46 events, 279 sessions, 2309 excerpts, 129:51:55 total duration
Most common tags:
Ajahn Chah
(581)
Ajahn Pasanno
(237)
Suffering
(190)
Monastic life
(173)
Relinquishment
(160)
Culture/Thailand
(146)
Self-identity view
(139)
Discernment
(135)
Happiness
(135)
Teaching Dhamma
(135)
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1. The tradition of almsround. Reflection by Ajahn Pasanno. [Almsfood] [Almsround] [Generosity] [Almsbowl] // [Ajahn Chah] [Vinaya]
2. The monks’ requisites sustain our livelihood and are a focal point for our cultivation of mindfulness and attention. Reflection by Ajahn Pasanno. [Requisites] [Almsbowl] [Mindfulness] // [Robes]
3. Story: A group of military generals ask Ajahn Chah to bless amulets to create a kitchen fund. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Amulets] [Ajahn Chah] [Military] [Almsfood] [Wat Pah Pong] // [Culture/Thailand] [Saṅgha decision making] [Festival days] [Almsbowl] [Stupas/monuments]
Quote: “The Buddha set up the foundation 2,500 years ago with just one baht.” — Ajahn Chah [Buddha] [Saṅgha]
1. Explanation of the meal blessing chant. [Anumodanā] [Almsfood] // [Pāli] [Gratitude] [Merit]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 50
2. Anumodana chanting: “Yathā vāri-vahāpūrā...” and “Bhavatu sabba-maṅgalaṃ...” (Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 50) offered by the Abhayagiri Saṅgha. [Anumodanā] [Almsfood] [Pāli] // [Gratitude] [Merit]
1. “You talked about having lost a gread deal of institutional knowledge in the Forest Tradition through not having monasteries. Do you think Ajahn Chah wanted to have the knowledge from Ajahn Mun passed down? Is that why he had lots of monasteries?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Thai Forest Tradition] [Tudong] [Ajahn Mun] [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Ajahn Chah] [Learning] // [Culture/Thailand] [Commerce/economics] [Environment] [History/Thai Buddhism] [Politics and society]
Quote: “Nowadays there aren’t any tudong monks left. There’s only taludong (through the forest) monks.” — Ajahn Chah
2. “When you and other Western seekers went to Thailand [and returned to teach], are the teachings of lay and monastic disciples of Ajahn Chah the same or different? How can we as laypeople relate to the teachings and tradition of the monastic establishment?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Teaching Dhamma] [Ajahn Chah lineage] [Lay teachers] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Ajahn Chah] // [History/Thai Buddhism] [Military] [History/Western Buddhist monasticism] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Virtue] [Right View]
Story: Abhayagiri’s bell is an American bomb casing. [Abhayagiri]
Diligent lay meditators attend Wat Pah Pong’s all-night vigil on the lunar observance days. Recollection by Ajahn Pasanno. [Lay life] [Ardency] [Wat Pah Pong] [Devotion to wakefulness] [Lunar observance days]
3. “What characteristics differentiate Thai Buddhism from Tibetan Kadampa or Japanese Zen?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Culture/Thailand] [Vajrayāna] [Zen] [Ajahn Chah] // [Community]
4. Reflection by Ajahn Pasanno: Why Ajahn Chah spent only three days with Ajahn Mun. [Ajahn Mun] [Ajahn Chah] // [Thai sects] [Politics and society] [Psychic powers] [Dreams]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 61
Quote: “Mahānikāya needs good monks as well.” — Ajahn Mun to Ajahn Chah
5. Reading from the draft biography: Ajahn Chah’s mentors: Ajahn Tongrat and Ajahn Kinaree Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mentoring] [Ajahn Tongrat] [Ajahn Kinaree] [Ajahn Chah] // [Personality] [Respect for elders] [Upatakh] [Tudong] [Visiting holy sites] [Robes] [Relinquishment] [Monastic crafts] [Pace of life] [Craving]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 73
Story: Ajahn Chah meets Ajahn Tongrat.
