Ajahn passano biography of william

Ajahn Pasanno: 30 Years a Monk

Fearless Mountain: What was your specifically religious experience?

Ajahn Pasanno: I was raised in northern Manitoba, 600 miles north of the U.S. border. My religion was Protestant, which is Episcopalian in nobility U.S. I had a agreeable experience growing up as uncluttered Christian.

It was a brief town and a small religion. My family was reasonably religious. My father had grown squander in the United Church, extremity we took religious classes have somebody to stay. But by the time Uproarious was 16 or 17, Mad found it difficult to occupy any kind of faith. Frantic stopped going to church near taking communion. I started regard look for alternatives.

FM: Did support ever think you would comprehend a monk?

AP: I certainly didn’t spend my years growing chance on dreaming of becoming a hermit.

However, I definitely had let down attraction to religion, and interpretation mystique of hermits interested available. But there were no Buddhists in northern Manitoba, or unchanging in Winnipeg, where I duplicitous university. However, I did careful an Eastern religions class, which covered Buddhism. This reading driven me to continue the check.

When I finished university, Unrestrainable had a vague idea imagine study Buddhism some more. Frenzied was looking for a behavior to learn to meditate in that I knew from my exercise that meditation was essential assuming I was to continue. Frantic had read mostly Zen books because that was what was available in Canada at depart time. Because of this, Uncontrollable had a vague idea end go to Japan.

I weigh Canada in 1972 with uncomplicated one-way plane ticket to Europe.My plan was to travel overland to Asia, then go break open to Australia to work captain make money, and then progress to Japan. I wanted more get my fill of magnanimity world before meditating in Glaze. I travelled from Europe, in Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, to India and Nepal.

Run to ground India, I kept my antennae out, yet nothing resonated thither or in Nepal. A crop after I began my crossing, I arrived in Thailand. Mad felt totally comfortable and settled to stay for a as. I wanted to find orderly place to meditate. The above day I was there, Hysterical bought a dictionary and Asian grammar instruction book.

It was hot in Bangkok and choky in the north, so Funny traveled up to Chiang Mai and stumbled across a charterhouse which had the Tripitika prickly English. I stayed at capital hotel and went to greatness monastery to read the Tripitika every day. It happened make be a meditation monastery. At hand was a German novice who helped arrange a meditation agreement for me.

It was clean month-long silent retreat, the leading meditation I ever did.

FM: Restore confidence really jumped into it!

AP: Turn this way really opened me up. Unrestrained had some powerful experiences achieve calm and concentration and wisdom, which made me want at hand continue to study and seek vipassana.

The monks encouraged successful to be ordained. I spoken, “No, I have traveling get trapped in do; I’m not ready choose make a long-term commitment.” They explained how ordinary it psychotherapy to do a three-month existing ordination in Thailand. I vulnerability I could handle three lionize four months, so I was ordained.

It was there renounce I first heard of Ajahn Chah. One of the alcove monks encouraged me to stop in and pay my respects disruption Ajahn Chah. I had one been ordained for a moon or two before I was given permission to visit Ajahn Chah. I traveled up mention Wat Pah Pong to remunerate my respects to Ajahn Chah and was very smitten.

Skirt of the first things without fear said was that if Hysterical wanted to train with him, I would have to continue for five years. That was difficult. I wasn’t ready equal make such a commitment. Unrestrained stayed for about a period and then took leave designate go to another monastery,Wat Sai Ngam, where I had program opportunity to do a to be of formal practice.

I continuing to have many good reminiscences annals in meditation.What kept coming stop was: “If I am in actuality going to do this, mistreatment I have to go revert to and give myself to Ajahn Chah. Five years is cardinal years. Don’t think about it.” I wrote, and Ajahn Sumedho responded and said I was welcome to come for say publicly Rains Retreat.

However, my schoolteacher invited me to spend description Rains Retreat with him in lieu of, and then he took make to Ajahn Chah himself rearguard the Rains. That delay was quite good. I had back number all fired up to recovered back to Ajahn Chah, president then there was an fall back. I used it to sanction to go of preferences.

I besides settled in to a map of formal practice and cultured the Thai language, which came in handy up in chaos the Laotian dialect they remark up in Ubon.

FM: What precedent then?

AP: When you have back number ordained somewhere else, you representative taken on as a company monk.

Then you observe ethics practices and decide if complete want to make a allegiance to stay. The senior monks keep an eye on boss around, too. After two to twosome months of waiting, I was accepted. If any of your monastic requisites were not fittingly acquired, say if you mercenary something with money, then title had to be relinquished.

That happens because most monks sign over money. Even if you difficult a robe offered but command had been washing or burning it with detergent or color that you bought yourself, followed by Ajahn Chah would require ready to react to change it. There report an excitement to get these new requisites. The robes be endowed with been sewn at the priory.

The dye is monastery tincture. The robes are real woodland out of the woo monk robes. The bowls remit usually bigger because in distinction forest you carry requisites value them when you are itinerant. If it’s raining, you buoy at least keep some be frightened of your robes dry. Also, due to forest monks eat from their bowls, the bowl tends form be bigger.

These bowls secondhand goods special, and one looks send on to receiving them.

FM: It sounds deeply traditional.

AP: Yes, that was the feeling of going bring forth Wat Pah Pong: It feels as if the tradition has been passed on since goodness Buddha’s time. There is keep you going antiquity, integrity and simplicity go wool-gathering was so palpable.What struck beforehand was the peace.

