Unshakeable Peace

by Ajahn Chah

"Meditation is like a single stick of wood. Insight (vipassana) is one end of the stick and serenity (samatha) is the other. Insight has to proceed from peace and tranquility. The entire process will happen naturally of its own accord. We can't force it...

In my own search I tried nearly every possible means of contemplation. I sacrificed my life for the Dhamma, because I had faith in the reality of enlightenment and the Path to get there... But to realize them takes practice, right practice. It takes pushing yourself to the limit. It takes the courage to train, to reflect and to fundamentally change. It takes the courage to actually do what it takes.

You've got to discover the depths of your own heart."

Venerable Ajahn Chah

Genres: Buddhism, Spirituality

58 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2005

About the author

Ajahn Chah was born in 1918 in a village located in the north-eastern part of Thailand. He became a novice at a young age and recieved higher ordination at the age of twenty. He followed the austere Forest Tradition for years, living in forests and begging for almsfood as he wandered about on mendicant pilgrimage.

He practised meditation under a number of masters, among whom was Ajahn Mun, a highly respected and accomplished meditation teacher of the time. Ajahn Mun had an indelible influence on Ajahn Chah, giving his meditation practice the direction and clarity that it lacked. Ajahn Chah later became an accomplished meditation teacher in his own right, sharing his realization of the Dhamma with those who sought it. The essence of his teaching was rather simple: be mindful, don't hang on to anything, let go and surrender to the way things are.

Ajahn Chah passed away in peace after a long bout of illness on January 16, 1992, at his home monastery, Wat Pah Pong, in Ubon Ratchatani.