For the Spirit Rock Teen Weekend, Ajahn Pasanno begins his Saturday night reflection with an explanation of the purpose of chanting namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa before a talk. In recollecting the primary qualities of the Buddha – wisdom, purity, and compassion – the teacher is setting an intention for all of us to cultivate these qualities in balance, a very different preface than saying, “I will now convey information you need.” This de-emphasis of the self in teaching leads into contemplations on ways the self gets in the way of one's own liberation, especially in regard to how to work with dukkha. The key to seeing this can be found in the Buddha's core teaching, the Four Noble Truths, about which Luang Por emphasizes the importance of looking at “cessation.” This talk was offered on September 3, 2016 at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery.