On April 28-29, 2001, over 200 people gathered in Portola Valley to honor the life and teachings of Ajahn Chah. Senior monastic disciples, former monks and nuns, and people who briefly encountered Ajahn Chah recollect their experiences of this great teacher. Some sessions are omitted pending teacher consent.
External websiteSession 1: Opening Chanting
Session 2: Welcome and Reflection by Ajahn Chah
Session 4: Opening Reflections
Session 5: Reflections by Ajahn Pasanno
Session 6: Introduction to the Chant on Buddha, Dhamma, and Saṅgha
Session 7: Chanting on Buddha, Dhamma and Saṅgha
Session 8: Reading from Ajahn Chah
Session 9: Early Life of Ajahn Chah
Session 11: Reflections by Joseph Kappel
Session 12: Questions & Answers 1
Session 13: Teachings to Marjorie, Part 2
Session 16: Ajahn Chah’s Teachings by Ajahn Sumedho
Session 19: Ajahn Chah’s Teachings by Ajahn Sundarā
Session 21: Questions & Answers 3: Monastic Life and Rules
Session 22: Questions & Answers 4: About Chithurst Monastery
Session 23: Morning Chanting
Session 24: Guided Meditation
Session 25: Teaching from Ajahn Chah
Session 30: Training with Ajahn Chah by Ajahn Sumedho
Session 31: Questions & Answers 5: Training with Ajahn Chah
Session 32: Ajahn Chah Stories, Part 1
Session 33: Ajahn Chah Stories, Part 2
Session 34: Last Years of Ajahn Chah’s Life
Session 35: Final Reflections by Ajahn Sumedho
Session 36: Closing Chanting
[Session] Chanting: Salutation to the Triple Gem [Chanting] [Three Refuges]
1. [1:38] Welcome by Ajahn Amaro. // [Free distribution] [Hearing the true Dhamma]
2. [6:23] Teachings to Marjorie by Ajahn Chah, Part 1. Thai audio with English translation read by Kittisaro. [Thai audio] // [Similes] [Moods of the mind] [Heedfulness] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Cessation of Suffering]
Reference: “Living with the Cobra,” Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 233.
Continued in Part 2.
1. [0:09] Ajahn Amaro introduces Ajahn Sumedho. // [Amaravati] [Abhayagiri] [Spirit Rock] [Teachers] [Meditation retreats]
2. [3:10] The inspiration of Ajahn Chah. // [Mahatma Gandhi] [Discernment] [Humility] [Goodwill] [Mentoring] [Faith] [Learning]
3. [6:05] Quote: “He made sense out of monasticism.” [Monastic life] [Saṅgha] // [Vinaya] [Dhamma] [Trust]
4. [8:21] Quote: “I think with any Westerner, we’re so full of ourselves when we go [to Asia]. We want to get enlightened....” [Culture/West] [Conceit] [Liberation] // [Mentoring] [Respect for elders]
5. [9:35] Story: How Ajahn Sumedho met Ajahn Chah. // [Language] [Military] [Vinaya] [Ordination]
6. [12:30] How Ajahn Chah taught me. [Teaching Dhamma] // [Ageing] [Faith] [Happiness] [Vinaya] [Humor] [Self-identity view] [Culture/West] [Goodwill] [Right Effort] [Idealism] [Clinging]
Quote: “It was through example that I really learned.”
