Ajahn Sumedho
Teachings by Ajahn Sumedho
Ajahn Sumedho
Teachings by Ajahn Sumedho
1. Ajahn Amaro introduces Ajahn Sumedho. [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [Amaravati] [Abhayagiri] [Spirit Rock] [Teachers] [Meditation retreats]
2. The inspiration of Ajahn Chah. Teaching by Ajahn Sumedho. [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [Mahatma Gandhi] [Discernment] [Humility] [Goodwill] [Mentoring] [Faith] [Learning]
3. Quote: “He made sense out of monasticism.” — Ajahn Sumedho [Monastic life] [Saṅgha] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [Vinaya] [Dhamma] [Trust]
4. Quote: “I think with any Westerner, we’re so full of ourselves when we go [to Asia]. We want to get enlightened....” — Ajahn Sumedho [Culture/West] [Conceit] [Liberation] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [Mentoring] [Respect for elders]
5. Story: How Ajahn Sumedho met Ajahn Chah. Told by Ajahn Sumedho. [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [Language] [Military] [Vinaya] [Ordination]
6. How Ajahn Chah taught me. Teaching by Ajahn Sumedho. [Teaching Dhamma] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [Ageing] [Faith] [Happiness] [Vinaya] [Humor] [Self-identity view] [Culture/West] [Goodwill] [Right Effort] [Idealism] [Clinging]
Quote: “It was through example that I really learned.” [Ajahn Sumedho]
7. How would Ajahn Chah fare in England? Teaching by Ajahn Sumedho. [History/Western Buddhist monasticism] [Culture/West] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [Respect for elders] [Culture/Thailand] [Vinaya] [Discernment] [Pace of life]
Story: An emergency landing in Rome. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Fear] [Sensual desire]
Story: Ajahn Chah was threatened while walking almsround in London. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Almsround] [Dhamma]
8. Ajahn Chah made me look at myself. Teaching by Ajahn Sumedho. [Teaching Dhamma] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Posture/Sitting] [Pain] [Aversion] [Admonishment/feedback] [Humor] [Patience] [Goodwill] [Discernment] [Contentment] [Cessation] [Happiness] [Saṅgha] [Views] [Relinquishment]
Quote: “Your practice now is patience.” — Ajahn Chah [Ajahn Sumedho]
Story: Ajahn Chah chats for hours after Pāṭimokkha. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Idle chatter] [Judgementalism]
1. Reflection by Ajahn Sumedho: From idealism to the way it is. [Idealism] [Equanimity] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [Culture/Thailand] [Culture/West] [Suffering] [Delusion] [Aversion]
Story: A Thai monk’s perspective on worldly stupidity. [Military]
Quote: “Someone with that kind of pure presence is really a mirror.” [Personal presence] [Teaching Dhamma]
2. I was the first Westerner at Wat Pah Pong. Recollection by Ajahn Sumedho. [Wat Pah Pong] [History/Western Buddhist monasticism] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [Military] [Culture/Thailand] [Aversion] [Rains retreat] [Types of monks]
3. “When I went to stay with Luang Por Chah, he said, ‘Don’t read anything.’” Recollection by Ajahn Sumedho. [Learning] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [Abhidhamma] [Rains retreat] [Meditation]
4. “His way of teaching was direct....He would use the essential teaching of the Buddha, the Four Noble Truths.” Recollection by Ajahn Sumedho. [Teaching Dhamma] [Four Noble Truths] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [Noble Truth of Suffering] [Human] [Culture/Thailand] [Ageing] [Sickness] [Death] [Spiritual traditions] [Self-identity view]
Quote: “It’s the suffering that awakens you.” — Ajahn Chah [Suffering] [Liberation]
5. Story: “Sumedho, Wat Pah Pong, is it suffering?” Told by Ajahn Sumedho. [Wat Pah Pong] [Suffering] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [Lunar observance days] [Work] [Monastic crafts] [Aversion] [Cleanliness]
Quote: “To want something that’s not present, something you don’t have, is suffering.” [Craving] [Cause of Suffering] [Culture/Natural environment] [Saṅgha] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Culture/West]
6. “It wasn’t just suffering that Luang Por [Chah] was pointing to, but also non-suffering.” Reflection by Ajahn Sumedho. [Suffering] [Cessation of Suffering] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [Relinquishment] [Clinging] [Knowing itself]
