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Buddha Dharma Education Association Inc.

A Collection of Ajahn Chah's Similes

A Tree in a Forest

A Tree

A Forest

A C  A C’ S

C  E 

D G T G

Y K P H

Y K T Y J H

F F D

Oer the gift of Dhamma to others as freely as it has been oered to you.

Following the wish of Ajahn Chah that his Dhamma teachings not be

sold in any way or form, this book is published for free distribution only.

prot or gain, is prohibited. However, copies of this book, or permission to

reprint for free distribution, may be obtained upon notication from:

Yuan Kuang Publishing House

No. 11, Lane 888, Sect. 1, San Ter Road

Chungli, Taiwan, R.O.C.

Printed in Taiwan, Republic of China

ISBN 957-8895-05-0

People have asked about my practice. How do I prepare my mind

for meditation? ere is nothing special. I just keep it where it

always is. ey ask, “en are you an arahant?” Do I know? I am

like a tree in a forest, full of leaves, blossoms and fruit. Birds come

to eat and nest, and animals seek rest in its shade. Yet the tree does

not know itself. It follows its own nature. It is as it is.

A C

Ajahn Chah

Ajahn Chah was born in 1918 in a village located in the north-eastern

part of ailand. He became a novice at a young age and received

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 medita-

tion teacher of the time. Ajahn Mun had an indelible inuence 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. e 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.

For more information on books on Ajahn Chah write to:

Wat Pah Nanachat, Bahn Bung Wai, Warinchamrab, Ubol Rajathani,

ailand.

Editor’s Note

Due to popular demand, we have decided to separate the English and

Mandarin parts of the original bilingual publications of A Tree in a

Forest, Vols. I & II, and publish them under separate covers. Each new

language edition has been divided into two parts: Part I consists of

the 75 similes that appeared in the rst volume of A Tree in a Forest,

and Part II consists of the 108 similes that appeared in the second

volume.

vii

Foreword

e teachings of Ajahn Chah were originally made available to the

English-speaking public by the eorts of his Western disciples who

were able to translate from ai or Lao, the languages that Ajahn

Chah taught in. Although for some time now these English publica-

tions have been circulating in Chinese-speaking communities, partic-

ularly in Singapore and Malaysia, and more recently in Taiwan, they

have remained accessible only to those with an adequate knowledge of

the English language. ese readers, inspired by Ajahn Chah’s teach-

ings, have often expressed regret that those among their compatriots

with little or no knowledge at all of English shouldn’t have the chance

to benet from the wisdom of Ajahn Chah’s words. For this reason, a

joyfully willing and dedicated group made up of members from both

the Buddhist monastic community and laity, decided to translate the

works of Ajahn Chah. ey come from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore

and Malaysia, and all are blessed with the facility to work in both the

English and Chinese languages. Also, and more importantly, they all

have adequate experience and understanding of the Dhamma coupled

with the “feel” and genuine appreciation of Ajahn Chah’s teachings. It

is a credit to their goodness and sincere wish to spread the Dhamma in

whatever way they can, that this work is now in your hands.

We would like to acknowledge gratitude to all who took part in

any aspect of the production of this book, be it designing, proofread-

ing, copying, contributing toward the cost of its printing, and so on.

May the Light of the Triple Gem continue to shine in their hearts and

give them the peace and happiness they deserve.

You will note that no one’s name has been mentioned and none

given any special credit. is is just a way of following Ajahn Chah’s

teaching of “not trying to be anything: not an arahant, not a bodhi-

satta, nothing…” not even a translator.

A 

vii

Translators’ Note

It is said that if a person should nd a bright star, he has no right to

put it into his pocket and keep the light all to himself, but should

bring it out and let it shine for the good of everyone. For this reason,

we are pleased that we have been able to take part in translating Ajahn

Chah’s teachings into Chinese so that others, as well, may benet

from the light of wisdom that shines from his Dhamma talks.

Translating the works of Ajahn Chah has not been an entirely

easy task. ere ran the risk of using an over-literal approach which

could sometimes end up sounding clumsy, or using a freer approach

which although would read more smoothly, could turn out to be less

accurate. ere was too the risk of sounding too academic which is not

at all the style of Ajahn Chah. He himself read very little. In fact, when

once asked which books of Buddhism he would recommend people to

read, he replied, “Only one.” He then proceeded to point to his heart.

