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Dhamma Question & Answer Session with Ajahn Kalyano

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Q&A with Ajahn Thanissaro

Q: Is it correct to say that it’s okay not to have control?

A: You have to try to exert some control over your mind and learn how to do it skillfully. That’s what meditation is all about; that’s what mindfulness is all about.

This is one of the points that’s most misunderstood about the Buddha’s teachings.

We think that mindfulness means just allowing things to arise and pass away on their own, without trying to exert control over them.

But the Buddha taught that when you have mindfulness in charge of your mind, if there are skillful qualities that you don’t have yet, you consciously try to give rise to them.

Once the skillful qualities are there, you consciously try to maintain them so that they don’t pass away.

As for control over things outside, this will depend on the situation. The Buddha didn’t teach his students to be do-nothings. He himself was a very active person.

But there were cases when even he couldn’t exert control over a situation, so he had to let it go with equanimity.

~•~•~•~

From The Power of Karma by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

A transcript from a retreat held in conjunction with the Sociedade Vipassana de Meditação and the Grupo Karuṇā, both of Brasília, to give a talk and lead a retreat on the topic of karma. This book contains edited English transcripts of both events, plus the readings that were sent to the retreatants beforehand.

https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/PowerOfKarma/

Dhamma talk - Tan Ajahn Dtun
In thai with english translation

Dhamma talk - Tan Ajahn Dtun | BSV | 03 APR 2026 Found this video useful? Don't forget to subscribe (https://youtu...

Q&A with Ajahn suchart abhijato

Monk: When you lived with Luang Ta Mahā Boowa, one of the most renowned teachers in Thailand for many years, do you have any stories of him guiding you or other monks that are particularly notable, either in terms of being fierce or compassionate?

Tan Ajahn: Well, he taught by example: how he lived and how he practiced. He also taught by giving Dhamma talks. He told us about his personal experiences from the practice, how he dealt with the fear of death, for instance.

When you go into the mountain or the forest, you might come across some wild animals, so he taught us how to deal with this fear. So, you know, just from his talks, his experiences and his behavior—this is how we learned from him, but mostly from the talks. The talks were more detailed.

But also his way of life: how he kept the dhutanga practices, how he went on alms rounds every day. This inspired us to follow him. If he hadn’t gone on alms rounds every day, we also wouldn’t have followed him. We wouldn’t have wanted to go on alms rounds either. So a lot of what he taught was through the way he lived. He lived in the forest. He lived simply. He didn’t have a luxurious, trap-filled way of life.

At Wat Pa Baan Taad, he refused to have electricity or running water. Only later, in his later years, when he was old and there were a lot of people coming to the monastery, I think he allowed some electricity in some kuṭīs, but not in all the kuṭīs. So this is how we learned from him: by staying with him, following the way he lived, the way he practiced.

“Dhamma in English, Aug 1, 2024.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
www.phrasuchart.com
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