The Flood of Sensuality¹

Have you ever noticed the dogs in the monastery ground here? There are packs of them. They run around biting each other, some of them even getting maimed. In another month or so they'll be at it. As soon as one of the smaller ones gets into the pack the bigger ones are at him... out he comes yelping, dragging his leg behind him. But when the pack runs on he hobbles on after it. He's only a little one, but he thinks he'll get his chance one day. They bite his leg for him and that's all he gets for his trouble. For the whole of the mating season he may not even get one chance. You can see this for yourself in the monastery here.

These dogs when they run around howling in packs... I figure if they were humans they'd be singing songs! They think it's such great fun they're singing songs, but they don't have a clue what it is that makes them do it, they just blindly follow their instincts.

Think about this carefully. If you really want to practice you should understand your feelings. For example, among the monks, novices or lay people, who should you socialize with? If you associate with people who talk a lot they induce you to talk a lot also. Your own share is already enough, theirs is even more... put them together and they explode!

People like to socialize with those who chatter a lot and talk of frivolous things. They can sit and listen to that for hours. When it comes to listening to Dhamma, talking about practice, there isn't much of it to be heard. Like when giving a Dhamma talk: as soon as I start off... 'Namo Tassa Bhagavato'⁵ ... they're all sleepy already. They don't take in the talk at all. When I reach the ''Evam'' they all open their eyes and wake up. Every time there's a Dhamma talk people fall asleep. How are they going to get any benefit from it?

Real Dhamma cultivators will come away from a talk feeling inspired and uplifted, they learn something. Every six or seven days the teacher gives another talk, constantly boosting the practice.

This is your chance, now that you are ordained. There's only this one chance, so take a close look. Look at things and consider which path you will choose. You are independent now. Where are you going to go from here? You are standing at the crossroads between the worldly way and the Dhamma way. Which way will you choose? You can take either way, this is the time to decide. The choice is yours to make. If you are to be liberated it is at this point.

Footnotes

...¹

Given to the assembly of monks after the recitation of the Patimokkha, at Wat Pah Pong during the rains retreat, 1978

...ana²

Nibbāna - the state of liberation from all conditioned states.

...bhava)³

The Thai word for bhava - ''pop'' - would have been a familiar term to Ajahn Chah's audience. It is generally understood to mean ''sphere of rebirth.'' Ajahn Chah's usage of the word here is somewhat unconventional, emphasizing a more practical application of the term.

... nest⁴

Both the red ants and their eggs are used for food in North-East Thailand, so that such raids on their nests were not so unusual.

... Bhagavato'⁵

The first line of the traditional Pāli words of homage to the Buddha, recited before giving a formal Dhamma talk. Evam is the traditional Pāli word for ending a talk.