Three Unwholesome Roots (akusala-mūla)
Three Unwholesome Roots (akusala-mūla)
3. “What is the definition of wholesome? The word for me connotes the 50's era of Ozzie and Harriet.” [Skillful qualities] [Culture/West] // [Pāli] [Happiness] [Tranquility] [Unwholesome Roots]
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]
10. Reading: Ajahn Gavesako's first impressions of Wat Pah Pong. [Ajahn Gavesako] [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Chah] // [Almsround] [Perception of a samaṇa] [Cleanliness] [Humor] [Unwholesome Roots] [Dhamma] [Gratitude] [Upatakh]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 502
4. “Can the practice be used in a punitative or punishing way?” [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] // [Culture/West] [Habits] [Clear comprehension] [Craving not to become]
Quote: “Having a human mind...it's amazing how perverse it can be sometimes.” [Human] [Unwholesome Roots]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno can't translate guilt into Thai. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Translation] [Culture/Thailand] [Suffering]
Quote: “All you need to do is create a cage of mindfulness around [unskillful habits].” — Ajahn Chah [Ajahn Chah] [Sense restraint] [Mindfulness] [Unskillful qualities] [Similes]
Follow-up: “What about letting the tiger go instead of keeping it in a cage?” [Unwholesome Roots]
Follow-up: “What about the case when one feels one is the tiger trapped in a metaphorical cage. How to escape?” [Liberation] [Perception] [Self-identity view] [Spiritual friendship]
5. “If sati or mindfulness is the cage, what is the use of samatha?” [Similes] [Mindfulness] [Calming meditation] [Concentration] [Unwholesome Roots] // [Tranquility] [Discernment] [Relinquishment]
8. “In the trio of attraction, aversion, and confusion, what does confusion mean?” [Unwholesome Roots] [Delusion]
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] [Unwholesome Roots]
4. Story: Ajahn Chah struggles through lust with patience. [Ajahn Chah] [Sensual desire] [Patience] [Tudong] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Human] [Meditation/Techniques] [Impermanence]
Quote: Ajahn Chah to biographer: “If you don't put that in the book, don't bother printing it.” [Dhamma books]
Quote: “If you ordain as a monk, your defilements ordain with you.” [Monastic life] [Unwholesome Roots]
2. “In the example you gave of the snake (MN 22), can you give an example of how the Dhamma can bite you?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Yatiko. [Similes] [Gradual Teaching] // [Abhidhamma] [Conflict] [Meditation/Techniques] [Clinging] [Unwholesome Roots] [Right Intention] [Learning]
Story: The teachings of Dhammakaya. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Self-identity view] [Commerce/economics] [Nibbāna] [Generosity]
Story: An Abhidhamma teacher visits Ajahn Chah. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah]
10. “When we say right Eightfold Path, is there any general rule to tell what is right, what is wrong?” [Eightfold Path] [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities] // [Unwholesome Roots]
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]
2. “Do the underlying tendencies still exist in first jhāna?” [Unwholesome Roots] [Jhāna] // [Concentration]
3. “When Ajahn Mahā Boowa says that the peaceful mind is the gathering place for the defilements, are these the underlying tendencies?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Jotipālo. [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Concentration] [Unwholesome Roots] // [Knowledge and vision] [Relinquishment] [Delusion] [Stages of awakening]
2. “Luang Ta Mahā Boowa often says, “You kill the kilesas” whereas Ajahn Chah in this talk speaks of the path doing battle with the kilesas. Is this just the translation?” [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Ajahn Chah] [Unwholesome Roots] [Eightfold Path] [Teaching Dhamma]
Recollection: When Ajahn Chah would use personal pronouns, he often used we as opposed to you. [Language] [Naturalness]
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]
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]
12. “What do you mean when you say try something and note “it's not working” or “it is working?” How do you know it's not just another defilement sneaking in and saying “this isn't working?”” [Right Effort] [Unwholesome Roots] // [Clear comprehension] [Happiness] [Habits]
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]
15. “When the habit pattern of defilement is so strong, and even with the mind seeing the suffering, still the mind says, “I'm not going to give that up,” do you have any suggestions for softening that, for working with that?” [Habits] [Unwholesome Roots] [Clinging]
Response: "No, just keep suffering." [Suffering]
2. “Which of the three unwholesome roots is most prominent when the mind is lazy?” [Energy] [Unwholesome Roots] [Sloth and torpor] // [Delusion]
3. “How do the kilesas relate to the concept of the shadow?” [Western psychology] [Unwholesome Roots] // [Characteristics of existence] [Self-identity view] [Mae Chee Kaew]
5. “Could say more about seeing the unwholesomeness or shadow?” [Unwholesome Roots] // [Mindfulness] [Idealism] [Delusion]
6. Comment: There can be this view that the enlightened mind doesn't have any thoughts or defilements. It's just perfectly clear and stable and there's nothing going on. [Liberation] [Directed thought and evaluation] [Unwholesome Roots] [Concentration]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno: Clear and stable and nothing going on are two different things.
