About This Teaching
Ajahn Chah explains that gratifying craving and ending craving are two different things. Give a hungry dog rice and it bolts the first plates, but by the fourth it lies stuffed beside the leftovers, guarding them and threatening any other dog that comes near. Humans, he says, have much the same instincts.
Craving is not abandoned by force. We are able to let go of something when we have seen the suffering in it and see the value of letting go. He encourages reflecting on whatever is experienced until this becomes a wholesome habit, and warns against disrobing out of disappointment: calm cannot be forced, so be cool and unhurried and persevere with both body and mind.