1. “When everything goes the way you want and you are about to retire, but you feel a subtle, barely detectable dissatisfaction, and you’re not sure why. What specific things should you do besides ordaining and becoming a monk?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Suffering ] [Lay life] [Retirement] // [Saṃsāra] [Clinging] [Cause of Suffering] [Relinquishment]
Advice from an aged elder: “I think you should follow the Eightfold Path.” — Bhante Dharmawara [Bhante Dharmawara] [Eightfold Path] [City of Ten Thousand Buddhas] [Health care]
3. “I know people who have seen the fruits of the fully-developed Eightfold Path in someone [else] or have been to a monastery and felt what it feels like to live in line with that. They find the life they return to at home is very distant from that. Because of obligations or kammic ties, they aren’t able to bring their life into alignment with the Dhamma in the way they would want. What would you tell someone with one foot in the monastery and the other foot on a banana peel?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Eightfold Path] [Monastic life] [Lay life ] // [Doubt] [Spiritual friendship] [Factors for stream entry] [Association with people of integrity] [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Idealism] [Contentment]
Story: “I could cry every day, but what’s the point? It’s better to just get on with life.” [Retirement] [Pain] [Purpose/meaning]
17. “In 2018 you stepped away from the role of abbot of Abhayagiri, passing the role to Ajahn Karunadhammo and Ajahn Ñāṇiko. Both these monks are American and have mostly trained in the United States at Abhayagiri. How do you feel about this milestone?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Abhayagiri] [Abbot] [Retirement] [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo] [Ajahn Pasanno ] [Ajahn Ñāṇiko] [History/Western Buddhist monasticism] [Culture/West] // [Monastic life]
3. “Have you ever regretted choosing the monastic life? Has your mother ever thought you made a wrong choice?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Monastic life/Motivation] [Doubt] [Parents] // [Gratitude] [Retirement] [Energy] [Mentoring] [Christianity] [Abhayagiri]
Reflections on leadership. [Leadership ] [Ajahn Chah] [Abbot] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Discernment]
Quote: “You can’t lead just by telling people what to do and they are going to obey. Forget it!” [Leadership ]
Quote: “Everybody else is a mirror for oneself if one is willing to learn in teaching or leading others.” [Leadership ] [Learning]
7. Reflection by Ajahn Amaro and Ajahn Pasanno: Stream entry is a really good retirement plan. [Stream entry] [Purpose/meaning] [Retirement] // [Factors for stream entry] [Meditation] [Association with people of integrity] [Hearing the true Dhamma]