7. [17:11] How would Ajahn Chah fare in England? [History/Western Buddhist monasticism] [Culture/West] // [Respect for elders] [Culture/Thailand] [Vinaya] [Discernment] [Pace of life]
Story: An emergency landing in Rome. [Fear] [Sensual desire]
Story: Ajahn Chah was threatened while walking almsround in London. [Almsround] [Dhamma]
8. [26:11] Ajahn Chah made me look at myself. [Teaching Dhamma] // [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
Story: Ajahn Chah chats for hours after Pāṭimokkha. [Idle chatter] [Judgementalism]
1. [0:13] Ajahn Amaro introduces Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Abhayagiri] [Wat Pah Nanachat]
2. [2:00] Story: How I met Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Types of monks] [Wat Pah Pong] [Seclusion]
Quote: “If you want to stay here, you have to be here for five years.” — Ajahn Chah [Sequence of training]
3. [5:42] Quote: “Ajahn Chah was a wonderful teacher, but more important, he was a trainer. He trained people how to live.” [Teaching Dhamma] [Monastic life] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support]
Story: Māghā Pūjā at Wat Pah Pong. [Festival days] [Lunar observance days] [Wat Pah Pong] [Meditation] [Devotion to wakefulness] [Lay life] [Saṅgha]
4. [8:55] Story: Thousands of people receive Ajahn Chah upon his return from England. [Gratitude] // [Almsround] [Lay life]
The sea of faith in Northeast Thailand. [Faith] [Culture/Thailand] [Poverty] [Culture/Natural environment] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Self-reliance] [Patience] [Teaching Dhamma] [Suffering]
In Central Thailand, lay people don’t come to the monastery on observance days. [Lunar observance days] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Tudong]
Story: A direct teaching to a man whose wife had died. [Fierce/direct teaching] [Death] [Grief]
5. [20:29] Quote: “He really didn’t give us a lot of room to feed or problems and our neuroses and our desires and our attachments....That was an extraordinary gift.” [Teaching Dhamma] [Nutriment] [Suffering] [Delusion] [Craving] [Clinging] [Gratitude]
6. [21:12] Ajahn Chah used the forest environment to train us. [Culture/Natural environment] [Teaching Dhamma] // [Pace of life]
Story: Two mating lizards fall out of a tree. [Almsround] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Animal] [Sensual desire] [Suffering]
1. [0:07] Story: Ajahn Amaro tells his mother that he’s never eaten so well since he became a Buddhist monk. [Ajahn Amaro] [Food] [Monastic life]
2. [0:56] Favorite verses of Ajahn Chah: “Buddhaṃ me jīvitaṃ yāva-nibbānaṃ saraṇaṃ gacchāmi.” [Mantra] [Ajahn Chah] [Three Refuges] [Nibbāna] // [Unwholesome Roots] [Ajahn Sundarā]
Quote: “Nibbāna is complete normality.” — Ajahn Chah [Naturalness]
3. [2:51] Chanting instructions by Ajahn Sundarā. // [Mindfulness of breathing]
[Session] Chanting on Buddha, Dhamma and Saṇgha. [Three Refuges] [Nibbāna]
[Session] Reading: “Meditation” from Living Dhamma by Ajahn Chah, pp. 50-53. Read by Ajahn Jitindriyā.
“Cultivate the tree right from the seed.” [Similes] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma]
“To practice in a way that’s peaceful means to place the mind neither too high or too low, but at the point of balance.” [Middle Path] [Ajahn Chah]
“So many teachers, so many teachings.” [Teachers] [Doubt] [Meditation/Techniques]
“Where there is knowing, there is no need to think.” [Knowing itself] [Directed thought and evaluation] [Tranquility] [Mindfulness] [Discernment] [Proliferation]
“Resolve that right now is the time for training the mind and nothing else.” [Ardency] [Determination] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Body scanning] [Relinquishment] [Sense restraint]
“Sometimes there may be doubt, so you must have sati, to be the one who knows, continually following and examining the agitated mind.” [Continuity of mindfulness] [Restlessness and worry] [Heedfulness] [Concentration] [Feeling]
Simile: Chicken in a coop.
