.” — Ajahn Chah [Ajahn Chah ] [Western Ajahn Chah lineage] [Similes]

Quote: “Dhamma is not about the words, about the concepts, about the ideas. It’s about the experience.” — Ajahn Chah [Dhamma ] [Direct experience ]


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11. “Please demonstrate how to bow. Are there any cultural differences?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Bowing ] [Cultural context] // [Ajahn Chah] [Culture/Thailand] [Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Tranquility] [Continuity of mindfulness]

Story: Ajahn Chah corrects a candidate’s bowing posture at his ordination ceremony. [Ajahn Chah] [Ordination]


2015 Thanksgiving Monastic Retreat, Session 6 – Nov. 26, 2015

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4. “Could you talk more about the two levels of understanding the true nature of karma: mundane and transcendent?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Kamma] [Conventions] [Unconditioned] // [Right View ] [Four Noble Truths] [Impermanence] [Conditionality]

Quote: “Outside of cause, beyond effect; outside of suffering, beyond happiness.” — Ajahn Chah [Ajahn Chah]


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13. “Please speak a little about kataññu.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Gratitude ] // [Human] [Pāli] [Merit]

Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 33: Verses of Sharing and Aspiration

Story: Ajahn Liem gives Abhayagiri a handwritten essay about gratitude. [Ajahn Liem] [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Chah] [Personality] [Generosity] [Abhayagiri] [Asking forgiveness ceremony] [Dhamma books]

Reference: English translation: Gratitude by Ajahn Chah Saṅgha, p. 9.


2015 Thanksgiving Monastic Retreat, Session 7 – Nov. 27, 2015

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1. “I was just reading a talk of Ajahn Chah’s. He mentions ‘vipassanu.’ Could you explain this more?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Insight meditation]


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7. “Why is the Buddha referred to in the present tense in the chants? Is it because we are referring to the present potential within us?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Buddha ] [Chanting] // [Three Refuges] [Liberation] [Knowing itself] [Ajahn Chah]


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9. “Can you say more about trusting the seeds of meditation practice after Alzheimer’s/dementia kick in? What do you mean by going beyond liberation or consciousness? What do you mean by ‘many deeper layers’ are affected by the practice and the fruits of it will express naturally?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sickness] [Consciousness] [Long-term practice] // [Happiness] [Proliferation] [Relinquishment] [Self-identity view]

Story: A monk with psychic abilities investigates Ajahn Chah’s mind after Ajahn Chah loses his mental faculties. [Ajahn Chah] [Psychic powers]

Story: Ajahn Pasanno brings the Wat Pah Nanachat community to Ajahn Chah’s nursing kuti to chant verses including Dependent Origination. [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Chah] [Chanting] [Dependent origination]

Quote: “The fruits of practice arise through the simple quality of being the one who knows, taking the Buddha as refuge.” [Knowing itself] [Buddha] [Three Refuges]


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11. “I am so grateful for the peace I am developing here and in my life. It feels like a refuge. Is it the fourth refuge?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Tranquility] [Gratitude] [Three Refuges] // [Buddha images]

Quote: “That farang Buddha is really like a farang. He’s really tense and stressed.” — Ajahn Chah [Ajahn Chah] [Culture/West ] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Thai] [Restlessness and worry] [Humor]


2015 Thanksgiving Monastic Retreat, Session 8 – Nov. 28, 2015

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3. “Can you please speak about faith? How to develop it? How to maintain it through the ups and downs of practice? How have you maintained your faith over forty years of practice?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Faith] [Long-term practice] [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Language] [Ajahn Chah] [Patience] [Mindfulness]


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5. “I understand that there is a council of Theravada elders who are a ‘decision making panel’ guiding the tradition. Who exactly is part of this council and who or what determines their eligibility? Will the honor being bestowed upon you and Ajahn Amaro next month make you eligible? Are there other monks in modern times who have received this honor?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [History/Thai Buddhism] [Saṅgha decision making] [Monastic titles] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Amaro] [Ajahn Chah] // [Politics and society] [Ajahn Buddhadāsa] [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Ajahn Sumedho] [P. A. Payutto] [CALM Group]


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8. “What chants would you recommend as suitable to use for patients who may be in hospice or close to death? Can Buddhist monks give last rites?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Death] [Chanting] [Ceremony/ritual] // [Goodwill] [Three Refuges] [Protective chants] [Culture/Thailand] [Buddho mantra] [Recollection/Saṅgha]

Story: Ajahn Chah requests an army truck to pick up Por Puang’s body. [Ajahn Chah] [Wat Pah Pong] [Contentment] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Recollection/Death]

Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 662.


