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 WISDOM www.wisdompubs.org 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 Allrightsreserved. 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. bq4190.c532002 294.3’4—dc21 2002004798 isbn0-86171-323-0 FirstEdition 14 13 12 11 10 10 9 8 7 6 Jacketdesign:RichardSnizik Interiordesign:Gopa&Ted2 BackcoverphotobyThubtenYeshe WisdomPublications’booksareprintedonacid-freepaperandmeettheguidelinesfor thepermanenceanddurabilitysetbytheCouncilofLibraryResources. PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica. 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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