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)
5. Context of “Teachings to Marjorie.” Recollection by Ajahn Amaro. [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Chah]
4. Story: Ajahn Amaro meets Ajahn Chah. Told by Ajahn Jitindriyā. [Ajahn Amaro] [Ajahn Chah] // [Work] [Monastic life] [Faith]
5. Story: “Sleep is delicious.” Told by Ajahn Jitindriyā. [Ajahn Amaro] [Sloth and torpor] [Ajahn Chah] // [Fear] [Discernment]
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.
8. Story: Ajahn Sumedho wants Ajahn Chah to affirm whether he had attained a degree of insight. Told by Ajahn Jitindriyā. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Stages of awakening] [Ajahn Chah] // [Impermanence] [Liberation] [Bowing] [Becoming]
Reference: Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 606
Quote: “We talk about things to develop and thigs to give up, but there’s really nothing to develop and nothing to give up.” — Ajahn Chah. [Right Effort] [Relinquishment] [Emptiness] [Dispassion]
Reference: Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 102
9. The way Ajahn Chah trained was phenomenal. Recollection by Ajahn Jitindriyā. [Ardency] [Courage] [Right Effort] [Ajahn Chah]
5. Story: How Ajahn Sumedho met Ajahn Chah. Told by Ajahn Sumedho. [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [Language] [Military] [Vinaya] [Ordination]
7. How would Ajahn Chah fare in England? Teaching by Ajahn Sumedho. [History/Western Buddhist monasticism] [Culture/West] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [Respect for elders] [Culture/Thailand] [Vinaya] [Discernment] [Pace of life]
Story: An emergency landing in Rome. [Fear] [Sensual desire]
Story: Ajahn Chah was threatened while walking almsround in London. [Almsround] [Dhamma]
8. Ajahn Chah made me look at myself. Teaching by Ajahn Sumedho. [Teaching Dhamma] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho ] // [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Posture/Sitting] [Pain] [Aversion] [Admonishment/feedback] [Humor] [Patience] [Goodwill] [Discernment] [Contentment] [Cessation] [Happiness] [Saṅgha] [Views] [Relinquishment]
Quote: “Your practice now is patience.” — Ajahn Chah.
Story: Ajahn Chah chats for hours after Pāṭimokkha. [Idle chatter] [Judgementalism]
2. Story: How I met Ajahn Chah. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Chah] // [Types of monks] [Wat Pah Pong] [Seclusion]
Quote: “If you want to stay here, you have to be here for five years.” — Ajahn Chah. [Sequence of training]
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]
6. Recollection: The direct and earthy culture of Northeast Thailand. Recounted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Culture/Thailand] [Language] [Ajahn Chah]
Story: A direct teaching to a man whose wife had died. [Fierce/direct teaching] [Death] [Suffering] [Teaching Dhamma] [Grief]
8. Ajahn Chah used the forest environment to train us. Reflection by Ajahn Pasanno. [Culture/Natural environment ] [Teaching Dhamma] [Ajahn Chah] // [Pace of life]
Story: Two mating lizards fall out of a tree. [Almsround] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Animal] [Sensual desire] [Suffering]
1. Story: Ajahn Amaro tells his mother that he’s never eaten so well since he became a Buddhist monk. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Ajahn Amaro] [Food] [Monastic life]
2. Story: Ajahn Chah’s early life. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Ajahn Chah] // [Culture/Thailand] [Truth] [Leadership] [Ajahn Jayasaro]
5. Story: Novice Chah disrobes at age 16. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Novices] [Disrobing] [Ajahn Chah] // [Sensual desire] [Restlessness and worry]
7. Story: Ajahn Chah ordains at age 20. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Ordination] [Ajahn Chah] // [Monastic life/Motivation] [Spiritual urgency] [Forest versus city monks]
1. Story: A radio interviewer says that the account in Venerable Father by Paul Breiter (commercial) sounds like a cult. Told by Paul Breiter. [Media] [Paul Breiter] [Cults] [Ajahn Chah] // [Devotional practice] [Leadership]