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23. “Can you recommend a reflection or phrase to use immediately upon awakening in the morning or the last thing before sleep?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Recollection] // [Buddho mantra ] [Recollection/Buddha] [Ajahn Chah]


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26. “What did you plan to say [on this retreat]?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Teaching Dhamma] [Meditation retreats] // [Ajahn Chah]


Suttas You've Never Heard Of, Session 2 – Jun. 25, 2016

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1. Story: A man in an airport asks Ajahn Chah, “If everyone is Buddhist, why are there so many thieves in Thailand?” Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Culture/Thailand] [Stealing] [Virtue] [Precepts]


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3. Story: Once a junior monk approached Ajahn Chah and listed all Ajahn Chah’s faults. Ajahn Chah replied, “It’s a good thing you’re not looking for perfection in yourself!” Told by Ajahn Jotipālo. [Ajahn Chah] [Virtue] [Perfectionism]


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6. Story: Ajahn Pasanno visits the elderly Cambodian monk Mahāgossānanda who has Alzheimer’s disease. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Preah Mahāghosānanda] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Sickness] // [Dalai Lama] [Divine Abidings] [Ajahn Chah] [Heart/mind]

Quote: “That thing you learn in meditation—that you don’t lose.” — Ajahn Fuang [Ajahn Fuang] [Meditation] [Liberation]

Story: A monk known for psychic powers visits Ajahn Chah’s sick room and reports: “You don’t have to worry about Ajahn Chah. His heart is so bright.” [Ajahn Chah] [Psychic powers] [Dependent origination] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Lunar observance days]


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10. “What is a good balance between listening to Dhamma and practicing more deeply? How long should one keep one’s practices, and when to expand or shink them?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Determination] // [Four Noble Truths] [Direct experience] [Ajahn Chah] [Dhamma books] [Mindfulness of mind] [Learning]


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11. Comment: I listen to the Abhayagiri Dhamma talks, focusing more on the timbre of the voice rather than trying to get an intellectual grasp of what was said. That projects me into a dimension of well-being. [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Abhayagiri] [Happiness] [Learning]

Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Tranquility]


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13. “When you’re living on the precepts, how do I relate to (for example) a friend who tells me about an affair they are having?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Jotipālo. [Precepts] [Spiritual friendship] [Sexual misconduct] // [Skillful qualities] [Admonishment/feedback] [Discernment] [Right Speech] [Vinaya] [Abhayagiri]

Quote: “Don’t admonish your fellow monks before the meal.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Monastic life] [Food] [Eating after noon]


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15.AN 5.38 says, ‘Not by sorrow can even the slightest good come.’ How does this work with the natural process of grieving?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Grief] [Skillful qualities] // [Cultural context] [Family] [Ajahn Chah] [Death] [Characteristics of existence]


Thanksgiving Retreat 2016, Session 2 – Nov. 20, 2016

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9. “Can Ajahn Pasanno teach us how Ajahn Chah teaches or gives techniques on physical states and mental states? Can you tell us more about Ajahn Chah’s biography, for example, when and how Ajahn Chah wanted to become a monk?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Meditation/Techniques]


Thanksgiving Retreat 2016, Session 3 – Nov. 21, 2016

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12. “I remember reading some stories of Ajahn Chah teaching lay people about herbal medicines. I know some Tibetan monks practice medicine. Is there such a tradition in Thailand? Are there any stores of Ajahn Chah healing people physically with traditional medicines?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Health care] [Medicinal requisites] [Culture/Thailand]


