All questions
59 events, 291 sessions, 2023 excerpts, 118:58:38 total duration
Most common topics:
Ajahn Chah
(140)
Ajahn Pasanno
(128)
Monastic life
(126)
Mindfulness of breathing
(87)
Suffering
(66)
Death
(61)
Happiness
(61)
Jhāna
(60)
Proliferation
(59)
Directed thought and evaluation
(56)
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1. “What distinguished Ajahn Chah from other meditation teachers?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Teaching Dhamma] [Ajahn Chah] // [Meditation/Techniques] [Right View] [Monastic life]
Follow-up: “Did this inspire the way you teach?” [Ajahn Pasanno]
2. “How did Ajahn Chah react to students who had studied in other Buddhist traditions?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Teaching Dhamma] [Spiritual traditions] [Ajahn Chah] // [Ajahn Sumedho] [Master Hsu Yun] [Hua tou] [Zen] [Right Effort]
3. “It is said that each monk who know Ajahn Chah well would describe him in a different way when asked. How would you describe him?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Chah] // [Personality] [Personal presence] [Compassion]
Quote: “You never quite knew which Ajahn Chah you were going to get, which always kept you on your toes. And if you weren’t on your toes, it wouldn’t take long before he would call you on it.” [Teaching Dhamma] [Clear comprehension]
4. “What advice would you give to future abbots and teachers of Wat Pah Pong branch monasteries so that the communities maintain the most important characteristics of Ajahn Chah’s style of leadership?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Abbot] [Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Saṅgha] [Leadership ] [Ajahn Chah] // [Dhamma] [Vinaya] [Chanting] [Translation]
Sutta: DN 16.6: Dhamma-Vinaya is your leader.
Quote: “Ajahn Chah was conservative, but he wasn’t fundamentalist.” [Monastic life]
Story: The Dalai Lama asks the Abhayagiri monks to chant the Maṅgala Sutta (SN 2.4, Amaravati Chanting Book, p. 46) in Pāli. [Dalai Lama] [Pāli]
Story: Ajahn Chah was one of the first forest monks to ban smoking in the monastery. [Smoking] [Lunar observance days]
Recollection: Ajahn Chah was unique in consulting with senior monks and laypeople when making decisions. [Saṅgha decision making]
5. “The word toramon is sometimes associated with Ajahn Chah’s style of training. Could he be ‘intentionally cruel?’” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] [Fierce/direct teaching ] // [Ascetic practices] [Teaching Dhamma] [Trust] [Compassion] [Saṃsāra] [Habits]
Quote: “Ajahn Chah was always willing to put obstructions in front of your desires, views and opinions, and habits, which was incredibly compassionate as well as courageous.” [Craving] [Views] [Courage] [Culture/West]
Story: Ajahn Chah lets a restless junior monk go tudong with devious stipulations. [Sequence of training] [Restlessness and worry] [Tudong]
6. “There are a few stories about Ajahn Chah having psychic powers, particularly reading minds. Did you ever observe anything of that sort with Ajahn Chah? What was Ajahn Chah’s position on such things?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Psychic powers ] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Chah] // [Nature of mind]
Story: Ajahn Chah describes the supernatural beings at Wat Pah Pong to a close lay follower, then refuses to talk about other realms with a group from Bangkok. [Wat Pah Pong] [Non-human beings] [Teaching Dhamma]
7. “Were there any particular themes in Ajahn Chah’s teachings that regularly came up?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Teaching Dhamma] [Ajahn Chah ] // [Virtue] [Right View] [Relinquishment] [Knowing itself]
8. “Many of Ajahn Chah’s direct disciples have become revered teachers themselves. Would you say the harsher conditions and more rigorous practices of the early days of Wat Pah Pong played a necessary role in their training and development or was it mostly due to Ajahn Chah being such a masterful teacher?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah lineage] [Ascetic practices] [Wat Pah Pong] [Teaching Dhamma] [Ajahn Chah] // [Humility] [Ajahn Mun] [Mae Chee]
Quote: “There’s this nostalgia for the good old days....To me it’s a fallacy or a fantasy.” [Suffering] [Poverty]
Quote: “To be able to lay a foundation that was carried on is really exceptional.” [Saṅgha] [Leadership]
9. “Can you speak about the connection Ajahn Chah had with Luang Por Tongrat and Luang Por Tongrat in general?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Tongrat ] [Ajahn Chah] // [Thai sects] [Ajahn Mun] [Monastic routine] [Almsround]
Reference: Ajahn Utane’s biography of Ajahn Tongrat. Ajahn Mudito translated this into Portuguese in 2019, and there is a machine translation from the Portuguese.