4. There was a strong independent streak in Ajahn Chah’s practice. Recollection by Paul Breiter. [Self-reliance] [Ajahn Chah] // [Teachers] [Seclusion] [Ardency] [Teaching Dhamma] [Patience]
5. Ajahn Chah was always willing to challenge himself. Recollection by Paul Breiter. [Ascetic practices] [Ardency] [Ajahn Chah] // [Fear] [Ghost] [Sickness] [Culture/Natural environment] [Robes] [Lodging] [Suffering] [Meditation/Unusual experiences]
6. Ajahn Chah expected his students to rely on themselves. Recollection by Paul Breiter. [Self-reliance] [Mentoring] [Teaching Dhamma] [Ajahn Chah] // [Vinaya] [Ardency]
7. Ajahn Chah would often send his monks to branch monasteries. Recollection by Paul Breiter. [Monastic life] [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Ajahn Chah] // [Teachers] [Respect for elders] [Ajahn Sinuan]
8. Story: Ajahn Sinuan meets Ajahn Chah. Told by Paul Breiter. [Ajahn Sinuan] [Ajahn Chah] // [Perception of a samaṇa] [Personality] [Monastic life/Motivation] [Cleanliness] [Unattractiveness]
Story: It was always said that Ajahn Chah had it in for Ajahn Sinuan. [Sloth and torpor] [Work] [Suffering] [Saṃsāra] [Teaching Dhamma]
5. Ajahn Chah taught us to speak without preparation. Recollection by Joseph Kappel. [Teaching Dhamma ] [Ajahn Chah] // [Trust] [Human] [Noble Truth of Suffering] [Spaciousness]
7. Ajahn Chah could be with people where they are. Recollection by Joseph Kappel. [Compassion] [Present moment awareness] [Ajahn Chah]
8. Ajahn Chah emphasized sīla and precepts when teaching in the West. Recollection by Joseph Kappel. [Virtue ] [Five Precepts] [Teaching Dhamma] [Culture/West] [Ajahn Chah] // [Communal harmony] [Meditation] [Sensual desire] [Long-term practice]
4. Story: “Sleep is delicious.” Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Admonishment/feedback] [Goodwill] [Ajahn Chah] // [Ajahn Amaro ] [Joseph Kappel] [Upatakh] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Robes] [Mentoring] [Faith]
4. Story: When I met Ajahn Chah. Told by Ṭhānissarā. [Ṭhānissarā] [Ajahn Chah] // [Meditation retreats] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Personal presence] [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Liberation] [Happiness]
Story: Ajahn Chah bows to a small, neglected Buddha image in a secular meditation center and inspires Ṭhānissarā‘s faith. [Bowing] [Buddha images] [Perception of a samaṇa] [Human] [Faith]
Quote: “If you’ve been listening to this and you think this is good or you think this is bad, then you haven’t been listening properly.” — Ajahn Chah. [Judgementalism] [Appropriate attention]
6. Story: Ajahn Chah visits Ṭhānissarā‘s meditation community. Told by Ṭhānissarā. [Ṭhānissarā] [Non-monastic centers] [Ajahn Chah] // [Idealism] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Pace of life] [Personal presence] [Saṃsāra] [Disenchantment] [Monastic life/Motivation]
7. One of Ajahn Chah’s main methods was the monastic training. Recollection by Ṭhānissarā. [Monastic life] [Teaching Dhamma] [Ajahn Chah] // [Suffering] [Direct experience] [Idealism] [Relinquishment]
8. Ajahn Chah encouraged us to work as Saṅgha, as community. Recollection by Ṭhānissarā. [Monastic life] [Saṅgha] [Ajahn Chah] // [Culture/West] [Aversion]
9. Story: Ajahn Chah visits the Chithurst community and asks, “Is the community getting on well?” – “Yes.” – “Well there’s not going to be much wisdom here then, is there?” Told by Ṭhānissarā. [Chithurst] [Saṅgha] [Communal harmony] [Discernment] [Ajahn Chah] // [Ajahn Sumedho]
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). [Similes] [Vinaya]
Story: Ajahn Chah scolds the monks for dreaming about lay life. [Work] [Family] [Commerce/economics] [Renunciation]
1. Reflection by Ajahn Sumedho: From idealism to the way it is. [Idealism ] [Equanimity] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [Culture/Thailand] [Culture/West] [Suffering] [Delusion] [Aversion]
Story: A Thai monk’s perspective on worldly stupidity. [Military]
Quote: “Someone with that kind of pure presence is really a mirror.” [Personal presence] [Teaching Dhamma]
