348 excerpts, 25:21:54 total duration
3. Quote: “He made sense out of monasticism.” — Ajahn Sumedho [Monastic life] [Saṅgha] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [Vinaya ] [Dhamma] [Trust]
6. How Ajahn Chah taught me. Teaching by Ajahn Sumedho. [Teaching Dhamma] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho ] // [Ageing] [Faith] [Happiness] [Vinaya] [Humor] [Self-identity view] [Culture/West] [Goodwill] [Right Effort] [Idealism] [Clinging]
Quote: “It was through example that I really learned.”
8. Ajahn Chah made me look at myself. Teaching by Ajahn Sumedho. [Teaching Dhamma] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho ] // [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]
5. The sea of faith in Northeast Thailand. Recollection by Ajahn Pasanno. [Faith] [Culture/Thailand ] [Ajahn Chah] // [Poverty] [Culture/Natural environment] [Geography/Thailand] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Self-reliance] [Patience] [Teaching Dhamma] [Suffering]
In Central Thailand, lay people don’t come to the monastery on observance days. [Lay life] [Lunar observance days] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Tudong]
8. Ajahn Chah used the forest environment to train us. Reflection by Ajahn Pasanno. [Culture/Natural environment ] [Teaching Dhamma] [Ajahn Chah] // [Pace of life]
Story: Two mating lizards fall out of a tree. [Almsround] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Animal] [Sensual desire] [Suffering]
5.1. Ajahn Chah taught us to speak without preparation. Recollection by Joseph Kappel. [Teaching Dhamma ] [Ajahn Chah] // [Trust]
8. Ajahn Chah emphasized sīla and precepts when teaching in the West. Recollection by Joseph Kappel. [Virtue ] [Five Precepts] [Teaching Dhamma] [Culture/West] [Ajahn Chah] // [Communal harmony] [Meditation] [Sensual desire] [Long-term practice]
1. “What is the daily schedule like?” Answered by Ajahn Amaro and Joseph Kappel. [Monastic routine] [Ajahn Chah] // [Wat Pah Nanachat ] [Ajahn Amaro] [Joseph Kappel] [Almsround] [Work] [Abhayagiri] [Teaching Dhamma]
Quote: “Ajahn Chah had this most amazing disrespect for time.” — Ajahn Amaro [Pace of life]
4. Story: “Sleep is delicious.” Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Admonishment/feedback] [Goodwill] [Ajahn Chah] // [Ajahn Amaro ] [Joseph Kappel] [Upatakh] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Robes] [Mentoring] [Faith]
5. One of the fundamental aspects of Ajahn Chah’s teaching was to establish Right View. Reflection by Ṭhānissarā. [Teaching Dhamma] [Right View ] [Ajahn Chah] // [Views] [Direct experience]
1. Reflection by Paul Breiter: How do Ajahn Chah’s teachings apply to lay life? [Lay life ] [Ajahn Chah] // [Monastic life] [Culture/Thailand] [Culture/West]
When I left the monastery, I felt like a skinned cow (SN 12.63). [Similes] [Vinaya]
Story: Ajahn Chah scolds the monks for dreaming about lay life. [Work] [Family] [Commerce/economics] [Renunciation]
2. Quote: “These Five Precepts are the basis for human existence. If people could only do this, never mind talking about enlightenment, we would have a world without much trouble.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Paul Breiter. [Ajahn Chah] [Five Precepts ] [Human] [Liberation] [Suffering] // [Virtue] [Intoxicants] [Politics and society]
4. Quote: “We think that this is my family, this is my home village, this is my country, and others are [not]. That’s just a delusion.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Paul Breiter. [Ajahn Chah] [Goodwill] [Family] [Community] [Politics and society] [Delusion] // [Human ] [Birth] [Ageing] [Death]
5.1. Quote: “Everybody worships knowledge. Not many people worship virtue.” — Ajahn Chah at Insight Meditation Center. Quoted by Paul Breiter. [Ajahn Chah] [Learning] [Science] [Technology ] [Virtue] [Insight Meditation Society]
1. Reflection by Ajahn Sumedho: From idealism to the way it is. [Idealism ] [Equanimity] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [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]
4. “His way of teaching was direct....He would use the essential teaching of the Buddha, the Four Noble Truths.” Recollection by Ajahn Sumedho. [Teaching Dhamma] [Four Noble Truths ] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [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]
6. “It wasn’t just suffering that Luang Por [Chah] was pointing to, but also non-suffering.” Reflection by Ajahn Sumedho. [Suffering] [Cessation of Suffering ] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [Relinquishment] [Clinging] [Knowing itself]
3. Story: Ajahn Sundarā stays with a nun who lived at Wat Pah Pong with Ajahn Chah. Told by Ajahn Sundarā. [Ajahn Sundarā] [Mae Chee ] [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Chah]
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]
Note: Stillness Flowing Chapter 9 contains more information about the Wat Pah Pong mae chees at the time of Ajahn Chah.
