Includes tags: Everyday life, Lay life
“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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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]
Stanford Community Dhamma Discussion (2020), Excerpt 2
“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.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Discernment] [Everyday life ] // [Trust] [Meditation retreats] [Time management]
Story: A disciple of Ajahn Chah moves to Bangkok. [Ajahn Chah] [Lay life] [Commerce/economics]
Thanksgiving Retreat 2016, Session 7, Excerpt 10
“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 (2001), Session 20, Excerpt 1
Reflection by Paul Breiter: How do Ajahn Chah’s teachings apply to lay life? [Lay life ] [Ajahn Chah] // [Monastic life] [Culture/Thailand] [Culture/West]
When I left the monastery, I felt like a skinned cow (SN 12.63). [Lay life ] [Similes] [Vinaya]
Story: Ajahn Chah scolds the monks for dreaming about lay life. [Lay life ] [Work] [Family] [Commerce/economics] [Renunciation]
Remembering Ajahn Chah Weekend (2001), Session 15, Excerpt 1
6. Ajahn Chah teaches his disciples in everyday living situations. Recollection by Ajahn Jitindriyā. [Teaching Dhamma] [Everyday life] [Ajahn Chah]
Story: “Is the log heavy?” [Relinquishment] [Clinging] [Suffering]
Story: A monk drops a tape recorder after getting an electric shock.
3. Quote: “Ajahn Chah was a wonderful teacher, but more important, he was a trainer. He trained people how to live.” — Ajahn Pasanno [Teaching Dhamma] [Monastic life] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Ajahn Chah]
Story: Māghā Pūjā at Wat Pah Pong. [Festival days] [Lunar observance days] [Wat Pah Pong] [Meditation] [Devotion to wakefulness] [Lay life] [Saṅgha]
4. Story: Thousands of people receive Ajahn Chah upon his return from England. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Gratitude] [Ajahn Chah] // [Almsround] [Lay life]
5. The sea of faith in Northeast Thailand. Recollection by Ajahn Pasanno. [Faith] [Culture/Thailand ] [Ajahn Chah] // [Poverty] [Culture/Natural environment] [Geography/Thailand] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Self-reliance] [Patience] [Teaching Dhamma] [Suffering]
In Central Thailand, lay people don’t come to the monastery on observance days. [Lay life] [Lunar observance days] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Tudong]
3. You weren’t there to prepare for something else. Reflection by Paul Breiter. [Teaching Dhamma] [Ajahn Chah] // [Sequence of training] [Everyday life] [Disrobing] [Kamma] [Monastic life] [Ascetic practices] [Suffering] [Happiness] [Saṃsāra]
Quote: “Talk about the benefits of lay life....on paper you can make a good case for it. In practice it’s a constant challenge just to keep your head above water and remember how you’re supposed to deal with things. I urge people in robes to stay there.” [Lay life] [Right Action]
Quote: “Ajahn Pasanno doesn’t want me sending everyone to ordain with him, but I think you do better following his way than my way.” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Lay life] [Paul Breiter]
10. Story: Applying Ajahn Chah’s teachings to lay life in South Africa. Told by Ṭhānissarā. [Lay life] [Ajahn Chah] // [Monastic life] [Abuse/violence] [Self-reliance] [Discernment] [Compassion] [Spaciousness] [Liberation]
How would Ajahn Chah have responded to issues like feminism, democracy, engaged Buddhism, interfaith, and materialism that we’ve had to meet? [Women in Buddhism] [Politics and society] [Spiritual traditions] [Greed]
1. Reflection by Paul Breiter: How do Ajahn Chah’s teachings apply to lay life? [Lay life ] [Ajahn Chah] // [Monastic life] [Culture/Thailand] [Culture/West]
When I left the monastery, I felt like a skinned cow (SN 12.63). [Lay life ] [Similes] [Vinaya]
Story: Ajahn Chah scolds the monks for dreaming about lay life. [Lay life ] [Work] [Family] [Commerce/economics] [Renunciation]
3. Quote: “Mindfulness is a jewel. Having mindfulness is like being near to the Buddha or being near to God.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Paul Breiter. [Ajahn Chah] [Mindfulness] [Buddha] [God] // [Lay life] [Suffering]
7. Quote: “If you see one monkey, you can understand the nature of monkeys.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Paul Breiter. [Ajahn Chah] [Similes] // [Lay life] [Buddha] [Recollection/Buddha]
Quote: “What are the benefits of lay life? We have more opportunities to apply the teaching, ‘Monkeys are like that.’” [Lay life]
