Middle Path (4) Eightfold Path (1) Right View (3) Right Speech (5) Right Action (1) Right Livelihood (2) Right Effort (2) Right Mindfulness (5) Right Concentration (9)
“The Middle Way – It is not 50% becoming and 50% annihilation, right? What is it the middle of?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Middle Path ] // [Suffering] [Cessation of Suffering]
2015 Thanksgiving Monastic Retreat, Session 6, Excerpt 7
“Where is the middle way taught in the suttas? and how might that help some of us who consider extensive sitting practice an ascetic practice?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Middle Path ] [Sutta] // [Virtue] [Concentration] [Discernment] [Right View] [Cessation of Suffering] [Knowledge and vision] [Eightfold Path] [Etymology]
Sutta: SN 22.22: Dhammacakkappavattanasutta (Chanting Book translation).
Quote: “It’s not a middle way that is a compromise where you can cut ot the hard bits and split the difference so you feel good about it.”
Thanksgiving Retreat 2016, Session 6, Excerpt 4
“Could you offer a bit of advice on how to deal with the apparent dichotomy between seeing people (including myself) as real & solid (for example when sending them metta), and the doctrine of no-self whereby there is no such imagined solidity at all – just an ever-changing combination of the khandas?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Not-self ] [Aggregates] // [Middle Path ] [Pāli] [Impermanence] [Proliferation] [Relinquishment] [Liberation]
2015 Thanksgiving Monastic Retreat, Session 3, Excerpt 7
“Please explain more how did the Buddha cross the flood, by neither going forward nor standing still. What does this mean?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Becoming] [Cessation of Suffering] // [Middle Path ] [Saṃsāra]
Sutta: SN 1.1
2015 Thanksgiving Monastic Retreat, Session 5, Excerpt 1
“Ajahn, what is your instruction regarding the Noble Eightfold Path and the most useful attitude toward the word “right”?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Eightfold Path ] // [Pāli] [Cessation of Suffering]
Thanksgiving Retreat 2016, Session 2, Excerpt 15
Comment: The essence of Ajahn Chah’s teaching was virtue and Right View. [Teaching Dhamma] [Virtue] [Right View ] [Ajahn Chah ] // [Meditation] [Mindfulness] [Concentration]
Reading: Stillness Flowing by Ajahn Jayasaro, p. 594-596: “Sammādiṭṭhi”
The New Ajahn Chah Biography (2018), Session 2, Excerpt 7
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]
Remembering Ajahn Chah Weekend (2001), Session 14, Excerpt 5
“Could you talk more about the two levels of understanding the true nature of karma: mundane and transcendent?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Kamma] [Conventions] [Unconditioned] // [Right View ] [Four Noble Truths] [Impermanence] [Conditionality]
Quote: “Outside of cause, beyond effect; outside of suffering, beyond happiness.” — Ajahn Chah [Ajahn Chah]
2015 Thanksgiving Monastic Retreat, Session 6, Excerpt 4
“A question regarding the 5 precepts. In daily life, I am really good about keeping #1, 2, 3 and 5; but somehow I found that the precept #4 is really hard. I find myself lying everyday such as: ‘Do I look good?’ → Yes, of course. ‘Do you want to eat some more?’ → No, thanks, I’m full (but in fact the food didn’t taste good). Or speaking at a wrong time, speaking too long, too short, too harsh or speaking with a wrong tone of voice. This is the hardest one for me. Kindly advise. Thank you.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Five Precepts] [False speech ] [Right Speech ] // [Monastic life] [Precepts ] [Pāli] [Learning]
Quote: “The function of the precepts in terms of practice is to provide a mirror so we can understand our own intentions and volitions.” [Volition]
2014 Thanksgiving Monastic Retreat, Session 6, Excerpt 1
“During the Christmas holiday, I’m going to be spending some time with relatives who do not share my same political views. In the spirit of wanting to understand their views and wanting to heal the divide that exists in our country, I want to talk about the election with them. How do I have this conversation skillfully?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Family] [Politics and society ] [Right Speech ] // [Judgementalism] [Listening] [Human] [Sense restraint]
Thanksgiving Retreat 2016, Session 2, Excerpt 16
“Does gossip include talking about someone who is not present for entertainment value?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Malicious speech ] [Idle chatter] // [Communal harmony] [Abhayagiri]
“If someone spreads a harmful story about another that is untrue, but has convinced her/himself it is true (including her/his own embellishments), does this break the fourth precept?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Malicious speech] [False speech ] // [Precepts] [Ajahn Chah] [Volition] [Truth] [Nature of mind]
Quote: “The precepts are there for training as opposed to making a legal decision or character judgement.”
