Discernment (paññā)
Discernment (paññā)
2. “Can you speak a little about samatha/vipassana and explain the difference between serenity and equanimity?” [Calming meditation] [Insight meditation] [Equanimity] // [Commentaries] [Ajahn Chah] [Relinquishment] [Liberation] [Concentration] [Divine Abidings] [Factors of Awakening] [Discernment]
Quote: “Samatha-vipassanā is like a green mango and a ripe mango. Same mango.” — Ajahn Chah [Similes]
6. “When there is a lot of pain in the body, it is difficult to maintain “right effort,” yet sometimes through patient endurance the pain lessens or dissipates. Could you speak about right effort and the connection between right effort and samadhi?” [Pain] [Right Effort] [Patience] [Concentration] // [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities] [Fear] [Aversion] [Discernment] [Naturalness]
Recollection: Ajahn Pasanno learned from pain and illness in his early monastic life. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Sickness] [Monastic life]
8. “I’m not sure in the context of this retreat when to be resting simply with the four foundations of mindfulness and when to be reciting metta phrases. Can you please advise as to how/when to skillfully move from one practice to the other?” [Right Mindfulness] [Goodwill] [Mantra] // [Emotion] [Sloth and torpor] [Mindfulness of body] [Calming meditation] [Discernment]
Sutta: MN 19: Dvedhāvitakka Sutta [Directed thought and evaluation] [Skillful qualities]
9. “What is the difference between awareness and consciousness?” [Knowing itself] [Consciousness] // [Aggregates] [Sense bases] [Volitional formations] [Volition] [Conditionality] [Discernment]
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....” [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]
3. “Reflecting on your 35 years in robes, do you have any strong lessons that stand out?” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Christianity] [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]
12. “The near enemy to equanimity is aloofness. Can you offer clues on how to differentiate between these in oneself?” [Equanimity] [Discernment] // [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities] [Aversion] [Present moment awareness]
Quote: “Tuning into kusala/akusala sorts things out really quickly.” [Discernment]
Sutta: AN 3.65: Kālāma Sutta
12. Reading from the draft biography: Ajahn Mun's character and legacy [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]
1. Guided meditation: Resolve right now is the time for training the mind and nothing else. From "The Key to Liberation" by Ajahn Chah. [Calming meditation] [Proliferation] [Determination] [Ajahn Chah] // [Mindfulness] [Discernment] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Body scanning] [Relinquishment] [One pointedness] [Restlessness and worry] [Concentration] [Present moment awareness] [Clear comprehension] [Impermanence] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Sense restraint]
Quote: “Sitting and walking meditation are in essence the same, differing only in the posture used.” [Posture/Sitting] [Posture/Walking]
Simile: Chicken in a coop. [Similes]
Simile: Mindfulness, clear comprehension, and wisdom are like three workers lifting heavy planks. [Discernment]
3. Comment: Living on faith increases your potential anxiety level. I came to Buddhism thinking this would settle my life, but I realize that being open, aware, and sensitive to the world keeps bringing me new challenges. [Faith] [Restlessness and worry] [Everyday life] [Conscience and prudence] [Tudong]
Sutta: Dhp 244-245: Life is easy for for one without shame. [Conceit] [Virtue]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno: "You get more than what you bargained for." [Happiness] [Culture/West] [Communal harmony] [Trust] [Concentration] [Ardency] [Energy] [Discernment] [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] [Right Effort]
Sutta: AN 11.1: Virtue leads to non-remorse and samādhi.
