N O A JAHN C HAH

– Reflections –
 No Ajahn Chah
– Reflections –

Complied & Edited by Dhamma Garden .

’Offer the gift of Dhamma to others as freely as it has been offered

to you.’

Following the wish of Ajahn Chah that his Dhamma teachings

not be sold in any way or form, this book is published for free
distribution only.

I
 The quotations in this collection have
been taken from Bodhinyana, A Taste of
Freedom, A Still Forest Pool, Samadhi Bha-
vana, Seeing the Way, Living Dhamma,
Food for the Heart, and Venerable Father.
Some quotations come from a personal col-
lection hitherto unpublished.

II
III
Once there was a layman who came to
Ajahn Chah and asked him who Ajahn Chah
was. Ajahn Chah, seeing that the spiritual
development of the individual was not very
advanced, pointed to himself and said,
"This, this is Ajahn Chah."

On another occasion, someone else asked

Ajahn Chah the same question. This time,
however, seeing that the questioner’s capac-
ity to understand the Dhamma was higher,
Ajahn Chah answered by saying, "Ajahn
Chah? There is no Ajahn Chah."

IV
 Contents

COVER

INTRODUCTION 1

BIRTH AND DEATH 3

BODY 15

BREATH 19

DHAMMA 23

HEART & MIND 37

V
IMPERMANENCE 53

KAMMA 63

MEDITATION PRACTICE 69

NON-SELF 105

PEACE 113

SUFFERING 125

TEACHER 143

UNDERSTANDING & WISDOM 155

VIRTUE 165

MISCELLANEOUS 177

AN INVITATION 219

GLOSSARY 223

VI
INTRODUCTION 1

INTRODUCTION
When people would say to Ajahn Chah that
they found it impossible to practice in soci-
ety, he would ask them: “If I poked you in
the chest with a burning stick, would you say
‘I’m suffering, it’s true, but since I live in this
society I can’t get away from it?”’
Ajahn Chah’s response makes a point not
unlike the Buddha’s parable of the poisoned
arrow. The Buddha tells of man who had
been shot by an arrow and would not let
anyone pull it out until his question about
the arrow, the bow and the archer were all
answered. The only problem was that the
wounded man would probably die before he
could get the replies to all of his questions.
What the wounded man had to realize was
that he was in pain and dying, and he should
do something about that right away.
Ajahn Chah emphasized this point over
and over again in his teachings: You’re suf-
fering; do something about it now! He
2 NO AJAHN CHAH

wouldn’t spend much time talking about

peace, wisdom, or nibbanic states, but rather
the practice of constantly being aware of
what was happening within the body and
mind in the present moment, learning how
to simply watch and let go. Meditation, he’d
say, was not getting things, but getting rid
of things. Even when asked about the peace
that one could attain through practice, he
would instead rather speak of the confusion
that one should first get rid of, for, as he put
it, peace is the end of confusion.
This collection reflects not on suffer-
ing and meditation practice, but also gives
us some insight into impermanence, virtue,
non-self and so on. We hope that the reader
will take this little book as a companion and
"good friend" for moments of quiet reflec-
tion, and perhaps get a glimpse of the "no-
Ajahn Chah" who used to say, "I’m always
talking about things to develop and things
to give up, but, really, there’s nothing to de-
velop and nothing to give up".
BIRTH AND
DEATH

3
4 NO AJAHN CHAH

1. A good practice is to ask yourself very

sincerely, "Why was I born?" Ask yourself
this question in the morning, in the after-
noon, and at night... every day.
BIRTH AND DEATH 5

2. Our birth and death are just one thing.

You can’t have one without the other. It’s a
little funny to see how at a death people are
so tearful and sad, and at a birth how happy
and delighted. It’s delusion. I think if you
really want to cry, then it would be better to
do so when someone is born. Cry at the root,
for if there were no birth, there would be no
death. Can you understand this?
6 NO AJAHN CHAH

3. You’d think that people could appre-

ciate what it would be like to live in a per-
son’s belly. How uncomfortable that would
be! Just look at how merely staying in a hut
for only one day is already hard to take. You
shut all the doors and windows and you’re
suffocating already. How would it be to lie
in a person’s belly for nine months? Yet you
want to be born again! You know it wouldn’t
be comfortable in there, and yet you want to
sick your head right in there, to put your neck
in the noose once again.
BIRTH AND DEATH 7

4. Why are we born? We are born so that

we will not have to be born again.
8 NO AJAHN CHAH

5. When one does not understand death,

life can be very confusing.
BIRTH AND DEATH 9

6. The Buddha told his disciple Ananda

to see impermanence, to see death with every
breath. We must know death; we must die
in order to live. What does this mean? To
die is to come to the end of all our doubts,
all our questions, and just be here with the
present reality. You can never die tomorrow;
you must die now. Can you do it? If you can
do it, you will know the peace of no more
questions.
10 NO AJAHN CHAH

7. Death is as close as our breath.

BIRTH AND DEATH 11

8. If you trained properly, you wouldn’t

feel frightened when you fall sick, nor up-
set when someone dies. When you go into
the hospital for treatment, determine in your
mind that if you get better, that’s fine, and
that if you die, that’s fine, too. I guarantee
you that if the doctors told me I had cancer
and was going to die in a few months, I’d re-
mind the doctors, "Watch out, because death
is coming to get you, too. It’s just a question
of who goes first and who goes later." Doc-
tors are not going to cure death or prevent
death. Only the Buddha was such a doctor,
so why not go ahead and use the Buddha’s
medicine?
12 NO AJAHN CHAH

9. If you’re afraid of illnesses, if you are

afraid of death, then you should contemplate
where they come from. Where do they come
from? They arise from birth. So don’t be sad
when someone dies – it’s just nature, and his
suffering in this life is over. If you want to be
sad, be sad when people are born: “Oh, no,
they’ve come again. They’re going to suffer
and die again!"
BIRTH AND DEATH 13

10. The “One Who Knows" clearly

knows that all conditioned phenomena are
unsubstantial. So this "One Who Knows"
does not become happy or sad, for it does
not follow changing conditions. To become
glad, is to be born; to become dejected, is to
die. Having died, we are born again; having
been born, we die again. This birth and death
from one moment to the next is the endless
spinning wheel of saṁsāra.
14 NO AJAHN CHAH
BODY

15
16 NO AJAHN CHAH

11. If the body could talk, it would be

telling us all day long, "You’re not my owner,
you know.” Actually it’s telling it to us all
the time, but it’s Dhamma language, so we’re
unable to understand it.
BODY 17

12. Conditions don’t belong to us. They

follow their own natural course. We can’t
do anything about the way the body is. We
can beautify it a little, make it look attractive
and clean for a while, like the young girl who
paint their lips and let their nail grow long,
but when old age arrives, everyone is in the
same boat. That is the way the body is. We
can’t make it any other way. But what we
can improve and beautify is the mind.
18 NO AJAHN CHAH

13. If our body really belonged to us, it

would obey our commands. If we say "Don’t
get old," or “I forbid you to get sick," does it
obey us? No! It’s take no notice, We only
rent this "house," not own it. If we think it
does belong to us, we will suffer when we
have to leave it. But in reality, there is no
such thing as a permanent self, nothing un-
changing or solid that we can hold on to.
BREATH

19
20 NO AJAHN CHAH

14. There are people who are born and

die and never once are aware of their breath
going in and out of their body. That’s how
far away they live from themselves.
BREATH 21

15. Time is our present breath.

22 NO AJAHN CHAH

16. You say that you are too busy to med-

itate. Do you have time to breath? Medita-
tion is your breath. Why do you have time
to breathe but not to meditate? Breathing is
something vital to people’s lives. If you see
that Dhamma practice is vital to your life,
then you will feel that breathing and prac-
ticing the Dhamma are equally important.
DHAMMA

23
24 NO AJAHN CHAH

17. What is Dhamma? Nothing isn’t.

DHAMMA 25

18. How does the Dhamma teach the

proper way of life? It shows us how to live.
It has many ways of showing it – on rocks or
trees or just in front of you. It is a teaching
but not in words. So still the mind, the heart,
and learn to watch. You’ll find the whole
Dhamma revealing itself here and now. At
what other time and place are you going to
look?
26 NO AJAHN CHAH