7. Quote: “When I saw Luang Por Chah when he had his stroke, I felt an almost unbearable sense of grief and loss. Then I remembered, ‘This is the way it is.’” — Ajahn Sumedho [Sickness] [Grief] [Equanimity] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [Faith] [Aversion] [Relinquishment]
1. My contact with Ajahn Chah is through meeting Ajahn Sumedho. Reflection by Ajahn Sundarā. [Ajahn Sundarā] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Ajahn Chah] // [Faith] [Monastic life]
3. Story: Ajahn Sundarā stays with a nun who lived at Wat Pah Pong with Ajahn Chah. Told by Ajahn Sundarā. [Ajahn Sundarā] [Mae Chee] [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Chah]
Story: The first nun at Wat Pah Pong. [Artistic expression] [Determination] [Sequence of training] [Eight Precepts]
Story: The Wat Pah Pong nuns go pindapat. [Almsround]
Quote: “Does anyone find having nuns around difficult?” – “Yes.” – “Well, you can go then.” — Ajahn Chah [Pāṭimokkha] [Women in Buddhism]
Story: A woman brings only enough food for the monks, so Ajahn Chah asks the nuns to chant the blessing. [Generosity] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Chanting] [Fierce/direct teaching]
Ajahn Chah’s inner freedom. [Liberation] [Courage] [Conventions] [Unconditioned] [Teaching Dhamma] [Dhamma books] [Personal presence]
The confidence to be totally yourself. [Faith] [Self-reliance] [Gratitude] [Ajahn Chah lineage] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Aversion]
4. Stories about the people who criticized Chithurst Monastery in the early days. Told by Joseph Kappel and Ajahn Amaro. [Conflict] [Chithurst] // [Ajahn Sumedho] [Ajahn Anando] [Culture/West] [Communal harmony]
2. Context of the reading: walking into Wat Pah Pong. Reflection by Joseph Kappel. [Ajahn Chah] // [Joseph Kappel] [Wat Pah Pong] [Culture/Natural environment] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Shelter] [Posture/Walking] [Dōgen] [Ajahn Amaro]
2. I was the first Westerner, so he gave me an enormous amout of attention for the first two or three years. Reflection by Ajahn Sumedho. [History/Western Buddhist monasticism] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Mentoring] [Ajahn Chah] // [Ajahn Mahā Amorn] [Other Thai Forest teachers] [Pāṭimokkha] [Conceit] [Truth] [Compassion] [Humor]
Story: Venerable Varapañño chants the Pāṭimokkha better than Ajahn Sumedho. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Competitiveness] [Jealousy]
Note: The story that Ajahn Sumedho didn’t tell is probably told in Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 189.
4. When I first went there, the town monks were very critical of Ajahn Chah. Reflection by Ajahn Sumedho. [Forest versus city monks] [Wat Pah Pong] [Aversion] [Ajahn Chah] // [Ajahn Sumedho] [Rains retreat] [Forgiveness] [Jealousy] [History/Thai Buddhism] [Ajahn Mun]
5. Story: Ajahn Chah orders Ajahn Sumedho to stay in England for five years. Told by Ajahn Sumedho. [Ajahn Sumedho] [History/Western Buddhist monasticism] [Ajahn Chah] // [Determination]
Story: The Kaṭhina that Ajahn Sumedho didn’t want to attend. [Kaṭhina] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Harsh speech]
1. “Why was Ajahn Chah not allowed to ordain monks and ostracized?” Answered by Ajahn Sumedho. [Ordination] [Ajahn Chah] // [History/Thai Buddhism] [Monastic titles] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Saṅgha]
2. Story: Ajahn Anando tries to heal Ajahn Chah. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Ajahn Anando] [Health care] [Ajahn Chah] // [Ajahn Sumedho] [Sickness] [Fierce/direct teaching]
2. Story: Venerable Pabakkaro (Joseph Kappel) spends time in solitude. Told by Joseph Kappel. [Joseph Kappel] [Seclusion] [Ajahn Chah] // [Ajahn Sumedho]
2. Reflection by Ajahn Sumedho: The unexpected value of traditional Buddhist forms. [Conventions] [Culture/West] [Theravāda] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Ajahn Chah] // [Zen] [History/Thai Buddhism] [History/Other Theravāda traditions]
3. Reflection by Ajahn Sumedho: The convention is like a skeleton, but the life comes through the individuals. [Conventions] [Vinaya] [Theravāda] [Ajahn Chah] // [Ajahn Sumedho] [Judgementalism] [Compassion] [Goodwill] [Teachers] [Liberation] [Personality] [Ardency] [Continuity of mindfulness]
