The Dhutanga Practices
Ãcariya Mun strongly believed that the observance of dhutanga
practices truly exemplified the spirit of the ascetic way of life. He
strictly adhered to these ascetic practices throughout his life, and
always urged those monks studying under his tutelage to adopt
them in their own practice.
Going on almsround every day without fail, excepting only
those days when a monk is deliberately abstaining from food.
Ãcariya Mun taught his disciples that, when walking to the vil-
lage for alms, they should always have mindfulness present and
remain properly restrained in body, speech, and mind. A monk
should never permit his mind to accidentally become prey to the
various tempting sense objects contacting his eyes, ears, nose,
tongue, body, or mind while walking to and from the village on
almsround. He stressed that mindfulness should bring their every
movement, every thought, at every step of the route, under vig-
ilant scrutiny. This should be treated as a sacred duty requiring
reflection of the utmost seriousness each time a monk prepares to
go on his morning almsround.
Eating only that food which has been accepted in the alms bowl
on almsround. A monk should consider the quantity of food he
receives in his bowl each day to be sufficient for his needs, as befits
one who is content with little, and thus easily satisfied. For him it’s
counter-productive to expect extra food by accepting the gener-
ous offerings that are made later inside the monastery. Such prac-
tices easily encourage the insatiable greed of his kilesas, allowing
them to gain the strength to become so domineering that they’re
almost impossible to counteract. A monk eats whatever food is