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]
1. “One of my lay insight mediation teachers said, ‘The Western lay practitioner is an experiment in Buddhism.’ What do you think? To me it seems our lay teachers are also an experiment.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Culture/West] [Lay life] [Lay teachers] // [Monastic life] [Abhayagiri] [Sīladharā] [Culture/Thailand]
Quote: “Because the monastic presence is so strong in Asia, oftentimes people overlook the strength of the tradition of lay practice and lay teachers.” [Lay life] [Cultural context]
Story: The Buddha tells Māra he will found the fourfold assembly (UD 6.1). [Buddha/Biography] [Māra] [Fourfold Assembly] [Stages of awakening] [Learning] [Lay life]
14. “When doubt is mentioned under the hindrances, is it mainly referring to doubt about the Buddha’s teachings? Are there other implications?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Doubt] [Hindrances] [Dhamma] // [Everyday life] [Mindfulness of mind] [Investigation of states] [Mindfulness of body] [Suffering] [Perfectionism]
3. “I am hoping to go to the Udon/KhonKaen area in Thailand. Are there temples and teachers there you would recommend for lay practice? Who was the teacher you mentioned who has students stay on themselves as metta objects for so long?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Other Thai forest monasteries] [Lay life] [Goodwill] // [Ajahn Mahā Chatchai] [Ajahn Mun] [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [History/Thai Buddhism]
6. “For most of the time on this retreat, I’ve tried to work with a persistent problem from a variety of angles, but as I work with it it seems to get worse; it seems obsessional. Any suggestions?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation retreats] [Everyday life] [Goodwill] [Proliferation] // [Volitional formations] [Habits] [Spiritual friendship] [Patience]
10. “Would you share some of your personal journey, including the time before you became a monk, and why you became a monk, and how the holy life can help people grow and change?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Monastic life/Motivation] [Monastic life] [Long-term practice ] // [Culture/West] [Travel] [Culture/Thailand]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno begins meditation with a month-long Mahasi Sayadaw retreat. [Meditation retreats] [Mahasi Sayadaw] [Devotion to wakefulness] [Fierce/direct teaching]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno’s first visit to Wat Pah Pong. [Ordination] [Ajahn Chah] [Wat Pah Pong]
Quote: “If you want to stay here, you have to stay at least five years.” — Ajahn Chah [Sequence of training]
Reflection: “Five years is five years. I’ll go back and give myself to Ajahn Chah.” — Ajahn Pasanno [Relinquishment] [Mentoring]
Quote: “There’s no such thing as the ideal monastic or the ideal practitioner.” [Idealism] [Lay life] [Faith] [Disrobing] [Suffering] [Energy] [Patience]
2. “When you and other Western seekers went to Thailand [and returned to teach], are the teachings of lay and monastic disciples of Ajahn Chah the same or different? How can we as laypeople relate to the teachings and tradition of the monastic establishment?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Teaching Dhamma] [Ajahn Chah lineage] [Lay teachers] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Ajahn Chah] // [History/Thai Buddhism] [Military] [History/Western Buddhist monasticism] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Virtue] [Right View]
Story: Abhayagiri’s bell is an American bomb casing. [Abhayagiri]
Diligent lay meditators attend Wat Pah Pong’s all-night vigil on the lunar observance days. Recollection by Ajahn Pasanno. [Lay life] [Ardency] [Wat Pah Pong] [Devotion to wakefulness] [Lunar observance days]
2. Reading: Everyday. Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Everyday life] [Ajahn Chah] // [Ardency] [Sloth and torpor]
Simile: A child learning to write. [Similes]
2. “What is the function of a layperson who accompanies a monk on tudong?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Lay life] [Tudong] // [Sequence of training] [Abhayagiri] [Eight Precepts] [Culture/Thailand] [Ajahn Chah]
Quote: “People who ordain quickly disrobe quickly.” — Ajahn Chah [Ordination] [Disrobing]
Story: Founding of Pacific Hermitage. [Pacific Hermitage] [Almsround] [Almsfood]
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.
