Tag cluster: Teaching Dhamma
Part of key topic Teaching and Teachers
Includes tags: Teaching Dhamma, Gradual Teaching, Questions, Dhamma discussion, Stories, Symbolism

Events (1) All excerpts (168) Most relevant (120) Questions about (58) Answers involving (52) Stories (30) Quotes (24) Readings (5) Texts (1)

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Abhayagiri 2015 Winter Retreat, Session 35 – Feb. 24, 2015

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3. “Are any of the lists in this sutta (MN 95) explained in other suttas?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Sutta] // [Bhikkhu Bodhi]

Reference: P.A. Payutto’s Dictionary of Numerical Dhammas (in Thai). [P. A. Payutto] [Tipiṭaka] [Pāli]

Explanation of volume and page numbers in the Pāli Tipitika.

Comment by Debbie Stamp: Similar listings often refer to the gradual training. [Gradual Teaching]

Sutta: MN 107: Gaṇakamoggallāna Sutta.

Sutta: MN 47: Vīmaṃsaka Sutta.


Abhayagiri 2015 Winter Retreat, Session 45 – Mar. 15, 2015

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6. Dhammadinnā foremost in...? Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Great disciples] [Bhikkhunī] // [Teaching Dhamma]


Abhayagiri 2015 Winter Retreat, Session 50 – Mar. 23, 2015

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1. “What was the context in which this reflection was given by Ajahn Chah?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] // [Leadership] [Culture/Thailand] [History/Thai Buddhism]

Recollection: When Ajahn Pasanno first became abbot of Wat Pah Nanachat, he gave monthly teachings at the World Fellowsip of Buddhists. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Abbot] [Teaching Dhamma]


On Pilgrimage and Tudong, Session 3 – Apr. 25, 2015

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1. “You showed pictures of the statue at Bodh Gaya. It seems like the Bodhi Tree is more important. Does the statue have no historical importance?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo, Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Jotipālo. [Bodhi Tree] [Buddha images] [Visiting holy sites] // [Devotional practice] [History/Early Buddhism] [History/Indian Buddhism] [Symbolism] [Tipiṭaka]


On Pilgrimage and Tudong, Session 4 – Apr. 25, 2015

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11. “Can tudong be understood as a metaphor for practice? When we carry a lot of heavyweight stuff for a long time, we get tired and need to drop something.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Symbolism] [Clinging] [Suffering] [Relinquishment] [Tudong]


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

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3. “The Buddha didn’t answer the question, ‘Is there a self?’ But this question seems more important than other questions he didn’t answer. How should we relate to not-self?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Buddha/Biography] [Questions] [Not-self ] // [Teaching Dhamma] [Feeling] [Relinquishment] [Self-identity view] [Four Noble Truths] [Views]


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7. “Why go through all the trouble to teach us how to not have a self and then refuse to tell us there is no self?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Teaching Dhamma] [Middle Path] [Not-self] // [Relinquishment] [Suffering] [Questions] [Aggregates] [Sense bases]


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11. Comment: In the classes I teach, we use the acronym R.A.I.N. – Recognize, Allow, Investigate, Not-identify. I explain not-identify by asking my students, “If you say, ‘I am angry,’ when anger goes away, what happens to you?” [Teaching Dhamma] [Self-identity view] [Not-self]


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12. “The Buddha asks us to look at the things we identify with as self and notice they are not who we are. But if there’s nothing else but those things, there is no self, right?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Buddha] [Middle Path] [Not-self ] // [Teaching Dhamma] [Learning] [Liberation] [Suffering]

Follow-up: “Isn’t there then an implication that there is something else that could be self?” [Views]


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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]


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14. Comment: I’ve found it helpful to recognize that for me there aren’t any right answers, only right questions. [Culture/West] [Questions] [Not-self]

Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Self-identity view]


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

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2. “A film came out recently called Monk with a Camera. How does one balance between pursuing one’s artistic interests and sincerely following a path of relinquishment.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Monastic life] [Renunciation] [Artistic expression ] // [Self-identity view] [Relinquishment] [Entertainment and adornment] [Generosity] [Energy] [Devotional practice]

Story: Rev. Heng Sure uses music to teach Dhamma. [Rev. Heng Sure] [Teaching Dhamma]