19. First you understand the Dhamma

with your thoughts. If you begin to under-
stand it, you will practice it. And if you prac-
tice it, you will begin to see it. And when you
see it, you are the Dhamma and you have the
joy of the Buddha.
DHAMMA 27

20. The Dhamma has to be found by

looking into your own heart and seeing that
which is true and that which is not, that
which is balanced and that which is not bal-
anced.
28 NO AJAHN CHAH

21. There is only one real magic, the

magic of Dhamma. Any other magic is like
the illusion of a card trick. It’s distracts us
from the real game: our relation to human
life, to birth, to death and to freedom.
DHAMMA 29

22. Whatever you do, make it Dhamma.

If you don’t feel good, look inside. If you
know it’s wrong and still do it, that’s defile-
ment.
30 NO AJAHN CHAH

23. It’s hard to find those who listen

to Dhamma, who remember Dhamma and
practice it, who reach Dhamma and see it.
DHAMMA 31

24. It’s all Dhamma if we have mind-

fulness. When we see the animals that run
away from danger, we see that they are just
like us. They flee from suffering and run to-
ward happiness. They also have fear. They
fear for their lives just as we do. When we
see according to truth, we see that all ani-
mals and human being are no different. We
are all mutual companions of birth, old age,
sickness, and death.
32 NO AJAHN CHAH

25. Regardless of time and place, the

whole practice of Dhamma comes to com-
pletion at the place where there is nothing.
It’s the place of surrender, of emptiness, of
laying down the burden. This is the finish.
DHAMMA 33

26. The Dhamma is not far away. It’s

right with us. The Dhamma isn’t about an-
gels in the sky or anything like that. It’s sim-
ply about us, about what we are doing right
now. Observe yourself. Sometimes there is
happiness, sometimes suffering, sometimes
comfort, sometimes pain... this is Dhamma.
Do you see it? To know this is Dhamma, you
have to read your experiences.
34 NO AJAHN CHAH

27. The Buddha wanted us to contact the

Dhamma, but people only contact the words,
the books and the scriptures. This is contact-
ing that which is "about" Dhamma, and not
contacting the "real" Dhamma as taught by
our Great Teacher. How can people say that
they are practicing well and properly if they
only do that? They are a long way off.
DHAMMA 35

28. When you listen to the Dhamma you

must open up your heart and compose your-
self in the center. Don’t try to accumulate
what you hear or make a painstaking effort to
retain what you hear through memory. Just
let the Dhamma flow into your heart as it re-
veal itself, and keep yourself continuously
open to its flow in the present moment. What
is ready to be retained will be so, and it will
happen of it’s own accord, not through any
determined effort on your part.
36 NO AJAHN CHAH

29. Also when you expound the

Dhamma you must not force yourself. It
should happen on it’s own and should flow
spontaneously from the present moment and
circumstances. People have different levels
of receptive ability, and when you’re there at
that same level, it just happens, the Dhamma
flows. The Buddha had the ability to know
people’s temperaments and receptive abili-
ties. He used this very same method of spon-
taneous teaching. It’s not that he possessed
any special superhuman power to teach, but
rather that he was sensitive to the spiritual
needs of the people who came to him, and so
he taught them accordingly.
HEART & MIND

37
38 NO AJAHN CHAH

30. Only one book is worth reading: the

heart.
HEART & MIND 39

31. The Buddha taught us that what-

ever makes the mind distressed in our prac-
tice hits home. Defilements are distressed.
It’s not that the mind is distressed! We dont
know what our mind and defilements are.
Whatever we aren’t satisfied with, we just
don’t want anything to do with it. Our way
of life is not difficult. What’s difficult is not
being satisfied, not agreeing with it. Our de-
filements are the difficulty.
40 NO AJAHN CHAH

32. The world is in a very feverish state.

The mind changes from like to dislike with
the feverishness of the world. If we can learn
to make the mind still, it will be the greatest
help to the world.
HEART & MIND 41

33. If your mind is happy, then you

are happy anywhere you go. When wis-
dom awakens within you, you will see Truth
wherever you look. Truth is all there is. It’s
like when you’ve learned how to read... you
can then read anywhere you go.
42 NO AJAHN CHAH

34. If you’re allergic to one place, you’ll

be allergic to every place. But it’s not the
place outside you that’s causing you trouble.
It’s the place inside you.
HEART & MIND 43

35. Look at your own mind. The one

who carries things thinks he’s got things, but
the one who looks on only sees the heavi-
ness. Throw away things, lose them and find
lightness.
44 NO AJAHN CHAH

36. The mind is intrinsically tranquil.

Out of this tranquility, anxiety and confusion
are born. If one sees and knows this confu-
sion, then the mind is tranquil once more.
HEART & MIND 45

37. Buddhism is a religion of the heart.

Only this. One who practices to develop the
heart is one who practices Buddhism.
46 NO AJAHN CHAH

38. When the light is dim, it isn’t easy

to see the old spider webs in the corners of
a room. But when the light is bright, you
can see them clearly and then be able to
take them down. When your mind is bright,
you’ll be able to see your defilements clearly,
too, and clean them away.
HEART & MIND 47

39. Strengthening the mind is not done

by making it move around as is done to
strengthen the body, but by bringing the
mind to a halt, bringing it to rest.
48 NO AJAHN CHAH

40. Because people dont see themselves,

they can commit all sorts of bad deeds. They
don’t look at their own minds. When peo-
ple are going to do something bad, they have
to look around first to see if anyone is look-
ing: "Will my mother see me?" “Will my
husband see me?” "Will my children see
me?" " Will my wife see me?” If there’s
no one watching, then they go right ahead
and do it. This is insulting themselves. They
say no one is watching, so they quickly fin-
ish their bad deed before anyone will see.
And what about themselves? Aren’t they a
"somebody" watching ?
HEART & MIND 49

41. Use your heart to listen to the Teach-

ings, not your ears.
50 NO AJAHN CHAH

42. There are those to do battle with

their defilements and conquer them. This is
called fighting inwardly. Those who fight
outwardly take hold of bombs and guns to
throw and to shoot. They conquer and are
conquered. Conquering others is the way of
the world. In the practice of Dhamma we
don’t have to fight others, but instead con-
quer our own minds, patiently resisting all
our moods.
HEART & MIND 51

43. Where does rain come from? It

comes from all the dirty water that evapo-
rates from the earth, like urine and the water
you throw out after washing your feet. Isn’t
it wonderful how the sky can take that dirty
water and change it into pure, clean water?
Your mind can do the same with your defile-
ments if you let it.
52 NO AJAHN CHAH

44. The Buddha said to judge only your-

self, and not to judge others, no matter how
good or evil they may be. The Buddha
merely points out the way, saying, " The
truth is like this." Now is our mind like that
or not?
IMPERMANENCE

53
54 NO AJAHN CHAH

45. Conditions exist through change.

You can’t prevent it. Just think, could you
exhale without inhaling? Would it feel good?
Or could you just inhale? We want things to
be permanent, but that can’t be. It’s impossi-
ble.
IMPERMANENCE 55

46. If you know that all things are im-

permanent, all your thinking will gradually
unwind, and your won’t need to think too
much. Whenever anything arises, all you
need to say is "Oh, another one!" Just that!
56 NO AJAHN CHAH

47. Any speech which ignores uncer-

tainty is not the speech of a sage.
IMPERMANENCE 57

48. If you really see uncertainly clearly,

you will see that which is certain. The cer-
tainly is that things must inevitably be uncer-
tain and that they cannot be otherwise. Do
you understand? Knowing just this much,
you can know the Buddha, you can rightly
do reverence to him.
58 NO AJAHN CHAH

49. If your mind tries to tell you it has al-

ready attained the level of sotāpanna, go and
bow to a sotāpanna. He’ll tell you himself
it’s all uncertain. If you meet a sakadāgāmı̄,
go and pay respects to him. When he sees
you, he’ll simply say, "Not a sure thing!" If
there’s an anāgāmı̄, go and bow to him. He’ll
tell you only one thing, "Uncertain!" If you
meet even an arahant, go and bow to him.
He’ll tell you even more firmly, "It’s all even
more uncertain!" You’ll hear the words of the
Noble Ones: Everything is uncertain. Don’t
cling to anything!"
IMPERMANENCE 59

