Ven. Acariya Mun - Spiritual Biography + photos

there? I mean, they have no one to cheer them up or humor them
when they get in a bad mood. And Nibbãna is even worse – there
is no involvement with anything whatsoever. One is absolutely
self-reliant in every way. Without the need to depend on anyone
or anything for help, there is no need for one to become involved
with others in anyway. One is truly independent. But how can
one possibly take pride in anything there? Ordinarily, someone
reaching an exalted state like Nibbãna should expect to be hon-
ored and praised by the other beings who live there. At least in
the world, a prosperous person who has wealth and social status
receives praise and admiration from his fellow human beings. But
those going to Nibbãna find only silence – there’s no question of
receiving praise and admiration from their peers. Which makes
me wonder how such total silence can truly be a state of happi-
ness. Please forgive me for asking such a crazy, unorthodox ques-
tion, but unless I find out from someone who really knows the
answer, this dilemma will continue to trouble me to no end.”
Ãcariya Mun: “The heavenly realms, the brahma realms, and
Nibbãna are not reserved for skeptics like you. They are reserved
for those who can realize their own true inner worth. Only such
people realize the value of the heavenly realms, the brahma realms,
and Nibbãna because they understand that the value of each suc-
cessive realm increases relative to the virtuous qualities inherent
in those who would attain them. Somebody like you can hardly
dream of attaining such states. Even if you wanted to, you wouldn’t
be able to go as long as your wife was still around. Were she to die,
you would still be unable to stop yearning for her long enough to
start wishing for a heavenly existence. The way you feel, even the
exalted brahma realms and Nibbãna cannot compare with your