Story: Two Abhayagiri monks learn icon painting from the abbot of the Ukrainian Uniate monastery next door. [Abhayagiri] [Ajahn Jotipālo] [Christianity]


Buddhist Identity in the Modern World – Aug. 15, 2015

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4. “Why did Jīvaka ask whether a virtuous lay follower is practicing for themselves or others (AN 8.26)?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Great disciples] [Lay life] [Virtue] [Compassion] [Buddhist identity] // [Culture/India] [Lunar observance days] [Teaching Dhamma]

Vinaya: Kd 2.1.1: Origin of Lunar Observance Days. [Teaching Dhamma]


Jhāna: A Practical Approach, Session 4 – Oct. 10, 2015

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6. “The jhānas seem foundational to the practice, yet Ajahn Chah was reluctant to talk about them. Is this a view that was pervasive among the other Krooba Ajahns?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Teaching Dhamma] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Jhāna ] // [Desire]

Follow-up: “If the jhānas aren’t accessible to everyone, can you still go far along the path without them?” [Eightfold Path] [Right Effort] [Right Concentration] [Self-identity view]


2015 Thanksgiving Monastic Retreat, Session 2 – Nov. 22, 2015

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2. “Praise for the question and answer session. Every question is important; can you answer them all?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Questions] // [Meditation retreats]


2015 Thanksgiving Monastic Retreat, Session 3 – Nov. 23, 2015

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16. “How are you satisfied and/or dissatisfied with students?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Teaching Dhamma] // [Blame and praise]

Quote: “Whatever expectations I have are my expectations.” [Teaching Dhamma] [Suffering]


2015 Thanksgiving Monastic Retreat, Session 4 – Nov. 24, 2015

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15. “There is a mean streak in my family, a tendency to be dishonest and manipulative. I can see how it has been passed down over generations. I have worked hard to overcome these habits in myself. At this stage of life my familiar relationships are mostly positive and harmonious, but I still sometimes run across their manipulation or dishonesty. I would like to discuss or address it within my family, but there is no apperent recouse or means of addressing the situation. Any suggestions?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Family] [False speech] [Habits]

Quote: “I don’t teach my family anything.” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Teaching Dhamma]

Story: Ajahn Pasanno’s mother visits Abhayagiri. [Parents] [Kaṭhina]


2015 Thanksgiving Monastic Retreat, Session 5 – Nov. 25, 2015

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2. “How could you accomplish studying Buddhism in Thailand with Luang Por Chah? How did Luang Por Chah teach you as a you were a foreigner new monk? How did you cope with the language issue?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Chah ] [Teaching Dhamma] [Monastic life] [Language] // [Culture/Thailand] [Patience] [Wat Pah Pong] [Novices]

Quote: “It’s just like teaching buffaloes.” — Ajahn Chah [Teaching Dhamma] [Western Ajahn Chah lineage] [Similes]

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Quote: “Dhamma is not about the words, about the concepts, about the ideas. It’s about the experience.” — Ajahn Chah [Dhamma ] [Direct experience ]


2015 Thanksgiving Monastic Retreat, Session 8 – Nov. 28, 2015

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12. “Have you ever put a publication together on the retreat questions? Are the talks of this retreat being recorded?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation retreats] [Questions] [Dhamma recordings] // [Internet] [Dhamma books]

Reference: Abundant, Exalted, Immeasurable by Ajahn Pasanno transcribes the talks and questions from the 2008 Metta Retreat.


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26. “What did you plan to say [on this retreat]?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Teaching Dhamma] [Meditation retreats] // [Ajahn Chah]


Suttas You've Never Heard Of, Session 1 – Jun. 25, 2016

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8. Comment: Michael Olds translates sutta as ‘magical spell.’ The format, repetition, and structure of the suttas has a certain potency. When I read the suttas after meditating, it’s completely different. [Sutta] [Psychic powers] [Meditation]

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


Thanksgiving Retreat 2016, Session 4 – Nov. 22, 2016

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7. “As I get deeper insights how conditioned the mind is, there is a sense of burden being released but also a doubt began to arise: If the mind is conditioned, how is it even possible to arrive at the Unconditioned? Does free will even exist or am I just pushed around by kilesas? If the trick is to recognize that there is no free will, how can I sincerely believe that when I’m making choices to practice and do wholesome deeds, they really matter and it’s not my delusion? Please dispel my doubts!” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Nature of mind ] [Doubt] [Unconditioned] [Delusion] // [Four Noble Truths] [Self-identity view] [Questions] [Conditionality]


Thanksgiving Retreat 2016, Session 6 – Nov. 24, 2016

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7. ““Teacher of Gods and Humans”. Can you talk about this? What Gods did the Buddha teach? What other beings did the Buddha teach?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Recollection/Buddha] [Buddha] [Teaching Dhamma] [Deva] [Human] // [Realms of existence ] [Sutta] [Buddha/Biography] [Ajahn Chah]

Sutta: DN 21: Sakka’s Questions.