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]
1. “How did Ajahn Chah relate to the lay community around him and tailor the Dharma to their own circumstances?” Answered by Ajahn Sumedho and Ṭhānissarā. [Lay life ] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Ajahn Chah] [Teaching Dhamma]
Story: Thai villagers tell Ajahn Sumedho that they never understood Buddhism until they met Luang Por Chah. Told by Ajahn Sumedho. [Culture/Thailand] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Monastic life] [Generosity] [Meditation] [Community] [Family] [Mindfulness]
Quote: “He didn’t respond to the external cues but went to the heart and grabbed you in that way.” — Ṭhānissarā [Conventions] [Fierce/direct teaching] [Not-self]
2.1. Story: Ajahn Sumedho, first abbot of Wat Pah Nanachat. Told by Ajahn Sumedho. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Abbot] [Wat Pah Nanachat ] [Sequence of training] [Suffering] [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] [Humor] // [Culture/West] [Ajahn Chah] [Joseph Kappel] [Aversion]
7. Wat Pah Pong: A place of dignity and surrender. Reflection by Jack Kornfield. [Wat Pah Pong ] [Dignity] [Perception of a samaṇa] [Relinquishment] [Ajahn Chah] // [Cleanliness] [Conflict] [Military] [Suffering] [Respect] [Virtue] [Almsround] [Pain] [Chanting] [Monastic crafts] [Bowing]
Quote: “An island of sanity in a sea of madness.” [Three Refuges]
Quote: “Everything you do in your life in this monastery is a chance to awaken.” — Ajahn Chah [Liberation] [Continuity of mindfulness]
17. Quote: “Look at others 10% of the time and look at yourself 90%; that’s about the right measure.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Jack Kornfield. [Ajahn Chah] [Judgementalism ] [Admonishment/feedback] [Discernment] // [Idealism] [Conventions] [Heart/mind] [Vinaya]
Story: Ajahn Chah’s teacher eats sloppily. [Teachers] [Food] [Suffering]
20. He encouraged people to let go in so many different ways. Recollection by Jack Kornfield. [Relinquishment ] [Teachers] [Views] [Eightfold Path] [Ajahn Chah] // [Idle chatter] [Seclusion] [Aversion] [Ghost] [Fear] [Restlessness and worry] [Sense bases] [Direct experience] [Liberation]
Story: Sit in the middle of your anger. [Jack Kornfield] [Robes] [Lodging]
Story: Walk backwards in the forest in the middle of the night. [Sloth and torpor] [Posture/Walking] [Culture/Natural environment]
25. Quote: “What is the Buddha?” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Jack Kornfield. [Ajahn Chah] [Buddha ] // [Three Refuges] [Knowledge and vision] [Unconditioned] [Recollection/Dhamma] [Liberation]
4. Stories: The Chipmunk Story and The Donkey Story. Told by Kittisaro. [Kittisaro] [Depression] [Humor ] [Similes] [Ajahn Chah] // [Recreation/leisure/sport] [Perfectionism] [Meditation] [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Sickness] [Animal] [Learning] [Health care] [Self-identity view] [Joseph Kappel] [Compassion] [Energy] [Right Effort] [Equanimity] [Lawfulness]
2. “Why did Ajahn Chah found Wat Pah Pong?” Answered by Ajahn Amaro. [Wat Pah Pong ] [History/Thai Buddhism] [Ajahn Chah] // [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]
1. Quote: “Don’t you say that so lightly–old age, sickness, and death.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Jack Kornfield. [Ajahn Chah] [Sickness] [Ageing ] [Death] // [Health care]
5. Quote: “If I’ve developed any wisdom, it’s because I had such gigantic defilements.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Ajahn Amaro. [Ajahn Chah] [Discernment] [Unwholesome Roots] // [Hindrances ] [Restlessness and worry] [Aversion] [Doubt] [Sensual desire]
6. 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] [Ajahn Chah] // [Discernment]
8. Ajahn Chah’s time of illness was a gift to the Saṅgha. Reflection by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sickness] [Generosity] [Saṅgha ] [Ajahn Chah ] // [Bodhisattva] [Renunciation] [Communal harmony] [Saṅgha decision making]
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]
3. “Could you please explain about the death process…how quickly does rebirth occur?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Death ] [Rebirth] // [Recollection/Death] [Delusion] [Self-identity view] [Recollection] [Impermanence] [Not-self] [Theravāda] [History/Early Buddhism] [Sutta] [Vajrayāna] [Clinging] [Culture/Thailand] [Chanting] [Goodwill] [Relinquishment] [Ceremony/ritual] [Kamma]
References: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 55: Five Recollections; Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 12: The body is impermanent... [Similes] [Craving]
Simile: Fire blown by the wind (MN 72: Aggivacchagotta Sutta)
Story: A former monk asks Ajahn Chah about working with dying people to give them the opportunity for wholesome rebirth. [Ajahn Chah] [Teachers] [Fierce/direct teaching]
Quote: “I practice dying.” — The Dalai Lama [Dalai Lama]
8. Quote: “I appreciate people’s questions. I enjoy the questions, and I never quite know what’s going to come out when people present a question. It’s interesting to me as well.” — Ajahn Pasanno [Questions ] [Ajahn Pasanno]
