course and taking the five precepts, led the two to be quickly
reborn in the Tãvatiÿsa heavenly realm.
They then regularly visited Ãcariya Mun to hear his teach-
ing. On their first visit they thanked him for his kind assistance in
illuminating the way out of the vicious cycle they were in, allow-
ing them to finally enjoy the pleasure of the heavenly existence
they had anticipated for so long. They told him that they now real-
ized the great danger that attachments pose to the heart, and the
delay they can cause in moving on to a favorable birth. Having
received his compassionate advice, they were able to transcend all
their concerns and be reborn in a heavenly realm.
Ãcariya Mun explained the nature of emotional attach-
ments to them, pointing out that they are a hindrance in many
different ways. The wise always teach us that at the moment of
death we should be careful not to have emotional attachments
to anything whatsoever. The danger is that we may recall, then,
an infatuation of some kind, or even worse, angry, revengeful
thoughts about a particular person. The moment when the citta is
about to leave the physical body is crucial. If at that moment the
citta latches on to a pernicious thought, it may get burned and end
up being reborn into a realm of misery, such as one of the hells,
or a world of demons, ghosts, or animals – all miserable, unfavor-
able existences.
So when we’re in a good position to train the citta – when
we are in human birth and fully cognizant of ourselves – we must
take decisive advantage of it. As human beings, we can realize
our shortcomings and quickly act to correct them, so that, later,
when our backs are against the wall – at the time of death – we
will be fully prepared to fend for ourselves. We need not be wor-
jacob rumans
(Jacob Rumans)
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