Abhayagiri Talks

At Upāsaka Renewal Day, Ajahn Pasanno reflects on the role of devotion and ritual in practice. He discusses the chants and suttas included in the recent consecration ceremony of the new Buddha image in the new Dhamma Hall. These talks and reflections were given at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery on April 30, 2017.

Ajahn Pasanno recalls Ajahn Chah’s description of the six sense bases—sight, sound, taste, smell, touch, and mind as our six teachers. Ajahn Pasanno urges us not to reject or block out sense experiences but to reflectively investigate them; to use them in training the mind. The problem is not sense experience itself; it is our leanings or biases (aversion, attraction fear, delusion) in response to it. The training (sikkhati) is to learn from these experiences, see these biases and relinquish them. That is freedom. This talk was offered on April 29, 2017 at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery.

Skip to English translation: In his last talk before departing Abhayagiri, Luang Por Piak offers reflections on different topics: his early years, Ajahn Chah, bringing the Thai Forest tradition to the west, and Abhayagiri as a place to develop the Dhamma-Vinaya. He reminds us to understand three things: “not me, not mine, not self” and to use body contemplation to see the body as empty. This talk was offered on April 25, 2017 at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery.

Luang Por Piak responds to questions about the transition to a novice, dealing with illness in meditation practice, breath meditation, body contemplation, death contemplation, mindfulness during eating, mantra recitation, inspiration in the midst of daily routine and others. This question and answer period was offered on April 24, 2017 at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery and translated by Ajahn Siripañño.

Skip to English translation: Addressing the community on his first visit to Abhayagiri, Ajahn Piak touches on a number of subjects including the exchange of monastics between western and Thai monasteries, the forest as conducive to practice, and key advice for progress on the path. He urges us to practice hard and emphasizes three things: sīla as the foundation for practice with attention to right speech; the importance of body contemplation to eliminate sakkāya-diṭṭhi or self view, and the importance of sense restraint to develop samadhi. With these, both monastics and lay people can experience a peaceful mind and make real progress on the path. This talk was offered on April 22, 2017 at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery.

Luang Por Piak answers questions regarding nibbana, the most difficult aspects of his own practice, how to know one is progressing on the Path, the benefits of monastic renunciation, solving the problem of hindrances,  and others. This question and answer period was offered on April 21, 2017 at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery and translated by Ajahn Siripañño.

Ajahn Karuṇadhammo describes the duty of the first Noble Truth—to fully understand dukka. Without this, our attempts to follow the path to the end of dukkha will be unsatisfactory. He describes two kinds of dukkha: that which is inherent in conditioned reality and which we cannot control, and dukkha which we can eliminate by training and relinquishment. He urges us to look closely at suffering to fully open ourselves to it before we get to the cure. This talk was offered on April 11, 2017 at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery.

As humans we have the capacity to make things complicated and stressful, but also the capacity to learn how to make things simple and easeful. In this dhamma talk on our spiritual training (sikkhā), Ajahn Pasanno reflects and gives guidance on how to learn from our suffering to find a place of non-suffering – a point of balance where we can hold things, but not so tightly that we find ourselves making the same mistakes over and over again with no end in sight. This talk was offered on April 8, 2017 at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery.

Now that the community is more active and has a greater need to communicate with each other, Ajahn Jotipālo offers this reflection on the complexities of human social habits and what makes them complicated, using both recent and upcoming work projects as examples. He also gives guidance on how to approach those complications, offering us an approach centered around a willingness to be present with stress in order to both learn from and weaken the defilements which lie at the root of our suffering. This talk was offered on April 4, 2017 at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery.

As the community transitions from the close of the winter retreat to a new rhythm of activity, Ajahn Pasanno reflects on the importance of form as a support for responding to changes. He mentions chanting and mindfulness of breathing as two examples of form. He reminds us that our responses to increased activity, stimulus and personal interactions are conditioned. As such, they are subject to change and inherently unsatisfactory. He uses the Buddha’s simile to compare the holding of views and opinions as being like a line inscribed in stone, in earth, or in water. This talk was offered on April 1, 2017 at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery.