A collection of teachings by Ajahn Pasanno published in 2018 with gratitude to Ajahn Pasanno. The four teachings included are “Gradual Instruction”, “Balancing the Mind”, “Enjoying the Breath” and “Beneath the Bodhi Tree”. The publication is on the occasion of the completion of the Reception Hall building and surrounding grounds as well as shortly preceding Ajahn Pasanno departing for a one year sabbatical and handing off the responsibility of abbot to others in the community.

Awareness has a mirror-like quality. We can tap into it right now, become aware of the mind and body as they are in this moment. Perhaps awareness is reflecting the feeling of sleepiness or of not knowing, the feeling of cold or heat, heaviness or lightness. Reflective consciousness can see things, even the things that are closest to us. It reflects feelings of aversion, anger, kindness, pleasant feelings, unpleasant feelings – all kinds of things. This quality of seeing, of knowing this reflective mind, is neutral. There is no sense of judging or criticising; awareness merely reflects the judging or the critical mind. That is what the Buddha is talking about when he says that the Dhamma is ‘apparent here and now’; not tomorrow or yesterday, but here and now in the present moment. And the Dhamma is timeless – it is not dependent on time.

When Luang Por Pasanno completed the teaching of the retreat that is the source of this book in September of 2008, a handful of us declared enthusiastically that we would produce a book so others could also benefit from this retreat. Time passed. My mother passed. The idea to put these teachings into a book resurfaced, but this time with a deeper intention. It felt like a wonderful tribute to my mother, to all mothers—whether from a biological mother or someone who has fit the ideal, perhaps a father, aunt, uncle, older sibling, friend, or teacher—as an expression of the gratitude for the example and the love.

This book is compiled from talks given mostly in 2001 by Ajahn Sumedho. The first edition was originally published in 2004, but has long since been out of print. This new edition has been reviewed for typographical errors and redesigned, and some re- editing has been done. However, the Dhamma content has not been changed. The talks were transcribed, edited and proofread by various members of the sangha as well as people from the broader community, and a variety of people helped with the creation of the front cover. The editors wish to express their deep gratitude for all of the generous and kind-hearted effort put into making these teachings available in book format.

Within the pages of this book, we’re invited to read some reflections from Ajahn Viradhammo on the practice of Dhamma. For myself, and I hope for you, there will also be the experience of hearing his voice, and even being in his presence. It’s a warm voice, and a presence that supports the Way out of suffering, or dukkha. Perhaps when these teachings are carefully considered and put into practice, that Way becomes clear and the heart can be guided into openness and peace.

I think there’s a good chance of that, mostly because what is presented here are some of the cardinal teachings of the awakened Buddha, a person who is widely acknowledged for his deep wisdom and compassion. But also it’s because this particular presentation comes from Ajahn Viradhammo, a man of this age who has given himself fully to the Buddha’s Path for over forty years. More than reading or lecturing on it, he has lived in the Buddha’s Way—the Dhamma-Vinaya. And his voice is of this age, easily understandable, down-to-earth, and rich with humor and anecdotes.

This book is based upon the talks and meditation instructions offered during a thirteen-day retreat at Amaravati, in the summer of 2012. It is intended to be something of a follow up to Finding the Missing Peace, which was published in 2011 and presented as ‘a primer of Buddhist meditation’. The Breakthrough is intended to be a somewhat more specialized toolkit, describing the path of Buddhist meditation in an in-depth way, specifically highlighting the role of wisdom and reflective investigation in the development of insight and thereby psychological freedom. The title The Breakthrough comes from the Pali word ‘abhisamaya’. The word, as used by the Buddha, is synonymous with the first level of liberation, known as ‘stream-entry’ – the ‘stream’ in question being the Eightfold Path, which leads to full emancipation, enlightenment. As is described in these pages, this breakthrough is considered to be a spiritual turning point of great significance. It marks the point on the spiritual journey beyond which enlightenment is assured and freedom guaranteed.