1. [0:08] Ajahn Amaro introduces Paul Breiter and Joseph Kappel. [Joseph Kappel] // [Ajahn Amaro] [Aruna Ratanagiri] [History/Western Buddhist monasticism] [Wat Pah Nanachat]
2. [5:56] Story: Ajahn Chah’s early life. // [Culture/Thailand] [Truth] [Leadership] [Ajahn Jayasaro]
3. [8:35] Reading from the draft biography: Young Chah plays at being a monk. // [Ajahn Jayasaro] [Almsfood] [Five Precepts]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 23
4. [9:36] Reading from the draft biography: Chah decides to enter the village monastery at age nine. [Types of monks] [Monastic life/Motivation] // [Conditionality] [Conscience and prudence] [Truth] [Generosity] [Kamma] [Work]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 25
5. [13:02] Story: Novice Chah disrobes at age 16. [Novices] [Disrobing] // [Sensual desire] [Restlessness and worry]
6. [14:42] Reading from the draft biography: Chah falls in love. [Relationships] // [Family] [Commerce/economics] [Restlessness and worry]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 34
7. [18:55] Story: Ajahn Chah ordains at age 20. [Ordination] // [Monastic life/Motivation] [Sense of urgency] [Forest versus city monks]
8. [19:51] Reading from the draft biography: Ajahn Chah’s dying father asks him to remain in robes for life. [Sickness] [Recollection/Death] [Parents] [Monastic life] [Determination] // [Learning] [Culture/Thailand] [Unattractiveness] [Forest versus city monks] [Sutta] [Sense of urgency]
Quote: “I dedicate my body and mind, my whole life, to the practice of the Lord Buddha’s teachings in their entirety. I will realize the truth in this lifetime … I will let go of everything and follow the teachings. No matter how much suffering and difficulty I have to endure I will persevere, otherwise there will be no end to my doubts. I will make this life as even and continuous as a single day and night. I will abandon attachments to mind and body and follow the Buddha’s teachings until I know their truth for myself.” — Ajahn Chah [Buddha] [Dhamma] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Knowledge and vision] [Truth] [Relinquishment] [Suffering]
Reflection: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 40 [Energy] [Doubt] [Continuity of mindfulness]
1. [0:08] Reflections about the occasion. [Spiritual friendship] // [Joseph Kappel]
2. [1:20] Learning to trust the next breath. [Trust] [Mindfulness of breathing] // [Restlessness and worry] [Present moment awareness]
3. [2:40] What drew us to Ajahn Chah? [Association with people of integrity] // [Culture/West] [Three Refuges] [Teachers] [Media]
4. [4:37] Ajahn Chah was the living embodiment of these teachings. [Dhamma] // [Buddha images] [Human] [Compassion]
Quote: “It’s like taking the church with you.”
5. [7:33] Ajahn Chah taught us to speak without preparation. [Teaching Dhamma] // [Trust] [Human] [Noble Truth of Suffering] [Spaciousness]
6. [11:24] Most people celebrate birth, but people should be crying. When people die, everyone grieves and sorrows, but they should be celebrating. Teaching of Ajahn Chah recollected by Joseph Kappel. [Birth] [Grief] [Death] [Happiness] // [Fierce/direct teaching]
7. [12:43] Ajahn Chah could be with people where they are. [Compassion] [Present moment awareness]
8. [14:32] Ajahn Chah emphasized sīla and precepts when teaching in the West. [Virtue] [Five Precepts] [Teaching Dhamma] [Culture/West] // [Communal harmony] [Meditation] [Sensual desire] [Long-term practice]
9. [16:21] Reflection: Jumping off the Saṅgha ocean liner. [Saṅgha] [Similes] [Joseph Kappel] [Disrobing] // [Faith] [Five Precepts]
10. [18:03] Ajahn Amaro introduces Paul Breiter and Joseph Kappel.
1. [0:39] “What is the daily schedule like?” Answered by Ajahn Amaro and Joseph Kappel. [Monastic life] // [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Ajahn Amaro] [Joseph Kappel] [Chanting] [Meditation] [Almsround] [Work] [Abhayagiri] [Teaching Dhamma] [Upatakh]
2. [8:45] Many of the most profound teachings happened under Ajahn Chah’s kuti. Reflection by Joseph Kappel. [Teaching Dhamma] [Shelter] // [Tranquility]
3. [15:35] Story: “Sleep is delicious.” Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Admonishment/feedback] [Goodwill] // [Ajahn Amaro] [Joseph Kappel] [Upatakh] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Robes] [Mentoring] [Faith]
1. [0:00] Teachings to Marjorie by Ajahn Chah, Part 2. Thai audio with English translation read by Kittisaro. [Thai audio] // [Dispassion] [Nibbāna] [Unconditioned] [Cessation of Suffering]
Continued from Part 1.
Reference: “Living with the Cobra,” Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 233.
Quote: “If the tears don’t come, we don’t really accept truth.” [Suffering] [Truth] [Wat Pah Pong]
Note: “Living with the Cobra” omits this quote and other more personal aspects of Ajahn Chah’s teaching to Marjorie.