9. “Could you talk more about working with the hindrance of doubt?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Doubt ] // [Fear] [Aversion] [Sensual desire] [Mindfulness of body] [Tranquility] [Mindfulness of feeling] [Right Speech] [Delusion]
Simile: A dish of muddy water placed in a dark cupboard (SN 46.55). [Similes]
10.1. Recollection: Ajahn Chah was this peaceful, happy presence in the center of the universe. Things happened around him all the time...and Ajahn Chah was always happy. You realize that that’s really possible in the human condition. Recounted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah ] [Happiness] [Worldly Conditions] [Faith] // [Disrobing] [Human]
10. “Would you share some of your personal journey, including the time before you became a monk, and why you became a monk, and how the holy life can help people grow and change?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Monastic life/Motivation] [Monastic life] [Long-term practice ] // [Culture/West] [Travel] [Culture/Thailand]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno begins meditation with a month-long Mahasi Sayadaw retreat. [Meditation retreats] [Mahasi Sayadaw] [Devotion to wakefulness] [Fierce/direct teaching]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno’s first visit to Wat Pah Pong. [Ordination] [Ajahn Chah] [Wat Pah Pong]
Quote: “If you want to stay here, you have to stay at least five years.” — Ajahn Chah [Sequence of training]
Reflection: “Five years is five years. I’ll go back and give myself to Ajahn Chah.” — Ajahn Pasanno [Relinquishment] [Mentoring]
Quote: “There’s no such thing as the ideal monastic or the ideal practitioner.” [Idealism] [Lay life] [Faith] [Disrobing] [Suffering] [Energy] [Patience]
11. “It’s been so helpful to hear stories from your own experience. Could you talk about some of the more challenging moments in your practice and how you worked with them?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Gratitude] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Long-term practice] // [Doubt ] [Patience]
Quote: “It’s not me resolving doubt, but it’s allowing the practice or the Dhamma to work.” [Self-identity view] [Dhamma] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Faith] [Three Refuges]
Simile: “Getting in the vehicle and allowing it to carry you.” [Similes]
1. “In the palm reader story, you mentioned that Ajahn Chah still had a lot of anger, but he chose not to act from it. So does this mean that if there was a troublesome monk, Ajahn Chah would still experience a flare of anger but have the wisdom to set it aside and consider what to do with a cool head? This sounds similar to something Ram Das said about his practice....” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Aversion ] [Discernment] [Ram Dass] [Unwholesome Roots] // [Personality] [Kamma]
Story: Ajahn Jayasaro is massaging Ajahn Chah’s feet when a monk undergoing a disciplinary procedure walks by. [Ajahn Jayasaro] [Vinaya] [Fierce/direct teaching ] [Emotion]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno observes Ajahn Mahā Boowa’s fierce behaivor. [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Arahant] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Rapture] [Goodwill]
Quote: “You never quite knew...you were always very careful around [Ajahn Chah] because you never knew which side was going to come out. It wasn’t as if he was just playing with you, but he always responded to the situation or the person.” [Heedlessness] [Personal presence] [Teaching Dhamma]
2. “Would you explain the duties adult children have towards ageing parents and the duties of parents towards their children as taught by the Buddha?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Family] [Parents ] [Ageing] [Children ] // [Health care] [Culture/Asia]
Sutta: AN 2.33: The greatest gifts to one’s parents. [Virtue] [Generosity] [Right View]
3. “Reflecting on your 35 years in robes, do you have any strong lessons that stand out?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Monastic life] [Long-term practice] [Discernment] // [Patience ] [Ajahn Chah] [Virtue] [Meditation retreats]
Quote: “Oftentimes we don’t really recognize the goodness that we’re doing.” [Perfectionism] [Judgementalism]
Quote: “Patience isn’t just enduring. It’s being able to be present with experience.” [Direct experience] [Present moment awareness]
8. “Sometimes when I get concentrated I have spontaneous body and/or facial movements both gross and subtle. Any comments?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Concentration] [Meditation/Unusual experiences ] // [Mindfulness of body] [Goodwill]
12. “The near enemy to equanimity is aloofness. Can you offer clues on how to differentiate between these in oneself?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Equanimity ] [Discernment] // [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities] [Aversion] [Present moment awareness]
Quote: “Tuning into kusala/akusala sorts things out really quickly.”
