The Prophecy
When Ãcariya Mun first began practicing vipassanã at Ãcariya
Sao’s center, he meditated constantly, internally repeating the
word “buddho” , the recollection of the Buddha, as he preferred
this preparatory Dhamma theme above all others. In the begin-
ning, he failed to experience the degree of calm and happiness
that he expected, which caused him to doubt whether he was
practicing correctly. Despite his doubt he didn’t flag in his persist-
ent use of the word “buddho”, and eventually his heart developed
a certain measure of calm.
One night he had a dream:
He walked out of a village and entered a large, dense jungle
overgrown with tangled undergrowth. He could hardly find
a way to penetrate it. He struggled to find his way through
this vast thicket until he finally emerged safe at the other
end. When he came out, he found himself at the edge of
an immense field that stretched as far as the eye could see.
He set out resolutely, walking across this field until he hap-
pened to come across a huge fallen jãti tree.^5Felled long ago, its trunk was partially embedded in the
ground, and most of its bark and sapwood had already rotted
away. He climbed upon this giant jãti log and walked along
its full length. As he walked, he reflected inwardly. He real-
ized that this tree would never sprout and grow again. He
compared this with his own life which would certainly not
rise again in any future existence. He identified the dead