Although Ãcariya Mun realized full well that I was wildly
opinionated, he did not scold me or try to force me to change
my attitude. Instead, he could not help but smile when looking
at me. He may have been thinking how insufferable I was; or he
may have felt sorry for this idiot who liked fighting with such die-
hard assurance. I must admit: I was never a very fine person. Even
today, I still shamelessly argue with senior ãcariyas. But it’s paid
off for me in the sense that I’ve learned many unusual lessons this
way which form a valuable part of my education to this day. These
monks never seem to mind my intrusions; in fact, they are often
amused by them. It’s not so often that a stubborn old monk drops
by to stir things up. Ordinarily, no one dares come and argue with
one of these ãcariyas. So when the monks in his monastery hear
what’s going on, they become rather puzzled – and more than a
little alarmed.AFTER LEAVING CHIANG MAI, where he passed beyond the thick
jungle of repeated birth and death, he invariably had a profound
reason in mind when he decided to live in any one place for a long
time, although he kept these reasons to himself. Nakhon Ratcha-
sima was a case in point. Many monks and lay people there had
long developed a true devotion to Dhamma; so, many of them
came to study with him as accomplished meditators. Later, some
followed him to Udon Thani and Sakon Nakhon where they con-
tinued to study with him until he died. The monks and laity
from Nakhon Ratchasima who kept in contact with him were
all well established in meditation practice. Some of those monks
have since become famous ãcariyas who possess a firm basis of