Monastic life
Monastic life
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1. “What is the purpose of dhutaṅga practices?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Monastic life] [Ascetic practices] // [Simplicity] [Renunciation] [Almsround] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Almsfood] [Abhayagiri] [Impermanence] [Devotion to wakefulness] [Wat Pah Pong] [Wat Pah Ban Tat] [Long-term practice]
2. “How do we discern the benefit of dhutaṅga practices and how much is too much?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Discernment] [Middle Path] [Monastic life] [Ascetic practices] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Devotion to wakefulness] [Almsround] [History/Early Buddhism] [Gladdening the mind] [Ajahn Chah] [Master Hsuan Hua]
Story: Ajahn Jayasaro determines sitter’s practice until Ajahn Chah dies. [Ajahn Jayasaro] [Respect for elders] [Determination]
3. “What do you recommend when we make a determination and either realize that it’s not working out or break it? How do we continue from there?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Determination] [Monastic life] [Ascetic practices] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Moderation in eating] [Precepts]
4. “Can adhiṭṭhānas be made in a formal way?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Determination] [Monastic life] [Ascetic practices]
5. Story: Ajahn Ñāṇiko takes on too many adhiṭṭhānas as an anagārika. Told by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Ajahn Ñāṇiko] [Determination] [Abhayagiri] [Monastic life] [Ascetic practices]
6. “How do we perceive which ruts we are stuck in and which tools to use to get out of them? Are there tools besides dhutaṅgas to use when we’re stuck in strong habits?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Delusion] [Craving] [Monastic life] [Ascetic practices] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Faith] [Three Refuges] [Self-identity view]
7. “What is the importance of the brahmavihārās in balancing out dhutaṅga practices?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Divine Abidings] [Monastic life] [Ascetic practices] // [Recollection/Buddha] [Gladdening the mind] [Attachment to rites and rituals] [Discernment] [Compassion] [Learning] [Arahant]
8. “What are the results of making good use of the ascetic practices?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Monastic life] [Ascetic practices]
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]
9. Comment: I’ve heard that you advise monks contemplating disrobing to recollect their initial intention why they became a monk. [Monastic life] [Disrobing] [Monastic life/Motivation]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
10. “What role does spending time at other monasteries play in our training?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Monastic life] [Abhayagiri] // [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Saṅgha]
11. “What are guidelines you might advise monks as to where to go for their third or fifth Vassa?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Monastic life] [Sequence of training] [Long-term practice] // [Culture/Thailand]
1. “How can those just entering monastic life lay a good foundation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Monastic life] // [Vinaya] [Right View] [Ajahn Chah] [Virtue] [Stream entry] [Four Noble Truths] [Kamma] [Generosity] [Greed] [Communal harmony] [Happiness] [Gratitude]
Sutta: SN 55.1: Sīla of a stream enterer
Sutta: MN 117: The Great Forty
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]
4. “At the beginning of this retreat, Tan Ajahn Anan advised us, “Don’t forget Nibbāna.” How do we orient ourselves towards Nibbāna?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Nibbāna] [Ajahn Anan] [Monastic life] // [Dispassion] [Cessation of Suffering] [Etymology] [Stream entry]
Sutta: AN 10.60: Girimānanda Sutta [Cessation]
Sutta: SN 56.11: “Whatever is of the nature to arise, that is of the nature to cease.” [Conditionality]
Quote: “[The goal] is incredibly worthy, and it is not beyound our capability and means to experience.” [Direct experience]
5. “I was reading the book Hooked about desire, consumerism, and society. The author writes about the desire to know things. How does the desire to know relate to practice?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Desire] [Monastic life] // [Cause of Suffering] [Cessation of Suffering] [Bases of Success] [Sensual desire] [Craving]
Sutta: SN 51.15: The path has an end. [Great disciples]
6. “Do the Four Iddhipādas apply to the way we develop sammā sati and sammā samādhi?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Bases of Success] [Right Mindfulness] [Right Concentration] [Monastic life] // [Progress of insight]
7. “So you’ve asked all your questions?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Questions] [Teaching Dhamma] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Monastic life]
1. Quote: “Ajahn Chah tried to make practice into everything we were doing, whether we were monastics or laypeople.” — Ajahn Pasanno [Ajahn Chah] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Monastic life] [Lay life] // [Work]
2. Story: The Buddha asks a monk to recite the Aṭṭhakavagga (Snp Chapter 4) (Ud 5.6). Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Buddha/Biography] [Monastic life] [Sutta] [Chanting]
7. “How do discoveries about the gut microbiome fit in with the Buddha’s teachings?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Science] [Dhamma] // [Not-self] [Self-identity view] [Mindfulness of body] [Clear comprehension] [Naturalness]
Follow-up: “How does the relate to monks who subsist on almsfood and sometimes don’t get enough, considering that the gut is controlling the brain?” [Monastic life] [Almsfood] [Health] [Ajahn Soṇa] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support]
Sutta: AN ??.?? - Stay where the practice advances, not where the requisites are.