4. Recollection: The June 2000 Saṅgha Meeting discusses allowable sweets and protecting Ajahn Chah’s name. Recounted by Ajahn Sumedho. [Wat Pah Pong] [Saṅgha] [Saṅgha decision making] // [Ajahn Sumedho] [Seclusion] [Personality] [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Medicinal requisites] [Technology]
5. Story: Wat Pah Pong monks develop malnutrition when Ajahn Chah goes away for several months. Told by Ajahn Sumedho. [Wat Pah Pong] [Almsfood] [Sickness] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Ajahn Chah] // [Mae Chee] [Food] [Almsround] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Ajahn Liem] [Fierce/direct teaching]
15. (A) “Please say a few more words on posture. For example, I noticed that my body was leaning towards the left. If I weighted my right hand with intention, this seems to stop. Is this a correct tactic?” (B) “In my martial arts training, a goal is to relax and make the breathing easier. Is that true of vipassanā as well?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Posture/Sitting] [Mindfulness of body] [Volition] [Tranquility] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Insight meditation] // [Aggregates] [Energy] [Buddha images]
Quote: “That looks like a farang [Western] Buddha. It looks very tense.” — Ajahn Chah [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Artistic expression] [Culture/West]
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]
9. Reading: Ajahn Chah’s first Western disciple. [Ajahn Sumedho] [History/Western Buddhist monasticism] [Ajahn Chah] // [Military] [Humor] [Monastic life] [Wat Pah Pong]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 486
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 [Ajahn Sumedho] [Compassion]
2. Recollection: This talk was given to a group of Western monks led by Ajahn Khantipālo paying respects to Ajahn Chah in Bangkok. Recounted by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Ajahn Khantipālo] [Ajahn Chah] // [Ajahn Sumedho] [Translation] [Hearing the true Dhamma]
1. “Ajahn Chah took Ajahn Mahā Amon and Ajahn Sumedho to visit Luang Ta Mahā Boowa and Ajahn Kaew. What happened?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Mahā Amorn] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Ajahn Khao] // [Teaching Dhamma] [Simplicity]
Story: Ajahn Chah turned on a tape recorder, but the only part of the conversation that was recorded was when Ajahn Kaew farted. [Technology] [Psychic powers]
Note: A partially similar story appears in Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 189.
7. “What do monks do with Pāli study levels?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Learning] [Pāli] [Culture/Thailand] [Types of monks] // [P. A. Payutto]
Story: Tan Chao Khun Prayoon Dhammacitto, the head of the Buddhist University in Bangkok, visits Wat Pah Nanachat. [Chao Khun Prayoon] [Thai sects] [Wat Pah Nanachat]
Story: Ajahn Mahā Adisak, a ninth-degree Pāli scholar, spends a year at Amaravati. [Ajahn Mahā Adisak] [Amaravati] [Ajahn Sumedho]
Story: He found it difficult to translate Ajahn Amaro’s teachings to Westerners into Thai. [Ajahn Amaro] [Culture/West] [Translation] [Dhamma books]
1. Information about Twigs and Branches of the Bodhinaya and the sections that Ajahn Kovilo reads. [Ajahn Chah lineage] [Ajahn Chah] [Dhamma books] // [Translation] [Ajahn Jundee] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Sumedho]
4. “Was Ajahn Jun around when you were training?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Jun] [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Liem] [Ajahn Boon Choo]
Story: Ajahn Sumedho gets upset at Ajahn Chah for not admonishing lax monks. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Admonishment/feedback]
5. Story: Ajahn Chah prevents supporters from bringing Ajahn Sumedho special food. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Food] [Ajahn Chah]
6. “How many Somdets and Chao Khuns are there at any given time?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [History/Thai Buddhism] [Monastic titles] // [Ajahn Sumedho] [Ajahn Liem]
1. Ajahn Pasanno describes the atmosphere of Cold War fear. [Fear] [Politics and society] [Military] // [Culture/West] [Amaravati] [Ajahn Sumedho]
