References – MN 36: The Greater Discourse to Saccaka 
“The story that we hear frequently about the Buddha as a child in the cattle pasture with his father. He talks about going into a pleasant, rapturous state. Would you consider that jhāna?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Buddha/Biography ] [Happiness] [Rapture] [Jhāna] // [Skillful qualities]
Sutta: MN 36.31 Mahāsaccaka Sutta
Jhāna: A Practical Approach [2015], Session 3, Excerpt 7
“I find I do need some pleasures even though they don’t last, things like fine arts and being in nature. I’m curious, how did you manage as a monk in your early years at Ajahn Chah’s monastery where there’s almost no pleasure....How did you manage to keep going over the years until the present?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sensual desire] [Artistic expression] [Culture/Natural environment] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Monastic life] [Ajahn Chah] [Food] [Entertainment and adornment] [Monastic life/Motivation] // [Cessation of Suffering] [Happiness ] [Simplicity ] [Association with people of integrity] [Empathetic joy] [Human] [Hindrances] [Jhāna] [Virtue] [Discernment]
Quote: “One of the extraordinary perks of being a monk is that everyone tries to be good around you.”
Sutta: MN 36.32: “Why am I afraid of that happiness?” [Buddha/Biography] [Ascetic practices] [Suffering] [Skillful qualities] [Eightfold Path]
Quote: “As a monk, I can look back on forty years of living in a way where I don’t have to feel remorseful or regret anything.”
New Year, New Life [2013], Session 1, Excerpt 6
Reading: MN 26: The Noble Search. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Buddha/Biography]
Reflections on the meaning of freedom. [Liberation] [Culture/West]
Reflections on the conditions suitable for Dhamma practice. [Culture/Natural environment] [Sense bases] [Energy]
Suttas: Ud 1.1-3: The Buddha’s reflections after awakening.
Sutta: MN 36.42: Awakening to the Four Noble Truths. [Four Noble Truths]
Sutta: SN 22.26: Benefit, drawback, and escape. [Aspects of Understanding]
Reference: Dhamma talk request, Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 124.
Devotion and Ritual: Becoming the Buddha [2017], Session 2, Excerpt 1