the ‘modern’ generation who have probably received some mental
training and improved their conduct accordingly. As for the con-
tentious people whom Ãcariya Mun encountered in his life, prob-
ably such people no longer exist to clutter up the nation and the
religion. Since then, there has been so much improvement in the
education system; and well-educated people aren’t likely to harbor
such vulgar ambitions. This affords people today some relief.AFTER LIVING AND TEACHING the monks and the local popula-
tion in the Udon Thani and Nong Khai areas for a considera-
ble time, Ãcariya Mun moved eastward to the province of Sakon
Nakhon. He traveled through the small villages in the forests and
mountains of the Warichabhum, Phang Khon, Sawang Dan Din,
Wanon Niwat, and Akat Amnuay districts. He then wandered to
Nakhon Phanom through the district of Sri Songkhram, passing
through the villages of Ban Sam Phong, Ban Non Daeng, Ban
Dong Noi, and Ban Kham Nokkok. All these places were deep
in the wilderness and infested with malaria, which, when caught,
was very difficult to cure: a person could be infected the better
part of a year and still not fully recover. Assuming one did not die,
living through it was still a torment. As I’ve already mentioned,
malaria was called ‘the fever the in-laws despise’, because those
who suffered chronically from this illness were still able to walk
around and eat, but unable to do any work. Some became per-
manent invalids. The villagers in that area, as well as the monks
and novices who lived in the same forests, were frequently vic-
tims of malaria. Some even died from it. For three years Ãcariya
Mun spent successive rains retreats in the area around Ban Sam