Khanti - Wat Pah Nanachat

Mai or whatever... The real practice is in this or that place… –
not at Wat Nanachat.’
This has been a constant point of discussion over the
years and, I think, often the very real benefits of training here
have been overlooked or have been underestimated. We can
often develop a hierarchy of wholesome qualities in our minds.
We can be led to romanticize and idealize aspects of the life.
Of course, formal practice should always form the heart of our
life as forest monks, and states of deep meditation are certainly
to be aspired to, but the problem that can arise is that we can
downplay foundational virtues that, in the long run, are
absolutely essential. Patient endurance is a good example.
People say, ‘…well, I didn’t get anything from that at all,
except for patient endurance.’ It’s like ‘I didn’t get anything
really worthwhile, but anyway, I guess a bit of patience is
better than nothing.’ The Buddha himself, on the other hand,
taught that patient endurance is the supreme incinerator of
defilements. This is a phrase that we perhaps don’t give as
much importance to as we might.
Years ago when I was researching for Upalamani, the
Thai biography of Ajahn Chah, I interviewed many monks,
including, of course Luang Por Sumedho. He, as you know,
was the first Western monk to train at Wat Nong Pah Pong and
the first abbot of Wat Pah Nanachat. Discussing the training he
had received, I clearly remember him saying that, essentially, it
was that Ajahn Chah provided the most conducive environment
for development. I remember that particularly because it’s not
the kind of answer that you’d expect from a disciple of such a
great teacher – emphasizing his ability to create the most
conducive conditions, rather than saying things like: ‘Oh, once
we were walking along on alms round and he said this and
suddenly I looked at the world in a different way’, or: ‘One
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