14. “I travelled for six weeks in Thailand and India and found that time really shifted. Having been home about two months, even with a daily meditation practice, time speeds up. How is life at the monastery versus tudong, and what do you have to say to laypeople about the speeding up of time?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Pace of life] [Culture/Thailand] [Culture/India] [Culture/West] [Tudong] [Everyday life] [Monastic life] // [Craving] [Devotional practice]
6. “Reflecting on your talk earlier about letting go...Wondering if you can speak about maintaining a practice during retreat and also in ‘normal’ life under circumstances (where one has to make many important decisions).” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Relinquishment] [Meditation retreats] [Lay life]
14. “How does one reconcile the apparent complete lack of control that is experienced in meditation...with the apparent need to control one’s circumstances off the cushion. Is it possible to live with complete non-contention and still have an organized life?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Everyday life] [Meditation] [Volition] [Non-contention]
1. “What is the funeral protocol for monks? What about non-monastics in the West?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Funerals] [Monastic life] [Lay life]
24. “Thank you for your talk today. Could you please expand further on how to maintain/practice tranquility in everyday life, especially as we ‘pick up’ many of the things in out lives. Could you please tell us the translation of Luang Por and also if its appropriate for laity to address you by this term?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Everyday life] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Monastic titles]
5. “You said you have to adjust and think about contemplating. But how can you do that in your working time?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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] [Everyday life] [Mindfulness of breathing]
Follow-up: “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]
1. Dedication of the reading to Iris Landsberg. [Lay life] [Death]
2. Recollection: Brief biography of Upasika Kee Nanayon. Recounted by Debbie Stamp. [Upasikā Kee Nanayon] [Lay life] [History/Thai Buddhism] // [Seclusion] [Community]
10. Comment: So the ability to hold the meditation object, go through your daily routines, keep an eye on the mind tone, and watch the stress flavor of all arising phenomenon seems like a fairly advanced practice state to arrive at and maintain twenty-four hours a day. [Continuity of mindfulness ] [Everyday life] [Mindfulness of mind] [Suffering]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno: It’s a great option if you don’t want to suffer. [Cessation of Suffering] [Happiness]
11. “Is recollection of death useful for laypeople?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Recollection/Death] [Lay life] // [Human]
3. “At Wat Pah Pong there’s a large mural of lay people eating, do you know where that came from or how long its been there?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Wat Pah Pong] [Lay life] [Food] [Protocols]
7. Readings: MN 143, SN 2.20: Death of Anāthapiṇḍika Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Great disciples] [Death] // [Sense bases] [Relinquishment] [Teaching Dhamma] [Lay life] [Deva]
15. “A list of ten misconceptions about Buddhim in Tricycle magazine included ‘All Buddhists meditate.’ It said that historically this wasn’t true. Is this accurate?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation] [History] [Culture/West] [Thai Forest Tradition] // [Monastic life] [Lay life] [Devotional practice] [History/Thai Buddhism]
9. “Regarding thought fabrications, in daily life we have to focus on our work. How can we intergrate the principles of anatta and dukkha into daily life?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Volitional formations] [Everyday life] [Work ] [Not-self] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Suffering] // [Right Livelihood] [Restlessness and worry] [Energy] [Impermanence] [Self-identity view] [Relinquishment]
7. “How often do you employ mindfulness of breathing in daily life? How much volition are you still using?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Everyday life] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Volition] [Mindfulness of breathing ] // [Mindfulness of body]
18. “How do we take refuge in awareness (Buddho) in daily life?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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.”
