Mindfulness of mind (citta-sati)
Skillful qualities / Noble Eightfold Path / Right Mindfulness / Mindfulness of mind
See also: Heart/mind
38 excerpts, 3:17:39 total duration

Events (1) All excerpts (40) Most relevant (28) Questions about (22) Answers involving (15) Stories (1) Quotes (2) Texts (1)

Right Livelihood, Session 1 – Apr. 21, 2013

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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.


Abhayagiri 2014 Winter Retreat, Session 31 – Feb. 17, 2014

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8. “When she is talking about the mind at normalcy, her description is having the meditation object always at least in the background, constantly in awareness, being aware of the mind-state and also doing whatever you are doing, walking, washing dishes etc. Her emphasis is on cultivating it so this is something that you would be doing twenty-four hours a day. When Ajahn Chah spoke of normalcy of the mind, did he describe it in the same way?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Upasikā Kee Nanayon] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Mindfulness of mind] [Ajahn Chah] // [Discernment] [Happiness] [Unification]


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10. Comment: So the ability to hold the meditation object, go through your daily routines, keep an eye on the mind tone, and watch the stress flavor of all arising phenomenon seems like a fairly advanced practice state to arrive at and maintain twenty-four hours a day. [Continuity of mindfulness ] [Everyday life] [Mindfulness of mind] [Suffering]

Response by Ajahn Pasanno: It’s a great option if you don’t want to suffer. [Cessation of Suffering] [Happiness]


Abhayagiri 2014 Winter Retreat, Session 41 – Mar. 3, 2014

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6. “Ajahn Chah and other Thai Ajahns emphasize this quality of steady practice. Ajahn Chah showed this was the way to solve the dillema of desire being both the root of all suffering and a necessary ingredient to being able to practice at all....It seems the main obstacle to achieving steady practice is the variability of that part of my awareness that is supervising what is going on....How does one cultivate self-supervision?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Desire] [Self-reliance] [Postures] [Continuity of mindfulness ] // [Mindfulness of body ] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Mindfulness of breathing]

Quote: “The body is like a mirror for the different moods and state of the mind as we’re experiencing things.” [Similes] [Mindfulness of mind]

Follow-up: “I try to practice body awareness when my mind is being supervised...” [Long-term practice] [Ajahn Sucitto]

Sutta: MN 10 Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta [Right Mindfulness]


Abhayagiri 2014 Winter Retreat, Session 48 – Mar. 12, 2104

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6. “Could the Ajahn Teean technique work for restlessness?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Teean] [Movement meditation] [Restlessness and worry]

Quote: “There’s no such thing as the Ajahn Chah method of meditation.” [Ajahn Chah] [Meditation/Techniques] [Right Effort] [Mindfulness of mind]


Abhayagiri 2014 Winter Retreat, Session 58 – Mar. 28, 2014

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1. “There seems to be a point of difference in teachings – some teachers emphasize mindfulness of the mind and others say “go for the body.” Do you have any reflections about that?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Mindfulness of mind] [Mindfulness of body] // [Cessation of Suffering] [Science]


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3. Comment by Ajahn Kaccāna: When working with the mind in a comfortable environment, one can skip past the fear of death. [Mindfulness of mind] [Pain] [Fear] [Death]

Response by Ajahn Pasanno.


Thai Forest Tradition, Session 2 – Jun. 14, 2014

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11. “As the mind takes fabrications as its object, does the mind expand?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Upasikā Kee Nanayon] [Volitional formations] [Heart/mind] [Mindfulness of mind] [Thai Forest Tradition] // [Relinquishment]


Thai Forest Tradition, Session 3 – Jun. 14, 2014

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3. Being able to recognize the difference between the mind itself and the moods or objects of the mind. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Knowing itself] [Mindfulness of dhammas] [Mindfulness of mind] [Thai Forest Tradition] // [Heart/mind]


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7. “Was Ajahn Liem’s focus mindfulness of breathing but he was also aware of the moods of the mind passing through and sometimes getting kicked around by the hindrances?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Liem] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of mind] [Hindrances] [Thai Forest Tradition] // [Teaching Dhamma] [Patience]


Mindfulness of Breathing, Session 1 – Oct. 26, 2014

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7. Comment: My mind will fill with chatter, stuff I’m not interested in. What I’ve come to do is just say, ‘This is a chaotic mind.’ [Proliferation] [Mindfulness of mind] [Mindfulness of breathing]

Response by Ajahn Pasanno.


