Not-self (anattā)
Indeterminate qualities / Characteristics of existence / Not-self
Part of key topic Buddhist Perspectives on the World
83 excerpts, 5:12:07 total duration

Events (1) All excerpts (83) Most relevant (60) Questions about (48) Answers involving (24) Stories (1) Quotes (7)

Remembering Ajahn Chah Weekend, Session 20 – Apr. 28, 2001

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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]


Remembering Ajahn Chah Weekend, Session 26 – Apr. 29, 2001

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23. What does not suffering mean? Reflection by Jack Kornfield. [Suffering] [Cessation of Suffering] [Ajahn Chah] // [Judgementalism] [Politics and society] [Discrimination] [Environment] [Discernment] [Compassion] [Human] [Buddha] [Proliferation] [Relinquishment]

Quote: “We human beings are constantly in combat, at war to escape the fact of being limited by so many circumstances that we can’t control...”” — Ajahn Chah. [Conflict] [Characteristics of existence]

Quote: “Doubts are natural.” — Ajahn Chah. [Doubt] [Naturalness] [Impermanence] [Not-self] [Liberation]

Quote: “The desire mind is like children.” — Ajahn Chah. [Desire] [Similes]

Story: “Scary ride, wasn’t it?” [Jack Kornfield] [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Fear] [Death]


Remembering Ajahn Chah Weekend, Session 35 – Apr. 29, 2001

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7. Quote: “Luang Por Chah was always pointing us beyond the limitations of ourself.” — Ajahn Sumedho. [Self-identity view] [Liberation] [Not-self] [Ajahn Chah]


The Middle Way of Not-Self, Session 1 – May. 27, 2015

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9. “Is renting a good metaphor for not-self?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Similes] [Not-self] // [Ajahn Chah]

Quote: “We only rent this house. We don’t own it.” [Not-self]

Reference: “Our Real Home” in Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 145


The Middle Way of Not-Self, Session 2 – May. 27, 2015

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10. Quote: “One of the things I often attend to is the juxtaposition of stillness and movement. It’s not that one is right and the other wrong. We can be still and really dull or the mind can move with clarity and acuity. But stillness and movement, what’s generating it, what’s pushing it? That bhavadiṭṭhi/vibhavadiṭṭhi is the engine behind it and the force behing the arising of a sense of self, a sense of me.” — Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Insight meditation] [Calming meditation] [Right Concentration] [Not-self] [Clear comprehension] [Nature of mind] [Conditionality] [Becoming ] [Craving not to become] [Views] [Self-identity view ]


Suttas You've Never Heard Of, Session 2 – Jun. 25, 2016

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9. “I like the translations ‘conscience’ and ‘concern’ for hiri and otappa. Having done unskillful actions in the past that create suffering, and being aware of the tendency to personalize, how can it be over and done?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Treasures] [Conscience and prudence ] [Unskillful qualities] [Suffering] [Kamma] [Self-identity view] // [Four Noble Truths] [Divine Abidings]

Quote: “As a human being, I have the opportunity to learn from the past and move on to skillful action in the future. I don’t have to be like a dog that barfs stuff up and goes back and eats it again.” — Ajahn Pasanno. [Human] [Learning] [Skillful qualities] [Similes]

Quote: “The not-self refrain, ‘This is not me, this is not mine, this is not what or who I am,’ is not an abdication of responsibility but an understanding, ‘This is the way I can put things down and move on, move past the things that are still creating suffering.’” — Ajahn Pasanno. [Not-self] [Relinquishment]

Suttas: SN 42.8 The Conch Blower; AN 3.100: A Lump of Salt.


Love, Attachment, and Friendship, Session 3 – Oct. 12, 2019

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1. Quote: “The kindest thing you can do for your parents is to not create them.” — Ajahn Sumedho. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Parents] [Goodwill] [Cessation] [Not-self] // [Amaravati] [Sīladharā] [Proliferation]