2. I was the first Westerner at Wat Pah Pong. Recollection by Ajahn Sumedho. [Wat Pah Pong] [History/Western Buddhist monasticism] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [Military] [Culture/Thailand] [Aversion] [Rains retreat] [Types of monks]
3. “When I went to stay with Luang Por Chah, he said, ‘Don’t read anything.’” Recollection by Ajahn Sumedho. [Learning] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [Abhidhamma] [Rains retreat] [Meditation]
4. “His way of teaching was direct....He would use the essential teaching of the Buddha, the Four Noble Truths.” Recollection by Ajahn Sumedho. [Teaching Dhamma] [Four Noble Truths ] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [Noble Truth of Suffering] [Human] [Culture/Thailand] [Ageing] [Sickness] [Death] [Spiritual traditions] [Self-identity view]
Quote: “It’s the suffering that awakens you.” — Ajahn Chah. [Suffering] [Liberation]
5. Story: “Sumedho, Wat Pah Pong, is it suffering?” Told by Ajahn Sumedho. [Wat Pah Pong] [Suffering] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [Lunar observance days] [Work] [Monastic crafts] [Aversion] [Cleanliness]
Quote: “To want something that’s not present, something you don’t have, is suffering.” [Craving] [Cause of Suffering] [Culture/Natural environment] [Saṅgha] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Culture/West]
2. “My life has been hugely impacted by Ajahn Chah, his teachings, and the spiritual family he introduced me to.” Reflection by Kittisaro. [Gratitude] [Teaching Dhamma] [Saṅgha] [Ajahn Chah] // [Happiness] [Teachers] [Learning] [Respect for elders] [Meditation retreats] [Body scanning] [Conceit] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Goodwill] [Humility] [Mentoring]
Story: Ajahn Chah sniffs around like a dog. [Kittisaro] [Similes] [Humor] [Mindfulness of breathing]
Quote: “He gave me a practice path that goes on and on to this day.” [Eightfold Path]
2. Story: Ajahn Chah tells a novice to catch a chicken. Told by Ajahn Sundarā. [Animal] [Humor] [Ajahn Chah]
3. Story: Ajahn Sundarā stays with a nun who lived at Wat Pah Pong with Ajahn Chah. Told by Ajahn Sundarā. [Ajahn Sundarā] [Mae Chee ] [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Chah]
Story: The first nun at Wat Pah Pong. [Artistic expression] [Determination] [Sequence of training] [Eight Precepts]
Story: The Wat Pah Pong nuns go pindapat. [Almsround]
Quote: “Does anyone find having nuns around difficult?” – “Yes.” – “Well, you can go then.” — Ajahn Chah. [Pāṭimokkha] [Women in Buddhism]
Story: A woman brings only enough food for the monks, so Ajahn Chah asks the nuns to chant the blessing. [Generosity] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Chanting] [Fierce/direct teaching]
Note: Stillness Flowing Chapter 9 contains more information about the Wat Pah Pong mae chees at the time of Ajahn Chah.
6. Story: Half a million people attend Ajahn Chah’s funeral. Told by Ajahn Sundarā. [Funerals] [Ajahn Sundarā] [Ajahn Chah] // [Food] [Free distribution] [Meditation] [Stupas/monuments] [Chanting]
Quote: “The heart of [Ajahn Chah’s] teaching is the ability to bring people together.” [Teaching Dhamma] [Saṅgha] [Community]
Story: The cremation pyre catches fire and number 16 wins the lottery. [Humor]
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]
2. “Did Ajahn Chah pass his teaching style to you or do you use your own separate style?” Answered by Ajahn Sumedho and Paul Breiter. [Personality] [Ajahn Chah] [Teaching Dhamma]
Story: Ajahn Sumedho, first abbot of Wat Pah Nanachat. Told by Ajahn Sumedho. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Abbot] [Wat Pah Nanachat ] [Sequence of training] [Culture/West] [Joseph Kappel] [Aversion] [Suffering] [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] [Humor]
Quote: “The special thing about Luang Por Chah was that he was at ease and completely himself.” — Ajahn Sumedho. [Contentment]
Response by Paul Breiter: “The elements are there, but different teachers are expressing them in a living way.”
