Quotes from No Ajahn Chah

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.

Buddhism is a religion of the heart. Only this. One who practices to develop the heart is one who practices Buddhism.

When you do something bad, there is nowhere you can go to hide. Even if others don’t see you, you must see yourself. Even if you go into a deep hole, you’ll still find yourself there. There’s no way you can commit bad actions and get away with it. In the same way, why shouldn’t you see your own purity? You see it all–the peace, the agitation, the liberation, the bondage. You see all these for yourself.

A newly ordained novice asked Ajahn Chah what his advice was for those new to meditation practice. “The same as for those who’ve already been at it for a long time,” he replied. And what was that? “Just keep at it,” he said.

All bodies are composed of the four elements of earth, water, wind, and fire. When they come together and form a body, we say it’s a male or a female, giving it names and so on, so that we can identify each other more easily. But actually there isn’t anyone there–only earth, water, wind, and fire. Don’t get exited over it or infatuated by it. If you really look into it, you will not find anyone there.

Peace within oneself is to be found in the same place as agitation and suffering. It’s not found in a forest or on a hill top, nor is it given by a teacher. Where you experience suffering, you can also find freedom from suffering. Trying to run away from suffering is actually to run towards it.

If you let go a little, you will have a little peace. If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace. If you let go completely, you will have complete peace.

Sometimes teaching is hard work. A teacher is like a garbage can that people throw their frustrations and problems into. The more people you teach, the bigger the garbage disposal problems. But teaching is a wonderful way to practice Dhamma. Those who teach grow in patience and understanding.

Someone commented, “I can observe desire and aversion in my mind, but it’s hard to observe delusion.” “You’re riding on a horse and asking where the horse is,” was Ajahn Chah’s reply.

No Ajahn Chah can be found online at http://ajahnchah.org