ilar situation. This story was known exclusively within the inner
circle of Ãcariya Mun’s senior disciples, and Ãcariya Mun’s own
assessment of the whole matter was crucial. A certain senior monk
living with him at the time related the story as follows:
One afternoon he and another monk went to bathe in a
rock pool located near a path leading to the fields of the local vil-
lage, which was quite a long distance away. While they were bath-
ing, a group of young women happened to pass by on their way
to work in the fields – something that had never before occurred
while they were bathing. When the other monk spied them walk-
ing past, his mind immediately wobbled, his mindfulness failing
him as the fires of lust flared up and began smoldering inside
him. Try as he might, he couldn’t manage to reverse this situa-
tion. While fearful that Ãcariya Mun might become aware of his
predicament, he was equally afraid that he might disgrace him-
self. From that moment on, his mind was constantly fluctuating
as he desperately tried to come to grips with the problem. Noth-
ing like this had ever happened to him before, and he felt miser-
able about it.
That same night Ãcariya Mun, investigating on his own,
became aware that this monk had encountered something unex-
pected and was consequently very distraught, caught between feel-
ings of infatuation and apprehension. The monk struggled through
a sleepless night, trying to resolve the dilemma. The next morn-
ing Ãcariya Mun did not say anything about it, for he knew that
the monk was already fearful of him; confronting him would only
make matters worse. When they met, the monk was so ashamed
and apprehensive he was almost trembling; but Ãcariya Mun just
smiled amicably as though he didn’t know what had happened.
jacob rumans
(Jacob Rumans)
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