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When sitting in meditation, say, “That’s not my business!” with every thought that comes by.

Ajahn Chah

When suffering arises, where does it arise from? The cause is wrong view, the fruit of that being suffering. If it was right view it wouldn’t cause suffering.
AJAHN CHAH

Arise Cause Fruit Right Suffer View Wrong
Meditation is like a single log of wood. Insight and investigation are one end of the log; calm and concentration are the other end. If you lift up the whole log, both sides come up at once. Which is concentration and which is insight? Just this mind.
AJAHN CHAH

Calm Concentration End Insight Investigation Long Meditation Mind Other Single Wood
Just know what is happening in your mind – not happy or sad about it, not attached. If you suffer see it, know it, and be empty. It’s like a letter – you have to open it before you can know what’s in it.
AJAHN CHAH

Attach Happen Letter Mind Open Sad Suffer
You will witness all kinds of scenes and actors, all kinds of temptations and stories, everything imaginable.
AJAHN CHAH

Actor Everything Kind Scene Story Temptation Witness
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
Just go into the room, sit in the centre of the room, open the doors and windows, and see who comes to visit.
AJAHN CHAH

Centre Come Door Into Job Room Visit Window
If you haven’t cried deeply a number of times, your meditation hasn’t really begun.
AJAHN CHAH

Cried Deeply Happen Meditation Number Time
Whatever he taught, we should practise it. Only bowing to him is not enough. We need to renounce, give up, stop, so that we may see the Buddha.
AJAHN CHAH

Bowing Buddha Enough Need Practice Renounce Teach
Hear the bird’s song then let go. If you know nature, you’ll know truth. If you know truth, you’ll know nature.
AJAHN CHAH

Bird Go Hear Know Nature Song Truth
Why are we born? We are born so that we will not have to be born again.
AJAHN CHAH

Again Born
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 ultimate truth is like the flavour of an apple which you can’t see with the eye or hear with the ear.
AJAHN CHAH

Apple Ear Eye Flavour Hear Like Teaching Ultimate
Things are simply the way they are. They don’t give us suffering. Like a thorn: Does a sharp thorn give us suffering?
AJAHN CHAH

Doe Giving Sharp Suffering Way
Wherever we start to think that things are certain, uncertainty is lurking right there. Heedlessness is just holding things as certain. It is grasping at certainty where there is no certainty and looking for truth in things that are not true. Be careful! They are likely to bite you sometime in the future!
AJAHN CHAH

Bite Careful Future Grasp Hold Lurk Sometimes Thing Think Truth Uncertainty
Difficult or easy, the Buddha said not to be heedless. Just that–don’t be heedless. Why? Because life is not certain.
AJAHN CHAH

Buddha Certain Difficult Easy Just Life
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

When sitting in meditation, say, “That’s not my business!” with every thought that comes by.

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When sitting in meditation, say, “That’s not my business!” with every thought that comes by.

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