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1. “A question regarding the 5 precepts. In daily life, I am really good about keeping #1, 2, 3 and 5; but somehow I found that the precept #4 is really hard. I find myself lying everyday such as: ‘Do I look good?’ → Yes, of course. ‘Do you want to eat some more?’ → No, thanks, I’m full (but in fact the food didn’t taste good). Or speaking at a wrong time, speaking too long, too short, too harsh or speaking with a wrong tone of voice. This is the hardest one for me. Kindly advise. Thank you.” [Five Precepts] [False speech ] [Right Speech ] // [Monastic life] [Precepts ] [Pāli] [Learning]
Quote: “The function of the precepts in terms of practice is to provide a mirror so we can understand our own intentions and volitions.” [Volition]
2. “What is left once there is no self? Is it the same as enlightenment? Can a person still function in a daily life (drive a car for example)?” [Self-identity view ] [Stages of awakening]
Quote: “What’s it like being the abbot of a big monastery?” — “I come out of my kuti and I do the things that I need to do, and then I go back to my kuti. And if some people want to call that being an abbot, well that’s their business.” — Ajahn Liem. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Ajahn Liem ] [Abbot ] [Wat Pah Pong] [Work] [Conventions] [Simplicity]
3. “Thank you for bringing much needed yoga to the retreat and many thanks to Corina for her wonderful classes and her selfless service!” [Gratitude] [Excercise]
4. “How and when did Buddhism come to Thailand?” [History/Thai Buddhism ] // [History/Early Buddhism] [History/Indian Buddhism] [Mahāyāna] [Vajrayāna] [Theravāda]
5. “Can you define / explain saṅkhāras—mental formations? For example, what phenomena does it include? How can one evaluate what is or is not a saṅkhāra? How does it differ from the hindi / yogic samskara? Thank you.” [Volitional formations ] [Hinduism] // [Pāli] [Nature of the cosmos] [Nibbāna] [Aggregates] [Abhidhamma] [Emotion] [Directed thought and evaluation]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 23
6. “I’m wondering why the chanting says, ‘for me there is no other refuge, the Buddha is my excellent refuge,’ and the same for the Dhamma and the Sangha when all three are refuges. Also, why are the Dhamma and the Sangha referred to as ‘Lord?’ Thank you.” [Chanting] [Three Refuges]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 13: Sabbe saṅkhārā aniccā [Volitional formations] [Impermanence]
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!” [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]
9. “Is my understanding of the first noble truth correct in that it doesn’t deny enjoying things in life, but point to their temporary nature and underlying unsatisfaction once enjoyment ceases? Can I be a Buddhist and still enjoy my chocolate?” [Noble Truth of Suffering ] [Sensual desire] [Impermanence] [Suffering] [Food]
Quote: “There’s enjoying things and there is having to enjoy things. These are two different things.” [Happiness] [Craving]
Sutta: AN 5.208: Benefits of using toothwoods [Health]
10. “I have heard that based on the pleasure of jhāna, it is possible to overcome sexual desires more skillfully. But to have sammā samādhi one needs pāmojja. My heart has to battle sexual desire almost everyday and it is no less than painful to keep fighting the same battles. So in a way I have been doing all my recent walking meditations with a little sadness over not having yet overcome sexual desire, and not being to enter jhāna as easily and happily as Ajahn Karuṇadhammo describes. What do I do?” [Jhāna] [Sensual desire] [Gladdening the mind]
11. “A limerick composed on the occasion of the 2014 Thanksgiving Retreat: If you’re late for a sit you must hurry in/From washing dishes by a drain smelling like durian (this part is true!)/Then you sit sit sit sit/‘Til you’re tied to be fit/And your belly is empty to put curry in.” [Artistic expression] [Humor]
