Do not try to become anything. Do not make yourself into anything. Do not be a meditator. Do not become enlightened.
AJAHN CHAHIf you want a chicken to be a duck, and a duck to be a chicken, you will suffer.
More Ajahn Chah Quotes
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To the birds, the fruit may be sweet or sour or whatever. The birds say sweet or they say sour, but from the tree’s point of view, this is just the chattering of birds.
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Breathing is something vital to peoples lives. If you see that Dhamma practice is vital to your life, then you will feel that breathing and practising the Dhamma are equally important.
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If you listen to the Dhamma teachings but don’t practice you’re like a ladle in a soup pot.
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Look at your own mind. The one who carries things thinks he’s got things, but the one who looks on sees only the heaviness. Throw away things, lose them, and find lightness.
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I know this glass is already broken, so I enjoy it – incredibly.
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To know existence as this flow, empty of lasting pleasure, void of self, is to find that which is stable and free of suffering, to find true peace in the world.
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A madman and an arahant both smile, but the arahant knows why while the madman doesn’t.
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Your only job is to stay in your seat. You will see it all arise and pass, and out of this, wisdom and understanding will come.
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Sati is life. Whenever we don’t have sati, when we are heedless, it’s as if we are dead.
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Holding on to 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.
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If you want to understand suffering you must look into the situation at hand.
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If we want to really see the Buddha, we should observe his virtuous qualities.
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We will come to understand that everything in the world is our teacher.
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We see that the sound is simply sound. If we understand like this, then there’s nothing more to it. We leave it be.
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If you haven’t cried deeply a number of times, your meditation hasn’t really begun.
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If you haven’t wept deeply, you haven’t begun to meditate.
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Another man understands that nature of the river is to change constantly, regardless of his likes and dislikes, and therefore he does not suffer.
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The meditator simply knows them, they don’t enter his mind. That is, he has no clinging. He is simply the experiencer.
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If suffering arises you must contemplate right there, you don’t have to run away.
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The heart is the only book worth reading.
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A woman wanted to know how to deal with anger. I asked when anger arose whose anger it was. She said it was hers.
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If you are still following your likes and dislikes, you have not even begun to practise Dhamma.
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Practicing meditation is just like breathing. While working we breathe, while sleeping we breathe, while sitting down we breathe…
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Where does rain come from? It comes from all the dirty water that evaporates from the earth, like urine and the water you throw out after washing your feet.
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Letting go a little brings a little peace. Letting go a lot brings a lot of peace. Letting go completely brings complete peace.
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Of course there are dozens of meditation 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?
AJAHN CHAH