50 events, 202 sessions, 513 excerpts, 38:02:39 total duration
Most common topics:
Ajahn Chah
(223)
Ajahn Pasanno
(118)
Abhayagiri
(85)
Wat Pah Pong
(51)
Ajahn Sumedho
(49)
Ajahn Amaro
(43)
Culture/Thailand
(40)
Wat Pah Nanachat
(39)
Tudong
(36)
Sickness
(34)
6. Comment about the expectations people may have of Buddhists. [Precepts] [Virtue] [Idealism] [Buddhist identity]
Story: An American asks Ajahn Chah why there are so many thieves in Thailand. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Culture/West] [Culture/Thailand] [Stealing]
12. Story about not killing a rattlesnake. [Killing] [Culture/West] [Animal] [Buddhist identity]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Culture/Thailand]
18. Story: A woman likes Buddhist teachings and principles, follows the precepts, and meditates, but hates when people identify with this and call themselves Buddhist. Told by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Dhamma] [Precepts] [Meditation] [Aversion] [Buddhist identity] [Clinging] [Self-identity view]
7. “I volunteer in hospice and was in attendance for the passing of my parents. I notice vast differences in the way people experience their passage. What can we do, while still alive, to prepare for a peaceful and ‘wakeful’ passing? Other than ‘being present,’ is there anything that can be of benefit to others?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Death] // [Recollection/Death] [Equanimity] [Impermanence] [Sickness] [Idealism] [Compassion] [Generosity]
Sutta: AN 5.57: Five Subjects for Frequent Recollection (Chanting Book translation)
Vinaya: Kd 8.26.8: Qualities of a good nurse. [Monastic life] [Health care]
Story: Ajahn Chah advises Paul Breiter about the limits of spiritual hospice work. [Ajahn Chah] [Paul Breiter] [Buddho mantra] [Fierce/direct teaching]
10. “For those of us who need to routinely rest more due to aging, illness, or disability, could you share some suggestions and advice for how to optimize ths time as mediation in a lying down posture?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ageing] [Sickness] [Posture/Lying down ] // [Determination] [Body scanning] [Clear comprehension] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Pain] [Buddha images] [Tranquility] [Perception]
Recollection: Ajahn Pasanno develops lying down meditation after breaking his pelvis. [Ajahn Pasanno]
6. “Do any of you who reside at the monastery vote in local or national elections? I also wonder if you get involved in public discussions on local policies as they pertain to or potentially affect the monastery?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Monastic life] [Politics and society ] // [Culture/Thailand] [Culture/Sri Lanka]
Story: Abhayagiri engages with local people and the Forestry Department to block a timber harvest. [Abhayagiri] [Environment]
15. “There is a mean streak in my family, a tendency to be dishonest and manipulative. I can see how it has been passed down over generations. I have worked hard to overcome these habits in myself. At this stage of life my familiar relationships are mostly positive and harmonious, but I still sometimes run across their manipulation or dishonesty. I would like to discuss or address it within my family, but there is no apperent recouse or means of addressing the situation. Any suggestions?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Family] [False speech] [Habits]
Quote: “I don’t teach my family anything.” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Teaching Dhamma]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno’s mother visits Abhayagiri. [Parents] [Kaṭhina]
23. “It seems that nimittas can appear before the mind is fully settled in concentration. Is it useful to understand what that is happening? Should one ignore the nimitta until concentration is firmly established? Or is there some other response or skillful way to work with the nimitta while establishing samadhi?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Nimitta ] [Concentration] // [Proliferation] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Ajahn Pasanno]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno has a nimitta of bowing to the Buddha but then realizes that he is nodding. [Bowing] [Sloth and torpor]
11. “Please demonstrate how to bow. Are there any cultural differences?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Bowing ] [Cultural context] // [Ajahn Chah] [Culture/Thailand] [Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Tranquility] [Continuity of mindfulness]
Story: Ajahn Chah corrects a candidate’s bowing posture at his ordination ceremony. [Ordination]
13. “Please speak a little about kataññu.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Gratitude ] // [Human] [Pāli] [Merit]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 33: Verses of Sharing and Aspiration
Story: Ajahn Liem gives Abhayagiri a handwritten essay about gratitude. [Ajahn Liem] [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Chah] [Personality] [Generosity] [Abhayagiri] [Asking forgiveness ceremony] [Dhamma books]
Reference: English translation: Gratitude by Ajahn Chah Saṅgha, p. 9.