So, each of us has had to compromise in dierent ways, but not

in a way that has sacriced the clear simplicity of Ajahn Chah’s talks

nor their profound meaning. If the Dhamma “star” of Ajahn Chah

has lost some of its original luster in the translation process, we hum-

bly apologise. Yet we cannot help but feel that it is better to have a star

out in the open to shine on everyone than for it to be shining, be it

ever so brightly, in somebody’s pocket.

In the end, there is never a best or last translation of anyone’s works,

only dierent styles. As long as the essential meaning of what is being

translated is captured and conveyed eectively, that is what matters.

To you holding this book in your hands, even if it be only a

mere glimmer of light that you catch from that “star” of Dhamma

which shone so brightly from Ajahn Chah’s heart, and that glimmer

of light should bring direction and inspiration into your life, we will

feel that we have accomplished our task.

T 

viii

Introduction

Ajahn Chah reminded us that the Buddha himself could only

point out the way and could not do the practice for us, be-

cause, the truth is something that cannot be put into words

or given away. “All the teachings,” Ajahn Chah taught, “are

merely similes and comparisons, means to help the mind see

the truth. If we establish the Buddha within our mind, then

we see everything, we contemplate everything, as no dierent

from ourselves.”

Many of the similes that Ajahn Chah himself used to

teach came out of his vast experience of living in the forest. His

practice was simply to watch, all the while being totally open

and aware of everything that was happening both inside and

outside himself. He would say that his practice was nothing

special. He was, in his own words, like a tree in a forest. “A tree

is as it is,” he’d say. And Ajahn Chah was as he was. But out of

such “nothing specialness” came a profound understanding of

himself and the world.

Ajahn Chah used to say, “e Dhamma is revealing it-

self in every moment, but only when the mind is quiet can

we understand what it is saying, for the Dhamma teaches

without words.” Ajahn Chah had this uncanny ability to take

that wordless Dhamma and convey its truth to his listeners in

the form of a simile that was fresh, easy to follow, sometimes

humorous, sometimes poetic, but always striking a place in the

heart where it would jar or inspire the most: “We are like mag-

gots; life is like a falling leaf; our mind is like rain water.”

viii

e teachings of Ajahn Chah teem with similes and com-

parisons like these. We thought it would be a good idea to col-

lect them all in the form of a book as a source of inspiration for

those who may want some respite from the “heat of the world”

and seek some rest in the cool and abundant shade of “a tree

in the forest.”

(ese similes have been gleaned from the following

publications: Bodhinyana, A Taste of Freedom, Our Real Home,

Samadhibhavana, Living Dhamma, Food for the Heart, A Still

Forest Pool, and from a recently published book entitled Vener-

able Father, A Life With Ajahn Chah, that was written by Paul

Breiter.)

In the olden days, they

taught that we should

gradually, ca-a-arefully

gather in the net, feel

our way with it, with-

out losing it. is is how

we practise.

F S

A C

C page

A C ................................................................................. v

E’ N ............................................................................. v

F ................................................................................... vi

T’ N .............................................................. vii

I ........................................................................ viii

P I

1 A W ....................................................... 17

2 B P ...................................................................... 17

3 B M ......................................................................... 18

4 B  M .................................................... 18

5 C P ................................................................ 19

6 C ................................................................................... 20

7 C S ............................................................. 21

8 C .............................................................................. 22

9 C M ........................................................................ 22

10 C  W ................................................................... 23

11 D ........................................................................................ 24

12 D H .......................................................................... 25

13 D C ................................................................ 26

14 D G .............................................................. 26

15 D .................................................................................... 27

16 D ....................................................................................... 27

17 E S ...................................................................... 28

18 F ................................................................................... 29

19 F .......................................................................... 29

20 F ........................................................................................ 29

21 F ......................................................................................... 30

22 F  F ................................................................... 31

23 F T ............................................................................. 31

24 F ......................................................................... 32

25 F ........................................................................ 33

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