Quote: “Oh, Chah, you’ve come.” — Ajahn Tongrat’s first words to Ajahn Chah..
Story: Ajahn Tongrat makes a racket under Ajahn Mun’s kuti in order to provoke a Dhamma talk. [Ajahn Mahā Boowa] [Fierce/direct teaching]
Story: Ajahn Tongrat dies in the Dhamma seat. [Death]
10. “What would Ajahn Chah say if he visited our Western monasteries today in 2025? Would he recommend any changes?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Western Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Ajahn Chah] // [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [History]
Quote: “Be careful about getting too comfortable.” [Heedlessness]
Suttas: SN 17: Be cautious about gain, honor, and fame. [Worldly Conditions] [Fierce/direct teaching]
11. “Could you tell us your very first encounter with Luang Por Chah? How did it happen? What did he say to you? What impression did you have then?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Chah] // [Temporary ordination] [Wat Pah Pong] [Culture/Natural environment] [Ajahn Sumedho]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno is impressed by handwritten notes about Ajahn Chah’s teaching by a visitor to Wat Pah Pong. [Wat Phleng Vipassanā]
Quote: “If you want to stay here, you have to stay at least five years.” — Ajahn Chah.
Quote: “The place itself [Wat Pah Pong] was a reflection of Ajahn Chah.” [Lay life] [Lunar observance days]
Story: The branch monasteries and lay community gather for Māgha Pūjā. [Festival days] [Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Community]
3. “When Luang Por Chah’s physical condition deteriorated and he was no longer physically active, how did the Saṅgha and lay community react to it? And how did you feel about it? How did the Saṅgha manage to organize new leadership? Any challenges, confusions, or conflicts?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Sickness] [Saṅgha] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Leadership] [Ajahn Chah] [Conflict] // [Impermanence] [Saṅgha decision making] [Grief] [Wat Pah Pong] [Ajahn Liem]
Recollection: Ajahn Chah told the Saṅgha that his illness was incurable and they would have to look after him. [Health care ]
I did my grieving when Ajahn Chah was still alive and sick. Recollection by Ajahn Pasanno. [Death]
Recollection: Caring for Ajahn Chah as a community. [Health care ] [Mae Chee] [Communal harmony]
Recollection: Preparing for Ajahn Chah’s funeral. [Funerals] [Building projects]
Quote: “His example was always one of giving himself to what was of benefit to the Dhamma, to the Vinaya, to others. There was so little personal agenda and personal preferences ever shown.” [Generosity]
5. “What do you treasure most among what you/we have inherited from Luang Por Chah?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Ajahn Chah]
Quote: “He had given himself completely, and he had reaped the fruits completely.” [Relinquishment] [Liberation]
6. “What were the criteria for founding new branch monasteries at Ajahn Chah’s time?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah monasteries] [Saṅgha decision making] [Ajahn Chah] // [Wat Keuan] [Environment] [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Ajahn Anek] [Wat Pah Sai Ngam] [Faith] [Wat Phu Din Dang]
7. “How did Luang Por Chah cultivate his wisdom (satipañña)? How did he generate his energy (viriya)?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Discernment] [Energy] [Ajahn Chah] // [Doubt] [Teaching Dhamma]
Quote: “He was always curious to reflect, to investigate, to experiment, to try out things and to see what worked and what didn’t work.” [Personality] [Appropriate attention]
8. “How did Luang Por Chah relate to the lay community around him and tailor the Dhamma to their own circumstances?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Lay life] [Teaching Dhamma] [Ajahn Chah] // [Wat Pah Pong] [Lunar observance days] [Building projects] [Cultural context] [Stories]
Story: Ajahn Chah’s talkative older brother helps with their mother’s funeral. [Family] [Funerals]