9. “Can you say more about trusting the seeds of meditation practice after Alzheimer’s/dementia kick in? What do you mean by going beyond liberation or consciousness? What do you mean by ‘many deeper layers’ are affected by the practice and the fruits of it will express naturally?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sickness] [Consciousness] [Long-term practice] // [Happiness] [Proliferation] [Relinquishment] [Self-identity view]
Story: A monk with psychic abilities investigates Ajahn Chah’s mind after Ajahn Chah loses his mental faculties. [Ajahn Chah] [Psychic powers]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno brings the Wat Pah Nanachat community to Ajahn Chah’s nursing kuti to chant verses including Dependent Origination. [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Chanting] [Dependent origination]
Quote: “The fruits of practice arise through the simple quality of being the one who knows, taking the Buddha as refuge.” [Knowing itself] [Buddha] [Three Refuges]
13. “How important is chanting for one’s practice? Do you have any tips for how to recite/remember the Pali chants?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Chanting ] [Memory] [Pāli] // [Monastic life] [Recollection] [Devotional practice] [Energy] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Long-term practice] [Dhamma recordings] [Posture/Walking] [Almsround] [Mindfulness]
Story: Ajahn Mun would chant for over an hour each evening before he started meditating. [Ajahn Mun] [Monastic routine]
Suttas: AN 10.60 Girimānanda Sutta; SNSN 22.22: Dhammacakkappavattanasutta (Chanting Book translation).
Story: The evening program at Wat Fah Krahm is three hours of chanting followed by a three-hour sit. [Wat Fah Krahm] [Meditation]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 138: Rhythm of the Pāli language.
Sutta: SN 48.9: Mindfulness related to memory.
4. “I was wondering if the merit we have done for meditation practice can be dedicated to the people (dead or alive) we pray for? How do we know it? Also, I have heard that the merit from practicing meditation will accumulate and stay with ones who have practiced that, which also carries over throughout the life or the subsequent incarnations. Can you clarify this?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Merit] [Prayer] [Rebirth] // [Theravāda] [Mahāyāna] [Vajrayāna] [Science] [Faith] [Selfishness]
Stories told by Ajahn Paññānanda about dedication of merit. [Ajahn Paññānanda] [Culture/Thailand] [Superstition] [Death]
8. “What chants would you recommend as suitable to use for patients who may be in hospice or close to death? Can Buddhist monks give last rites?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Death] [Chanting] [Ceremony/ritual] // [Goodwill] [Three Refuges] [Protective chants] [Culture/Thailand] [Buddho mantra] [Recollection/Saṅgha]
Story: Ajahn Chah requests an army truck to pick up Por Puang’s body. [Ajahn Chah] [Wat Pah Pong] [Contentment] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Recollection/Death]
Reference: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 662.
1. “Should we judge the quality of our meditation only by the time we spend in focused concentration?” Answered by Ajahn Jotipālo, Ajahn Ñāṇiko, Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Abhayagiri Saṅgha. [Ajahn Ñāṇadhammo] [Meditation/Results] [Concentration] // [Mindfulness] [Right Effort] [Investigation of states] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Hindrances]
Reference: Walking Meditation by Ajahn Ñāṇadhammo.
Story: Ajahn Tate and the bhavaṅga states. Told by Ajahn Jotipālo and Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Ajahn Tate] [Wrong concentration] [Ajahn Mun] [Mindfulness of body]
Story: Ajahn Khao meditates all night with no awareness. Told by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Ajahn Khao]
4. The habitual perceptual patterns condition what we seek out to experience. Comment by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Habits] [Perception] [Craving] // [Ignorance]
Reference: Kamma and the End of Kamma by Ajahn Sucitto.
We can see how our body and mnd are in constant flux, but we see others as fixed and solid. Comment by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Impermanence] [Views] [Community]
Story: A peaceful sīladhara no longer tells stories in her mind. Told by Ajahn Jotipālo. [Proliferation] [Equanimity]
3. Further discussion about the role of desire in practice. Led by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Desire] [Sensual desire] [Naturalness] [Craving] // [Noble Truth of Suffering] [Conditionality] [Human] [Monastic life] [Judgementalism]
Comment: If you aren’t willing to see desire as a dhamma, then you’ll never see Dhamma. [Dhamma] [Culture/West] [Guilt/shame/inadequacy]
Reference: “Why Come to a Monastery?” by Ajahn Candasiri in Friends on the Path by Ajahn Sundarā and Ajahn Candasiri, pp. 13-21.
