Food for the Heart: The Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah

429 Pages·2002·1.551 MB·English

by  Ajahn Chah, Ajahn Amaro, Jack Kornfield

EASTERNRELIGION
Respectedasoneofthemostaccomplished ajahn the collected teachi ngs of AjahnChah’steachingsaresimple,clear,and
spiritualmastersofhisage,AjahnChahhas chah profoundlyhelpful.Thisbookisagreat
contributiontotheDharmaandtheWest.
inspiredandguidedinnumerablepeopleinthe
artsofBuddhistmeditationandskillfulliving.He a j a h n c h a h —JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN,authorofOneDharmaand
committedhimselftoalifeofsimplicityand AHeartFullofPeace
renunciation,conveyingtheBuddha’steachings
throughwisdom,humor,andagreatsenseof
compassion.AjahnChah’sinfluenceandteachings
It’shardtoknowhowtobestintroducethewisest
wereofseminalimportancetomanyprominent manIhaveevermet.InAjahnChah’spresence,
WesternBuddhists. therewasimmediacyandaliveness,simplicityand
truth-telling,dignityandintimacy,humorand
Bornintoafamilyofsubsistencefarmersin seriousdiscipline,heart-breakingcompassionand
northeastThailandin1918,AjahnChahchoseto spontaneousfreedom.Inthesepages,heinvitesus
t f
enterthemonasticlifeattheageofnine;at h alltoreflectontheessenceoftheteachings,to
considerthem,totakethemtoheart.“Trainthe
twentyhetookhigherordination.Someyears e o
heart,restintheunconditioned,”heurges.
later,spurredonbythedeathofhisfather,heleft
c “Liberationispossible.”
thesecurityofhislocalmonasteryandundertook o o f o o d
thelifeofawandering,asceticmonkdevotedto l —fromtheforewordbyJACK KORNFIELD,
meditation.Stayinginforests,caves,and l d authorofAPathwithHeart
e
cremationgroundsAjahnChahtrainedunder c
severalofthelocalmeditationmonksofthe t Thisrichcollectionisarealtreasure.Profound,
ForestTradition,includingAjahnMun,oneofthe e f direct,earthy,andoftenfunny.FoodfortheHeart
d f o r t h e
mostfamousandrespectedThaimeditation o willbeespeciallypreciousforpractitionersof
mastersofthelastcentury. t vipassanameditationinallBuddhistlineages.
e
a r h e a r t —LARRY ROSENBERG,authorofBreathbyBreath
AjahnChah’ssimpleyetprofoundstyleof c
teachinghadaspecialappealtoWesterners,and h
AjahnChah’swordshavethesharpsting,saltytang,
manycametostudyandpracticewithhim.In i t
n andsand-drywitoftheoldZenmasters.Theywill
1975AjahnChahestablishedaspecialtraining g h provideilluminationandinspirationforallstudents
monasteryforthegrowingnumbersof s ofBuddhism.
Westernersinterestedinundertakingmonastic o e —JAN CHOZEN BAYS ROSHI,co-abbotof
training.SincethenAjahnChah’slargefollowing
f GreatVowZenMonastery,andauthorof
hascontinuedtheworkofspreadingtheBuddha’s
a MindfulEating
teachingsaroundtheworld.AjahnChahpassed h
j
awayin1992,buthisstudentscontinuetoteach a
h e Compassionate,lucid,andfarbeyondanysectarian
inovertwohundredmonasteriesonfour
n categorizing,AjahnChahstandsoutasaprofound
continents. a teacherinthebestofBuddhistwisdomtraditions.
c FoodfortheHeartisanimportantvolumeforall
h r
seriousfollowersoftheBuddha’sWay,andoneof
a
thegreatclassicsofspiritualliterature.
