Ven. Acariya Mun - Spiritual Biography + photos

you shouldn’t allow them to surface and intrude into the sphere
of practice. Otherwise, they will destroy Dhamma, the tried and
true way to go beyond dukkha, gradually spoiling all of your hopes.
Never should you go against Dhamma, the monastic discipline, or
the word of a respected teacher, as this is equivalent to destroying
yourselves. Disobedience merely gives impetus to those bad habits
which are destructive to you and others as well. The earth around
that well was more than just clay. There was also sand underneath.
Digging too deeply can cause the sand, then the clay to collapse
into the well, possibly burying and killing someone. That was why
I forbade it. I thoroughly investigate everything before giving or
refusing permission for any type of work. Those who are here for
training should consider this. Some matters are exclusively inter-
nal, and I don’t feel it necessary to reveal every aspect of them.
“What I did reveal was clear enough for you to understand;
so why did you behave as if you didn’t? When I forbid something,
you go ahead and do it anyway. If I tell you to do something, you
do the opposite. This was not a matter of misunderstanding –
you understood perfectly well. Being contrary like this displays
the stubborn side of your character, dating from the time you
lived with your parents who tolerated it just to keep you happy. It
has now become an ingrained characteristic, buried deep inside
monks who are now adults. To make matters worse, you flaunt it
in the face of your teacher and the spiritual life you lead. Stub-
bornness in a monk of your age is unforgivable and cannot be tol-
erated as mere childish behavior. It deserves a stern reprimand. If
you persist in being stubborn, it will further entrench this unfor-
tunate trait in you, so that you will be appropriately branded as
‘obstinate dhutanga monks’. Thus all your requisites should be