The Teaching of Ajahn Anan.
And I have a story to share with you. Once there were 7 to 8 monks living in Wat Nong Pah Pong. The food received from almsround was divided proportionately. Each monk should have taken just one portion, but some took more than their share of food. So when it came to the novice who stood at the end of the line, there was no more alms food left.
The novice felt upset that he didn't get to eat any food from the alms round. He wondered, "Why did the monks lack metta and karuna?" It was usually the case in monasteries where novices would respect and serve the senior monks. After the novice monk would finish eating, he would take the senior monk’s bowls to wash and wipe the bowls dry, this was his regular duty.
But because some of the monks lacked metta, the novice refused to wash their monk bowls anymore. This came to Luang Pu Chah's attention, when he saw that the monks and novices were abandoning their usual duties and practices. He realised it started because some of the monks were selfish - they had taken too much food. They didn’t leave some behind so that it would reach the novice.
Therefore Luang Pu Chah decided to change the system by having all the food offered to the novice first.
He had the novice take the food first before the monks. But it so happened that the novice did not dare to take the food first before the monks.
[Admin: This is because traditionally, the Thai Sangha tends to follow a hierarchical structure, where the Bhikkhus take first priority, followed by the Samaneras then finally all the lay 8 preceptees wearing white. So it is quite unheard of for the novice to eat first before his Kruba Ajaans]
Not daring to take the food and eat first, the novice then decided to offer all the food to Luang Pu Chah.
So Luang Pu ate the alms food himself. He did this for about 3 days, which was the teaching he wanted to convey to all the monks. Luang Pu wanted them to see that all the offerings they got was because of the parami and merit of the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha - so why are they fighting over it instead of self-sacrificing and sharing them?
The lay people have offered a share of their food to honour the monks. They have practiced self-sacrifice.
If you monks do not self-sacrifice, then your hearts have fallen even lower than the lay people. The lay people at least have sacrificed part of their possessions. So if we lack harmony, then working as a team will inevitably result in problems, because there is a lack of sacrifice and sharing.
Luang Phor Anan
Wat Marp Jan, Rayong
[edited for clarity]
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