21. “How do you not objectify this awareness?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Knowing itself] [Mindfulness] [Proliferation] // [Four Noble Truths] [Suffering] [Relinquishment] [Investigation of states]
Quote: “If you objectify awareness, you’re going to suffer.” [Nature of mind]
Quote: “These Four Noble Truths are not an endpoint, they are something that you’re internalizing and using in your meditation practice and in your daily life.” [Meditation] [Everyday life]
7. “How often and for how long do you recommend practicing meditation at home? Daily, twice a day, 45 minutes, 30 minutes? Thank you!!!” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation/General advice ] [Lay life] [Time management] // [Idealism]
6. “What is a stream enterer? Can a stream enterer go back? Are there lay people who attain stream entry and remain in lay life?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Stream entry] [Lay life] // [Stages of awakening] [Nibbāna] [Sutta] [Great disciples] [Purpose/meaning]
Written question in Thai: ขอโอกาสกร้าบพระเดชพระคุณหลวงพ่อ ถาม คําถาม Q: Stream enterer คืออะไร? การมุ่สู่โสดาปัตติผล? หรือการมุ่งสู่นิพพาน? Q: นอกจาก นางวิสาขา มหาอุบาสิตแล้ว มีฆราวาส/lay person คนใดบ้างที่เป็นเพียงคนธรรมดาไม่ได้ออกบวช แต่สามารถบรรลุโสดาปัตติผลได้? Q: ผู้ฏิบัติที่ยังมีสามี/ภรรยา สามารถจะมีวาสนาสั่งสมบุญบารมีเพือให้บรรลุสุ่โสดาปัตติผลได้ไหม? โดยที่ไม่ต้องเลิกร้าง/แยกเตียงกับคู่ครอง ขอแนวทางคิคด้วย [Question in Thai]
Reference: The Island by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Amaro
13. “I am still very attached to my husband and children. I don’t want to relinquish the intimacy I share with my husband. I will suffer when they are gone. How do I reconcile this practice of relinquishment with the reality that I am a wife, mother and householder? With love.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Gratitude] [Family ] [Lay life] [Relinquishment ] // [Spaciousness] [Suffering] [Clinging] [Cause of Suffering] [Communal harmony]
Quote: “Relinquishment is a skillful acknowledgement of the areas where we do create suffering.”
Story: Visākhā, the stream enterer who raised 20 children. [Great disciples] [Stream entry] [Culture/India]
Quote: “Families that grow up with strong spiritual models are an incredible blessing.” [Mentoring]
1. “Is it easy for a person with attainments to deal with the world?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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]
2. “How should householders deal with sensual pleasure?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Lay life] [Sensual desire ] // [Virtue] [Happiness] [Generosity] [Skillful qualities]
Comments by Ajahn Kaccāna, Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Pasanno about similies for sensual pleasures found in MN 54 and MN 75. [Similes]
5. Story: Lay disciples ask Ajahn Lee Dhammadharo to take them on tudong but bring too much baggage. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Lee Dhammadharo] [Lay life] [Simplicity] [Tudong] // [Ajahn Mun] [History/Thai Buddhism]
12. “As laypeople, how do we know if it is a good or bad time to go on tudong?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Lay life] [Tudong] // [Fear] [Doubt] [Learning]
1. “I’ve been struggling with sleepiness while trying to meditate, having the intention to be present and aware, but finding myself dozing off.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sloth and torpor] [Clear comprehension] [Meditation retreats] // [Conditionality] [Lay life] [Craving not to become] [Directed thought and evaluation]
Story: Ajahn Boon Choo meditates through tiredness after staying up for days. [Ajahn Boon Choo] [Kaṭhina] [Wat Pah Pong] [Energy] [Devotion to wakefulness] [Ardency]
Quote: “The boundaries we set for ourselves are oftentime much smaller than what we can actually deal with, work with, or be with.” [Self-identity view] [Clinging] [Patience]
2. “What did the Buddha think following his teachings should mean or entail?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Three Refuges] [Precepts] [Buddhist identity ] // [Virtue] [Lay life] [Five Precepts] [Faith] [Generosity] [Association with people of integrity] [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Learning] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Conceit]
Sutta: AN 8.26 Jīvaka Sutta
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.
