able to recollect them. Prior to that he was puzzled, for he kept
thinking of the Vessantara Jãtaka story. He said that Chao Khun
Upãli was very clever at skillfully matching wits, using wordplay
and riposte in unexpected ways to keep his listeners off balance,
thus making them use their intelligence. Ãcariya Mun used to
laugh when he told us about falling victim to Chao Khun Upãli’s
little artifice.ÃCARIYA MUN SPENT one rains retreat near the village of Ban Nam
Mao in the Mae Pang district of Chiang Mai province. Sakka, the
heavenly devarãja, frequently came to visit, bringing a large reti-
nue with him. Even in the dry season, when he went off into the
mountains alone and stayed in Dok Kham Cave, Sakka brought
his followers to visit him there. Usually numbering well over one
hundred thousand on those occasions, they came more often and
in larger numbers than other groups of devas. If some in his ret-
inue had never come before, Sakka first explained to them the
proper way to listen to Dhamma. Ãcariya Mun usually took mettã
appamaññã brahmavihãra^19 as the theme of his discourse because
these devas were especially fond of that subject.
Being very isolated, tranquil places, Ban Nam Mao and
Dok Khan Cave brought more groups of devas from many differ-
ent realms to visit Ãcariya Mun than did any of his other loca-
tions. These beings showed great respect for Ãcariya Mun, and
for the place where he lived. Upon entering the area, they were
always careful to bypass his walking meditation path which the
villagers had smoothed out with sand: it was sacrosanct. Nãgas,
too, avoided passage across the path when arriving for a visit. On