Part of key topic Skillful Qualities
Subsumes: Non-cruelty (avihiṃsā, Harmlessness)
105 excerpts, 7:53:23 total duration
16. “I had an experience yeserday in which I may have seen a group of beings above us, particularly above you....I don’t think I’m crazy, but I’m very interested in what the Dhamma says about otherworldly/non-material beings.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Deva] [Goodwill] [Compassion] [Mental illness] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Culture/Thailand] [Realms of existence] [Culture/Natural environment]
Recollection: Spirits at Wat Pah Nanachat would request Ajahn Pasanno to dedicate merit. [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Funerals] [Ghost] [Merit]
Quote: “They always had to use an intermediary because I was thick, thick, thick.” [Psychic powers]
Story: Ajahn Plien declares Casa Serena free of ghosts. [Ajahn Plien] [Abhayagiri] [Rebirth]
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]
6. Comment: I find that the experience of uncertainty and loss can give rise to compassion. [Impermanence] [Grief] [Compassion]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Right View] [Emotion] [Teaching Dhamma] [Ardency]
5. “Thank you for the wonderful dhamma talk on the 5 reflections! Could you please talk about compassion in caregiving for themselves and for others.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Recollection] [Compassion] [Health care]
14. “Could you please expand on compassionate seclusion in interactive daily life (both on and off retreat)?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Seclusion] [Compassion]
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]
26. “What are the practicalities of metta practice? How does it relate to compassion?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Goodwill] [Compassion] // [Theravāda] [Divine Abidings] [Etymology]
27. “Ajahn Amaro writes about transforming the energy of sense contact into compassion and metta. How does this work?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Amaro] [Contact] [Compassion] [Goodwill] // [Aversion] [Relinquishment] [Four Noble Truths] [Happiness]
16. “Was the fire sermon a ‘teaching moment’ of hyperbole? I love to take photographs, for example, and it helps me engage much more deeply with the world outside my skull. And it fills me with rapture, compassion, and joy! Does the Buddha’s recipe for liberation truly entail cutting off this experience of beauty? Where’s the Theravada equivalent to the Zen ‘suchness’ —the awe of life and its ephemerality? Thank you!” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Dispassion] [Impermanence] [Suchness] [Recreation/leisure/sport] [Liberation] [Compassion] [Happiness] [Beauty]
Sutta: SN 35.28: Ādittapariyāya Sutta
4. “Thank you for talking about the nun who got enlightened the other day. Also thanks to Debbie for her talk! As a female myself, I find it inspirational hearing stories about women on the path. Most teachers, well-known disciples, the Buddha himself, were males, so at times I struggled to connect to the teachings. It felt too mind-focused, too ‘male’ (as more women in my view connect through the heart, or at least I do). I see a lot of heart and compassion in the Dhamma now and I am learning more about women in Buddhism. It would be great to hear more stories about them in Dhamma talks and perhaps one day even have a guest nun visit and give a talk. Thank you.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Women in Buddhism] [Compassion] [Women's monastic forms] // [Dhammadharini Monastery]
6. “How is compassion (karuṇā) is different from loving-kindness (mettā)? Is compassion similar to empathy? I am also wondering if it means you feel the pain of the person you feel compassion for.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Compassion ] [Goodwill ] [Suffering] // [Pāli]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 124: Requesting a Dhamma talk.
5. “I’m not sure how to be with close friends or family members who out of a desire to avoid pain and find happiness engage in self-destructive behaivor that also harms those around them.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Family] [Spiritual friendship] [Unskillful qualities] [Craving] [Compassion] // [Discernment]
Sutta: Maṅgala Sutta: Don’t associate with fools.
10. “Any advice for cures for burnout? I’m in a helping profession and feel depleted and exhausted. I need help getting the balance between giving and receiving.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Depression] [Work] [Health] [Generosity] [Compassion ] // [Culture/West] [Idealism] [Commentaries] [Selfishness]
Quote: “Compassion in the English language means ‘to suffer with.’ If you end up suffering with too much, you end up burnt out.” [Compassion ] [Language] [Suffering]
Quote: “Don’t think you’re a ten-wheeled dump truck when all you are is a wheelbarrow.” — Ajahn Chah [Ajahn Chah]
Commentary: Path of Purification by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, p. 291: Classical cultivation of goodwill and compassion, first to yourself. [Goodwill] [Compassion ]
Quote: “Our ability to be with others and to help and to give is dependent on our being kind and compassionate to ourselves.” [Compassion ] [Spiritual friendship] [Self-reliance]
3. “Is there a way to get involved in controversial political issues and still maintain a correct [audio unclear]?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Politics and society] [Compassion] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Environment] [Buddhist identity] // [Learning] [Corruption] [Divine Abidings] [Depression] [Ill-will] [Equanimity]
Reference: The Heart of the Revolution by Noah Levine. [Compassion]
4. “Why did Jīvaka ask whether a virtuous lay follower is practicing for themselves or others (AN 8.26)?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Great disciples] [Lay life] [Virtue] [Compassion] [Buddhist identity] // [Culture/India] [Lunar observance days] [Teaching Dhamma]
Vinaya: Kd 2.1.1: Origin of Lunar Observance Days.