12. “My heart really wanted to serve you and the rest of the Sangha food today (of all days—Thanksgiving) out of gratitude and also because I thought that food had to be directly placed in the alms bowl of a monk in order for it to be consumed. So can you please give us a quick guide on the Vinaya rules regarding the offering of food and other things / requisites to monks? Thank you for your explanation so we can better serve the Sangha.” [Gratitude] [Almsfood ] [Food] [Vinaya] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] // [Almsbowl] [Abhayagiri]
Story: Ajahn Ñāṇiko walks tudong from Fort Bragg. [Ajahn Ñāṇiko] [Tudong] [Lodging] [Weather]
13. “Does the process of refining awareness by calming the breath and becoming sensitive to the body of more subtle layers purify the mind and body? In preparation for more subtle states? Or? P.S. A little wish to hear Dhamma from Ven. Kassapo too. His appearance of equanimity is a solid reference for me this week. Añjali.” [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of body]
14. “How is it possible to be your student if I live far away (in the northwest)? In what ways does Abhayagiri connect with those not in proximity? Thank you!” [Abhayagiri] [Dhamma online]
15. “Can you please explain whether there is a difference between ‘mind’ and ‘consciousness,’ because everything seems to be experienced in the mind; the body is experienced in the mind; feelings also seem to be experienced by the mind, as well as perceptions, sensations, etc. Thank you for your teaching and explanation.” [Heart/mind ] [Consciousness ] [Aggregates] [Nature of mind] // [Sutta] [Sense bases]
16. “Do the monks have any prescribed physical exercises / stretching that they do to keep limber and agile with all their sitting?” [Monastic life] [Excercise]
17. “Is having a ½ glass of wine at the Christmas or special dinner breaking that precept? Does the precept mean not getting intoxicated or not ever drinking substance?” [Intoxicants ] // [Precepts]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 129: The Five Precepts [Five Precepts]
18. “If the body is a sack of grains, my legs after 7 / 7:30pm are electric jumping beans. This has occurred on retreat for 30 years. At first, I assumed it was the usual resistances / saṅkhāras. For a decade, I’ve known it’s a neurological syndrome that many have (R.L.S.) and although it affects other parts of life, e.g., sleep, it’s never so intense as on retreat in the evening. As I calm and cleanse, it actually gets worse, even on longer retreats. If I don’t focus on exhaling calm and mettā, I would drive my neighbors crazy, twitching and squirming like a bored 4 year-old. But I’m not bored and I want to hear the teachings. The level of controlling the legs necessarily, even with calming, creates sometimes a kind of negative pīti—thunderbolts in the body with no delight or rapture! I intuit an ancient root to it but, what to do? Alternative and western guidance have not helped much. From your vast experience of squirming mediators, any advice? Any research on sitting and milder neurological phenomena like this? Right now, besides leaving the hall / tortured endurance / drugs / cutting off my legs, suggestions for a middle way?!” [Meditation/Unusual experiences] [Rapture] [Restlessness and worry]
19. “I would like to invite my aging mother to live with my family. Our family observes the precept of no-killing. However, my mother is not vegetarian. My spouse insists that everyone in the house must uphold the precept. I think it’s unfair to impose that on my aging mother. Is my spouse holding onto fixed views? I very much would like to honor my filial duty and at the same time maintain harmony in the family. As a practitioner, what is the best way to handle this situation? Thank you, Ajahn, for your time and advice.” [Parents] [Family] [Vegetarianism] [Communal harmony]
