"Buddha called it khaya-vayam, the decline and dissolution of all conditioned phenomena.

"When we are born we bring this inherent nature into the world with us, we can't avoid it. At birth we bring old age, sickness and death along with us. - #AjahnChah

https://www.ajahnchah.org/book/Why_Are_We_Here_1.php #Dhamma #Dharma
@dhamma
@dharma

I said to him, "Your thinking is the thinking of an earthworm. An earthworm lives in the ground. It eats earth for its food. Eating and eating, it starts to worry that it will run out of dirt to eat. It is surrounded by dirt. The whole earth is covering its head, but it worries it will run out of dirt." - #AjahnChah
https://www.ajahnchah.org/book/Dhamma_Goes_Westward.php #Dhamma #Dharma #ScarcityMindset
@dhamma
@dharma

Being Tranquil and Having Wisdom, by Ajahn Chah
I’ve often taught that tranquillity is stillness; flowing is wisdom. We practise meditation to calm the mind and make it still; then it can flow. In the beginning we learn what still water is like and what flowing water is like. After practising for a while we will see how these two support each other.
https://buddhismnow.com/2020/11/09/being-tranquil-and-having-wisdom-by-ajahn-chah/

#Buddhism #TheravadaBuddhism #Theravada #AjahnChah

Morning meditation ‘Any speech which ignores uncertainty is not the speech of a sage.
Remember this.’
Ajahn Chah

https://buddhismnow.com/2023/01/29/morning-meditation-remember-this/

#Buddhism #TheravadaBuddhism #Theravada #AjahnChah

> ... "... I can’t meditate with all this noise!; ‘The noise isn’t bothering you, ‘ Ajahn responded. ‘You are bothering the noise.’ As Lushtak put it to me, ‘Silence is not a function of what we think of as silence. It’s when my reaction is quiet. What’s silent is my protest against the way things are.’
#Silence #AjahnChah #MariaPopova #GeorgeProchnick

"Do everything with a mind that lets go." ~ Ajahn Chah

#AjahnChah #Buddhism #Mindfulness #SilentSunday

Morning meditation — We say that we’ll Practice.
‘We say that we’ll practice in this way—but only a day or two goes by, maybe just a few hours, and we forget all about it.’
Ajahn Chah

https://buddhismnow.com/2023/01/16/morning-meditation-we-say-that-well-practice/

#AjahnChah #Buddhism #TheravadaBuddhism

Morning #meditation

‘Once the mind has let go of external mind–objects, it means you’ll no longer feel disturbed by sound of traffic or other noises.’
Ajahn Chah

https://buddhismnow.com/2022/12/26/morning-meditation-once-the-mind-has/

#Buddhism #Theravada #TheravadaBuddhism #AjahnChah

“[I]f you’re going to awaken to the #Dhamma, the #heart has to teach itself. … It’s not easy for us to see ourselves. It’s hard. So think about this a little bit. We’ve all done evil. Now that we’re old, we should stop. Make it lighter. Make it less. There’s really nothing else. This is all there is. Turn your minds in the direction of #virtue.”

#AjahnChah - #InSimpleTerms
#MakeItLighter #MakeItLess #gentle #buddhism #dharma

“Even if fire burns your house, even if water floods your home, have it go only as far as the house, only as far as your home. If fire burns, don’t let it burn your #heart. If water floods, don’t let it flood your heart. Let it flood just the house. Let it burn just the house, which is something that lies outside your body. As for your heart, have it let go … It’s time to let go.”

#AjahnChah - #InSimpleTerms
#LetGo #mindfulness #buddhism #dhamma #dharma

“Have you ever eaten sugarcane? When you eat from the tip to the base … the closer you get to the base, the sweeter it becomes — … even when there’s only an inch left, you don’t want to throw it away. … The ants want to eat it but you won’t let them have it.

So let your #practice be like that. Practice the #Dhamma like a person eating sugarcane.”

#AjahnChah - #InSimpleTerms #PracticeLikeSugarcane #SweeterEveryMoment #SorryAnts #kindness #meditation #buddhism

“Let the #trees teach you. Have you learned anything from them yet? You should try to learn at least one thing from them. There are so many trees, all with something to teach you.”

#AjahnChah - Living #Dhamma
#buddhism #NatureAsTeacher #dharma
https://forestsangha.org/teachings/books/living-dhamma?language=English

“Wanting to practice alone is half right, but also half wrong ... one must know when to come out of it. Seven days, two weeks, one month, two months - and then return to relating to people and situations again. This is where wisdom is gained ... Having the view that formal practice is the complete and only way to practice, disregarding one’s normal life situation, is called being intoxicated with #meditation.”

The Collected Teachings of #AjahnChah Vol 2
#buddhism
https://amaravati.org/dhamma-books/the-collected-teachings-of-ajahn-chah-vol-2-formal-practice/

“Things are simply the way they are. They don’t give us #suffering. Like a thorn: Does a sharp thorn give us suffering? No. It’s simply a thorn. It doesn’t give suffering to anybody. If we step on it, we suffer immediately.

Why do we suffer? Because we stepped on it. So the suffering comes from us.”

In Simple Terms
#AjahnChah
https://www.lotuslibrary.com/ebooks/in-simple-terms-by-ajahn-chah/ #buddhism #mindfulness #InSimpleTerms

“Poking a Red Ants’ Nest --

Sensuality is like taking a stick and using it to poke a big red ants’ nest. The more we poke it, the more the red ants come falling on us, onto our face, into our eyes, stinging our ears and eyes. But we don’t see the drawbacks of what we’re doing. It’s all good as far as we can see. Understand that if you don’t see the drawbacks of these things you’ll never work your way free of them.”

In Simple Terms
#AjahnChah
https://www.lotuslibrary.com/ebooks/in-simple-terms-by-ajahn-chah/ #buddhism #mindfulness

#Enlightenment appears when you stop wanting anything
#AjahnChah

Thoughts and feelings are just thoughts and feelings. Let things be just as they are
#AjahnChah

No one and nothing can free you but your own understanding
#AjahnChah

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
#AjahnChah

You are your own teacher. Investigate yourself to find truth - inside, not outside. Knowing yourself is most important
#AjahnChah