What I did, I did for renunciation and letting go.

“I used to be a wandering monk. I’d travel by foot to visit teachers and seek solitude. I didn’t go around giving Dhamma talks. I went to listen to the Dhamma talks of the great Buddhist masters of the time. I didn’t go to teach them. I listened to whatever advice they had to offer. Even when young or junior monks tried to tell me what the Dhamma was, I listened patiently. However, I rarely got into discussions about the Dhamma. I couldn’t see the point in getting involved in lengthy discussions. Whatever teachings I accepted I took on board straight away, directly where they pointed to renunciation and letting go. What I did, I did for renunciation and letting go. We don’t have to become experts in the scriptures. We’re getting older with every day that passes, and every day we pounce on a mirage, missing the real thing. Practising the Dhamma is something quite different from studying it.”

Ajahn Chah

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