16. “If you know of an abusive situation and both the abuser and victim are stuck in it, how do you hold this? How to encourage them to follow this path?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Abuse/violence] [Compassion] [Buddhist identity] // [Cessation of Suffering]
Quote: “You plant seeds of possibility. You can’t make the seeds grow, but you can plant the seeds.” [Similes]
14. “Is it possible to meditate on forgiveness for someone who died many years ago? Does forgiveness reach that person on some level, or is it more a matter of showing compssion towards myself?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Forgiveness] [Compassion] // [Kamma]
8. “Would you have some suggestions on working with shame? As an emotion, it feels very “sticky” and probably the hardest one for me to work with. It seems like it is deeply rooted in my mind (probably thanks to Christianity). Is it true that Thai people have an easier time with it than westerners? Is an antidote to shame self-compassion?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Guilt/shame/inadequacy ] [Culture/Thailand] [Culture/West] [Compassion] // [Goodwill] [Self-identity view] [Relinquishment]
3. “What is the difference between loving kindness and compassion? How can one evoke/manifest them if he/she never experienced them before?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Goodwill] [Compassion]
10. “Would you please talk a little bit about determination versus compassion in meditation? For example, as long sittings can cause pain and legs to go numb, when is it good to use determination to power through? And when is it good to have compassion for the body and also not cause damage to the body, so that it can be healthy for long-term practice?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Determination] [Compassion] [Pain]
14. ““There is a crack in everything. That’s where the light gets in.” — Leonard Cohen. Lots of cracks out there. Lots of potential for awakenings and wise compassionate action. Do you agree? If so, where do you see the light emerging? In what arenas? Where would you focus your energy if you were not a monk?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Compassion] [Activism ] [Right Action] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Communal harmony] [Children] [Virtue]
17. “Yesterday when you spoke of women’s ordination in California, I thought of the nuns at Aloka Vihara Forest Monastery who left the Thai Forest Tradition to ordain as nuns. As a woman who has felt a strong calling to the monastic life, I feel a painful split in my heart between the love I have for the Thai Forest Tradition that has changed my life, and its seemingly uncompassionate regard for women wishing to live the Holy Life. It leaves me with a profound feeling of hurt and “less-than” mana. I have to believe that the Buddha, who revolutionarily taught against the caste system, would not want me to feel like second class member of the human race when trying to live a life in his example. I have tried bringing self compassion to this felt sense of my heart breaking, but the pain seems to get worse with the association of the teachers of the Thai Forest tradition who showed me the dharma and yet follow this “anti-nun” rule. Would you share some words of healing to help my heart and restore my faith in this tradition that has so profoundly changed my life?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Women's monastic forms] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Women in Buddhism] [Compassion] [Faith] // [History] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Dhammadharini Monastery] [History/Thai Buddhism] [Bhikkhunī] [History/Sri Lankan Buddhism]
16. Comment: My experience with method five [of MN 20] is that it works when the mind doing the crushing is compassion mind, wisdom mind. [Directed thought and evaluation] [Compassion] [Discernment] [Right Intention]
Responses by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo.
9. “Some of my suffering in the current situation comes from feeling compassion with regard to specific suffering that I’m aware of and not acting in response to it. What are helpful stories to frame a patient, long-term effort to effect change?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Suffering] [Compassion] [Patience] [Long-term practice] [Politics and society] [Kamma] [Activism] [Views] // [Association with people of integrity] [Right Effort]
Quote: “And just because one doesn’t see results doesn’t mean one shouldn’t do something....To put the causes into something–that’s the only way that change is going to happen.” [Conditionality]
8. “How does renuciation reinforce compassion?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Jotipālo. [Renunciation ] [Compassion ] [Sloth and torpor] // [Suffering] [Clinging] [Goodwill] [Right Intention]
Sutta: Snp 1.8: The Metta Sutta.