2. [11:03] Context of “Living with the Cobra.” Recollection by Ajahn Amaro. [Wat Pah Pong]
1. [0:35] Reflection: From idealism to the way it is. [Idealism] [Equanimity] // [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. [5:44] I was the first Westerner at Wat Pah Pong. [Wat Pah Pong] [History/Western Buddhist monasticism] // [Military] [Culture/Thailand] [Aversion] [Rains retreat] [Types of monks]
3. [8:58] “When I went to stay with Luang Por Chah, he said, ‘Don’t read anything.’” [Learning] // [Abhidhamma] [Rains retreat] [Meditation]
4. [9:53] “His way of teaching was direct....He would use the essential teaching of the Buddha, the Four Noble Truths.” [Teaching Dhamma] [Four Noble Truths] // [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. [12:27] Story: “Sumedho, Wat Pah Pong, is it suffering?” [Wat Pah Pong] [Suffering] // [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. [18:27] “It wasn’t just suffering that Luang Por [Chah] was pointing to, but also non-suffering.” [Suffering] [Cessation of Suffering] // [Relinquishment] [Clinging] [Knowing itself]
7. [19:25] 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.’” [Sickness] [Grief] [Equanimity] // [Faith] [Aversion] [Relinquishment]
1. [0:00] My contact with Ajahn Chah is through meeting Ajahn Sumedho. [Ajahn Sundarā] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [Faith] [Monastic life]
2. [2:39] Story: Ajahn Chah tells a novice to catch a chicken. [Animal] [Humor]
3. [4:22] Story: Ajahn Sundarā stays with a nun who lived at Wat Pah Pong with Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Sundarā] [Mae Chee] [Wat Pah Pong]
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. [11:32] Story: Half a million people attend Ajahn Chah’s funeral. [Funerals] [Ajahn Sundarā] // [Food] [Free distribution] [Meditation] [Stupas/monuments] [Chanting]
Quote: “The heart of [Ajahn Chah’s] teaching is the ability to bring people together.” [Teaching Dhamma] [Saṅgha] [Community]
Story: The cremation pyre catches fire and number 16 wins the lottery. [Humor]
1. [0:05] In the Vinaya (monastic discipline) there’s no role of abbot. Reflection by Ajahn Amaro. [Vinaya] [Abbot] [Saṅgha decision making] // [Respect] [Confession]
2. [1:12] “How are conflicts between [audio unclear] resolved?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Amaro. [Conflict] [Monastic life] // [Admonishment/feedback]
1. [0:19] The vicar Christopher Boxley is still an avid supporter of Chithurst. Comment by Ajahn Amaro. [Christianity] // [Ajahn Sucitto]
2. [1:00] “I noticed a monk cutting a tree [in The Buddha Comes to Sussex]. Isn’t that against the Pāṭimokkha?” Answered by Ajahn Amaro. [Pāṭimokkha] [Vinaya]
3. [1:31] “How is the relationship between Chithurst Monastery and the local community now? What about other branch monasteries?” Answered by Ajahn Amaro. [Community] [Western Ajahn Chah monasteries] // [Conflict] [Vinaya] [Almsround] [Goodwill] [Tudong]
4. [4:00] Stories about the people who criticized Chithurst Monastery in the early days. Told by Joseph Kappel and Ajahn Amaro. [Conflict] // [Ajahn Sumedho] [Ajahn Anando] [Culture/West] [Communal harmony]
5. [7:27] “What about the relationship with the evangelical [in The Buddha Comes to Sussex]?” Answered by Ajahn Amaro. [Christianity]
6. [8:13] “How many nuns are in the [community]?” Answered by Ajahn Sundarā. [Sīladharā]
7. [8:57] “Everything that’s placed in your bowl... [audio unclear]?” Answered by Ajahn Sundarā and Ajahn Amaro. [Almsfood] // [Killing] [Eating after noon] [Medicinal requisites]
1. [0:05] Chanting: Morning Chanting offered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Chanting] [Three Refuges]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 2
1. [0:12] Ajahn Amaro explains the structure of the second day.
