Unexpected Freedom

Alone Togetherwas anything but wishy-washy; but because he wanted us tosee the Dhamma in all of our activity.On the day that Ajahn Chah died in 1992 a friend of themonastery offered a lamp as a gift to mark the occasion. Weswitched this lamp on for the next ten days and nights as agesture of our respect. After this period we held a MemorialService in the Dhamma Hall here. A large gathering of peoplefrom Newcastle and the surrounding area came together forchanting and meditation, to reflect with gratitude on ourteacher who had just passed away. At the Memorial Service Iread a talk from a collection of Ajahn Chah’s teachings calledFood For The Heart. It was on Ajahn Chah’s favourite theme –impermanence. The words in this talk gained a newsignificance as I read them. When I came to this importantpassage, the key sentence of the whole talk, which says,‘…and any teaching from any teacher that does not includethe words impermanence…’ the light bulb blew ‘...is not theteaching of the Buddha….’ I had to stop for a few moments. Isuppose these things happen, don’t they? What causes them,what is actually going on – who knows? But it certainlyetched that particular aspect of Ajahn Chah’s teaching evenmore deeply in my mind:‘Any teaching that does not contain the words not sure orimpermanent is not the teaching of the Buddha.’Thank you very much for your attention this evening.165