20. “Can you clarify (and simplify!) the four frames of reference? I have read Ven. Thanissaro’s book and it’s pretty challenging to remember from one paragraph to the next as it is so wonderfully dense. In particular, four frames especially as it pertains to mindfulness of breathing? Thank you!” [Right Mindfulness ] [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro] [Mindfulness of breathing]
Reference: Right Mindfulness by Ajahn Ṭhānissaro
21. “I appreciate so much the confidence you have given me to follow my own sense of what is wholesome. This teaching has really given me some much-needed ease and discovery!” [Gratitude]
22. “I would like to add studying to my practice. I’d like to learn more of the fundamental lists. Would you recommend a book or two for starters? Thank you for your generosity of spirit.” [Learning ] // [Four Noble Truths] [Ajahn Sumedho]
Reference: Word of the Buddha by Ñāṇatiloka Mahāthera
Reference: Noble Eightfold Path: The Way to End Suffering by Bhikkhu Bodhi
Reference: In the Buddha’s Words by Bhikkhu Bodhi (Commercial)
2. “Thank you for all of your thoughtful and pragmatic meditation tips. Do you have advice regarding the future-oriented mind? Speculation, planning, considering, obsessing really, about scenarios. Normal ideas are not working.” [Restlessness and worry] [Proliferation] // [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of body] [Goodwill]
3. “I love clues that help identify that some experience is or is not what I thought it is. For example, Ajahn Ñāniko’s point that just a blank purely absorbed state is not jhāna, (a wrong conclusion anybody any get to) and that instead it should be more ‘broad-based’ and mettā-bhāvanā is very useful for that. This sort of ‘TEST’ for the labels we may jump to apply to our experience is very useful insight—‘cool’ if I may say. Are there more such ‘tests?’ P.S. This is to help prevent my mind from becoming too proud, or thinking I have attained some state when not.” [Jhāna] [Goodwill]
4. “Thank you for talking about the nun who got enlightened the other day. Also thanks to Debbie for her talk! As a female myself, I find it inspirational hearing stories about women on the path. Most teachers, well-known disciples, the Buddha himself, were males, so at times I struggled to connect to the teachings. It felt too mind-focused, too ‘male’ (as more women in my view connect through the heart, or at least I do). I see a lot of heart and compassion in the Dhamma now and I am learning more about women in Buddhism. It would be great to hear more stories about them in Dhamma talks and perhaps one day even have a guest nun visit and give a talk. Thank you.” [Women in Buddhism] [Compassion] [Women's monastic forms] // [Dhammadharini Monastery]
5. “The guidance through seeing the non-self in relationship to the elements was very helpful. Can you explain what to look for in order to see the non self in relationship to strong emotions like grief. When do you look for the emptiness in emotions and when do you experience or express them. How does one balance the two?” [Not-self] [Elements] [Emotion ] [Grief ]
Ajahn Pasanno reflects on his feelings after Ajahn Chah died. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Chah] [Death] [Sickness] [Gratitude] [Respect]
Ajahn Pasanno’s response to his father’s death. [Parents] [Spaciousness]
6. “How is compassion (karuṇā) is different from loving-kindness (mettā)? Is compassion similar to empathy? I am also wondering if it means you feel the pain of the person you feel compassion for.” [Compassion ] [Goodwill ] [Suffering] // [Pāli]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 124: Requesting a Dhamma talk.
