Ajahn Khemanando | |
What struck me most about this little episode was the contrast between Ajahn Chah the lizard hunter, displaying a very natural spontaneity and down-to-earth, almost child-like simplicity and humour, and the awe-inspiring formality of this role as head of a large, important monastery which, up to this point, was all I had ever seen of him. This had the effect of undermining many of my own pre-conceptions regarding what a great, enlightened teacher was supposed to be like and helped me to see that Ajahn Chah was actually very natural and quite funny and to feel less intimidated and more relaxed in being around him. I sent the Vassa of that year as a pa-khao with Ajahn Chah when he unexpectedly decided to leave Wat Pah Pong for the monastery in his home village, Wat Gor Nork, three kilometres way. I was the most junior of the four foreign disciples who accompanied Ajahn Chah at that time for what turned out to be a unique Rains Retreat. He did give some very profound Dhamma talks during this Vassa, in response to specific questions by more senior Western monks who took advantage of Ajahn Chah’s increased accessibility in such a small place. Most of this was over my head at the time, as my Thai was still pretty minimal and I was for the most part pre-occupied with various chores, cleaning spittoons, etc., that were the lot of my lowly position. Ajahn Chah had come to this little monastery specifically to renovate it and soon set about building a new main hall (sala). He was often to be seen supervising the work in progress, strutting around with his big walking-stick, barking out comments and commands in a most imperious manner, displaying what really appeared to be dissatisfaction, irritation or even anger. It was really quite intimidating to watch and I was starting to get a bit put off by it all when Ajahn Chah seemed to notice that I was having a few doubts about this performance. He looked across at me and by way of reassurance pointed to the centre of his chest and said, “Nothing here, nothing here!”. I realized then that he was actually a consummate actor and could display behaviour without being at all affected by it. He was simply doing what was necessary to get the right response from the village workers, who are culturally conditioned to respond to that kind of expression of authority. Another time, I witnessed him metamorphose into a really friendly, jovial old uncle or grandfather in response to a visiting family group - a most saccharine performance that at the time struck me as transparently artificial. But on reflection I could see that it was in fact just right for those people in that situation and they departed happy and uplifted. Through experiences like these I learned to let go of fixed views about how supposedly enlightened people should or should not act. Ajahn Chah was very skilful in adapting to circumstances for the sake of inspiring or teaching others and this indicated a highly developed mind. But an unenlightened observer of such outward behaviour cannot see the true quality of a mind like that. The purity, or lack of defilement cannot be seen directly all that can be seen is an apparently normal person displaying normal characteristics and reactions. So we should be very cautious about jumping to conclusions or passing judgement based on such superficial observations. As the Buddha pointed out, it is very difficult for an unenlightened person to know the quality of a wise person and needs keen observation over a long period of time. A very important point. Visiting Ajahn Chah back at Wat Pah Pong after that Vassa, I found him directing a contingent of young conscript soldiers who had come to help clean up the monastery, sweeping, picking up leaves, etc. There he was, sitting in his wicker chair, waving his stick and bellowing orders left, right and centre. Seeing it was me who had come to sit beside him under his kuti, he made an oblique reference to the previous encounter at Wat Gor Nork by leaning over and saying, with a little grin, “You can’t talk to Westerners like that, can you?”. I was impressed how much he seemed to understand the character of Westerners and the problems they had in undertaking the monastic training. Although he spoke most of the time in the appropriate way for Thais, who are conditioned to respond to authority like that, yet he was adaptable and quick enough to pick up ways of dealing with Westerners, even those who couldn’t understand his language. The villagers were always amazed how Ajahn Chah, who had very little in the way of formal education or worldly sophistication could actually teach so many Western disciples without even speaking English. Ajahn Chah would simply point out that they themselves were raising chickens and buffalo all the time without knowing their language and managing all right!
He was very observant and could quite accurately assess the personality of an approaching new-comer by watching their faces, their postures, the way they walked, etc. Before they had even sat down or said anything Ajahn Chah would make a remark to those present, such as, “This one’s full of doubt!” which subsequent conversation would reveal to be true.
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