Part of key topic Monasteries
Subtag: Saṅghapāla
200 excerpts, 13:14:06 total duration
9. “Does Luang Por Pasanno know what happened to Ajahn Visuddhi or Christine Lee?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Abhayagiri] // [Ajahn Amaro] [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo] [Disrobing]
1. Recollection: Evolution of the Wan Phra all-night vigil at Abhayagiri. Recounted by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Lunar observance days] [Devotion to wakefulness] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Abhayagiri] // [Robes] [Pūjā]
2. Story: Ajahn Ñāṇiko’s first all-night sit. Told by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Ajahn Ñāṇiko] [Lunar observance days] [Devotion to wakefulness] [Abhayagiri] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Pūjā] [Sloth and torpor]
3. Story: Ajahn Pasanno teaches Chi Gong on Wan Phra after the 3 am pūjā. Told by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Chi Gong] [Lunar observance days] [Devotion to wakefulness] [Abhayagiri] // [Ajahn Ñāṇiko] [Health]
5. Reflection by Ajahn Ñāṇiko: Transplanting the wonderful energy of Thai Buddhism to Abhayagiri. [Thai Forest Tradition] [Abhayagiri ]
6. Recollection: The annual January gathering at Wat Pah Pong. Recounted by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Ajahn Chah Remembrance Day] [Wat Pah Pong] [Abhayagiri] // [Lodging] [Food] [Stupas/monuments] [Communal harmony]
7. Recollection: The Community of Abhayagiri Lay Ministers sets up a food stall at Wat Pah Pong. Recounted by Ajahn Ñāṇiko and Ajahn Pasanno. [CALM Group] [Ajahn Chah Remembrance Day] [Wat Pah Pong] [Food] [Abhayagiri]
8. Reflection by Ajahn Ñāṇiko: Practice doesn’t have to be grim. [Eightfold Path] [Ardency] [Perfectionism] [Abhayagiri] // [Happiness] [Ajahn Ñāṇiko]
Recollection: Old video footage of Abhayagiri. [Abhayagiri] [Mae Chee Sansanee] [Kaṭhina]
13. Reflection by Ajahn Ñāṇiko: The pulse of the year at Abhayagiri and the annual Vassa Vinaya studies. [Monastic life] [Rains retreat] [Vinaya] [Learning] [Abhayagiri ] // [Protocols] [Not handling money] [Kaṭhina] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Meditation retreats]
4. “Could you please elaborate on rules fro putting one’s hands in añjali when speaking to a monk at Abhayagiri? And what about bowing? It’s a weakness in my practice that I would like to improve.” Answered by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Respect] [Abhayagiri] [Bowing] // [Mindfulness] [Faith] [Devotional practice] [Continuity of mindfulness]
6. “Can you tell us about the history of female monastics or aspirants who stayed at the monastery in the early days and why it didn’t work out?” Answered by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Women's monastic forms] [Abhayagiri] // [Ajahn Sundarā] [Ajahn Jitindriyā] [Sīladharā]
[Session] Ajahn Karuṇadhammo enumerates the Six Principles of Cordiality and seven reviewing from the Kosambi Sutta (MN 48) and describes how they apply to the enduring ethos of communal harmony at Abhayagiri Monastery. [Principles of Cordiality] [Abhayagiri] [Communal harmony]
1. Reflection by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo: Conscious effort towards communal harmony beginning with the co-abbots. [Abhayagiri] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Amaro] [Abbot] [Communal harmony] [Leadership] // [Community] [Respect]
3. Reflection by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo: As Westerners, we have needed to put conscious care and effort into establishing how to live together in close quarters. [Abhayagiri] [Culture/West] [Community] [Lodging] [Communal harmony ] // [Culture/Thailand] [Ajahn Chah]
6. Reflection by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo: Lovingkindness in speech and the ethic of sharing circles at Abhayagiri. [Goodwill] [Right Speech] [Abhayagiri] [Sharing circles] [Communal harmony] // [Principles of Cordiality] [Ajahn Sudanto] [Listening] [Nonviolent Communication] [Conflict]
Sutta: MN 48: Kosambi Sutta.
