Part of key topic Unskillful Qualities
Also a subtag of Conceit-related
See also: Doctrine-of-self clinging, Conceit
144 excerpts, 10:51:22 total duration
2. “This is a common scenario: I’m caught in a story of praise and blame. I notice. A voice says, ‘That was very quick. You’re getting good at this.’ I wake up again. ‘Ah, I know you Mara….’ Mara seems to co-opt every moment of awakening to feed the ego. Is there something you can suggest?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Blame and praise] [Māra] [Liberation] [Self-identity view] [Patience] // [Impermanence] [Mindfulness of dhammas] [Not-self] [Aggregates] [Dependent origination] [Knowing itself]
Quote: “It’s really hard to underestimate how important patient endurance is to the practice.”
6. “Can you speak about working with fear and loss of ego identity, fear, and death?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Fear] [Self-identity view] [Death] // [Goodwill] [Aggregates] [Impermanence] [Delusion] [Faith] [Eightfold Path] [Perfections] [Recollection]
Reference: Description of dukkha. [Suffering]
Quote: “We respond to teachings on liberation and Nibbāna with a curious sense of fear and trepidation.” — Ajahn Mahā Boowa speaking about Ajahn Mun. [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Ajahn Mun] [Liberation] [Nibbāna] [Family] [Clinging]
9. “It seems that metta would be much easier without a self to protect. How does one realize anatta?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Goodwill] [Not-self] [Self-identity view] // [Progress of insight]
13. “Is attavādupādāna clinging to sakkāyadiṭṭhi?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Doctrine-of-self clinging] [Self-identity view] // [Fetters] [Stream entry] [Conceit] [Views]
6. “What are the characteristics of personality? Are they conditioned by kamma and our family, culture, and nationality? How do I learn not to take mine as truth and real?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Personality] [Conditionality] [Kamma] [Family] [Cultural context] [Self-identity view] // [Suffering] [Characteristics of existence] [Humor]
Recollection: Ajahn Chah tended to translate anicca as uncertain or not sure. [Ajahn Chah] [Impermanence] [Translation] [Proliferation] [Direct experience]
7. “Is there a distinction between the awareness and the naming? Does naming bring intellect or self into play? Is confusion the nagging sense of self or self-consciousness?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Knowing itself] [Perception] [Noting] [Self-identity view] [Delusion] // [Investigation of states] [Proliferation] [Relinquishment] [Equanimity] [Doubt] [Mindfulness of body] [Continuity of mindfulness]
15. “‘There is no-self in the created or the un-created’...Does this statement conceal an asymmetry? Surely we investigate the created to separate from it – But can we investigate the uncreated? And if so, is it not to identify with it?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Not-self] [Unconditioned] [Self-identity view]
5. Comment: This reminds me of the phrase “possessing goodness.” [Self-identity view] [Virtue]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno: “The relinquishment doesn’t negate the need for cultivation of goodness.” [Conceit] [Right Effort] [Relinquishment]
4. “When Ajahn Liem says, ‘Practice is just for practice,’ what arises for me is that any time I put a meaning on practice, there has to be an ego state that arises around that meaning....It’s like letting go even o fthe idea of practicing in order to become enlightened.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Liem] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Self-identity view] [Becoming] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Liberation] [Relinquishment]
Quote: “Practicing for Nibbāna is just another kind of desire.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Nibbāna] [Desire]
11. “How is there clinging to personality?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Clinging] [Personality] [Self-identity view] [Thai Forest Tradition] // [Suffering] [Great disciples]
Sutta: The Buddha to Ānanda: “When did Anuruddha ever take an interest in Saṅgha issues?” – AN 4.243: Schism [Saṅgha decision making]
8. “How do you keep the self from coming up if this is an interesting thought to follow?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Self-identity view] [Directed thought and evaluation] [Mindfulness of breathing] // [Conditionality] [Aggregates] [Knowing itself]
4. “Thank you for your talk on mindfulness today—very helpful. I’ve been practicing for a long time (and have even had a few insights that made big impressions on me) and while my sila has definitely improved, my mindfulness is a priority and I might have a tad more wisdom, my mind looks for ways to suffer. Sometimes I feel like a total failure as a Buddhist. I understand that letting go of identity view is the answer, but how? What am I missing?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Long-term practice] [Suffering] [Perfectionism] [Self-identity view] // [Aggregates] [Relinquishment] [Drawbacks] [Gladdening the mind]
Sutta: SN 22.22: The Burden (Chanting Book translation)
5. “In your ānāpānasati talks, you talk about sikkhita, defined as…to train, and to learn from. I’m not sure how active to be because when I train, I have a goal in mind, but when I learn from…I’m more relaxed and open to what is revealed. Similar, today with mindfulness defined as…looking after something, I’m not sure how to point the compass without coming from self view. Thank you.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Right Mindfulness] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Right Effort] [Self-identity view]
8. “Perception can be very slippery. I experience it as a veil, view, filter, or lens that colors a situation. The traditional Buddhist teaching of, ‘tinted glasses’ and ‘bowls of water,’ is very helpful. However, if identification is strong, I won’t see it. Do you have suggestions for how to see through perception? How to know when it is coloring my world view?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Perception ] [Self-identity view] [Delusion] // [Nature of mind] [Four Noble Truths] [Aggregates]
Sutta: MN 44: “Conjoined not disjoined.”
