Ajahn Chandapalo

Question: What most impressed you about Luang Por Chah? Please give an example from your own experience.

Answer: My experience with him is very limited because I only saw him one time before he got really sick. So I only saw him once when he could still walk and talk and function normally. While I was studying in Scotland he was invited to visit Edinburgh, and he was with Ajahn Sumedho and Ajahn Pabhakaro. He had just arrived that evening, and he stayed overnight and left the following day. There was a meeting with a few people. He didn�t give a talk, just questions and answers, and I can’t remember what he said but it did leave an impression. I remember him being someone totally at ease and just completely normal in a way. There was nothing really outstanding, he was just someone who was right there. There was no kind of pretence or play-acting, he was just who he was.

It was just a short meeting, a short meditation and afterwards he answered questions. So I only saw him for an hour or so. I was still quite new to practice and Buddhism. I’d only met Ajahn Sumedho before, so it felt like a very important and fortunate thing to be able to meet his teacher as well. I felt very much in awe, you know, ‘Ajahn Chah!’

We were waiting for them to arrive and I happened to be just outside in the corridor when he came. I remember feeling quite shy and embarrassed, not knowing how to behave. So I just raised my hands in anjali as he walked past - he was really short and walking with a stick. And he stopped and looked up at me, and then carried on.

Question: Do you remember what year this was in?

Answer: It must have been 1979. I remember him sitting in a chair and just looking around, tapping things with his stick. I felt there was kindness, a good feeling from just being in his presence. It was a long time ago and very brief, but what stands out is that feeling of the goodness of his presence, and that he was someone who was very much at ease.

I’ve always enjoyed his teachings that have been published in books, like Bodhinyana and Taste of Freedom, very inspiring, and there’s an apparent simplicity in it, but also a depth and profundity of his wisdom comes across. And even though you can read them many times there’s still something that reaches and touches you, something inspiring. 

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