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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.

Ajahn Chah

If suffering arises you must contemplate right there, you don’t have to run away.
AJAHN CHAH

Arise Away Contemplate Have Right Run Suffer
Do not be in a hurry or try to push your practice. If you become peaceful, then accept it,; if you don’t become peaceful, then accept that also.
AJAHN CHAH

Accept Mind Peaceful Practice Push
When nature finally calls, they have no idea where to go and are in a mess.
AJAHN CHAH

Call Finally Idea Mess Nature No
In practice, some come to see easily, some with difficulty. But whatever the case, never mind.
AJAHN CHAH

Case Difficult Easily Mind Practice Thinking
Proper effort is not the effort to make something particular happen. It is the effort to be aware and awake each moment, the effort to overcome laziness and merit, the effort to make each activity of our day meditation.
AJAHN CHAH

Effort Happen Meditation Overcome Particular Proper Something
The mind is intrinsically tranquil. Out of this tranquility, anxiety and confusion are born. If one sees and knows this confusion, then the mind is tranquil once more.
AJAHN CHAH

Anxiety Born Confusion Mind Tranquil
Truth is all there is. It’s like when you learned how to read, you can then read anywhere you go.
AJAHN CHAH

Anywhere Go Learn Like Read Truth
These days people don’t search for the Truth. People study simply in order to find knowledge necessary to make a living.
AJAHN CHAH

Knowledge Living Make Necessary Order People Simply Smart Study Truth Wise
We can always find time to breathe. In the same way, if we see the importance of meditation practice we will find the time to practice.
AJAHN CHAH

Always Breath Important Meditation Practice Time
The heart is the only book worth reading.
AJAHN CHAH

Book Heart Only Read Worth
The meditator simply knows them, they don’t enter his mind. That is, he has no clinging. He is simply the experiencer.
AJAHN CHAH

Cling Enter Experience Meditator Mind Simply
If you reflect in this way, you will have peace. Wherever you are, you will have this attitude of practice with you constantly.
AJAHN CHAH

Attitude Constantly Peace Practice Reflect Way
We say that to ‘give up all evil and to develop the good’ is the heart of the Buddha’s teaching.
AJAHN CHAH

Develop Evil Fall Give Up Heart Rain Teach
When we see beyond self, we no longer cling to happiness. And when we stop clinging, we can begin to be happy.
AJAHN CHAH

Beyond Cling Happiness Happy Longer Self Stop
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.
AJAHN CHAH

Bird Chatter Fruit Point Sour Sweet Tree View Whatever
A madman and an arahant both smile, but the arahant knows why while the madman doesn’t.
AJAHN CHAH

Arahant Both Know Madman Smile
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 defilements if you let it.
AJAHN CHAH

Change Clean Defilement Dirty Let Mind Pure Sky Water Wonderful
The Dhamma has to sink deeply into the mind so that whatever we do, the mind has always goodness within it. All the ways of making merit are aiming at this. Goodness lies in the right view that is established in the mind.
AJAHN CHAH

Aim Deeply Do Establishment Goddess Lying Mind Right Sink View
If we only make merit but have not stopped doing bad things, then we will never have a day of completion. It is like an overturned bowl which is left outside in the rain.
AJAHN CHAH

Bad Bowl Completion Day Doing Make Merit Outside Overturn Rain Stop Thing
A good practice is to ask yourself very sincerely, ‘Why was I born?’ Ask yourself this question in the morning, in the afternoon, and at night…every day.
AJAHN CHAH

Ask Born Day Every Good Morning Night Practice Question Sincerely Yourself
We practice to learn how to let go, not how to increase our holding on to things. Enlightenment appears when you stop wanting anything.
AJAHN CHAH

Enlightenment Holding Increase Learn Let Go Practice Thing
You will have a steady awareness within yourself.
AJAHN CHAH

Awareness Steady Within Yourself
We don’t meditate to see heaven, but to end suffering.
AJAHN CHAH

End Heaven Meditate Suffer
To observe and watch one’s own mind is something really interesting. The untrained mind will run and follow its old habit patterns. Because it has not been trained and taught, it will get lost in all kinds of stories and issues.
AJAHN CHAH

Buddhism Habit Interest Issue Meditation Mind Observe Own Pattern Practice Running Solve Story Untrained Watch
Time is our present breath.
AJAHN CHAH

Breath Our Present Time
Steady practice is keeping mindful in every posture, whether sitting, walking, standing or lying down.
AJAHN CHAH

Down Every Keep Lying Mindful Posture Practice Sitting Stand Steady Walk
When we gain some understanding we need to chew on it again so that we see it for ourselves with certainty: paccattam.
AJAHN CHAH

Certainty Chew Need Ourselves Some Understanding

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.

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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.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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