8. “A question for all the bhikkhus: Can you please recall a time when you were intensely attacked by the armies of Mara and had a lot of suffering and what did you do to overcome it? What strategy did you use or whether nothing worked at all and you just had to be patient with it and accept it? Thank you for your teaching.” [Monastic life] [Māra] [Suffering] [Patience]
9. “Can one contemplate pain using the four elements or is here a more direct way to penetrate physical pain? Many thanks for your teachings.” [Pain ] [Elements ] // [Investigation of states] [Mindfulness of body] [Middle Path] [Discernment] [Sickness]
Recollection: Ajahn Pasanno spent many of his early years as a monk contemplating pain. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Monastic life]
10. “Thank you Ajahn Ñāniko for encouraging us to see Dhamma in hearts around us, and within. Apart from your beloved teachers and tradition, where else in our modern world do you see Dhamma in the hearts of those who also in various ways seek the end of suffering for all? Who particularly inspires you? Who is worthy of respect? For example, your support of Julia Butterfly Hill was inspired by her courage and heart, correct? Also, could a future Buddha be in the Sangha? Is it already happening? Your thoughts, Ajahn Pasanno and those of your esteemed company appreciated.” [Teachers] [Respect] [Buddha] [Gratitude]
11. “Thank you so much for these wonderful teachings. Sometimes a very intense light nimitta arises and it feels like all of my energy rushes to my forehead. I try to ignore the nimitta but it gets brighter and undulating. I try to pull it down to my feet but that doesn’t work. I’ve tried all sorts of things but ultimately I just stop sitting; start walking. The nimitta gives me a headache and is draining. 1) Why does it happen? 2) What to do? Deep gratitude.” [Meditation/Unusual experiences] [Nimitta]
12. “Following this morning’s talk on non-self, do you have any advice for reflecting on remorse / regret in the context of non-self? Remorse / regret are usually not big in my life except in one area: that of missed obligations to others. Investigation in this area rarely fortifies or informs me. It usually triggers either a well-tuned system of aversion / distraction or else despair. I do have confidence in the Buddha’s teachings and so an inkling that this can all be dismantled somehow. It’s quite a small inkle but it did try to get my attention this morning so any reflections or directions are deeply appreciated.” [Not-self] [Restlessness and worry]
13. “Sometimes when I sit I get this really strange feeling that parts of my body (arm for example) are moving but I know in reality I have not moved. It’s usually when I’m in deep concentration. Do you know what is happening?” [Meditation/Unusual experiences]
14. “Please tell us what the chant is referring to when it mentions the ‘3-fold bliss.’ Thank you!” [Chanting] [Happiness]
15. “Is the ego the same as self? If different, in what ways?” [Self-identity view] [Western psychology] // [Conceit] [Volitional formations] [Conditionality] [Ignorance] [Cause of Suffering]
16. “I enjoy the teaching about devas, they seem to be a good counter-balance for left-brain people. Is it correct to say that the Hindu deities are included into the Buddhist universe as higher devas, mighty but not omniscient and impermanent beings? I am particularly interested in Shiva, who for me is a positive symbol of cessation, relinquishment and play of the elements. I know that Brahma is mentioned a lot in the Canon, but what about Shiva? Also, since Thailand borrowed a lot from Indian culture, are there any devotional practices for Hindu deities, and if yes are they somehow integrated with Buddhism, perhaps on a folk level?” [Deva] [Hinduism] [Culture/India] [History/Thai Buddhism] [Culture/Thailand] [Devotional practice]
17. “I was practicing yogic prāṇāyāma for about a year to alleviate a medical problem. However, as my practice develops I notice effects on the mind particularly during breath retentions. Yogic literature states that there is a complete and spontaneous cessation of breath in full samādhi. Is it true that some scriptural Buddhist sources say that there is a cessation of breath in the fourth jhāna too?” [Culture/India] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Jhāna]
18. “Overall, why do you think there is no application of conscious control of breath in Buddhist practice, e.g., no scriptural references to prolonged exhalations to help calm down the mind? Is it conceivable to speculate that Gautama Buddha did practice prāṇāyāmas with his two teachers before joining the ascetics but somehow did not find them useful?” [Mindfulness of breathing] [Buddha/Biography]