Thanksgiving Retreat 2016, Session 4, Excerpt 11
“What is the role of admonishement? How do we admonish skillfully?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Admonishment/feedback ] [Monastic life] [Saṅgha] // [Right Intention] [Goodwill] [Mentoring] [Respect for elders]
Vinaya: Kd 18.11.14, Kd 18.12.8: Mutual admonishment between teacher and student.
Story: Ajahn Amaro waits a year before giving feedback. [Ajahn Amaro] [Patience]
Quote: “Don’t admonish somebody before the meal.” — Ajahn Chah [Ajahn Chah]
The Teaching and the Training (2018), Session 8, Excerpt 7
“Apart from cheating in a relationship or sexual assault, what is sexual misconduct?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sexual misconduct ] // [Relationships]
“Could you talk more about the particular professions that the Buddha laid out as wrong livelihood (AN 5.177)? Why is being in the military not on the list?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Work] [Military] [Right Livelihood ] // [Unskillful qualities] [Kamma] [Killing] [Intoxicants] [Rebirth]
Story: The widow of a wealthy man divests from Singha Beer. [Commerce/economics]
Right Livelihood (2013), Session 1, Excerpt 3
“Some people want to help but find themselves in situations in which profit dictates the priorities. How can they protect their integrity in such situations?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Compassion] [Health care] [Commerce/economics] [Right Intention] [Right Livelihood ] // [Learning] [Idealism] [Requisites] [Happiness]
Story: Ajahn Karuniko studies engineering, then quits a job in the arms industry to become a monk. [Military] [Monastic life/Motivation]
Right Livelihood (2013), Session 1, Excerpt 16
“Would you say more about the ardent, purifying aspect of mindfulness?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness] [Ardency ] // [Right Effort ] [Unskillful qualities] [Skillful qualities] [Clear comprehension]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 96: Right Mindfulness in the Noble Eightfold Path.
Thanksgiving Retreat 2016, Session 7, Excerpt 17
“How can you strive without becoming tense and grim?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Right Effort ] [Humor] // [Mindfulness of body] [Ajahn Chah]
Abhayagiri 2015 Winter Retreat, Session 15, Excerpt 5
Related events: Abhayagiri 2015 Winter Retreat
“Can you clarify (and simplify!) the four frames of reference? I have read Ven. Thanissaro’s book and it’s pretty challenging to remember from one paragraph to the next as it is so wonderfully dense. In particular, four frames especially as it pertains to mindfulness of breathing? Thank you!” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Right Mindfulness ] [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro] [Mindfulness of breathing]
Reference: Right Mindfulness by Ajahn Ṭhānissaro
2014 Thanksgiving Monastic Retreat, Session 6, Excerpt 20
“Would you please speak a little bit more about “mindfulness” and the “sati” factor, since it seems to me that most, if not all, things register in consciousness. For example, “discursive” thoughts are registered in consciousness just as thoughts and we are aware of the thoughts themselves. What distinguishes “mindfulness” from lack of mindfulness during this process?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness ] [Consciousness] [Proliferation] // [Right Mindfulness ] [Ardency] [Thai] [Hinduism] [Clear comprehension] [Seclusion]
Sutta: MN 10: Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta
Commentary: Path of Purification by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, p. 431: The relationship between sampajañña and pañña. [Discernment]
Definition of mindfulness from P. A. Payutto: “That quality of mind which draws the objects of the senses into the heart.” [P. A. Payutto] [Sense bases] [Heart/mind]
Quote: “It’s like this.” — Ajahn Sumedho [Ajahn Sumedho]
Thanksgiving Retreat 2016, Session 3, Excerpt 9
“Would you say more about the ardent, purifying aspect of mindfulness?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness] [Ardency ] // [Right Effort ] [Unskillful qualities] [Skillful qualities] [Clear comprehension]
Reference: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 96: Right Mindfulness in the Noble Eightfold Path.
Thanksgiving Retreat 2016, Session 7, Excerpt 17
“What is your take on satisfaction, being in tune, and stagnation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Contentment ] [Energy] [Ardency ] // [Skillful qualities] [Discernment] [Buddha/Biography] [Spiritual search] [Right Effort]
Sutta: AN 2.5: Effort and noncontentment with wholesome states.
