resolve to persevere. Ãcariya Mun said that whenever he acceler-
ated his efforts to apply wisdom, his citta became weary of asso-
ciation with others and he became even more committed to his
meditation practice. He knew at that stage that his practice still
needed strengthening; yet he felt obliged to stay and train his dis-
ciples so that they might also develop some Dhamma principles
in their hearts.ÃCARIYA MUN LIVED for three or four years in the area of Ban Sam
Phong village in Sri Songkhram district, Nakhon Phanom prov-
ince. He spent one year at Ban Huay Sai village in Kham Cha-ee
district of the same province, as well as the villages of Nong Sung
and Khok Klang. He particularly liked staying in those places
since they were all very mountainous. Nearby in the Pak Kut
mountains were many devas – and tigers there were particularly
abundant. When night descended, tigers would wander around
his living area while the devas came to rejoice in hearing the
Dhamma.
In the middle of the night, the roars of huge tigers echoed
through the forest close to where he lived. On some nights a whole
host of them roared together, much like a crowd of people yell-
ing back and forth to one another. When the terrifying sounds of
those enormous cats resounded through the darkness, the effect
was indeed very frightening. There were nights when the monks
and novices failed to get any sleep, fearing that the tigers would
come to snatch and devour them. Ãcariya Mun cleverly found
ways to use their fears of tigers to spur the monks to practice dili-
gently. Rather enigmatically, he would say: “Anyone who’s efforts