into Dhamma, that arose along the way, which make Ãcariya
Mun’s life story so significant. This strange and wonderful tale
is unique among the stories of all the dhutanga monks who wan-
dered alone. Ordinarily, such a lifestyle is believed to be bleak
and lonely. Living in an inhospitable environment, oppressed by
danger, and unable to eat or sleep normally, the sense of fear can
be stifling. But Ãcariya Mun was perfectly content living a soli-
tary existence. He found it conducive to his efforts to remove the
kilesas from his heart, having always relied on the method of striv-
ing in seclusion to accomplish that goal.
It was only later that other monks began to seek him out.
For example, Ãcariya Thet of Tha Bo district in the province of
Nong Khai, Ãcariya Saan, and Ãcariya Khao of Wat Tham Klong
Phen monastery lived with him for short periods of time. After
training them for a while in the way of practice, he sent them off
alone to find secluded places in sparsely populated forests where
villages were far apart – perhaps at the foot of a mountain, per-
haps on a mountain ridge. Villages in that region were quite small,
some consisting of only 4 or 5 houses, others 9 to 10 houses – just
enough to support an almsround from one day to the next.
The kammaååhãna monks who followed Ãcariya Mun during
that period were extremely resolute, fearless individuals. They con-
stantly showed a willingness to put their lives on the line in their
search for Dhamma. Therefore, Ãcariya Mun preferred to send
them to live in places teeming with wild animals, such as tigers,
for such places tended to automatically dispel complacency and
stimulate mindfulness and wisdom, boosting the strength of the
citta faster than could otherwise be expected.
Ãcariya Mun himself thrived comfortably in the peace and
jacob rumans
(Jacob Rumans)
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