About This Teaching
During a rains retreat when his health was declining, Ajahn Chah gave the nuns a detailed teaching on admonishment. In Thai culture, preserving harmony makes mutual correction difficult, yet the Vinaya asks every monastic to be open to it.
He told them first to admonish themselves, so that if someone rejected their advice or scolded them, it would not upset them. If accused of jealousy, they should check whether it was true; if not, that was the other person's responsibility. Knowing one's own intentions lets one rest at ease under praise or blame, since praise and blame are only words.
He cited a Zen practice in which a dozing student is struck with a stick and thanks the teacher, and invited the nuns to thank each other for correction. Students, he said, are fortunate; a senior teacher rarely finds anyone willing to point out his mistakes.