Story: The Thai government made it illegal for monks to teach contentment. [History/Thai Buddhism] [Monastic life] [Teaching Dhamma]
Comment about the simile of the lute. [Middle Path] [Similes]
Sutta: AN 6.55: Soṇa Sutta
Right Livelihood (2013), Session 2, Excerpt 5
“Could you clarify “the body in the body?”” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Mindfulness of body] [Right Mindfulness ] // [Translation] [Pāli] [Ajahn Ṭhānissaro] [Direct experience] [Self-identity view] [Elements] [Proliferation] [Perception]
References: Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 91; Right Mindfulness by Ajahn Ṭhānissaro.
Abhayagiri 2015 Winter Retreat, Session 14, Excerpt 4
Related events: Jhāna: A Practical Approach (2015), Two Kinds of Thought and the Removal of Distracting Thoughts (2017)
“When you described pīti yesterday, it was different than how I think of it. Sometimes, I get a feeling of a great, expansive happiness like the realization that this practice actually works. It’s exciting and empowering but I’m not jumping up and down. It’s a combination of the mind settling and opening. Is that a cousin of pīti? Does pīti only happen in meditation?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Rapture ] // [Recollection/Dhamma] [Energy]
Commentary: Path of Purification by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, p. 137: Five levels of pīti.
2014 Thanksgiving Monastic Retreat, Session 3, Excerpt 6
“Does the consistency of vicara correlate with samadhi?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Directed thought and evaluation ] [Concentration] // [Rapture] [Happiness] [Unification]
Sutta: MN 119: Simile of the bathman. [Similes]
Abhayagiri 2015 Winter Retreat, Session 20, Excerpt 2
“How do you apply mindfulness of the body in terms of jhana practice?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Mindfulness of body] [Jhāna ] // [Mindfulness of breathing] [Similes] [Rapture] [Happiness]
Sutta: MN 118 Ānāpānasati Sutta.
Sutta: MN 119.18: Similes for jhāna.
Thanksgiving Retreat 2016, Session 6, Excerpt 3
“The jhānas seem foundational to the practice, yet Ajahn Chah was reluctant to talk about them. Is this a view that was pervasive among the other Krooba Ajahns?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Teaching Dhamma] [Thai Forest Tradition] [Jhāna ] // [Desire]
Follow-up: “If the jhānas aren’t accessible to everyone, can you still go far along the path without them?” [Eightfold Path] [Right Effort] [Right Concentration] [Self-identity view]
Jhāna: A Practical Approach (2015), Session 4, Excerpt 6
Comment: You spoke about suffusing the body with extreme well-being. But I’ve been in states like that and my body seems to disappear. [Jhāna] [Happiness] [Rapture ] [Mindfulness of body] [Gradual Teaching] [Meditation/Unusual experiences]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
Quote: “It isn’t so much the experience of extreme well-being that is the goal. It’s the ability to gain clarity and stability so that one can see through the experience as something that is uncertain or impermanent, has a changing nature. The mind often wants to disregard that. The tendency to identify self with experience on a refined mental level is tempered by the body experience.” [Clear comprehension] [Concentration] [Knowledge and vision] [Impermanence] [Delusion] [Self-identity view] [Relinquishment]
Follow-up: “Are you saying you can become attached to these states?” [Clinging]
The Gradual Training (2012), Session 2, Excerpt 3
“Are people experiencing jhāna in different ways?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Jhāna ] // [Views] [Ajahn Chah] [Tranquility] [Self-identity view] [Suffering] [Ajahn Lee Dhammadharo]
Abhayagiri 2015 Winter Retreat, Session 36, Excerpt 2
The difference between pīti and sukha. Teaching by Ajahn Pasanno. [Rapture ] [Happiness ] // [Emotion]
2015 Thanksgiving Monastic Retreat, Session 1, Excerpt 6.1
Quote: “The qualities of the one pointed mind are vitakka, vicāra, pīti, sukha, and ekaggatā....It’s not one pointed excluding. It works together, it harmonizes, it’s balanced.” — Ajahn Chah. Quoted by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Unification ] [Right Concentration]
Abhayagiri 2014 Winter Retreat, Session 57, Excerpt 8.1
“Before the Buddha practiced the ascetic way, he already learned the seventh and eighth levels of jhāna. Why didn’t that lead to his awakening?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Buddha/Biography] [Formless attainments] [Liberation] [Jhāna ] // [Right Concentration] [Right View] [Suffering] [Middle Path] [Characteristics of existence]