Even worse, they want to exert their influence over everyone else
in the world, which is as impossible as trying to hold back the
ocean with your hands. Such thoughts and actions should be
strictly avoided. If you persist in them they will bring your own
downfall. People living together must adhere to and be guided by
equitable standards of behavior when dealing with their husbands,
wives, children, servants, or co-workers. This means interacting
with them in a reasonable, harmonious way. Should others not
accept the truth, it is they who are at fault for being so unreason-
able, and it is they who will pay the price – not those who adhere
firmly to guiding principles.”
ON THOSE OCCASIONS when Ãcariya Mun had to teach large num-
bers of lay supporters, as well as the monks living with him, he
would allot separate times for giving instructions. He instructed
the laity from four to five P.M. He taught the monks and novices
from seven P.M. onwards, at the end of which they returned to their
huts to practice meditation. He tended to follow this routine on
his first and second tours of the Northeast. On his third and final
trip, after returning from Chiang Mai to Udon Thani, he changed
this routine considerably. Rather than disrupt the sequence of
events, I shall explain the adjustments he made later.
Ãcariya Mun’s chief concern was teaching monks and nov-
ices. He took a special interest in those students experiencing var-
ious insights in their meditation by calling them in for a personal
interview. It’s quite normal for those practicing meditation to have
varying characters and temperaments, so the types of insights
arising from their practice will vary accordingly – although the