Ajahn Chah Quotes and Sayings - Page 1
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“All religions are like different cars all moving in the same direction. People who don't see it have no light in their hearts.”
-- Ajahn Chah -
“If you let go a little you will have a little happiness. If you let go a lot you will have a lot of happiness. If you let go completely you will be free.”
-- Ajahn Chah -
“If you haven't wept deeply, you haven't begun to meditate.”
-- Ajahn Chah -
“Letting go a little brings a little peace. Letting go a lot brings a lot of peace. Letting go completely brings complete peace.”
-- Ajahn Chah -
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“At some point your heart will tell itself what to do.”
-- Ajahn Chah -
“We say that to 'give up all evil and to develop the good' is the heart of the Buddha's teaching. 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. Even if the water is falling right on it, it only touches the outside and not the inside. In this way the bowl will never get full.”
-- Ajahn Chah -
“When sitting in meditation, say, "That's not my business!" with every thought that comes by.”
-- Ajahn Chah -
“Whenever we feel that we are definitely right, so much so that we refuse to open up to anything or anybody else, right there we are wrong. It becomes wrong view. 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 -
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“When one does not understand death, life can be very confusing.”
-- Ajahn Chah -
“There are two kinds of suffering. There is the suffering you run away from, which follows you everywhere. And there is the suffering you face directly, and so become free.”
-- Ajahn Chah -
“Try to be mindful, and let things take their natural course. Then your mind will become still in any surroundings, like a clear forest pool. All kinds of wonderful, rare animals will come to drink at the pool, and you will clearly see the nature of all things. You will see many strange and wonderful things come and go, but you will be still. This is the happiness of the Buddha.”
-- 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 -
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“Wisdom is in yourself, just like a sweet ripe mango is already in a young green one.”
-- Ajahn Chah -
“When the heart truly understands, it lets go of everything.”
-- Ajahn ChahSource : Various, Louis van Loon, Lily de Silva, Webu Sayadaw, Susan Elbaum Jootla (2011). “Collected Bodhi Leaves Volume IV: Numbers 91 to 121”, p.245, Buddhist Publication Society
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“The Dhamma has to be found by looking into your own heart and seeing that which is true and that which is not, that which is balanced and that which is not balanced.”
-- Ajahn Chah -
“If we want to really see the Buddha, we should observe his virtuous qualities. 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 -
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“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 -
“One man watches a river flow by. If he does not wish it to flow, to change ceaselessly in accord with its nature, he will suffer great pain. Another man understands that nature of the river is to change constantly, regardless of his likes and dislikes, and therefore he does not suffer. 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.”
-- Ajahn Chah -
“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. Therefore we have to train our mind. The meditation practice in Buddhism is all about training one's own mind.”
-- Ajahn Chah -
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“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 and this is a fast way of practice.”
-- Ajahn Chah -
“If we see suffering then we don't have suffering.”
-- Ajahn Chah -
“With even a little intuitive wisdom we will be able to see clearly the ways of the world. We will come to understand that everything in the world is our teacher.”
-- Ajahn Chah -
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“All that I have said up to now has merely been words. When people come to see me, I have to say something. But it is best not to speak about these matters too much. Better to begin practice without delay. I am like a good friend inviting you to go somewhere. Do not hesitate, just get going. You won't regret it.”
-- Ajahn Chah -
“When we sit in meditation and hear a sound, we think, 'Oh, that sound's bothering me.' If we see it like this, we suffer. But if we investigate a little deeper, we see that the sound is simply sound. If we understand like this, then there's nothing more to it. We leave it be. The sound is just sound, why should you go and grab it? You see that actually it was you who went out and disturbed the sound.”
-- Ajahn Chah -
“Know and watch your heart. It's pure but emotions come to colour it.”
-- Ajahn Chah -
“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. Learn to let go without struggle, simply let go, to be just as you are - no holding on, no attachment, free.”
-- Ajahn Chah -
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“Read yourself, not books. Truth isn't outside, that's only memory, not wisdom. Memory without wisdom is like an empty thermos bottle - if you don't fill it, it's useless.”
-- Ajahn Chah -
“Do everything with a mind that lets go. Do not expect praise or reward.”
-- Ajahn Chah
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