A practitioner tells Ajahn Paññāvaḍḍho that sexual desire is natural. He replies, “So is the Dhamma.” [Ajahn Paññāvaḍḍho]
Recollection of Ajahn Karuṇadhammo’s advice to an anagārika about different approaches to dealing with lust. Recounted by Ajahn Pesalo. [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo] [Unattractiveness] [Characteristics of existence]
1. “During the development of Abhayagiri over the years, has there been a shift in how strictly some practices, activities are followed?” Answered by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Debbie Stamp. [Amaravati] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Ascetic practices] [Culture/West] [Divine Abidings] [Abhayagiri] // [Ajahn Chah] [Devotion to wakefulness] [Work] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Admonishment/feedback] [Protocols] [Ajahn Amaro] [Guilt/shame/inadequacy]
Story: Can we ask for soymilk? [Food] [Simplicity]
Recollection: The effects of the gap in seniority between Ajahn Amaro and (then) Tan Karuṇadhammo. [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo] [Sequence of training]
Recollection: Ajahn Pasanno is lighter and softer now. Recounted by Debbie Stamp. [Personal presence]
Recollection: The gung-ho early days of Chithurst and Amaravati. Recounted by Debbie Stamp. [Chithurst] [Disrobing]
Recollection: The beginning of sharing circles. Recounted by Debbie Stamp. [Sharing circles] [Culture/Thailand]
2. Comment by Ajahn Ñāṇiko: Abhayagiri works because the abbots empower members of the community to be in charge of different aspects of the monastery. [Abhayagiri] [Abbot] [Saṅgha decision making]
Recollection: Ajahn Pasanno asks the Saṅgha before accepting invitations. [Ajahn Pasanno]
Quote: “Ajahn Pasanno is genuinely open to junior members’ opinions.” [Admonishment/feedback] [Humility]
Comment: Less admonishment in korwat is needed now at Abhayagiri because momentum has built and you can follow the group. [Protocols]
Response by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo.
3. Recollection: Ajahn Pasanno consults the group rather than dictating decisions. Recounted by Ajahn Jotipālo. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Abbot] [Abhayagiri] [Saṅgha decision making] [Leadership]
Quote: “Sometimes it’s better to be harmonious than to be right.” — Ajahn Pasanno. [Communal harmony] [Views]
Quote: “I must hurry, for there they go, and I am their leader.” — Sign above a boss’s desk. Quoted by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Humor]
4. Story: Carrying wood to the Cloth Yurt. Told by Ajahn Jotipālo. [Ajahn Jotipālo] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Lodging] [Work] [Abhayagiri]
5. Story: “How is it going? There are a lot of weeds growing on your walking path.” Told by Debbie Stamp. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Work] [Posture/Walking]
Response by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Gratitude]
3. “Can you recommend a book of koans for inspiration?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Zen] [Koan] [Dhamma books] // [Ajahn Sumedho] [Hua tou] [Master Hsu Yun]
Story: Ajahn Chah encourages Ajahn Sumedho to develop the hua tou technique. [Ajahn Chah] [Mahasi Sayadaw] [Ven. Ñāṇatiloka]
Reference: Word of the Buddha by Ñāṇatiloka Mahāthera.
4. Story: Harata Rōshi’s response to a question about koans. Told by Ajahn Jotipālo. [Harata Rōshi] [Koan] // [Translation]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Knowing itself]
3. “Could you give some guidance on when to patiently endure and when to use discernment to deal with something?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno, Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Jotipālo. [Patience ] [Discernment] // [Right Effort] [Skillful qualities] [Unskillful qualities]
Story: A fortune teller reads Ajahn Chah’s palm. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Aversion]
2. Story: Entering a cold river is just saṅkhāra, told by Ajahn Jotipālo. [Ajahn Kusalo] [Bhante Rahula] [Volitional formations] // [Ajahn Jotipālo] [Arrow River]
6. Story: Ajahn Khemadhammo creates Buddha groves in prisons. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Khemadhammo] [Prisons] [Buddha images] // [Ceremony/ritual] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Tranquility]
7. Story: The inmate leading the Buddhist group was caught selling drugs. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Khemadhammo] [Prisons] [Intoxicants]
Comments about intoxicants, crime, and prisons. Contributed by Beth Steff and Ajahn Pasanno. [Crime]
1. “At what point does it become unskillful to continue to reflect on one’s own good deeds?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Beth Steff. [Recollection/Virtue] [Unskillful qualities] // [Self-identity view] [Right Effort] [Recollection/Generosity] [Culture/West] [Christianity] [Guilt/shame/inadequacy]
Quote: “In Buddhism, we don’t believe in original sin. We believe in original purity.” — King Rama IX to a BBC interviewer. [King Rama IX] [Nature of mind]
Reference: The 1979 BBC interview on YouTube.
Commentary: Path of Purification by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, p. 104: Forty subjects of meditation.
Story: Western researchers find Tibetans who have been tortured don’t suffer post-traumatic stress. [Abuse/violence] [Vajrayāna] [Three Refuges] [Compassion]
Story: God’s finger over the “Smite” button. [God] [The Far Side]
Comment by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo: The Dalai Lama emphasizes the effect of faith in the law of kamma. [Dalai Lama] [Kamma] [Faith]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Right View]
2. Discussion about evaluating the results of practice. Led by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation/Results] [Right Effort] // [Faith] [Investigation of states] [Self-identity view] [Not-self]
Comment: I notice that I have preconceptions about the way I evaluate my practice.