Sutta: AN 3.65: Kālāma Sutta
16. “What could American culture learn from Thai culture?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Culture/West] [Culture/Thailand ] // [P. A. Payutto] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Cultural context]
Quote: “Mai bpen rai.”
Quote: “‘If there was a culture that was steeped in Buddhism, that would really solve all the problems of the world.’ No it wouldn’t. There are still human beings there. They’ll create suffering wherever they go.” [Politics and society] [Human] [Suffering]
10. Reading from the draft biography: Ajahn Chah accepts his dying father’s request to stay as a monk for life. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Parents] [Monastic life/Motivation] [Sickness] [Death] [Ajahn Chah ] [Determination] // [Mindfulness of body] [Spiritual urgency] [Saṃsāra]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 40
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 [Ardency] [Patience] [Doubt] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Relinquishment] [Knowledge and vision]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 42
The singular quality of Ajahn Chah’s resolution. Reflection by Ajahn Pasanno.
12. Reading from the draft biography: Ajahn Mun’s character and legacy. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Mun ] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Ajahn Chah] // [Culture/Thailand] [Perception of a samaṇa] [Great disciples] [Ascetic practices] [Rains retreat] [Almsround] [Psychic powers] [Discernment] [Liberation] [History/Thai Buddhism]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 52
Story: Ajahn Mun disappears after being appointed abbot. [Abbot] [Seclusion]
13. Reading from the draft biography: Ajahn Chah visits Ajahn Mun. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Mun] [Tudong] [Ajahn Chah ] // [Relics] [Cleanliness] [Perception of a samaṇa] [Personal presence] [Vinaya] [Conscience and prudence] [Teaching Dhamma] [Knowing itself] [Nature of mind] [Conventions] [Unconditioned] [Faith]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 54
1. Guided meditation: The rythym of the sensation of the body as it is walking. Offered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Posture/Walking ] [Mindfulness of body] [Ajahn Chah] // [Calming meditation] [Present moment awareness] [Proliferation] [Tranquility] [Investigation of states]
3. “As an abbot taking care of a community, how do you handle it when a kerfluffle comes up?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Abbot] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Community] [Conflict ] // [Patience] [Views] [Skillful qualities] [Four Noble Truths]
Follow-up: “What are the antidotes to the next two Noble Truths?”
4. Story: Ajahn Chah struggles through lust with patience. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Sensual desire ] [Patience] [Tudong] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Human] [Meditation/Techniques] [Impermanence]
Quote: Ajahn Chah to biographer: “If you don’t put that in the book, don’t bother printing it.” [Dhamma books]
Quote: “If you ordain as a monk, your defilements ordain with you.” [Monastic life] [Unwholesome Roots]
10. Quote: “It all comes back to that simple quality of mindfulness. From the mindfulness, then the different qualities of practice that we need to rely on are cultivated.” — Ajahn Pasanno [Mindfulness ] [Faculties] [Tudong] // [Concentration ] [Thai] [Translation] [Discernment] [Perfections]
Reflection: In Thai, samādhi is translated as “the firm establishing of the mind.”