[Session] Dhamma talk: After the Abhayagiri community begins the retreat with the ceremony of taking dependence, Ajahn Pasanno explains the meaning of dependence, the importance of mindfulness, and how mindfulness connects with the eightfold path. He explains how to look after both oneself and others with mindfulness using the Simile of the Acrobat (SN 47.19). [Ceremony/ritual] [Dependence] [Mindfulness] [Right Mindfulness] [Eightfold Path]
[Session] Dhamma talk: Ajahn Pasanno reflects upon the question: “What kind of effort do we need to conform with what the Buddha means by mindfulness?” He answers in terms of the four aspects of right effort, the seven qualities of Dhamma the Buddha taught to Upali (AN 7.79), and the Buddha’s description of how he crossed the flood (SN 1.1). [Right Effort] [Mindfulness] [Dhamma]
[Session] Dhamma talk: The commentary explains sampajañña (clear comprehension / alertness) as clear comprehension of purpose, suitability, domain, and non-delusion. Ajahn Pasanno describes how each of these factors relate to the practice of mindfulness. [Clear comprehension] [Mindfulness]
[Session] Dhamma talk: Cautioning against trusting our assumptions about the nature of mindfulness, Ajahn Pasanno reviews several key passages in the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta (MN 10). [Ardency] [Clear comprehension] [Mindfulness] [Right Mindfulness]
1. “Do you need to be a non-returner to be free from the fear of death?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Non-return] [Fear] [Death] [Sensual desire] // [Arahant] [Conceit] [Stream entry] [Faith]
4. Discussion of which excercises described as mindfulness of the body (MN 10) are reflective techniques and which are based on vedanā. Led by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Mindfulness of body] [Recollection] [Feeling] // [Elements] [Unattractiveness] [Insight meditation] [Liberation]
Comment about S.N. Goenka’s use of the term vedanā. Contributed by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [S. N. Goenka] [Contact] [Sense bases] [Aggregates]
1. Description of the Ajahn Chah Remembrance Day at Wat Pah Pong. [Ajahn Chah Remembrance Day] [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Chah] // [Devotional practice] [Gratitude]
2. Reading from the draft biography of Ajahn Chah: The founding of Wat Pah Pong. [Ajahn Chah] [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Sao]
Reference: Stillness Flowing p.123 .
3. Readings from the Introduction to Listening to the Heart by Kittisaro and Ṭhānissarā (commercial). [Kittisaro]
Story: Kittisaro’s first meeting with Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Conceit] [Body scanning] [Humor]
Stories: The Squirrel Story and the Donkey Story. [Learning]
1. “Has there been discussion of getting a skeleton for Abhayagiri?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Unattractiveness] [Abhayagiri]
2. “Is it common for body contemplation to veer towards aversion?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Mindfulness of body] [Unattractiveness] [Aversion] [Elements] // [Translation] [Not-self] [Ajahn Chah]
Sutta: MN 62: Mahārāhulaovāda Sutta, The Greater Discourse of Advice to Rāhula.
[Session] Reading: “Theory: Elements,” Meditation: A Way of Awakening by Ajahn Sucitto, pp. 128-138. [Elements]
[Session] ““How you develop four-elements meditation,” Knowing and Seeing by Pa Auk Sayadaw, pp. 116-120.” [Elements]
1. “Does the imbalance mentioned [in Knowing and Seeing by Pa Auk Sayadaw, pp. 120] come from focusing in too much on a single element?” [Elements]
2. Appreciation for the elements meditation in Knowing and Seeing by Pa Auk Sayadaw, pp. 116-120. Comment by Ajahn Kaccāna. [Elements] // [Mindfulness of body]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Investigation of states] [Delusion]
3. “What did Winnie-the-Pooh say about intellect versus understanding?” [Winnie-the-Pooh] [Nature of mind] [Humor]
[Session] [Right Mindfulness]
Reading: Right Mindfulness pp. 8-12.
Reading: Iti 34: Ardour. [Ardency]
1. Comment: Venerable Analayo points out that present moment awareness and remembering the past are not mutually exclusive. [Present moment awareness] [Ven. Analayo] [Right Mindfulness]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
References: Satipaṭṭhāna: The Direct Path to Realization by Venerable Analayo, Chapter 3; “On some definitions of Mindfulness,” Rupert Gethim, Contemporary Buddhism Vol. 12, No. 1, May 2011.
