27 events, 122 sessions, 254 excerpts, 19:09:10 total duration
2. Teachings to Marjorie by Ajahn Chah. Thai audio with English translation. Read by Kittisaro. [Thai audio] [Ajahn Chah] // [Similes] [Moods of the mind] [Heedfulness] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Cessation of Suffering] [Dispassion] [Nibbāna] [Unconditioned]
Reference: “Living with the Cobra,” Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 233.
3. Teachings to Marjorie by Ajahn Chah, English only. Read by Kittisaro. [Ajahn Chah] // [Similes] [Moods of the mind] [Heedfulness] [Continuity of mindfulness ] [Cessation of Suffering] [Dispassion ] [Nibbāna ] [Unconditioned]
Reference: “Living with the Cobra,” Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, p. 233.
Maintain mindfulness throughout the day and night. [Continuity of mindfulness ]
“There’s just suffering arising and passing away.” [Suffering ] [Impermanence ]
“You’ll want to make an end of things.” [Dispassion ] [Cessation ]
“This is the nature of enlightenment. It’s the extinguishing of fire, the cooling of that which was hot. This is peace. This is the end of saṃsāra, the cycle of birth and death.” [Liberation] [Nibbāna ] [Cessation ] [Saṃsāra]
“If the tears don’t come, we don’t really accept truth.” [Suffering ] [Truth]
Note: “Living with the Cobra” omits this quote and other more personal aspects of Ajahn Chah’s teaching to Marjorie.
4. Teachings to Marjorie by Ajahn Chah, Thai only. [Thai audio] [Ajahn Chah]
2. The inspiration of Ajahn Chah. Teaching by Ajahn Sumedho. [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [Mahatma Gandhi] [Discernment] [Humility] [Goodwill] [Mentoring] [Faith] [Learning]
6. How Ajahn Chah taught me. Teaching by Ajahn Sumedho. [Teaching Dhamma] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho ] // [Ageing] [Faith] [Happiness] [Vinaya] [Humor] [Self-identity view] [Culture/West] [Goodwill] [Right Effort] [Idealism] [Clinging]
Quote: “It was through example that I really learned.”
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]
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]
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. Reading: “Meditation” from Living Dhamma by Ajahn Chah, pp. 50-53. Read by Ajahn Jitindriyā. [Meditation ]
“Cultivate the tree right from the seed.” [Similes] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma]
“To practice in a way that’s peaceful means to place the mind neither too high or too low, but at the point of balance.” [Middle Path] [Ajahn Chah]
“So many teachers, so many teachings.” [Teachers] [Doubt] [Meditation/Techniques]
“Where there is knowing, there is no need to think.” [Knowing itself] [Directed thought and evaluation] [Tranquility] [Mindfulness ] [Discernment] [Proliferation]
“Resolve that right now is the time for training the mind and nothing else.” [Ardency] [Meditation ] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Body scanning] [Relinquishment] [Sense restraint]
“Sometimes there may be doubt, so you must have sati, to be the one who knows, continually following and examining the agitated mind.” [Mindfulness ] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Restlessness and worry] [Heedfulness] [Concentration] [Feeling]
Simile: Chicken in a coop.
8. Reading from the draft biography: Ajahn Chah’s dying father asks him to remain in robes for life. Read by Ajahn Amaro. [Sickness] [Recollection/Death] [Parents] [Monastic life] [Ajahn Chah] [Determination] // [Learning] [Culture/Thailand] [Unattractiveness] [Forest versus city monks] [Sutta] [Spiritual urgency]
Quote: “I dedicate my body and mind, my whole life, to the practice of the Lord Buddha’s teachings in their entirety. I will realize the truth in this lifetime … I will let go of everything and follow the teachings. No matter how much suffering and difficulty I have to endure I will persevere, otherwise there will be no end to my doubts. I will make this life as even and continuous as a single day and night. I will abandon attachments to mind and body and follow the Buddha’s teachings until I know their truth for myself.” — Ajahn Chah. [Buddha] [Dhamma] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Knowledge and vision] [Truth] [Relinquishment] [Suffering]
Reflection: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 40 [Energy] [Doubt] [Continuity of mindfulness]
12. Parable about teaching Dhamma: Two oxen pulling the same cart. [Teaching Dhamma] [Similes] [Ajahn Chah]
1. Reflections about the occasion. Contributed by Joseph Kappel. [Spiritual friendship] [Ajahn Chah] // [Joseph Kappel]
2. Learning to trust the next breath. Reflection by Joseph Kappel. [Trust] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Ajahn Chah] // [Restlessness and worry] [Present moment awareness]
3. What drew us to Ajahn Chah? Reflection by Joseph Kappel. [Association with people of integrity] [Ajahn Chah] // [Culture/West] [Three Refuges] [Teachers] [Media]
4. Ajahn Chah was the living embodiment of these teachings. Reflection by Joseph Kappel. [Dhamma] [Ajahn Chah] // [Buddha images] [Human] [Compassion]
Quote: “It’s like taking the church with you.”
