A Still Forest Pool: The Insight Meditation of Achaan Chah

This book is a collection of short dharma talks given by meditation master Achaan Chah. Achaan Chah was abbot of one of the largest monastery complexes in the Thai Forest tradition. He welcomed and trained many western seekers who later returned to the west, becoming influential dharma teachers in their own right. In this book, Achaan Chah largely eschews "theory" in favor of encouraging his students to practice. Don't expect academic discourses on Buddhist psychology or other esoteric topics. These talks are short (rarely more than a couple of pages), direct, and very inspiring. Take your time reading this book. If you allow yourself a little time to digest the meaning of each piece, you might experience more benefit than attempting to read the book through in one sitting.

Achaan Chah's teachings are like a breath of fresh air floating among some obscure and mystifying old texts. Some of his other books are available on the web at accesstoinsight.org for free, and anyone who is interested in getting a flavor of his teaching should read these. The measure of any buddhist book meant for people who are practicing buddhists is whether it makes you want to get right back to meditation. This book is very inspiring in that regard. It's message is clear: (and I'm paraphrasing) "Put down this book! There are no answers in it! Go back to meditating!" He says this in a number of different ways, so it's hard to read more than a little bit of it at a time. It's good for when doubts about what you are doing arise. Or when you begin to feel distracted, and perhaps tempted to put your energies into trying to transform the world outside of yourself, or even into trying to transform yourself. Then, it makes you feel like you should stay on your path. What I find most satisfying about this book is its directness and its deep wisdom about meditation practice. This isn't one of those new-age type buddhist meditation books; it doesn't harp incessantly on becoming one with the universe, and assume that you have already done so. This is buddhism at its finest--a repeated command to find out everything for yourself within yourself, to pay attention, to let it go. His entire teaching is summed up on page five: "Do not try to become anything. Do not make yourself into anything. Do not be a meditator. Do not become enlightened. When you sit, let it be. When you walk, let it be. Grasp at nothing. Resist nothing." Those of you who still remember the Beatles might see a similarity to their song: "There will be an answer. Let it be." Achaan Chah was a monk in the Thai forest tradition, and perhaps the most famous one in the West. In case you are not familiar with the Thai Forest Tradition, it is a tradition that began in the late 1800's that combines the physical rigor of the Zen of the olden days, with strict observance of the precepts and some of the traditional "acetic" practices from the very olden days, such as receiving food by going on alms rounds, wandering in the most fearsome forests, and eating one meal a day. The Thai forest tradition emphasizes meditation for the development of calm and wisdom, as opposed to the study of texts, or other practices. This book was admirably translated, and the selections carefully culled and arranged. It is one of those books that you will want to read very quickly at first, and then very slowly between times when you meditate, and also a book you will want to refer back to frequently. In my opinion, it is the only book you might really want to own if you are serious about "letting it be." Every time you feel like reading a book, it will tell you in a variety of ways, often warmhearted and humorous, that you are looking in the wrong place if you think there are any answer

Excellent for both the advanced practitioner and the novice. Rather than the usual obscure metaphors often used in Bhuddist teaching, Jack Kornfield conveys the wisdom of his teacher with clarity and depth. This is a book that can be merely read to obtain an idea of "what Buddhism is about", or it may be digested, chapter by chapter for a deep experience of the Dharma (Buddhist practice). I own and study many books, but if I could only keep one, it would be this one.

This book is a highly readable, simple yet deep introduction to Buddhist life, practices and attitudes. It is anecdotal in style rather than systematic or comprehensive. It describes life in a remote forest monastery in Northern Thailand but always stays relevant to the everday life of a city dwelling westerner. Achaan Chah was one of the masters under whom Jack Kornfield practiced meditation. This book would make an ideal gift for someone interested to know about Buddhism but is also of value to someone already quite familiar with Buddhism. Its emphasis is constantly on the value of practice rather than too much intellectualising. I recommend it highly.