Being Mindful Stories

Story · Ajahn Chah

Por Sang teaching Dhamma in the bamboo grove

From a talk by Ajahn Chah, “Just Do It!”

1 min read

The story — retold in our own words from Ajahn Chah's talk

Retold in our own words from Ajahn Chah's talk “Just Do It!”, in The Teachings of Ajahn Chah (2007 web edition), p. 80. Read the original talk

Ajahn Chah recalls a night when Por Sang was still a postulant. After walking meditation Por Sang sat, his mind became lucid and sharp, and he wanted to expound the Dhamma and could not stop. Ajahn Chah heard someone teaching at length over in a bamboo grove and wondered whether it was a Dhamma talk or someone complaining. It did not stop, so he took a flashlight and went to look. There in the grove, sitting cross-legged in the light of a lantern, was Por Sang, talking so fast Ajahn Chah could not keep up. Ajahn Chah called out, asking if he had gone crazy. Por Sang said he did not know what it was — he just wanted to talk the Dhamma, sitting or walking; he had to expound it all the time and did not know where it would end. Ajahn Chah thought to himself that when people practice the Dhamma there is no limit to the things that can happen.

A reflection (in the spirit of Ajahn Chah's talk)

Practice does not always go the way the books say. Ajahn Chah's half-amused response to Por Sang carries both warmth and balance. When something unusual arises in meditation, we can meet it with curiosity and a light touch, without clinging to it or being frightened, and keep walking 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)

One night Ajahn Chah follows the sound of a non-stop talk to a bamboo grove and finds the postulant Por Sang, mind sharp after meditation, unable to stop expounding the Dhamma.

Teaching point

When people practise, there is no limit to what can happen; meet it with curiosity and balance.

When this story may help

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Chah in the talk “Just Do It!”, in The Teachings of Ajahn Chah (2007 web edition), p. 80

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

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