4. Stories about the people who criticized Chithurst Monastery in the early days. Told by Joseph Kappel and Ajahn Amaro. [Conflict] [Chithurst] // [Ajahn Sumedho] [Ajahn Anando] [Culture/West] [Communal harmony]
2. Story: Ajahn Sumedho meets Jack Kornfield. Told by Ajahn Sumedho. [Jack Kornfield] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Ajahn Chah] // [Wat Pah Pong] [Insight Meditation Society] [Judgementalism]
Story: Ajahn Sumedho stays on Pupek Mountain. [Seclusion] [Suffering] [Aversion] [Sickness] [Self-pity] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Robes] [Humor] [Gratitude]
4. Story: Ajahn Chah visits Massachusetts. Told by Jack Kornfield. [Culture/West] [Ajahn Chah] // [Joseph Kappel] [Ajahn Buddhadāsa] [Culture/Natural environment]
9. Story: Dump your money in the river. Told by Jack Kornfield. [Conceit] [Commerce/economics] [Fierce/direct teaching] [Truth] [Ajahn Chah] [Humor] // [Compassion]
10. Story: An elderly English Buddhist asks about Buddhist psychology and Abhidhamma. Told by Jack Kornfield. [Abhidhamma] [Ajahn Chah] // [Similes] [Humor] [Fierce/direct teaching]
11. Story: Ajahn Chah suffers on tudong. Told by Jack Kornfield. [Suffering] [Tudong] [Ajahn Chah] // [Ardency] [Meditation] [Sickness] [Patience]
12. Story: Ajahn Chah to Jack Kornfield, “Did I heal her?” Told by Jack Kornfield. [Jack Kornfield] [Sickness] [Health] [Protective chants] [Ajahn Chah] [Teaching Dhamma] // [Wat Pah Pong] [Truth]
13. Story: Ajahn Chah introduces Western monks like the Seven Dwarfs. Told by Jack Kornfield. [Humor] [Monastic life] [Ajahn Chah]
14. Story: “It’s like a big hospital....I hope you get well soon.” Told by Jack Kornfield. [Humor] [Ajahn Chah] // [Insight Meditation Society] [Meditation retreats] [Ardency] [Posture/Walking]
17. Quote: “Look at others 10% of the time and look at yourself 90%; that’s about the right measure.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Jack Kornfield. [Ajahn Chah] [Judgementalism ] [Admonishment/feedback] [Discernment] // [Idealism] [Conventions] [Heart/mind] [Vinaya]
Story: Ajahn Chah’s teacher eats sloppily. [Teachers] [Food] [Suffering]
18. Story: Jack Kornfield ask Ajahn Chah for permission to leave Wat Pah Pong. Told by Jack Kornfield. [Jack Kornfield] [Monastic life] [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Chah] // [Culture/Other Theravāda traditions] [Seclusion] [Meditation] [Work] [Teachers] [Liberation]
Quote: “If I look like the Buddha to you, then you’ll still thing the Buddha is out here somewhere.” Ajahn Chah [Buddha] [Conventions]
20. He encouraged people to let go in so many different ways. Recollection by Jack Kornfield. [Relinquishment ] [Teachers] [Views] [Eightfold Path] [Ajahn Chah] // [Idle chatter] [Seclusion] [Aversion] [Ghost] [Fear] [Restlessness and worry] [Sense bases] [Direct experience] [Liberation]
Story: Sit in the middle of your anger. [Jack Kornfield] [Robes] [Lodging]
Story: Walk backwards in the forest in the middle of the night. [Sloth and torpor] [Posture/Walking] [Culture/Natural environment]
23. What does not suffering mean? Reflection by Jack Kornfield. [Suffering] [Cessation of Suffering] [Ajahn Chah] // [Judgementalism] [Politics and society] [Discrimination] [Environment] [Discernment] [Compassion] [Human] [Buddha] [Proliferation] [Relinquishment]
Quote: “We human beings are constantly in combat, at war to escape the fact of being limited by so many circumstances that we can’t control...”” — Ajahn Chah. [Conflict] [Characteristics of existence]
Quote: “Doubts are natural.” — Ajahn Chah. [Doubt] [Naturalness] [Impermanence] [Not-self] [Liberation]
Quote: “The desire mind is like children.” — Ajahn Chah. [Desire] [Similes]
