Emptiness (suññatā)
Indeterminate qualities / Characteristics of existence / Emptiness
20 excerpts, 1:23:45 total duration

All excerpts (20) Most relevant (14) Questions about (7) Answers involving (5) Stories (1) Quotes (2) Readings (1) Texts (1)

Our Roots in the Thai Forest Tradition, Session 40 – Mar. 2, 2014

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5. “What is the difference between abandoning craving and realizing the abandoning of craving?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Jotipālo. [Impermanence] [Aggregates] [Cause of Suffering] [Cessation of Suffering] // [Commentaries] [Doubt] [Relinquishment] [Concentration] [Gladdening the mind] [Desire] [Becoming] [Non-return] [Right View]

Sutta: SN 56.11 Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta. [Four Noble Truths]

Sutta: AN 9.36 Jhāna Sutta: Passion for Dhamma leads to non-return. [Dhamma] [Rapture]

Sutta: MN 121 Cūḷa Suññata Sutta: The Shorter Discourse on Emptiness [Emptiness]

Quote: “The characteristic of cessation is not just ending something and annihilating [it], but it’s being willing and able to stop. The nature of the mind is that it doesn’t like to stop. And it’s [through] that not stopping that we keep creating that sense of me.” — Ajahn Pasanno. [Cessation] [Nature of mind] [Self-identity view]


Love, Attachment, and Friendship, Session 3 – Oct. 12, 2019

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5. “Is there a sutta about preferring the [forest] to the village, and then the bare earth, becoming more and more simple?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sutta] [Seclusion] [Simplicity] // [Emptiness] [Elements] [Relinquishment] [Generosity] [Goodwill]

Sutta: MN 121: The Lesser Discourse on Emptiness


Developing Skill in Reflective Meditation, Session 1 – Dec. 1, 2019

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4. “You mentioned ‘Look for the gap.’ Is this related to looking for fading away?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Insight meditation] [Dispassion] [Recollection] // [Cessation] [Cessation of Suffering] [Impermanence] [Faith]

Follow-up: “So we’re not just looking at the blank...” [Wrong concentration] [Emptiness] [Nature of the cosmos] [Unwholesome Roots] [Not-self]


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5. “I recently went to a Zen gathering. My understanding is that they don’t focus on the Four Noble Truths. They try to be present in the moment and get to some sort of no-mind state. How did this arise and why is it considered Buddhism?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Zen] [Four Noble Truths] [Present moment awareness] [History/Mahāyāna Buddhism] // [Emptiness] [Buddha]

Story: Ajahn Pasanno visits a Dzogchen master who says, “Whatever teachings you hear, if they don’t fit into or fulfill the Four Noble Truths, then it’s just not Buddhism.” [Ajahn Pasanno] [Vajrayāna] [Hearing the true Dhamma]


Awaken to the New Year Retreat, Session 2 – Jan. 1, 2021

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4. “What technique to use to realize the fruits of this practice in this life? What technique is easiest and most effective?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation/Techniques ] [Stages of awakening] // [Ardency] [Energy] [Right Effort] [Learning] [Practicing in accordance with Dhamma]

Quote: “I can guarantee that looking for the easiest way is the least effective way.”

Quote: “Practice is one mistake after another.” — Dōgen. [Dōgen]

Story: Someone asks the Dalai Lama, “What is the easiest and quickest way to realize emptiness?” The Dalai Lama cries. [Dalai Lama] [Emptiness] [Fierce/direct teaching]

Sutta: AN 3.137: A teaching of effort.