Live from Birken: Dhamma Q&A with Ajahn Sona (10.22.2023)

Join us on Sunday as Ajahn Sona answers Dhamma questions from listeners around the world. Questions may be submitted during the live chat (opens ~3:00pm day of stream) or in advance, here: https://bit.ly/LivestreamQnA

Ajahn Sona Podcast:
Apple - http://bit.ly/AppleAjSona
Spotify - http://bit.ly/SpotifyAjSona
Podbean - http://bit.ly/PodbeanAjSona

Index of Questions
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00:00 - INTRODUCTION
00:38 - BREATH MEDITATION: You mention in your breath meditation jhāna videos that at some point we should focus the attention on the whole body, particularly to the experience of joy and pleasure. However, this step is not mentioned in your breath meditation booklet and I’m confused as to when and how to insert this step. Isn’t it troublesome to focus on the whole body once the attention is fully fixed at the tip of the nose? What’s the benefit of moving the attention from the nose to the body?
10:16 - CHANTING: Is there a preferred time to chant? I
13:37 - CITTA: How do you define citta? I have heard citta defined in different ways, such as mind, heart, and consciousness.
15:52 - DHAMMA TALKS: Is there going to be an announcement concerning the remaining 4 episodes of The 37 Requisites of Enlightenment series?
19:54 - MEDITATION: I’ve been meditating for 8-12 hours per day for the last year and I feel that my level of concentration is quite satisfactory. However, my mind has also grown increasingly sensitive to the point where even subtle craving or aversion creates sharp painful feelings in my chest, similar to a needle prick. Is this a normal outcome of extensive meditation or is it a result of wrong practice?
24:13 - RELATIONSHIPS: My partner left me after some manipulation and lies came to the surface. Aside from time, what can I do to move forward and ease some of that pain?
30:49 - METTA: Many theistic religions have practices to develop goodwill for humanity. What parts of practices like metta meditation are uniquely Buddhist?
31:56 - DALAI LAMA: In the place where I live I am almost the only Buddhist. Because of this, in recent days I have received from friends the Dalai's Lama video where he is kissing a child so they ask my point of view and if there will be a punishment for that. Can you give me your wise suggestion on how I can answer in a wholesome way to this topic in order to not misguide people with hatred and with a wrong idea of what Buddhism is?
34:55 - NON DUALISM: What role do nondual experiences during meditation play within Buddhism, if any? Is it something the Buddha talked about or is it completely unrelated?
40:00 - LONELINESS: I find it is doable to use pañña, and sati, and samadhi to overcome suffering from many forms of suffering. They arise and I can see through them and they disappear, but the one exception is attachment to sensual desire, and the loneliness and depression that comes from an inability to find a life partner. I try to remind myself of impermanence, and try to meditate, but the deep pain, and the mental suffering born of that pain is like a fire that can't be put out.
44:48 - PITI: I'm noticing that I have a neurotic response to piti. I begin to feel giddiness in my chest and cannot seem to stick with it. Instead I reflexively question whether it's okay, or what I did to make it happen. In a sense it seems to feel too good to simply accept. How to train myself to stop this? I am hoping that repeatedly experiencing some amount of piti will help me accept it calmly.
50:28 - MONKS EATING MEAT: How do monks in Asia eat meat given to them during alms rounds? Don't the lay people know they should not kill to feed the monks?
55:16 - BUDDHISM AND CHRISTIANITY: I try to practice the eightfold path as well as I can and understand that the first truth says there is suffering. Even though I class myself as a Buddhist in times of great sadness and difficulty, I find comfort in a belief of a greater being than us and can get peace from reading the Bible. I can feel a bit of a fake Buddhist practitioner when I turn to the Bible. Could you please give me your opinion?