18. “I was very fortunate to receive a Pali name from the Sangha. At first, I was very energized in my practice but then I saw it as just another identity to work with, particularly from a pride and self-view side. I seldom use my Pali name these days but I realize that I am neglecting this gift. How do I use my Pali name skillfully in my practice?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Pāli] [Self-identity view] [Language]
2. “What is left once there is no self? Is it the same as enlightenment? Can a person still function in a daily life (drive a car for example)?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Self-identity view ] [Stages of awakening]
Quote: “What’s it like being the abbot of a big monastery?” — “I come out of my kuti and I do the things that I need to do, and then I go back to my kuti. And if some people want to call that being an abbot, well that’s their business.” — Ajahn Liem. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Ajahn Liem ] [Abbot ] [Wat Pah Pong] [Work] [Conventions] [Simplicity]
15. “Is the ego the same as self? If different, in what ways?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Self-identity view] [Western psychology] // [Conceit] [Volitional formations] [Conditionality] [Ignorance] [Cause of Suffering]
7. Quote: “How do I get me some of that non-grasping stuff?” — Ajahn Sucitto. Quoted by Beth Steff. [Ajahn Sucitto] [Clinging] [Self-identity view] [Humor]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
Story: “Do I look macho?” Told by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Chithurst] [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo]
1. “Is the second dart the self we create around feelings?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Self-identity view] [Feeling] // [Aversion]
6. “I’ve heard the teaching that if you watch your kilesas in samādhi, they tend to subside. Sometimes you watch your sakkāya-diṭṭhi and it’s not going away. What to do?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Unskillful qualities] [Mindfulness] [Concentration] [Cessation] [Not-self] [Self-identity view] // [Impermanence] [Suffering]
13. Comments regarding not-self. [Nature of the cosmos] [Kamma] [Self-identity view] [Not-self]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Buddha] [Teaching Dhamma]
8. “Do you think it’s enough to just be aware of the suffering that’s caused by the clinging to self?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Suffering] [Clinging] [Self-identity view] [Dispassion] [Not-self] // [Characteristics of existence] [Cessation] [Ignorance] [Knowledge and vision] [Release] [Proliferation]
Quote: “The most efficacious investigation comes from a still mind.” [Concentration] [Calming meditation] [Insight meditation]
11. Comment: Before I get to all that [deep reflection on not-self], in the meantime I thing of Luang Por Sumedho’s saying, ‘Every time I think of myself, I get depressed.’ [Ajahn Sumedho] [Self-identity view] [Depression] [Not-self]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Five Precepts]
Quote: “It’s difficult but it’s not that complicated. The Buddha’s teachings go against the grain of our conditioning and habits, but the essence of it is quite simple.” [Proliferation] [Right Effort] [Craving] [Simplicity] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma]
12. Comment: I notice how the mind defends suffering because it’s so closely related to that idea of self. But if I let go of defending, what am I? [Clinging] [Self-identity view] [Relinquishment] [Not-self]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Learning] [Cessation of Suffering]
17. “What is the right point to drop or ignore the desire to identify with the Buddhist identity?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Relinquishment] [Desire] [Self-identity view] [Buddhist identity] // [Suffering] [Perfectionism] [Clear comprehension] [Conventions] [Ajahn Chah] [Right Effort]
3. “You spoke of using the body as reference, backdrop for the breath. Always coming back to the body. Doesn’t this foster a sense of attachment to the body as mine? And what if the body is not in good shape, ill, and hurting?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of body] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Form] [Clinging] [Self-identity view] [Sickness] // [Relinquishment]
9. “In this afternoon’s talk, Ajahn Karunadhammo mentioned the benefits of the bhava that results from practice or the Eightfold Path, but he described a consciousness that doesn’t land in or on a self and results in freedom. Is that a consciousness that results in neither arising nor non-arising. Could you elaborate? The moment between in and out breaths seems to hold potential for this kind of consciousness.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Eightfold Path] [Becoming] [Unestablished consciousness] [Self-identity view] [Liberation] [Mindfulness of breathing] // [Proliferation] [Consciousness] [Relinquishment] [Fear]
Quote: “You want to pay attention to the experience rather than the idea about it.” [Direct experience]
Suttas: DN 11.85, MN 49.25: Consciousness luminous all around.