5. “If sati or mindfulness is the cage, what is the use of samatha?” [Similes] [Mindfulness] [Calming meditation] [Concentration] [Unwholesome Roots] // [Tranquility] [Discernment] [Relinquishment]
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] [Discernment]
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.” [Mindfulness] [Faculties] [Tudong] // [Concentration] [Thai] [Translation] [Discernment] [Perfections]
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] [Discernment]
1. “Could you expand about the layers of understanding of thought, perception, and dukkha?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Yatiko. [Discernment] [Directed thought and evaluation] [Perception] [Suffering] // [Proliferation] [Relinquishment]
Quote: “First you study the Dhamma, then you know the Dhamma, then you see the Dhamma, they you be the Dhamma.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Dhamma] [Progress of insight]
Commentary: Path of Purification by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, p. 631: The highest level of understanding is giving up. [Discernment]
4. “What is the difference between mindfulness, bare attention, and clear comprehension? Can you flesh out the word understanding?” [Mindfulness] [Direct experience] [Clear comprehension] // [Right Effort] [Discernment] [Right Mindfulness] [Ardency] [Investigation of states] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Greed] [Aversion]
Sutta: MN 118: Ānāpānasati Sutta
5. “Sometimes you hear something...[audio unclear]....What is your opinion?” [Gladdening the mind] [Discernment] [Release] [Cessation of Suffering]
Sutta: AN 8.19: "Just as the ocean has only one taste..." [Liberation]
3. Comment: So you maximize the internal benefit you receive...[audio unclear]? [Recollection/Generosity] [Generosity]
Responses by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo, Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Yatiko. [Faith] [Discernment] [Clinging] [Habits] [Proliferation] [Idealism]
3. “How does one look at intention?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Yatiko. [Volition] [Right Intention] // [Four Noble Truths] [Discernment] [Delusion]
Quote: “Sometimes you don't want to look at intention too closely because you'll convince yourself of anything.” — Ajahn Pasanno
5. “When I read a story that someone has awakened, what does this mean? Does it mean that the practice continues on another level?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Yatiko. [Liberation] [Gradual Teaching] // [Language] [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Faith] [Discernment]
8. “How do we know when to ask for directions on the path as opposed to just continuing farther? What would we ask?” Answered by Ajahn Yatiko. [Questions] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Gradual Teaching] // [Suffering] [Discernment] [Conditionality] [Faith]
Sutta: SN 12.23: Suffering is the cause of faith.
Follow-up: “What about when things are pleasant, but we're not headed in the right direction?” [Happiness] [Mindfulness] [Deva] [Relinquishment]
Sutta: MN 75: Simile of the leper. [Similes]
Sutta: SN 56.35: Stream entry after 100 years. [Stream entry] [Four Noble Truths]
21. Quote: “The Buddha's function was not to make grand pronouncements that apply universally, everywhere, all the time. He gave guidelines to relfect a variety of circumstances, personal effects, social effects, and then make a decision from there.” [Buddha] [Idealism] [Discernment] [Conditionality] [Right Livelihood] [Kamma] [Community] [Politics and society]
22. Comments about thinking versus feeling out the quality of the heart in decision making. [Directed thought and evaluation] [Mindfulness of mind] [Discernment] [Clear comprehension] [Right Livelihood]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
5. “What is your take on satisfaction, being in tune, and stagnation?” [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?” [Discernment] [Translation] // [Pāli] [Etymology]
3. “Can you give some suggestions on dealing with betrayal in relationships?” [Relationships] [Sexual misconduct] [Trust] // [Spiritual friendship] [Faith] [Virtue] [Generosity] [Discernment] [Judgementalism] [Monastic life]
Sutta: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 46: The Highest Blessings (Mangala Sutta, SN 2.4)
4. “Can you say more about the practice of awareness of arising and ceasing in relation to discernment and right view?” [Becoming] [Cessation] [Mindfulness] [Discernment] [Right View] // [Impermanence] [Ajahn Chah] [Conditionality] [Self-identity view] [Happiness] [Mindfulness of mind] [Patience]
Reading from an unnamed recent Ajahn Chah book. [Relinquishment] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Discernment]
Quote: “I don't teach you guys much. Just be patient.” — Ajahn Chah
5. “What is the role of emotion in our practice?” [Emotion] [Feeling] // [Faith] [Compassion] [Generosity] [Four Noble Truths] [Relinquishment] [Discernment]
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]
6. “Thank you for the teachings...Could you speak about the heart and mind which appear to be used interchangeably. How can we listen with discernment to the heart? How can we cultivate its strength?” [Heart/mind] [Discernment]
5. “You said you have to adjust and think about contemplating. But how can you do that in your working time?” [Right Effort] [Directed thought and evaluation] [Discernment] [Everyday life] // [Mindfulness] [Clear comprehension] [Happiness] [Recollection]
Quote: “In daily life, in contact with the world, do you still breathe?” — Ajahn Chah [Ajahn Chah] [Mindfulness of breathing]
Follow-up: “Could you give some examples? In Bangkok, there is lots of news that makes people crazy and divisive. When you see this news, you feel upset and angry.” [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?” [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.”