Response: Ajahn Pasanno distinguishes between investigation and evaluation.
The very pattern, “What will make me good enough?” is suffering. Comment by Ajahn Kaccāna. [Habits] [Cause of Suffering]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
Story: Aversion towards the nada sound and the importance of having a teacher. Told by Ajahn Jotipālo. [Teachers] [Ajahn Jotipālo] [Sound of silence] [Aversion] [Insight Meditation Society] [Ajahn Amaro]
3. “Ajahn Ñāṇiko, during your time in India, was there a big takeaway from your experience or stories or experiences you would be willing to share?” Answered by Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Ajahn Ñāṇiko] [Visiting holy sites] // [Culture/India] [Sickness] [Poverty]
Story: Going almsround outside Bodh Gaya: “It’s rare to be able to give to a samaṇa.” [Perception of a samaṇa] [Types of monks]
2. Story: Ajahn Pasanno attends Dharma Master Heng Lyu’s ordination. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ordination] // [Ajahn Amaro] [Weather]
5. Story: Ajahn Pasanno’s first impressions of Wat Pah Pong. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Pah Pong] // [Temporary ordination] [Ajahn Chah] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Lunar observance days]
6. Recollections: Ajahn Pasanno’s motivations for moving to Abhayagiri; twenty years went by quick. Recounted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Abhayagiri] // [Western Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Ajahn Amaro] [Community]
1. Story: Abhayagiri’s neighbors and origins of the Abhayagiri property. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Abhayagiri] // [Master Hsuan Hua] [Lodging] [Christianity]
1. Recollection: How I came to Buddhism and the beginnings of the Saṅghapāla Foundation. Recounted by Marc Lieberman. [Saṅghapāla] // [Taungpulu Sayadaw] [Temporary ordination] [Vinaya] [Jack Kornfield] [Joseph Goldstein] [Insight Meditation Society] [Ajahn Anando] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Ajahn Amaro]
1. Story: Coming to Buddhism through the AIDS crisis. [Sickness] [Death] // [Gratitude] [Stephen Levine] [Spirit Rock] [Christianity]
2. Story: Offering food to monks and board members; joining the Saṅghapāla Foundation. [Food] [Saṅghapāla] // [Ajahn Sumedho]
3. Story: The first seven years of the Saṅghapāla Foundation. [Saṅghapāla] // [Ajahn Sumedho] [Meditation retreats] [City of Ten Thousand Buddhas] [Abhayagiri] [Ajahn Sundarā] [Community] [Christianity] [Gratitude]
1. Story: Meeting Buddhism in Thailand and becoming a Saṅghapāla board member. [Culture/Thailand] [Saṅghapāla] // [Ajahn Buddhadāsa] [Ajahn Chah] [Meditation retreats] [Dhammapala] [Ajahn Amaro]
2. Story: Saṅghapāla Foundation and the beginnings of Abhayagiri Monastery. [Abhayagiri] [Saṅghapāla] // [Monastery organizational structure]
1. Story: Meeting Buddhism in Thailand and San Francisco. [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Wat Keuan] [Saṅghapāla]
Quote: “At that time, Saṅghapāla board members were selected among the three people who would regularly attend sittings, so if you attended more than two sittings, you were basically a board member.”
2. Story: Accepting donations for the purchase of Abhayagiri’s land; resolving a conflict on the board. [Abhayagiri] [Generosity] [Conflict] [Saṅghapāla] // [Media] [Ajahn Amaro] [Vinaya]
Vinaya: Bhikkhu Adhikaraṇasamatha 7: Covering over as with grass; discussion in The Buddhist Monastic Code.
