by Ajahn Chah / 2018 / English
This book is part of a set of 6 titles reprinted to commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of Ajahn Chah, made available for free distribution on 17th June 2018.
The Middle Way Within
Given in the Northeastern dialect to an assembly of monks and laypeople in 1970.
The teaching of Buddhism is about giving up evil and practising good. Then, when evil is given up and goodness is established, we must let go of both good and evil. We have already heard enough about wholesome and unwholesome conditions to understand something about them, so I would like to talk about the Middle Way, that is, the path to transcend both of those things.
All the Dhamma talks and teachings of the Buddha have one aim – to show the way out of suffering to those who have not yet escaped. The teachings are for the purpose of giving us the right understanding. If we don’t understand rightly, then we can’t arrive at peace.
When all the Buddhas became enlightened and gave their first teachings, they pointed out these two extremes – indulgence in pleasure and indulgence in pain. These two types of infatuation are the opposite poles between which those who indulge in sense pleasures must fluctuate, never arriving at peace. They are the paths which spin around in samsāra.
The Enlightened One observed that all beings are stuck in[…]
Excerpt From: Ajahn Chah. “A Taste Of Freedom.”