7. Comment: I find it difficult to find the line between what you can change and what you can’t. [Politics and society] [Everyday life] [Equanimity]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Clear comprehension] [Delusion]
2. Comment: When I practice and share Dhamma as a lay person, others complain when I make mistakes. [Lay life] [Virtue] [Buddhist identity]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
5. “This year my whole family got lice. How do we respond to this skillfully?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Lay life] [Family] [Killing] [Animal] // [Human] [Patience]
7. A diligent early support of Wat Pah Nanachat reflects, “I don’t have money, but I’m not poor.” [Treasures] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Wat Pah Pong] [Lay life] [Poverty] // [Lunar observance days] [Thai]
1. “Isn’t desire needed for lay life, starting a family, a business etc? And what about polio? Would there be things like a vaccine for polio without desire? Did the Buddha have something else in mind?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Desire ] [Health care] [Lay life] // [Cause of Suffering] [Craving] [Aids to Awakening] [Bases of Success] [Hindrances] [Sensual desire] [Language]
2. “I was wondering since you are a monk of 40 years, you are happy and mindful. How can you know of the issues, problems, etc., of people’s’ lives in the current modern times? We are worried about Trump’s presidency!” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Monastic life] [Lay life] [Politics and society] // [Monasteries] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support ] [Abhayagiri] [Views] [Conditionality] [Dhamma]
5. “Could you speak on working with sañña in meditation? Over these days there is an experience of heightened sensitivity to perception and the initial contact that gives rise to thought and feeling. In particular, I notice how an inaccurate perception, seen as inaccurate, gives rise to thought formations that move forward as if based on an accurate perception. This moves fast in the mind feels somewhat trippy and disorienting. How does one develop the skill of sensitivity and perception so as to have durability in daily life?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Perception] [Dependent origination] [Everyday life] [Directed thought and evaluation] // [Suffering] [Four Noble Truths]
Sutta: MN 18: Madhupiṇḍika Sutta
9. “Could you say more about the four powers?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Bases of Success ] // [Aids to Awakening] [Discernment] [Concentration] [Everyday life]
13. “Please demystify jhana a little for those like myself whose vipassana past has had minimal samadhi focus. The emphasis on calming and brightening has been so helpful. Whereas in past I associated deep concentration with vipassana elites and insight practice more for those living in the mess of the world, now I wonder, in our post election universe, whether a more jhanic or balance between practices would prevent overwhelm, hiding, running to Canada! Thoughts?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Jhāna] [Insight meditation] [Gladdening the mind] [Calming meditation] [Everyday life] [Politics and society]
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.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Discernment] [Everyday life ] // [Trust] [Meditation retreats] [Time management]
Story: A disciple of Ajahn Chah moves to Bangkok. [Ajahn Chah] [Lay life] [Commerce/economics]
11. “It is the eighth evening of the retreat; feels timely to ask what was Ajahn Chah’s teaching for local lay people regarding sexual desire and sexual misconduct. Did he make a different emphasis when he taught westerners?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Lay life] [Sensual desire] [Sexual misconduct] [Culture/West] // [Culture/Thailand]
Story: In response to questions about sexuality, Ajahn Chah picks his nose. [Insight Meditation Society] [Humor]
1. “Are the teachings in MN 19: Two Kinds of Thought and MN 20: The Removal of Distracting Thoughts meant to be used just during meditation or 24/7?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Right Effort] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Directed thought and evaluation] // [Everyday life]
16. “I spread lovingkindness from home and don’t have the good fortune of meeting with like minds who practice to perfect sīla. Any suggestions?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Lay life] [Goodwill] [Spiritual friendship] [Virtue]
Quote: Ajahn Chah to Ajahn Sumedho: “Do you mean to say there’s no good people in America?” [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Culture/West]
3. “Two questions: 1) What strengths do you see in other Buddhist traditions and Western culture that our tradition could benefit from? 2) How have you decided which aspects of korwat (protocols) from Thailand to adjust and which to maintain?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mahāyāna] [Vajrayāna] [Culture/West] [Culture/Thailand] [Monastic life] [Vinaya] [Protocols] // [Abhayagiri] [Women in Buddhism] [Robes] [Cultural context] [City of Ten Thousand Buddhas] [Dōgen] [Zen] [Ajahn Sumedho] [History/Western Buddhism] [Simplicity] [Christianity] [Renunciation] [Eight Precepts] [Not handling money] [Chithurst] [Ajahn Amaro] [Communal harmony]
Quote: “There are so many good things to do that you could be running around the country doing good things. I’d rather focus my attention here.” [Pace of life]
Quote: “There’s no reason to fit into American culture.”