Thanksgiving Retreat 2016, Session 6 – Nov. 24, 2016

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1. “Thank you for additional information on the Sound of Silence. I’ve known of the Sound of Silence, but not that there was any formal or structured practice around it. I’m wondering if Ajahn Chah or his predecessors did any teachings on this or if there are suttas related to it.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sound of silence] [Ajahn Chah] [Sutta]


Thanksgiving Retreat 2016, Session 7 – Nov. 25, 2016

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11. “It is the eighth evening of the retreat; feels timely to ask what was Ajahn Chah’s teaching for local lay people regarding sexual desire and sexual misconduct. Did he make a different emphasis when he taught westerners?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Lay life] [Sensual desire] [Sexual misconduct] [Culture/West]


Two Kinds of Thought and the Removal of Distracting Thoughts, Session 1 – Jun. 4, 2017

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7. “Could you give some advice on using directed and sustained thought? Would these thoughts be like reapeating ‘Buddho’ or are they conceptual?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Buddho mantra] [Directed thought and evaluation] // [Ajahn Chah]


Two Kinds of Thought and the Removal of Distracting Thoughts, Session 3 – Jun. 4, 2017

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6. Comment: I’ve been reflecting on freedom from as opposed to freedom within. Sometimes there’s a secret hope that those thoughts will go away, vibhava-taṇha, as opposed to freedom within, meaning releasing the identification with painful thoughts. [Craving not to become] [Self-identity view] [Release] [Directed thought and evaluation] // [Hindrances]

Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Suffering]

Quote: “Just that much.” — Ajahn Chah [Ajahn Chah] [Disenchantment]


Practice in a Global Context – Aug. 12, 2017

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1. Quote: “That person is making me suffer....If they would just smarten up and do what I like, then I would be happy. My life would be smooth and peaceful again, just like it always was before.” — Ajahn Pasanno [Cause of Suffering] [Humor] [Politics and society]

Quote: “Don’t believe your mind. It’s a liar and a cheat.” — Ajahn Chah [Ajahn Chah] [Heart/mind] [False speech] [Delusion]


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13. “Did Ajahn Chah ever speak about politics?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Politics and society] // [Fear] [Proliferation] [History/Thai Buddhism] [Military]

Story: Driving through military checkpoints on the way to Ajahn Fun’s funeral. [Ajahn Fun] [Funerals] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Pasanno]


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15. “One of the reflections that was sent online described Ajahn Chah’s response to monks who wanted to go out and help refugees. Can you speak to this?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Monastic life] [Service] [Politics and society] // [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Military] [Conflict]

Story: Ajahn Pasanno spends time at a Cambodian refugee camp. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Preah Mahāghosānanda]


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16. “I spread lovingkindness from home and don’t have the good fortune of meeting with like minds who practice to perfect sīla. Any suggestions?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Lay life] [Goodwill] [Spiritual friendship] [Virtue]

Quote: Ajahn Chah to Ajahn Sumedho: “Do you mean to say there’s no good people in America?” [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Culture/West]


Teen Weekend 2017 – Sep. 2, 2017

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1. “What meaningful impact do Buddhist monks have on the community?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Monastic life] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Community] [Saṅgha] // [Culture/West] [Culture/Thailand] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Abhayagiri]

Story: Ajahn Pasanno’s first visit to Wat Pah Pong. [Wat Pah Pong]


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2. “How closely do you and the other monks live together?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Monastic life] [Saṅgha] [Abhayagiri] // [Ajahn Chah] [Communal harmony] [Vinaya] [Seclusion] [Culture/West] [Culture/Thailand]


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3. “When you first ordained, you were just starting to learn about Buddhism. What changed that made you want to dive in?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Meditation/Results] [Ajahn Chah]

Story: “If you want to stay with me, you have to stay at least five years.” — Ajahn Chah [Ajahn Chah]


Can We Function without Attachement?, Session 3 – Oct. 1, 2017

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5. “How do we break the chain of dependent origination?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Dependent origination] // [Suffering]