2. “How can one be mindful of the beginning of thought?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno, Ajahn Kaccāna and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Directed thought and evaluation] [Mindfulness] [Right Mindfulness] // [Appropriate attention] [Perception] [Proliferation]
Comments about observing proliferating thoughts. [Conditionality] [Right Effort] [Restlessness and worry] [Mindfulness of mind]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Feeling]
Sutta: MN 118 Ānāpānasati Sutta.
3. “Could you clarify the last two foundations of mindfulness?” [Mindfulness of mind] [Mindfulness of dhammas] [Right Mindfulness] // [Heart/mind] [Directed thought and evaluation] [Emotion]
4. “Could you clarify “the body in the body?”” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Mindfulness of body ] [Right Mindfulness ] // [Translation] [Pāli] [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro] [Direct experience] [Self-identity view] [Elements] [Proliferation] [Perception]
References: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 91; Right Mindfulness by Ajahn Ṭhānissaro.
[Session]
Reading: Right Mindfulness pp. 12-14. [Right Mindfulness]
Reading: AN 10.58: Roots.
Reading: SN 51.15: The Brahmin Uṇṇabha.
1. “What does “headed by” refer to?” [Concentration] [Translation] [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro] [Pāli]
2. “Is the Buddha quoted as saying “I teach a path of the application of effort?”” [Buddha] [Energy] [Right Effort] [Eightfold Path] // [Aids to Awakening]
Sutta: AN 3.137: Doctrine of energy (vīriyavādā)
Sutta: DN 16: Mahāparinibbāna Sutta
3. “Is there a distinction between viriya and vayama?” [Energy] [Right Effort]
4. “Can you speak about the roots of wholesome and unwholesome desire?” [Energy] [Desire] [Becoming] [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities] // [Discernment] [Right Effort] [Learning] [Ajahn Chah]
Sutta: AN 10.58.
Reference: Listening to the Heart by Kittisaro and Ṭhānissarā (commercial).
5. “How can you strive without becoming tense and grim?” [Right Effort ] [Humor] // [Mindfulness of body] [Ajahn Chah]
6. Story: Ajahn Sumedho brings a “farang Buddha” to Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Buddha images] [Ajahn Chah] [Culture/West]
7. Ajahn Sucitto speaks of feeling water washing through you [as a way of releasing tension related to effort]. Comment by Debbie Stamp. [Ajahn Sucitto] [Elements] [Right Effort]
Story: Khun Kesari’s brother enters concentration by visualizing drinking a glass of water. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Concentration] [Visualization]
Story: Kesari’s mother walked into Wat Ban Tad before there was a road. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Wat Pah Ban Tat] [Relics]
[Session] Reading: Right Mindfulness p. 14-21. [Right Mindfulness]
1. Comment: The phrase “ancestral territory” [mentioned in SN 47.6] doesn’t carry oomph for (non-Native) Americans. Contributed by Ajahn Kaccāna. [Culture/West] [Culture/Native American] [Right Mindfulness]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Technology] [History/America]
2. “Why is the intellect not included in the five cords of sensual pleasure?” [Sense bases] [Sensual desire] [Right Mindfulness] // [Culture/West] [History] [Culture/Thailand] [Craving]
Sutta: SN 47.6-7.
Follow-up: “Are the pīti and sukha of samādhi considered mano (intellect) states?” [Rapture] [Happiness] [Concentration] [Aversion]
3. “Why doesn’t the passage (SN 47.7) mention obsession with painful objects?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Desire] [Aversion] [Right Mindfulness]
4. “Could it be that the five cords of sensual pleasure need an outside stimulus to be activated while the mind is an internal frame of reference?” [Sensual desire] [Sense bases] [Heart/mind] [Right Mindfulness] // [Craving] [Concentration]
Sutta: MN 137: Replacing sensual pleasure with the pleasure of samādhi.
[Session] [Right Mindfulness]
Reading: Right Mindfulness p. 21-22.
Reading: AN 4.245: Training.
Reading: Sn 1.4: The Farmer Bhāradvāja.