Quote: “The base and foundation is the mindfulness. Being the knowing is always the foundation, and then the mind is able to become still, become settled, become steady.” [Knowing itself]
Recollection: “It’s rare that Ajahn Chah would use [the Pāli term] pañña on its own. More often than not, he would use satipañña, which is mindfulness and wisdom together.” [Ajahn Chah] [Pāli]
3. Comment: You spoke about suffusing the body with extreme well-being. But I’ve been in states like that and my body seems to disappear. [Jhāna] [Happiness] [Rapture ] [Mindfulness of body] [Gradual Teaching] [Meditation/Unusual experiences]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
Quote: “It isn’t so much the experience of extreme well-being that is the goal. It’s the ability to gain clarity and stability so that one can see through the experience as something that is uncertain or impermanent, has a changing nature. The mind often wants to disregard that. The tendency to identify self with experience on a refined mental level is tempered by the body experience.” [Clear comprehension] [Concentration] [Knowledge and vision] [Impermanence] [Delusion] [Self-identity view] [Relinquishment]
Follow-up: “Are you saying you can become attached to these states?” [Clinging]
3. “Could you talk more about the particular professions that the Buddha laid out as wrong livelihood (AN 5.177)? Why is being in the military not on the list?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Work] [Military] [Right Livelihood ] // [Unskillful qualities] [Kamma] [Killing] [Intoxicants] [Rebirth]
Story: The widow of a wealthy man divests from Singha Beer. [Commerce/economics]
12. “The Buddha taught the five forms of wrong livelihood [AN 5.177]. This is from the producer side. Is there a similar teaching from the consumer side?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Commerce/economics ] [Right Livelihood] // [Idealism] [Politics and society] [Buddha/Biography] [Skillful qualities]
16. “Some people want to help but find themselves in situations in which profit dictates the priorities. How can they protect their integrity in such situations?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Compassion] [Health care] [Commerce/economics] [Right Intention] [Right Livelihood ] // [Learning] [Idealism] [Requisites] [Happiness]
Story: Ajahn Karuniko studies engineering, then quits a job in the arms industry to become a monk. [Military] [Monastic life/Motivation]
25. “There are many people without access to resources for education or training without many choices. How does this all fit together?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Poverty ] [Learning] [Politics and society] [Right Livelihood] // [Buddha] [Idealism]
Sutta: DN 27: Agañña Sutta
26. “In DN 31.26, what is investment versus savings?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Commerce/economics ] [Right Livelihood]
Comments by various participants about the nature of investment. [Unskillful qualities] [Greed] [Work]
Sutta: DN 31.32: Siṅgālasutta Sutta: Five duties of an employer to employees; interpreted in A Constitution for Living by P. A. Payutto, p. 7.
5. “What is your take on satisfaction, being in tune, and stagnation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Contentment ] [Energy] [Ardency ] // [Skillful qualities] [Discernment] [Buddha/Biography] [Spiritual search] [Right Effort]
Sutta: AN 2.5: Effort and noncontentment with wholesome states.
Story: The Thai government made it illegal for monks to teach contentment. [History/Thai Buddhism] [Monastic life] [Teaching Dhamma]
Comment about the simile of the lute. [Middle Path] [Similes]
Sutta: AN 6.55: Soṇa Sutta
3. “Why is discernment a better word for wisdom?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Discernment ] [Translation] // [Pāli] [Etymology]
1. “What do we do at the monastery? What happens on a daily basis?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Monastic routine ] [Abhayagiri]
8. “I appreciate your emphasis on clarity, stability, and spaciousness. How does concentration relate to these?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Clear comprehension] [Unification] [Spaciousness] [Concentration ] // [Pāli] [Thai] [Etymology] [Tranquility] [Happiness] [Rapture] [Conditionality]
Suttas: AN 10.3: Virtuous Behaivor; AN 6.10 Mahānāma [Virtue]
Quote: “The way my mind worked before was, ‘Boy, when I get my concentration together, I’m going to be happy...’” [Ajahn Pasanno]
Quote: “The happy mind is easily concentrated.” [Hindrances] [Relinquishment] [Knowledge and vision]
4. “Is there a state of the calm mind when you’re not thinking about anything or is meditation more about reflecting?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Directed thought and evaluation] [Recollection] [Tranquility ] [Proliferation] // [Concentration] [Restlessness and worry] [Perfectionism] [Ardency]
1. “Thank you for your talk. Can you flesh out: ‘dispassionate about what?’ Also, trying to encourage dispassion along with arousing energy.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Dispassion ] [Energy] // [Craving] [Sense bases] [Form] [Emotion] [Contentment] [Tranquility]
Quote: “When there’s a coolness towards the world around one, that frees up a lot of energy for directing attention to what’s actually useful and beneficial.” [Discernment]
2. “Is there something in the body that will help you identify the defilement of delusion?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of body] [Delusion ] // [Self-identity view]
8. “It seems that every year I expect less from myself at a retreat. It seems also, by and large, that every year retreat becomes easier, happier, and more peaceful. Would you say this is because: 1) I am getting wiser? 2) I am abandoning all intentions? or 3) I am running out of hormones?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Long-term practice ] [Meditation retreats] [Happiness] // [Spaciousness]
9. “Where do the Brahma-Viharas fit into the 4 Noble Truths?’” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Four Noble Truths] [Divine Abidings ] // [Eightfold Path] [Right Intention]
27. “After 20 plus years of having a daily practice and Dharma being first priority, I just up and stopped meditating one day about 2 years ago...Can you talk about this ‘rolling up the mat’ [phenomenon]? Why it happens, how and when, etc?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation] [Long-term practice ] // [Idealism] [Purpose/meaning] [Right Effort] [Spiritual friendship]
2. “At what point did your practice change from serving yourself (to end your own suffering) to self-less service?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Long-term practice] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Cessation of Suffering] [Generosity ]
Sutta: MN 128.12: “Why don’t I set aside what I want to do and do what’s of benefit to the others?”