50. Sometimes I’d go to see old religious

sites with ancient temples. In some places
they would be cracked. Maybe one of my
friends would remark, "Such a shame, isn’t
it? It’s cracked." I’d answer, "If they weren’t
cracked there’d be no such thing as the Bud-
dha. There’d be no Dhamma. It’s cracked
like this because it’s perfectly in line with the
Buddha’s teaching."
60 NO AJAHN CHAH

51. Conditions all go their own natural

way. Whether we laugh or cry over them,
they just go their own way. And there is
no knowledge of science which can prevent
this natural course of things. You may get
a dentist to look at your teeth, but even if
they can fix them, they still finally go their
natural way. Eventually even the dentist has
the same trouble. Everything fall apart in the
end.
IMPERMANENCE 61

52. What can we take for certain? Noth-

ing! There’s nothing but feelings. Suffering
arises, stays, then passes away. Then happi-
ness replaces suffering – only this. Outside
of this, there is nothing. But we are lost peo-
ple running and grabbing at feelings contin-
uously. Feelings are not real, only changes.
62 NO AJAHN CHAH
KAMMA

63
64 NO AJAHN CHAH

53. When those who do not understand

the Dhamma act improperly, they look all
around to make sure no one is watching. But
our kamma is always watching. We never
really get away with anything.
KAMMA 65

54. Good actions bring good results, bad

actions bring bad results. Don’t expect the
gods to do thing for you, or the angles and
guardian deities to protect you, or the auspi-
cious days to help you. These things aren’t
true. Don’t believe in them. If you believe in
them, you will suffer. You will always be
waiting for the right day, the right month,
the right year, the angles, or the guardian
deities. You’ll only suffer that way. Look
into your own actions and speech, into your
own kamma. Doing good, you inherit good-
ness, doing bad you inherit badness.
66 NO AJAHN CHAH

55. Through right practice, you allow

your old kamma to wear itself out. Know-
ing how things arise and pass away, you can
just be aware and let them run their course.
It is like having two trees: if you fertilize and
water one and do not take care of the other,
there is no question which one will grow and
which one will die.
KAMMA 67

56. Some of you have come from thou-

sands of miles away, from Europe and Amer-
ica and other far-off places, to listen to the
Dhamma here at Nong Pah Pong Monastery.
To think that you’ve come from so far and
gone through so much trouble to get here.
Then we have these people who live just out-
side the wall of the monastery but who have
yet to enter through its gate. It make you ap-
preciate good kamma more, doesn’t it?
68 NO AJAHN CHAH

57. When you do something bad, there is

nowhere you can go to hide. Even if others
don’t see you, you must see yourself. Even
if you go into a deep hole, you’ll still find
yourself there. There’s no way you can com-
mit bad actions and get away with it. In the
same way, why shouldn’t you see your own
purity? You see it all – the peace, the agita-
tion, the liberation, the peace, the bondage.
You see all these for yourself.
MEDITATION
PRACTICE

69
70 NO AJAHN CHAH

58. If you want to wait around to meet

the future Buddha, then just don’t practice.
You’ll probably be around long enough to
see him when he comes.
MEDITATION PRACTICE 71

59. I’ve heard people say, "Oh, this year

was a bad year for me." "How come?" "I
was sick all year. I couldn’t practice at all."
Oh! If they don’t practice when death is near,
when will they ever practice? If they’re feel-
ing well, do you think they practice? No.
They only get lost in happiness. If they’re
suffering they still don’t practice. They get
lost in that, too. I don’t know when people
think they’re going to practice.
72 NO AJAHN CHAH

60. I’ve already laid down the schedule

and rules of the monastery. Don’t transgress
the existing standards. Anyone who does is
not one who has come with a real intention to
practice. What can such a person ever hope
to see? Even if he slept near me every day,
he wouldn’t see me. Even if he slept near the
Buddha, he wouldn’t see the Buddha, if he
disn’t practice.
MEDITATION PRACTICE 73

61. Don’t think that only sitting with

the eyes closed is practice. If you do think
this way, then quickly change your thinking.
Steady practice is being mindfull in every
posture, whether sitting, walking, standing
or lying down. When coming out of sitting,
don’t think that you’re coming out of med-
itation, but that you are only changing pos-
tures. If you reflect in this way, you will have
peace. Wherever you are, you will have this
attitude of practice with you constantly. You
will have a steady awareness within yourself.
74 NO AJAHN CHAH

62. "As long as I have still not attained

Supreme Enlightenment, I will not rise from
this place, even if my blood dries up." Read-
ing this in the books, you may think of trying
it yourself. You’ll do it like the Buddha. But
you haven’t considered that your car is only
a small one. The Buddha’s car was a really
big one. He could do it all at once. With
only your tiny, little car, how can you possi-
bly take it all at once? It’s a different story
altogether.
MEDITATION PRACTICE 75

63. I went all over looking for places

to meditate. I didn’t realize it was already
there, in my heart. All the meditation is right
there inside you. Birth, old age, sickness,
and death are right there within you. I trav-
eled all over until I was ready to drop dead
from exhaustion. Only then, when I stopped,
did I find what I was looking for... inside me.
76 NO AJAHN CHAH

64. We don’t meditate to see heaven, but

to end suffering.
MEDITATION PRACTICE 77

65. Don’t be attached to visions or lights

in meditation, don’t rise or fall with them.
What’s so great about brightness? My flash-
light has it. It can’t help us rid ourselves of
our suffering.
78 NO AJAHN CHAH

66. You’re blind and deaf without med-

itation. Dhamma isn’t easily seen. You
must meditate to see what you’ve never seen.
Were you born a teacher? No. You must
study first. A lemon is sour only when you
have tasted it.
MEDITATION PRACTICE 79

67. When sitting in meditation, say "

That’s not my business!" with every thought
that comes by.
80 NO AJAHN CHAH

68. When we are lazy we should practice

and not only when we feel energetic or in
the mood. This is practicing according to the
Buddha’s teaching. According to our own,
we practice only when we’re feeling good.
How are we going to get anywhere like that?
When are we going to cut the stream of de-
filements when we practice only according
to our whims like that?
MEDITATION PRACTICE 81

69. Whatever we do, we should see our-

selves. Reading books doesn’t ever give rise
to anything. The days pass by, but we don’t
see ourselves. Knowing about practice is
practicing in order to know.
82 NO AJAHN CHAH

70. Of course, there are dozens of med-

itation techniques, but it all comes down to
this – just let it all be. Step over here where
it is cool, out of the battle. Why not give it a
try?
MEDITATION PRACTICE 83

71. Merely thinking about practice is

like pouncing on the shadow and missing the
substance.
84 NO AJAHN CHAH

72. When I had been practicing for only

a few years, I still could not trust myself.
But after I had experienced much, I learned
to trust my own heart. When you have this
deep understanding, whatever happens, you
can let it happen, and everything will just rise
and pass away. You will reach a point where
the heart tells itself what to do.
MEDITATION PRACTICE 85

73. In meditation practice, it is actually

worse to be caught in calmness that to be
stuck in agitation, because at least you will
want to escape from agitation, whereas you
are content to remain in calmness and not
go any further. When blissful clear states
arise from insight meditation practice, do not
cling to them.
86 NO AJAHN CHAH

74. Meditation is just about the mind and

it’s feelings. It’s not something you have to
run after or struggle for. Breathing continues
while working. Nature takes care of the nat-
ural processes. All we have to do is try to be
aware, going inwards to see clearly. Medita-
tion is like this.
MEDITATION PRACTICE 87

75. Not practicing rightly is being heed-

less. Being heedless is like being dead.
Ask yourself if you will have time to prac-
tice when you die? Constantly ask your-
self, "When will I die? If we contemplate
in this way, our mind will be alert every sec-
ond, heedfulness will always be present, and
mindfulness will automatically follow. Wis-
dom will arise, seeing all things as they re-
ally are very clearly. Mindfulness guards the
mind so that it knows when sensations arise
at all times, day and night. To have mindful-
ness is to be composed. To be composed is
to be heedful. If one is heedful, then one is
practicing rightly.
88 NO AJAHN CHAH

