Ajahn Chah: "On Meditation" (video)

Samaneri Jayasara (youtube.com, 4/13/20); Ellie Askew, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Thai Forest Theravada Buddhist Meditation

(Samaneri Jayasara) "To attain calm in practice, it's not necessary to be sitting in meditation. Just ask yourself, 'Eh, what is this?' and solve your problem right there! People with wisdom are like this. Perhaps they can't attain high levels of samadhi [mental coherence, concentration], but there must be some [foundational calm], just enough to cultivate wisdom. Our practice can be like this, that we depend more on wisdom to solve problems. When we see the truth, peace arises.

— Ajahn Chah, from "On Meditation"

AJAHN CHAH was a famous Thai Buddhist monk, an enlightened meditation master. He was an influential teacher of the Buddha-Dharma and the founder of two major monasteries in the Thai Forest Tradition. He is reputed to have been an arhat.

Respected and beloved in his own country as a person of great wisdom, he was also instrumental in establishing Theravada Buddhism in the West. Beginning in 1979 with the founding of Cittaviveka (Chithurst Buddhist Monastery) in England, the Forest Tradition has spread throughout Europe, the United States, and the British Commonwealth.

His Dharma talks have been recorded, transcribed, and translated into several languages, including English. He left behind a legacy of talks, meditation students, and monasteries.

Note: All of my recordings can be downloaded via my Google Drive site, the details of which can be found under the Community tab of the main page of this YouTube channel.