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“Of course there are dozens of meditation techniques, but it all comes down to this: just let it all be. Step over here where it is cool, out of the battle. Why not give it a try?”
Just wished to share this quote with the Sangha, I find it to embody the spirit of zazen quite beautifully
Ajahn Chah, perhaps purely by his own inclination (as far as I know, he never was formally training in Soto Zen ways), had some perspectives and outlooks on Buddhist wisdom which often resonate with Zen. He was rather unlike many other Theravada teachers in this regard.
A book on this which I recently read, and which I might recommend, is this one. I do not know how reliable is the author's interpretation, but it seems to be when looking at many of Ajahn Chah's teachings and those of others in the corner of the "forest tradition" which he influences:
I really like a lot of Ajahn Chah's teachings. He seems to be one of those teachers whose wisdom transcends one single tradition.
My ex-wife and daughter practice in his Thai Forest tradition at Amaravati monastery in the UK. You can download his books for free from their website, and there are even two in Spanish. https://amaravati.org/dhamma-books-l...guages=english
Ajahn Buddhadasa of the Forest Tradition has a book where he explains that the quote "nothing is to be clung to as I, me, or mine" makes up the core of the Theravada Buddhadharma (which sounds a lot like "open the hand of thought" to my mind). He also says that one doesn't need the whole forest (the Abhidharma, every sutra etc...) but only a handful of leaves for awakening.
Be careful though: I'm probably the last person who should say this because I fell victim to it many times but I agree with Jundo in the past when he says go deep into one tradition only, too much eclecticism seems to cheapen everything.
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