The year 2011 series of “ Q & A – Unravelling the Doubts” by the Venerable Pa Auk Sayadaw in Kuching Tusita Hermitage, these Questions and Answers sessions were originally intended for the Tusita Hermitage’s meditation teachers. The purpose is mainly to straighten out all the doubts and difficulties encountered by these junior teachers in the process of their practice and teaching all these years.

Among these questions,

— some are questions which the junior teachers did not clarify with the Venerable Pa Auk Sayadaw during the process of their practice;

— some are questions asked by meditators during the interviews;

— some are questions used by the meditation teachers to check on the meditators’ practice during interviews; and

— some questions were asked in order for Venerable Pa Auk Sayadaw to make direct clarifications etc.

Our compassionate Venerable Pa Auk Sayadaw feels that these questions should also be openly available to all who are interested to listen, whether they are beginners, middle-level meditators, high-level meditators or meditation teachers etc., they will be able to benefit greatly from this series of “Q & A – Unravelling the Doubts”.

This series covers questions ranging from basic Dhamma, Samatha practice, Rūpa Kammaṭṭhāna, Nāma Kammaṭṭhāna, Dependent Origination (paṭiccasamuppāda) , Vipassanā practice until psychic power etc. Just like a person walking into the ocean step by step, these questions arranged systematically from shallow to deep and then from the deep to shallow. While walking into the “deep ocean”, there are many deep and profound questions which are difficult to understand, especially at the Vipassanā stage. Unless one is a meditation teacher or a meditator who has already practically practiced and experienced the Abhidhamma, otherwise it is very difficult to understand. However, if one listens with a very respectful mind, it is still very meritorious.

During the Kassapa Buddha’s time, there was a group of bhikkhus who stayed in a cave with five hundreds bats. While these bhikkhus recited the Abhidhamma, even though those group of bats could not understand what were the bhikkhus reciting, but they still listened with respectfully and happily. Because of this wholesome kamma, they were reborn to the heavenly realm after death.

When the Gotama Buddha appeared, they became the five hundreds disciples of Venerable Sāriputta. During the time when Buddha was teaching Abhidhamma at the Tāva-tiṃsā heaven, He returned to the human realm daily to explain to Venerable Sāriputta about the Abhidhamma that He taught to the devās.  After learning this Dhamma from the Buddha, Venerable Sāriputta then taught this Dhamma to his five hundred disciples who had been bats in the past life and had respectfully listened to the Abhidhamma then. And now we are learning the Abhidhamma which has been passed down from these five hundred disciples. So by listening respectfully, even the animals could benefit from it, what more to say about human beings.

We hope by this Dhamma sharing, we could bring much Dhamma benefits for all wise friends, be able to plant the seed of wisdom and liberation in everyone’s mind, and may it become the decisive supporting condition (Upanissaya Paccayo) for the attainment of higher wisdom.

Even though sometimes we may not be able to understand very well, but still we can try to listen respectfully with such mind “Even now I may not be able to apply this Dhamma yet, but in future I will definitely apply it in order to liberate from this saṃsāra”, because the Buddha said: “The Only Way, Bhikkhus, Is This Path”. (Ekāyano ayaṃ, Bhikkave, Maggo)

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