Dhamma with Ajahn Sujin

(Excerpt from the Dhamma discussion with Ajahn Sujin on Zoom on Mon, May 10th 2021) [A. Sujin] I don't think that it's easy to talk about Dhamma to those who are not interested in understanding the truth yet, like the prisoners (Jeff had mentioned his involvement in "Doing time, doing vipassana" courses), but we can be friendly and help them, be kind, and then talk about that which can be understood by them, little by little because in my life, many people, so many people do not have interest in studying, learning the truth, they just want to get what they want, trying to have something helping them to be successful, but that is gone, not permanent at all, in life, just [there] for a moment and then gone, but they wish so much to have that, one moment of that. So it's not for all, but only for those who have accumulation to understand, to see the value of learning about it, not just the words but the truth which is now. So the words of the Buddha who h...

(Excerpt from the Dhamma discussion with Ajahn Sujin on Zoom on Mon, May 10th 2021) [Jeff] I think one of the most interesting parts that are introduced early on someone who studies Dhamma that's kind of complicated hard to understand would be the dependent origination. [A. Sujin] Do you read Tipitaka often? [Jeff] Not always directly, I have read the first couple books of the Abhidhamma. [A. Sujin] Do you read it just once or read it again and again and again? [Jeff] Just once, I've only read it once and that's definitely something to read again and again. [A. Sujin] And do you think that the first time you read is different from later times? [Jeff] Yeah, every time I read something straight from Tipitaka, the second time is always much better. [A. Sujin] [What] about just one word or one passage, about the truth of it? [Jeff] Yeah, and I think that's one of the things, reading Tipitaka like I read any other book, I sit down and I read a large ...

(Excerpt from the EN-VN Dhamma discussion with Ajahn Sujin on Zoom on Wed, Sep 14th 2022) [Jonothan] Ajahn, the subject was either phassa or judging others... [A. Sujin] And phassa is arising with ignorance now, about the truth of what is there, just keep on thinking, judging and so on, no understanding of what is there at all. And can anyone just keep on thinking about that or is it gone? Would anyone like to understand it, the moment when it's there and gone, or just keep on thinking about this and that all the time? Is it now thinking about, judging again? Why not? Nothing is permanent, [but] depending on conditions only. Would you like to judge again and again? There are many things to be known rather than thinking about the past and the future. What is there now? Is it still thinking about judging? What is there now is so close, closer than thinking about people and things, even someone is so close, but it's not as close as seeing right now. Can anyone just se...

[A. Sujin] I think that each word of truth about reality right now should be understood clearer and clearer, otherwise it [would] seem like there is enough understanding of it, but in truth not enough, never enough at all as long as there is no understanding of: just one reality by conditions, at moment when it's there. For example right now, why do [we] begin again and again? Begin again to talk about seeing because seeing is there almost all the time, or we can say like many people would say, that there's seeing all the time because we don't talk in details about each moment and because seeing is there, it seems like it doesn't go away at all. That's why, what is the truth? Clearer than that, otherwise there cannot be different stages of understanding, hearing any word, not just following it, not just no interest in it, but what is the truth and how much truth it is, to have more confidence of the truth that the truth is the truth, that is sacca parami. ...