1. “I was struck by the simile of the stone being heavy, but you won't know it's heavy unless you pick it up, and it's just like suffering. You don't have to pick it up. I'm battling a loss in my life, and I'm suffering. I didn't pick up the stone. It was flung at me. I'm not sure how to deal....” [Similes] [Ajahn Chah] [Suffering] [Grief] [Christianity] // [Human] [Naturalness] [Equanimity] [Self-identity view] [Goodwill] [Discernment]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 55: Five Recollections [Characteristics of existence] [Recollection/Death] [Kamma]
Quote: “Whenever you get into a fight with nature, you always lose.”
Quote: “What makes it heavy is the 'me' bit.”
5. “When is it useful to determine to stick with a single practice, even when it doesn't seem to work, instead of exploring other options?” [Meditation/General advice] [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Pain] // [Suffering] [Right Effort] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Mindfulness of mind] [Discernment] [Direct experience] [Self-identity view]
4. “What does “the longing for the good is the cause of the trouble” mean?” [Ajahn Mun] [Craving] [Skillful qualities] [Right Effort] // [Eightfold Path] [Aggregates] [Liberation] [Self-identity view] [Virtue] [Relinquishment] [Jhāna] [Ignorance] [Cause of Suffering]
Story: Sixth Patriarch Sutra: "No mirror, no dust."
Recollection: Ajahn Chah taught you could grasp at either samut (the conventional) or vimut (the transcendant). [Ajahn Chah] [Conventions] [Unconditioned] [Clinging] [Discernment]
1. “I am curious about ways to know if one is lying to oneself and what to do?” [Truth] [Delusion] // [Suffering] [Discernment] [Bases of Success]
Recollection: Ajahn Chah said the fastest way to enlightenment is to look directly at the mind, point your finger, and say "Liar!" [Ajahn Chah] [Liberation] [Proliferation]
3. “In the reading there was a lot of emphasis on solitude. Here we have a lot of time for that especially right now with our Winter Retreat, but we also have a lot of responsibilities and engagement in community. How would you recommend us balancing the two or using them to help each other?” [Seclusion] [Abhayagiri] [Community] [Work] [Personality] // [Culture/Thailand] [Culture/India] [Ajahn Chah] [Unwholesome Roots] [Discernment] [Generosity] [Culture/West] [Self-identity view]
4. “Do you have any advice about how to hold a particularly strong “fighting spirit” teaching, like Ajahn Dtun?” [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]
6. “Could that “quality of knowing” be a variation on the teaching of sati-sampajañña, mindfulness and clear comprehension?” [Mindfulness] [Clear comprehension] // [Discernment]
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]
8. “When she is talking about the mind at normalcy, her description is having the meditation object always at least in the background, constantly in awareness, being aware of the mind-state and also doing whatever you are doing, walking, washing dishes etc. Her emphasis is on cultivating it so this is something that you would be doing twenty-four hours a day. When Ajahn Chah spoke of normalcy of the mind, did he describe it in the same way?” [Upasikā Kee Nanayon] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Mindfulness of mind] [Ajahn Chah] // [Discernment] [Happiness] [One pointedness]
9. Comment: She talks about within this state of normalcy constantly contemplating the three characteristics of all phenomena occurring in awareness. To me that sounds like juggling a bunch of things! [Upasikā Kee Nanayon] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Conditionality]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Discernment]
11. “She talks about making a story out of denying your defilements. Does the story of having fun denying your defilements come from that space of dwelling in that state of continuous mindfulness, or does continuous mindfulness come about from going through the suffering of forcing yourself not to enjoy anything?” [Upasikā Kee Nanayon] [Unwholesome Roots] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Conditionality] // [Discernment]
