Part of key topic Buddhist Perspectives on the World
80 excerpts, 4:53:09 total duration
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]
3. “Could you please explain about the death process…how quickly does rebirth occur?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Death ] [Rebirth] // [Recollection/Death] [Delusion] [Self-identity view] [Recollection] [Impermanence] [Not-self] [Theravāda] [History/Early Buddhism] [Sutta] [Vajrayāna] [Clinging] [Culture/Thailand] [Chanting] [Goodwill] [Relinquishment] [Ceremony/ritual] [Kamma]
References: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 55: Five Recollections; Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 12: The body is impermanent... [Similes] [Craving]
Simile: Fire blown by the wind (MN 72: Aggivacchagotta Sutta)
Story: A former monk asks Ajahn Chah about working with dying people to give them the opportunity for wholesome rebirth. [Ajahn Chah] [Teachers] [Fierce/direct teaching]
Quote: “I practice dying.” — The Dalai Lama [Dalai Lama]
2. “This is a common scenario: I’m caught in a story of praise and blame. I notice. A voice says, ‘That was very quick. You’re getting good at this.’ I wake up again. ‘Ah, I know you Mara….’ Mara seems to co-opt every moment of awakening to feed the ego. Is there something you can suggest?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Blame and praise] [Māra] [Liberation] [Self-identity view] [Patience] // [Impermanence] [Mindfulness of dhammas] [Not-self] [Aggregates] [Dependent origination] [Knowing itself]
Quote: “It’s really hard to underestimate how important patient endurance is to the practice.”
10. “What is upekkha – equanimity – and how does one practice it?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Equanimity] // [Kamma] [Conditionality] [Not-self] [Proliferation] [Divine Abidings] [Knowledge and vision] [Impermanence]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 55: Five Recollections
7. Reflection about the Buddha saying, “Māra, I see you!” Contributed by Ajahn Jotipālo. [Buddha/Biography] [Māra]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno about the definition of an arahant being “one who is far from defilements” and insight into not self. [Ajahn Chah] [Not-self] [Stream entry] [Self-identity view]
Sutta: MN 123 Acchariya-abbhūta Sutta: Wonderful and Marvelous.
15. Discussion about faith followers and Dhamma followers. [Stream entry] [Stages of awakening] [Death] [Sutta]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Not-self] [Concentration] [Recollection/Death]
Reference: Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, pp. 441-445: Ajahn Chah comes down Pu Pek Mountain and nothing is the same. [Ajahn Chah]
Response by Ajahn Cunda. [Ajahn Amaro] [Not-self]
6. Comment: When I go though the list [of the 32 parts], I separate the object from my body and evision my body with it absent. [Visualization] [Unattractiveness]
Response by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Ajahn Chah] [Not-self] [Sensual desire] [Calming meditation] [Sloth and torpor]
2. “Is it common for body contemplation to veer towards aversion?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Mindfulness of body] [Unattractiveness] [Aversion] [Elements] // [Translation] [Not-self] [Ajahn Chah]
Sutta: MN 62: Mahārāhulaovāda Sutta, The Greater Discourse of Advice to Rāhula.
1. “Why does the Buddha describe perception in terms of colors but consciousness in terms of tastes?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno, Ajahn Karuṇadhammo and Ajahn Ñāṇiko. [Perception] [Consciousness] [Sense bases] // [Bhikkhu Bodhi] [Commentaries] [Ven. Analayo] [Memory] [Feeling]
Sutta: SN 22.79: Being Devoured; footnote 114 in Bhikkhu Bodhi translation.
Follow-up: “Could you say that perception is identification whereas consciousness is more refined?” [Aggregates] [Not-self] [Self-identity view] [Rebirth] [Translation] [Similes]
7. “Are there different stages of enlightenment?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Stages of awakening] // [Stream entry]
Follow-up: “And how would one know if you’ve reached the first stage [of awakening]?” [Doubt] [Self-identity view] [Not-self] [Liberation] [Attachment to precepts and practices] [Knowledge and vision]
9. “What is the best approach to deal with guilt?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Guilt/shame/inadequacy ] // [Culture/West] [Conscience and prudence] [Learning] [Faith] [Discernment] [Self-identity view] [Not-self] [Aggregates]
Sutta: MN 22.58: “Whatever is not yours, abandon it.”
9. “I like the translations ‘conscience’ and ‘concern’ for hiri and otappa. Having done unskillful actions in the past that create suffering, and being aware of the tendency to personalize, how can it be over and done?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Treasures] [Conscience and prudence ] [Unskillful qualities] [Suffering] [Kamma] [Self-identity view] // [Four Noble Truths] [Divine Abidings]
Quote: “As a human being, I have the opportunity to learn from the past and move on to skillful action in the future. I don’t have to be like a dog that barfs stuff up and goes back and eats it again.” — Ajahn Pasanno [Human] [Learning] [Skillful qualities] [Similes]
Quote: “The not-self refrain, ‘This is not me, this is not mine, this is not what or who I am,’ is not an abdication of responsibility but an understanding, ‘This is the way I can put things down and move on, move past the things that are still creating suffering.’” — Ajahn Pasanno [Not-self] [Relinquishment]
Suttas: SN 42.8 The Conch Blower; AN 3.100: A Lump of Salt.
