Food for the Heart

This book is excellent. Everything you need to know about how to meditate, mindfulness etc. Its taking me a long time to read because it is very thought provoking and Im underlining so much. I absolutely love this book and it has helped me so much in my views on life and death, joy and suffering, the impermanence of everything and the art of loving yet not attaching to anything like suffering, joy, happiness and sorry. I would give this 10 stars if I could.

Perhaps it is not necessary to see another 5 star review on this book, but, I wish to state from another voice the value of this volume. This teacher is extremely clear on what practice is. He separates useless activity and speculative study from effective practice. He shows the logic of practice by demonstrating the identification of the causes of suffering, and how to either let go or otherwise dispense with the suffering. He also encourages us, stating that the causes of suffering are not endless for the person willing to deal with them, and that means one thing -- practice! This is not a slender volume, so take your time getting into it. I had to get adjusted to the tone and some of the terms, which are translated in the back matter. Even though his message is ultimately simple, it might take hold only after some pages of reading. Once it is grasped and used, you have a very powerful tool for serious sadhana. One last point -- Ajahn Chah is very humorous as he shares tales of his less than stellar pupils. As a teacher, I shared his feeling of exasperation regarding students that refuse to apply themselves. He never drifts from the Dharma however, and uses that to goad pupils to get to work independently. I loved his salt of the earth style, and his stories of what he endured during his own practice, including the mistakes he made, are useful, and even fun to read.

I read a lot of Buddhist literature. Much of it is written from a Western non-secular perspective. However, "Food for the Heart: The Collected Teaching of Ajahn Chah" is genuinely written by a religious Buddhist in the Thai Forest Tradition. Although I don't have faith in Buddhism as a religion the way he does, I greatly enjoyed reading Ajahn Chah's teachings. He speaks sincerely and with a lot of wisdom. You don't need to believe everything he says, but he has a lot of good stuff to say that is universally applicable.

I can't say enough how Ajahn Chah has helped me practice. His wise simplicity and use of everyday similes are very approachable and I'd recommend this for anyone curious about themselves and/or Buddhism. I've practiced for years in the Ajahn Chah tradition and this is my go to book when I want to read.

This book is a wonderful collection of teachings from Ajahn Chah. The style is very straight forward-no beating around the bush. Some lessons are aimed towards the monks/nuns (as the lesson maybe talks for them) but you are able to learn from them as well. I recommend the book for beginners to advanced alike. The language is easy to understand, without a lot of confusing "Buddhist Terms" there are some but it has a glossary if you need it (which is great if you have to refer back to it in another chapter). This book is easy to break up-meaning you don't need to read it all at once. I actually took about 6 months to read through it-took my good old time :) -I would read some then let the lessons sink in etc.. while I worked on lessons online for the Dhammapada. Then I would come back to it. No problem at all, as each chapter is different-not like a story-but lessons/teachings per chapter. The stories are wide in variety & I think most Buddhist students can take something away from reading this book. I highly recommend it. I also recommend books by Ajahn Brahm.

Great reading and lessons. A profound refresher of mindfulness and staying in the now. Recommend this and other books by the author.

I am a follower of the Buddhist philosophy and read many books and attend many classes, retreats, etc. I was first introduced to Ajahn Chah when I ordered some books from Singapore and they sent me as a gift a compilation of Chah's teachings. He is so clear, so kindly blunt, so wise. There are times he makes me laugh as what he says can cut through all the psycho babble and the shields we put up to protect ourselves and gets to the heart of the matter. i'm so glad to have this book in my Buddhist library. Amazon carries an amazing inventory in writings on Buddhism.You can't go wrong with this book. The advice, the lessons, the teachings are wonderful. Now if I can just integrate it all.

Like all these books there will be some ideas that you don't agree with or that contradict other ideas expressed in the same book, but it's one of the strongest books I've read in terms of clarity, practicality and simplicity of explanation. Interestingly (sort of), I was simultaneously reading this and Jack Kornfield's "After the Ecstasy the Laundry". Ajahn Chah was Kornfield's teacher, and Kornfield would occasionally make comments about Chah, like seeing Chah towards the end of his life when he was very sick and a short bit about that encounter. Anyway, "Food For The Heart" is a really good book. I think reading just the free Kindle sample will give you a good sense of whether it's the type of book that would appeal to you.

This book is full of practical advice and wisdom. That it is very different from an arid, academic-style exegesis is clear given that this book comprises lectures given by Ajahn Chah himself. It is an uplifting and enjoyable read. Simple yet profound. Here are some examples of the wisdom extracted from the first few chapters alone: • Meditation, sitting meditation, and listening to Dhamma talks are only the outer forms of practice. The real practice takes place where the mind encounters a sense object. • The value of the Dhamma isn’t to be found in books. They are not realization of Dhamma as a personal experience. If you realize the Dhamma, you realize your own mind. • Where there is confusion is where peace can arise. • Where suffering lies is right where non-suffering will arise; it [suffering] ceases at the place where it arises. • We should take everything as practice. Even the bad things. • Study and practice, they form a pair.

I have been studying The Dharma and meditating for several years and have found this to be one of the most perfect guidebooks I have read. For those who don't know; Ajahn Chah is a famous monk in the Thai Forest Tradition of Therevada Buddhism. He was ordained as a Buddhist at the age of 20 and dedicated his entire life to following the teachings of the Buddha. He taught many well-known monks (such as Ajahn Brahm and Ajahn Sumedho) who have since gone on to set up successful Buddhist Centres across the world. I purchased this book based on a recommendation from a fellow meditator whom I met on a retreat and have used it consistently alongside my practice for the last few months, digesting the teachings slowly and putting them in to practice. I must say that the teachings have really helped me to progress a lot both in learning how to work with the mind and with my understanding of the most important aspects of Dharma. The style of teaching here is remarkably simple yet extremely profound. Ajahn Chah expounds on all the common issues that serious meditators face when on the cushion such as understanding sensations, letting go, observing the mind, attaining mental balance, right attitudes to practice etc. Some familiarity with Buddhist teachings may be beneficial to make full use of the book, however explanations are given throughout of the most important aspects such as Precepts, Noble Truths, The Characteristics, Aggregates etc, all explained thoroughly. In particular I found the descriptions on handling mental defilements to be particularly brilliant as they cleared up a lot of confusion that was obstructing my progression. If you are looking for a beginners manual I would probably look elsewhere first (Breath by Breath by Larry Rosenburg or Mindfulness Bliss & Beyond by Ajahn Brahm are excellent). But if you already have a good grounding in Buddhist teachings and maybe a few years practical experience under your belt then I couldn't recommend this book highly enough.

This is the most comprehensive and complete collection of Ajahn Chah teachings available commercialy in the west. The translation respects the pali terminlogy and includes a very illuminating introduction by Ven. Amaro which explains the origin of the Thai Forest Tradition and offers a brief biography of the great master. The Dhamma talks transcribed here are for the most part different from what can be found in the other collections translated by Paul Breiter, so one can purchase all of them with minimal overlap of material. It is also worth noting the very high quality of the book itself; most paperbacks are cheaply made but this one is very high quality with creamy thick paper pages. If the study of the Tipitaka left you confused or feeling overwhelmed, these teachings will help you put it all into practice in the most direct way. Newcomers to buddhism will also get an excellent understanding of the practice from this collection.

A favourite piece of writing for me

good book but costly.