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If you want a chicken to be a duck, and a duck to be a chicken, you will suffer.

Ajahn Chah

Know and watch your heart. It’s pure but emotions come to colour it. So let your mind be like a tightly woven net to catch emotions and feelings that come, and investigate them before you react.
AJAHN CHAH

Colour Emotion Feeling Heart Investigate Know Mind Pure
If you haven’t cried deeply a number of times, your meditation hasn’t really begun.
AJAHN CHAH

Cried Deeply Happen Meditation Number Time
Do not be a bodhisattva, do not be an arahant, do not be anything at all. If you are a bodhisattva, you will suffer, if you are an arahant, you will suffer, if you are anything at all, you will suffer.
AJAHN CHAH

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

Arise Away Contemplate Have Right Run Suffer
Wisdom is in yourself, just like a sweet ripe mango is already in a young green one.
AJAHN CHAH

Already Green Mango One Ripe Sweet Young
If we want to really see the Buddha, we should observe his virtuous qualities.
AJAHN CHAH

Buddha Giving Need Observe Quality Up Virtue
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
No. It’s simply a thorn. It doesn’t give suffering to anybody. If we step on it, we suffer immediately.
AJAHN CHAH

Anybody Come Immediate Simply Suffering Thron
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
Only one book is worth reading: the heart.
AJAHN CHAH

Book Heart Reading Worth
The only way to experience it is to put the teachings into practice. Once you taste it, you are no longer in any doubt about its flavour and you do not have to ask anyone else. The problem is solved.
AJAHN CHAH

Anyone Ask Experience Flavour Longer Practice Problem Solve Taste Teaching
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.
AJAHN CHAH

Burden Cling Go Gone Happiness Letting Life Struggle Understand
Raise families and look after themselves, that’s all. To them, being smart is more important than being wise!
AJAHN CHAH

Family Important Look Raise Smart Themselves Wise
Don’t fall for it. Whenever the mind is happy or sad, don’t fall for it. Its all a deception.
AJAHN CHAH

Deception Fail Fall Happy Mind Sad
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
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

If you want a chicken to be a duck, and a duck to be a chicken, you will suffer.

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If you want a chicken to be a duck, and a duck to be a chicken, you will suffer.

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