space surrounded him as he sat at the foot of a solitary tree – the
only tree in that entire area. This tree had abundant cool shade
during the day, so he sometimes went to meditate under it.
I regret that I cannot recall what type of tree it was, or its
exact location. As Ãcariya Mun described this amazing event, I
was so thoroughly overwhelmed by the magnitude of his achieve-
ment that I failed to remember any of the pertinent details – what
district and township he was in, or even the name of the moun-
tain range. Hearing him talk of his great victory, I couldn’t help
thinking about myself. Was I going to simply waste my birth as a
human being, carelessly throwing away the wonderful opportu-
nity it gave me? Did I have enough spiritual potential to one day
succeed in realizing that same Supreme Dhamma? Reflecting in
this manner, I forgot everything else. I had no idea that, someday,
I would be writing his biography.
At dusk Acariya Mun began walking meditation, focusing
on paåiccasamuppãda, as the theme of primary relevance to this
level of contemplation.^6 Starting with avijjã paccaya sankhãra, he
became so intrigued by the subject of ‘dependent origination’ that
he was soon investigating it to the exclusion of all else. By the time
he sat down at about nine o’clock, his mind was concentrated
solely on scrutinizing avijjã, examining each of the interdepend-
ent conditions through to the logical conclusion, then reversing
the order to arrive back at avijjã. Contemplating thus, he deliber-
ated back and forth, over and over – inside the citta – the focal
point where birth, death, and kilesas converge with the principal
cause – avijjã.
Seated in meditation late that night, the crucial moment had
arrived. The battle lines were drawn: supreme-mindfulness and
jacob rumans
(Jacob Rumans)
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