Story: Ajahn Mun teaches his teacher, Ajahn Sao. [Ajahn Sao] [Ajahn Mun] [Liberation]
6. Reading from the draft biography: Ajahn Chah leaves his companions and stays alone. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Tudong] [Seclusion] [Culture/Thailand] [Ajahn Chah] // [Spiritual friendship]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 89
Quote: “Where is the good person? He lies within us. If we’re good, then wherever we go, the goodness stays with us.” — Ajahn Chah [Virtue] [Blame and praise]
1. Guided meditation: Resolve right now is the time for training the mind and nothing else. From “The Key to Liberation” by Ajahn Chah. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Calming meditation] [Proliferation] [Determination] [Ajahn Chah] // [Mindfulness] [Discernment] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Body scanning] [Relinquishment] [Unification] [Restlessness and worry] [Concentration] [Present moment awareness] [Clear comprehension] [Impermanence] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Sense restraint]
Quote: “Sitting and walking meditation are in essence the same, differing only in the posture used.” [Posture/Sitting] [Posture/Walking]
Simile: Chicken in a coop. [Similes]
Simile: Mindfulness, clear comprehension, and wisdom are like three workers lifting heavy planks.
1. Guided meditation: The rythym of the sensation of the body as it is walking. Offered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Posture/Walking ] [Mindfulness of body] [Ajahn Chah] // [Calming meditation] [Present moment awareness] [Proliferation] [Tranquility] [Investigation of states]
1. Reading: Beyond Doubt. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Doubt] [Ajahn Chah] // [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Teachers] [Buddha] [Spiritual search] [Relinquishment] [Present moment awareness] [Emptiness] [Characteristics of existence] [Conditionality] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Liberation]
2. Reading: Everyday. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Everyday life] [Ajahn Chah] // [Ardency] [Sloth and torpor]
Simile: A child learning to write. [Similes]
3. Reading: Catching a Lizard. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Similes] [Ajahn Chah] // [Meditation/General advice] [Sense restraint] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness] [Clear comprehension]
4. Reading: One Seat. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Similes] [Ajahn Chah] // [Mindfulness] [Buddho mantra] [Volitional formations]
1. Question about how Ajahn Chah taught to deal with people externally. Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Community] [Ajahn Chah] // [Ajahn Mun] [Virtue] [Doubt] [Monastic life] [Views]
Story: A ghost tries to align the visitors sleeping in his hall. [Culture/Thailand] [Lodging] [Ghost] [Communal harmony]
Quote: “You have to have an anchor in your own practice.” [Similes]
2. “Did you as a Westerner have any difficulties meeting Ajahn Chah either with Buddhism or with Thailand? How did it get resolved or did it get resolved?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Culture/West] [Theravāda] [Culture/Thailand] [Ajahn Chah]
Story: Ajahn Chah replies evasively when asked three straightforward questions to teach his translator (Ajahn Pasanno) a lesson. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Aversion] [Questions] [Simplicity] [Teaching Dhamma] [Food] [Suffering]
3. “As an abbot taking care of a community, how do you handle it when a kerfluffle comes up?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Abbot] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Community] [Conflict ] // [Patience] [Views] [Skillful qualities] [Four Noble Truths]
Follow-up: “What are the antidotes to the next two Noble Truths?”
4. “When I’m mindful, then I become more aware of suffering. I could just go into story and not know that I’m suffering, so why would we choose to become aware of the suffering?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness] [Suffering] [Proliferation] // [Cessation of Suffering] [Clinging]
Quote: “The flavor of the end of suffering—I like that.”
5. Story: Ajahn Chah’s practice matures and he receives permission to teach. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Teaching Dhamma] [Ajahn Chah] // [Wat Pah Pong] [Rapture] [Almsround] [Ajahn Kinaree]
6. Reading from the draft biography: Ajahn Chah in the early years: spare, stern, and vigorous. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Personality] [Personal presence] [Ardency] [Ascetic practices] [Ajahn Chah] // [Similes]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 137
Quote: “Nibbāna lies on the shores of death.” — Ajahn Chah [Nibbāna] [Death]
7. Reading from the draft biography: Building the road to Tam Sang Pet. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Wat Tam Saeng Pet] [Work] [Ajahn Chah] // [Culture/Natural environment] [Ajahn Anek] [Patience] [Perception of a samaṇa] [Ardency]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 428
Quote: “Patient endurance is the general of practice.” — Ajahn Chah
8. Reading from the draft biography: Ajahn Chah’s ability to draw people in and respond with compassion. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Personal presence] [Compassion] [Generosity] [Ajahn Chah] // [Wat Tam Saeng Pet] [Rains retreat] [Sickness] [Almsround] [Teaching Dhamma] [Similes] [Upatakh]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 705
9. Reading: Ajahn Chah’s first Western disciple. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Sumedho] [History/Western Buddhist monasticism] [Ajahn Chah] // [Military] [Humor] [Monastic life] [Wat Pah Pong]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 486
10. Reading: Ajahn Gavesako’s first impressions of Wat Pah Pong. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Gavesako] [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Chah] // [Almsround] [Perception of a samaṇa] [Cleanliness] [Humor] [Unwholesome Roots] [Dhamma] [Gratitude] [Upatakh]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 502
1. Story: Ajahn Pasanno attempts tudong in California. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Abhayagiri] [Tudong] // [Ageing] [Health]
2. Story: Ajahn Chah lets a restless junior monk go tudong in the hot season. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Restlessness and worry] [Sequence of training] [Culture/Natural environment] [Tudong]
3. Story: Ajahn Jotipālo’s tudong north along the Mississippi. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Jotipālo] [Tudong] // [Robes] [Sickness] [Culture/West] [Almsfood]
4. Story: Ajahn Chah asks Ajahn Sumedho if he might go back to America as a monk. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Culture/West] [Monastic life] [Tudong] // [Almsfood] [History/Western Buddhist monasticism]
Quote: “You mean to say there are no kind people in America?” — Ajahn Chah to Ajahn Sumedho [Compassion]
5. Story: Ajahn Mun doesn’t spend consecutive rains retreats in the same place until his mid-70s. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Mun] [Rains retreat] [Ageing] [Tudong] // [Stages of awakening] [Seclusion] [Teaching Dhamma]
Story: Saṅgha authorities appoint Ajahn Mun abbot of a monastery in Chiang Mai. He leaves before dawn the next day. [Abbot] [History/Thai Buddhism] [Saṅgha decision making]
Story: One million people attend the funeral of Ajahn Mahā Boowa. [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Funerals]
6. Story: Ajahn Kinaree walks to India over the course of 15 years in the 1920s and 30s. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Kinaree] [Visiting holy sites] [Tudong]
7. Story: Ajahn Supah chooses tudong over further studies. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Supah] [Culture/Thailand] [Study monks] [Learning] [Tudong] // [Liberation] [Goodwill] [Simplicity] [Virtue] [Recollection/Virtue]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno’s mother cries when she meets Ajahn Supah. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Faith] [Rapture]
Story: A python begins to eat Ajahn Supah. [Animal] [Determination]
8. Quote: “In the old days, tudong monks would show up at the monastery and ask about almsfood routes, toilets, and meetings. Now the first thing tudong monks ask is, ‘Is there a cell phone signal?’” — anonymous. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Protocols] [Technology] [Culture/Thailand] [Tudong]
9. Quote: “Instead of going tudong, monks go taludong (through the forest).” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Culture/Thailand] [Tudong] // [Environment] [Commerce/economics]
1. “Did you walk from Mendocino?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Tudong]
2. “What is the function of a layperson who accompanies a monk on tudong?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Lay life] [Tudong] // [Sequence of training] [Abhayagiri] [Eight Precepts] [Culture/Thailand] [Ajahn Chah]
Quote: “People who ordain quickly disrobe quickly.” — Ajahn Chah [Ordination] [Disrobing]
Story: Founding of Pacific Hermitage. [Pacific Hermitage] [Almsround] [Almsfood]
3. Comment: Living on faith increases your potential anxiety level. I came to Buddhism thinking this would settle my life, but I realize that being open, aware, and sensitive to the world keeps bringing me new challenges. [Faith] [Restlessness and worry] [Everyday life] [Conscience and prudence] [Tudong]
Sutta: Dhp 244-245: Life is easy for for one without shame. [Conceit] [Virtue]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno: “You get more than what you bargained for.” [Happiness] [Culture/West] [Communal harmony] [Trust] [Concentration] [Ardency] [Energy] [Discernment] [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] [Right Effort]
Sutta: AN 11.1: Virtue leads to non-remorse and samādhi.
4. “Can the practice be used in a punitative or punishing way?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] // [Culture/West] [Habits] [Clear comprehension] [Craving not to become]
Quote: “Having a human mind...it’s amazing how perverse it can be sometimes.” [Human] [Unwholesome Roots]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno can’t translate guilt into Thai. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Translation] [Culture/Thailand] [Suffering]
Quote: “All you need to do is create a cage of mindfulness around [unskillful habits].” — Ajahn Chah [Ajahn Chah] [Sense restraint] [Mindfulness] [Unskillful qualities] [Similes]
Follow-up: “What about letting the tiger go instead of keeping it in a cage?”