6. Most people celebrate birth, but people should be crying. When people die, everyone grieves and sorrows, but they should be celebrating. Teaching of Ajahn Chah recollected by Joseph Kappel. [Birth] [Grief] [Death] [Happiness] [Ajahn Chah] // [Fierce/direct teaching]
9. Reflection by Joseph Kappel: Jumping off the Saṅgha ocean liner. [Saṅgha] [Similes] [Joseph Kappel] [Disrobing] // [Faith] [Five Precepts] [Ajahn Chah]
10. Ajahn Amaro introduces Paul Breiter and Joseph Kappel. [Ajahn Chah]
2. Many of the most profound teachings happened under Ajahn Chah’s kuti. Reflection by Joseph Kappel. [Teaching Dhamma] [Lodging] [Ajahn Chah] // [Tranquility]
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] [Paul Breiter]
3. Reflection by Ṭhānissarā: A profound sense of gratitude. [Gratitude] [Ajahn Chah] // [Monastic life]
5. One of the fundamental aspects of Ajahn Chah’s teaching was to establish Right View. Reflection by Ṭhānissarā. [Teaching Dhamma] [Right View ] [Ajahn Chah] // [Views] [Direct experience]
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]
6. “It wasn’t just suffering that Luang Por [Chah] was pointing to, but also non-suffering.” Reflection by Ajahn Sumedho. [Suffering] [Cessation of Suffering ] [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho] // [Relinquishment] [Clinging] [Knowing itself]
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]
1. My contact with Ajahn Chah is through meeting Ajahn Sumedho. Reflection by Ajahn Sundarā. [Ajahn Sundarā] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Ajahn Chah] // [Faith] [Monastic life]
4. Ajahn Chah’s inner freedom. Reflection by Ajahn Sundarā. [Liberation] [Courage] [Conventions] [Unconditioned] [Ajahn Chah] // [Teaching Dhamma] [Dhamma books] [Personal presence]
5. The confidence to be totally yourself. Reflection by Ajahn Sundarā. [Faith] [Self-reliance] [Ajahn Chah] // [Gratitude] [Ajahn Chah lineage] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Teaching Dhamma] [Aversion]
1. In the Vinaya (monastic discipline) there’s no role of abbot. Reflection by Ajahn Amaro. [Vinaya] [Abbot] [Saṅgha decision making] [Ajahn Chah] // [Respect] [Confession]
2. Context of the reading: walking into Wat Pah Pong. Reflection by Joseph Kappel. [Ajahn Chah] // [Joseph Kappel] [Wat Pah Pong] [Culture/Natural environment] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Lodging] [Posture/Walking] [Dōgen] [Ajahn Amaro]
3. “Learning to Listen.” Teaching by Ajahn Chah. Translated and read by Joseph Kappel. [Learning] [Hearing the true Dhamma] [Ajahn Chah] // [Present moment awareness] [Teaching Dhamma] [Questions] [Buddha] [Continuity of mindfulness] [Unconditioned]
3. Ajahn Sumedho has been so important in my life. Reflection by Jack Kornfield. [Ajahn Sumedho] [Jack Kornfield] [Gratitude] [Ajahn Chah] // [Wat Pah Pong] [Monastic life] [Teaching Dhamma]
Simile: Ajahn Sumedho explains Ajahn Chah’s jazz. [Similes]