76. The basics in our practice should be

first, to be honest and upright; second, to be
wary of wrong doing; and third, to be hum-
ble within one’s heart, to be aloof and con-
tent with little. If we are content with little in
regards to speech and in all other things, we
will see ourselves, we won’t be distracted.
The mind will have a foundation of virtue,
concentration, and wisdom.
MEDITATION PRACTICE 89

77. At first you hurry to go forward,

hurry to come back, and hurry to stop. You
continue to practice like this until you reach
the point where it seems that going forward
is not it, coming back is not it, and stopping
is not it either! It’s finished. There’s no stop-
ping, no going forward and no coming back.
It’s is finished. Right there you will find that
there is really nothing at all.
90 NO AJAHN CHAH

78. Remember you don’t meditate to get

anything, but to get rid of things. We do it
not with desire but with letting go. If you
want anything, you won’t find it.
MEDITATION PRACTICE 91

79. The heart of the path is quite

easy. There’s no need to explain anything at
length. Let go of love and hate and let things
be. That ’s all that I do in my own practice.
92 NO AJAHN CHAH

80. Asking the wrong questions show

that you are still caught in doubting. Talking
about practice is all right, if it helps contem-
plation. But it’s up to you yourself to see the
Truth.
MEDITATION PRACTICE 93

81. We practice to learn letting go, not

to increase our holding on. Enlightenment
appears when you stop wanting anything.
94 NO AJAHN CHAH

82. If you have time to be mindful, you

have time to meditate.
MEDITATION PRACTICE 95

83. Someone recently asked me, "As

we meditate and various things arise in the
mind, should we investigate them or just note
them coming and going?" If you see some-
one passing by whom you do not know, you
may wonder, "Who is that? Where is he go-
ing? What is he up to?" But if we know the
person, it is enough just to notice him pass
by.
96 NO AJAHN CHAH

84. Desire in practice can be a friend or

an enemy. As a friend, it makes us want to
practice, to understand, to end suffering. But
to be always desiring something that has not
yet arisen, to want things to be other than
they are, just causes more suffering, and this
is when desire can be a foe. In the end, we
must learn to let go of all our desires, even
the desire for enlightenment. Only then can
we be free.
MEDITATION PRACTICE 97

85. Someone once asked Ajahn Chah

about the way he taught meditation: "Do you
use the method of daily interviewing to ex-
amine the mind-state of a person?" Ajahn
Chah responded by saying: "Here I teach
disciples to examine their own mind-states,
to interview themselves. Maybe a monk is
angry today, or maybe he has some desire in
his mind. I don’t know it but he should. He
doesn’t have to come and ask me about it,
does he?"
98 NO AJAHN CHAH

86. Our life is an assembly of the el-

ements. We use conventions to describe
things, but we get attached to the conven-
tions and take them to be something real. For
example, people and things are given names.
We could go back to the beginning before
names were given, and call men "women"
and women "men" – what would be the dif-
ference? But now we cling to names and
concepts, so we have the war of the sexes and
other wars as well. Meditation is for seeing
through all of this; then we can reach the un-
conditioned and be at peace, not at war.
MEDITATION PRACTICE 99

87. Some people enter the monkhood

out of faith, but later trample on the teaching
of Buddha. They know better, but refuse to
practice rightly. Indeed, those who do really
practice are few these days.
100 NO AJAHN CHAH

88. Theory and practice – the first knows

the name of a medicinal plant, and the sec-
ond goes to find it and uses it.
MEDITATION PRACTICE 101

89. Noise – you like the sound of birds

but not that of cars. You’re afraid of people
and noises, and you like to live alone in the
forest. Let go of the noise and take care of
the baby. The "baby" is your practice.
102 NO AJAHN CHAH

90. A newly ordained novice asked

Ajahn Chah what his advice was for those
new to meditation practice. "The same as
for those who’ve already been at it for a long
time," he replied. And what was that? "Just
keep at it," he said.
MEDITATION PRACTICE 103

91. People say that that Buddha’s teach-

ing is right, but it is impossible to practice
in society. They say things like "I’m young,
so I don’t have the opportunity to practice,
but when I’m old I’ll practice." Would you
say "I’m young, so I don’t have time to eat,
but when I get older I’ll eat?” If I poked you
with a stick that was on fire, would you say
“I’m suffering, it’s true, but since I live in
this society I can’t get away from it?”
104 NO AJAHN CHAH

92. Virtue, concentration, and wisdom

together make up the heart of Buddhist prac-
tice. Virtue keeps the body and speech intact.
And the body is the residence of the mind.
So practice has the way of virtue, the way of
concentration, and the way of wisdom. It’s
like a piece of wood cut into three sections,
but it’s really only one log. If we want to
throw away body and speech, we cannot. We
must practice with the body and the mind.
So in truth, virtue, concentration, and wis-
dom are one harmonious union that work to-
gether.
NON-SELF

105
106 NO AJAHN CHAH

93. A devout elderly lady from a nearby

province came on a pilgrimage to Wat Pah
Pong. She told Ajahn Chah she could stay
only a short time, as she had to return to
take care of her grandchildren, and since
she was an old lady, she asked if he could
please give her a brief Dhamma talk. Ajahn
Chah replied with great force, "Hey, listen!
There’s no one here, just this! No owner, no
one to be old, to be young, to be good or
bad, weak or strong. Just this, that’s all –
just various elements of nature going their
own way, all empty. No one born and no
one to die! Those who speak of birth and
death are speaking the language of ignorant
children. In he language of the heart, of
Dhamma, there are no such things as birth
and death."
NON-SELF 107

94. The real foundation of the teaching

is to see the self a being empty. But people
come to study the Dhamma to increase their
self-view, so they don’t want to experience
suffering or difficulty. They want everything
to be cosy. They may want to transcend suf-
fering, but if there is still a self, how can they
ever do so?
108 NO AJAHN CHAH

95. It is so easy once you understand. It

is so simple and direct. When pleasant things
arise, understand that they are empty. When
unpleasant things arise, see that they are not
yours. They pass away. Don’t relate to them
as being you, or see yourself as the owner of
them. You think that papaya tree is yours,
then why don’t you feel hurt when it is cut
down? If you can understand this, then the
mind comes into balance. When the mind
comes into balance, then this is the correct
path, the correct teaching of the Buddha, and
the teaching that leads to liberation.
NON-SELF 109

96. People don’t study that which is be-

yond good and evil. This is what they should
study. "I’m going to be like this; I’m going
to be like that," they say. But they never say,
"I’m not going to be anything because there
really isn’t any ’I”’. This they don’t study.
110 NO AJAHN CHAH

97. Once you understand non-self, then

the burden of life is gone. You’ll be at peace
with the world. When we see beyond self,
we no longer cling to happiness and we can
truly be happy. Learn to let go without strug-
gle, simply let go, to be just as you are – no
holding on, no attachment – free.
NON-SELF 111

98. All bodies are composed of the

four elements of earth, water, wind and fire.
When they come together and form a body
we say it’s a male or a female, giving it
names and so on, so that we can identify each
other more easily. But actually there isn’t
anyone there – only earth, water, wind and
fire. Don’t get excited over it or infatuated
by it. If you really look into it, you will not
find anyone there.
112 NO AJAHN CHAH
PEACE

113
114 NO AJAHN CHAH

99. Question: What’s peacefulness like?

Answer: What is confusion? Well,
peacefulness is the end of confusion.
PEACE 115

100. Peace is within oneself to be found

in the same place as agitation and suffering.
It’s is not found in a forest or on a hill top,
nor is it given by a teacher, Where you expe-
rience suffering, you can also find freedom
from suffering. Trying to run away from suf-
fering is actually to run toward it.
116 NO AJAHN CHAH

101. If you let go a little, you will have a

little peace. If you let go a lot, you will have
a lot of peace. If you let go completely, you
will have complete peace.
PEACE 117

102. Actually, in truth, there isn’t any-

thing to human beings. Whatever we may be,
it’s only in the realm of appearances. How-
ever, if we go beyond appearances and see
the truth, we will see that there isn’t anything
there but the universal characteristics – birth
in the beginning, change in the middle, and
cessation in the end. This is all there is. If we
see that all things are like this, then no prob-
lems arise. If we understand this, we will
have contentment and peace.
118 NO AJAHN CHAH