h t
AJAHN AMARO wasborninEnglandin1956
—JOHN DAISHIN BUKSBAZEN,authorof
andwasordainedasamonkbyAjahnChahin
ZenMeditationinPlainEnglish
1979.Heiscurrentlytheco-abbotofAbhayagiri
Monastery,apartofAjahnChah’slineage,in f o r e w o r d b y j a c k k o r n f i e l d
ISBN978-0-86171-323-3 US$18.95
California.
i n t r o d u c t i o n b y a j a h n a m a r o
ProducedwithEnvironmentalMindfulness WISDOM PUBLICATIONS•BOSTON
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Food for the Heart

Food for the Heart
The Collected Teachings
of Ajahn Chah
Wisdom Publications • Boston
WisdomPublications
199ElmStreet
Somerville,MA02144USA
www.wisdompubs.org
©2002AbhayagiriMonasticFoundation
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Nopartofthisbookmaybereproducedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronicor
mechanical, including photography, recording, or by any information storage and
retrievafromthepublisher.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Chah,Achaan.
FoodfortheHeart/byAjahnChah;forewordby
JackKornfield;introductionbyAjahnAmaro.
p. cm.
Includesindex.
isbn0-86171-323-0(alk.paper)
1.Dharma(Buddhism). 2.Spirituallife—Buddhism.
3.Buddhism—Doctrines. I.Title.
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294.3’4—dc21 2002004798
isbn0-86171-323-0
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Contents
ForewordbyJackKornfield 7
Introduction 9
1 AboutThisMind 41
2 FragmentsofaTeaching 43
Part 1: Conduct—
VirtueandtheWorldoftheSenses
3 LivingintheWorldwithDhamma 53
4 MakingtheHeartGood 61
5 SenseContact—theFountofWisdom 69
6 UnderstandingVinaya 81
7 MaintainingtheStandard 93
8 WhyAreWeHere? 101
9 TheFloodofSensuality 111
10 TheTwoFacesofReality 119
Part 2: Meditation
11 AGiftofDhamma 135
12 InnerBalance 141
13 ThePathinHarmony 147
14 TheTrainingoftheHeart 153
15 ReadingtheNaturalMind 163
16 TheKeytoLiberation 179
17 Meditation(Sam›dhiBh›v›na) 219
18 DhammaFighting 227
19 JustDoIt! 231
20 RightPractice—SteadyPractice 239
21 Samm›Sam›dhi—DetachmentWithinActivity 249
22 IntheDeadofNight 257
Part 3: Wisdom
23 WhatIsContemplation? 273
24 DhammaNature 279
25 LivingwiththeCobra 287
26 TheMiddleWayWithin 291
27 ThePeaceBeyond 297
28 ConventionandLiberation 307
29 NoAbiding 313
30 RightView—thePlaceofCoolness 319
31 OurRealHome 323
32 TheFourNobleTruths 333
33 “TucchoPo˛hila”—VenerableEmptyScripture 341
34 “NotSure!”—theStandardoftheNobleOnes 351
35 Still,FlowingWater 363
36 Transcendence 373
37 TowardtheUnconditioned 383
38 Epilogue 395
Glossary 397
Notes 403
SourcesoftheText 409
Index 415
Foreword
I
t’shardtoknowhowtobestintroducethewisestmanIhaveevermet.
Inhispresence,therewasimmediacyandaliveness,simplicityandtruth-
telling,dignityandintimacy;humorandseriousdiscipline,heart-breaking
compassionandspontaneousfreedom.AjahnAmaro’sbeautifulintroduc-
tiontothisbookdescribeshimwell.
MostofAjahnChah’steachingwasdoneintherealityofthemoment,
by example, by metaphor, by the aliveness of dialogue. His teaching was
directandhonest,withnoholdsbarred.“Lookatthecauseofsufferingin
thishumanrealm,it’slikethis,”hewouldsay,pointingourheartstoward
thetruth.Becausehewasaconsummateperformerwhotaughtwithahun-
dred skillful means, because he met each new visitor so directly, adapting
hishumorandpenetratingeyetothecircumstancesbeforehim,itishard
to wholly capture the vitality of his teaching in words. Fortunately, his
legacyalsoincludesnearlytwohundredmonasteries,manywonderfulliv-
ing and teaching disciples, hundreds of tapes recorded in Thai and some
millionsofpeoplewhohavebeentouchedbyhiswisdom.
