his worth as a monk is then devalued. So a monk must preserve
his moral integrity.
When May arrived Ãcariya Mun and the monks accompa-
nying him to Udon Thani left their mountain retreat and began
the long trek to the city of Chiang Mai where they stayed at Wat
Chedi Luang monastery. Ãcariya Oon of Wat Tipayaratananimit
monastery arrived with some lay supporters at about the same
time to receive Ãcariya Mun and to escort him to Udon Thani.
Ãcariya Mun remained at Wat Chedi Luang monastery for about
one week. During that time, a large group of his local devotees
came to persuade him to extend his stay in Chiang Mai for the
benefit of everyone there. But having accepted the invitation to
Udon Thani, he could not delay his departure.
Before he left, Chao Khun Rãjakawi asked him to give a spe-
cial talk on the occasion of Visãkha Pýjã^35 to serve as a remem-
brance for his many devotees. At that time, I had just myself
arrived in Chiang Mai and so listened to this discourse with great
interest. He spoke for exactly three hours that day; and what he
said was so impressive that I have never forgotten it. Here is the
essence of what he said:“Today is Visãkha Pýjã. It celebrates the day the Lord Buddha was
born, the day he attained enlightenment, and the day he passed
away into Parinibbãna. The birth of a Buddha stands in marked
contrast to the births of all other beings. In being born, the
Buddha did not succumb to worldly illusions about birth, life, or
death. More than that, through the power of his all-encompassing
wisdom, he was able to realize the true nature of birth, life, and
death – attaining what we call ‘enlightenment’. At the appropri-