moving or not. Absolute stillness was all that his heart knew; all
awareness of external phenomena, including his body, completely
ceased. Any perception, that might have disturbed it, vanished
from the citta, as though the world no longer existed, having dis-
appeared along with all thoughts and inner sensations. The noise
of the train, the other passengers, and all the things that were
associated with the citta earlier were extinguished from his aware-
ness. All that remained was his state of samãdhi. The external
environment faded out of consciousness from the moment his
citta first ‘converged’ until he arrived in Chiang Mai, where his
previous determination restored him to his normal state of con-
sciousness.
When he opened his eyes to look around, he saw the sur-
rounding buildings and houses of the city. As he began collecting
his things in preparation for leaving the train, he noticed that the
passengers and railway officials around him were staring at him in
astonishment. When it was time to disembark, the railway offi-
cials approached him and, smiling cheerfully, helped him with his
things, while everyone else in the passenger carriage stared curi-
ously at him. Even before he had stepped off the train, he was
asked what monastery he was from and where he was going. He
replied that he was a forest-dwelling monk without a fixed resi-
dence, and that he intended to go wandering alone in the remote
mountains of the North. Inspired by faith in him, some of them
asked where he would stay and whether anyone had agreed to
take him there. He thanked them, replying that there was some-
one to receive him since his traveling companion was Chao Khun
Upãli, a very senior monk and one who was highly respected by
all in Chiang Mai, from the governor to the merchants and the
jacob rumans
(Jacob Rumans)
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