2. [1:53] Guided meditation offered by Ajahn Sundarā. [Meditation] // [Posture/Sitting] [Body scanning] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Present moment awareness]
1. [0:02] Introduction to the reading by Ajahn Amaro. [Joseph Kappel]
2. [0:36] Context of the reading: walking into Wat Pah Pong. Reflection by Joseph Kappel. // [Joseph Kappel] [Wat Pah Pong] [Culture/Natural environment] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Shelter] [Posture/Walking] [Dōgen] [Ajahn Amaro]
3. [5:56] “Learning to Listen.” Teaching by Ajahn Chah. Translated and read by Joseph Kappel. [Learning] [Hearing the true Dhamma] // [Present moment awareness] [Teaching Dhamma] [Questions] [Buddha] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Unconditioned]
1. [0:09] How much Ajahn Chah affected our lives. // [Culture/West]
2. [0:41] I was the first Westerner, so he gave me an enormous amout of attention for the first two or three years. [History/Western Buddhist monasticism] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Mentoring] // [Ajahn Mahā Amorn] [Other Thai Forest teachers] [Pāṭimokkha] [Conceit] [Truth] [Compassion] [Humor]
Story: Venerable Varapañño chants the Pāṭimokkha better than Ajahn Sumedho. [Competitiveness] [Jealousy]
Note: The story that Ajahn Sumedho didn’t tell is probably told in Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 189.
3. [8:23] Comment: Even the monastic life can be competitive. [Monastic life] [Competitiveness] // [Posture/Sitting] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Culture/West] [Conceit]
4. [9:17] When I first went there, the town monks were very critical of Ajahn Chah. [Forest versus city monks] [Wat Pah Pong] [Aversion] // [Ajahn Sumedho] [Rains retreat] [Forgiveness] [Jealousy] [History/Thai Buddhism] [Ajahn Mun]
5. [13:38] Story: Ajahn Chah orders Ajahn Sumedho to stay in England for five years. [Ajahn Sumedho] [History/Western Buddhist monasticism] // [Determination]
Story: The Kaṭhina that Ajahn Sumedho didn’t want to attend. [Kaṭhina] [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Harsh speech]
6. [16:00] Comment: Ajahn Chah is now mutually admired by both sects. [Thai sects] [Respect] [Culture/Thailand] // [Funerals] [Perception of a samaṇa]
7. [17:08] Qualities of Ajahn Chah’s speech. [Right Speech] // [Malicious speech] [Thai sects] [Fierce/direct teaching] [Trust] [Humor] [Goodwill] [Present moment awareness]
8. [18:13] Quote: “Luang Por Chah always allowed margins for differences and for practice.” [Conventions] [Monastic life] // [Western Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Attachment to rites and rituals]
1. [0:14] “Why was Ajahn Chah not allowed to ordain monks and ostracized?” Answered by Ajahn Sumedho. [Ordination] // [History/Thai Buddhism] [Monastic titles] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Saṅgha]
2. [2:39] “Why did Ajahn Chah found Wat Pah Pong?” Answered by Ajahn Amaro. [Wat Pah Pong] [History/Thai Buddhism] // [Tudong] [Teaching Dhamma] [Personal presence] [Seclusion] [Compassion] [Family] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support]
Story: The first Rains Retreat with Ajahn Chah. [Rains retreat] [Devotion to wakefulness]
3. [6:00] Question related to age and ordination (audio unclear). Answered by Ajahn Sumedho. [Ordination] [Older monks] // [Culture/Thailand] [Meditation] [Mae Chee] [Relationships] [Liberation] [Culture/West]
Story: A doctor ordains later in life. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Health care]
4. [10:28] Story: A hit man hired to kill Ajahn Chah ordains instead. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Crime] [Killing] [Ordination] // [Older monks]
5. [12:07] Teachings hanging in the trees at Wat Pay Pong. Recollection by Ajahn Amaro. [Wat Pah Pong] [Culture/Natural environment] [Teaching Dhamma]
1. [3:20] Story: Ajahn Chah visits Seattle. Told by Joseph Kappel. // [Joseph Kappel] [Family]