16. Reflection by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo: Abhayagiri is a living tradition in a thread that goes back more than 2,500 years. [Teaching Dhamma] [Abhayagiri ] [Communal harmony] // [Gratitude] [Determination] [Culture/West]
17. Reflection by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo: How long will Abhayagiri last? [Abhayagiri] [Impermanence] [Communal harmony] // [Disasters]
2. “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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Women's monastic forms ] [Western Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Abhayagiri] // [Culture/Thailand] [Dhammadharini Monastery] [Karuna Buddhist Vihara] [Sīladharā] [Bhikkhunī] [Women in Buddhism]
4. “What is the meaning of the inscription on the Buddha statue behind you?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Buddha images] [Abhayagiri] // [Ajahn Jundee]
1. “Could you talk about the time of the fires that came so close to the monastery?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Disasters] [Abhayagiri] // [City of Ten Thousand Buddhas] [Lodging]
9. “How did you come to join Ajahn Amaro as co-abbot of the newly established Abhayagiri Monastery in California?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Amaro] [Abbot] [Abhayagiri] [Ajahn Pasanno ] // [Saṅghapāla] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Jack Kornfield] [Elders' Council] [Chithurst]
10. “What was it like establishing a forest monastery with the strict Vinaya of the Forest Tradition in California in the 1990s?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Abhayagiri] [Vinaya] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Culture/West] // [Conscience and prudence] [Trust] [Precepts]
11. “Abhayagiri is not near a major city, but there has been plenty of interest from both laypeople and those wishing to ordain. What do you credit for the sucessful establishment phase of Abhayagiri Monastery?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Abhayagiri] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Monastic life/Motivation] // [Teaching Dhamma] [Trust] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Vinaya]
Quote: “We are what we say we are. That helps.” [Abhayagiri] [Truth]
12. “How many monastics are there at Abhayagiri right now?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Abhayagiri] [Monastic life]
14. “In 2018 you stepped away from the role of abbot of Abhayagiri, passing the role to Ajahn Karunadhammo and Ajahn Ñāṇiko. Both these monks are American and have mostly trained in the United States at Abhayagiri. How do you feel about this milestone?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Abhayagiri] [Abbot] [Retirement] [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo] [Ajahn Pasanno ] [Ajahn Ñāṇiko] [History/Western Buddhist monasticism] [Culture/West] // [Monastic life]
1. “In reference to the fragrance of the flower....There are many roses in the courtyard across the street....Why do we cultivate beauty? Where does beauty arise from?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Beauty] // [Clinging] [Happiness] [Master Hsuan Hua] [Empathetic joy] [Unconditioned]
Sutta: MN 37: Sabbe dhamma nalam abhinivesaya. (Nothing whatsoever should be clung to.)
Story: Ajahn Pasanno’s mother sends his old letters to Abhayagiri. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Abhayagiri]
Recollection: Ajahn Chah was unshakeable in the midst of all the things that were happening around him and responded warmly and compassionately to the people around him. [Ajahn Chah] [Equanimity] [Compassion] [Family] [Monastic life/Motivation]
4. “I notice that some of the monks at Abhayagiri use social media. As a youngster, I use a lot of social media. You grew up when there was none. What’s your view on how it’s affecting our mind?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Social media] [Monastic life] [Abhayagiri] [Ajahn Pasanno]
1. Ajahn Pasanno mentions the Question and Story Archive. [Questions] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Abhayagiri] [Dhamma online]
1. Reflections by Ajahn Pasanno on 28 years. [Community] [Monasteries] [Abhayagiri] // [Saṅghapāla] [Lay supporters] [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support]
Reflection: It’s the community and the people that really creates the monastery.