9. “Is there a story about when Ajahn Chah wanted to give feedback to a senior monk and he waited 20-30 years?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Admonishment/feedback] [Ajahn Chah] // [Culture/Thailand]
10. “Were there any memories from the period of training with Ajahn Chah that really stand out in your mind? In what ways did you find it difficult?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Monastic life] [Ajahn Chah]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno skips morning pūjā to meditate diligently at his kuti. Ajahn Chah calls him lazy. [Monastic routine]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno sits vigil at a cremation and makes a bathing cloth from the cloth used to wrap a corpse. [Funerals ] [Robes ] [Wat Pah Pong] [Recollection/Death]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno joins the Wat Pah Pong Saṅgha, exchanges his requisites, and excitedly attends his first Pāṭimokkha at Wat Pah Pong. Ajahn Chah keeps the monks sitting until 3 am. [Vinaya] [Requisites] [Not handling money] [Pāṭimokkha] [Compassion] [Relinquishment]
15. “When you first arrived at Ajahn Chah’s monastery, how did you communicate with him?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Language] [Ajahn Chah] // [Ajahn Sumedho] [Translation] [Paul Breiter] [Thai] [Isan]
Story: Venerable Varapañño could recite the Pāṭimokkha perfectly. [Pāṭimokkha]
16. “Can you tell us more about Ajahn Chah’s background?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Chah] // [Wat Pah Pong] [Geography/Thailand] [Education] [Novices] [Ordination] [Ajahn Sao] [Forest versus city monks] [Death] [Ajahn Mun] [Thai sects]
Story: Six-year-old Chah plays at being a monk. [Monastic life]
17. “Can you speak about Luang Por Chah’s opinion about Thai superstitions and amulets?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Culture/Thailand] [Superstition] [Amulets] [Ajahn Chah] // [Humor] [Ghost] [Generosity]
Story: A young supporter drafted into the military asks Ajahn Chah for protection. [Buddha images]
18. “What gave you the inspiration and strength of spirit to want to dedicate yourself to follow the way?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Faith] [Determination] // [Suffering] [Spiritual search] [Culture/Thailand] [Travel] [Meditation/Results]
19. “In the draft of your biography, it says that growing up you felt you didn’t fit in with normal society. When you came to a Buddhist country and the monastery, did it feel like home?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Culture/West] [Culture/Thailand] [Monastic life] // [Purpose/meaning]
20. “Nowadays we have so much information about Dhamma, whereas when you began, you talked about following an example. How much did being in the presence of someone like Ajahn Chah mean? Could we now overlook this since we have so much information?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Dhamma online] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Mentoring] [Personal presence] [Ajahn Chah] // [Amaravati] [Aspects of Understanding]
21. “How did your becoming a monk go down with your family, and how did that affect you?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Monastic life] [Family] // [Ajahn Jayasaro]
22. “People say that Westerners are much more individualistic than Asians. Do you think Ajahn Chah was good at understanding the Western way of thinking?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Culture/West] [Culture/Asia] [Ajahn Chah]
1. “What are the options for practicing with getting older, getting weaker, physically and mentally less resilient?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ageing ] // [Relinquishment] [Death] [Not-self]
Discussion of the natural environment at Chithurst and Amaravati. Led by Ajahn Cittapālā and Ajahn Pasanno. [Culture/Natural environment] [Chithurst] [Amaravati] [Weather]
2. “How to find a good balance between personal individual practice and helping the community? How have you practiced with this yourself, having had the role of abbot for such a long time?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Meditation] [Service] [Ajahn Pasanno] [Abbot] // [Seclusion ] [Restlessness and worry] [Ajahn Sumedho] [Idealism] [Becoming] [Craving not to become] [Monastic routine]