Sutta: Snp 2.4: Mangala Sutta (Chanting Book translation).

Vinaya: Kd 17.3.11: The Buddha subdues an enraged elephant. [Animal]

Story: Ajahn Chah describes the beings inhabiting Wat Pah Pong. [Wat Pah Pong] [Non-human beings]

Story: The head being acquires faith, listens to teachings, and temporarily takes on the Eight Precepts. [Faith] [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Eight Precepts]


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17. “I grew up in an environment where any difference was met with hostility. I was bullied, I was robbed a few times, I didn’t feel safe. No wonder the idea of refuge always resonated with me....However, even after living in very tolerant California and generally feeling myself safe here, when I am outdoors practicing walking meditation, whenever I see or hear strangers approaching me, my mind begins rushing in anticipation that this encounter would turn hostile. Being on precepts makes me feel particularly vulnerable. Could you share some teaching about protecting qualities of the Dhamma and how I can feel less fear while keeping the precepts? Could some of the monastics share their stories of receiving unexpected kindness from seemingly hostile strangers or stories of resolving physical or verbal attacks while wearing the robes and keeping precepts?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Discrimination] [Abuse/violence] [Fear] [Three Refuges] [Meditation retreats] [Precepts] [Dhamma] [Monastic life] [Stories] [Generosity] // [Human] [Truth] [Compassion] [Abhayagiri] [Almsround]

Story: A football hooligan has a sharing session with a monk on a train.

Story: Ajahn Gunha wanders into a Communist base on tudong. [Ajahn Gunha] [Tudong] [Politics and society] [Rains retreat]

Story: Ajahn Sudanto goes almsround each day in White Salmon. [Ajahn Sudanto] [Pacific Hermitage]


Thanksgiving Retreat 2016, Session 8 – Nov. 26, 2016

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8. “Do you have any inspiring stories to share of practicing with strong fear (animals,etc)? I’m inspired when I hear such stories from monks of this tradition.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Fear] [Stories] [Animal]

Story: A tiger circles Ajahn Pasanno’s walking path. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Dtao Dum] [Posture/Walking]

Sutta: MN 4: Fear and Dread.

Story: A tiger kills a 1,500 pound Brahma bull.


Two Kinds of Thought and the Removal of Distracting Thoughts, Session 1 – Jun. 4, 2017

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10. Comment: In this teaching [MN 19], the Buddha doesn’t talk about any middle ground such as neutral thoughts. [Directed thought and evaluation]

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


Two Kinds of Thought and the Removal of Distracting Thoughts, Session 3 – Jun. 4, 2017

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3. Comment: Our group talked about what we use to deal with our thoughts, the Four Noble Truths, and perfectionism. [Four Noble Truths] [Directed thought and evaluation]

Response by Ajahn Pasanno: “You can’t go wrong by coming back to the Four Noble Truths.”

Simile: The footprint of all animals fit within the footprint of an elephant. In the same way, all the teachings of the Buddha will fit into the Four Noble Truths. — Sariputta, MN 28 [Similes] [Teaching Dhamma] [Great disciples]


Teen Weekend 2017 – Sep. 2, 2017

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11. “Can you talk about your environmental work in Thailand? What qualities of heart and inner strength help us live without being completely overwhelmed?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Environment ] [History/Thai Buddhism] // [Politics and society] [Culture/Thailand] [Greed] [Teaching Dhamma] [Panyaprateep School] [Food] [Dtao Dum] [Activism]

Story: Sri Lankan monastic kidney donors. [Health] [History/Sri Lankan Buddhism] [Generosity]


The Teaching and the Training, Session 2 – Mar. 13, 2018

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4. Comment: I notice that you sometimes don’t react to the seemingly disrespectful behavior of visitors. [Respect] [Teaching Dhamma]

Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Buddha]


The Teaching and the Training, Session 3 – Mar. 19, 2018

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6. “Can you talk more about “Skillfully contributing to an upredictable situation”?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Impermanence] [Skillful qualities] [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Teaching Dhamma] [Clear comprehension]


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9. “When the suttas describe a practitioner as “having gone beyond doubt,” (e.g. DN 3) what do they mean?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Doubt] [Sutta] // [Four Noble Truths] [Teaching Dhamma] [Ajahn Chah]

Story: An Ajahn Chah monk accused of a heavy offense. [Vinaya]


The Teaching and the Training, Session 4 – Mar. 20, 2018

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1. “What is the role of mentors and teachers in learning to use the monastic form skillfully?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Teachers] [Mentoring ] [Vinaya ] [Monastic life] // [Saṅgha] [Ajahn Chah] [Wat Pah Pong] [Teaching Dhamma] [Long-term practice] [Ajahn Pasanno]


The Teaching and the Training, Session 5 – Mar. 21, 2018

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6. “Can you talk about the dangers of misplaced or wrongly directed faith in a teacher?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Faith] [Teachers ] [Respect for elders] [Monastic life] // [Recollection/Dhamma] [Middle Path]

Quote: “A good teacher encourages people to practice and figure this out rather than telling them exactly what to do.” [Teaching Dhamma] [Discernment]


The Teaching and the Training, Session 8 – Mar. 26, 2018

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6. “Is there a place to point out others’ difficulties [in the practice]?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Admonishment/feedback] [Right Speech] [Community] [Monastic life] [Saṅgha] // [Ajahn Chah] [Teaching Dhamma]


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10. “I’ve heard that someone asked Ajahn Chah if he could read his students’ minds. He replied that he didn’t need to; he just watched how they walked in the door and bowed. Do you get a feel for this over time?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Psychic powers] [Teaching Dhamma] [Mindfulness of body] [Monastic life] [Saṅgha] [Bowing]


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11. “When is it skillful to try to help people who are suffering?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Compassion ] [Suffering] [Teaching Dhamma]


The Teaching and the Training, Session 10 – Mar. 28, 2018

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8. “What encouragement or adjustments in their lives have you given struggling monks that have helped them remain in robes?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Monastic life ] [Disrobing] // [Tudong] [Teaching Dhamma]


The Teaching and the Training, Session 11 – Mar. 29, 2018

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3. Comment: It sounds like teachings about rebirth and teachers speaking about their experience of rebirth are out there. Whether people pick it up or not, you leave it up to them. [Rebirth] [Teaching Dhamma] [Monastic life]

Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Chah] [Faith]


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7. “So you’ve asked all your questions?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Questions] [Teaching Dhamma] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Monastic life]


The New Ajahn Chah Biography, Session 2 – Apr. 21, 2018

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4. Reading: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 582: “Out of Compassion” Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Compassion] [Ajahn Chah] // [Gratitude] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Teaching Dhamma] [Family]


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5. “Are there criteria you need to fulfill before the Saṅga will let you form your own monastery?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Saṅgha decision making] [Sequence of training] [Monasteries] [Ajahn Chah] // [History/Thai Buddhism] [Teaching Dhamma]

Quote: “You don’t have to worry about that, Dad. Thai Buddhism isn’t organized.” — Ajahn Siripañño [Culture/Thailand]


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7. Comment: The essence of Ajahn Chah’s teaching was virtue and Right View. [Teaching Dhamma] [Virtue] [Right View ] [Ajahn Chah ] // [Meditation] [Mindfulness] [Concentration]

Reading: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 594-596: “Sammādiṭṭhi”


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9. Reading: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 612-614 “Faith in the Triple Gem” Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Faith] [Three Refuges] [Ajahn Chah] // [Buddha] [Dhamma] [Truth] [Teaching Dhamma] [Lay life] [Recollection/Dhamma]

Simile: Digging a well — Ajahn Chah. [Right Effort] [Liberation]


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15. “What qualifies as helping a parent make progress on the path?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Parents ] [Gratitude] [Eightfold Path] // [Learning] [Happiness] [Contentment] [Teaching Dhamma]


The New Ajahn Chah Biography, Session 3 – Apr. 21, 2018

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8. Comment by Ajahn Ñāṇiko: But in a sense Por Am had wisdom, questioning Ajahn Chah from every possible angle. [Ajahn Chah] [Questions] [Discernment]

Reflection: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 647

Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Thai] [Wat Pah Pong]


Chanting, Session 3 – Jun. 2, 2018

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8. “The Verses of Sharing and Aspiration translates paccekabuddha as ‘The Solitary Buddha is my noble guide.’ What’s going on here?” Answered by Ajahn Ñāṇiko and Ajahn Pasanno. [Chanting] [Translation] [Paccekabuddha] // [Merit] [Teaching Dhamma]

Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 33


The Path of Practice, Session 1 – Jun. 15, 2019

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14. “What are your thoughts about maintaining a practice you’re at the bedside of someone actively passing away?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sickness] [Death ] // [Listening] [Fear] [Personal presence] [Intuition]

Story: Ram Dass anxiously tries to guide his stepmother through the dying process. [Ram Dass] [Teaching Dhamma] [Restlessness and worry] [Mindfulness of mind] [Recollection/Death]


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17. “The Buddha had the talent of knowing precisely what to say to a person at a given moment. The teaching ajahns have developed this as well, but I’ve never heard of it as part of the training. Can you reflect on that?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Teaching Dhamma] [Buddha/Biography] [Monastic teachers] // [Personality] [Discernment] [Idealism] [Ajahn Chah] [Suffering] [Humility] [Relinquishment] [Fear] [Self-identity view]


Love, Attachment, and Friendship, Session 3 – Oct. 12, 2019

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4. “There are teachings about different levels of generosity (e.g. AN 7.49). Are there similar teachings about love or attachment?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Generosity] [Goodwill] [Clinging] // [Dhamma] [Desire] [Teaching Dhamma] [Aggregates] [Mindfulness] [Relationships] [Spaciousness]


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6. Comment: There are two knds of desire, chanda (good) and taṇha (bad). [Desire] [Craving] [Pāli]

Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Goodwill] [Clinging] [Generosity] [Teaching Dhamma]


Developing Skill in Reflective Meditation, Session 2 – Dec. 1, 2019

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10. Comment: I’m going to recollect this day, and your kindness in teaching, and the people who planned the Upāsikā Day. [Gratitude] [Teaching Dhamma] [Compassion] [Recollection/Generosity] [Recollection] [Faith]

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


Stanford Community Dhamma Discussion – Apr. 25, 2020

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6. “How do we deal with a world full of view and opinions?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Views ] // [Idealism] [Conditionality] [Impermanence] [Truth]

Story: Sariputta doesn’t approve of a teaching of the Buddha until he puts it into practice himself. Told by Ajahn Chah. [Great disciples] [Teaching Dhamma] [Direct experience] [Faith] [Ajahn Chah]


Living in a Changing Society – Aug. 23, 2020

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1. “Ajahn Chah was ill for the last ten years of his life. How could he endure that and why did this take place?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Sickness] // [Perfections] [Teaching Dhamma] [Saṅgha] [Death] [Monastic teachers] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Upatakh] [Generosity]


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2. “I lead two Zoom sessions a week and am running out of material. Can you suggest guided meditations from this tradition?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Teaching Dhamma] // [Trust] [Dhamma books] [Amaravati] [Self-reliance]


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6. “Is there something called fierce compassion in the Theravāda tradition? If so, how is that different from resentment or anger?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Fierce/direct teaching] [Compassion] [Theravāda] [Ill-will] [Aversion] // [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Suffering] [Teaching Dhamma] [Admonishment/feedback] [Spiritual bypass] [Ajahn Chah]

Story: Ajahn Chah calls newly-arrived Tan Pasanno lazy. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Chanting]


Honoring the Buddha: The Mahāparinibbāna Sutta – Apr. 25, 2021

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2. “What is the origin of asking a question three times?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Questions] [Teaching Dhamma] [Sutta] [Buddha/Biography]

Sutta: AN 4.42: Questions


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

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3. “Please offer ideas on ways Dhamma meditation communities can strike a balance between beginners and experienced meditatiors.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation groups] [Teaching Dhamma] [Lay teachers] [Long-term practice] // [Generosity] [Cleanliness]


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4. “Our community is mostly virtual. Since we’re not together taking care of a shared environment, can you suggest other ways of building community?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Community] [Online community ] // [Dhamma discussion]