Story: Venerable Pabakkaro’s grandmother hugs him at the airport. [Monastic life] [Vinaya]
Story: Ajahn Chah visits Mount Ranier. [Culture/Natural environment]
2. [18:58] Story: Ajahn Anando tries to heal Ajahn Chah. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Ajahn Anando] [Health care] // [Ajahn Sumedho] [Sickness] [Fierce/direct teaching]
3. [22:01] Quote: “If I’ve developed any wisdom, it’s because I had such gigantic defilements.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Ajahn Amaro. [Discernment] [Unwholesome Roots] // [Restlessness and worry] [Aversion] [Doubt] [Sensual desire]
4. [23:21] Story: Ajahn Chah vows not to look at a woman for the duration of the Rains Retreat. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Determination] [Sensual desire] [Sense restraint] [Rains retreat] // [Discernment]
5. [25:51] Story: Ajahn Chah hallucinates female sexual organs for ten days. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Sensual desire] [Mental illness] // [Ajahn Kinaree] [Posture/Walking] [Determination] [Patience] [Rebirth]
6. [28:07] Story: When asked about the potential for sacred sexuality, Ajahn Chah picks his nose. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Sensual desire] [Fierce/direct teaching] // [Insight Meditation Society]
Quote: “There’s nothing more to it than that except what your mind adds to it.” — Ajahn Chah [Proliferation]
7. [33:06] Story: “Close the doors. Today I’m eating noodles!” Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Food] [Sensual desire] // [Ardency] [Unwholesome Roots]
1. [0:08] Story: My experiences with Ajahn Chah. Told by Nan Meister. [Gratitude] [Faith] // [Ajahn Liem] [Suffering] [Commerce/economics] [Sense of urgency] [Joseph Kappel] [Bowing] [Wat Pah Pong] [Mae Chee Kumfah] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Mae Chee] [Ghost] [Conceit] [Fierce/direct teaching]
2. [11:11] Story: Ajahn Chah’s trip to Mount Ranier. Told by Gail Kappel. // [Recreation/leisure/sport] [Humor]
3. [12:33] Story: Ajahn Chah’s presence. Told by Gail Kappel. [Personal presence] // [Joseph Kappel]
4. [13:42] Quote: “The sawdust of water.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Gail Kappel.
5. [13:58] Story: Ajahn Chah asks for forgiveness. Told by Gail Kappel. [Forgiveness] [Ceremony/ritual] // [Joseph Kappel] [Humility]
Quote: “If you cry a little bit, it’s good. If you cry a lot, you’re a fool.” — Ajahn Chah [Suffering]
6. [15:25] Reflections by Ajahn Sundarā about the Ajahn Chah Conference. [Gratitude] [Faith]
7. [16:10] “When we enter this life, everything is so funny.” Reflection by Ajahn Sundarā. [Monastic life] [Humor] // [Ajahn Amaro] [Ajahn Sundarā] [Vinaya]
Quote: “It was a hell of a life in the beginning.”
8. [18:30] Story: Paul Breiter expounds the spiritual potential of hospice work. In response, Ajahn Chah presses his cane into Paul’s chest. Told by Joseph Kappel. [Health care] [Death] [Fierce/direct teaching] // [Joseph Kappel]
9. [20:10] Quote: “You’re strong. Now you need to make your heart as strong as your body.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Joseph Kappel. [Heart/mind] // [Joseph Kappel] [Humility] [Family] [Culture/Natural environment]
1. [0:07] Ajahn Amaro introduces Jospeh Kappel and Ajahn Pasanno. [Joseph Kappel] [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Health care] [Funerals]
2. [1:21] Story: Venerable Pabakkaro (Joseph Kappel) spends time in solitude. Told by Joseph Kappel. [Joseph Kappel] [Seclusion] // [Ajahn Sumedho]
3. [3:12] Story: Ajahn Chah’s failing heath and Rains Retreat at Tam Saeng Pet. Told by Joseph Kappel. [Sickness] [Health care] [Rains retreat] [Wat Tam Saeng Pet] // [Wat Pah Pong] [Shelter] [Seclusion] [Generosity] [Joseph Kappel]
Story: “Pabakkaro, make me a Communist.” [Culture/Natural environment] [Medicinal requisites] [Contentment] [Sensual desire]
Story: Venerable Pabakkaro attends to Ajahn Chah. [Upatakh] [Humility]
Story: Ajahn Chah visits the branch monasteries for the last time. [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Vinaya] [Saṅgha]