Follow-up: “Does the enlightened mind not have any unwholesome thoughts or does it just not pick up unwholesome thoughts?” [Unskillful qualities] [Proliferation] [Clinging] [Cause of Suffering]
Story: A palmist looks at Ajahn Chah's hands. [Ajahn Chah] [Aversion] [Personality]
11. “Ajahn Chah distinguished between the peaceful mind and the mind that has appeased the kilesas. But when the kilesas are present, is it useful to be peaceful about them?” [Ajahn Chah] [Concentration] [Unwholesome Roots] [Tranquility] // [Suffering] [Delusion]
12. A retreatant expresses appreciation for Upasika Kee Nanayon's exhortation to be honest with ourselves. [Unwholesome Roots] [Upasikā Kee Nanayon] [Truth] [Gratitude]
"You can lie to the entire world if you like, but you must never lie to yourself." – Mae Chee Kaew: Her Journey to Spiritual Awakening and Enlightenment by Ajahn Dick Sīlaratano, p. 235. [Mae Chee Kaew] [False speech]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Self-identity view] [Culture/West]
13. “Can you recommend any practices to develop honesty with ourselves?” [Truth] [Delusion] // [Unwholesome Roots] [Direct experience]
Quote: “You can't take yourself too seriously. That's really deadly.” [Humor] [Self-identity view]
Quote: "Do we have to sweep all of this?" "No, just sweep what's in front of your broom." [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Cleanliness]
3. “Do you have any advice for monks taking on additional practices (āditthanas)?” [Ajahn Chah] [Determination] // [Ascetic practices] [Appropriate attention] [Virtue] [Sense restraint] [Unwholesome Roots] [Middle Path]
5. “Did Ajahn Chah say, “I'm such a good teacher because I had so many defilements?”” [Ajahn Chah] [Teaching Dhamma] [Unwholesome Roots]
Story: Ajahn Chah explains that he had a lot of defilements to work with. [Ajahn Viradhammo] [Unwholesome Roots]
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]
9. “When he [Ajahn Sim] talked about nama rupa, is that looking at the fundamental movement of the mind towards unwholesome dhammas?” [Ajahn Sim] [Aggregates] [Unwholesome Roots] [Investigation of states] // [Restlessness and worry] [Self-identity view]
6. Comment by Ajahn Ñāṇiko: There is the concern that we practice meditation to make something happen. [Meditation/General advice]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Neutral feeling] [Delusion]
Sutta: MN 44: Cūḷavedalla Sutta, The Small Discourse Giving an Elaboration. [Feeling] [Unwholesome Roots]
4. Clarification of underlying tendencies to unworldly, pleasant feelings? Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Pasanno. [Unwholesome Roots] [Happiness] [Feeling] // [Desire] [Craving]
5. “Did you say the defilements are advantageous? (The questioner misheard “adventitious.”)” [Unwholesome Roots]
3. “Could you talk a bit about the kilesas? How to work with them skillfully without falling into discouragement and self-judgment?” [Unwholesome Roots]
7. “At the Friday evening talk, you mentioned the three poisons/kleshas of greed, hatred and delusion. But you also added fear. Fear seems to me more like a result. Please explain.” [Unwholesome Roots] [Fear]
7. “In practice we are often doing battle with our defilements. Can you speak about ways of “gladdening” the heart?” [Unwholesome Roots] [Gladdening the mind]
