Ajahn Sumedho
Q : What most impressed you about Ajahn Chah?
A : Luang Por Chah had a great deal of mettā (loving-kindness) and I felt welcomed by the way he received me at Wat Pah Pong – he seemed to be interested in me. I felt intuitively that this was a very wise man. At the time I couldn’t understand Thai very well, but what I saw of how he lived his life and his general way of being was very pleasing to me. His teaching was very direct and he was able to see very quickly where I was at.
He didn’t want me to spend time reading or studying, just to practise. He emphasized everybody’s paṭipat (practice). When I first came to him, he told me to put my books away and to just read the citta, my mind. I was happy to do that, because I was weary of studying Buddhism and wanted to practise it instead of just reading about it. This was what he was encouraging me to do.
Though he gave a lot of talks, which I couldn’t properly understand for the first two years, he emphasized kor wat (monastic duties), the way you live in the monastery: paying attention, being mindful with food and the robes, and with the kuṭī (hut) and the monastery. He was like a mirror that would reflect my state of mind. He always seemed to be completely present. I’d get carried away with thoughts and emotions sometimes, but by just being around him, I found that I could suddenly let go – I could drop what I was holding onto without even telling him. His presence helped me to see what I was doing and what I was attached to. So I decided that I would live with him as long as I could, since such monks are hard to find. I stayed with him for ten years at Wat Pah Pong and at various branch monasteries.
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