4. [13:41] Story: Ajahn Chah goes to Bangkok for treatment and an operation. Told by Joseph Kappel. [Sickness] [Health care] // [Joseph Kappel] [Medicinal requisites] [Generosity] [Saṅgha decision making] [Shelter]
Story: Ajahn Chah’s last word. [Language]
5. [20:07] Caring for Ajahn Chah. Reflection by Joseph Kappel. [Sickness] [Health care] // [Joseph Kappel] [Compassion] [Gratitude]
Quote: “It helped the community prepare for his death and offer gratitude.” [Saṅgha] [Death] [Generosity]
6. [21:56] Quote: “Ajahn Chah was a terrible patient.” — Ajahn Pasanno [Health care] [Sickness]
Quote: “Don’t doctors die also?” — Ajahn Chah [Death]
7. [23:19] Story: Mute, wheelchair-bound Ajahn Chah meets a mother and her young son. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sickness] [Children] [Bowing] [Compassion] // [Health care] [Joseph Kappel] [Ajahn Pasanno]
8. [26:13] Ajahn Chah’s time of illness was a gift to the Saṅgha. Reflection by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sickness] [Generosity] [Saṅgha] // [Bodhisattva] [Renunciation] [Communal harmony]
Ajahn Chah’s emphasis on Saṅgha was unique. [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Teachers] [Conflict] [Personal presence] [Three Refuges]
Quote: “People in the world are attached to status. People in the religion are attached to their views.” — Thai saying [Monastic life] [Views] [Saṅgha decision making]
9. [30:39] The sea of faith: Ajahn Chah’s funeral. Reflection by Ajahn Pasanno. [Faith] [Funerals] // [Meditation] [Chanting] [Almsfood]
10. [31:41] Surrender, dignity, honesty: Qualites of Ajahn Chah. Reflection by Ajahn Pasanno. [Relinquishment] [Dignity] [Truth] // [Saṅgha] [Funerals]
1. [0:06] Reflection: The effect of one human being. [Human] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Kamma] // [Culture/Thailand] [Liberation] [Conventions] [Vinaya] [Compassion] [Happiness] [Emptiness] [Not-self]
2. [1:54] Reflection: The unexpected value of traditional Buddhist forms. [Conventions] [Culture/West] [Theravāda] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [Zen] [History/Thai Buddhism] [History/Other Theravāda traditions]
3. [4:54] Reflection: The convention is like a skeleton, but the life comes through the individuals. [Conventions] [Vinaya] [Theravāda] // [Ajahn Sumedho] [Judgementalism] [Compassion] [Goodwill] [Teachers] [Liberation] [Personality] [Ardency] [Continuity of mindfulness]
4. [7:53] Recollection: The June 2000 Saṅgha Meeting discusses allowable sweets and protecting Ajahn Chah’s name. [Wat Pah Pong] [Saṅgha] [Saṅgha decision making] // [Ajahn Sumedho] [Seclusion] [Personality] [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Medicinal requisites] [Technology]
5. [10:48] Story: Wat Pah Pong monks develop malnutrition when Ajahn Chah goes away for several months. [Wat Pah Pong] [Almsfood] [Sickness] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] // [Mae Chee] [Food] [Almsround] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Ajahn Liem] [Fierce/direct teaching]
6. [12:41] Recollection: The June 2000 Saṅgha Meeting concludes in harmony. [Wat Pah Pong] [Saṅgha] [Saṅgha decision making] [Communal harmony] // [Views] [Harsh speech] [Forgiveness] [Three Refuges] [Culture/West]
Quote: “Luang Por Chah wasn’t giving us views and opinions....[He gave] us all a confidence in the unspoken unity of our humanity.” [Faith] [Human]
7. [15:41] Quote: “Luang Por Chah was always pointing us beyond the limitations of ourself.” [Self-identity view] [Liberation] [Not-self]
1. [0:03] Ajahn Amaro explains the Sharing of Blessings chant. [Chanting] [Merit] // [Kamma] [Goodwill] [Ajahn Chah]
2. [1:37] Chanting: Sharing of Blessings. Offered by Ajahn Amaro. [Chanting] [Merit]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 33.
3. [4:11] Chanting: Paying respects to the shrine and Ajahn Chah. Offered by Ajahn Amaro. [Chanting] [Bowing] [Three Refuges] [Ajahn Chah]