103. Know what is good and bad,

whether traveling or living in one place. You
can’t find peace on a mountain or in a cave.
You can even go to where the Buddha at-
tained enlightenment without getting closer
to the truth.
PEACE 119

104. Looking outside the self is to com-

pare and to discriminate. You will not find
happiness that way. Nor will you find peace
if you spend your time looking for a perfect
person or the perfect teacher. The Buddha
taught us to look at the Dhamma, the truth,
and not to look at other people.
120 NO AJAHN CHAH

105. Anyone can build a house of wood

and bricks, but the Buddha taught us that sort
of home is not our real home. It’s a home
in the world and it follows the ways of the
world. Our real home is inner peace.
PEACE 121

106. The forest is peaceful, why aren’t

you? You hold onto things causing your
confusion. Let nature teach you. Hear the
bird’s song then let go. If you know na-
ture, you’ll know Dhamma. If you know
Dhamma, you’ll know nature.
122 NO AJAHN CHAH

107. Looking for peace is like looking

for a turtle with a mustache. You won’t be
able to find it. But when your heart is ready,
peace will come looking for you.
PEACE 123

108. Virtue, concentration, and wisdom

together make up the Path. But this Path is
not yet the true teaching, not what the teacher
actually wanted, but merely the Path that
will take you there. For example, say you
traveled the road from Bangkok to Wat Pah
Pong; the road was necessary for your jour-
ney, but you were seeking Wat Pah Pong the
monastery, not the road. In the same way, we
can say that virtue, concentration, and wis-
dom are outside the truth of the Buddha but
are road that leads to this truth. When you
have developed these three factors, the result
is the most wonderful peace.
124 NO AJAHN CHAH
SUFFERING

125
126 NO AJAHN CHAH

109. There are two kinds of suffering:

the suffering which leads to more suffering,
and the suffering which leads to the end of
suffering. The first is the pain of grasping
after fleeting pleasures and aversion for the
unpleasant, the continued struggle of most
people day after day. The second is the suf-
fering which comes when you allow your-
self to feel fully the constant change of ex-
perience – pleasure, pain, joy, and anger –
without fear or withdrawal. The suffering of
our experience lead to inner fearlessness and
peace.
SUFFERING 127

110. We want to take the easy way, but if

there’s no suffering, there’s no wisdom. To
be ripe for wisdom, you must really break
down and cry in your practice at least three
times.
128 NO AJAHN CHAH

111. We don’t become monk or nuns to

eat well, sleep well, and be very comfortable,
but to know suffering:
– how to accept it...
– how to get rid of it...
– how not to cause it.
So don’t do that which causes suffering, like
indulging in greed, or it will never leave you.
SUFFERING 129

112. In truth, happiness is suffering in

disguise, but in such a subtle form that you
don’t see it. If you cling to happiness, it’s the
same as clinging to suffering, but you don’t
realize it. When you hold onto happiness, it’s
impossible to throw away the inherent suf-
fering. They’re inseparable like that. Thus
the Buddha taught us to know suffering, see
it as the inherent harm in happiness, to see
them as equal. So be careful! When happi-
ness arise, don’t be overjoyed, and don’t get
carried away. When suffering comes, don’t
despair, don’t lose yourself in it. See that
they have the same equal value.
130 NO AJAHN CHAH

113. When suffering arises, understand

that there is no one to accept it. If you think
suffering is yours, happiness is yours, you
will not be able to find peace.
SUFFERING 131

114. People who suffer will accordingly

gain wisdom. If we don’t suffer, we don’t
contemplate. If we don’t contemplate, no
wisdom is born. Without wisdom, we don’t
know. Not knowing, we can’t get free of suf-
fering – that’s just the way it is. Therefore we
must train and endure in our practice. When
we then reflect on world, we won’t be afraid
like before. It isn’t that the Buddha was en-
lightened outside of the world but within the
world itself.
132 NO AJAHN CHAH

115. Sensual indulgence and self-

mortification are two paths the Buddha dis-
couraged. This is just happiness and suffer-
ing. We imagine we have freed ourselves
from suffering, but we haven’t. We just cling
to happiness, If we cling to happiness, we
will suffer again. That’s the way it is, but
people think contrarily.
SUFFERING 133

116. People have suffering in one place,

so they go somewhere else. When suffer-
ing arise there, they run off again. They
think they’re running away from suffering,
but they’re not. Suffering goes with them.
They carry suffering around without know-
ing it. If we don’t know suffering, then
we can’t know the cause of suffering. If
we don’t know the cause of suffering, then
we can’t know the cessation of suffering.
There’s no way we can escape it.
134 NO AJAHN CHAH

117. Students today have much more

knowledge that students of previous times.
They have got all the things they need, ev-
erything is more convenient. But they also
have a lot more suffering and confusion than
before. Why is this?
SUFFERING 135

118. Do not be a bodhisatta ; do not an

arahant; do not be anything at all. If you are
a bodhisatta, you will suffer; if you are an
arahant, you will suffer; if you are anything
at all, you will suffer.
136 NO AJAHN CHAH

119. Love and hate are both suffering,

because of desire. Wanting is suffering;
wanting not to have is suffering. Even if you
get what you want, it’s still suffering because
once you’ve got it, you then live in the fear of
losing it. How are you going to live happily
with fear?
SUFFERING 137

120. When you’re angry, does it feel

good or bad? If it feel so bad, then why don’t
you throw it away? Why bother to keep it?
How can you say that you are wise and in-
telligent if you hold onto such things? Some
days the mind can even cause the whole fam-
ily to quarrel or cause you to cry all night.
And, yet, we still continue to get angry and
suffer. If you see the suffering of anger, then
just throw it away. If you don’t throw it away,
it will go on causing suffering indefinitely,
with no chance of respite. The world of un-
satisfactory existence is like this. If we know
the way it is, we can solve the problem.
138 NO AJAHN CHAH

121. A woman wanted to know how to

deal with anger. I asked her when anger
arose whose anger it was. She said it was
hers. Well, if it really was her anger, then she
should be able to tell it to go away, shouldn’t
she? But it really isn’t hers to command.
Holding onto anger as a personal possession
will cause suffering. If anger really belonged
to us, it would have to obey us. If it doesn’t
obey us, that means it’s only a deception.
Don’t fall for it. Whether the mind is happy
or sad, don’t fall for it. It’s all a deception.
SUFFERING 139

122. If you see certainly in that which is

uncertain, you are bound to suffer.
140 NO AJAHN CHAH

123. The Buddha is always here teach-

ing. See for yourself. There is happiness and
there is unhappiness. There is pleasure and
there is pain. And they’re always here. When
you understand the nature of pleasure and
pain, there you see the Buddha, there you see
the Dhamma. The Buddha is not apart from
them.
SUFFERING 141

124. Contemplating them together, we

see that happiness and suffering are equal,
just as hot and cold are. The heat from a fire
can burn us to death, while the coldness from
ice can freeze us to death. Neither is greater.
It’s the same with happiness and suffering.
In the world, everyone desires happiness and
no one desires suffering. Nibbāna has no de-
sire. There is only tranquility.
142 NO AJAHN CHAH
TEACHER

143
144 NO AJAHN CHAH

125. You are your own teacher. Looking

for teachers can’t solve your own doubts. In-
vestigate yourself to find the truth – inside,
not outside. Knowing yourself is most im-
portant.
TEACHER 145

126. One of my teachers ate very fast. He

made noises as he ate. Yet he told us to eat
slowly and mindfully. I used to watch him
and get very upset. I suffered, but he didn’t!
I watched the outside. Later I learned: some
people drive very fast but carefully; others
drive slowly and have many accidents. Don’t
cling to rules, to outer form. If you watch
others at most ten percent of the time and
watch yourself ninety percent of the time,
your practice is okay.
146 NO AJAHN CHAH