THE BOOK YOU ARE VIEWING HERE is the eBook of the second print edition of The Pilgrim Kāmanīta – a Legendary Romance, published in 2017. The text of the story is largely unchanged from the 1999 and the 2008 editions, although – poetic licence of the author notwithstanding – a few more factual errors have been corrected. There have also been a few additions and amendations to the Notes and References since, over the years, more of the author’s sources have become apparent.

Another significant addition to the book has come through the editor having received a copy of the 1995 Boiselle-Löhmann Verlag edition of Der Pilger Kamanita – a photo-reproduction of the original work in German. This edition valuably contained the substantial Note on the text by the author, Karl Gjellerup, which the Thai edition we had been working from had omitted. This Note adds some fresh insight into the chemistry of the tale’s ripening in the commodious brew-pot of the author’s imagination, we are thus very glad to be able to include it here.

This small book is the fourth in a series of four, consisting of reflections and practices related to the ‘sublime abiding places for the heart’ – the four brahma-vihāras, in Buddhist parlance. The vision for the series is to explore these sublime abidings via the somewhat oblique approach of looking at their opposites. In this last book we will be investigating upekkhā and this through the lens of superstitious views about why and how things happen as they do. This might seem a very unusual approach to the development of this sublime quality, said to be the most subtle and expansive of the brahma-vihāras, however, one of the Buddha’s most common reflections to support the cultivation of upekkhā is precisely and solely an investigation of causality: ‘I am the owner of my action, companion to my to my action … whatever action I do, for good or for ill, of that I will be the heir.’

This small book is an expression of the good wishes of many sincere and devoted people. It is a gesture of their faith in the Triple Gem and, in particular, in the life and teaching of Venerable Ajahn Chah and the community of his students.

On December the 5th, 2015, Luang Por Pasanno, of Abhayagiri Monastery in California, and Ajahn Amaro, of Amaravati Monastery in England, were given the honorary titles of Jao Khun by H.M. the King of Thailand, in a ceremony at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. Luang Por Pasanno received the new name Bodhiñāṇavides, resonating Luang Por Chah’s honorific name of Bodhiñāṇathera, whilst Ajahn Amaro received the name Videsabuddhiguṇa. This book you are holding has been produced as a result of their having been offered these titles and in celebration of the wholesome qualities that such public recognition is designed to encourage.

This small book is the third in a series of four, consisting of reflections and practices related to the ‘sublime abiding places for the heart’ – the four brahma-vihāras, in Buddhist parlance. The vision for the series is to explore these sublime abidings via the somewhat oblique approach of looking at what counters or muddies their activity. In this third book we will be investigating muditā through the lens of self-centred desire and its relationship to dissatisfaction; how the quest to fulfil personal cravings leads not to joy but rather to pain-haunted addictions; how joy, instead, comes from unselfishness, giving and consciously delighting in the blessings that others have; how those blessings of others need not feed a sense of lack or unworthiness in us but rather, marvellously and mysteriously, be a contributor to our own well-being.

This book is a substantially revised and expanded version of the 2009 original. It explores the link between external action and mind cultivation – both of which are forms of the kamma that leads to liberation. The book teaches formal meditation practices, the role of devotion, aspects of dependent origination, and the need to establish skilful relationships – kalyānamitta – and the cessation of suffering and stress.

This small book is the second in a series of four, consisting of reflections and practices related to the ‘sublime abiding places for the heart’ – the four brahma-vihāras, in Buddhist parlance. The vision for the series is to explore these sublime abidings via the somewhat oblique approach of looking at what counters or muddies their activity. In this second book we will be investigating karuṇā through the lens of that kind of anxious helpfulness that feels like we’re never doing enough, or that wants to fix others so that we will feel better, or the attitude that we don’t deserve ever to feel peaceful or happy while others are still suffering. The other three books in the series similarly explore the remaining brahma-vihāras through aspects of mind and behaviour that oppose or confuse them.