In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the senior monks of Abhayagiri Monastery offered a nine-day hybrid retreat to celebrate its 25th anniversary. Only the two Q&A sessions hosted by Ajahn Pasanno are currently included in the Archive.
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1. [0:21] “How do you avoid falling in the trap of caring about something/someone too much and becoming attached to that something/someone?” [Compassion] [Clinging] // [Suffering] [Equanimity] [Goodwill] [Generosity] [Bases of Success] [Desire] [Self-identity view] [Craving] [Cessation of Suffering]
2. [10:38] “How do we overcome regret and remorse associated with not being able to do good or meet our loved ones at the time of passing away?” [Restlessness and worry] [Merit] [Death] [Pandemic] [Grief] // [Goodwill] [Self-identity view] [Discernment] [Determination]
3. [16:18] “I struggle to find meaning in life....I struggle to find what to do during my days and what to do in the future in terms of career or lifestyle....What would be your advice for someone who feels lost as to what to do next in his/her life?” [Purpose/meaning] [Sickness] [Work] [Depression] // [Right Effort] [Generosity] [Virtue] [Kamma] [Happiness] [Clear comprehension]
4. [21:14] “I struggle with restlessness. I always want to be doing something, and I often end up doing several things at the same time so it’s draining and not enjoyable. It’s very difficult to stop, and when I stop, I don’t know what to do, so I might grab my iPhone, clean stuff....Could you talk about restlessness and how to do nothing if that’s actually possible?” [Restlessness and worry] [Pace of life] [Technology] // [Volition] [Mindfulness of mind] [Simplicity] [Present moment awareness] [Impermanence]
5. [25:56] “Why do we forget past lives?” [Rebirth] [Memory]
6. [27:04] “A question about Dogenji’s teaching: ‘To study the Buddha Way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be actualized by myriad things. When actualized by myriad things your body and mind as well as the bodies and minds of others drop away. No trace of enlightenment remains, and this no trace continues endlessly.’ Can you reflect on this teaching from the Theravāda Thai Forest Teachings?” [Dōgen] [Zen] [Eightfold Path] [Not-self] [Liberation] [Theravāda] [Thai Forest Tradition] // [Teaching Dhamma] [Knowledge and vision] [Four Noble Truths] [Self-identity view] [Relinquishment] [Aggregates] [Proliferation] [Discernment] [Compassion]
Quote: “Everything is teaching us. Everything is a manifestation of Dhamma and truth.” — Ajahn Chah [Ajahn Chah] [Dhamma] [Truth] [Suchness]
7. [34:15] “I’m lucky not to have any obligations such as taking care of a family, making money, working, etc., but I don’t know what to do with my life....Always wondering what to do with my life is a bit tough. How would you suggest I approach the situation?...How do you figure out what to do with your life when you have too much freedom?” [Purpose/meaning] [Work] // [Culture/West] [Right Effort] [Conceit] [Generosity]
See also Question 3 in this same session.
8. [36:41] “In our worldly life we always have expectations on things that we do. What would be the best way for us to change this habit and do everything without expectations?” [Everyday life] [Desire] [Craving] [Habits] // [Impermanence] [Bases of Success] [Skillful qualities] [Right Effort]
9. [40:22] “Does Luang Por Pasanno know what happened to Ajahn Visuddhi or Christine Lee?” [Abhayagiri] // [Ajahn Amaro] [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo] [Disrobing]
1. [0:46] “What can I do to stop judging?” [Judgementalism] // [Suffering] [Relinquishment]
2. [1:43] “Thank you for your talk today. You mentioned giving the opportunity for everyone to practice and train. However, there seem to be no Ajahn Chah monasteries in the US and Canada where women can ordain and train. Would Abhayagiri be open to having a female monastic community at some point in the future?” [Women's monastic forms] [Western Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Abhayagiri] // [Culture/Thailand] [Dhammadharini Monastery] [Karuna Buddhist Vihara] [Sīladharā] [Bhikkhunī] [Women in Buddhism]
3. [6:03] “I remember reading in one of Ajahn Chah’s books about comparing our feelings to a snake with sadness and unhappiness at its head and happiness as its tail and how we should not touch any part of its body....How can we just watch [feelings] come in and out of our mind without interacting with it or getting influenced by it?” [Ajahn Chah] [Feeling] [Similes] [Happiness] [Suffering] [Equanimity] // [Appropriate attention]
Reference: “The Middle Way Within,” Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 2.
4. [8:13] “What is the meaning of the inscription on the Buddha statue behind you?” [Buddha images] [Abhayagiri] // [Ajahn Jundee]
5. [9:54] “A sense of causeless joy permeates awareness, yet there remains a sense of me that experiences. How to dissolve that?” [Happiness] [Knowing itself] [Conceit] // [Noble Truth of Suffering] [Suffering] [Relinquishment]
6. [11:38] “Why do the monks keep their eyes closed during meditation?” [Meditation/General advice] [Postures] // [Sense bases] [Seclusion] [Sloth and torpor] [Restlessness and worry]
7. [14:14] “How do you recognize when craving has arisen?” [Craving]
8. [15:38] “When practicing letting go, is there any particular order to do so? For example, if I am attached to career, friends, and family (in order of increasing attachment), which shall I let go of first?” [Clinging] [Relinquishment] // [Unwholesome Roots] [Similes]
9. [16:49] “If everything in life is great, and I am enjoying my life, why practice? What could get better?” [Everyday life] [Happiness] [Heedfulness] // [Discernment] [Right Effort] [Rebirth] [Noble Truth of Suffering] [Right View]
10. [20:16] “How do you feel the holes? How do you feel good without the need for anything external/addictions, in other words, coping mechanisms. How do you deal with and move past what lies underneath these mechanisms?” [Craving] [Clinging] [Addiction] [Outflows] // [Mindfulness] [Clear comprehension] [Discernment] [Noble Truth of Suffering]
11. [22:44] “Should we consider the brahmavihāras a form of emotion or are they kinds of knowledge or understanding?” [Divine Abidings] [Emotion] [Knowledge and vision]
12. [24:25] “Can you please talk more about the three happinesses and what we should be careful about?” [Happiness] [Heedfulness] // [Everyday life] [Deva] [Nibbāna] [Hindrances] [Virtue] [Community]
Reference: Verses of Sharing and Aspiration, Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 33.
13. [28:04] “I have loaned something to my brother, and he just won’t give it back to me no matter how many times I ask him. How would you approach this situation?” [Family] [Virtue] // [Right Speech] [Clear comprehension]
14. [32:26] “Have you ever suffered from some sort of addiction and how did you recover from it? What would be your advice for someone suffering from an addiction?” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Addiction] [Suffering] // [Sensual desire] [Self-identity view] [Spiritual friendship] [Three Refuges] [Happiness] [Appropriate attention]
15. [38:54] “Could you please explain how one practices applied and sustained thought in breath meditation?” [Directed thought and evaluation] [Mindfulness of breathing] // [Ajahn Chah]
16. [40:25] “Could you please explain why the ajahn holds a fan in front of himself during the taking of refuges?” [Three Refuges] [Ceremony/ritual] // [Abhayagiri] [Kaṭhina] [Symbolism] [Dhamma]