5. Story: The monastery comes to our doorstep. [Abhayagiri]
1. Story: The first anagārika ordained on Abhayagiri property returns. [Abhayagiri] [Postulants] // [Spirit Rock] [Ajahn Amaro] [Lodging] [Gratitude] [Meditation]
1. Story: A life-changing Dhamma talk. Told by Debbie Stamp. [Hearing the true Dhamma] // [Amaravati] [Chithurst] [Generosity] [Gratitude]
2. Story: Inviting monks to California to start a monastery. Told by Debbie Stamp. [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Generosity] [Saṅghapāla] // [Views] [Ajahn Amaro] [Faith]
3. Story: Ajahn Sucitto’s explanation of saṅghakamma redefines the focus of Saṅghapāla Foundation. Told by Debbie Stamp. [Ajahn Sucitto] [Vinaya] [Saṅghapāla] // [Ajahn Amaro]
3. Story: Ajahn Amaro hears of Master Hsuan Hua through Ajahn Sumedho. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Ajahn Amaro] [Master Hsuan Hua] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [Chithurst] [City of Ten Thousand Buddhas]
Quote: “I always thought I would never meet anyone else like Luang Por Chah, but I just met another one.” — Ajahn Sumedho. [Ajahn Chah]
4. Story: Ajahn Sumedho asks Ajahn Amaro to go to California. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Ajahn Amaro] // [Master Hsuan Hua] [Elders' Council] [City of Ten Thousand Buddhas] [Ordination] [Jack Kornfield]
5. Recollection: The virtual monastery in San Francisco. Recounted by Ajahn Amaro. [Saṅghapāla] // [Ajahn Amaro]
6. Recollection: Ajahn Sumedho delays the opening of a San Francisco vihara in 1992. Recounted by Ajahn Amaro. [Ajahn Amaro] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [Ajahn Chah] [Disrobing]
7. Story: Master Hua offers land to Ajahn Sumedho the day after the Elders’ Council approves a land search. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Master Hsuan Hua] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Elders' Council] [Abhayagiri ] // [Saṅghapāla] [Gratitude] [Amaravati] [Ajahn Amaro] [Ajahn Viradhammo] [Sickness]
Quote: “It had been the dream of my life to bring the Northern and Southern Traditions together again, and I never thought I was going to be able to do it until I met Sumedho.” — Master Hsuan Hua. [Mahāyāna] [Theravāda] [Communal harmony]
8. Testing times: Saṅghapāla Foundation scrambles to purchase the plot of land adjacent to Master Hsuan Hua’s gift.Recollected by Ajahn Amaro. [Saṅghapāla] [Abhayagiri] // [Ajahn Amaro] [Faith]
9. Story: Moving onto the Abhayagiri land. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Abhayagiri] // [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo] [Ajahn Amaro] [Saṅghapāla] [Gratitude]
11. Recollection: Origins of the Abhayagiri co-abbotship. Recounted by Ajahn Amaro. [Abbot] [Abhayagiri] // [Master Hsuan Hua] [Three Conditions Monastery] [Jealousy] [Ajahn Amaro] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Leadership]
Quote: “You can’t have two tigers living in the same cave.” — Ajahn Mahā Prasert. [Culture/Thailand]
12. Recollection: The connection with Ajahn Mahā Prasert and Casa Serena. Recounted by Ajahn Amaro. [Abhayagiri] // [Gratitude]
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]
1. Story: A man in an airport asks Ajahn Chah, “If everyone is Buddhist, why are there so many thieves in Thailand?” Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Culture/Thailand] [Stealing] [Virtue] [Precepts]
3. Story: Once a junior monk approached Ajahn Chah and listed all Ajahn Chah’s faults. Ajahn Chah replied, “It’s a good thing you’re not looking for perfection in yourself!” Told by Ajahn Jotipālo. [Ajahn Chah] [Virtue] [Perfectionism]
6. Story: Ajahn Pasanno visits the elderly Cambodian monk Mahāgossānanda who has Alzheimer’s disease. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Preah Mahāghosānanda] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Sickness] // [Dalai Lama] [Divine Abidings] [Ajahn Chah] [Heart/mind]
Quote: “That thing you learn in meditation—that you don’t lose.” — Ajahn Fuang. [Ajahn Fuang] [Meditation] [Liberation]
Story: A monk known for psychic powers visits Ajahn Chah’s sick room and reports: “You don’t have to worry about Ajahn Chah. His heart is so bright.” [Psychic powers] [Dependent origination] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Lunar observance days]
5. “Could you tell us your stories related to the King Rama 9 of Thailand?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [King Rama IX] [Culture/Thailand] // [Leadership] [Meditation] [Recreation/leisure/sport] [Commerce/economics]
Story: Thai lay supporters remember King Rama IX at Abhayagiri’s 2016 Kaṭhina. [Abhayagiri] [Kaṭhina]
Story: King Rama IX attends Ajahn Chah’s funeral. [Ajahn Chah] [Funerals] [Wat Pah Pong] [Tranquility]
Story: King Rama IX asks President Nixon for understanding. [Politics and society] [Communal harmony] [Listening]
6. “Does the Buddha say all beings are inherently good? How about generosity? Do all human beings have the capacity for generosity?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Nature of mind ] [Generosity ]
Sutta: AN 1.51-52
Story: A Mafia boss stays under Ajahn Chah’s kuti and helps out at Wat Pah Pong. [Ajahn Chah] [Crime] [Wat Pah Pong] [Precepts]
Quote: “Generosity is an important doorway for many reasons.”