7. Wat Pah Pong: A place of dignity and surrender. Reflection by Jack Kornfield. [Wat Pah Pong ] [Dignity] [Perception of a samaṇa] [Relinquishment] [Ajahn Chah] // [Cleanliness] [Conflict] [Military] [Suffering] [Respect] [Virtue] [Almsround] [Pain] [Chanting] [Monastic crafts] [Bowing]
Quote: “An island of sanity in a sea of madness.” [Three Refuges]
Quote: “Everything you do in your life in this monastery is a chance to awaken.” — Ajahn Chah. [Liberation] [Continuity of mindfulness]
19. Taking the one seat—meditation teachings from Ajahn Chah.Recollected by Jack Kornfield. [Sense bases] [Impermanence] [Mindfulness] [Ajahn Chah] // [Clinging] [Liberation] [Meditation/Unusual experiences] [Direct experience]
22. What is your place of suffering? What would the Buddha be like in the face of that? Reflection by Jack Kornfield. [Suffering] [Buddha] [Ajahn Chah] // [Relinquishment] [Truth] [Dignity] [Discernment] [Mindfulness of body] [Compassion] [Liberation]
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]
24. The compassion that came because he didn’t want anything from anybody. Reflection by Jack Kornfield. [Compassion] [Dispassion] [Ajahn Chah] // [Relinquishment] [Tranquility] [Teaching Dhamma]
26. Ajahn Chah changed my life. Reflection by Jack Kornfield. [Jack Kornfield] [Gratitude] [Ajahn Chah] // [Human] [Happiness] [Liberation]
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]
1. Ajahn Chah often said that Thai people and Western people are not different. Reflection by Paul Breiter. [Culture/Thailand] [Culture/West] [Ajahn Chah]
8. Reflection by Paul Breiter: Ajahn Chah was unique in his way of taking care of people. [Compassion] [Monastic life] [Mentoring] [Ajahn Chah]
1. How much Ajahn Chah affected our lives. Reflection by Ajahn Sumedho. [Ajahn Chah] // [Culture/West]
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.
4. When I first went there, the town monks were very critical of Ajahn Chah. Reflection by Ajahn Sumedho. [Forest versus city monks] [Wat Pah Pong] [Aversion] [Ajahn Chah] // [Ajahn Sumedho] [Rains retreat] [Asking forgiveness ceremony] [Jealousy] [History/Thai Buddhism] [Thai sects] [Ajahn Mun]
7. Qualities of Ajahn Chah’s speech. Reflection by Ajahn Sumedho. [Right Speech] [Ajahn Chah] // [Malicious speech] [Thai sects] [Fierce/direct teaching] [Trust] [Humor] [Goodwill] [Present moment awareness]
3. Ajahn Chah’s illness: his last teaching. Reflection by Paul Breiter. [Sickness] [Teaching Dhamma] [Ajahn Chah] // [Paul Breiter] [Health care] [Grief] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Respect for elders] [Monastic life] [Saṅgha] [Upatakh] [Almsfood] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support]
5. Reflections by Ajahn Sundarā about the Ajahn Chah Conference. [Gratitude] [Faith] [Ajahn Chah] // [Stories]
6. “When we enter this life, everything is so funny.” Reflection by Ajahn Sundarā. [Monastic life] [Humor] // [Ṭhānissarā] [Ajahn Amaro] [Ajahn Sundarā] [Vinaya]
Quote: “It was a hell of a life in the beginning.”