1. “If you observe that you are angry, do you use effort to abandon anger or just watch it?” [Aversion] [Right Effort] [Right Mindfulness]
2. “Does the term mindfulness always imply right mindfulness?” [Mindfulness] [Right Mindfulness] // [Abhidhamma] [Aggregates]
Reference: Right Mindfulness p. 21-22
3. “What word does the translator (Saddhatissa) render as “immortality?”” [Translation] [Deathless]
Reference: Sn 1.4: The Farmer Bhāradvāja
4. “What is a plowshare? ...So mindfulness is both the goad and the plowshare?” [Mindfulness] [Similes] [Right Mindfulness]
Reference: Sn 1.4: The Farmer Bhāradvāja
5. “How does mindfulness relate to choice?” (continuing the anger question) [Volition] [Aversion] [Mindfulness] [Right Effort] [Right Mindfulness] // [Discernment] [Language]
6. Comments by Abhayagiri Saṅgha about the nature of practice. [Forgiveness] [Similes] [Aversion] [Right Mindfulness]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Habits] [Idealism] [Patience] [Ajahn Chah] [Goodwill] [Long-term practice]
Comment: Patience remind me of going through deep grief. Contributed by Beth Steff. [Grief]
7. Quote: “Do you still have anger?” “Yes, but I don’t take it.” — Ajahn Dune. Quoted by Debbie Stamp. [Ajahn Dune] [Aversion] [Right Mindfulness]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Arahant]
Follow-up: “Do we know if the Buddha had anger?” [Buddha] [Tipiṭaka]
Comment: Māra came to the Buddha many times after the Buddha’s enlightenment. Contributed by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Māra] [Buddha/Biography]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Idealism] [Culture/West]
[Session] [Right Mindfulness]
Reading: Right Mindfulness p. 23-24.
Reading: AN 4.41: Concentration. [Concentration]
1. “What are the rewards for the skillful monk?” [Monastic life] [Skillful qualities] [Right Mindfulness] // [Happiness] [Mindfulness] [Clear comprehension] [Concentration]
Sutta: SN 47.8: Simile of the skillful cook. [Similes] [Similes]
Story: Ajahn Mun criticizes Ajahn Mahā Boowa for developing meditation like a tree stump. [Ajahn Mun] [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Admonishment/feedback]
2. Outline of AN 4.41 Samādhibhāvanā: Four types of concentration. [Concentration] [Right Mindfulness] // [Psychic powers] [Mindfulness] [Clear comprehension] [Liberation] [Outflows] [Perception of light] [Impermanence] [Aggregates]
Comment about the difference between the third and fourth developments of concentration. [Conditionality]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Self-identity view]
[Session]
Reading: Right Mindfulness p. 24-28. [Right Mindfulness] [Right Concentration]
Reading: MN 19: Dvedhavitakka Sutta, Two Kinds of Thought.
1. “How does cruelty differ from ill will?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Ill-will] // [Goodwill] [Compassion] [Right Mindfulness] [Concentration] [Right Effort]
Sutta: MN 19: Dvedhavitakka Sutta, Two Kinds of Thought.
2. “When Ajahn Ṭhānissaro talks about Right Concentration, are Right Concentration and jhāna one and the same?” [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro] [Right Concentration] [Jhāna]
3. “What are antidotes to the strained, tired mind?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Sloth and torpor ] // [Directed thought and evaluation] [Skillful qualities] [Mindfulness of body] [Mindfulness of breathing]
Sutta: MN 19: Dvedhavitakka Sutta, Two Kinds of Thought.
4. “Is pain an obstacle to reaching right concentration?” [Pain] [Right Concentration] // [Happiness] [Postures] [Direct experience]
Quote: “What’s really painful about pain is the way we hate it.” [Aversion]
5. “Can jhana occur in walking meditation?” [Jhāna] [Posture/Walking ] // [Concentration] [Ajahn Viradhammo]
Sutta: AN 5.29: Walking Meditatation.