Follow-up: “What about the case when one feels one is the tiger trapped in a metaphorical cage. How to escape?” [Liberation] [Perception] [Self-identity view] [Spiritual friendship]
5. “If sati or mindfulness is the cage, what is the use of samatha?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Similes] [Mindfulness] [Calming meditation] [Concentration] [Unwholesome Roots] // [Tranquility] [Discernment] [Relinquishment]
6. “Could you tell of your personal experience with a tiger?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Animal] [Tudong]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno hears and smells a tiger while doing walking meditation. [Dtao Dum] [Culture/Natural environment] [Posture/Walking] [Fear] [Death] [Impermanence] [Mindfulness] [Clear comprehension]
Sutta: MN 4: Fear and Dread
7. “Is there a distinction between the awareness and the naming? Does naming bring intellect or self into play? Is confusion the nagging sense of self or self-consciousness?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Knowing itself] [Perception] [Noting] [Self-identity view] [Delusion] // [Investigation of states] [Proliferation] [Relinquishment] [Equanimity] [Doubt] [Mindfulness of body] [Continuity of mindfulness]
8. “In the trio of attraction, aversion, and confusion, what does confusion mean?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Unwholesome Roots] [Delusion]
9. “I have an internal voice that’s concerned whether I’m doing it right; if I’m not doing it right, then I won’t get where I want to go. Is this delusion?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Eightfold Path] [Perfectionism] [Delusion] // [Suffering] [Fear] [Mindfulness of body] [Volitional formations]
10. “For Lent, I practiced metta every day for six weeks for a person who I was very angry at. By the end of Lent, I was even more angry. Could you speak to this?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Goodwill] [Aversion] [Christianity] // [Right Effort] [Discernment] [Unwholesome Roots] [Relinquishment] [Self-identity view] [Clinging]
Quote: “If the kilesa (defilements) come at you high, then you duck, and if they come at you low, then you jump over them.” — Ajahn Tongrat [Ajahn Tongrat]
11. “I’m curious about your pre-monastic life and specifically what led you to the monastic life.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Monastic life/Motivation] // [Temporary ordination] [Ajahn Chah] [Wat Pah Pong]
Quote: “If you want to stay here, you have to stay at least five years.” — Ajahn Chah to Ajahn Pasanno [Sequence of training]
12. “If I saw you and the monks walking down the streets of Fairfax, I’m not sure I would know what to do. How should I approach you?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Almsround] [Tudong] // [Almsbowl] [Almsfood] [Not handling money]
13. “To what extend is spreading the teachings part of the tudong tradition?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Teaching Dhamma] [Tudong] // [Culture/Thailand]
Vinaya: Kd 1.23: Venerable Assaji’s demeanor inspires Sariputta. [Great disciples] [Perception of a samaṇa]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno goes tudong and is asked for lottery numbers. [Ajahn Pasanno]
14. “I travelled for six weeks in Thailand and India and found that time really shifted. Having been home about two months, even with a daily meditation practice, time speeds up. How is life at the monastery versus tudong, and what do you have to say to laypeople about the speeding up of time?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Pace of life] [Culture/Thailand] [Culture/India] [Culture/West] [Tudong] [Everyday life] [Monastic life] // [Craving] [Devotional practice]
15. “Is it possible to visit the monastery?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Gratitude] [Monasteries] [Abhayagiri] // [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support]
16. Meditation instructions: Walking meditation. Offered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Posture/Walking] // [Abhayagiri]
1. Story: Ajahn Chah’s first tudong. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Renunciation] [Spiritual search] [Simplicity] [Tudong]
2. Story: Ajahn Chah obsesses about getting robes. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Poverty] [Robes] [Greed] [Tudong] // [History/Thai Buddhism] [Determination] [Simplicity] [Craving] [Ajahn Kinaree]
3. Quote: “You fall down, you get up, you crawl along. ” — Ajahn Mahā Boowa. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Patience] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Tudong]
4. Story: Ajahn Chah struggles through lust with patience. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Sensual desire ] [Patience] [Tudong] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Human] [Meditation/Techniques] [Impermanence]
Quote: Ajahn Chah to biographer: “If you don’t put that in the book, don’t bother printing it.” [Dhamma books]
Quote: “If you ordain as a monk, your defilements ordain with you.” [Monastic life] [Unwholesome Roots]
5. Quote: “You’re inspired, and you put forth effort. You’re depressed and fed up, and you put forth effort. You’re rested, and you put forth effort. You’re tired, and you put forth effort. ” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Right Effort] [Ardency] [Faith] [Tudong] [Depression] [Sloth and torpor] // [Gladdening the mind]
6. Story: How Ajahn Pasanno became abbot of Wat Pah Nanachat. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Abbot] [Tudong] // [Ajahn Chah] [Saṅgha decision making]
7. Story: Ajahn Pasanno’s tudong practice. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Seclusion] [Tudong] // [Meditation] [Sickness] [Ajahn Amaro] [Abhayagiri] [Patience]
8. Story: Ajahn Pasanno gets a foot infection on tudong. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Sickness] [Culture/Thailand] [Health care] [Tudong] // [Killing] [Goodwill]
9. Story: Ajahn Pasanno loses his vision on tudong. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Sickness] [Health care] [Tudong] // [Patience] [Seclusion] [Dtao Dum]
10. Quote: “It all comes back to that simple quality of mindfulness. From the mindfulness, then the different qualities of practice that we need to rely on are cultivated.” — Ajahn Pasanno [Mindfulness ] [Faculties] [Tudong] // [Concentration ] [Thai] [Translation] [Discernment] [Perfections]
Reflection: In Thai, samādhi is translated as “the firm establishing of the mind.”