127. Disciples are hard to teach. Some

know but don’t bother to practice. Some
don’t know and don’t try to find out. I don’t
know what to do with them. Why is it hu-
mans have minds like this? Being ignorant
is not good, but even if I tell them, they still
don’t listen. People are so full of doubts in
their practice. They’re alway doubting. They
want to go to Nibbāna but they don’t want to
walk to path. It’s baffling. When I tell them
to meditate, they’re afraid, and if not afraid,
then just plain sleepy. Mostly they like to do
the things I don’t teach. This is the pain of
being a teacher.
TEACHER 147

128. If we could see the truth of the Bud-

dha’s teaching so easily, we wouldn’t need
so many teachers. When we understand the
teachings, we just do what is required of us.
But what makes people so difficult to teach is
that they don’t accept the teachings and ague
with the teachers and the teachings. In front
of the teacher they behave a little better, but
behind his back they become thieves! People
are really difficult to teach.
148 NO AJAHN CHAH

129. I don’t teach my disciples to live

and practice heedlessly. But that’s what they
do when I’m not around. When the po-
liceman is around, the thieves behave them-
selves. When he asked if there are any
thieves around, of course they all say there
aren’t, that they’ve never seen any. But as
soon as the policeman’s gone, they’re at it
again. It was like that even in the Buddha’s
time. So just watch yourself and don’t be
concerned with what others do.
TEACHER 149

130. True teachers speak only of the dif-

ficult practice of giving up or getting rid of
the self. Whatever may happen, do not aban-
don the teacher. Let him guide you, because
it is easy to forget the Path.
150 NO AJAHN CHAH

131. Your doubts about your teacher can

help you. Take from your teacher what is
good, and be aware of your own practice.
Wisdom is yourself to watch and develop.
TEACHER 151

132. Don’t just believe in the teacher be-

cause he says a fruit is sweet and delicious.
Taste it for yourself and then all the doubting
will be over.
152 NO AJAHN CHAH

133. Teachers are those who point out

the direction of the Path. After listening to
the teacher, whether or not we walk the Path
by practicing ourselves, and thereby reap the
fruits of practice, is strictly up to each one of
us.
TEACHER 153

134. Sometimes teaching is hard work.

A teacher is like a garbage can that people
throw their frustrations and problems into.
The more people you teach, the bigger the
garbage disposal problems. But teaching is a
wonderful way to practice Dhamma. Those
who teach grow in patience and in under-
standing.
154 NO AJAHN CHAH

135. A teacher cannot really clear up our

difficulties. He is just a source to investi-
gate the Path. He can’t make it clear. Ac-
tually what he says is not worth listening to.
The Buddha never praised believing in oth-
ers. We must believe ourselves. This is diffi-
cult, yes, but that’s really how it is. We look
outside but never really see. We have to de-
cide to really practice. Doubts don’t disap-
pear by asking others, but through our own
unending practice.
UNDERSTANDING
& WISDOM

155
156 NO AJAHN CHAH

136. No one and nothing can free you but

your own understanding.
UNDERSTANDING & WISDOM 157

137. A madman and an arahant both

smile, but the arahant knows why while the
madman doesn’t.
158 NO AJAHN CHAH

138. A clever person watches others, but

he watches with wisdom, not with ignorance.
If one watches with wisdom, one can learn
much. But if one watches with ignorance,
one can only find faults.
UNDERSTANDING & WISDOM 159

139. The real problem with people nowa-

days is that they know but still don’t do. It’s
another matter if they don’t do because they
don’t know; but if they already know and still
don’t do, what’s the problem?
160 NO AJAHN CHAH

140. Outward scriptural study is not im-

portant. Of course, the Dhamma books are
correct, but they are not right. They can-
not give you right understanding. To see the
word "anger" in print is not the same as expe-
riencing anger. Only experiencing for your-
self can give you true faith.
UNDERSTANDING & WISDOM 161

141. If you see things with real insight,

then there is no stickiness in your relation-
ship to them. They come – pleasant and un-
pleasant – you see them and there is no at-
tachment. They come and they pass. Even if
the worst kinds of defilement come up, such
as greed or anger, there’s enough wisdom to
see their impermanent nature and allow them
to just fade away. If you react to them, how-
ever, by linking or disliking, that isn’t wis-
dom. You’re only creating more suffering for
yourself.
162 NO AJAHN CHAH

142. When we know the truth, we be-

come people who don’t have to think much,
we become people with wisdom. If we don’t
know, we have more thinking than wisdom
or no wisdom at all. A lot of thinking with-
out wisdom is extreme suffering.
UNDERSTANDING & WISDOM 163

143. These days people don’t search for

the Truth. People study simply in order to
find the knowledge necessary to make a liv-
ing, raise their families and look after them-
selves, that’s all. To them being smart is
more important than being wise.
164 NO AJAHN CHAH
VIRTUE

165
166 NO AJAHN CHAH

144. Be careful about observing our pre-

cepts. Virtue is a sense of shame. What
we have doubts about, we should not do or
say. This is virtue. Purity is being beyond all
doubts.
VIRTUE 167

145. There are two levels of practice.

The first level forms the foundation, which
is the development of virtue, the precepts,
in order to bring happiness and harmony
among people. The second level is the prac-
tice of Dhamma with the sole goal of liberat-
ing the heart. This liberation is the source of
wisdom and compassion and is the true rea-
son for the Buddha’s teaching. Understand-
ing these two levels is the basis of true prac-
tice.
168 NO AJAHN CHAH

146 Virtue and morality are the mother

and father of the Dhamma growing within
us. They provide it with the proper nourish-
ment and guidance.
VIRTUE 169

147. Virtue is the basis for a harmo-

nious world in which people can live truly
as humans and not as animals. Developing
virtue is at the heart of our practice. Keep the
precepts. Cultivate compassion and respect
for all life. Be mindful in your actions and
speech. Use virtue to make your life simple
and pure. With virtue as a basis for every-
thing you do, your mind will become kind,
clear, and quiet. Meditation will grow easily
in this environment.
170 NO AJAHN CHAH

148. Look after your virtue as a gar-

dener takes care of his plants. Do not be at-
tached to big or small, important or unimpor-
tant. Some people want shortcuts. They say,
"Forget concentration, we’ll go straight to in-
sight; forget virtue, we’ll start with concen-
tration." We have so many excuses for our
attachments.
VIRTUE 171

149. Right effort and virtue are not a

question of what you do outwardly but of
constant inner awareness and restraint. Thus,
charity, if given with good intention, can
bring happiness to oneself and to others. But
virtue must be the root of this charity for it
to be pure.
172 NO AJAHN CHAH

150. The Buddha taught us to refrain

from what is bad, to do good, and to purity
the heart. Our practice, then, is to get rid of
what is worthless and keep what is valuable.
Do you still have anything bad or unskillful
in your heart? Of course! So why not clean
house? But true practice is not only getting
rid of what is bad and cultivating the good.
This is only part of it. In the end we must go
beyond both good and bad. Finally there is
a freedom that includes all and a desireless-
ness from which love and wisdom naturally
flow.
VIRTUE 173

151. We must start right here where we

are, directly and simply. When the first two
steps. Virtue and right view, have been com-
pleted, then the third step of uprooting de-
filement will naturally occur without deliber-
ation. When light is produced, we no longer
worry about getting rid of darkness, nor do
we wonder where the darkness has gone. We
just know that there is light.
174 NO AJAHN CHAH

152. Following the precepts has three

levels. The first is to undertake them as
training rules given to us by our teachers.
The second arises when we undertake and
abide in them by ourselves. But for those
at the highest level, the Noble Ones. It is not
necessary to think of precepts, of right and
wrong. This true virtue comes from wisdom
that knows the Four Noble Truths in the heart
and acts from this understanding.
VIRTUE 175

153. Some monks disrobe to go to the

front where bullets fly past them every day.
They prefer it like that. They really want to
go. Danger surrounds them on all sides and
yet they’re prepared to go. Why don’t they
see the danger? They’re prepared to die by
the gun but nobody wants to die developing
virtue. This is really amazing, isn’t it?
176 NO AJAHN CHAH
MISCELLANEOUS