Quote: “As you’re falling out of a tree, you’re not counting the branches as you go down. All you know is that when you hit the bottom, it’s going to hurt.” — Ajahn Chah [Ajahn Chah]


Can We Function without Attachement?, Session 4 – Oct. 1, 2017

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1. “How do we make sense of the whirlpool of assumptions?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Proliferation] [Clinging] // [Discernment] [Perception] [Impermanence] [Ajahn Chah] [Views]

Quote: “Welcome to the human existence.” [Human]


The Teaching and the Training, Session 1 – Mar. 12, 2018

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3. “How do we expand our faith into other aspects of training?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Faith] [Monastic life] [Dhamma] [Vinaya] // [Dependent origination] [Recollection/Buddha] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Liem]


The Teaching and the Training, Session 2 – Mar. 13, 2018

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3. “Can you speak to the development of respect for the symbols of monastic life as opposed to respect for individual teachers?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Respect] [Teachers] [Monastic life] // [Almsbowl] [Buddha] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Chah] [Human]


The Teaching and the Training, Session 3 – Mar. 19, 2018

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3. “What is the role of confession and other tools for recifying offenses?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Vinaya] [Confession] // [Ajahn Chah] [Volition] [Kamma] [Dhamma]


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5. “What about Sarakāni (SN 55.24-25), the stream enterer who took to drink?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Stream entry] [Intoxicants] // [Ajahn Chah] [Precepts]

Story: Ajahn Chah takes in a gangster. [Ajahn Chah] [Crime]


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9. “When the suttas describe a practitioner as “having gone beyond doubt,” (e.g. DN 3) what do they mean?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Doubt] [Sutta] // [Four Noble Truths] [Teaching Dhamma] [Ajahn Chah]

Story: An Ajahn Chah monk accused of a heavy offense. [Ajahn Chah] [Vinaya]


The Teaching and the Training, Session 4 – Mar. 20, 2018

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1. “What is the role of mentors and teachers in learning to use the monastic form skillfully?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Teachers] [Mentoring] [Vinaya ] [Monastic life] // [Saṅgha] [Ajahn Chah] [Wat Pah Pong] [Teaching Dhamma] [Long-term practice] [Ajahn Pasanno]


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2. “Who were imporant mentors for you?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Teachers] [Mentoring] [Monastic life] // [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Jun] [Ajahn Mahā Amorn] [Ajahn Liem] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Ajahn Baen] [Ajahn Buddhadāsa] [P. A. Payutto] [Wat Pah Pong]

Story: Ajahn Mahā Amorn goes to study with Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Learning]


The Teaching and the Training, Session 5 – Mar. 21, 2018

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1. “What can we learn when we pay respects to mentors?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Respect for elders] [Monastic life] // [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Almsround] [Ajahn Pasanno]

Story: Ajahn Mahā Boowa visits after Ajahn Chah’s death. [Ajahn Chah]

Story: Ajahn Baen admonishes Ajahn Pasanno at Ajahn Chah’s cremation. [Ajahn Baen] [Fierce/direct teaching]

Quote: “You don’t have to visit me! You know what to do already! It’s all right here (pointing at his heart).” — Ajahn Baen to Ajahn Pasanno


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3. “What about senior monks who don’t meet our expectations of conduct or practice?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Respect for elders] [Monastic life] // [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Mahā Boowa]

Sutta: AN 4.192 Facts


The Teaching and the Training, Session 6 – Mar. 22, 2018

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2. “I assume at Abhayagiri the upatakh sleeps in his own dwelling place? (in contrast to the previous story of Ajahn Lee)” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Abhayagiri] [Upatakh] [Monastic life] [Saṅgha] // [Sickness] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Other Thai monastics]


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3. “What is the value of living in community?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Monastic life] [Saṅgha] // [Self-identity view] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Tongrat] [Views] [Requisites] [Not handling money]


The Teaching and the Training, Session 7 – Mar. 23, 2018

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2. “In Thailand, dāna (generosity) usually means giving food to a monk. But is dāna more of a mindset?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Generosity] [Culture/Thailand] [Monastic life] // [Chanting] [Upatakh] [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Chah] [Cleanliness]


