27 excerpts, 2:12:55 total duration
18. “Might you expound on the aspect of Right Intention? Also, are the Five Spiritual Powers meant to be the positive side of the coin in correlation to the Five Hindrances? Also, what is saṃvega?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Right Intention] [Faculties] [Hindrances] [Spiritual urgency] // [Idealism] [Skillful qualities]
1. “How to balance saṃvega (urgency) and patience?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Spiritual urgency] [Patience] // [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities]
1. “Is samwat a Thai word for saṁvega?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Thai] [Spiritual urgency]
14. “This retreat has greatly reinforced my gratitude for this birth and for my ability to practice the Dhamma. Especially as I am ageing, I feel more of an urgency to awaken. Unfortunately, I live in a small town on the central coast, and there are no Buddhist centers within hundreds of miles. How can I continue to deepen my practice in the absence of a living teacher?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Gratitude] [Spiritual urgency] [Long-term practice] [Teachers] // [Dhamma online] [Abhayagiri] [Dhamma books] [Monastic routine] [Meditation groups] [Lunar observance days]
2. “Contemplating the decline of Vesali, how can we distinguish saṃvega from sadness that has no purpose?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [History/Indian Buddhism] [Spiritual urgency] [Depression] // [Principles of non-decline] [Naturalness]
Reference: “The Deathless Drum,” Chapter 9 of Rude Awakenings by Ajahn Sucitto and Nick Scott.
Sutta: AN 7.21: Seven principles of non-decline.
Comments by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Pesalo about Buddhism relying upon principles rather than geographic location. [Dhamma] [Geography/India] [Visiting holy sites]
16. “There’s tremendous value in having a teacher who can remind you or impose that urgency of practice. As a layperson who doesn’t have that resource, what strategies would you use to call the urgency back in and not get distracted?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Spiritual urgency ] [Lay life] // [Dhamma books] [Sutta] [Dhamma online] [Time management]
17. “Referring to the inner coach or the inner voice, what advice would you give in distinguishing between ferocious wisdom that redirects you back to the path and the inner critic that is just telling you that you suck?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Spiritual urgency] [Fierce/direct teaching] [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] // [Discernment] [Skillful qualities] [Judgementalism]
4. Comment: Sometimes when I contemplate maraṇassati, a strong sense of saṃvega will come over me and work seems pointless. But I’m currently in lay life, so if I get so much saṃvega that I don’t want to work, this is a problem. [Recollection/Death] [Spiritual urgency] [Work] [Lay life]
Response by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Right Effort] [Discernment] [Skillful qualities]