# The five ascetics abandon the Buddha

- Teacher: Ajahn Chah
- Type: Story
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/chah-five-ascetics-abandon-the-buddha
- Themes: middle way, courage, change, meditation
- Life situations: being misunderstood, changing a severe practice, burnout, perfectionism

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

When the Buddha gives up extreme austerities and eats normally, his five companions think he has gone soft and leave him, while he goes on to find the middle way.

## The story, retold in our own words (a paraphrase, not Ajahn Chah's words)

_Retold in our own words from Ajahn Chah's talk “Transcendence”, in The Teachings of Ajahn Chah (2007 web edition), pp. 388–389._

_A traditional tale from the Buddhist tradition that Ajahn Chah retold in his talk, not something that happened to him._

Ajahn Chah tells that the Buddha, seeing the fault of self-mortification, began to take more food, eating as normal and practicing in a more natural way. When the five ascetics saw the change they figured he had given up and reverted to sensual indulgence. One person's understanding was shifting to a higher level, while the others saw it as sliding downwards toward comfort. Self-mortification was deeply ingrained in them because the Buddha had previously taught and practiced that way. When they saw him change, they left him, feeling he was practicing wrongly and that they would no longer follow him — just as birds abandon a tree which no longer offers sufficient shade, or fish leave a pool that is too small or dirty. So the Buddha then concentrated on contemplating the Dhamma, ate more comfortably, and lived more naturally.

## Teaching point

The middle way can look like failure to those attached to extremes.

## Reflection (in the spirit of Ajahn Chah's talk)

Easing off harshness can look like giving up to others, and even to ourselves. Ajahn Chah tells how the Buddha's companions walked away just as he found the middle way. If you are learning to be less severe with yourself, being misunderstood for a while may simply be part of finding a wiser path.

_Reflection written by Being Mindful Stories with AI help, in the spirit of the talk. These are not Ajahn Chah's own words._

## Source

- Talk "Transcendence", in The Teachings of Ajahn Chah (2007 web edition), pp. 388–389 — https://www.ajahnchah.org/book/Transcendence1.php

_The book is © The Sangha, Wat Nong Pah Pong, offered for free distribution; read the talk free at its source link. No book text is reproduced here._