Quote: “Relinquishment isn't so much a giving up something that we have but enjoying the non-moving to get or trying to make.” [Relinquishment] [Cessation of Suffering] [Not-made-of-that]
Simile: Learning to drive or walk. — Ajahn Kaccāna. [Similes]
13. “Is that where when one isn't meditating per se but where virtue would come in to inform whether we have slipped or not?” [Virtue] // [Upasikā Kee Nanayon] [Ajahn Chah] [Conscience and prudence] [Similes] [Spiritual friendship]
Quote: “The defilements have their wisdom also.” — Ajahn Chah [Unwholesome Roots] [Discernment] [Delusion]
14. “She talks about virtue being the other hand of discernment in the meditation experience, and whenever discernment discerns stress, virtue is what lets go of the cause of stress, that virtue does the disbanding of it. Is virtue an unusual word to use there?” [Upasikā Kee Nanayon] [Virtue] [Discernment] [Cessation of Suffering] [Dispassion] // [Pāli] [Conscience and prudence] [Ajahn Chah]
Commentary: Path of Purification by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, p. 14: Many levels of sīla. [Commentaries] [Eightfold Path]
4. “What is the distinction Chao Khun Upāli makes between lokuttara discernment and higher discernment?” [Chao Khun Upāli] [Discernment] [Impermanence] [Aggregates] [Suffering] [Cause of Suffering] // [Commentaries] [Ajahn Chah] [Study monks]
2. Comment about the purpose and function of the path. Contributed by Ajahn Kaccāna. [Eightfold Path] [Cessation of Suffering] [Concentration] [Discernment]
Responses by Ajahn Ñāṇiko and Ajahn Pasanno. [Right View] [Relinquishment] [Self-identity view]
4. The trio of Ajahn Anan, Ajahn Dtun, and Ajahn Piak. [Ajahn Anan] [Ajahn Dtun] [Ajahn Piak] [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]
1. “Is it rare for someone to master samādhi before developing wisdom?” [Concentration] [Discernment] [Ajahn Piak]
2. “Would you be willing to talk about the difference between mindfulness, bare knowing, and the one who knows?” [Mindfulness] [Direct experience] [Knowing itself] // [Buddha] [Clear comprehension] [Thai] [Discernment] [Ardency] [Seclusion] [Cessation of Suffering]
Sutta: MN 10: Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta
1. “Sometimes I will see a bit of greed come up, I apply an antidote, for example, if its craving, apply some asuba; but it seems to exacerbate it–do you have any encouragement or similes from Ajahn Chah?” [Unwholesome Roots] [Right Effort] [Meditation/Results] [Ajahn Chah] // [Investigation of states] [Patience]
Simile: Putting a tiger in a cage. [Similes] [Mindfulness] [Discernment]
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?” [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]
7. Quote: “The art of the pause.” — Ajahn Sucitto [Ajahn Sucitto] [Pace of life] // [Discernment] [Skillful qualities]
10. “The suttas say 'The wise protect their diligence as their greatest treasure.' How does one protect one's diligence?” [Heedfulness] [Ardency] [Death] // [Sickness] [Mindfulness] [Discernment] [Mindfulness of mind] [Right Effort] [Happiness] [Spaciousness]
7. Reading: "Discernment versus self-deception" from An Unentangled Knowing by Upasikā Kee Nanayon, p. 102. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Discernment] [Delusion] [Thai Forest Tradition]
6. “When I practice mindfulness of breathing, thought arises. Do I want to eliminate thinking?” [Right Concentration] [Directed thought and evaluation] [Proliferation] [Mindfulness of breathing] // [Nature of mind] [Self-identity view] [Discernment] [Mindfulness of mind] [Investigation of states] [Relinquishment]
18. “How do we take refuge in awareness (Buddho) in daily life?” [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. [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]
4. “Can you speak about the roots of wholesome and unwholesome desire?” [Energy] [Desire] [Becoming] [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities] // [Discernment] [Right Effort] [Learning] [Ajahn Chah]
Sutta: AN 10.58.
Reference: Listening to the Heart by Kittisaro and Thanissara (commercial).
