liaisons. There can be no doubt that an enduring karmic bond
existed between them. The monk once told his friend that mere
eye contact with her was enough to make him feel giddy and
lose all presence of mind, and an irresistible passion gripped his
heart so tightly he could scarcely breath. Those powerful emo-
tions plagued him relentlessly, leaving him in such an emotional
quandary that he felt completely demoralized. Realizing his pre-
dicament, he tried to escape. But fate pursued him, again casting
its spell over him. And that was it – he succumbed.
Those who have never had such an experience may smile;
but others who have, know that we cannot all imitate the Arahant
Sundara Samudda by simply floating up and out to safety.^1 Nor-
mally, hill tribe people are not overly familiar with monks; but if
kamma is involved, then such incidents can happen. No one is
exempt from kamma, for kamma has jurisdiction over those who
create it. Ãcariya Mun was fully aware of this truth. Although he
tried using skillful means to help the monk, the outcome was prob-
ably inevitable. For this reason, he didn’t make any direct attempt
to intervene. In the final analysis, in a world where everyone lives
under the authority of kamma, matters must be allowed to take
their natural course. I have included this story in the hope that
it may serve as a timely reminder for anyone finding himself in a
similar situation. As always, I trust you will forgive any indiscre-
tion on my part.PREVIOUSLY I MENTIONED Ãcariya Mun’s special talent for catching
‘thieves’, a technique for reading minds and catching stray thoughts
that kept his students watchful and alert. When a kammaååhãna