"You must be confused, Sumedho, The Dhamma is all about letting go & the Vinaya is all about holding on; when you work out how these two work together, you will be fine." [the two go hand in hand, one still needs to use things in an appropriate manner even if they have let go of the desire or aversion toward it.]
"If you leg go a little, you have a little peace; if you let go allot, you have allot of peace; if you let go completely you have complete peace."
All religions are like different cars all moving in the same direction. People who don't see it have no light in their hearts." [They all move toward Happiness, not necessarily the same final destination! some may only aim for the base of the mountain, others to the false summit, mistaking it for the summit, or plateau where the town is, half way up, while others reach for the true summit.]
"In the course of your travels when you are alone and have to pass through different monastic communities that have varying standards of training and discipline, recite the verse to yourself: 'suddhī asuddhi paccattaṃ' [DhpV.165] (the purity it impurity of one's virtue is something one knows for oneself), both as a protection and as a guide for reflection. You might have end up having to rely on your own integrity in this way."
“When one does not understand death, life can be very confusing."
"The Dhamma has to be found by looking into your own heart and seeing that which is true and that which is not, that which is balanced and that which is not balanced."
"Only one book is worth reading: the heart." [Other books can either inform, distract, or confuse; being over informed can be just as bad as not knowing what to do.]
"Don’t think that only sitting with the eyes closed is practice. If you do think this way, then quickly change your thinking. Steady practice is keeping mindful in every posture, whether sitting, walking, standing or lying down. When coming out of sitting, don’t think that you’re coming out of meditation, but that you are only changing postures. If you reflect in this way, you will have peace. Wherever you are, you will have this attitude of practice with you constantly. You will have a steady awareness within yourself."
"When sitting in meditation, say, “That’s not my business!” with every thought that comes by."
"The heart of the path is quite easy. There’s no need to explain anything at length. Let go of love and hate and let things be. That’s all that I do in my own practice."
"We practice to learn how to let go, not how to increase our holding on to things. Enlightenment appears when you stop wanting anything."
"If you have time to breath, you have time to meditate!
"If you let go a little, you will have a little peace. If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace. If you let go completely, you will have complete peace."
"You are your own teacher. Looking for teachers can’t solve your own doubts. Investigate yourself to find the truth - inside, not outside. Knowing yourself is most important."
"Try to be mindful and let things take their natural course. Then your mind will become still in any surroundings, like a clear forest pool. All kinds of wonderful, rare animals will come to drink at the pool, and you will clearly see the nature of all things. You will see many strange and wonderful things come and go, but you will be still. This is the happiness of the Buddha.”
"We often describe other people as well as ourselves as being people who see their ‘glass’ as half-full or half-empty. Ajahn Chah suggests that perhaps the best option is to see your glass as broken.
He says that you can enjoy your glass; drink from it, see that it holds your water quite admirably, hear it make a wonderful sound when you tap it and even admire how sometimes it reflects light in a way that creates beautiful patterns. But were you to put your glass on a shelf and it should fall to the ground and shatter, you would say ‘of course.’ But should you accept that the glass is already broken, then every moment with it becomes precious and then should it fall, you have not become attached to it."
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