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3. “Can you talk about Ajahn Chah’s use of bowing, communal pūjās, and chores?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Monastic routine] [Chanting] [Saṅgha] [Monastic life] [Work] [Bowing] // [Becoming] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Respect for elders]

Story: A Westerner asks Ajahn Chah, “Why do we bow?” [Ajahn Chah]


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6. “What about relics?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Relics] [Monastic life] // [Ajahn Mun] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Khao] [Mae Chee Kaew] [Master Hsuan Hua] [Ajahn Chah]

Story: Ajahn Pasanno’s mother observes multiplying relics.


The Teaching and the Training, Session 8 – Mar. 26, 2018

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1. “Ajahn Chah encouraged his monks to all come together for communal chores and stay until the chores are finished. Why is that?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Work] [Monastic life] [Saṅgha] // [Communal harmony] [Relinquishment] [Clinging] [Culture/West]


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6. “Is there a place to point out others’ difficulties?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Admonishment/feedback] [Right Speech] [Community] [Monastic life] [Saṅgha] // [Ajahn Chah] [Teaching Dhamma]


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10. “I’ve heard that someone asked Ajahn Chah if he could read his students’ minds. He replied that he didn’t need to; he just watched how they walked in the door and bowed. Do you get a feel for this over time?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Psychic powers] [Teaching Dhamma] [Mindfulness of body] [Monastic life] [Saṅgha] [Bowing]


The Teaching and the Training, Session 9 – Mar. 27, 2018

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2. “How do we discern the benefit of dhutaṅga practices and how much is too much?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Discernment] [Middle Path] [Monastic life] [Ascetic practices] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Devotion to wakefulness] [Almsround] [History/Early Buddhism] [Gladdening the mind] [Ajahn Chah] [Master Hsuan Hua]

Story: Ajahn Jayasaro determines sitter’s practice until Ajahn Chah dies. [Ajahn Jayasaro] [Ajahn Chah] [Respect for elders] [Determination]


The Teaching and the Training, Session 10 – Mar. 28, 2018

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1. “The Krooba Ajahns often deemphasize study. What is the context in which they said this and how should we work with this?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Culture/Thailand] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Learning] // [Ajahn Chah] [Right View] [Culture/West] [Faith]


The Teaching and the Training, Session 11 – Mar. 29, 2018

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1. “How can those just entering monastic life lay a good foundation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Monastic life] // [Vinaya] [Right View] [Ajahn Chah] [Virtue] [Stream entry] [Four Noble Truths] [Kamma] [Generosity] [Greed] [Communal harmony] [Happiness] [Gratitude]

Sutta: SN 55.1: Sīla of a stream enterer

Sutta: MN 117: The Great Forty


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2. “Would you be willing to speak on the importance of having faith in rebirth?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Faith] [Rebirth] // [Culture/West] [Right View] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Pasanno]

Sutta: MN 117: Definition of right view


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3. Comment: It sounds like teachings about rebirth and teachers speaking about their experience of rebirth are out there. Whether people pick it up or not, you leave it up to them. [Rebirth] [Teaching Dhamma] [Monastic life]

Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Chah] [Faith]


The New Ajahn Chah Biography, Session 1 – Apr. 21, 2018

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[Session] Ajahn Pasanno introduces the Ajahn Chah Compilation Video and Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro. [Ajahn Chah] [Dhamma books] // [Goodwill] [Compassion] [Personal presence] [History/Western Buddhist monasticism]

Reference: The Ajahn Chah Compilation Video on YouTube [Ajahn Chah]

Reference: The Buddha Comes to Sussex (BBC, 1979) on Youtube [Ajahn Chah] [History/Western Buddhism] [Chithurst]

Reference: The Mindful Way (BBC, 1977) on YouTube [Ajahn Chah] [Wat Pah Pong]


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1. Quote: “One of the main characteristics of Luang Por Chah was his loving kindness and compassion.” — Ajahn Liem. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Liem] [Ajahn Chah] [Goodwill] [Compassion] // [Personal presence] [Equanimity]