Quote: “The base and foundation is the mindfulness. Being the knowing is always the foundation, and then the mind is able to become still, become settled, become steady.” [Knowing itself]
Recollection: “It’s rare that Ajahn Chah would use [the Pāli term] pañña on its own. More often than not, he would use satipañña, which is mindfulness and wisdom together.” [Ajahn Chah] [Pāli]
1. “Could you expand about the layers of understanding of thought, perception, and dukkha?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Yatiko. [Discernment] [Directed thought and evaluation] [Perception] [Suffering] // [Proliferation] [Relinquishment]
Quote: “First you study the Dhamma, then you know the Dhamma, then you see the Dhamma, they you be the Dhamma.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Dhamma] [Progress of insight]
Commentary: Path of Purification by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, p. 631: The highest level of understanding is giving up.
2. Comment: Ajahn Chah said that Nibbāna is letting go, but this is difficult to do at deep levels. [Ajahn Chah] [Nibbāna] [Relinquishment] [Suffering]
Responses by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Yatiko. [Self-identity view] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma]
3. Comment: In the practice, we use gladdening the mind to balance the preception of suffering. [Gladdening the mind] [Noble Truth of Suffering] [Cessation of Suffering] [Recollection]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Four Noble Truths]
4. “What is the difference between mindfulness, bare attention, and clear comprehension? Can you flesh out the word understanding?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness] [Direct experience] [Clear comprehension] // [Right Effort] [Discernment] [Right Mindfulness] [Ardency] [Investigation of states] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Greed] [Aversion]
Sutta: MN 118: Ānāpānasati Sutta
5. “Sometimes you hear something...[audio unclear]....What is your opinion?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Gladdening the mind] [Discernment] [Release] [Cessation of Suffering]
Sutta: AN 8.19: “Just as the ocean has only one taste...” [Liberation]
1. “What would be a way to connect with the deva-like humans?” Answered by Ajahn Yatiko. [Human] [Deva] [Recollection/Devas] // [Realms of existence]
2. “What would be a way to connect with the devas if you were out walking by yourself...[audio unclear]?” Answered by Ajahn Yatiko. [Culture/Natural environment] [Deva] [Recollection/Devas] // [Recollection/Buddha] [Spiritual search]
3. “I’ve heard that devas and brahmas aren’t able to become enlightened. Is that right?” Answered by Ajahn Yatiko and Ajahn Pasanno. [Liberation] [Deva] [Recollection/Devas] // [Delusion] [Heedlessness] [Sutta] [Great disciples] [Four Noble Truths]
Sutta: SN 56.11: Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta
Story: Ajahn Sudanto’s pūjā on Mount Hood. [Pacific Hermitage] [Ajahn Sudanto] [Pūjā] [Culture/Natural environment] [Merit] [Goodwill]
4. Comment: Contemplating the devas opens my mind to waking up. [Liberation] [Deva] [Recollection/Devas]
Response by Ajahn Yatiko. [Mindfulness] [Energy] [Proliferation] [Depression] [Sutta] [Culture/Natural environment]
5. Comment: I ask myself, “Do I believe in Māra?” There’s no doubt. I try to balance this with the devas. [Māra] [Deva] [Recollection/Devas]
Response by Ajahn Yatiko. [Skillful qualities]
6. “Are angels devas...[audio unclear]?” Answered by Ajahn Yatiko. [Christianity] [Deva] [Recollection/Devas] // [God] [Delusion]
7. Comment: Maybe recollection of the devas isn’t frequently taught because it could slip into a desire for heaven. [Craving for material existence] [Deva] [Recollection/Devas]
Response by Ajahn Yatiko. [Sutta] [Hell] [Kamma] [Delusion]
8. Comment: For me it is a question of whether I can believe it or not. It depends on where I place my mind. [Faith] [Science] [Emptiness] [Proliferation] [Deva] [Recollection/Devas] [Dalai Lama] [Death]
Response by Ajahn Yatiko. [Doubt] [Trust] [Tranquility]
1. “Could you speak more about the concept of relinquishment, giving up, and how it relates to giving?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Relinquishment] [Recollection/Generosity] [Generosity] // [Clinging]