Abhayagiri 25th Anniversary Retreat, Session 1 – Jun. 9, 2021

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9. Reflection by Ajahn Pasanno: Our warm relationship with the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. [City of Ten Thousand Buddhas ] [Communal harmony] [Abhayagiri] // [Master Hsuan Hua] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Non-contention]

Story: Ajahn Sumedho is invited to teach from Master Hua’s Dhamma seat. [Teaching Dhamma]

Recollection: The first days of Wat Pah Nanachat. [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Pasanno]


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12. Comment: These days Ajahn Sumedho is on fire teaching Dhamma. [Ajahn Sumedho ] [Teaching Dhamma] // [Amaravati] [Ageing]

Quote: “He’s not talking a lot about the details. He’s talking about the essence. It’s very beautiful.” [Teaching Dhamma] [Liberation] [Knowledge and vision] [Simplicity] [Proliferation]

Note: As of mid-2024, Ajahn Sumedho continues to give weekly Dhamma talks available on Amaravati’s YouTube channel.

Reflection: Ajahn Chah is the inspiration for all of us. [Ajahn Chah] [Faith] [Respect for elders] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Knowing itself] [Teaching Dhamma]

Quote: “If buffaloes can learn, surely these farangs [foreigners] can learn.” — Ajahn Chah [Western Ajahn Chah lineage] [Teaching Dhamma]


Abhayagiri 25th Anniversary Retreat, Session 9 – Jun. 11, 2021

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6. “A question about Dogenji’s teaching: ‘To study the Buddha Way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be actualized by myriad things. When actualized by myriad things your body and mind as well as the bodies and minds of others drop away. No trace of enlightenment remains, and this no trace continues endlessly.’ Can you reflect on this teaching from the Theravāda Thai Forest Teachings?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Dōgen] [Zen ] [Eightfold Path] [Not-self] [Liberation] [Theravāda] [Thai Forest Tradition] // [Teaching Dhamma] [Knowledge and vision] [Four Noble Truths] [Self-identity view] [Relinquishment] [Aggregates] [Proliferation] [Discernment] [Compassion]

Quote: “Everything is teaching us. Everything is a manifestation of Dhamma and truth.” — Ajahn Chah [Ajahn Chah] [Dhamma] [Truth] [Suchness]


Abhayagiri 25th Anniversary Retreat, Session 19 – Jun. 14, 2021

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16. “Could you please explain why the ajahn holds a fan in front of himself during the taking of refuges?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Three Refuges] [Ceremony/ritual] // [Abhayagiri] [Kaṭhina] [Symbolism] [Dhamma]


Following the Path of a Forest Monk – Jun. 23, 2023

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11. “Abhayagiri is not near a major city, but there has been plenty of interest from both laypeople and those wishing to ordain. What do you credit for the sucessful establishment phase of Abhayagiri Monastery?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Abhayagiri ] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Monastic life/Motivation] // [Teaching Dhamma] [Trust] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Vinaya]

Quote: “We are what we say we are. That helps.” [Truth]


Madison Insight Retreat 2023, Session 3 – Oct. 15, 2023

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1. Ajahn Pasanno mentions the Question and Story Archive. [Questions] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Abhayagiri] [Dhamma online]


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4. “Would you be willing to share memories of Ajahn Chah?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah ] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Temporary ordination] [Personality] [Not-self] [Equanimity]

When asked about the core essence of the Buddha’s teachings, Ajahn Chah replies, “Is this a big stick or a little stick?” [Teaching Dhamma] [Conventions] [Cause of Suffering]

Story: Ajahn Chah pretends to forget simple questions in order to embarass his translator. [Forest versus city monks] [Media] [Aversion] [Questions] [Translation] [Similes]

Recollection: Ajahn Pasanno writes to his family that he’s staying in Thailand because Ajahn Chah is peaceful, solid, clear, and unshakeable in the midst of all that’s going on around him. [Family] [Tranquility] [Clear comprehension]


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8. “Could you comment on the phrase in the Metta Sutta, “Not born again into this world?”” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Rebirth] [Sutta] // [Goodwill] [Skillful qualities] [Gradual Teaching] [Not-self] [Views]

Reflection: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 37

Quote: “What is the mind of an Arahant like?” – “Only compassion” — Ajahn Mahā Boowa [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Arahant] [Compassion]