Dhamma is in your mind, not in the forest. Don’t believe others. Just listen to your mind. You don’t have to go and look anywhere else. Wisdom is in yourself, just like a sweet ripe mango is already in a young green one. Ajahn Chah
In truth, happiness is suffering in disguise but in such a subtle form that you don’t see it. If you cling to happiness, it’s the same as clinging to suffering, but you don’t realize it. When you hold on to happiness, it is impossible to throw away the inherent suffering. They’re inseparable like that. Thus […]
People don’t study that which is beyond good and evil. This is what they should study. “I’m going to be like this; I’m going to be like that,” they say. But they never say, “I’m not going to be anything because there really isn’t any ‘I’.” This they don’t study. Ajahn Chah
When one does not understand death, life can be very confusing. Ajahn Chah
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
The Buddha told us to see the way things are and let go of our clinging to them. Take this feeling of letting go as your refuge. Ajahn Chah
If we look according to reality, without trying to sugar things over, we’ll see that it’s really pitiful and wearisome. Dispassion will arise. This feeling of ‘disinterest’ is not that we feel aversion for the world or anything; it’s simply our mind clearing up, our mind letting go. We see things as not substantial or […]
If you’ve trained properly, you wouldn’t feel frightened when you fall sick, nor be upset when someone dies. When you go into the hospital for treatment, determine in your mind that if you get better, that’s fine, and that if you die, that’s fine, too. I guarantee you that if the doctors told me I […]
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
Anyone can build a house of wood and bricks, but the Buddha taught us that sort of home is not our real home. It’s a home in the world and it follows the ways of the world. Our real home is inner peace. Ajahn Chah
We don’t meditate to see heaven, but to end suffering. Ajahn Chah
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 my mind doesn’t go out to disturb the noise, the noise won’t disturb me. Ajahn Chah
Let go. Whenever there is any feeling of clinging, we detach from it because we know that very feeling is just as it is. Ajahn Chah
Death is as close as our breath. 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. […]
First one learns Dharma, but does not yet understand it; Then one understands, but has not yet practiced. One practices, but has not seen the truth of Dharma; then one sees Dharma, but one’s being has not yet become Dharma. Ajahn Chah
We have limited time in our life, therefore we should try to teach ourselves, not to teach others. We should conquer ourselves, rather than conquer others. Whether coming or going, standing, sitting or lying down, our mind should be focused in this way. If we practise like this and develop mindfulness continuously, wisdom arises quickly […]
When we realize the Dhamma, wherever we sit we know Dhamma, wherever we are we hear the Buddha’s teaching. When we understand Dhamma, the Buddha is within our mind, the Dhamma is within our mind, and the practice leading to wisdom is within our own mind. Having the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha within […]
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
