“So put your mind at ease and work hard at your practice.
Effort is key – don’t become discouraged and ease up. Dhamma
belongs to everyone who truly desires it. The Buddha did not limit
the possession of Dhamma to a particular individual. Everyone
who practices in the right way enjoys the same right of owner-
ship. Don’t forget that auspicious dream. Reflect on it often, and
all pig-like tendencies will fade into the background – as magga,
phala, and Nibbãna draw ever closer. Then it’s only a matter of
time before the domain beyond dukkha appears. It’s inevitable.
I’m truly pleased about your dream. I have trained myself with a
similar fiery intensity and I’ve always had good results. I found
it imperative to use such methods throughout my years of prac-
tice, and now occasionally I must use similar methods to train
my students.”
Ãcariya Mun used this interpretation of my dream to con-
sole a youngster who was new to the training. He was concerned
this kid might lose heart and give up trying to make an effort,
thus rejoining the fraternity of pigs. That’s why he resorted to
this method of teaching. His teaching methods always displayed
an unparalleled ingenuity. I often went to speak with him during
that early period when my mental state was fluctuating between
periods of progress and periods of decline – a time of particular
stress and uneasiness for me – and he advised me in the same
comforting manner. As soon as I paid my respect to him, he asked
me how my citta was doing. If it happened to be a time when my
meditation was progressing nicely, I told him so. He then voiced
his approval and encouraged me to keep up the good work so that
I could quickly transcend dukkha. If my meditation was deterio-
rating, I replied that my mind was so bad it seemed all traces of
jacob rumans
(Jacob Rumans)
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