4. “Would you talk about (describe) how to relax into ‘whole-body breathing?’ What does that mean?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of breathing ] [Mindfulness of body] // [Concentration] [Unification] [Investigation of states] [Tranquility]
5. “How much did the Buddha encourage his disciples to become enlightened to ‘get off the wheel’ versus experiencing freedom from suffering in this lifetime?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Cessation of Suffering ] [Rebirth]
5.1. Follow-up: “In Bangkok, there is lots of news that makes people crazy and divisive. When you see this news, you feel upset and angry.” Aswered by Ajahn Pasanno. [News ] [Conflict] [Aversion] [Right Speech] // [Politics and society] [Proliferation]
Quote: “I don’t care. Not in the sense that I don’t think it’s serious or that it’s not a problem. But I don’t care in the sense that I don’t want to be getting involved in whatever side people are working themselves up about, because the problem is much deeper than that. We have to pay attention to the deeper problem, both in the human condition and politically.” [Human]
6. “I find I do need some pleasures even thought they don’t last, things like fine arts and being in nature. I’m curious, how did you manage as a monk in your early years at Ajahn Chah’s monastery where there’s almost no pleasure....How did you manage to keep going over the years until the present?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sensual desire] [Artistic expression] [Culture/Natural environment] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Monastic life] [Ajahn Chah] [Food] [Entertainment and adornment] [Monastic life/Motivation] // [Cessation of Suffering] [Happiness ] [Simplicity ] [Association with people of integrity] [Empathetic joy] [Human] [Hindrances] [Jhāna] [Virtue] [Discernment]
Quote: “One of the extraordinary perks of being a monk is that everyone tries to be good around you.”
Sutta: MN 36.32: “Why am I afraid of that happiness?” [Buddha/Biography] [Ascetic practices] [Suffering] [Skillful qualities] [Eightfold Path]
Quote: “As a monk, I can look back on forty years of living in a way where I don’t have to feel remorseful or regret anything.”
2. “Luang Ta Mahā Boowa often says, “You kill the kilesas” whereas Ajahn Chah in this talk [”Unshakeable Peace”] speaks of the path doing battle with the kilesas. Is this just the translation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Ajahn Chah] [Unwholesome Roots ] [Eightfold Path] [Teaching Dhamma]
Recollection: When Ajahn Chah would use personal pronouns, he often used we as opposed to you. [Language] [Naturalness]
7. Recollection: Ajahn Pasanno describes Ajahn Mun’s skillful use of language. Recounted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Mun ] [Thai] [Language] [Artistic expression] [Teaching Dhamma]
Reference: Venerable Ācariya Mun Bhūridatta Thera: A Spiritual Biography by Ajahn Mahā Boowa [Fierce/direct teaching]
Reference: Regarding the photo in Abhayagiri’s Dhamma Hall: “This is the most warm and fuzzy picture of Ajahn Mun.”
