Story · Ajahn Chah
The wanderer who went from teacher to teacher
A traditional tale: A traditional tale from the Buddhist tradition that Ajahn Chah retold in his talk, not something that happened to him.
The story — retold in our own words from Ajahn Chah's talk
Ajahn Chah tells of a wanderer in the Buddha's time who went from one teacher to the next, hearing different explanations and methods, trying to learn meditation but only increasing his perplexity. His travels finally brought him to the teacher Gotama. He described his predicament, and the Buddha told him that doing as he had been doing would not end doubt: he should let go of the past, not speculate about the future, and look at the present — the arising and ceasing of formations as impermanent, unsatisfactory and empty of self. The past was gone, the future had not yet come; the present was the result of the past and the cause of the future. Understanding this, the wanderer made up his mind to practice as advised and put things down. Seeing ever more clearly, he realized many kinds of knowledge with his own wisdom. His doubts ended. He no longer needed to carry his bowl up mountains and into forests in search of understanding. If he went or stayed, he did so naturally, not out of desire. He became free of doubt, with nothing to add or remove, and dwelt in peace, without anxiety over past or future.
A reflection (in the spirit of Ajahn Chah's talk)
Another book, another method, another teacher can feel like progress while confusion quietly grows. In this old story the Buddha sends the wanderer back to what is happening now. Setting down the past and the future, and looking simply at the present, can bring the peace that endless searching could not.
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)
A wanderer collects teachers and methods until his confusion only grows; the Buddha tells him to let go of past and future and look at the present, and his doubts end.
Teaching point
Doubt ends not by collecting more views but by seeing the present clearly for yourself.
When this story may help
Themes
Source & credit
Told by Ajahn Chah in the talk “The Dhamma Goes Westward”, in The Teachings of Ajahn Chah (2007 web edition), pp. 651–652
1 other telling of this story
- the talk “Suffering on the Road”, in The Teachings of Ajahn Chah (2007 web edition), pp. 472–474Same traditional episode in a different talk, with teachers styled 'Ajahn A, B, C'; the talk turns into a sermon and does not narrate the monk's later realization. Ending of the story is taken from the Dhamma Goes Westward telling.
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