Story: “Scary ride, wasn’t it?” [Jack Kornfield] [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Fear] [Death]
2. Did Ajahn Chah train Thais and Westerners differently? Reflection by Kittisaro. [Culture/West] [Culture/Thailand] [Monastic life] [Ajahn Chah] // [Jack Kornfield] [Teaching Dhamma] [Suffering] [Compassion]
In my contact with Ajahn Chah, he tended to be very loving and very kind. [Kittisaro] [Goodwill]
3. Story: Kittisaro’s parents visit Wat Pah Pong. Told by Kittisaro. [Kittisaro] [Parents] [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Chah] // [Culture/West] [Learning] [Monastic life] [Renunciation] [Fear] [Cults] [Children] [Ordination] [Compassion]
Quote: “Wanting your parents to understand is suffering.” — Ajahn Sumedho. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Family] [Suffering]
Quote: “The Communists you really need to be concerned about, the ones who can really hurt you, are the ones who hide inside your own heart.” — Ajahn Chah. [Politics and society] [Unwholesome Roots]
4. Stories: The Chipmunk Story and The Donkey Story. Told by Kittisaro. [Kittisaro] [Depression] [Humor ] [Similes] [Ajahn Chah] // [Recreation/leisure/sport] [Perfectionism] [Meditation] [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Sickness] [Animal] [Learning] [Health care] [Self-identity view] [Joseph Kappel] [Compassion] [Energy] [Right Effort] [Equanimity] [Lawfulness]
2. Story: “This is Ajahn Varapañño.” Told by Paul Breiter. [Paul Breiter] [Translation] [Ajahn Chah] // [Meditation] [Ardency] [Monastic life] [Humor] [Goodwill]
4. Recollection: “What’s the hurry to become a monk?” Recounted by Paul Breiter. [Sequence of training] [Ordination] [Paul Breiter] [Pace of life] [Ajahn Chah] // [Novices]
5. Story: Vegetarian food at Wat Pah Pong. Told by Paul Breiter. [Vegetarianism] [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Chah] // [Culture/Thailand]
6. Story: Paul Breiter’s parents visit Wat Pah Pong. Told by Paul Breiter. [Paul Breiter] [Family] [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Chah] // [Sloth and torpor] [Fierce/direct teaching]
7. Stories on almsround with Ajahn Chah. Told by Paul Breiter. [Almsround] [Paul Breiter] [Ajahn Chah]
Quote: “Good morning, Mr. Dum.” — Ajahn Chah. [Language]
Quote: “I’m going to disrobe. I want you to find me a nice girl.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Sinuan] [Respect for elders] [Wat Pah Pong] [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Humor] [Unwholesome Roots]
2. I was the first Westerner, so he gave me an enormous amout of attention for the first two or three years. Reflection by Ajahn Sumedho. [History/Western Buddhist monasticism] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Mentoring] [Ajahn Chah] // [Ajahn Mahā Amorn] [Other Thai Forest teachers] [Pāṭimokkha] [Conceit] [Paul Breiter] [Truth] [Compassion] [Humor]
Story: Venerable Varapañño chants the Pāṭimokkha better than Ajahn Sumedho. [Competitiveness] [Jealousy]
Note: The story that Ajahn Sumedho didn’t tell is probably told in Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 189.
5. Story: Ajahn Chah orders Ajahn Sumedho to stay in England for five years. Told by Ajahn Sumedho. [Ajahn Sumedho] [History/Western Buddhist monasticism] [Ajahn Chah] // [Determination]
Story: The Kaṭhina that Ajahn Sumedho didn’t want to attend. [Kaṭhina] [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Harsh speech]
2. “Why did Ajahn Chah found Wat Pah Pong? [Inaudible question removed]” Answered by Ajahn Amaro. [Wat Pah Pong ] [History/Thai Buddhism] [Ajahn Chah] // [Tudong] [Teaching Dhamma] [Personal presence] [Seclusion] [Compassion] [Family] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support]
