A Tree in a Forest by Venerable Ajahn Chah
From Dharmaweb
Venerable Ajahn Chah
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"People have asked about my practice. How do I prepare my mind for meditation?
There is nothing special. I just keep it where it always is.
They ask, 'Then are you an arahant?'
Do I know?
I am like a tree in a forest, full of leaves, blossoms and fruit.
Birds come to eat and nest, and animals seek rest in its shade.
Yet the tree does not know itself.
It follows its own nature.
It is as it is."
Biography
Ajahn Chah was born in 1918 in a village located in the north-eastern part of Thailand. He became a novice at a young age and recieved higher ordination at the age of twenty. He followed the austere Forest Tradition for years, living in forests and begging for almsfood as he wandered about on mendicant pilgrimage.
He practised meditation under a number of masters, among whom was Ajahn Mun, a highly respected and accomplished meditation teacher of the time. Ajahn Mun had an indelible influence on Ajahn Chah, giving his meditation practice the direction and clarity that it lacked. Ajahn Chah later became an accomplished meditation teacher in his own right, sharing his realization of the Dhamma with those who sought it. The essence of his teaching was rather simple: be mindful, don't hang on to anything, let go and surrender to the way things are.
Ajahn Chah passed away in peace after a long bout of illness on January 16, 1992, at his home monastery, Wat Pah Pong, in Ubon Ratchatani.
Introduction
Ajahn Chah himself reminded us that the Buddha himself could only point out the way and could not do the practice for us, because the truth is something that cannot be put into words or given away. "All the teachings" Ajahn Chah taught, "are merely similes and comparisons, means to help the mind see the truth. If we establish the Buddha within our mind, then we see everything, we contemplate everything, as no different from ourselves.
Many of the similes that Ajahn Chah himself used to teach came out of his vast experience of living in the forest. His practice was simply to watch, all the while being totally open and aware of everything that was happening both inside and outside himself. He would say that his practice was nothing special. He was, in his own words, like a tree in a forest, "A tree is as it is," he's say. And Ajahn Chah was as he was. But out of such "nothing specialness" came a profound understanding of himself and the world.
Ajahn Chah used to say, "The Dhamma is revealing itself in every moment, but only when the mind is quiet can we understand what it is saying, for the Dhamma teaches without words." Ajahn Chah had this uncanny ability to take that wordless Dhamma and convey its truth to his listeners in the form of a simile that was fresh, easy to follow, sometimes humorous, sometimes poetic, but always striking a place in the heart where it would jar or inspire the most: "We are like maggots; life is like a falling leaf; our mind is like rain water."
The teachings of Ajahn Chah teem with similes and comparisons like these. We thought it would be a good idea to collect them all in the form of a book as a source of inspiration for those who may want some respite from the "heat" of the world and seek some rest in the cool and abundant shade of "a tree in the forest".
