Amaravati Sunday Talk, Jul. 27, 2025
Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in Hertfordshire, England
22 excerpts, 1:33:21 total duration
Show featured excerpts (3)
An hour-long talk about Ajahn Chah’s teachings followed by questions and answers.
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1. [0:00] Background of the Amaravati Sunday Talks. [Amaravati] [Teaching Dhamma] // [Rains retreat] [Ajahn Pasanno]
2. [1:40] Recollection: Ajahn Chah was a memorable person; his influence has spread around the world. [Ajahn Chah lineage] // [Faith] [Ajahn Sumedho]
3. [2:36] Recollection: My introduction to Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Temporary ordination] [Travel] [Wat Phleng Vipassanā] [Forest versus city monks]
4. [6:42.5] Recollection: Ajahn Chah’s community in 1975. [Ajahn Chah lineage] // [Wat Pah Pong ] [Western Ajahn Chah lineage] [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Isan] [Personal presence]
5. [11:10] Recollection: Ajahn Chah taught by example, but put the focus on the monastic training and community. [Monastic life] [Saṅgha] // [Humility]
Quote: “He was unique in his ability to draw people in without it having to be about him.” [Personal presence ] [Personality]
6. [14:09] Recollection: Why I stayed with Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Determination] // [Family] [Sequence of training] [Equanimity] [Personal presence]
7. [18:36] Recollection: He was always willing to push us beyond what we thought we could do. [Fierce/direct teaching] // [Intuition]
Quote: “I hope you’re not afraid of suffering....If you’re afraid of suffering, you’re not going to grow in wisdom here.” — Ajahn Chah to Jack Kornfield. [Jack Kornfield] [Fear] [Suffering] [Discernment]
Quote: “If you want to stay here, you have to stay at least five years.” — Ajahn Chah to Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Sequence of training] [Determination]
Story: Ajahn Chah asks the young Ajahn Pasanno to become abbot of Wat Pah Nanachat. [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Abbot] [Sickness]
8. [26:25] Reflection: Amaravati and other monasteries are offshoots of Ajahn Chah’s gift of monastic training where people can continue to practice. [Monastic life] [Ajahn Chah monasteries]
9. [27:56] Recollection: Ajahn Pasanno’s first lunar observance night at Wat Pah Pong. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Pah Pong] [Lunar observance days] // [Monastic life] [Pace of life] [Patience]
Quote: “You learn as you go. You expand your ability to go beyond the limitations you set for yourself.” [Learning]
Quote: “The more you resist and complain in your mind, the more you suffer.” [Aversion] [Suffering] [Habits]
10. [32:28] Reflection: Ajahn Chah used the Vinaya rules as a basis to train in mindfulness and clear comprehension. [Vinaya] [Mindfulness] [Clear comprehension] // [Volition] [Perception of a samaṇa] [Protocols ] [Sense restraint] [Beauty] [Faith]
Story: Ajahn Chah demonstrates how to put down a yahm (monk’s shoulder bag). [Requisites] [Ajahn Sumedho]
Vinaya: Kd 1.23: Sariputta gains faith from Venerable Assiji’s demeanor. [Great disciples]
11. [39:51] Reflection on Ajahn Chah’s ability to illustrate Dhamma. [Teaching Dhamma] [Similes]
Simile: Suffering is like continually tightening a bolt. [Suffering]
12. [42:55] Reflection: Ajahn Chah’s compassion and empathy. [Compassion]
Quote: “I’ve been like that.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Munindo] [Suffering]
13. [45:49] Recollection: Ajahn Chah enjoyed teasing people and playing with words. [Humor] // [Ajahn Gavesako] [Ajahn Amaro] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Compassion]
Stories: The Squirrel Story and the Donkey Story. [Kittisaro] [Monastic life] [Patience]
Note: Kittisaro tells these stories himself here.
14. [53:42] Reflection: His leadership and his teaching came from his example. [Leadership] [Teaching Dhamma] // [Lunar observance days] [Devotion to wakefulness]
Recollection: Ajahn Chah sits until midnight despite having malaria. [Sickness] [Posture/Sitting] [Sitter's practice]
15. [58:50.5] “When you first arrived at Ajahn Chah’s monastery, how did you communicate with him?” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Language] // [Ajahn Sumedho] [Translation] [Paul Breiter] [Thai] [Isan]
Story: Venerable Varapañño could recite the Pāṭimokkha perfectly. [Pāṭimokkha]
16. [1:04:42] “Can you tell us more about Ajahn Chah’s background?” // [Wat Pah Pong] [Geography/Thailand] [Education] [Novices] [Ordination] [Ajahn Sao] [Forest versus city monks] [Death] [Ajahn Mun] [Thai sects]
Story: Six-year-old Chah plays at being a monk. [Monastic life]
17. [1:16:09] “Can you speak about Luang Por Chah’s opinion about Thai superstitions and amulets?” [Culture/Thailand] [Superstition] [Amulets] // [Humor] [Ghost] [Generosity]
Story: A young supporter drafted into the military asks Ajahn Chah for protection. [Buddha images]
18. [1:23:45] “What gave you the inspiration and strength of spirit to want to dedicate yourself to follow the way?” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Faith] [Determination] // [Suffering] [Spiritual search] [Culture/Thailand] [Travel] [Meditation/Results]
19. [1:27:08.5] “In the draft of your biography, it says that growing up you felt you didn’t fit in with normal society. When you came to a Buddhist country and the monastery, did it feel like home?” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Culture/West] [Culture/Thailand] [Monastic life] // [Purpose/meaning]
20. [1:28:39] “Nowadays we have so much information about Dhamma, whereas when you began, you talked about following an example. How much did being in the presence of someone like Ajahn Chah mean? Could we now overlook this since we have so much information?” [Dhamma online] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Mentoring] [Personal presence] // [Amaravati] [Aspects of Understanding]
21. [1:32:55] “How did your becoming a monk go down with your family, and how did that affect you?” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Monastic life] [Family] // [Ajahn Jayasaro]
22. [1:38:54] “People say that Westerners are much more individualistic than Asians. Do you think Ajahn Chah was good at understanding the Western way of thinking?” [Culture/West] [Culture/Asia]