5. “How does mindfulness relate to choice?” (continuing the anger question) [Volition] [Aversion] [Mindfulness] [Right Effort] [Right Mindfulness] // [Discernment] [Language]
1. “Is it easy for a person with attainments to deal with the world?” [Stages of awakening] [Everyday life] // [Discernment] [Conceit] [Culture/West] [Wrong concentration]
Quote: “To push away the world is also to reifying it. One gives it power when one is afraid of it.” [Craving not to become] [Proliferation] [Fear]
Laypeople with highly developed meditation practice function well in the world. Comment by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Lay life] [Meditation/Results] [Energy]
4. “After emerging from these attainments, can one function in the world?” [Jhāna] [Formless attainments] [Everyday life] // [Discernment] [Relinquishment] [Spiritual bypass]
Comment: If you happen to exist in a body, it seems you need to learn how to live in a body. [Form]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of body] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Liberation]
5. “Are psychic powers and wisdom always clearly separated?” [Psychic powers] [Discernment] // [Buddha/Biography] [Great disciples] [Vinaya] [Admonishment/feedback]
Reference: Dipa Ma: The Life and Legacy of a Buddhist Master by Amy Schmidt (commercial). [Dipa Ma] [Discernment]
4. “Are the skillful means for dealing with not-self aas easy as know and let go?” [Mindfulness] [Relinquishment] [Not-self] // [Discernment] [Truth]
5. Comment: The question that occured to me was "If I take this as myself, where does it lead me?" [Discernment] [Not-self]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Suffering] [Self-identity view]
10. “In regard to self and emotions, you acknowledge and embrace it but don't hold tightly?” [Emotion] [Clinging] [Relinquishment] [Middle Path] [Not-self] // [Discernment]
3. “Ajahn Mun taught Ajahn Chah to distinguish between the mind and mind objects. Is the mind that distinguishes between these a development of ordinary mind or a larger mind that we tap into as we develop wisdom?” [Ajahn Mun] [Ajahn Chah] [Heart/mind] [Moods of the mind] [Not-self] [Nature of mind] [Discernment] // [Conditionality] [Liberation] [Direct experience]
Response: Both of these are wrong. [Proliferation]
Sutta: MN 11 Cūḷasīhanāda Sutta
4. “Are all manifestations of desire and motivation ultimately a desire for happiness or are there motivations for truly negative things?” [Desire] [Craving] [Volition] [Happiness] [Unskillful qualities] [Nature of mind] // [Ill-will] [Fear] [Discernment]
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.” [Family] [Spiritual friendship] [Unskillful qualities] [Craving] [Compassion] // [Discernment]
Sutta: Maṅgala Sutta: Don't associate with fools.
11. “Is sexuality and wanting an intimate connection with another considered a negative desire?” [Sensual desire] [Relationships] [Desire] [Unskillful qualities] // [Food] [Clear comprehension] [Compassion] [Selfishness] [Discernment] [Precepts] [Trust]
Quote: “It's not so much a matter of thwarting desire, but understanding how desire works so we can build those bonds of trust and care.” [Discernment]
3. “A lot of my life has been based on guilt, punishment, achievement, feeling driven, and perfectionism. Recently I experienced the reverse of this. Perfectionism is mixed up with wholesome desire. Could you respond?” [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] [Judgementalism] [Idealism] [Desire] [Contentment] // [Discernment] [Self-identity view] [Human]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno can't translate the question 'How do I work with guilt?' into Thai. [Ajahn Paññānanda] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Language] [Culture/West] [Culture/Thailand] [Suffering]
25. “In concentration, you're aware of one object. If in that state you become aware of pleasure, does that mean you've already left jhāna?” [Right Concentration] [One pointedness] [Happiness] [Right Mindfulness] [Jhāna] // [Self-identity view] [Discernment] [Clinging]
2. “Please explain wise action. How can one see that it is not influenced by craving?” [Discernment] [Craving]
13. “When you're living on the precepts, how do I relate to (for example) a friend who tells me about an affair they are having?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Jotipālo. [Precepts] [Spiritual friendship] [Sexual misconduct] // [Skillful qualities] [Admonishment/feedback] [Discernment] [Right Speech] [Vinaya] [Abhayagiri]
Quote: “Don't admonish your fellow monks before the meal.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Monastic life] [Food] [Eating after noon]
10. “I was wondering how I include the discernment obtained from lifting up the mind to solve a life issue. I wish I could be more intelligent and brighter to solve my life problem in a skillful way. Please advise.” [Discernment] [Everyday life]
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.