9. “Can Ajahn Pasanno teach us how Ajahn Chah teaches or gives techniques on physical states and mental states? Can you tell us more about Ajahn Chah’s biography, for example, when and how Ajahn Chah wanted to become a monk?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Form] [Heart/mind] // [Christianity] [Conditionality]
Recollection: Ajahn Chah engaged in conversation with the villagers before the meal to reveal the junior monks’ desires around food. [Idle chatter] [Food] [Sensual desire]
Advice from Ajahn Chah: “Don’t admonish anybody before the meal.” [Admonishment/feedback]
Update about the progress on the new Ajahn Chah biography. [Dhamma books] [Ajahn Jayasaro]
Reference: Stilness Flowing
Story: Nine year old Ajahn Chah goes to the monastery after getting fed up with household chores. [Culture/Thailand] [Geography/Thailand] [Faith] [Monasteries] [Family] [Work]
11. “It seems I can quiet my mind easier in the midst of noise. It’s been one continuous monkey mind. Please help.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Calming meditation] [Proliferation] [Restlessness and worry] // [Tranquility] [Culture/Natural environment] [Suffering] [Investigation of states]
Story: Spending the Vassa at quiet Poo Jum Gom [Poo Jum Gom] [Geography/Thailand]
Quote: “I’ve got nobody to blame anymore.” — A junior monk.
12. “I am wondering if you could talk about spiritual bypass? What is it? How do you know if you’ve done it? And how do you disentangle from it?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Spiritual bypass ] // [Conflict] [Not-self] [Truth] [Views] [Spiritual friendship]
Story: Half the roof blows off a monk’s kuti, but he doesn’t repair it because he is letting go. [Ajahn Chah] [Lodging] [Relinquishment]
13. “I remember reading some stories of Ajahn Chah teaching lay people about herbal medicines. I know some Tibetan monks practice medicine. Is there such a tradition in Thailand? Are there any stores of Ajahn Chah healing people physically with traditional medicines?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Health care] [Medicinal requisites ] [Culture/Thailand] // [Thai Forest Tradition] [History/Thai Buddhism] [Vinaya] [Right Livelihood] [Almsfood]
Recollection: Walking around the forest with Ajahn Chah. [Culture/Natural environment]
Story: Bung Wai villagers walk to Wat Pah Pong to practice meditation all night on Wan Phra. [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Wat Pah Pong] [Lunar observance days] [Monastic routine] [Meditation]
Story: Por Am argues with Ajahn Chah for three days. [Doubt] [Precepts]
Story: Ajahn Chah teaches Por Am to be a herbal doctor so he can keep the precepts.
Recollection: The hunter-gatherer culture of Northeast Thailand. [Food] [Killing] [Geography/Thailand]
5. “I was struck by the suggestion you shared about orienting oneself toward what one can give to a moment rather than what one can get from a moment. This mind shift seems hugely beneficial. Would you expand on this?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Generosity] [Present moment awareness ] // [Patience ] [Tranquility]
Recollection: “Nine times out of ten, Ajahn Chah’s answer would be, ‘Just be patient.’” [Ajahn Chah]
Reference: Don’t Hold Back by Ajahn Pasanno
7. “‘Teacher of Gods and Humans’. Can you talk about this? What Gods did the Buddha teach? What other beings did the Buddha teach?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Recollection/Buddha] [Buddha] [Teaching Dhamma] [Deva] [Human] // [Realms of existence ] [Sutta] [Buddha/Biography] [Ajahn Chah]
Sutta: DN 21: Sakka’s Questions.
Sutta: Snp 2.4: Maṅgala Sutta (Chanting Book translation).
Vinaya: Kd 17.3.11: The Buddha subdues an enraged elephant. [Animal]
Story: Ajahn Chah describes the beings inhabiting Wat Pah Pong. [Wat Pah Pong] [Non-human beings]
Story: The head being acquires faith, listens to teachings, and temporarily takes on the Eight Precepts. [Faith] [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Eight Precepts]
10. “Does having no craving mean doing things in the world knowing they won’t bring lasting satisfaction? For example, planning a vacation realizing that it will eventually end or taking measures to cure a headache without expecting to feel completely better. I am trying to understand how this would look like in real life without one becoming apathetic and depressed about the meaninglessness of basically all activities except meditation. How to balance the ability to still enjoy life with abandoning all craving?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Craving ] [Characteristics of existence] [Depression] [Happiness] // [Cause of Suffering] [Desire] [Generosity]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno is planning to take his mother to Hawaii. “And I think I’ll enjoy it too!” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Parents] [Travel]
17. “I grew up in an environment where any difference was met with hostility. I was bullied, I was robbed a few times, I didn’t feel safe. No wonder the idea of refuge always resonated with me....However, even after living in very tolerant California and generally feeling myself safe here, when I am outdoors practicing walking meditation, whenever I see or hear strangers approaching me, my mind begins rushing in anticipation that this encounter would turn hostile. Being on precepts makes me feel particularly vulnerable. Could you share some teaching about protecting qualities of the Dhamma and how I can feel less fear while keeping the precepts? Could some of the monastics share their stories of receiving unexpected kindness from seemingly hostile strangers or stories of resolving physical or verbal attacks while wearing the robes and keeping precepts?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Discrimination] [Abuse/violence] [Fear] [Three Refuges] [Meditation retreats] [Precepts] [Dhamma] [Monastic life] [Stories] [Generosity] // [Human] [Truth] [Compassion] [Abhayagiri] [Almsround]
Story: A football hooligan has a sharing session with a monk on a train.