177
178 NO AJAHN CHAH

154. One of Ajahn Chah’s disciples had

a knee problem that could only be corrected
by surgery. Although the doctors had as-
sured him his knee would be well in a couple
of weeks, months went by and it still hadn’t
healed properly. When he saw Ajahn Chah
again, he complained saying, “They said it
wouldn’t take this long. It shouldn’t be this
way.” Ajahn Chah laughed and said, “If it
shouldn’t be this way, it wouldn’t be this
way.”
MISCELLANEOUS 179

155. If some gives you a nice, fat, yel-

low banana that’s sweet and fragrant but poi-
sonous, will you eat it? Most people will.
They know that desire is poisonous, but they
"eat" it anyway.
180 NO AJAHN CHAH

156. See your defilements, know them

like you know a cobra’s poison. You won’t
grab the cobra because you know it can kill
you. See the harm in things harmful and the
use in things useful.
MISCELLANEOUS 181

157. We are always dissatisfied. In a

sweet fruit, we miss the sour; in a sour fruit,
we miss the sweet.
182 NO AJAHN CHAH

158. If you have something bad smelling

in your pocket, wherever you go it will smell
bad. Don’t blame it on the place.
MISCELLANEOUS 183

159. Buddhism in the East today is like

a big tree which may look majestic, but can
only give small and tasteless fruit. Buddhism
in the west is like a sapling not yet able to
bear fruit, but having the potential to give
large, sweet ones.
184 NO AJAHN CHAH

160. People nowadays think too much.

There are too many things for them to get
interested in, but none of them lead to any
true fulfillment.
MISCELLANEOUS 185

161. Just because you go and call alcohol

"perfume" doesn’t make it become perfume,
you know. But, you people, when you want
to drink alcohol, you say it’s perfume, then
go ahead and drink it. You must be crazy!
186 NO AJAHN CHAH

162. People are always looking out-

wards, at people and things. They look at this
hall, for example, and say, "Oh, it’s so big!"
Actually it’s not big at all. Whether or not
it seems big, depends on your perception of
it. In fact this hall is just the size it is, neither
big nor small. But people run after their feel-
ings all the time. They are so busy looking
around and having opinions about what they
see that they have no time to look at them-
selves.
MISCELLANEOUS 187

163. Some people get bored, fed up, tried

of the practice and lazy. They can’t seem
to keep the Dhamma in mind. Yet, if you
go and scold them, they’ll never forget that.
Some may remember it for the rest of their
life and never forgive you for it. But when
it comes to the Buddha’s teaching, telling us
to be moderate, to be restrained, to practice
conscientiously, why do they keep forgetting
these things? Why don’t people take these
things to heart?
188 NO AJAHN CHAH

164. Seeing that we are better than others

is not right. Seeing that we are equal to oth-
ers is not right. Seeing that we are inferior to
others is not right. If we think we are better
than others, pride arise. If we think we are
equal to others, we fail to show respect and
humility at the proper times. If we think we
are inferior to others, we get depressed think-
ing we are inferior, born under a bad sign and
so on. Just let all of that go!
MISCELLANEOUS 189

165. We must learn to let go of condi-

tions and not try to oppose or resist them.
And yet we plead with them to comply with
our wishes. We look for all sorts of means
to organize them or make a deal with them.
If the body gets sick and is in pain, we don’t
want it to be so, so we look for various sut-
tas to chant. We don’t want the body to be in
pain. We want to control it. These suttas be-
come some form of mystical ceremony, get-
ting us even more entangled in clinging. This
is because we chant them in order to ward off
illness, to prolong life and so on. Actually
the Buddha gave us these teachings in or-
der to help us know the truth of the body, so
that we can let go and give up our longings,
but we end up chanting them to increase our
delusion.
190 NO AJAHN CHAH

166. Know your own body, heart, and

mind. Be content with little. Don’t be at-
tached to the teachings. Don’t go and hold
onto emotions.
MISCELLANEOUS 191

167. Some people are afraid of generos-

ity. They feel that they will be exploited or
oppressed. In cultivating generosity, we are
only oppressing our greed and attachment.
This allows our true nature to express itself
and become lighter and freer.
192 NO AJAHN CHAH

168. If you reach out and grab a fire in

your neighbor’s house, the fire will be hot. If
you grab a fire in your own house, that, too,
will be hot. So don’t grab at anything that
can burn you, no matter what or where it is.
MISCELLANEOUS 193

169. People outside may call us mad to

live in the forest like this, sitting like statues.
But how do they live? They laugh, they cry,
they are so caught up that at times they kill
themselves or one another out of greed and
hatred. Who are the mad ones?
194 NO AJAHN CHAH

170. More than merely teaching peo-

ple, Ajahn Chah trained them by creating
a general environment and specific situation
where they could learn about themselves. He
would say things like, "Of what I teach you,
you understand maybe 15%," or "He’s been a
monk for five years, so he understands 5%."
A junior monk said in response to the latter,
"So I must have 1% since I’ve been here one
year." "No," was Ajahn Chah’s reply. "The
first four years you have no percent, then the
fifth year, you have 5%."
MISCELLANEOUS 195

171. One of Ajahn Chah’s disciples was

once asked if he was ever going to disrobe, if
he was going to die in the yellow robes. The
disciple said that it was hard to think about,
and that although he had no plans to dis-
robe, he couldn’t really decide that he never
would. When he looked into it, he said, his
thoughts seemed meaningless. Ajahn Chah
then replied by saying, "That they are mean-
ingless is the real Dhamma."
196 NO AJAHN CHAH

172. When someone asked Ajahn Chah

why there was so much crime in Thailand,
a Buddhist country, or why Indochina was
such a mess, he said, "Those aren’t Bud-
dhists who are doing those unwholesome
things. That isn’t Buddhism doing those
things. Those are people doing those things.
Buddha never taught anything like that."
MISCELLANEOUS 197

173. Once a visitor asked Ajahn Chah if

he was an arahant. He said, "I am like a tee
in a forest. Birds come to the tree, they sit on
it’s branches and eat its fruit. To the birds the
fruit may be sweet or sour or whatever. But
the tree doesn’t know anything about it. The
birds say sweet or they say sour, but from the
tree’s point of view, this is just the chattering
of birds."
198 NO AJAHN CHAH

174. Someone commented, "I can ob-

serve desire and aversion I my mind, but it’s
hard to observe delusion." " You’re riding on
a horse and asking where the horse is?" was
Ajahn Chah ’s reply.
MISCELLANEOUS 199

175. Some people become monks out

of faith but then trample on the teachings
of the Buddha. They don’t now themselves
better. Those who really practice are few
these days, for there are too many obstacles
to overcome. But if it isn’t good, let it die; if
it doesn’t die, then make it good.
200 NO AJAHN CHAH

176. You say you love your girlfriend

one hundred percent. Well, turn her inside
out and see how many percent of her you
still love. Or if you miss your lover so much
when she’s not with you, then why not ask
her to send to you a vial with her feces in it.
In that way, whenever you think of her with
longing, you can open the vial and smell it.
Disgusting? What is it, then, that you love?
What is it that makes your heart pound like
a rice pounder every time a girl with a re-
ally attractive figure comes walking along or
you smell her perfume in the air? What is it?
What are these forces? They pull and suck
you in, but you don’t put up a real fight, do
you? There’s a price to pay for it in the end,
you know?
MISCELLANEOUS 201

177. One day Ajahn Chah came upon

a large, heavy branch that was lying in his
path and which he wanted to move out of the
way. He motioned to a disciple to get hold
of one end while he lifted the other. Then
when they held it ready to throw, he looked
up and asked, "Is it heavy?" And after they
had flung it into he forest, he asked again,
"Now, is it heavy?" It was like this that Ajahn
Chah taught his disciples to see the Dhamma
in everything they said or did. In this case,
he demonstrated the benefit of "letting go."
202 NO AJAHN CHAH

178. One of Ajahn Chah’s disciples was

unplugging a tape recorder when he acciden-
tally touched the metal prongs of the plug
while it was still connected. He got a shock
and dropped it immediately. Ajahn Chah no-
ticed and said, “Oh! How come you could
let go of that so easily? Who told you to?"
MISCELLANEOUS 203