2. Comment: I’m looking at contemplating peace as opposed to grasping for peace as a result of aversion to dukkha. There’s not the same result. [Recollection/Peace] [Clinging] [Aversion] [Suffering]
Response by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Noble Truth of Suffering] [Craving not to become] [Relinquishment] [Kamma]
3. Comment: So you maximize the internal benefit you receive...[audio unclear]? [Recollection/Generosity] [Generosity]
Responses by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo, Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Yatiko. [Faith] [Discernment] [Clinging] [Habits] [Proliferation] [Idealism]
1. Comment by Ajahn Yatiko: In the image of planting a seed (AN 1.314-315), for Dhamma practice it needs to be a seed that comes from the Buddha. [Similes] [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Teaching Dhamma] [Gradual Teaching] [Buddha]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Right View] [Christianity]
2. “In the example you gave of the snake (MN 22), can you give an example of how the Dhamma can bite you?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Yatiko. [Similes] [Gradual Teaching] // [Abhidhamma] [Conflict] [Meditation/Techniques] [Clinging] [Unwholesome Roots] [Right Intention] [Learning]
Story: The teachings of Dhammakaya. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Self-identity view] [Commerce/economics] [Nibbāna] [Generosity]
Story: An Abhidhamma teacher visits Ajahn Chah. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah]
3. “How does one look at intention?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Yatiko. [Volition] [Right Intention] // [Four Noble Truths] [Discernment] [Delusion]
Quote: “Sometimes you don’t want to look at intention too closely because you’ll convince yourself of anything.” — Ajahn Pasanno
4. “Can you talk about how ‘Aha!’ moments relate to the gradual path?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Liberation] [Gradual Teaching] // [Faculties]
5. “When I read a story that someone has awakened, what does this mean? Does it mean that the practice continues on another level?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Yatiko. [Liberation] [Gradual Teaching] // [Language] [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Faith] [Discernment]
6. Comment: The simile of the snake (MN 22) describes my practice. I’ve been bitten quite a lot. [Similes] [Gradual Teaching]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Yatiko. [Suffering] [Humility]
7. “In the West, there are so many religious practices from the East. How do we relate to them all.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Spiritual traditions] [Hinduism] [Gradual Teaching] // [Buddha/Biography] [Teaching Dhamma]
Sutta: MN 95: Caṅkī Sutta [Conditionality] [Faith]
Quote: “I’ve been an abbot for thirty years, and I’m quite happy. One of the reasons I’m happy is I don’t feel I have to go and convince anybody of anything.” — Ajahn Pasanno [Ajahn Pasanno] [Monastic life] [Happiness] [Contentment]
8. Comment: Your statement that faith comes from building confidence and confidence comes from direct experience is so true. [Faith] [Direct experience] [Conflict] [Gradual Teaching]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
1. “Could you elaborate on how the Four Foundations of Mindfulness are analogous to the first jhāna? How does this differ from second jhāna?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Right Mindfulness] [Jhāna] [Gradual Teaching] // [Directed thought and evaluation]
2. “In the analogy of the accountant (MN 107), it seems that the training works linearly. Are there basic practices that are important to focus on in the beginning? Are ther other practices which should not be attempted in the beginning?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Similes] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Gradual Teaching] // [Faith] [Kamma] [Unconditioned] [Learning] [Relinquishment] [Concentration]
Story: A monk carrying money asks to stay at Wat Pah Pong. [Ajahn Chah] [Wat Pah Pong] [Not handling money]