Story: Ajahn Gunha wanders into a Communist base on tudong. [Ajahn Gunha] [Tudong] [Politics and society] [Rains retreat]
Story: Ajahn Sudanto goes almsround each day in White Salmon. [Ajahn Sudanto] [Pacific Hermitage]
2. “How do I become a more generous person if there is a constant underlying worry about having enough (money for living, retirement, etc.)? How to create a sense of abundance within so I can freely give to others?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Generosity ] [Fear] [Commerce/economics] // [Culture/West] [Greed] [Community] [Culture/Thailand] [Poverty]
Quote: “I don’t have any money, but I’m not poor.” — Por Am, a Wat Pah Pong lay supporter. [Lay supporters] [Wat Pah Pong] [Health care]
Recollection: Thai children sharing cold Pepsi given to them by the monks at special events.
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]
22. “Going on alms round, especially in the US, seems like a very noble, patient practice. Would you speak more of what happens when monastics go for alms for the first time in an American town like Ukiah or in Oregon? When people have no idea what you are doing, and you can’t ask for anything, what happens? Did the monastics go hungry the first few times? Do you explain to people? Do you bless everyone with a chant who gives you food?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Almsround ] [Culture/West] // [Abhayagiri] [Generosity] [Not handling money]
Story: The bakery on State Street offers food to the Abhayagiri monks every week.
Story: The monks at Pacific Hermitage go almsround every day. [Pacific Hermitage] [Ajahn Sudanto] [Monastic routine]
Story: Ajahn Ñāṇiko and Tan Ṭhitabho walked from Abhayagiri to Pacific Hermitage. Only once did they not receive food on almsround. [Ajahn Ñāṇiko] [Tudong]
8. “Do you have any inspiring stories to share of practicing with strong fear (animals,etc)? I’m inspired when I hear such stories from monks of this tradition.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Fear] [Stories] [Animal]
Story: A tiger circles Ajahn Pasanno’s walking path. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Dtao Dum] [Posture/Walking]
Sutta: MN 4: Fear and Dread.
Story: A tiger kills a 1,500 pound Brahma bull.
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]
7. “Do thoughts by themselves have karmic consequences?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Kamma] [Directed thought and evaluation] // [Perception] [Feeling] [Volition] [Self-identity view]
Sutta: MN 56: Upāli
Follow-up: “Is it good kamma to decide not to act on an unskillful thought?” [Skillful qualities]
Story: A person talks with Ajahn Liem, analyzing their consistently bad thoughts and obsessions. He replies, “If you see a pile of excrement, why would you want to stick your nose in it?” Told by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Ajahn Liem] [Unskillful qualities] [Similes] [Fierce/direct teaching] [Culture/Thailand] [Thai Forest Tradition]
Comment: I think my problem is that my nose is already in there, and I don’t want to realize that I’m so stupid that it’s hard to get it out. [Delusion]
8. Story: When visiting Abhayagiri, Ajahn Liem learns that Ukiah is the nearest town. Khya means “the garbage” in Thai. He later tells the monks, “Don’t live in Khya.” [Ajahn Liem] [Abhayagiri] [Thai] [Humor]
10. Story: Someone asks Ajahn Pasanno, “You’ve been putting a lot of effort into protecting forests in Thailand. Do you think the forests will be protected?” Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Culture/Thailand] [Environment] [Activism] [Politics and society] // [Learning] [Right Livelihood]
11. Story: Ajahn Pasanno returns to Dtao Dum and sees the forest regenerated. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Dtao Dum] [Environment] [Politics and society] // [Industry] [Happiness] [Conditionality]
13. “Did Ajahn Chah ever speak about politics?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Politics and society] // [Fear] [Proliferation] [History/Thai Buddhism] [Military]
Story: Driving through military checkpoints on the way to Ajahn Fun’s funeral. [Ajahn Fun] [Funerals] [Ajahn Pasanno]
15. “One of the reflections that was sent online described Ajahn Chah’s response to monks who wanted to go out and help refugees. Can you speak to this?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Monastic life] [Service] [Politics and society] // [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Military] [Conflict]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno spends time at a Cambodian refugee camp. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Preah Mahāghosānanda]
1. “What meaningful impact do Buddhist monks have on the community?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Monastic life] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support ] [Community] [Saṅgha] // [Culture/West] [Culture/Thailand] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Lunar observance days] [Abhayagiri]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno’s first visit to Wat Pah Pong. [Wat Pah Pong ] [Temporary ordination] [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries]
3. “When you first ordained, you were just starting to learn about Buddhism. What changed that made you want to dive in?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Meditation/Results] [Ajahn Chah]
Story: “If you want to stay with me, you have to stay at least five years.” — Ajahn Chah
4. “Will we get to see your kuti today?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Abhayagiri] [Lodging]
Story: Early history of Abhayagiri Monastery. [History/Western Buddhist monasticism] [Master Hsuan Hua] [Seclusion] [Culture/Natural environment]
5. “What was the hardest thing to give up?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Renunciation] // [Family]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno’s first visit back to Canada.
