Complete Self-assurance
One day the abbot of Wat Boromaniwat monastery invited Ãcariya
Mun for a private conversation with him.^1 He began with a question.
“When you are living alone in the mountains and forests,
preferring not to be bothered by monks or lay people, whom do
you consult for solutions when a problem arises in your practice?
Even though I live in the capitol, which is full of learned scholars
who can help me clear up my doubts, still there are times when
I find myself so completely baffled that no one is able to help me
resolve those dilemmas. I know that you usually live alone; so
when questions arise, who do you consult or how do you deal with
them? Please explain this to me.”
Boldly, Ãcariya Mun replied:
“Please allow me to answer you with complete self-assurance
which I gained from studying fundamental natural principles: I
consult Dhamma, listening to it both day and night in all my daily
activities, except in sleep. As soon as I wake up, my heart is imme-
diately in contact with Dhamma. As for problems, my heart car-
ries on a constant debate with them. As old problems are resolved,
new ones arise. In resolving one problem, some of the kilesas are
destroyed, while another that emerges starts another battle with
the kilesas that remain. Every conceivable type of problem, from
the grossest to the subtlest, from the most circumscribed to the
most comprehensive, all of them arise and are fought within the
heart. Consequently, the heart is the battleground where kilesas are
confronted and then eliminated each time a problem is resolved.
“I am not so interested in thinking about whom I would
consult if problems arise in the future. I’m much more interested