3. Comment: You spoke about suffusing the body with extreme well-being. But I’ve been in states like that and my body seems to disappear. [Jhāna] [Happiness] [Rapture ] [Mindfulness of body] [Gradual Teaching] [Meditation/Unusual experiences]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
Quote: “It isn’t so much the experience of extreme well-being that is the goal. It’s the ability to gain clarity and stability so that one can see through the experience as something that is uncertain or impermanent, has a changing nature. The mind often wants to disregard that. The tendency to identify self with experience on a refined mental level is tempered by the body experience.” [Clear comprehension] [Concentration] [Knowledge and vision] [Impermanence] [Delusion] [Self-identity view] [Relinquishment]
Follow-up: “Are you saying you can become attached to these states?” [Clinging]
4. Comment: The descriptions in Mae Chee Kaew’s biography of how difficult it was for her to give up her experiences with the astral world speak to me. [Mae Chee Kaew] [Clinging] [Deva] [Gradual Teaching]
Reference: Mae Chee Kaew: Her Journey to Spiritual Awakening and Enlightenment by Ajahn Dick Sīlaratano
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Happiness] [Mindfulness of body]
5. “In regards to the simile of the path to Rājagaha (MN 107), could you describe classic mistakes made by sincere beginning, intermediate and advanced practitioners?” Answered by Ajahn Yatiko and Ajahn Jotipālo. [Similes] [Gradual Teaching] // [Faith] [Doubt] [Truth] [Virtue] [Liberation] [Conditionality] [Christianity] [Suffering]
6. Story: They ask the Zen master what would it say if they wrote the biography of his life? “One mistake after another.” [Zen] [Learning] [Humility] [Gradual Teaching]
7. Comments about the role of heaven as a haven in the practice. [Deva] [Faith] [Three Refuges] [Four Noble Truths] [Gradual Teaching]
8. “How do we know when to ask for directions on the path as opposed to just continuing farther? What would we ask?” Answered by Ajahn Yatiko. [Questions] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Gradual Teaching] // [Suffering] [Discernment] [Conditionality] [Faith]
Sutta: SN 12.23: Suffering is the cause of faith.
Follow-up: “What about when things are pleasant, but we’re not headed in the right direction?” [Happiness] [Mindfulness] [Deva] [Relinquishment]
Sutta: MN 75: Simile of the leper. [Similes]
Sutta: SN 56.35: Stream entry after 100 years. [Stream entry] [Four Noble Truths]
9. “Can you speak more about the impermance of goodness?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Impermanence] [Virtue] [Gradual Teaching] // [Conditionality] [Happiness] [Compassion] [Fear] [Suffering] [Clinging]
Sutta: AN 8.39: Five great gifts which give freedom from fear. [Generosity] [Five Precepts]
Quote: “The basis of Right View is knowing that this cup is a broken glass.” — Ajahn Chah [Ajahn Chah] [Right View]
1. Readings: Buddhist Economics: A Middle Way for the Market Place by P. A. Payutto, p. 19; Buddhist Economics: A Middle Way for the Market Place by P. A. Payutto, p. 36. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Commerce/economics] [Requisites] [Right Livelihood]
2. “Lottery numbers?...Is the problem that the monks have the right numbers so everyone flocks to them?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Monastic life] [Psychic powers] [Right Livelihood]
3. “Could you talk more about the particular professions that the Buddha laid out as wrong livelihood (AN 5.177)? Why is being in the military not on the list?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Work] [Military] [Right Livelihood ] // [Unskillful qualities] [Kamma] [Killing] [Intoxicants] [Rebirth]
Story: The widow of a wealthy man divests from Singha Beer. [Commerce/economics]
4. “Is growing grapes right livelihood?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Intoxicants] [Commerce/economics] [Right Livelihood]
Story: The son of a winemaking family lives on the land but doesn’t participate in wine production. [Family]
5. “Can you speak about the people who sell these things [intoxicants] versus those who make them?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Intoxicants] [Commerce/economics] [Right Livelihood] // [Kamma] [Volition]
Story: A clerk at an organic food store asks about selling wine. Told by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo.
