Nature of the cosmos
Nature of the cosmos
Subtags: Kamma, Rebirth, Saṃsāra, Realms of existence, Other beings, Nature of mind, Supernatural, Nibbāna
12 excerpts, 42:41 total duration

All excerpts (12) Most relevant (8) Questions about (5) Answers involving (6) Quotes (3)

New Year, New Life, Session 2 – Dec. 16, 2013

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2. “You said in the chanting, ‘I am the heir to my kamma.’ Gam in Thai is what we cultivate in body, speech and mind. In the Thai concept, we also have jao gam nai ren. Can Ajahn help me sort this out?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Kamma] [Culture/Thailand] [Nature of the cosmos] // [Suffering] [Health care] [Birth]

Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 55: Five Recollections

Follow-up: “My mother is dying at age 88. She had a plane accident 20 years ago and has been completely immobile....In Thai we say, jao gam nai ren must have been chasing after her.” [Family] [Sickness] [Death]


Death and Dying, Session 1 – May. 9, 2014

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25. Comment: Merit is faith driven, so there aren’t any limitations to where that can take you, and it has real value. [Merit] [Faith] [Realms of existence] [Death]

Story: Two Thai doctors take temporary ordination to make merit to rejoin their deceased brother in a future life. [Culture/Thailand] [Monastic life/Motivation] [Temporary ordination] [Family] [Rebirth]

Story: The mother of a woman killed in a bus crash dedicates merit so that the dead woman will be reborn in the family. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Ghost] [Relinquishment] [Ceremony/ritual] [Kamma] [Volition]

Quote: “We live in a fairly limited concept of the world; it’s very material in the West. There’s a lot more happening than what we can see.” — Ajahn Pasanno [Nature of the cosmos] [Culture/West]


Thai Forest Tradition, Session 1 – Jun. 14, 2014

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13. “Ajahn Mun spent a lot of time teaching the devas. Can you share any thoughts on this relevant to Western culture?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Mun] [Teaching Dhamma] [Deva] [Doubt] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Culture/West] // [Faith] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Nature of the cosmos]

Reference: Venerable Ācariya Mun Bhūridatta Thera: A Spiritual Biography by Ajahn Mahā Boowa


2014 Thanksgiving Monastic Retreat, Session 6 – Nov. 27, 2014

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5. “Can you define / explain saṅkhāras—mental formations? For example, what phenomena does it include? How can one evaluate what is or is not a saṅkhāra? How does it differ from the hindi / yogic samskara? Thank you.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Volitional formations ] [Hinduism] // [Pāli] [Nature of the cosmos] [Nibbāna] [Aggregates] [Abhidhamma] [Emotion] [Directed thought and evaluation]

Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 23


Abhayagiri 2015 Winter Retreat, Session 40 – Mar. 3, 2015

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3. “Is seeing metaphysical principles the same as making something into a concept?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Nature of the cosmos] [Proliferation] // [Views]

Sutta: DN 1: Brahmajāla Sutta.


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

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13. Comments regarding not-self. [Nature of the cosmos] [Kamma] [Self-identity view] [Not-self]

Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Buddha] [Teaching Dhamma]


Desire or Aspiration, Session 2 – Jun. 14, 2015

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4. “I’ve heard ‘not being in control’ as a description of anatta. In relation to desire, do we really have any choice or free will in the context of Buddhist understanding?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Not-self] [Desire] [Volition] [Nature of the cosmos] // [Kamma] [Clear comprehension] [Right Effort]


Chanting, Session 1 – Jun. 2, 2018

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8. “Can we approach chanting as praying for someone in a difficult situation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Christianity] [Devotional practice] [Family] [Health] [Chanting] // [Skillful qualities] [Compassion] [Right Intention] [Merit] [Abhayagiri] [Nature of the cosmos]


The Path of Practice, Session 2 – Jun. 16, 2019

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11. Comment: I’m improving my skill at seeing the greed or aversion when there are pleasant or unpleasant feelings, but I often don’t see the neutral feeling state so clearly. [Mindfulness of feeling] [Feeling] [Unwholesome Roots] [Neutral feeling] [Delusion] // [Mindfulness of body] [Restlessness and worry] [Fear] [Present moment awareness]

Response by Ajahn Pasanno.

Quote: “That whereby one is a conceiver of the world, a perceiver of the world, that is the world.” — SN 35.116 [Nature of the cosmos] [Proliferation] [Perception]


Developing Skill in Reflective Meditation, Session 1 – Dec. 1, 2019

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4. “You mentioned ‘Look for the gap.’ Is this related to looking for fading away?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Insight meditation] [Dispassion] [Recollection] // [Cessation] [Cessation of Suffering] [Impermanence] [Faith]

Follow-up: “So we’re not just looking at the blank...” [Wrong concentration] [Emptiness] [Nature of the cosmos] [Unwholesome Roots] [Not-self]


Tea Time Q&A with Ajahn Pasanno – May. 16, 2021

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9. “Is it true that consciousness, the universal energy in all living organisms, exists within us and outside of us? Is it everywhere?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Consciousness] [Nature of mind] [Nature of the cosmos] // [Clinging] [Proliferation]


Madison Insight Retreat 2023, Session 2 – Oct. 14, 2023

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2. “Would you speak about your response to the events in Israel and Gaza?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Conflict] [Politics and society] // [Grief] [Human] [Suffering] [Idealism]

Quote: “The world has been a sad place for a long time.” [Nature of the cosmos]