Ajahn Sao Kantasilo
| Phra Khru Vivekbuddhakij (Sao Kantasilo) |
|
|---|---|
| School | Theravada, Dhammayutika Nikaya |
| Lineage | Thai Forest Tradition |
| Other names | Ajahn Sao Luang Pu Sao |
| Dharma names | Kantasilo |
| Personal | |
| Nationality | Thai |
| Born |
November 2, 1859 Ban Kha Khom, Tambon Nong Khon, Amphoe Mueang Ubon Ratchathani, Ubon Ratchathani Province, Siam |
| Died | February 3, 1941 (aged 81) Wat Amatayaram, Amphoe Wan Waithayakon, Champasak Province (under Thai rules) |
| Senior posting | |
| Title | Luang Por |
| Religious career | |
| Students | Ajahn Mun Bhuridatta |
Phra Ajahn Sao Kantasilo Mahathera (1861–1941) was a monk in the Thai Forest Tradition of Theravada Buddhism. He was a highly revered member of the Dhammayuttika Nikaya, the order to which the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand, Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara Suvaddhana, belongs. Ajahn Mun Bhuridatta Mahathera was one of his most well-known students.
After his cremation, his bone fragments were distributed to people around the Thai provinces. According to his followers, they transformed into crystal-like relics (Pali: Sarira-Dhatu) in various hues.
Ajaan Sao's Teaching - transcribed from a talk by Phra Ajaan Phut Thaniyo:
In our day and age, the practice of going into the forest to meditate and follow the ascetic dhutanga practices began with Phra Ajaan Sao Kantasilo, the teacher of Phra Ajaan Mun and, by extension, Phra Ajaan Singh and Phra Ajaan Lee. Phra Ajaan Sao was inclined to be, not a preacher or a speaker, but a doer. When he taught his students, he said very little. And those who studied directly under him are now elders who speak very little, who rarely preach, having picked up the habit from their teacher. Thus, as Phra Ajaan Sao was not a preacher, I would like to tell a little of the way in which he taught meditation. How did Phra Ajaan Sao teach? If it so happened that someone came to him, saying "Ajaan, sir, I want to practice meditation. How should I go about it?" he would answer, "Meditate on the word 'Buddho.'" If the person asked, "What does 'Buddho' mean?" Ajaan Sao would answer, "Don't ask." "What will happen after I've meditated on 'Buddho'?" "Don't ask. Your only duty is simply to repeat the word 'Buddho' over and over in your mind." That's how he taught: no long, drawn-out explanations.
Now, if the student was sincere in putting the Ajaan's instructions into practice and was persistent in practicing the repetition, if his mind then became calm and bright from entering into concentration, he would come and ask Ajaan Sao: "When meditating on 'Buddho' my state of mind becomes such-and-such. What should I do now?" If it was right, Ajaan Sao would say, "Keep on meditating." If not, he would say, "You have to do such-and-such. What you're doing isn't right."
For example, once when I was his attendant novice, a senior monk of the Mahanikaya sect came and placed himself under his direction as a beginning student in meditation. Ajaan Sao taught him to meditate on "Buddho." Now, when the monk settled down on "Buddho," his mind became calm and, once it was calm, bright. And then he stopped repeating "Buddho." At this point, his mind was simply blank. Afterwards, he sent his attention out, following the brightness, and a number of visions began to arise: spirits of the dead, hungry ghosts, divine beings, people, animal, mountains, forest... Sometimes it seemed as if he, or rather, his mind, left his body and went wandering through the forest and wilderness, seeing the various things mentioned above. Afterwards, he went and told Ajaan Sao, "When I meditated down to the point were the mind became calm and bright, it then went out, following the bright light. Visions of ghosts, divine beings, people, and animals appeared. Sometimes it seemed as if I went out following the visions."
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