2. Reflection by Ajahn Pasanno: The early days of Abhayagiri were simple and basic. [Requisites] [Abhayagiri] // [Lay supporters] [Building projects] [Generosity] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support]
Quote: “It was like a Buddhist trailer park.” [Abhayagiri] [Lodging]
3. Recollection of the deaths of key Abhayagiri contributors. Recounted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Death] [Lay supporters] [Abhayagiri] // [Recollection/Death] [Generosity]
5. How I decided to ordain at Abhayagiri. Recollection by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo] [Monastic life/Motivation] [Abhayagiri] // [Ajahn Amaro] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Wat Pah Nanachat]
6. Story: The first few years of Abhayagiri. Told by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Abhayagiri] // [Ajahn Amaro] [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo] [Ajahn Visuddhi] [Lodging] [Ajahn Pasanno]
7. Reflection by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo: First and foremost, this is a training monastery. [Monastic life] [Abhayagiri] // [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Truth] [Vinaya]
8. I arrived when Abhayagiri turned five. Recollection by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Ajahn Ñāṇiko] [Abhayagiri] // [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo] [Ajahn Sudanto] [Ordination] [Sīladharā]
Recollection: The little house was the beating heart of Abhayagiri. [Abhayagiri] [Lodging] [Ajahn Amaro] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Questions] [Gratitude] [Goodwill]
Quote: “I want to ordain. What do I do?” — Ajahn Ñāṇiko’s first email to the Abhayagiri guestmonk. [Abhayagiri] [Ajahn Achalo] [Idealism]
Story: “Look, I’m not here to make friends. I’m here to practice.” [Spiritual friendship]
Quote: “Don’t think about it too much.” — Ajahn Pasanno to Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Monastic life/Motivation] [Proliferation]
9. Recollection: When I first arrived at Abhayagiri. Recounted by Ajahn Cunda. [Abhayagiri] // [Lodging] [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo] [Wat Metta]
10. Story: Chatting loudly with the windows open. Told by Ajahn Cunda. [Idle chatter] [Abhayagiri] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Admonishment/feedback]
11. Story: Living down the street from Abhayagiri for Winter Retreat 2006. Told by Ajahn Cunda. [Abhayagiri] // [Lodging] [Weather] [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo]
12. Story: What “duly noted” means in English. Told by Ajahn Cunda. [Language] [Abhayagiri] // [Ajahn Amaro]
13. Reflection by Ajahn Cunda: Training under the co-abbots. [Abbot] [Ajahn Amaro] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Monastic life] [Abhayagiri] [Mentoring] // [Craving] [Teaching Dhamma] [Communal harmony] [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo]
Quote: “Two tigers in one cave.” — Thai saying. [Leadership] [Culture/Thailand]
14. Reflections by Ajahn Cunda on my early training. [Abhayagiri] // [Ajahn Amaro] [Ajahn Ñāṇiko] [Monastic life]
Quote: “Don’t worry. The first 20 years are the hardest.” — Ajahn Amaro. [Sequence of training] [Suffering]
15. Story: From rough beginnings, J contributes to the Abhayagiri community for six years. Told by Ajahn Cunda. [Lay supporters] [Abhayagiri] // [Food] [Personality] [Death]
16. Abhayagiri history: The people and the places. Recollections by Ajahn Ṭhitapañño. [Abhayagiri] // [Community] [Sharing circles] [Devotion to wakefulness] [Lunar observance days]
17. Why do some people stay and some people go? Reflection by Ajahn Ṭhitapañño. [Ajahn Amaro] [Monastic life] [Abhayagiri] // [Worldly Conditions]
18. A long-term sense of extended family. Reflection by Ajahn Ṭhitapañño. [Community] [Abhayagiri]
19. Reflections by Ajahn Sudhīro on his first year at Abhayagiri. [Abhayagiri] // [Emotion] [Suffering] [Monastic life] [Community] [Communal harmony] [Food] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Happiness]
20. What has and hasn’t changed at Abhayagiri. Reflection by Ajahn Sudhīro. [Unwholesome Roots] [Three Refuges] [Abhayagiri]
Simile: An oasis in a desert. [Abhayagiri] [Similes]