Story: The monastic jacket is vindicated in England. [Culture/Natural environment] [History/Western Buddhist monasticism]
Quote: “As Buddhist monastics and Buddhist practitioners, we’re trying to set conditions that give us the opportunity for learning.” [Lay life] [Learning]
9. Reading: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 612-614 “Faith in the Triple Gem” Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Faith] [Three Refuges] [Ajahn Chah] // [Buddha] [Dhamma] [Truth] [Teaching Dhamma] [Lay life] [Recollection/Dhamma]
Simile: Digging a well — Ajahn Chah. [Right Effort] [Liberation]
11. “Is refining the Five Precepts sufficient for lay practice to be transformative?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Five Precepts] [Lay life] [Ajahn Chah] // [Vinaya] [Mindfulness] [Right Intention] [Relinquishment] [Compassion] [Truth]
1. Quote: “Ajahn Chah tried to make practice into everything we were doing, whether we were monastics or laypeople.” — Ajahn Pasanno [Ajahn Chah] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Monastic life] [Lay life] // [Work]
2. Reading: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 427 “Work is Dhamma Practice” Read by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Work ] [Eightfold Path] // [Everyday life] [Aversion]
3. Comment: I’m trying to move away from the concept of formal and informal practice. It’s just how I’m practicing in practice this moment. [Continuity of mindfulness] [Meditation] [Present moment awareness] [Everyday life]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ardency] [Tranquility] [Middle Path] [Eightfold Path]
7. Story: Chanting sustains a long-time disciple of Ajahn Chah living as a businessman in Bangkok. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Lay life] [Culture/Thailand] [Chanting] // [Suffering]
10. “Are there any chants that are inappropriate for laypeople to chant?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Lay life] [Chanting]
10. “Is Dtao Dum just for monks?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Dtao Dum] [Monastic life] [Lay life] // [Environment]
2. “On a daily basis, coming home, my mind is too distracted to pick up any of these objects of meditation. Would you recommend doing ānāpānassati first and then switching over?” Answered by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Everyday life] [Restlessness and worry] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Recollection] // [Mantra] [Recollection/Buddha]
7. “How would I apply the perception of unattractiveness in my daily life?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Unattractiveness] [Everyday life] [Recollection] // [Sensual desire] [Ageing] [Proliferation] [Dispassion] [Appropriate attention]
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?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [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]
8. “In our worldly life we always have expectations on things that we do. What would be the best way for us to change this habit and do everything without expectations?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Everyday life] [Desire] [Craving] [Habits] // [Impermanence] [Bases of Success] [Skillful qualities] [Right Effort]
9. “If everything in life is great, and I am enjoying my life, why practice? What could get better?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Everyday life] [Happiness] [Heedfulness] // [Discernment] [Right Effort] [Rebirth] [Noble Truth of Suffering] [Right View]
12. “Can you please talk more about the three happinesses and what we should be careful about?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Happiness] [Heedfulness] // [Everyday life] [Deva] [Nibbāna] [Hindrances] [Virtue] [Community]
Reference: Verses of Sharing and Aspiration, Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 33.
4. “You spoke about the teachings and the training. What is the training for a lay practitioner other than the Five Precepts?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Amaro. [Dhamma] [Vinaya] [Lay life] [Five Precepts] // [Meditation] [Communal harmony] [Right Livelihood] [Family] [Work] [Politics and society] [Spiritual friendship]
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]
6. “In practicing mindfulness day-to-day, which category of mindfulness is most important at varying times? Body, feelings, mind, or dhammas?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness] [Everyday life] [Right Mindfulness] // [Continuity of mindfulness]
9. “Please offer your thoughts on how to cultivate the brahmavihāras on and off the cushion.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Divine Abidings ] [Everyday life] // [Spaciousness] [Goodwill] [Compassion] [Empathetic joy] [Equanimity] [Generosity]
Ajahn Vajiro defined the brahamavihāras as the mature emotions. [Ajahn Vajiro] [Emotion]
16. “How does one reconcile perceived imperfections and unskillful behaivor in Buddhist institutions and interactions with teachers?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Unskillful qualities] [Teachers] // [Monasteries] [Monastic life] [Admonishment/feedback] [Blame and praise]
Quote: “The Buddha set up an institution that was not assuming infallability.” [Buddha] [Lay life] [Human]
Sutta: Dhp 227: Nobody lives without criticism.
1. “How can we have a renunciant life outside the monastery?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Renunciant practice] [Everyday life] // [Simplicity] [Learning]