8. “I'm curious about the wholesome/unwholesome assessment [in MN 19]. If it's a thought of ill-will, greed, hatred, or delusion, but we're not attached to it, we're just seeing it arise, seeing it pass, recognizing it, being aware that it's in the mind. Does the unwholesomeness come from believing it?” [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities] [Investigation of states] [Unwholesome Roots] [Directed thought and evaluation] [Mindfulness of mind] // [Habits] [Hindrances]
2. Comment: Ajahn Amaro talked about a teacher who was an ex-boxer with rough manners. [Personality] [Fierce/direct teaching]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Unwholesome Roots]
Story: Ajahn Mun admonishes Ajahn Mahā Boowa: "You need to develop some subtlety!" [Ajahn Mun] [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Admonishment/feedback]
8. “All these practices [in MN 20] have been useful to calm the thoughts in the moment, but with ill-will and forgiveness, it hasn't genuinely changed the underlying emotion. I thought I had forgiven somebody, but ill-will comes up towards that person six months later. When do you genuinely change the underlying emotion?” [Calming meditation] [Ill-will] [Forgiveness] [Unwholesome Roots] // [Right Intention] [Conditionality] [Perfectionism]
8. “How to work with suspicion skillfully? Is it a combination of looking at the factsas well as your gut feeling?” [Doubt] [Intuition] [Politics and society] // [Unwholesome Roots] [Right Effort] [Mindfulness of body]
11. Comment: I'm improving my skill at seeing the greed or aversion when there are pleasant or unpleasant feelings, but I often don't see the neutral feeling state so clearly. [Mindfulness of feeling] [Feeling] [Unwholesome Roots] [Neutral feeling] [Delusion] // [Mindfulness of body] [Restlessness and worry] [Fear] [Present moment awareness]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
Quote: “That whereby one is a conceiver of the world, a perceiver of the world, that is the world.” — SN 35.116 [Nature of the cosmos] [Proliferation] [Perception]
4. “I thought to be self-critical was to improve yourself, to know how and where you need to improve yourself. How is being self-critical not good for yourself?” [Judgementalism] [Right Effort] // [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] [Energy] [Goodwill] [Idealism] [Unwholesome Roots]
Story: Eight months to Enlightenment. [Ajahn Ñāṇiko] [Abhayagiri] [Liberation]
4. “You mentioned 'Look for the gap.' Is this related to looking for fading away?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Insight meditation] [Dispassion] [Recollection] // [Cessation] [Cessation of Suffering] [Impermanence] [Faith]
Follow-up: “So we're not just looking at the blank...” [Wrong concentration] [Emptiness] [Nature of the cosmos] [Unwholesome Roots] [Not-self]
1. Comment: I listen to the talks and read the books, and everything is so logical and rational, but I'm still stuck in habitual patterns of living. [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Dhamma books] [Everyday life] [Habits]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Association with people of integrity] [Community] [Monasteries] [Lunar observance days] [Online community] [Chanting] [Spiritual friendship] [Impermanence] [Monastic life/Motivation] [Generosity]
Quote: “When you're living with a group of people, not everybody is depressed and lazy and fed up at the same time.” [Unwholesome Roots]
Sutta: SN 55.5 Sāriputta [Factors for stream entry]