12. “Was there a temporary ordination in England for Maurice Walsh?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Maurice Walsh] [Temporary ordination] [Amaravati] // [Learning] [Older monks] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Pūjā]
10. “In the reading, Upasikā Kee Nanayon says the mind takes the fabrications itself as the object. Is that similar to Ajahn Sumedho’s ‘It’s like this?’” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Upasikā Kee Nanayon] [Volitional formations] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Knowing itself] [Thai Forest Tradition]
1. Biography and role of Ajahn Liem. [Ajahn Liem] [Thai Forest Tradition] // [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Chah] [Abbot] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Leadership]
Quote: “He’s in the middle of all of this duty and projection. Whatever comes his way, he doesn’t pick up any of it. It’s quite delightful to be around him.” [Proliferation]
9. Reading: Excerpt from “The Training the Heart,” Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 509. [Thai Forest Tradition] // [Ajahn Sumedho] [Translation]
6. Story: Ajahn Sumedho brings a “farang Buddha” to Ajahn Chah. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Buddha images] [Ajahn Chah] [Culture/West]
11. Comment: Before I get to all that [deep reflection on not-self], in the meantime I thing of Luang Por Sumedho’s saying, ‘Every time I think of myself, I get depressed.’ [Ajahn Sumedho] [Self-identity view] [Depression] [Not-self]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Five Precepts]
Quote: “It’s difficult but it’s not that complicated. The Buddha’s teachings go against the grain of our conditioning and habits, but the essence of it is quite simple.” [Proliferation] [Right Effort] [Craving] [Simplicity] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma]
16. “I spread lovingkindness from home and don’t have the good fortune of meeting with like minds who practice to perfect sīla. Any suggestions?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Lay life] [Goodwill] [Spiritual friendship] [Virtue]
Quote: Ajahn Chah to Ajahn Sumedho: “Do you mean to say there’s no good people in America?” [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Culture/West]
2. “Who were imporant mentors for you?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Teachers] [Mentoring] [Monastic life] // [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Jun] [Ajahn Mahā Amorn] [Ajahn Liem] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Ajahn Baen] [Ajahn Buddhadāsa] [P. A. Payutto] [Wat Pah Pong]
Story: Ajahn Mahā Amorn goes to study with Ajahn Chah. [Learning]
3. “Two questions: 1) What strengths do you see in other Buddhist traditions and Western culture that our tradition could benefit from? 2) How have you decided which aspects of korwat (protocols) from Thailand to adjust and which to maintain?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mahāyāna] [Vajrayāna] [Culture/West] [Culture/Thailand] [Monastic life] [Vinaya] [Protocols] // [Abhayagiri] [Women in Buddhism] [Robes] [Cultural context] [City of Ten Thousand Buddhas] [Dōgen] [Zen] [Ajahn Sumedho] [History/Western Buddhism] [Simplicity] [Christianity] [Renunciation] [Eight Precepts] [Not handling money] [Chithurst] [Ajahn Amaro] [Communal harmony]
Quote: “There are so many good things to do that you could be running around the country doing good things. I’d rather focus my attention here.” [Pace of life]
Quote: “There’s no reason to fit into American culture.”
Story: The monastic jacket is vindicated in England. [Culture/Natural environment] [History/Western Buddhist monasticism]
Quote: “As Buddhist monastics and Buddhist practitioners, we’re trying to set conditions that give us the opportunity for learning.” [Lay life] [Learning]
1. Quote: “The kindest thing you can do for your parents is to not create them.” — Ajahn Sumedho. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Parents] [Goodwill] [Cessation] [Not-self] // [Amaravati] [Sīladharā] [Proliferation]
9. “How do we overcome unpleasant mental or physical feelings in the present moment?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Feeling] [Present moment awareness] // [Aversion] [Fear] [Suffering] [Goodwill] [Ajahn Sumedho]
Sutta: DN 22: Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta [Mindfulness of feeling]