Venerable Ajahn Chah

Aha, maybe that's the way it works.

When a person is normally walking around in the course of the day, not focusing attention on their breath, does their breathing cause them suffering?

No, they just feel relaxed.

But when I'd sit down and vow with determination that I was going to make my mind peaceful

Clinging and attachment set in.

When I tried to control the breath to be shallow or deep, it just brought on more stress than it had before.

Why?

Because the willpower I was using was tainted with clinging and attachment.

I didn't know what was going on,

All that frustration and hardship was coming up because I was bringing craving into the meditation.

I once stayed in a forest monastery that was half a mile from a village.

One night the villagers were celebrating with a loud party as I was doing walking meditation.

It must have been after 11pm and I was feeling a bit peculiar.

I'd been feeling strange like this since midday.

My mind was quiet.

There were hardly any thoughts.

I felt very relaxed and at ease.

I did walking meditation until I was tired and then went to sit in my grass-roofed hut.

As I sat down, I barely had time to cross my legs before, amazingly,

My mind just wanted to delve into a profound state of peace.