I owe a particularly huge debt of gratitude to Venerable Ajahn Chah for his ability to present the Dhamma in a language that I was able to understand. That is the language of the heart. His words, rich with clarity, compassion and truth, somehow transported me directly onto this path of practice. It took me by surprise because I wasn't really looking for a "path". I was merely exploring what I considered to be an "interesting" subject, "Buddhism". It was purely an intellectual activity. Luang Por Chah changed that forever.
2 comments:
Kris-
I second your sense of gratitude to Luang Por Chah. I remember first encountering Buddhism through the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying and some other Tibetan teachings several years back. Something about Buddhism clicked but not really...until I read "Food for the Heart." I must admit that there were a lot of things that I had trouble with in his teachings, but only because they went against the grain of my conditioning. Somehow I knew or felt that what he was saying was true. Ever since then I have been trying to follow the path as set forth in the Pali Canon and the forest tradition. When I think about Ajahn Chah and the fact that he didn't go seeking out disciples or teaching others that to focus on ones own practice is selfish I see how the power of one persons honesty and goodness can have such a profound impact on people. Through all the years and miles and different cultures Ajahn Chah speaks to us in ways that we can understand, all because he practiced the dhamma in line with the dhamma.
"Something about Buddhism clicked but not really..."
Wow! That describes it perfectly. 'Food for the Heart' was the turning point for me. When I bought the book I had no idea at all who Ajahn Chah was and knew nothing about Theravada and had never heard of the forest tradition. It was purely an impulse buy. Good kamma ripening. I've never looked back.
Thanks for visiting!
Kris
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