Ajahn Chah

“The Buddha wanted us to practice Dhamma. But what is practicing Dhamma? Dhamma means all things. The forms that the eyes see, sounds heard by the ears, these are all Dhamma, because Dhamma means conditions that are maintained in existence. Having come into being, they pass away. We don’t need to expect too much from them, because that is the way they are. We should internalize this truth and see it in our minds and bodies; it is not something far away. The components of body and mind are not stable or permanent. They have no inherent reality. Why would you want to see something that has no inherent reality as real? Appearing and disappearing, constantly in a state of change—where is the reality in that? The only reality is the insubstantiality itself. The Buddha wanted us to see this truth, the truth that things are impermanent, unsatisfactory in nature, and without self-essence. Not seeing this and grasping at things, the only result is suffering; seeing and letting go leads to freedom.”