to be convinced that this was the correct method. For after prac-
ticing in this manner, he was oversensitive to the common sights
and sounds around him. Pleased by this and disappointed by that,
he liked some things and hated others. It seemed that he could
never find a stable sense of balance.
Because of this sensitivity, he came to believe that the
samãdhi which he practiced was definitely the wrong path to
follow. If it were really correct, why did he fail to experience peace
and calm consistently in his practice? On the contrary, his mind
felt distracted and unsettled, influenced by many sense objects
that it encountered – much like a person who had never under-
gone any meditation training at all. Perhaps the practice of direct-
ing his attention outwards towards external phenomena violated
the fundamental principles of meditation. Maybe this was the
reason he failed to gain the promised benefits of inner peace and
happiness.
Thus, Ãcariya Mun came to a new understanding about
himself. Instead of focusing his mind on external matters, he
brought his citta back inside, within the confines of his own phys-
ical body. From then on, his investigations were centered only on
his own body.
Keeping a sharp mindfulness, he examined the body from
top to bottom, side to side, inside out and throughout; every body
part and every aspect. In the beginning, he preferred to conduct
his examinations while walking in meditation, pacing back and
forth in deep thought. Sometimes he needed to rest his body from
these exertions. So, he sat in samãdhi for awhile, though he abso-
lutely refused to let his citta ‘converge’ into its habitual state of
calm. Rather, he forced it to stay put within the body’s domain.
jacob rumans
(Jacob Rumans)
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