2. “Did Ajahn Chah tend to emphasize certain Dhammas for Westerners and for Thais?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Teaching Dhamma] [Culture/West ] [Culture/Thailand] [Ajahn Chah]
2. “What were the interesting practices you used so that you would get up as soon as you woke up?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Devotion to wakefulness ] // [Mindfulness of body] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Sitter's practice]
4. “Do you have any advice about how to hold a particularly strong “fighting spirit” teaching, like Ajahn Dtun?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Fierce/direct teaching ] [Teaching Dhamma] [Ajahn Dtun] // [Culture/Thailand] [Ardency] [Right Effort] [Restlessness and worry] [Heedfulness] [Discernment] [Goodwill]
Sutta: AN 1.49: The mind is radiant.
Quote: “If you invite visitors into your home [the mind] and they just make a mess, then you want to close the door on them before they come in. You can’t be too polite.” — Ajahn Chah [Ajahn Chah] [Similes] [Unwholesome Roots]
7. Reading: “Its Easy if You are not Attached,” Gifts He Left Behind by Ajahn Dune, p. 77. Read by Ajahn Ahiṃsako. [Ajahn Dune] [Wat Burapha] // [Rains retreat]
Quote: “It’s the nature of light to be bright; it’s the nature of noise to be loud.” [Contact ] [Sense restraint] [Discernment]
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]
2. “How does one incline the mind towards recollecting one’s own good actions?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Recollection/Virtue ] [Merit] [Aversion] [Gladdening the mind] // [Emotion] [Feeling] [Kamma] [Investigation of states] [Vajrayāna]
1. “Could you describe ways to work with delighting and wanting around the pleasure of food?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Food ] [Craving] [Happiness] [Unattractiveness] [Disenchantment] // [Elements] [Mindfulness of body] [Clinging] [Impermanence] [Dependent origination]
Sutta: AN 5.208: The benefits of chewing toothwoods. [Cleanliness]
3. “Do you have any advice for monks taking on additional practices (āditthanas)?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Determination] [Ascetic practices ] // [Appropriate attention] [Virtue] [Sense restraint] [Unwholesome Roots] [Middle Path]
5. “Did Ajahn Chah ever tell a student to study?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Learning ] // [Eightfold Path] [Study monks] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma]
Quote: “These are not absolute statements. When Ajahn Chah says something, he’s pointing. He just doesn’t work that way. And we take it as an absolute.” [Teaching Dhamma] [Proliferation]
Story: Ajahn Chah monks who became study monks. [Ajahn Bunjong] [Ajahn Mahā In]
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]
4. Quote: “The take-away bit of the forest teachers or ethos is that we have everything within us....They are coming at it from all different angles, but the underlying thread is that theme of relying on and refining capabilities that we actually have. Sīla, samādhi, and pañña are not external to us.” — Ajahn Pasanno [Thai Forest Tradition ] [Self-reliance] [Eightfold Path]
4. The trio of Ajahn Piak, Ajahn Anan, and Ajahn Dtun. Recollection by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Piak ] [Ajahn Anan ] [Ajahn Dtun ] [Wat Pah Pong] [Spiritual friendship] [Ajahn Chah]
Quote: “Ajahn Dtun’s path is the path of wisdom...Ajahn Piak is gifted in samādhi. And I have very strong faith.” — Ajahn Anan [Discernment] [Concentration] [Faith]
2. “Would you be willing to talk about the difference between mindfulness, bare knowing, and the one who knows?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness ] [Direct experience] [Knowing itself] // [Buddha] [Clear comprehension] [Thai] [Discernment] [Ardency] [Seclusion] [Cessation of Suffering]
Sutta: MN 10: Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta
2. “The citta is sometimes defined as pure awareness, and it being in the fourth khanda, but it sounds like here he’s talking about the activity of awareness?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Heart/mind] [Knowing itself] [Volitional formations] // [Rebirth]
Quote: “There is that which is beyond birth and death. And then you start asking, ‘Well, what is it and how is it? How should it be?’ It’s just the same as in the Sabbāsava Sutta (MN 2.7)...As soon as you get into conceiving, you’ve already started the process of dukkha.” [Unconditioned ] [Proliferation] [Conceit] [Suffering]
Follow-up: “So is it better to hear what he said and let it go when I notice awareness that’s good, but I don’t have to make anything out of it?”
