Ven. Acariya Mun - Spiritual Biography + photos

look for a place to rest for the night. The next morning he walked
on until he reached the nearest village. There he collected alms
food from the local inhabitants as he passed through. He was sat-
isfied to eat whatever they offered. The quality of the food was
usually poor, but that didn’t worry him – if it was sufficient to keep
him going from one day to the next, he was contented. Having
eaten his meal, he continued on his journey peacefully until he
reached his destination. There he searched until he found a site in
the forest that best suited his personal requirements. He paid spe-
cial attention to the availability of water – a vital requisite when
living in the wilds.
Having set up camp in a suitable location, the dhutanga
monk turned his attention to the task of intensifying his efforts
internally, alternating walking and sitting meditation around the
clock, day and night. Bolstered by mindfulness and aided by the
contemplative faculties of wisdom, he concentrated on a Dhamma
theme that suited his temperament, thus inducing his heart to drop
into the peaceful calm of samãdhi. Withdrawing from samãdhi, he
focused on developing wisdom by investigating whichever phe-
nomena arose in his field of awareness. Subjects included impres-
sions from the external environment that constantly impinged on
his sense faculties, and aspects of his internal environment, such
as the physical elements and the sense organs, which continually
fluctuate as they remain constantly in motion. He meditated on
viparinãmadhamma: that all things perpetually come and go, sub-
ject to the instability of constant change. He could not afford to
be apathetic toward anything that might entangle his heart. He
used wisdom to thoroughly analyze his body and mind to clearly
understand their true nature, gradually letting go of any attach-