be contented living under its protective influence. Never feeling
distraught, never disturbed, you will remain even-tempered in
every situation. You won’t be moved to praise one thing as good or
criticize another as bad, and so suffer the resulting consequences
- conduct that’s contrary to the way of the wise.”
At the conclusion of these remarks, the nãga promised to
make an effort to follow Ãcariya Mun’s advice. In the days that
followed, Ãcariya Mun kept an eye on it as he continued with his
own practice. He noticed some improvement, as the nãga was able
to restrict its hypercritical tendencies by exercising some measure
of control over them. But he also noticed that this effort caused
the nãga much consternation. So finding some excuse to leave
the cave, he moved on – which pleased the nãga. His association
with it ended there.
From that time on, Ãcariya Mun alluded to the story of
this nãga as a means of elaborating on various aspects of human
nature, for the personal benefit of those listening. The gist of what
he said is worth repeating here, hopefully so that the reader can
learn some valuable lessons from his teaching.
Ãcariya Mun explained that good and evil do not arise on
their own but are dependent on habitual ways of behaving that
gradually become part of one’s character. If our tendency is to
do evil, it is very difficult to remedy because everything we do
tends to flow in that direction. If it is our tendency to do good,
we become more and more skillful and assertive as we progress
in that direction. For this reason, clever parents will try to train
their children in the way of goodness from a very early age –
before it becomes too late. When necessary they will entrust
them to the care of someone who is suitably supportive so that