10. “Is Dtao Dum just for monks?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Dtao Dum] [Monastic life] [Lay life] // [Environment]
12. “When you weren’t getting enough food, had you been older and smarter, would you have been able, as a monk, to ask for vegetables?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Monastic life] [Health] [Vinaya] [Almsfood] // [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Generosity]
15. “Was there specific advice from the Buddha to the monks about [advising a dying person]?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Monastic life] [Death] // [Sickness] [Compassion] [Goodwill]
Vinaya: Kd 26.7: Attributes of a carer.
3. “My natural tendency is to push the world away and to have the attitude that enjoyment is wrong. I’m working on trying to enjoy life. Do you have any ideas about this?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Craving not to become] [Christianity] [Hinduism] [Ascetic practices] [Happiness] [Skillful qualities] // [Monastic life] [Ajahn Sucitto] [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] [Culture/West]
The Rule of St. Benedict and Ajahn Sucitto’s talk “Fellow Worms.” [Monastic life] [Humility]
Story: A BBC interviewer asks King Rama IX about original sin. [Media] [Culture/Thailand] [Nature of mind]
Causal processes leading to sāmadhi and dispassion have different starting points, but they all go through delight and happiness. [Conditionality] [Concentration] [Dispassion]
Quote: “Monks, do not be afraid of puñña.” — Iti 22 [Monastic life] [Merit] [Fear] [Liberation]
Quote: “The happy mind is easily concentrated.”
3. “You mentioned the example of the monk who wanted to commit suicide and then he remembered his virtue and that uplifted him. In the Saṃyutta Nikaya there are a few instances where monks committeed suicide, but the Buddha said they attained Nibbāna (SN 22.87 Vakkali; SN 35.87 Channa). How is that possible?” Answered by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Monastic life] [Suicide] [Sutta] [Buddha/Biography] [Recollection] [Nibbāna] // [Jhāna] [Māra] [Saṃsāra] [Delusion]
1. “What is your favorite thing you’ve gotten from monastic life?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Monastic life/Motivation] // [Virtue] [Teachers] [Contentment]
Quote: “You really get to see the best of the human condition as a monastic. That’s a real treat.” [Human] [Monastic life]
5. “How to reach the state of peace and serenity when we’re just human beings and we strive to be good people?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Tranquility] [Equanimity] [Human] [Virtue] // [Happiness] [Generosity] [Association with people of integrity] [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Hindrances]
Sutta: DN 2: Sāmaññaphala Sutta - Fruits of the Holy Life
Quote: When asked about his attainments as a monk, “I’m just really happy about all the things I didn’t do.” — Ajahn Pasanno [Ajahn Pasanno] [Stages of awakening] [Monastic life] [Sense restraint]
4. “I notice that some of the monks at Abhayagiri use social media. As a youngster, I use a lot of social media. You grew up when there was none. What’s your view on how it’s affecting our mind?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Social media] [Monastic life] [Abhayagiri] [Ajahn Pasanno]
7. “What’s the feeling of wearing the same color for 50 years?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Monastic life] [Robes] // [Culture/West]