Story · Ajahn Chah
Coming to stay at Wat Nong Pah Pong
Content note: illness; death
The story — retold in our own words from Ajahn Chah's talk
Ajahn Chah came to stay at Wat Nong Pah Pong at his mother's invitation, wanting a way to repay her kindness. The place already had a hold on him. As a child he had heard his father tell of Ajahn Sao staying there: his father, who was never ordained, had gone to hear the Dhamma from him and had been struck to see a monk eat everything from one almsbowl — rice, curry, sweets and fish together. The memory stayed with the boy. When he later went off to practice, he always kept a special feeling for this forest, and when the time came to return to the area, he came to stay. He invited a high-ranking monk from Piboon, who said it was not his place and left; another ajahn stayed a while and also left; Ajahn Chah remained. In those days the forest was remote and dense, fruit rotted on the ground, and people were afraid to enter. He stayed a couple of years before the first monk disciples followed. They lived simply, all nearly dying of malaria, without going to a hospital, boiling bitter borapet as their only hot drink. One night about nine o'clock a monk extremely ill with fever came out of the forest, afraid to die alone. Ajahn Chah told him that was no solution — they should find someone who wasn't ill to watch the one who was — and told sick monks not to be afraid: if they died, he would cremate them right there in the monastery. Speaking like that, he says, gave them strength of mind.
A reflection (in the spirit of Ajahn Chah's talk)
Great places often begin with hardship and a few frightened people. Ajahn Chah's half-joking promise, that he would cremate the sick monks himself, took the edge off their fear. In hard times, your steadiness can be a gift. A calm, kind word can give someone else the strength to carry on.
Reflection written by Being Mindful Stories with AI help, in the spirit of the talk. These are not Ajahn Chah's own words.
In brief (our summary)
Invited by his mother, Ajahn Chah settles in the forest his father once spoke of, endures fever and hardship with a few monks, and gives them strength by promising to cremate them himself if they die.
Teaching point
In rough conditions, a calm, steady word can give others strength of mind.
When this story may help
Themes
Source & credit
Told by Ajahn Chah in the talk “Wholehearted Training”, in The Teachings of Ajahn Chah (2007 web edition), pp. 617–619
The book is © The Sangha, Wat Nong Pah Pong, offered for free distribution. Read the talk free at ajahnchah.org.
The story text is Being Mindful Stories's retelling in our own words of how Ajahn Chah tells it in this talk, not his own words and not a quotation. Read the talk in the book for his exact words. The title, summary and reflection are Being Mindful Stories's editorial notes. Please credit the teacher and link the original talk in the book. Markdown version