6. “If the person selling the product enjoys selling it and the person buying it enjoys the product, what is the unpleasant consequence?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Commerce/economics] [Sensual desire] [Kamma] [Right Livelihood] // [Unskillful qualities] [Intoxicants] [Crime] [Heedlessness]
7. “What about people whose livelihood falls into one of these categories [AN 5.177] but they are convinced that it’s good for the world or that it had to be done?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Volition] [Right Livelihood] // [Delusion]
8. Comment about the nuances involved in the activities comprising wrong livelihood. [Intoxicants] [Right Livelihood]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Unskillful qualities] [Community]
9. “Is caffeine an intoxicant?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Intoxicants] [Right Livelihood] // [Medicinal requisites]
10. Comments about meat eating. [Food] [Killing] [Craving] [Vegetarianism] [Right Livelihood]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Volition] [Human]
11. Quote: “Different people will be comfortable at different degrees of contentment and ability to live simply.” — P. A. Payutto. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [P. A. Payutto] [Personality] [Contentment] [Simplicity] [Right Livelihood] [Happiness]
12. “The Buddha taught the five forms of wrong livelihood [AN 5.177]. This is from the producer side. Is there a similar teaching from the consumer side?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Commerce/economics ] [Right Livelihood] // [Idealism] [Politics and society] [Buddha/Biography] [Skillful qualities]
13. “What is the view on medical or pharmaceutical professions?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Health care] [Medicinal requisites] [Right Livelihood]
14. “What about things that have an ostensibly benign purpose, such as pesticides and fertilizers used for raising food, but then in fact have quite harmful effects?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Food] [Environment] [Right Livelihood] // [Commerce/economics] [Politics and society]
15. “Is there any instruction from the Buddha about how to deal with profit-motivated pharmaceutical research decisions?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Buddha] [Health care] [Commerce/economics] [Right Livelihood]
16. “Some people want to help but find themselves in situations in which profit dictates the priorities. How can they protect their integrity in such situations?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Compassion] [Health care] [Commerce/economics] [Right Intention] [Right Livelihood ] // [Learning] [Idealism] [Requisites] [Happiness]
Story: Ajahn Karuniko studies engineering, then quits a job in the arms industry to become a monk. [Military] [Monastic life/Motivation]
17. Comment by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo: It’s not easy giving up the things we’re used to in order to follow the path. [Renunciation] [Eightfold Path] [Clinging] [Happiness] [Right Livelihood]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Suffering] [Commerce/economics]
18. “When quitting a job, should you consider the welfare of the next person who will fill it?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Right Livelihood]
19. Comment by Ajahn Yatiko: Right Livelihood isn’t about judging other people’s livelihood. [Judgementalism] [Right Livelihood]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Eightfold Path] [Pāli] [Cessation of Suffering] [Happiness]
20. Comments about Temple Grandon designing low-anxiety slaughterhouses. [Killing] [Food] [Right Livelihood]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
21. Quote: “The Buddha’s function was not to make grand pronouncements that apply universally, everywhere, all the time. He gave guidelines to relfect a variety of circumstances, personal effects, social effects, and then make a decision from there.” — Ajahn Pasanno [Buddha] [Idealism] [Discernment] [Conditionality] [Right Livelihood] [Kamma] [Community] [Politics and society]
22. Comments about thinking versus feeling out the quality of the heart in decision making. [Directed thought and evaluation] [Mindfulness of mind] [Discernment] [Clear comprehension] [Right Livelihood]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
23. Reading: A Constitution for Living by P. A. Payutto, p. 33. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Right Livelihood]
24. Reading: A Constitution for Living by P. A. Payutto, p. 35. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Right Livelihood]
25. “There are many people without access to resources for education or training without many choices. How does this all fit together?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Poverty ] [Learning] [Politics and society] [Right Livelihood] // [Buddha] [Idealism]
Sutta: DN 27: Agañña Sutta
26. “In DN 31.26, what is investment versus savings?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Commerce/economics ] [Right Livelihood]
Comments by various participants about the nature of investment. [Unskillful qualities] [Greed] [Work]
Sutta: DN 31.32: Siṅgālasutta Sutta: Five duties of an employer to employees; interpreted in A Constitution for Living by P. A. Payutto, p. 7.
27. Comments about the differences between ancient and modern economic systems and the importance of understanding and applying the Buddha’s principles. [Commerce/economics] [Cultural context] [Culture/West] [Work] [Right Livelihood] // [Food] [Poverty]
28. “Do you know the qualities the employee is supposed to give the employer?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Work] [Right Livelihood]
Sutta: DN 31.32: Siṅgālasutta Sutta
29. Story: The head of Lalanka Water invites monks to stay above his office and teach the employees. Told by Ajahn Yatiko. [Work] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Teaching Dhamma] [Right Livelihood] // [Lunar observance days] [Eight Precepts] [Meditation] [Dhamma discussion] [Respect]
Story: The ultra-competent assistant who wants to ordain. [Monastic life/Motivation]
Story: The king’s assistant who dives into the water to get 20 pounds of gold (DN 17).