13. “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]
9. Comment: It’s so hard not to identify with the contents of the mind, to not make it me and mine. Realizing how useless so many of my thoughts are helps. [Self-identity view] [Guilt/shame/inadequacy] [Suffering] [Disenchantment] [Directed thought and evaluation]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness] [Pāli]
Response by Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Not-self] [Humility]
7. “How do discoveries about the gut microbiome fit in with the Buddha’s teachings?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Science] [Dhamma] // [Not-self] [Self-identity view] [Mindfulness of body] [Clear comprehension] [Naturalness]
Follow-up: “How does the relate to monks who subsist on almsfood and sometimes don’t get enough, considering that the gut is controlling the brain?” [Monastic life] [Almsfood] [Health] [Ajahn Soṇa] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support]
8. “Could you say some more about the process of change?... You can have a big tool kit and apply it with the best of intentions. Sometimes magical things happen, and sometimes nothing happens.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Right Effort] [Conditionality] [Right Intention] [Progress of insight ] // [Goodwill] [Relinquishment] [Ajahn Chah] [Impermanence] [Long-term practice] [Learning] [Dependent origination] [Not-self] [Mindfulness]
2. “Can one bring up a theme to gain deeper understanding?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Insight meditation] [Recollection] // [Relinquishment] [Cause of Suffering] [Dependent origination] [Conditionality] [Not-self] [Long-term practice]
Quote: “Whatever is of the nature to arise is of the nature to cease.” — SN 56.11: Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta [Impermanence]
3. “Can you reflect on incidents that cause suffering in your life to explore your habitual patterns?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Suffering] [Habits] [Recollection] // [Noble Truth of Suffering] [Desire] [Not-self] [Conditionality]
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]
12. “What is the difference between emptiness, nothingness, and space? How can I use colors to develop the mind?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Emptiness] [Kasiṇa] // [Self-identity view] [Relinquishment] [Conceit] [Middle Path] [Etymology] [Not-self] [Elements] [Tranquility] [History/Early Buddhism] [Culture/West]
19. “When one moves through the world with compassion and lovingkindness, how does one avoid feeling depleted? In a world of ‘individuals,’ most take more than they give and to always be giving can be exhausting.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Compassion] [Goodwill] [Selfishness] [Generosity] [Depression] // [Not-self] [Four Noble Truths] [Cause of Suffering]
Quote: “When we are attentive to freedom from suffering, there’s an inexhaustible well of goodness there.” [Cessation of Suffering] [Skillful qualities]
4. “Would you be willing to share memories of Ajahn Chah?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah ] // [Ajahn Pasanno] [Temporary ordination] [Personality] [Not-self] [Equanimity]
When asked about the core essence of the Buddha’s teachings, Ajahn Chah replies, “Is this a big stick or a little stick?” [Teaching Dhamma] [Conventions] [Cause of Suffering]
Story: Ajahn Chah pretends to forget simple questions in order to embarass his translator. [Forest versus city monks] [Media] [Aversion] [Questions] [Translation] [Similes]
Recollection: Ajahn Pasanno writes to his family that he’s staying in Thailand because Ajahn Chah is peaceful, solid, clear, and unshakeable in the midst of all that’s going on around him. [Family] [Tranquility] [Clear comprehension]
8. “Could you comment on the phrase in the Metta Sutta, “Not born again into this world?”” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Rebirth] [Sutta] // [Goodwill] [Skillful qualities] [Gradual Teaching] [Not-self] [Views]
Reflection: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 37
Quote: “What is the mind of an Arahant like?” – “Only compassion” — Ajahn Mahā Boowa [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Arahant] [Compassion]
1. “What is the translation of sabbaṃ dukkhaṃ? The way you translate it seems psychological. In Sanskrit, dukkhaṃ means out of the cosmic flow of Dhamma. But perhaps dukkhaṃ is best left untranslated. If untranslated, does dukkhaṃ mean the same thing in Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Suffering] [Pāli] [Equanimity] [Dhamma] [Translation] [Advaita Vedanta] // [Thai] [Human] [Aggregates] [Clinging ] [Knowing itself] [Relinquishment]
Ancient etymology of dukkha: du = bad, unwanted, unpleasant, uncomfotable, not easy; kha = where the alex fits into the wheel. [Language] [History/Indian Buddhism]
Sutta: SN 22.22: Dhammacakkappavattanasutta (Chanting Book translation)
Teaching: The four forms of clinging. [Sensual desire] [Impermanence] [Naturalness] [Happiness] [Neutral feeling] [Attachment to precepts and practices] [Views] [Doctrine-of-self clinging] [Not-self]
Quote: “Nibbāna is the reality of non-grasping.” — Ajahn Chah [Nibbāna] [Cessation of Suffering]