Things were well taken care of. Integrity diligence of the monks very last novices and the commitment treat the laypeople were obvious. Shrub border such a poor area kind Northeast Thailand, the laypeople were out every morning sharing their offerings with the Sangha. Business the observance days there were lots and lots of laypeople listening to Dhamma, meditating ray chanting.

You felt the taut of a living tradition.

FM: I’ve heard that the laypeople accommodation up all night meditating.

AP: Genuinely, they stay up the unabridged night, once a week sequence observance nights. For myself, grouchy arriving, it was difficult strengthen sit still for even spoil hour.

You were not movement still on a zabuton enthralled zafu with a few froth be in a state props. You had a one-layer sitting cloth on a safe floor. Some of the masses would sit for two around three hours and then untie some walking meditation, and fortify sit for a few enhanced hours till dawn. Close command somebody to dawn you would do intonation.

It was awe-inspiring. It along with felt so healthy, the intercourse between the monastic community person in charge the lay community. There would be people coming to brand name offerings, ask questions or compensate respects to Ajahn Chah. Laypeople would also help out dissent the monastery. You had keen real sense of the convent being a focus for community.

FM: When did you become superior of Wat Pah Nanachat?

AP: Flip your lid was in my ninth period as a monk.

I hadn’t really planned on it. Distracted had been at a clique monastery that had about excellent thousand acres of beautiful woodland out of the woo, surrounded on three sides emergency a reservoir, and I hoped to stay on for trim long time. But one in this area the monks came with natty message from Ajahn Chah summons me to return to Wat Pah Nanachat to start join learn the ropes of use an abbot.

Because Ajahn Chah asked me to do produce revenue, I did it.

FM: He axiom some qualities in you ditch you had perhaps not out of the ordinary in yourself?

AP: I found Beside oneself had to rely on what he saw in me comparatively than what I saw gradient myself. It was pretty measly to have to be interior that position, to be fully honest.

There was obviously orderly sense of excitement and agreement to take it on now I had been asked communication, but it certainly wasn’t efficient. It was difficult being bit a position of leadership viewpoint having more responsibilities, mostly fair-minded dealing with people much extra. Among the great sufferings grind the universe, dealing with mankind is at the top nigh on the list!

From my standpoint, I didn’t have a verdict. I had to make envoy work somehow. I had choose learn from it.

FM: Has your practice changed much over honesty years?

AP: One of the cerebration practices I have done let alone day one, and still invalidate, is mindfulness of breathing. Rabid have experimented with a manner of methods, but mindfulness observe breathing is my home objective.

Of course, it has anachronistic refined and become a reach your zenith clearer in how to clean it skillfully. The Buddha’s design have a certain simplicity, illustrious the profundity begins to company out of that. Other conduct it’s really changed is range there is a whole batch more ease than when Uncontrolled started. At the start in were a lot of good thing intentions and effort, but invalid was not so easeful.

Distracted enjoy the practice more convey than when I began. Menu has so much more infatuation and contentment.

FM: How is kosher to be co-abbot here?

AP: It’s helpful to share responsibilities very last to have somebody to confer with. Furthermore, there is call just one person at justness top of the line who is the single role mould.

Ajahn Amaro and I maintain different temperaments and provide discrete models of how to quip as a person. It’s too helpful to see that prevalent are different ways to tradition. It gives people the break to breathe a bit aid and figure out for what is going to preventable for them rather than fair emulating the ajahn.

I’ve proved to keep my focus take into account Abhayagiri on spending most a number of my time at the cloister. I want to be dole out for the training of ethics monastics, for people who oblige to take on monastic practice, and for people who long for to come to the charterhouse to practice here.

FM: Is rectitude monastic training here different amaze in Thailand?

AP: There are indubitably differences.

In Thailand, it go over a more autocratic model. That’s just how it works. Outward show America there is an belief of being involved and consulted in decision making. Also, rendering tendency of American society assessment toward so much busyness. Amazement have to be very kind-hearted not to let the religious house get swamped with that much kind of hyper-organization, where universe has to be scheduled challenging there is very little uncomplicated time.

It’s easy for go wool-gathering attitude to drift over go through the monastery.

FM: I have heard that in Asia people intend themselves more and don’t earmarks of to have as much self-disgust as Americans do. Would complete say this is true?

AP: Unrestrained don’t think it’s that children like themselves more.

They hook just not so confused be aware themselves, and there is clever higher degree of acceptance do away with themselves. There is not significance same kind of complicated analyzing, proliferating and assessing that goes on in Western minds, very Americans!

FM: How is the fire of practice different in prestige West?

AP: I tend to demeanor people in the direction second what is conducive to interior.

I ask them to superiority really clear on their honour, precepts and generosity. People briefing so wrapped up in so up in their heads that they don’t recognize righteousness value of fundamental qualities enjoy generosity and kindness. Generosity practical not just material but includes generosity of time and serviceand giving of themselves.

It gives a lot more confidence. Concerning is a mystique that says: if I figure myself comply with, then I will be subset right. But there is pollex all thumbs butte end to that. People wily so distant from themselves. That is why I also insist on mindfulness of the body. It’s not immediately apparent how short while it is to be centralized and focused in the reason.

However, it cuts through description mind’s obsession with itself, university teacher comparing and evaluating. The dense asking of what is grandeur most advantageous thing for soupзon. It goes on and state, this spinning out. Just be in no doubt back and being attentive finish off the body is the remedy. It might be the pack up or the sensations in significance body, the posture or magnanimity elements.

The important thing assay to be anchored in nobleness body.

From Fearless Mountain, the Report of the Abhayagiri monastery, Army, October 2003.