The Simple Truth - Ajahn Chah (A Still Forest) (Buddhism)

I've got tons of books that I get free from my favorite temple, somewhere I used to lived near. I've moved away from the area but I will continue to go to the temple simply because it's become a safe haven for me whenever I feel troubled or need some calm and respite from the hustle of everyday life.

So, I've decided to share some of the stuff I find enlightening and I'll start off with the most renowned of them all - Ajahn Chah.

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Credit: Sebastian Unrau on Unsplash

The Simple Truth

Traditionally, the Eightfold Path is taught with eight steps such as Right Understanding, Right Speech, Right Concentration, and so forth. But the true Eightfold Path is within us - two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, a tongue, and a body. These right doors are our entire Path and the mind is the one that walks on the Path. Know these doors, examine them, and all the dharmas will be revealed.

The heart of the path is so simple. No need for long explanations. Give up clinging to love and hate. Just rest with things as they are. That is all I do in my own practice.

Do not try to become anything. Do not make yourself into anything. Do not be a meditator. Do not become enlightened. When you sit, let it be. When you walk, let it be. Grasp at nothing. Resist nothing.

Of course, there are donzens of meditation techniques to develop samadhi and many kinds of vipassana. But it all comes back to this - just let it all be. Step over here where it is cool, out of the battle.

Why not give it a try?

Do you dare?

Credit: A Still Forest - The Insight Meditation of Achaan Chah. Compiled and edited by Jack Kornfield and Paul Breiter for free distribution

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