5. “Can you give some context to the story of Ajahn Chah getting angry and yelling at a monk and then regretting it, practicing with it?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Aversion] // [Unwholesome Roots] [Fierce/direct teaching] [Protocols]
Recollection: Ajahn Chah said that it wasn’t until he took on the responsibility of teaching others that he really gained wisdom. [Teaching Dhamma] [Discernment]
Reference: “Toilets on the Path,” Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 723.
2. “So Luang Por Sumedho had a bit of a temper in the beginning?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Aversion] // [Ajahn Chah] [Humor]
5. “What is often the most neglected quality in individual monks? What are the most important qualities to develop for the benefit of the group?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Monastic life] [Saṅgha] // [Idealism ] [Drawbacks] [Aspects of Understanding] [Four Noble Truths] [Patience]
Sutta: SN 22.26: Assādasutta
Quote: “Other than me, everyone is irritating!” [Aversion] [Humor]
3. “When we develop this awareness of the self and the non-self there is sometimes this shock about annihilation and how to avoid that. I think it can be a shock sometimes when we realize that we are not that self and we notice this aversion to the self.” Answered by Ajahn Amaro. [Not-self] [Aversion] // [Ajahn Sumedho] [Becoming] [Craving not to become] [Right Effort] [Self-identity view] [Attitude] [Appropriate attention]
3. “Using the words passion and greed as if they are interchangeable seems difficult for me to see. Passion seems a lot wider. How is one passionate about something? How am I greedy about something? If I’m passionate about Buddhism, how am I greedy about Buddhism?” Answered by Ajahn Amaro. [Desire] [Greed] // [Unwholesome Roots] [Aversion] [Etymology] [Teaching Dhamma] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma]
Suttas: SN 56.11: Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (Chanting book translation); SN 22.59 Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta (Chanting book translation); SN 35.28: Ādittapariyāya Sutta (Chanting book translation).
Follow-up: “I relate more to rage and passion than I do to greed. Is it okay to make my three poisons…?” [Aversion]
4. “Is the Buddha incapable of rage and passion himself? From the coolness of enlightenment as he described it, could you not use rage and passion skillfully? Like you’re acting but aware of it for the liberation of all beings, using it in a skillful way, dispassionately full of compassion. Does that make sense?” Answered by Ajahn Amaro. [Buddha] [Aversion] [Desire] [Liberation] [Compassion] // [Fierce/direct teaching] [Vinaya]
Vinaya: Bhikkhu Pārājikā 4.1.2: A harsh rebuke by the Buddha.
1. “A question about physical pain. Sometimes it feels like I can deal with a certain level of pain, but every now and again there’s a level of pain that is too intense. Is there a technique for being okay with whatever level of pain?” Answered by Ajahn Amaro and Ajahn Pasanno. [Pain] // [Aversion] [Fear] [Goodwill] [Tranquility] [Buddha/Biography]
Sutta: SN 36.6: The Arrow.
Suttas: MN 53.5, AN 10.67, SN 35.243: Examples of the Buddha stretching his back.
Comment: In Viet Nam, native peasants needed less morphine than Americans paying for health care. [Health care]
Responses by Ajahn Amaro and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Attitude] [Sickness]
4. “When developing disenchantment and dispassion by seeing the way things are, how do we not go to the extreme of aversion or the craving of unbecoming?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Disenchantment] [Dispassion] [Aversion] [Craving not to become] // [Suffering] [Four Noble Truths]
Story: Ajahn Chah prods Ajahn Pasanno to reflect on suffering. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Pasanno]
1. “Would you say that with the ending of greed, hatred, and delusion that these are eradicated and don’t arise anymore?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Unwholesome Roots] [Cessation] // [Knowledge and vision] [Cause of Suffering] [Buddha] [Arahant]
Follow-up: “We hear sometimes that it arises, but the person isn’t grasping it.”
Comment by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo: This is similar to Ajahn Chah’s declaration, “Yes, I have a lot of anger, but I don’t pick it up.” [Ajahn Chah] [Aversion] [Relinquishment]
Story: Ajahn Chah explains that the many lines in his palm mean that he had lots of suffering. [Suffering] [Ajahn Viradhammo] [Teaching Dhamma] [Discernment]
6. Quote: “Whenever you have feelings of love or hate for anything whatsoever, these will be your aides and partners in building pārami. The Buddha Dhamma is not to be found in moving forwards, nor in moving backwards, nor in standing still. This, Sumedho, is your place of non-abiding.” — Ajahn Chah’s only letter to Ajahn Sumedho. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Greed] [Aversion] [Perfections] [Dhamma] [Middle Path ] // [Relinquishment] [Knowing itself]
6. Comment: I find noises that I have no control over easy to leave alone. But if it’s something like, “If I have a word with that person, I can get him to stop making that noise,” it’s harder. [Equanimity] [Aversion] [Admonishment/feedback]
Response by Ajahn Amaro. [Ajahn Sumedho]
9. Recollection: Ajahn Pasanno’s first lunar observance night at Wat Pah Pong. Recounted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Pah Pong] [Lunar observance days] [Ajahn Chah] // [Monastic life] [Pace of life] [Patience]
Quote: “You learn as you go. You expand your ability to go beyond the limitations you set for yourself.” [Learning]
Quote: “The more you resist and complain in your mind, the more you suffer.” [Aversion] [Suffering] [Habits]