11. “When is it skillful to try to help people who are suffering?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Compassion ] [Suffering] [Teaching Dhamma]
8. “Kataññu-katavedi refers to receiving kindness and the recognition of the gift of kindness. How are we to understand cultivating the intention to offer kindness to others?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Gratitude] [Compassion] [Generosity] [Ajahn Chah] // [Happiness] [Mindfulness of feeling] [Aversion] [Contact] [Spaciousness] [Direct experience]
Story: Villagers ask Ajahn Chah how he can teach Westerners when they don’t speak Thai. [Culture/West] [Language]
Quote: “Dhamma is the language of experience.” — Ajahn Chah [Dhamma]
12. “What can you offer dying people who didn’t have the opportunity to engage in Buddhist practice?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Death] [Compassion] // [Listening] [Patience] [Tranquility] [Equanimity] [Fear] [Right Speech] [Chanting]
13. “Could you say something about the fact that extreme hardship exists in the world?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Poverty ] [Compassion] // [Culture/Thailand]
Sutta: AN 4.162: Modes of Practice
Sutta: AN 8.2: Worldly Winds [Worldly Conditions]
Vinaya: The famine in Verañjā (BuPj 1.2.1, Brahmali translation) [Buddha/Biography]
Recollection: The vast majority of 20th century Thai meditation masters are from the Northeast. They come from a region and area of great difficulty. [History/Thai Buddhism] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Patience] [Energy] [Faith]
Recollection: More Westerners came to study with Ajahn Chah than Central or Southern Thais. [Ajahn Chah] [History/Western Buddhist monasticism]
5. “Years ago I considered the Buddha someone wbo practiced harm reduction. But having worked in the field, I’ve started to have a lot of conflict around when people request paraphanelia to help them use [drugs]. The idea is to keep them alive, but now it’s become very complicated because people are still dying. Is this a violation of right livelihood? Could you speak about wisdom and compassion?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Intoxicants] [Health care] [Death] [Right Livelihood] [Discernment] [Compassion] [Gratitude] // [Right Intention] [Crime] [Politics and society]
Quote: “As a person who is trying to help, you have to learn harm reduction to yourself.” [Compassion] [Depression]
2. “Let’s say there’s someone causing harm and I wish them well-being. But in their mind, the harm they are causing brings them well-being. What kind of well-being am I wishing for them?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Goodwill] [Compassion] [Generosity] // [Divine Abidings]
10. Comment: I’m going to recollect this day, and your kindness in teaching, and the people who planned the Upāsikā Day. [Gratitude] [Teaching Dhamma] [Compassion] [Recollection/Generosity] [Recollection] [Faith]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Abhidhamma]
4. “Apart from social distancing, what are other ways to behave compassionately during this time when there’s so much physical distance between us?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Pandemic] [Health] [Compassion] // [Generosity] [Online community] [Grief]
8. “You mentioned that ruminating on how one would like to change the world or the conditions around oneself can be a source of needless suffering. But there are times when one does want to work to change the world or the way society is organized for the sake of lovingkindness and alleviating suffering. How do we engage with those desire for change in a skillful way?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Politics and society] [Suffering] [Desire] [Goodwill] [Compassion] [Skillful qualities] [Activism] // [Conditionality] [Self-identity view] [Conflict] [Poverty] [Judgementalism] [Aversion] [Culture/Thailand] [Environment] [Idealism]
Quote: “If one is going to commit oneself to change, one has to get used to looking at things from a big perspective, a perspective of ‘How do we include rather than exclude?’” [Community]
Quote: “You want to approach a particular problem with an open a mind as possible and then see who might be willing and able to help.”
6. “Is there something called fierce compassion in the Theravāda tradition? If so, how is that different from resentment or anger?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Fierce/direct teaching] [Compassion] [Theravāda] [Ill-will] [Aversion] // [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Suffering] [Teaching Dhamma] [Admonishment/feedback] [Spiritual bypass] [Ajahn Chah]
Story: Ajahn Chah calls newly-arrived Tan Pasanno lazy. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Chanting]
6. “In your guided meditation, devotion to the teachings really touched me. Could you say more about this?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Devotional practice] [Recollection/Dhamma ] [Generosity] [Compassion] [Sutta] [Buddha/Biography] // [Faith] [Cultural context] [Respect] [Gratitude] [Culture/Thailand] [Three Refuges] [Relinquishment] [Release]
1. “How do you avoid falling in the trap of caring about something/someone too much and becoming attached to that something/someone?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Compassion] [Clinging] // [Suffering] [Equanimity] [Goodwill] [Generosity] [Bases of Success] [Desire] [Self-identity view] [Craving] [Cessation of Suffering]
2. “Tibetan Buddhism seems to have a stronger emphasis on compassion and emptiness as a practice. Can you talk about this from the perspective of the Ajahn Chah lineage, including steps as to how it is done?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Vajrayāna] [Compassion] [Emptiness] [Ajahn Chah lineage] // [Ajahn Chah] [Eightfold Path]
Quote: “What is the mind of an Arahant like?” – “Only compassion” — Ajahn Mahā Boowa [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Arahant] [Compassion]
19. “When one moves through the world with compassion and lovingkindness, how does one avoid feeling depleted? In a world of ‘individuals,’ most take more than they give and to always be giving can be exhausting.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Compassion] [Goodwill] [Selfishness] [Generosity] [Depression] // [Not-self] [Four Noble Truths] [Cause of Suffering]
Quote: “When we are attentive to freedom from suffering, there’s an inexhaustible well of goodness there.” [Cessation of Suffering] [Skillful qualities]