The Essence of the Heart (Ajahn Chah)

Ajahn Chah (ajahnchah.org); Ven. Sujato; Dhr. Seven, Ellie Askew (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Mother, who is that man? - Rahula, that is your father, who is not the Buddha.

 

If you want to find Dharma, it has nothing to do with forests or mountains or caves. It’s only in the heart. It has its own language of experience.

There is a great difference between concepts and direct experience. With a glass of hot water, whoever puts his or her finger into it will have the same experience — "hot" — which may be called by many terms in different languages.

Similarly, whoever looks deeply into the heart will have the same experience, no matter what a person's nationality, culture, or language may be.

If in your heart you come to that taste of Truth, of Dharma, then you become like one big family — like mother and father, sisters and brothers — because you’ve tasted that essence of the heart, which is the same for all.