When life is good do not take it for granted as it will pass. Be mindful, be compassionate and nurture the circumstances that find you in this good time so it will last longer. When life falls apart always remember that this too will pass. Life will have its unexpected turns. ~Ajahn Brahm
Meditation is like a gym in which you develop the powerful mental muscles of calm and insight. ~Ajahn Brahm
Forest monk Bhikkhu Pamutto and novice monk Ananda
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS WITH AJAHN CHAH
Question: I’m trying very hard in my practice but don’t seem to be getting anywhere.
Answer: This is very important. Don’t try to get anywhere in the practice. The very desire to be free or to be enlightened will be the desire that prevents your freedom. You can try as hard as you wish, practise ardently night and day, but if it is still with the desire to achieve in mind, you will never find peace. The energy from this desire will be a cause for doubt and restlessness. No matter how long or how hard you practise, wisdom will not arise from desire. So, simply let go. Watch the mind and body mindfully but don’t try to achieve anything. Don’t cling even to the practice of enlightenment.
Question: What about sleep? How much should I sleep?
Answer: Don’t ask me, I can’t tell you. A good average for someis four hours a night. What is important, though, is that you watch andknow yourself. If you try to go with too little sleep, the body will feel uncomfortable and mindfulness will be difficult to sustain. Too much sleep leads to a dull or a restless mind. Find the natural balance for yourself. Carefully watch the mind and body and keep track of sleep needs until you find the optimum. If you wake up and then roll over for a snooze, this is defilement. Establish mindfulness as soon as your eyes open.
Q: How about eating? How much should I eat?
Answer: Look at your food as medicine. Are you eating so much that you only feel sleepy after the meal and are you getting fatter every day? Stop! Examine your own body and mind. There is no need to fast. Instead, experiment with the amount of food you take. Find the natural balance for your body. Put all your food together in your bowl following the ascetic practice. Then you can easily judge the amount you take. Watch yourself carefully as you eat. Know yourself. The essence of our practice is just this. There is nothing special you must do. Only watch. Examine yourself. Watch the mind. Then you will know what is the natural balance for your own practice. Continue reading
If you know how to let go and be at peace, you know everything you need to know about living in the world. ~Ajahn Brahm
A lot of anger comes from not seeing the full picture, from not understanding the truth of the matter. ~Ajahn Brahm
Juvenile and adult Asian elephants photographed by a camera trap in Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary in 2009. WWF Cambodia
The Buddha subduing the fierce, drunkened elephant, Nalagiri, released by the wicked Devadatta
Bahum sahassa’ mabhinimmita savudhantam
Girime khalam uditaghora sasena maram
Danadi dhamma vidhina jitava Munindo
Tam tejasa bhavatu me jayamangalani
1. Mara, the Evil One, assuming a fierce form with a thousand arms; each brandishing a deadly weapon, stormed forward roaring, accompanied by his formidable hosts and riding on his elephant, Girimekkhala. Him the Sovereign Sage conquered by evoking the might of his exalted perfection of giving, among others. By his mighty triumph, may joyous victory be mine!
Marati reka’mabhiyujihita sabbarattim
Ghorampanalavaka makkhamathaddha yakkham
Khanti sudanta vidhina jitava Munindo
Tam tejasa bhavatu me jayamangalani
2. Even more fiendish than Mara was Alvaka,the impetuous and haughty yakkha who fought a night-long battle with the Lord. Him the Sovereign Sage conqueredthrough enduring patience flowing from his unequaled self-mastery. By this mighty triumph may joyous victory be mine!
Nalagirim gajavaram atimattabhutam
Davaggi cakka’masaniva sudarunantam
Mettambuseka vidhina jitava Munindo
Tam tejasa bhavatu me jayamangalani
3. Provoked to run amok, Nalagiri, the king tusker, like a raging forest fire murderously assailed all in his path, and struck such horror in them as would Indra’s thunder bolt, the irresistible destroyer. Him the sovereign Sage tamed by sprinking over him the cooling water of all-embracing love. By his mighty triumph may joyous victory be mine! Continue reading
If my mind doesn’t go out to disturb the noise,
the noise won’t disturb me. ~Ajahn Chah
“I listened to his laments, then I said, ‘Don’t feel too sorry for yourself, sir. If you were a pig, then you’d have good reason to feel sorry for yourself. When the price of pork is high, the pigs are slaughtered. When the price of pork is low, the pigs are still slaughtered. The pigs really have something to complain about. The people shouldn’t be complaining. Think about this seriously, please.’ ~Ajahn Chah
By Ajahn Chah
The value of Dhamma isn’t to be found in books. Those are just the external appearances of Dhamma, they’re not the realization of Dhamma as a personal experience. If you realize the Dhamma you realize your own mind, you see the truth there. When the truth becomes apparent it cuts off the stream of delusion.
The teaching of the Buddha is the unchanging truth, whether in the present or in any other time. The Buddha revealed this truth 2,500 years ago and it’s been the truth ever since. This teaching should not be added to or taken away from. The Buddha said, ”What the Tathāgata has laid down should not be discarded, what has not been laid down by the Tathāgata should not be added on to the teachings.” He ”sealed off” the teachings. Why did the Buddha seal them off? Because these teachings are the words of one who has no defilements. No matter how the world may change these teachings are unaffected, they don’t change with it. If something is wrong, even if people say it’s right doesn’t make it any the less wrong. If something is right, that doesn’t change just because people say it’s not. Generation after generation may come and go but these things don’t change, because these teachings are the truth.
Now who created this truth? The truth itself created the truth! Did the Buddha create it? No, he didn’t. The Buddha only discovered the truth, the way things are, and then he set out to declare it. The truth is constantly true, whether a Buddha arises in the world or not. The Buddha only ”owns” the Dhamma in this sense, he didn’t actually create it. It’s been here all the time. However, previously no-one had searched for and found the Deathless, then taught it as the Dhamma. He didn’t invent it, it was already there.
At some point in time the truth is illuminated and the practice of Dhamma flourishes. As time goes on and generations pass away the practice degenerates until the teaching fades away completely. After a time the teaching is re-founded and flourishes once more. As time goes on the adherents of the Dhamma multiply, prosperity sets in, and once more the teaching begins to follow the darkness of the world. And so once more it degenerates until such a time as it can no longer hold ground. Confusion reigns once more. Then it is time to re-establish the truth. In fact the truth doesn’t go anywhere. When Buddhas pass away the Dhamma doesn’t disappear with them.
The happiness of one is not measured by how much one possessed but by the generosity one shows. ~Master Cheng Yen