Quote: “The investigation is not a conceiving. The best investigation is when the mind is exceedingly still and not conceiving, not creating concepts.” [Discernment] [Concentration]
Follow-up: “So is it a realizing, not a conceiving?” [Knowledge and vision]
1. “When you were living with Ajahn Chah, were many of his talks more related to the Korwat or practical matters, as opposed to the High Dhamma?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Teaching Dhamma] [Protocols] [Dhamma]
Quote: “There’s not really a separation.” [Vinaya ]
Comment: Ajahn Chah taught to the situation. Contributed by Ajahn Kaccāna. [Learning] [Sequence of training]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Cessation of Suffering] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma]
8.1. Quote: “The qualities of the one pointed mind are vitakka, vicāra, pīti, sukha, and ekaggatā....It’s not one pointed excluding. It works together, it harmonizes, it’s balanced.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Unification ] [Right Concentration]
7. Quote: “The art of the pause.” — Ajahn Sucitto. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Sucitto] [Pace of life ] // [Discernment] [Skillful qualities]
26. “If a family member who has passed turns into a hungry ghost, how might one help them when they’re in that realm?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Family] [Rebirth] [Ghost ] [Compassion] [Death] // [Merit]
Sutta: AN 10.177: Jāṇussoṇī
Follow-up: “Does it work the same way if the person hasn’t made much merit?” [Kamma] [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities] [Human]
13. “Ajahn Mun spent a lot of time teaching the devas. Can you share any thoughts on this relevant to Western culture?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Mun] [Teaching Dhamma] [Deva ] [Doubt] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Culture/West] // [Faith] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Nature of the cosmos]
Reference: Venerable Ācariya Mun Bhūridatta Thera: A Spiritual Biography by Ajahn Mahā Boowa
9. “Regarding thought fabrications, in daily life we have to focus on our work. How can we intergrate the principles of anatta and dukkha into daily life?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Volitional formations] [Everyday life] [Work ] [Not-self] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Suffering] // [Right Livelihood] [Restlessness and worry] [Energy] [Impermanence] [Self-identity view] [Relinquishment]
1. Biography and role of Ajahn Liem. [Ajahn Liem ] [Thai Forest Tradition] // [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Chah] [Abbot] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Leadership]
Quote: “He’s in the middle of all of this duty and projection. Whatever comes his way, he doesn’t pick up any of it. It’s quite delightful to be around him.” [Proliferation]
2. “I’ve had the experience on retreat of getting to slow, shallow breathing and panicked because I couldn’t find the breath. Could you say more about just going to the knowing?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation/Unusual experiences] [Tranquility] [Fear] [Knowing itself] [Mindfulness of breathing ] // [Mindfulness of body] [Investigation of states] [Nimitta] [Faith]
3. “I have a hard time breathing normally due to congestion and athsma. How does one get past the initial fear, ‘I just can’t breath. How am I going to do this?’” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Health] [Fear] [Mindfulness of breathing ] // [Mindfulness of body] [Body scanning] [Tranquility]
10. “I get stuck with subtle unpleasant moods. Any advice?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Clinging] [Feeling ] [Emotion] [Mindfulness of breathing] // [Mindfulness of body] [Goodwill] [Continuity of mindfulness]
7. “How often do you employ mindfulness of breathing in daily life? How much volition are you still using?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Everyday life] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Volition] [Mindfulness of breathing ] // [Mindfulness of body]
9. “How does tudong help you on the spiritual path?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Tudong ] // [Simplicity] [Craving] [Teaching Dhamma] [Faith]
10. “Is there a requirement for monks in the Forest Tradition to walk tudong?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Thai Forest Tradition] [Tudong ] // [Ascetic practices] [Ajahn Chah] [Restlessness and worry]
Story: Ajahn Chah tells a monk to pack his gear and walk tudong within Wat Pah Pong.
Story: Ajahn Chah lets a restless three-Vassa Western monk go tudong. [Teaching Dhamma]
18. “How do we take refuge in awareness (Buddho) in daily life?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Buddha ] [Recollection/Buddha] [Knowing itself] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Everyday life] // [Precepts] [Mindfulness] [Discernment] [Recollection] [Clear comprehension] [Right Effort] [Seclusion] [Nature of mind] [Proliferation] [Culture/Thailand]
Sutta: MN 10: Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta
Note: In the answer to this question, Ajahn Pasanno equates awareness with mindfulness.
Quote: “The literal meaning of Buddho is ‘the one who knows,’ but it’s also being the one who knows, where you have the opportunity for us to be that knowing.”
22. The values of the Thai Forest Tradition. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Thai Forest Tradition ] // [Knowing itself] [Mindfulness] [Recollection/Buddha] [Four Noble Truths] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Tate] [Ajahn Mun] [Heart/mind] [Three Refuges]
Quote: “Pay attention to the difference between the mind and the objects of mind.” — Ajahn Mun [Nature of mind] [Moods of the mind] [Discernment]