Sutta: SN 12.64: Simile of the western wall. [Similes]
4. “In the West, we personalize every bit of suffering. Is it different in Thailand?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Culture/West ] [Suffering] [Self-identity view] [Culture/Thailand] // [Language] [Liberation]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno can’t translate guilt into Thai. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] [Thai] [Translation]
Quote: “That’s really suffering. Tell them not to do that.” — Ajahn Paññānanda. [Ajahn Paññānanda]
Reference: Can’t We Talk about Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast (commercial). [Ageing] [Sickness] [Parents] [Health care]
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.
5. “I am tangled up in self-identification and conceit. What should I do to get myself out?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Self-identity view ] [Conceit] // [Suffering] [Discernment] [Relinquishment] [Clinging]
4. “Is realization of anatta a sudden event or does it happen gradually with sense of self becoming less and less dense until it eventually dissolves?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Not-self] [Progress of insight ] [Self-identity view] // [Relinquishment]
6. Comment: I’ve been reflecting on freedom from as opposed to freedom within. Sometimes there’s a secret hope that those thoughts will go away, vibhava-taṇha, as opposed to freedom within, meaning releasing the identification with painful thoughts. [Craving not to become] [Self-identity view] [Release] [Directed thought and evaluation] // [Hindrances]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Suffering]
Quote: “Just that much.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Disenchantment]
9. Comment: It’s so hard not to identify with the contents of the mind, to not make it me and mine. Realizing how useless so many of my thoughts are helps. [Self-identity view] [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] [Suffering] [Disenchantment] [Directed thought and evaluation]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness] [Pāli]
Response by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Not-self] [Humility]
18. “Before we relinquish the self, there needs to be a recognition of what’s going on. I often realize this minutes or hours later. Any suggestions for this initial step of noticing?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Relinquishment] [Self-identity view] [Mindfulness] // [Investigation of states] [Mindfulness of feeling] [Cessation] [Spaciousness]
2. “For some people, death comes with extreme pain. Part of being able to navigate through the dissolution of self requires clarity of mind. My understanding is that a lot of pain management involves morphine or other mind-numbing drugs. How does one navigate the pain?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Death] [Pain] [Relinquishment] [Self-identity view] [Clear comprehension] [Health care] [Intoxicants] // [Fear]
6. “Are there any mindful techniques that can be used during the transition from the old self to the new high vibrational self?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness] [Self-identity view] // [Suffering] [Becoming] [Relinquishment]
8. “Can you offer practical advice for working with hindrances and cultivating sīla without taking it personally, that is, trying to perfect the personality?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Hindrances] [Virtue] [Self-identity view] // [Dhamma] [Relinquishment]
Quote: “Kae nun lae (Thai) – It’s just this much.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Suchness]
2. “Is the desire to become fearless a cause of suffering? Is wearing a different kind of clothes also I-making?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Desire] [Fear] [Cause of Suffering] [Attachment to precepts and practices] [Self-identity view] // [Craving] [Unwholesome Roots] [Naturalness] [Discernment] [Suffering] [Liberation]