5. Caring for Ajahn Chah. Reflection by Joseph Kappel. [Sickness] [Health care] [Ajahn Chah] // [Joseph Kappel] [Compassion] [Gratitude]
Quote: “It helped the community prepare for his death and offer gratitude.” [Saṅgha] [Death] [Generosity]
8. Ajahn Chah’s time of illness was a gift to the Saṅgha. Reflection by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sickness] [Generosity] [Saṅgha ] [Ajahn Chah ] // [Bodhisattva] [Renunciation] [Communal harmony] [Saṅgha decision making]
Ajahn Chah’s emphasis on Saṅgha was unique. [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Teachers] [Conflict] [Personal presence] [Three Refuges]
Quote: “People in the world are attached to status. People in the religion are attached to their views.” — Thai saying. [Monastic life] [Views]
9. The sea of faith: Ajahn Chah’s funeral. Reflection by Ajahn Pasanno. [Faith] [Funerals] [Ajahn Chah] // [Meditation] [Chanting] [Almsfood]
10. Surrender, dignity, honesty: Qualites of Ajahn Chah. Reflection by Ajahn Pasanno. [Relinquishment] [Dignity] [Truth] [Ajahn Chah] // [Saṅgha] [Funerals]
11. Presence and emptiness. Reflection by Jack Kornfield. [Gratitude] [Emptiness] [Ajahn Chah]
1. Reflection by Ajahn Sumedho: The effect of one human being. [Human] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma] [Kamma] [Ajahn Chah] // [Culture/Thailand] [Liberation] [Conventions] [Vinaya] [Compassion] [Happiness] [Emptiness] [Not-self]
2. Reflection by Ajahn Sumedho: The unexpected value of traditional Buddhist forms. [Conventions] [Culture/West] [Theravāda] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Ajahn Chah] // [Zen] [History/Thai Buddhism] [History/Other Theravāda traditions]
3. Reflection by Ajahn Sumedho: The convention is like a skeleton, but the life comes through the individuals. [Conventions] [Vinaya] [Theravāda] [Ajahn Chah] // [Ajahn Sumedho] [Judgementalism] [Compassion] [Goodwill] [Teachers] [Liberation] [Personality] [Ardency] [Continuity of mindfulness]
2. Reflection by Ajahn Pasanno: The meaning of Buddho. [Buddho mantra] [Clear comprehension] [Mindfulness] [Mindfulness of breathing]
1. Reviewing our meditation habits and the purpose of meditation. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation] [Discernment] // [Equanimity] [Knowledge and vision] [Liberation]
1. Reflection by Ajahn Pasanno: Long-term effective strategies for dealing with pain. [Pain ] [Long-term practice] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of feeling] // [Mindfulness] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Aversion]
2. Applying the factors of first jhāna in mindfulness of breathing. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Jhāna] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of feeling] // [Directed thought and evaluation] [Rapture] [Unification]
3. The importance of sustaining attention with neutral sensations. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Neutral feeling] [Directed thought and evaluation] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of feeling]
Sutta: SN 36.6: The Dart.
1. Simile: Sensual desire is like being in debt. (MN 39.14) — Ajahn Pasanno. [Sensual desire] [Hindrances] [Similes]
2. Simile: Ill-will is like being sick. (MN 39.14) — Ajahn Pasanno. [Ill-will ] [Hindrances] [Similes] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Sickness] [Happiness]
3. Simile: Sloth and torpor is like being in prison. (MN 39.14) — Ajahn Pasanno. [Sloth and torpor] [Hindrances] [Similes]
4. Simile: Restlessness and worry is like being a slave. — Ajahn Pasanno. [Restlessness and worry ] [Hindrances] [Similes] // [Mindfulness of body]
5. Simile: Skeptical doubt is like a merchant travelling through a dangerous desert. — Ajahn Pasanno. [Doubt] [Hindrances] [Similes]
1. Bringing attention to the breath is an alternative to sensual gratification. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sensual desire] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of body] [Hindrances]
2. Recognizing subtle forms of irritation. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Aversion] [Ill-will] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of body] [Hindrances]
Tibetan Buddhism translates klesha as affliction. [Vajrayāna] [Unwholesome Roots] [Translation]
3. Preventing the settled mind from sinking into dullness. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sloth and torpor] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of body] [Hindrances]
1. Attending to attractive objects nourishes sensual desire. (SN 46.51) Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sensual desire] [Hindrances]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 55: The Five Recollections
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.
1. Reflections by Ajahn Pasanno on the value of noble silence during Winter Retreat. [Meditation retreats] [Idle chatter] [Right Speech] // [Community] [Culture/Natural environment] [Tranquility]
2. Ajahn Pasanno urges the Abhayagiri community to cultivate mindfulness, composure, sensitivity, and silence in the details of moving and speaking during Winter Retreat. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation retreats] [Posture/Walking] [Tranquility]
Note: Abhayagiri’s communal space consisted of two small buildings in 2005.