Story: The first Rains Retreat with Ajahn Chah. [Rains retreat] [Devotion to wakefulness]
3. Question related to age and ordination (audio unclear). Answered by Ajahn Sumedho. [Ordination] [Older monks] [Ajahn Chah] // [Culture/Thailand] [Meditation] [Mae Chee] [Relationships] [Liberation] [Culture/West]
Story: A doctor ordains later in life. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Health care]
4. Story: A hit man hired to kill Ajahn Chah ordains instead. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Crime] [Killing] [Ordination] [Ajahn Chah] // [Older monks]
5. Teachings hanging in the trees at Wat Pay Pong. Recollection by Ajahn Amaro. [Wat Pah Pong] [Culture/Natural environment] [Teaching Dhamma]
2. Story: Ajahn Chah visits Seattle. Told by Joseph Kappel. [Ajahn Chah] // [Joseph Kappel] [Family] [Paul Breiter]
Story: Venerable Pabakkaro’s grandmother hugs him at the airport. [Monastic life] [Vinaya]
Story: Ajahn Chah visits Mount Ranier. [Culture/Natural environment]
4. Story: Ajahn Anando tries to heal Ajahn Chah. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Ajahn Anando] [Health care] [Ajahn Chah] // [Ajahn Sumedho] [Sickness] [Fierce/direct teaching]
6. Story: Ajahn Chah vows not to look at a woman for the duration of the Rains Retreat. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Determination] [Sensual desire ] [Sense restraint] [Rains retreat] [Ajahn Chah] // [Discernment]
7. Story: Ajahn Chah hallucinates female sexual organs for ten days. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Sensual desire] [Mental illness] [Ajahn Chah] // [Ajahn Kinaree] [Posture/Walking] [Determination] [Patience] [Rebirth]
8. Story: When asked about the potential for sacred sexuality, Ajahn Chah picks his nose. Told by Ajahn Amaro. [Sensual desire] [Fierce/direct teaching] [Ajahn Chah] // [Insight Meditation Society]
Quote: “There’s nothing more to it than that except what your mind adds to it.” — Ajahn Chah. [Proliferation]
9. Story: Ajahn Chah expresses appreciation for a Christian abbot. Told by Jack Kornfield. [Christianity] [Monastic life] [Abbot] [Gratitude] [Ajahn Chah]
10. Story: “Close the doors. Today I’m eating noodles!” Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Food] [Sensual desire] [Ajahn Chah] // [Ardency] [Unwholesome Roots]
11. Story: Ṭhānissarā visits Ajahn Chah in Thailand, meets Mae Chee Kumfah, then stays at Chithurst. Told by Ṭhānissarā. [Ṭhānissarā] [Mae Chee Kumfah] [Chithurst] [Ajahn Chah] // [Travel] [Fear] [Meditation] [Mae Chee] [Wat Pah Pong]
12. Story: Ajahn Sumedho brings a group of Western women to meet Mae Chee Kumfah, only to discover she has converted to Christianity. Told by Ṭhānissarā. [Ṭhānissarā] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Mae Chee Kumfah] [Christianity] [Ajahn Chah] // [Impermanence] [Suffering]
Quote: “Maybe she’s right.” — Ajahn Chah to Ajahn Sumedho. [Fierce/direct teaching]
13. Story: Ṭhānissarā visits Ajahn Chah’s hut outside of Oxford. Told by Ṭhānissarā. [Ṭhānissarā] [Conventions] [Lodging] [Ajahn Chah] // [Kamma] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Humor] [Goodwill] [Not-self] [Teaching Dhamma]
1. Story: My experiences with Ajahn Chah. Told by Nan Meister. [Gratitude] [Faith] [Ajahn Chah] // [Ajahn Liem] [Suffering] [Commerce/economics] [Spiritual urgency] [Joseph Kappel] [Bowing] [Wat Pah Pong] [Mae Chee Kumfah] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Mae Chee] [Ghost] [Conceit] [Fierce/direct teaching]
2. Story: Ajahn Chah’s trip to Mount Ranier. Told by Gail Kappel. [Ajahn Chah] // [Recreation/leisure/sport] [Humor]
Quote: “The sawdust of water.” — Ajahn Chah.