7. “I have doubts about the concept of personal property. How does activism following the Five Precepts work in a country whose water supply has been bought out by private interests?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Politics and society] [Environment] [Five Precepts] // [Community] [Virtue] [Discernment]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno investigates a logging operation at Dtao Dtum. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Culture/Thailand] [Dtao Dum]
11. “Can you talk about your environmental work in Thailand? What qualities of heart and inner strength help us live without being completely overwhelmed?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Environment ] [History/Thai Buddhism] // [Politics and society] [Culture/Thailand] [Greed] [Teaching Dhamma] [Panyaprateep School] [Food] [Dtao Dum] [Activism]
Story: Sri Lankan monastic kidney donors. [Health] [History/Sri Lankan Buddhism] [Generosity]
13. Story: Ajahn Pasanno teaches communication skills to Thai villagers. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [History/Thai Buddhism] [Media] [Community] // [Environment] [Politics and society]
14. “What are the biggest misconceptions about being ordained?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Monastic life ] // [Selfishness ]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno visits Ajahn Buddhadāsa: “Don’t be selfish!” [Ajahn Buddhadāsa] [Ajahn Pasanno]
17. “Have you broken any precepts where only you know if you broke them?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Vinaya] [Ajahn Pasanno] // [Right Speech]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno’s uncle offers him alchohol. [Intoxicants] [Truth]
3. “I heard the word samatonsin all my life, but never knew it means ‘to hold it rightly.’ Is there a way to hold it wrongly?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Thai] [Clinging] // [Precepts] [Attachment to precepts and practices] [Three Refuges]
Story: Ajahn Passanno accidentally drinks fruit juice mixed with vodka at a family gathering. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Intoxicants]
5. Story: A black man asks a KKK member, “Why do you hate people you have never met?” [Discrimination] [Ill-will] [Views]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Listening]
5. “What about Sarakāni (SN 55.24-25), the stream enterer who took to drink?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Stream entry] [Intoxicants] // [Ajahn Chah] [Precepts]
Story: Ajahn Chah takes in a gangster. [Crime]
9. “When the suttas describe a practitioner as “having gone beyond doubt,” (e.g. DN 3) what do they mean?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Doubt] [Sutta] // [Four Noble Truths] [Teaching Dhamma] [Ajahn Chah]
Story: An Ajahn Chah monk accused of a heavy offense. [Vinaya]
2. “Who were imporant mentors for you?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Teachers] [Mentoring] [Monastic life] // [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Jun] [Ajahn Mahā Amorn] [Ajahn Liem] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Ajahn Baen] [Ajahn Buddhadāsa] [P. A. Payutto] [Wat Pah Pong]
Story: Ajahn Mahā Amorn goes to study with Ajahn Chah. [Learning]
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]
1. “What can we learn when we pay respects to mentors?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Respect for elders] [Monastic life] // [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Almsround] [Ajahn Pasanno]
Story: Ajahn Mahā Boowa visits after Ajahn Chah’s death. [Ajahn Chah]
Story: Ajahn Baen admonishes Ajahn Pasanno at Ajahn Chah’s cremation. [Ajahn Baen] [Fierce/direct teaching]
Quote: “You don’t have to visit me! You know what to do already! It’s all right here (pointing at his heart).” — Ajahn Baen to Ajahn Pasanno.
1. “How does upatakhing fit into our training and what can we learn from it?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Upatakh ] [Vinaya] [Respect for elders] [Monastic life] [Saṅgha] // [Culture/Thailand] [Conceit] [Generosity] [Protocols] [Discernment] [Mindfulness]
Vinaya: Cv 8: Vattakkhandhaka - Protocols
Story: Ajahn Lee upataks Ajahn Mun. The Autobiography of Phra Ajahn Lee by Ajahn Lee Dhammadharo, p. 23. [Ajahn Mun] [Ajahn Lee Dhammadharo]
5. Comment: It’s important for the Saṅgha to look after all members in terms of sickness and ageing. [Sickness] [Ageing] [Health care ] [Death] [Monastic life] [Saṅgha ]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
Vinaya: Kd 8.26.1-8: The Monk with Dysentery [Buddha/Biography]
Recollections of Saṅgha members who have died. [Saṅgha ] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [History/Western Buddhist monasticism]