Following Nature by

　　Ajahn Puth (Thaniyo)

　　Translated by Sumano Bhikkhu

　　For free distribution only, as a gift of Dhamma

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　　Introduction

　　Ajahn Puth Thaniyo, the Abbot of Wat Pah Salawan, Nakorn Ratchasima, Thailand is one of the last surviving meditation masters who revitalized and reactivated the forest tradition in Asia. This is the tradition which many believe to most resemble in form and manner the practice taught by the Buddha himself. Essentially, it is a way of practice which is intended to push the envelope to the limit. And then, keep on inclining into the unknown, insecure, and uncertain. This is the way of practice which demands a continuous letting go, letting go, letting go until there is nothing left to let go of or hold onto. No toeholds, no secret hiding places, no worlds of fantasy and hope. Ultimately, all that is left is the transcendent refuge of the Buddhas”...the Crystal Clear Knowing in this Continuous Now Present Moment. Right here is the freedom most of us hunger and aspire for.

　　The forest tradition revived practice which emphasized strict Vinaya discipline as the primary facilitating factor in the process of development which could, in conjunction with proper practice, literally emancipate us from the tyranny of all the conditionning, all the programming, all the education, all the rest of the "stuff" which has bound us for so long to the wheel of endless becoming. It is possible to get real.

　　With the Vinaya as the backbone to practice, the mendicant learns to live more and more simply and further and further away from the demands of the insidious desire system and all the clamoring and whining noises that go along with it. Of course, that which is necessary and useful is maintained, supported and nourished. But that which is superfluous and encumbering to a seasoned spiritual life is left behind like the dolls, tricycles, water pistols and jump ropes of our childhood. In the phase known as adulthood, we have a duty and a responsibility to grow ourselves towards wholeness in order to become compassionate and holy beings. We are here to do just that. Even though, as we look around at the state of the world, we wouldn”t think so.

　　Authentic spiritual practice must be designed to help us in this process. Those of us who have followed behind these pioneering forest monks are grateful beyond words to those who ventured out into the dangerous forests with little more than their bowl, robes, water filter and commitment to disciplined practice. There, under the Buddha”s discipline, they spent years humbly enduring whatever the moment would manifest while learning to recognize that whatever arose would inevitably pass away. There was nothing that belonged to them personally. When malaria arose, that was to be seen only as malaria. When tigers, scorpions, snakes, or centipedes arose, they too were conditions that one had to patiently co-exist with, while they ran their course and passed away back into the emptiness which contains everything. When conditions cool down, they naturally and harmoniously flow back into Nature. By following anything and everything in line with Nature, all things are as they are, as they abide in their Actuality.

　　And so this testing went on for decades until the energies which spin out the world subsided and passed away. Some monks died in the jungles. Some completed the work, returning back to the world to help others and to point the way. It is through the impact of this intense and determined practice that dozens of Westerners have come to practise meditation in forests of Thailand. The disciples of Ajahn Cha have taken this way of practice "back home" so tradition is now living and growing in England, S…

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