On these pages you will find another aspect of Ajahn Chah, the disci-
plinedandsomewhatserioussideprimarilyrecordedonoccasionswherehe
offeredlongersystematicteachingstogroupsofmonks,nuns,andvisitors.
Inthemheinvitesusalltoreflectontheessenceoftheteachings,toconsider
them,totakethemtoheart.Inthisbookheleapsoffthepagetoremindus
that,whoeverweare,theconditionsoflifeareuncertain:“Ifdeathiswithin
you,thenwhereareyougoingtoruntoescapeit?Whetheryouareafraid
ornot,youdiejustthesame.Thereisnowheretoescapedeath.”
Fromthisgroundoftruth,hepointsthewaythatleadsendlesslybeyond
the changing conditions of birth and death to true freedom. “This is the
8 food for the heart
importantthing:youmustcontemplateuntilyoureachthepointwhereyou
letgo,wherethereisn’tanythingleft,beyondgoodandbad,comingand
going, birth and death. Train the heart, rest in the unconditioned,” he
urges.“Liberationispossible.”
Those who would follow the teachings of this beloved master must be
willingtolookintotheirownheartandmind,toloosentheknots,release
the grasping, the fears, the whole false sense of self. “If you really under-
stand, no matter what life you live, you can practice the Dhamma every
minute of the day. Why not give it a try?” Ajahn Chah suggests. “It will
transformyourlife!”
May the blessings of the compassionate Buddha be carried by Ajahn
Chah’swordstofeedyourheartandbenefitallbeingseverywhere.
Withgreatrespect,
JackKornfield
SpiritRockMeditationCenter
Woodacre,California,2002
Introduction
N
ight is falling swiftly.Theforestreverberateswiththeundulat-
ing buzz of countless crickets and the eerie rising wail of tropical
cicadas. A few stars poke dimly through the treetops. Amid the gathering
darkness there is a pool of warm light, thrown from a pair of kerosene
lanterns,illuminatingtheopenareabelowahutraiseduponstilts.Beneath
it,intheglow,acoupleofdozenpeoplearegatheredaroundasmall,solidly
builtmonkwhoisseatedcross-leggedonawickerbench.Theairisfilled
withavibrantpeace.VenerableAjahnChahisteaching.
In some ways, the group that is gathered here is a motley crew: close
besideAjahnChah(orLuangPor,VenerableFather,asheisaffectionately
knowntohisstudents)areaclusterofbhikkhus(monks)andnovices;most
of them are Thai or Lao, but there are a few pale-skinned figures among
them—a Canadian, two Americans, a young Australian, and an English-
man.InfrontoftheAjahnsitsawell-groomed,middle-agedcouple—hein
a stiff suit, and she coiffed and gold-bedecked—he’s a member of parlia-
mentfromadistantprovince;they’retakingtheopportunitywhilehe’sin
theareaonofficialbusinesstocomeandpaytheirrespectsandmakesome
offeringstothemonastery.
A little behindthem and to both sides are scattered a sizeable group of
localvillagers.Theirshirtsandblousesarewornthin,andtheskinontheir
lean limbs is sun-darkened, wrinkled—baked like the poor earth of the
region. A few of those here Luang Por played with as a child—catching
frogsandclimbingtrees—othershehelped,andwashelpedby,intheyears
before he was a bhikkhu, as they planted out their annual round of rice
seedlingsandthenharvestedthefieldstogetherattheendofthemonsoon.
Tooneside,neartheback,isaprofessorfromFreiburgwhohascometo