Everything Arises, Everything Falls Away

by CHAH, AJAHNBREITER, PAUL

• ISBN13: 9781590302170
• ISBN10: 1590302176
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2005-03-08
• Publisher: Shambhala

Summary

Ajahn Chah (1919-1992) was admired for the way he demystified the Buddhist teachings, presenting them in a remarkably simple and down-to-earth style for people of any background. He was a major influence and spiritual mentor for a generation of American Buddhist teachers, including Jon Kabat-Zinn, Sharon Salzberg, and Jack Kornfield. Previous books by Ajahn Chah have consisted of collections of short teachings on a wide variety of subjects. This new book focuses on the theme of impermanence, offering powerful remedies for overcoming our deep-seated fear of change, including guidance on letting go of attachments, living in the present, and taking up the practice of meditation.Everything Arises, Everything Falls Awayalso contains stories and anecdotes about this beloved master's life and his interactions with students, from his youth as a struggling monk to his last years when American students were coming to study with him in significant numbers. These stories help to convey Ajahn Chah's unique spirit and teaching style, allowing readers to know him both through his words and the way in which he lived his life.

Author Biography

Ajahn Chah (1919–1992) was a beloved Thai Buddhist master whose teachings were refreshingly uncompromising in their clarity and certainty—the certainty of a meditator who has achieved deep understanding of the Buddha's teachings. He was an important influence and spiritual mentor for a generation of American Buddhist teachers.

Table of Contents

Translator's Preface	ix
Part One Right View
Understanding Mind	3	(3)
Understanding Phenomena	6	(3)
That's About Right	9	(2)
Seeing Things Through: Ajahn Chah's Practice	11	(2)
Buddhas and Bodhisattvas	13	(2)
Seeing Things as They Really Are	15	(7)
That's Good Too: Ajahn Chah's View	22	(2)
The Buddha's Inspiration	24	(2)
Keep Some Perspective	26	(1)
The Buddha's Search	27	(6)
Part Two Anicca: Impermanence
Bringing the Mind under Our Command	33	(2)
A Lot of Defilements: Ajahn Chah at Play	35	(2)
It's Not Permanent, It's Not Sure	37	(6)
A Fish Story	43	(6)
A Perplexed Meditator Meets the Buddha	49	(6)
Part Three Dukkha: Unsatisfactoriness
Understanding Dukkha	55	(9)
Shaking Up the Students: Ajahn Chah's Methods	64	(1)
Birth and Becoming	65	(3)
Evanescence	68	(4)
Cold Comfort: Ajahn Chah's Monks Face Illness and Death	72	(2)
The Buddha Didn't Die	74	(2)
Birth, Death, and Enlightenment: Ajahn Chah and the Bodhi Tree	76	(5)
Part Four Anatta: Not-Self
Practice Like the Four Elements	81	(4)
Ignorance: Ajahn Chah Holds Up a Mirror	85	(1)
Not Us, Not Ours	86	(6)
Don't Be a Buddha	92	(5)
My Tooth, My Pillow, My Coconut	97	(4)
Part Five Points in Meditation
Tranquillity and Insight	101	(3)
Still Water Flows, Flowing Water Is Still	104	(2)
Making It Real	106	(2)
Serious Students: Ajahn Chah on Intensive Meditation	108	(2)
Meditation Instructions: Questions and Answers	110	(10)
What It Is: Ajahn Chah's Meditation	120	(1)
Don't Get Drunk on Tranquillity	121	(3)
Keep At It	124	(2)
High Ideals and Daily Frustrations: A Young Monk with Ajahn Chah	126	(5)
Part Six Completing the Path
Making an End of Problems	131	(10)
Seeking a Teacher: Ajahn Chah and a Would-Be Student	141	(1)
A Wise Crab	142	(2)
Some Final Advice	144	(7)
Translator's Acknowledgments	151	(2)
Glossary	153	(6)
Resources	159	(4)
About the Translator	163