179. It was Christmas and the foreign

monks had decided to celebrate it. They in-
vited some laypeople as well as Ajahn Chah
to join them. The laypeople were generally
upset and skeptical. Why, they asked, were
Buddhists celebrating Christmas? Ajahn
Chah then gave a talk on religion in which
he said, "As far as I understand, Christian-
ity teaches people to do good and avoid evil,
just as Buddhism does, so what is the prob-
lem? However, if people are upset by the
idea of celebrating Christmas, that can be
easily remedied. We won’t call it Christmas.
Let’s call it "Christ-Buddhamas". Anything
that inspires us to see what is true and do
what is good is proper practice. You may
call it any name you like."
204 NO AJAHN CHAH

180. During one time refugees were

pouring into Thailand from Laos and Cam-
bodia. The charitable organizations who
came out to help were many. This made
some ordained Westerners think it was not
right that Buddhist monks and nuns should
just sit in the forest while other religious or-
ganizations were so actively participating in
alleviating the plight of the refugees. So they
approached Ajahn Chah to express their con-
cern, and this is what he said, "Helping in
refugee camps is good. It is indeed our nat-
ural human duty to each other. But going
through our own madness so that we can lead
others through, that’s the only cure. Anyone
can go out and distribute clothes and pitch
tents, but how many can come into the forest
and sit to know heir minds? As long as we
don’t know how to ’clothe’ and ’feed’ peo-
ple’s minds, there will always be a refugee
problem somewhere in the world."
MISCELLANEOUS 205

181. Ajahn Chah listened to one of his

disciples recite the Heart Sutra. When he
had finished, Ajahn Chah said, "No empti-
ness either... no bodhisatta." He then asked,
"Where did the sutra come from?" "It’s re-
puted to have been spoken by the Buddha,"
the follower replied. "No Buddha," retorted
Ajahn Chah. Then he said, "This is talking
about deep wisdom, beyond all conventions.
How could we teach without them? We have
to have names for things, isn’t that so?"
206 NO AJAHN CHAH

182. To become a Noble One, we have

to continuously undergo changes until only
the body remains. The mind changes com-
pletely but the body still exist. There is hot,
cold, pain, and sickness as usual. But the
mind has changed and now sees birth, old
age, sickness and death in the light of truth.
MISCELLANEOUS 207

183. Someone once asked Ajahn Chah

to talk about enlightenment; could he de-
scribe his own enlightenment? With ev-
eryone eagerly waiting to hear his answer,
he said, "Enlightenment isn’t hard to under-
stand. Just take a banana and put it into your
mouth, then you will know what it tastes like.
You have to practice to experience realiza-
tion, and you have to perserve. If it were so
easy to become enlightened, everyone would
be doing it. I started going to the temple
when I was eight years old, and I have been
a monk for over forty years. But you want
to meditate for a night or two and go straight
to Nibbāna. You don’t just sit down and –
zip! – there you are, you know. You can’t
get someone to blow on your head and make
you enlightened either."
208 NO AJAHN CHAH

184. The worldly way is to do things for

a reason, to get something in return, but in
Buddhism we do things without any idea of
gain. But if we don’t want anything at all,
what will we get? We don’t get anything!
Whatever we get is just a cause for suffer-
ing, so we practice not getting anything. Just
make the mind peaceful and have done with
it.
MISCELLANEOUS 209

185. The Buddha taught to lay down

those things that lack a real abiding essence.
If you lay everything down you will see the
truth. If you don’t, you won’t. That’s the
way it is. And when wisdom awakens within
you, you will see truth wherever you look.
Truth is all you’ll see.
210 NO AJAHN CHAH

186. An "empty" heart doesn’t mean it’s

empty as if there was nothing in it. It’s empty
of evil, but it’s full of wisdom.
MISCELLANEOUS 211

187. People don’t reflect on old age,

sickness and death. They only like to talk
about non-aging, non-sickness, and non-
death, so they never develop the right feeling
for Dhamma practice.
212 NO AJAHN CHAH

188. Most people’s happiness depends

on having things go to their liking. They
have to have everybody in the world say only
pleasant things. Is that how you find happi-
ness? Is it possible to have everybody in the
world say only pleasant things? If that’s how
it is, when will you ever find happiness?
MISCELLANEOUS 213

189. Trees, mountains, and vines all live

according to their own truth. They appear
and die following their nature. They remain
impassive. But not we people. We make a
fuss over everything. Yet the body just fol-
lows it’s own nature: it’s born, grows old and
eventually dies. It follows nature in this way.
Whoever wishes it to otherwise will just suf-
fer.
214 NO AJAHN CHAH

190. Don’t go thinking that by learn-

ing a lot and knowing a lot you’ll know the
Dhamma. That’s like saying you’ve seen ev-
erything there is to see just because you’ve
got eyes, or that you’ve heard everything
there is to hear just because you’ve got ears.
You may see but you don’t fully see. You see
only with the "outer eye." Not with the inner
eye." You hear with the "outer ear," not with
the "inner ear."
MISCELLANEOUS 215

191. “The Buddha taught us to give up

all forms of evil and cultivate virtue. This is
the right path. Teaching in this way is like
the Buddha picking us up and placing us at
the beginning of the path. Having reached
the path, whether we walk along it or not is
up to us. The Buddha’s job is finished right
there. He shows us the way, that which is
right and that which is not right. This much
is enough; the rest is up to us.”
216 NO AJAHN CHAH

192. “You must know the Dhamma for

yourself. To know for yourself means to
practice for yourself. You can depend on a
teacher only fifty percent of the way. Even
the teaching I have given you is completely
useless in itself, even if it is worth hearing.
But if you were to believe it all just because
I said so, you wouldn’t be using the teach-
ing properly. If you believed me completely,
then you’d be foolish. To hear the teaching,
see it’s benefits, put it onto practice for your-
self, see it within yourself... this is much
more useful.”
MISCELLANEOUS 217

193. “Sometimes when doing walking

meditation, a soft rain would start to fall and
I’d want to quit and go inside, but then I’d
think of the times I used to work in the rice
paddies. My pants would be wet form the
day before but I’d have to get up before dawn
and put them on again. Then I’d have to go
down below the house to get the buffalo out
of its pen. It was so muddy in there. I’d grab
its rope and it would be covered in buffalo
dung. Then the buffalo’s tail would swish
around and spatter me with dung on top of
that. My feet would be sore with athlete’s
foot and I’d walk along thinking, "Why is
life so miserable?" And now here I was want-
ing to stop my walking meditation... what a
little bit of rain to me? Thinking like that I
encouraged myself in the practice.”
218 NO AJAHN CHAH

194. “I don’t know who to talk to about

it. We talk about things to be developed and
things to give up, but there’s really nothing
to develop, nothing to give up.”
AN INVITATION

219
220 NO AJAHN CHAH
AN INVITATION 221

“All that I have said up to now has merely

been words. When people come to see me, I
have to say something. But it is best not to
speak about these matters too much. Better
to begin practice without delay. I am like a
good friend inviting you to go somewhere.
Do not hesitate, just get going. You won’t
regret it.”
222 NO AJAHN CHAH
 GLOSSARY

(Unless indicated otherwise, the words

below are in the Pali language)

Ajahn (Thai) – teacher

Anāgāmı̄ – "Non-returner", the third stage
in the realization of Nibbāna.
Arahant – "Holy One", an enlightened be-
ing, free from all delusion through the re-
alization of Nibbāna in the fourth and final
stage, who is free from rebirth.
Bodhisatta – In the Theravadin school, this
refers to a being destined for enlightenment.
Dhamma – The Teaching of the Buddha; Ul-
timate Truth

223
224 NO AJAHN CHAH

Four noble truths – The Buddha’s first

teaching in which he pointed out the truths
of suffering, its cause, its cessation, and the
path leading to its cessation.
Kamma – volitional action
Nibbāna – full enlightenment; The mental
state in which all greed, hatred, and delusion
have been completely and permanently erad-
icated.
Noble Ones – Those who have attained one
of the four progressive stages of enlighten-
ment. The sotāpanna, sakadāgāmı̄, anāgāmı̄,
and arahant are all Noble Ones.
Sakadāgāmı̄ – "Once-returner", the second
stage in the realization of Nibbāna.
Saṁsāra – cycle of birth.
Sotāpanna – "Stream-entrant”, the first
stage in the realization of Nibbāna
Wat (Thai) – monastery; temple