2014 Thanksgiving Monastic Retreat, Session 2 – Nov. 23, 2014

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5. “I didn’t totally understand the difference between the mind and mental qualities in regards to the four foundations. Would you elaborate?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of mind] [Mindfulness of dhammas]


2014 Thanksgiving Monastic Retreat, Session 6 – Nov. 27, 2014

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8. “Can you please explain releasing the mind (again) in the context of the 12th step of the ānāpānasati. Thank you for your teachings. Mettā!” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Liberation] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of mind] // [Relinquishment] [Hindrances] [Self-identity view] [Perception]

Sutta: MN 118: Ānāpānasati Sutta

Quote: “Practice is very simple. There’s only two things to do: know and let go.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Mindfulness]


Abhayagiri 2015 Winter Retreat, Session 14 – Jan. 23, 2015

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3. “Could you clarify the last two foundations of mindfulness?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of mind] [Mindfulness of dhammas] [Right Mindfulness] // [Heart/mind] [Directed thought and evaluation] [Emotion]


Abhayagiri 2015 Winter Retreat, Session 40 – Mar. 3, 2015

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[Session] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Concentration] [Mindfulness of mind]

Reading: Right Mindfulness p. 129-132.

Reading: MN 111: Anupada Sutta, One by One As They Occured.


Abhayagiri 2015 Winter Retreat, Session 41 – Mar. 6, 2015

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[Session] [Mindfulness of mind] [Divine Abidings]

Reading: MN 10: Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, The Foundations of Mindfulness.

Reading: Right Mindfulness p. 132-133, 174-175, 137.

Reading: SN 42.8: “The Conch Blower.”


The Middle Way of Not-Self, Session 2 – May. 27, 2015

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2. “Does everything point back to the third satpaṭṭhāna (mindfulness of mind)?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of mind] [Not-self] // [Aggregates]

Sutta: Dhp 1


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

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19. “Can you please explain mindfulness or awareness of consciousness? I can understand consciousness arising as a result of stimuli entering the sense doors, but how does one become aware of consciousness itself? Or is this the right question about consciousness?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of mind] [Consciousness ] [Sense bases ] [Nature of mind] // [Language] [Pāli]


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22. “Is there a distinction between observing the mind and observing what arises?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of mind] [Impermanence] // [Knowing itself ] [Liberation ] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Buddha] [Relinquishment] [Cessation of Suffering]


Suttas You've Never Heard Of, Session 2 – Jun. 25, 2016

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12. Comments about ongoing Dhamma practice and coming back to the heart. [Long-term practice] [Suffering] [Cessation of Suffering] [Ill-will] [Forgiveness] [Mindfulness of mind]

Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Merit]

Quote: “We’re making choices all the time anyway; we may as well choose to be happy.” [Volitional formations] [Happiness]


Thanksgiving Retreat 2016, Session 2 – Nov. 20, 2016

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5. “Can I be aware of my mind states while I am aware of my breath? It doesn’t seem so.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of mind] // [Right Mindfulness]


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

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16. “Could you list the ways one contemplates mind as mind again? (third foundation of mindfulness).” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of mind] // [Skillful qualities]


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

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8. “I’m curious about the wholesome/unwholesome assessment [in MN 19]. If it’s a thought of ill-will, greed, hatred, or delusion, but we’re not attached to it, we’re just seeing it arise, seeing it pass, recognizing it, being aware that it’s in the mind. Does the unwholesomeness come from believing it?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities] [Investigation of states] [Unwholesome Roots] [Directed thought and evaluation] [Mindfulness of mind] // [Habits] [Hindrances]


Two Kinds of Thought and the Removal of Distracting Thoughts, Session 2 – Jun. 4, 2017

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14. Comment: The fifth method [of MN 20] is using mind on mind, thought over thought. It’s actually kind of subtle. [Directed thought and evaluation] [Mindfulness of mind]

Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Clinging]


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

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3. “You spoke of experiencing the breath and experiencing feelings and mind. Are you suggesting that we experience the mind knowing the breath or when it’s doing other things?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of feeling] [Mindfulness of mind] // [Right Mindfulness] [Volitional formations] [Conditionality]

Suttas: MN 118: Ānāpānasati Sutta; MN 10: Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta


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4. “Is the fourth foundation of mindfulness as simple as, for example, with the third foundation I identify aversion, and then in the fourth foundation I identify aversion as a hindrance?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of dhammas] [Mindfulness of mind] // [Āgama] [Sutta] [Hindrances] [Four Noble Truths] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Progress of insight]

Suttas: MN 10: Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta; MN 118: Ānāpānasati Sutta [Right Mindfulness]

Reference: Satipaṭṭhāna Perspectives by Bhante Analayo (commercial)


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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]


Ānāpānasati Daylong at Abhayagiri, Session 8 – Sep. 9, 2023

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6. “When will I get wisdom? How can we not get exhausted when observing the monkey mind?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Discernment] [Mindfulness of mind] [Energy] [Mindfulness of breathing] // [Knowing itself] [Mindfulness of body] [Tranquility]