Quote: “You really have to learn how to step back from your own mind and give attention to that sense of solid connection with the Dhamma practice.” [Dhamma]
Quote: “If we don’t really develop a sense of giving and sharing and lovingkindness and compassion, any amount of meditation that you do never really comes to much fruitition.” [Generosity] [Goodwill]
3. “People often say that Amaravati is like an institution. What is a perspective on this?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Amaravati ] [Saṅgha] [Monastery organizational structure] // [Ajahn Pasanno]
Reflection by Ajahn Pasanno, Ajahn Ahiṃsako and Ajahn Karuṇiko: The benefits and drawbacks of large monasteries. [Mutual lay/Saṅgha support] [Teaching Dhamma] [Christian monastics] [Wat Pah Nanachat] [Spiritual traditions]
4. “If you had to choose one monastery in Thailand that you can always go back to, where you had the best moments or experiences, what would it be?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Thai Ajahn Chah monasteries] // [Dtao Dum ] [Culture/Natural environment]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno has the intuition that his time in Thailand had come to an end. [Culture/Thailand] [Monastic life]
Story: Ajahn Pasanno’s decision to help with Abhayagiri. [Abhayagiri] [Ajahn Amaro] [Saṅghapāla] [Ajahn Karuṇadhammo]
5. “It sounds like you’re quite a community builder in various places.... When I first came here (to Chithurst), I was struck by the way the community works amazingly well. Have you seen any examples of communities of laypeople living together based on monastic principles?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno, Ajahn Ahiṃsako, Sister Ñāṇasirī and Ajahn Karuṇadhammo. [Ajahn Pasanno] [Community ] [Saṅgha] [Lay life] // [Precepts] [Vinaya] [Portland Friends of the Dhamma] [Amaravati] [Gaia House] [Culture/Thailand] [Upasikā Kee Nanayon] [Culture/West]
6. “How do you find it best to differentiate between true insights and insight defilements?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno and Ajahn Cittapālā. [Insight meditation ] [Unwholesome Roots] // [Tranquility] [Relinquishment] [Simplicity]
Quote: “A really true insight—you don’t get anything from.” — Ajahn Pasanno.
7. “Can you offer any reflections about people’s tendency to measure samādhi, concentration, and jhāna and their doubt and discontent about how much is enough to develop insight?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Calming meditation] [Concentration] [Jhāna] [Insight meditation] // [Craving] [Relinquishment] [Etymology] [Translation] [Right Mindfulness] [Right Effort]
Quote: “Samādhi is a holiday for the heart.” — Ajahn Chah. [Ajahn Chah] [Ajahn Sumedho]
Simile: Samādhi is like a chicken in a bamboo coop. [Similes] [Spaciousness] [Mindfulness]
Sutta: MN 44.12: The bases of samādhi.
Simile: Unification of mind is like a bowl of fruit. [Unification]
8. “Is that [developing samādhi; refer to the previous question] possible to do in a 24-hour period? I find it difficult to continuously do what you said, especially when I’m asleep.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Concentration] [Continuity of mindfulness] // [Long-term practice]
9. Comment by Tan Candasaro: At Wat Pah Nanachat a monk asked you, “What advice would you have for young monastics on the path?” You replied, “Peaks and valleys, ups and downs.” [Monastic life] [Long-term practice]
Response by Ajahn Pasanno.
10. “Do you think the knowing of the peace of samādhi is always something which will be remembered? It gives a kind of confidence.” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Concentration] [Tranquility] [Faith] // [Purpose/meaning]
11. “Insights give a lot of confidence in the practice, a lot of trust. So when insights come, is it important to nourish them?” Answered by Ajahn Pasanno. [Insight meditation] [Faith] // [Bases of Success] [Desire] [Discernment] [Craving] [Self-identity view] [The New Yorker] [Calvin and Hobbes]