Opening Talk: An Opportunity to Simplify Ajahn Pasanno – November 18, 2016 Ajahn Pasanno tells the Thanksgiving Monastic Retreat participants that by taking the Three Refuges and the Eight Precepts they have begun a process of leaning away from desire and inclining toward a clarity of heart. This period of ten days, he tells us, is an opportunity to move away from the habit of complexity and toward simplification.

Picking Up the Gradual Path Ajahn Pasanno – November 19, 2016 Ajahn Pasanno speaks on six steps of the Buddha's “gradual path” (sila, sense restraint, moderation in eating, devotion to wakefulness, inclining to solitude, and alertness to the hindrances) and how they can be helpful on retreat.

A Graduated Instruction Ajahn Pasanno – November 19, 2016 Reflecting on his talk from the morning, Ajahn Pasanno recalls another “graduated” path from the suttas for exploration during the retreat, also with six aspects – the practicing of generosity and of virtue, the recognition of both the heavenly states and the drawbacks of human experience, the act of renunciation, and the contemplation of the four noble truths.

A Solid Foundation Ajahn Pasanno – November 20, 2016 Ajahn Pasanno points out that the basic principles of Buddhism don't just lay a foundation, they carry us all the way through our practice. To that end, he lays out the five hindrances – desire, aversion, sloth & torpor, restlessness, and skeptical doubt – as objects not just to be removed before practice can deepen, but as subjects for contemplation as causes of the first step in dependent origination – ignorance.

Learning from the Breath Ajahn Pasanno – November 20, 2016 Using the guidance of the Anapanasati Sutta, Ajahn Pasanno offers a thorough explanation of how mindfulness of breathing is not simply about a fixed focus on the breath, but rather a tool for learning how to bring tranquility to the entire body. He also points out that all the aspects of anapanasati can be applied to other meditation objects as well.

Refuge from a Bottomless Chasm Ajahn Pasanno – November 21, 2016 In response to a request to teach on dealing with pain in practice, Ajahn Pasanno explores how to hold pain without becoming overwhelmed by it and without dissociating from the body and mind. He reflects on his own experiences with pain and teaches that both pleasure and pain can offer opportunities for transformation, especially when worked with in the context of loving-kindness practice.

A Sincere Student of Dukkha Ajahn Sudanto – November 21, 2016 Picking up the theme of working with pain from the morning talk, Ajahn Sudanto reflects on a wrong way and a right way to seek a release from pain. He compares these two efforts to a bottomless pit and a bottomless well – the former involving questioning and fighting, the latter involving cultivating contentment and gratitude. This leads to an exploration of dukkha through the prism of the five hindrances.

A Monastic Ethos Ajahn Pasanno – November 22, 2016 Reflecting first on the importance of caring for one’s practice environment, Ajahn Pasanno teaches that honing our skills in all the simple forms of day-to-day existence – whether sitting and walking in meditation or eating and sweeping in life – allows us to hold up a mirror to our hearts, which in turn helps us see more clearly how we create our own suffering and the way out of it.

The Gratification, The Danger, The Escape Upasika Debbie – November 22, 2016 Using examples from her own experience, Debbie offers a talk on a way of exploring the First Noble Truth – “There Is Dukkha.” She begins with a reminder that this practice is one of building a foundation for the way out of suffering rather than a goal-oriented shortcut, but she also reflects on how the reality of suffering is actually a gift.

Spicing the Dish Ajahn Pasanno – November 23, 2016 Having to depart temporarily to attend to a legal issue for the monastery, Ajahn Pasanno encourages the retreatants to be aware of how the world impinges on the simplicity and contentment that can be found in the moment. For when sense base, sense object, and sense perception come together leading to “contact” one can spin off into proliferation unnecessarily. Ask yourself, “What am I adding to spice this dish that will lead to a stomach ache later?”

A Little Bit of Surrender Ajahn Pasanno – November 23, 2016 Using the Buddha’s Anuruddha Sutta as a map eight thoughts of a great person, Ajahn Karuṇadhammo reflects on the renunciant precepts of the retreat as a way of “always inclining toward simplicity,” allowing one to see “the spaciousness and lightness that comes from a little bit of surrender.”

Gratitude and Gratification Ajahn Pasanno – November 24, 2016 For his Thanksgiving Day reflection, Ajahn Pasanno speaks of the blessings that gratitude brings and on the drawbacks of short-term pleasure vs. the deep satisfaction and well-being of sukha – true happiness. This leads into a teaching on the feeling aspect of mindfulness of breathing and the role of perception in the construction of mental states, as exemplified by the story of a Zen retreat one very hot Oregon summer.

Skillful Adjustments Ajahn Sudanto – November 24, 2016 Ajahn Sudanto reflects on the difference between struggling to get rid of physical and mental disturbances and letting them go. He then offers his insights into using the “sound of silence” meditation to bring about a sense of receptivity in the mind.

Gladdening the Mind Ajahn Pasanno – November 25, 2016 Ajahn Pasanno reflects on various approaches to “gladdening the mind,” an aspect of mindfulness of breathing in the Anapanasati Sutta.

The Dhamma of Fargo Upasika Debbie – November 25, 2016 Debbie contemplates the importance of making choices with a skillful intention. She reminds us that although we can’t predict the results of our actions, we can let go of the outcomes of our choices with a light heart if we make them from a place of loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity.

Right Meditation Ajahn Pasanno – November 26, 2016 Ajahn Pasanno encourages us to challenge our assumptions about different meditation objects and practices and to keep exploring. He then delves into the Four Noble Truths as a basis for meditation, inspired by a definition he particularly likes of the Eightfold Path factor samma samadhi – Right Concentration or Right Meditation: “The unification of the mind with cessation of suffering as its object.”

Refining the Practice Ajahn Karuṇadhammo – November 26, 2016 With the retreat nearing its end, Ajahn Karuṇadhammo offers insights into how to keep the practice at a level similar to being in retreat. He reflects on the nuances of working with each of the five precepts, as well as the practices of generosity and relinquishment, and then offers a moving story from American history on the genuine possibility of positive change, no matter how rooted in habit or complacency one’s mind may seem to be.

Closing Talk: A Higher Education Ajahn Pasanno – November 27, 2016 To prepare retreatants for transitioning back into day-to-day living, Ajahn Pasanno offers a teaching on qualities for leading a skillfull life: good spiritual friendships, and accomplishment in virtue, motivation, self-actualization, views, heedfulness, and considered attention. The Buddha expounded these seven qualities as both harbingers of the Eightfold Path and the basis of a truly good life.