Ajahn Chah on Living With the Cobra
In a last piece of guidance given to an elderly English woman who stayed with Ajahn Chah at Wat Nong Pah Pong in the late 70s, the main focus was on achieving freedom from the continuous cycle of life and death, which is the central concept of the Buddha’s teachings.
Ajahn Chah emphasizes the importance of regarding all mental activities with mindfulness, likening them to handling a deadly cobra – whether liked or disliked, they can be poisonous and obstructive to true understanding.
He stresses the cultivation of mindfulness throughout daily life, allowing clear comprehension and wisdom to arise.
These teachings are not merely intellectual concepts but practices to be embodied and experienced in daily life.
Ajahn Chah encourages the disciple to bring mindfulness and clear comprehension into every aspect of life, leading to a profound understanding of the impermanence and interconnectedness of all phenomena.
Through this practice, one can attain a tranquil dispassion towards the world, experiencing peace that transcends both happiness and suffering, ultimately leading to the cessation of the cycle of birth and death.