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]
2. Relaxing into the breath when experiencing pain in meditation. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Pain] [Tranquility] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of feeling] [Perception]
3. Maintaining alertness in the midst of pleasant feeling. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Happiness] [Energy] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of feeling] [Perception]
4. Developing sensitivity to neutral feeling. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Neutral feeling] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Mindfulness of feeling] [Perception] // [Equanimity] [Factors of Awakening]
4. Discerning the fundamental mind base amidst the moods of the mind. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of mind] // [Ajahn Mun] [Ajahn Chah] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Similes] [Concentration] [Relinquishment]
5. Reflection by Ajahn Pasanno: Differing interpretations of citta; returning to the knowing, our refuge of peace. [Heart/mind] [Nature of mind ] [Knowing itself] [Mindfulness of mind] // [Unwholesome Roots] [Unconditioned] [Commentaries] [P. A. Payutto] [Ajahn Chah]
1. Reflection by Ajahn Pasanno: Fine-tuning the balance between stillness and investigation. [Calming meditation ] [Insight meditation ] [Gladdening the mind] // [Mindfulness of breathing]
Sutta: SN 15.1: “Bound by ignorance and obstructed by craving.” [Ignorance] [Craving]
2. Reflection by Ajahn Pasanno: Gladdening the mind through corpse contemplation. [Recollection/Death] [Unattractiveness] [Gladdening the mind] // [Mae Chee Sansanee] [Disasters] [Dispassion]
1. Delighting in the beautiful and benevolent breath. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of breathing] [Gladdening the mind] [Concentration] // [Ajahn Brahmavaṃso]
2. Reflections by Ajahn Pasanno on jhāna and attainment. [Jhāna] [Conceit] [Concentration] // [Ajahn Chah] [Mindfulness of mind] [Suffering]
Sutta: SN 43.1: “Meditate [jhāyatha] bhikkhus, do not be negligent, lest you regret it later.”
3. Ārammaṇupanijjhāna (meditation using an object as a focus) and lakkhaṇupanijjhāna (meditation using the characteristics as a focus); when to contemplate anicca, dukkha, anatta. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Jhāna] [Calming meditation] [Insight meditation] [Characteristics of existence] [Concentration]
4. The four results of samādhi described in AN 4.41. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation/Results] [Concentration] // [Jhāna] [Perception of light] [Psychic powers] [Mindfulness] [Clear comprehension] [Aggregates] [Impermanence] [Outflows]
Story: As a novice, Ajahn Puth directed his mind to which questions would be on the Nak Tam exams. [Ajahn Puth] [Learning]
1. Simile: A trap for monkeys who don’t let go. — Ajahn Pasanno. [Animal] [Clinging] [Similes]
2. Reflection by Ajahn Pasanno: We’re not diminished beings if we don’t get what we want. [Sensual desire] [Clinging] [Liberation] // [Food] [Drawbacks] [Mindfulness of breathing]
Simile: A dog gnawing on meatless bones (MN 54.15). [Similes]
3. The drawbacks of wrong view and clinging to views. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Drawbacks] [Views] [Clinging] [Liberation] // [Kamma] [Conflict]
4. Attending wisely to the breath versus blindly clinging to the practice. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Attachment to precepts and practices] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Clinging] [Liberation]
Sutta: MN 57: The Dog-Duty Ascetic.
5. Attending to what is rather than concepts about a self. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Doctrine-of-self clinging] [Direct experience] [Clinging] [Liberation] // [Mindfulness of breathing] [Cause of Suffering] [Self-identity view]
6. Reflection by Ajahn Pasanno: Our suffering is fed and sustained by clinging. [Suffering] [Cause of Suffering] [Clinging ] [Liberation] // [Translation]
1. Making impermanence the focal point for attending to the breath. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Impermanence] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Characteristics of existence] // [Insight meditation] [Direct experience]
2. Animitta samādhi takes impermanence as its object and is not drawn into the characteristics of things. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Concentration] [Impermanence] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Characteristics of existence] // [Robes] [Nimitta] [Knowing itself]
3. When one sees through dukkha, the concentration that develops is called appaṇihita samādhi. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Suffering] [Concentration] [Impermanence] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Characteristics of existence] // [Desire] [Directed thought and evaluation] [Liberation]
Quote: “Imagine a mental state that isn’t looking for anything else.”
4. Emptiness is the experiential counterpoint of not-self. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Not-self] [Emptiness ] [Impermanence] [Mindfulness of breathing] [Characteristics of existence] // [Conditionality]