[Session] [Right Mindfulness] [Right Concentration]
Reading: Right Mindfulness p. 28-31.
Reading: SN 47.40: Analysis.
1. “What is your experience of directed thought and evaluation?” [Directed thought and evaluation]
Quote: “Directed thought [vitakka] is like lifting up the object in the mind. Evaluation is then looking at it from different angles.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Similes]
2. “Does the consistency of vicara correlate with samadhi?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Directed thought and evaluation ] [Concentration] // [Rapture] [Happiness] [Unification]
Sutta: MN 119: Simile of the bathman. [Similes]
3. “What does Ajahn Geoff mean by “frames of reference?”” [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro] [Right Mindfulness]
4. “Is “arising and vanishing” the same as “arising and ceasing?”” [Impermanence] // [Pāli] [Conditionality]
5. “How does the general sense of awareness fit into the jhana factors?” [Jhāna] [Present moment awareness] // [Clear comprehension] [Right Mindfulness]
[Session] [Right Mindfulness] [Right Concentration]
Reading: Right Mindfulness p. 31-34.
Reading: SN 47.4: At Sālā.
Reading: Iti 90: Foremost Faith.
1. “Is it easy for a person with attainments to deal with the world?” [Stages of awakening] [Everyday life] // [Discernment] [Conceit] [Culture/West] [Wrong concentration]
Quote: “To push away the world is also to reifying it. One gives it power when one is afraid of it.” [Craving not to become] [Proliferation] [Fear]
Laypeople with highly developed meditation practice function well in the world. Comment by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Lay life] [Meditation/Results] [Energy]
2. “What is the Pāli word translated as disjoined or detached [in SN 47.4]?” [Translation]
Comment: SuttaCentral would have the translation.
Note: The Pāli word is visaṁyuttā (SuttaCentral).
[Session] Reading: The Ānāpānasati Sutta (MN 118) describes how the sixteen steps of mindfulness of breathing fufill the four foundations of mindfulness, which in turn fufill the seven factors of enlightenment. [Mindfulness of breathing]
1. “Which Pāli word is translated as “fading away?”” [Pāli] [Translation] [Dispassion] // [Cessation]
2. “How does nirodha differ from arising and ceasing?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Cessation] [Impermanence] [Pāli] [Translation] // [P. A. Payutto] [Dependent origination]
3. “How do you practice with painful feeling?” [Pain] [Mindfulness of feeling] [Suffering] // [Emotion] [Blame and praise] [Happiness] [Proliferation]
Sutta: SN 36.6: Sallatha Sutta, The Arrow.
4. “What does “know the mind as mind; know feeling as feeling” mean?” [Right Mindfulness] [Relinquishment] // [Proliferation]
Comment: Self-view forms around the feeling from sense contact. [Sense bases] [Contact] [Feeling] [Self-identity view]
Sutta: MN 18: Madhupiṇḍika Sutta, The Honeyball.
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Volitional formations] [Perception]
Sutta: MN 118: Ānāpānasati Sutta. [Mindfulness of breathing]
5. “Should the sixteen steps be practiced simultaneously?” [Mindfulness of breathing] // [Meditation/General advice] [Right Effort]
Sutta: MN 118: Ānāpānasati Sutta.
6. Comment by Ajahn Ñāṇiko: There is the concern that we practice meditation to make something happen. [Meditation/General advice]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Neutral feeling] [Delusion]
Sutta: MN 44: Cūḷavedalla Sutta, The Small Discourse Giving an Elaboration. [Feeling] [Unwholesome Roots]
7. Quote: “How do I get me some of that non-grasping stuff?” — Ajahn Sucitto. Quoted by Beth Steff. [Ajahn Sucitto] [Clinging] [Self-identity view] [Humor]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
Story: “Do I look macho?” Told by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Chithurst] [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo]