Lūang Phau Līam, Lūang Phau Chā's successor ... - Dhamma by Ajahn Jayasāro


Lūang Phau Līam, Lūang Phau Chā's successor as abbot of Wat Pā Phong only went to school for a few years. Nevertheless, without academic training he has designed and overseen the construction of many monastic buildings, including the large Dhamma Hall in his own monastery. He has also worked as a craftsman and a labourer on these projects. He does everything in a calm, unruffled way. He is a great teacher of mindfulness in action.

One evening after a long hot day on a major construction project some lay guests visited him. They asked when the work would be finished. Lūang Phau Līam replied, ‘I finish every day.’

Lūang Phau meant by this that whenever his body left the work site his mind left too. He didn't carry worries and unresolved issues with him. This is the value of a well-trained mind. When it needs to think and plan and solve problems, it does so; when there is no need to think it can put down the thinking until it's time to work once more. This may sound impossible but monks like Lūang Phau Līam prove that through practice of the Buddhs's teachings it can be done.

Lūang Phau Līam, Lūang Phau Chā's successor

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