7. “I have doubts about the concept of personal property. How does activism following the Five Precepts work in a country whose water supply has been bought out by private interests?” [Politics and society] [Environment] [Five Precepts] // [Community] [Virtue] [Discernment]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno investigates a logging operation at Dtao Dtum. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Culture/Thailand] [Dtao Dum]
6. “Can you talk about the dangers of misplaced or wrongly directed faith in a teacher?” [Faith] [Teaching Dhamma] [Respect for elders] [Monastic life] // [Recollection/Dhamma] [Middle Path]
Quote: “A good teacher encourages people to practice and figure this out rather than telling them exactly what to do.” [Discernment]
1. “How does upatakhing fit into our training and what can we learn from it?” [Upatakh] [Vinaya] [Respect for elders] [Monastic life] [Saṅgha] // [Culture/Thailand] [Conceit] [Generosity] [Protocols] [Discernment] [Mindfulness]
Vinaya: Cv 8: Vattakkhandhaka - Protocols
Story: Ajahn Lee upataks Ajahn Mun. [Ajahn Mun] [Ajahn Lee Dhammadharo]
4. “Do you think it's true that how we treat others is in large part how we treat ourselves?” [Community] [Discernment]
2. “How do we discern the benefit of dhutaṅga practices and how much is too much?” [Discernment] [Middle Path] [Monastic life] [Ascetic practices] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Devotion to wakefulness] [Almsround] [History/Early Buddhism] [Gladdening the mind] [Ajahn Chah] [Master Hsuan Hua]
Story: Ajahn Jayasaro determines sitter's practice until Ajahn Chah dies. [Ajahn Jayasaro] [Respect for elders] [Determination]
7. “What is the importance of the brahmavihārās in balancing out dhutaṅga practices?” [Divine Abidings] [Monastic life] [Ascetic practices] // [Recollection/Buddha] [Gladdening the mind] [Attachment to rites and rituals] [Discernment] [Compassion] [Learning] [Arahant]
8. Comment by Ajahn Ñāṇiko: But in a sense Por Am had wisdom, questioning Ajahn Chah from every possible angle. [Ajahn Chah] [Questions] [Discernment]
Reflection: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 647
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Thai] [Wat Pah Pong]
5. “Could you please address judgement and discernment?” [Judgementalism] [Discernment] // [Self-identity view] [Skillful qualities] [Four Noble Truths] [Culture/West] [Impermanence] [Conditionality]
17. “The Buddha had the talent of knowing preceisely what to saay to a person at a given moment. The teaching ajahns have developed this as well, but I've never heard of it as part of the training. Can you reflect on that?” [Teaching Dhamma] [Buddha/Biography] [Monastic teachers] // [Personality] [Discernment] [Idealism] [Ajahn Chah] [Suffering] [Humility] [Relinquishment] [Fear] [Self-identity view]
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?” [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.” [Depression] [Discernment]
12. “Could you talk about the difference between experiencing an unpleasant feeling and perpetuating an unpleasant feeling?” [Feeling] [Discernment] [Cessation of Suffering] // [Compassion] [Mindfulness] [Patience] [Suffering]
Simile: Two arrows (SN 36.6).
14. “Even reading scripturally-oriented material can be used as an escape; it's easier than meditating. I was wondering about the precept on entertainment, beautification and adornment. Can you give some advice on how to interpret this in practical terms?” [Learning] [Craving not to become] [Entertainment and adornment] // [Idealism] [Discernment] [Idle chatter] [Spiritual friendship] [Faith] [Media] [Ajahn Soṇa] [Abhayagiri] [Dhamma online] [Ajahn Pasanno]
2. “What advice do you have for students or graduates hoping to progess on the Noble Path towards Nibbāna while a student or in the workplace?” [Eightfold Path] [Nibbāna] [Learning] [Work] [Lay life] // [Human] [Discernment] [Compassion] [Generosity] [Perfectionism] [Desire] [Suffering] [Politics and society] [Simplicity] [Environment] [Depression] [Restlessness and worry] [Skillful qualities] [Community]
5. “In your guided meditation you mentioned noticing, 'This is bearable.' When is it skillful to bear with and when it is skillful to put effort towards change, whether in action or in the mind?” [Patience] [Equanimity] [Right Effort] // [Discernment] [Pain] [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities] [Happiness] [Clear comprehension]
2. “How to balance the tension between the warrior energy (taking action), the awareness of the perfection of all that is, and the weariness and humility that leads through this?” [Right Effort] [Present moment awareness] [Disenchantment] // [Suffering] [Discernment] [Fear] [Human] [Gladdening the mind] [Aversion] [Recollection] [Nature of mind] [Tranquility]
Sutta: AN 1.296-305: The Ten Recollections
Quote: “The happy mind is easily settled.” [Happiness] [Concentration]
6. Comment: Since the pandemic, I have been in better communication with my family. [Pandemic] [Family] [Internet] [Communal harmony]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Discernment]
8. “My understanding is that it is not good to indulge the five senses. But is there a way to make that help with your cultivation?” [Sense bases] [Sense restraint] // [Appropriate attention] [Discernment] [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 6: Recollection of the Dhamma [Recollection/Dhamma]
Sutta: SN 35.23: The six senses are the all.
Sutta: SN 35.116: A perceiver of the world, a conceiver of the world.