3. Story: Ajahn Chah’s presence. Told by Gail Kappel. [Personal presence] [Ajahn Chah] // [Joseph Kappel]
4. Story: Ajahn Chah asks for forgiveness. Told by Gail Kappel. [Asking forgiveness ceremony] [Ceremony/ritual] [Ajahn Chah] // [Joseph Kappel] [Humility]
Quote: “If you cry a little bit, it’s good. If you cry a lot, you’re a fool.” — Ajahn Chah. [Suffering]
7. Story: Paul Breiter expounds the spiritual potential of hospice work. In response, Ajahn Chah presses his cane into Paul’s chest. Told by Joseph Kappel. [Paul Breiter] [Health care] [Death] [Fierce/direct teaching] [Ajahn Chah] // [Joseph Kappel]
2. Story: Venerable Pabakkaro (Joseph Kappel) spends time in solitude. Told by Joseph Kappel. [Joseph Kappel] [Seclusion] [Ajahn Chah] // [Ajahn Sumedho]
3. Story: Ajahn Chah’s failing heath and Rains Retreat at Tam Saeng Pet. Told by Joseph Kappel. [Sickness] [Health care] [Rains retreat] [Wat Tam Saeng Pet] [Ajahn Chah] // [Wat Pah Pong] [Lodging] [Seclusion] [Generosity] [Joseph Kappel]
Story: “Pabakkaro, make me a Communist.” [Culture/Natural environment] [Medicinal requisites] [Contentment] [Sensual desire]
Story: Venerable Pabakkaro attends to Ajahn Chah. [Upatakh] [Humility]
Story: Ajahn Chah visits the branch monasteries for the last time. [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Vinaya] [Saṅgha]
4. Story: Ajahn Chah goes to Bangkok for treatment and an operation. Told by Joseph Kappel. [Sickness] [Health care] [Ajahn Chah] // [Joseph Kappel] [Medicinal requisites] [Generosity] [Saṅgha decision making] [Lodging]
Story: Ajahn Chah’s last word. [Language]
7. Story: Mute, wheelchair-bound Ajahn Chah meets a mother and her young son. Told by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sickness] [Children] [Bowing] [Compassion] [Ajahn Chah] // [Health care] [Joseph Kappel] [Ajahn Pasanno]
4. Recollection: The June 2000 Saṅgha Meeting discusses allowable sweets and protecting Ajahn Chah’s name. Recounted by Ajahn Sumedho. [Wat Pah Pong] [Saṅgha] [Saṅgha decision making] // [Ajahn Sumedho] [Seclusion] [Personality] [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Medicinal requisites] [Technology]
5. Story: Wat Pah Pong monks develop malnutrition when Ajahn Chah goes away for several months. Told by Ajahn Sumedho. [Wat Pah Pong] [Almsfood] [Sickness] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Ajahn Chah] // [Mae Chee] [Food] [Almsround] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Ajahn Liem] [Fierce/direct teaching]
6. Recollection: The June 2000 Saṅgha Meeting concludes in harmony. Recounted by Ajahn Sumedho. [Wat Pah Pong] [Saṅgha] [Saṅgha decision making] [Communal harmony] [Ajahn Chah] // [Views] [Harsh speech] [Asking forgiveness ceremony] [Three Refuges] [Culture/West]
Quote: “Luang Por Chah wasn’t giving us views and opinions....[He gave] us all a confidence in the unspoken unity of our humanity.” [Faith] [Human]
2. Attending to what we feel obstructed by nourishes ill-will. (SN 46.51) Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ill-will] [Hindrances] // [Divine Abidings] [Discernment]
Story: A monk with an aversive temperament worsens it with repeated asuba and death contemplation. [Aversion] [Unattractiveness] [Recollection/Death] [Idealism] [Goodwill]
3. Following the path of least resistance nourishes sloth and torpor. (SN 46.51) Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sloth and torpor] [Hindrances] // [Energy]
Story: The novice’s nibbāna.
3. The commentaries contast the Five Hindrances with the five factors of first jhāna. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Hindrances] [Jhāna] // [Directed thought and evaluation] [Sloth and torpor] [Doubt] [Rapture] [Ill-will] [Happiness] [Restlessness and worry] [Unification] [Sensual desire]
Story: Ajahn Boon Choo dispels sloth and torpor. [Ajahn Boon Choo] [Devotion to wakefulness]
Quote: “Sensual desire is like looking for the turtle with the mustache.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Similes]
Meditation instruction: Breathing with the five factors of first jhāna. [Mindfulness of breathing]
1. Meditation instruction: Be present with the physical experience of the breath. Bring a sense of ease into the body. Ground awareness in the body. Offered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of body]
Quote: Keeping the breath in mind is like getting the spoon into the mouth and the mouth onto the spoon. — Ajahn Lee Dhammadharo. [Ajahn Lee Dhammadharo] [Similes]
Story: “The body understands!” [Direct experience] [Zen] [Koan] [Ajahn Pasanno]
Body and mind are not separate things. [Form] [Heart/mind] [Aggregates ] [Dependent origination] [Consciousness]
Water similes for the mind with and without hindrances. (SN 46.55) [Hindrances] [Sensual desire] [Ill-will] [Sloth and torpor] [Restlessness and worry] [Doubt]
Sutta: DN 2.98: “These are shoals of fish...”
Quote: “You can get a lot of wisdom from walking meditation.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Posture/Walking] [Discernment]