Das Herz der Lehre des Buddha ist der edle achtfache Pfad, der in das dreifache Training von Sila, Samādhi und Paññā, Tugend, Sammlung und Weisheit unterteilt wird. Alle drei Faktoren des Pfades zusammengenommen sind als mittlerer Weg bekannt und genau diese Verbindung der Pfad-Faktoren, ergibt eine heilige Gleichung, welche letztlich zu Frieden, Freiheit von Leiden und Nibbāna führt. Die drei Faktoren unterstützen sich gegenseitig: Tugend ist die Grundlage für Sammlung. Sammlung die Grundlage für Weisheit und durch Weisheit arbeitet man der Erlösung zu. Einen der Faktoren aus dieser heiligen Gleichung herauszunehmen, verhindert, dass man auf den Pfad gelangt, der zu wahrem Glück, Nibbāna, führt.

Der Hauptteil dieses Vortrags beginnt mit einer sehr einfachen Frage, die Ajahn Dtun einer Gruppe von Laien stellt, von denen er wusste, dass sie Schüler eines Lehrers sind, der viel Wert auf die Übung der „Geistesbeobachtung“ legt. Diese Übung beschränkt sich darauf, das Entstehen und Vergehen aller Geistesinhalte zu beobachten, aufgrund der Auffassung, dass dies der effektivste Weg für die Entwicklung von Weisheit sei, und der Geist dadurch von seinen Trübungen befreit werden könne.

Diejenigen, die diese spezielle Methode praktizieren, neigen dazu, die Rolle, die Sammlung bei der Entwicklung von Weisheit spielt, zu übersehen oder zu unterschätzen. In den letzten 15 Jahren stieß die Übung der „Geistesbeobachtung“ - obwohl weder neu noch zeitgemäß – auf reges Interesse und fand in Thailand weite Verbreitung. Doch unter den Meistern der thailändischen Waldtradition mit einer traditionelleren Lehrweise führte die Wiederverbreitung zu Bedenken und sie weisen auf die falsche Annahme hin, dass schon das Beobachten allein den Geist von seinen Trübungen befreien könne.

On the evenings of the twenty-second and twenty-third of November, 2017, a large number of monks, novices and laypeople gathered to participate in the official opening of a new monastery built under the auspices of His Holiness Somdej Phra Ariyavaṅsāgatañāṅa, the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand. The monastery is called Wat Pah Amparopanyawanaram (more commonly referred to as Wat Pah Amparo). Also being inaugurated was the Chandakaranusorn Dhamma Museum. His Holiness entrusted Luang Por Tui (Preeda) Chandakaro, who is presently one of the most respected senior elders in the Thai Forest Tradition, to take responsibility for the monastery’s construction.

Luang Por Tui personally selected the biographies of thirty-four monks of the Rattanakosin era from the early 1900s up to the present to be housed in the Dhamma Museum. Sometime in the month of July, 2017, Luang Por Tui had a lay person who was also a disciple of Luang Por Akaradej Thiracitto request his autobiography for inclusion in the museum. Luang Por Akaradej had always felt he would wait until he was at least seventy before writing one. On being requested, he said initially he couldn’t be bothered to write it himself, so he allowed this lay person to draft a brief biography. When it was brought to him for checking, he thought some things they had written weren’t quite correct or necessary, some parts had been embellished, and important details had been omitted. He felt if he allowed this version to be printed it would later prove to be at variance with his own version. Recognizing that this might confuse readers as to which version is most reliable, he chose to compile it himself. However, by this time there remained just over three weeks in which to write the autobiography and it give it to Luang Por Tui for checking before the printer’s deadline. He was aided by notes he had made in the early years of his practice which could jog his memory and help him expand on details.

Due to his many commitments as abbot of Wat Boonyawad and the time constraint placed on him, he feels that his autobiography is only seventy percent complete. During the three to four weeks given to him, he had to work late into each night to come up with a draft. The first chapters of this book are detailed, the later ones less so owing to a lack of time, and the autobiography only goes as far as 2003. The final pages, in fact, were still being worked on until 1 a.m. on the night before it was to be given to Luang Por Tui. Fortunately Luang Por Tui expressed his praise on reading the draft copy, and did not have to make any changes.

Luang Por Akaradej has said that sometime in the future he might get around to writing a complete version of his autobiography by inserting missing details and incidents that he failed to include. For any reader wishing to know more about his life, you will find the audio version of his biography (recorded in Melbourne, 2007) to be of interest.

Today, his feelings about writing his autobiography remain the same as it did in 1980 when he first started recording some details of his life and practice: If it can be of benefit or provide inspiration to even only a few people, then writing it will have been worthwhile. Finally, I would like to acknowledge my debt of gratitude to all who have helped in bringing this book to fruition. For any errors that may still remain in either text or translation, the translator accepts full responsibility, and humbly begs both Ajahn Dtun’s and the reader’s forgiveness.

The Translator, Wat Boonyawad June, 2020

It is hoped that by reading this teaching the reader will gain a clear view of the complete path of meditation practice, and understand that solely contemplating the mind is not sufficient to free it from the mental defilements. The assumption that the mental defilements arise within the mind, and so must be dealt with solely by contemplating the mind, is true but not altogether correct. It is true that mental defilements do arise within the mind and so must be let go of within the mind, but it is not correct to believe that one can start the work of cleansing the mind at this point. This practice, as Ajahn Dtun clearly shows, is for those already highly advanced on the path to liberation, as they push forward to reach the final stage of enlightenment.

This book contains a number of talks given mostly to lay people by the Venerable Ajahn Dtun. The first talk, The Power of Virtue, Concentration, and Wisdom, was given in 2011 at the Bandar Uttama Buddhist Society in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. At the time it was appreciated by many listeners for being a good overview of the Buddha’s path of practice as well as describing clearly the stages of attainment on the Noble Path to Liberation. The talk has been reworked from the original oral translation so as to give greater accuracy of meaning while also filling in the small omissions that naturally occur during live translations.

Then there are four shorter pre-meal reflections. These types of reflections are frequently given by the Venerable Ajahn to the laity who come to make offerings of food and requisites at the monastery. The reader will notice a difference in tone or style within these short and pithy reflections. They emphasize fundamental points of Dhamma without going into great details. Each reflection does, however, serve to reassert the correct path of practice

As with all talks given by the meditation masters within the Thai Forest Tradition, they are very much ad lib in their style. The emphasis is always to speak from the heart and touch upon points of Dhamma that are felt to be relevant to the listener. This can be seen in the final talk, The Ten Spiritual Perfections, as it gently encourages its listeners to always persevere in their spiritual practices so that they may achieve their goals.

It is therefore sincerely hoped that the reader will gain the same benefit as the listeners did, by receiving the inspiration to either start, or keep on with, the practice of spiritual development.

Originally This is the Path was compiled and printed by Wat Buddha Dhamma commemorating Tan Ajahn Dtun’s first visit to their monastery. For this second edition, a certain amount of editing of the original text has been done. This was not due to any errors in the actual translation, but rather to correct any remaining spelling mistakes along with the re-arranging of personal pronouns and tenses. And so it is hoped that it will make for smoother reading without changing the meaning of the original text in any way. Also an additional talk, Developing the Brahma Vihāras, has been included along with some question and answers. This balances the contents out to being two talks for lay people and two talks for monastics, although laypeople dedicated to Dhamma practice are sure to derive benefit all the same. Translating extemporaneous Dhamma talks into a written form is often a difficult task of finding the right balance between literal consistency to the spoken word and grammatical correctness – readability. The translator has always felt obliged to stay close to the spoken word owing to his relative inexperience in Dhamma practice.