5. Reading from the draft biography: Ajahn Chah's mentors: Ajahn Tongrat and Ajahn Kinaree [Mentoring] [Ajahn Tongrat] [Ajahn Kinaree] [Ajahn Chah] // [Personality] [Respect for elders] [Upatakh] [Tudong] [Visiting holy sites] [Robes] [Relinquishment] [Monastic crafts] [Pace of life] [Craving]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 73
Story: Ajahn Chah meets Ajahn Tongrat. [Ajahn Tongrat]
Story: Ajahn Mun teaches his teacher, Ajahn Sao. [Ajahn Sao] [Ajahn Mun] [Liberation]
10. “For Lent, I practiced metta every day for six weeks for a person who I was very angry at. By the end of Lent, I was even more angry. Could you speak to this?” [Goodwill] [Aversion] [Christianity] // [Right Effort] [Discernment] [Unwholesome Roots] [Relinquishment] [Self-identity view] [Clinging]
Quote: “If the kilesa (defilements) come at you high, then you duck, and if they come at you low, then you jump over them.” — Ajahn Tongrat [Ajahn Tongrat]
3. “In the suttas, if you recognize a defilement like ill-will, you need to do something about it. How can we reconcile this with the Ajahn Chah teaching you just read ('Receiving Visitors' in In Simple Terms)?” [Sutta] [Right Effort] [Ajahn Chah] [Tranquility] [Proliferation] // [Discernment]
Quote: “Practice is really easy. If the defilements come at you high, you duck, and if they come at you low, you jump over them.” — Ajahn Tongrat [Ajahn Tongrat] [Unwholesome Roots]
5. “Before Ajahn Chah, were there any Mahanikai teachers worthy of respect?” [Ajahn Chah] [Thai sects] // [Ajahn Kinaree] [Ajahn Tongrat] [Ajahn Mun]
6. “Where did Ajahn Tongrat and Ajahn Kinaree live?” [Ajahn Tongrat] [Ajahn Kinaree] // [Ajahn Mun]
7. “Does Ajahn Liem attend morning and evening pūjā?” [Ajahn Liem] [Pūjā] // [Culture/Thailand] [Wat Pah Pong]
Story: Ajahn Liem silently walks around and looks at the monks during morning pūjā. Told by Ajahn Ñāṇiko.
Follow-up: “Did Ajahn Chah go to morning and evening pūjā?” [Ajahn Chah]
Follow-up: “In the early years of Wat Ban Tad, was it always practice on your own?” [Wat Pah Ban Tat] [Thai sects] [Ajahn Tongrat] [Ajahn Baen]
Story: Too many monks skip pūjā to massage Ajahn Liem. Told by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Upatakh]
Recollections: Bhante Gunaratana comes to morning jūjā early. Recounted by Ajahn Jotipālo and Beth Steff. [Bhante Gunaratana]
3. Story: Ajahn Tongrat walks past a pregnant woman and says, "Oh, there's a really good monk in your stomach there." [Ajahn Tongrat] [Ajahn Koon] [Almsround]
3. “Who offered the second reading?” Answered by Ajahn Pesalo and Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Gi] [Ajahn Tongrat] [Wat Pah Nanachat]
5. “How much time did Ajahn Chah spend with Ajahn Tongrat?” [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Tongrat] // [Ajahn Jayasaro] [Tudong]
6. Quote: “In the future, the forest monks will be like village monks, and the village monks will be like lay people.” — Ajahn Tongrat [Ajahn Tongrat] [Forest versus city monks] // [Ajahn Liem] [Wat Pah Pong]
8. “Are there any of Luang Por Tongrat's teachings available?” [Ajahn Tongrat] [Dhamma books] // [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Jayasaro]
9. “Has the Ajahn Utane biography been translated into English?” [Ajahn Tongrat] [Translation] [Ajahn Utane] [Dhamma books]
Note: Ajahn Mudito translated Ajahn Utane's biography of Ajahn Tongrat into Portuguese in 2019. A machine translation from Portuguese to English is available on the internet.
10. “Is Ajahn Utane's monastery the same as Ajahn Tongrat's?” [Ajahn Tongrat] [Ajahn Utane] // [Ajahn Liem] [Stupas/monuments]
2. “There were a number of different alms routes out of Wat Pah Pong. How was it decided who went on each one and how was the food distributed for the meal?” [Wat Pah Pong] [Almsround] [Almsfood] [Saṅgha decision making] // [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Ajahn Liem]
Discussion of almsfood distribution at different monasteries. Led by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Pesalo. [Ajahn Tongrat] [Wat Pah Ban Tat]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno helped pass out food at Wat Pah Pong. [Ajahn Pasanno]
Story: Ajahn Tongrat exposes a monk concealing fish in his ball of sticky rice. [Ajahn Tongrat] [Food] [Admonishment/feedback]
Comments by Ajahn Pesalo and Ajahn Pasanno about food distribution at Wat Baan Tat. [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support]
Quote: “It's incredibly tiresome how organized we [Westerners] have to be....Organic spontaneity–that's how things work in Thailand.” [Culture/West] [Culture/Thailand]
7. “Could you say a few words about the structure of the Thai Saṅgha and where the Thai Forest Tradition fits in?” [History/Thai Buddhism] [Types of monks] [Thai Forest Tradition] // [Ajahn Mun] [Ajahn Kinaree] [Ajahn Tongrat] [Ajahn Chah]
Story: Ajahn Chah asks Ajahn Mun, "Shall I reordain in the Dhammayut Order to live with you?" He responds, "Mahānikāya needs good monks also." [Ordination] [Thai sects]
8. Story: Ajahn Toon tries to disrobe repeatedly, but Ajahn Chah won't let him. [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Toon] [Disrobing] [Thai Forest Tradition] // [Patience] [Three Refuges] [Ajahn Tongrat] [Posture/Walking] [Gratitude] [Respect]
3. “What is the value of living in community?” [Monastic life] [Saṅgha] // [Self-identity view] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Tongrat] [Views] [Requisites] [Not handling money]