plished meditator who always received special attention from
Ãcariya Mun. She consulted him often, walking with difficulty
from her home to the monastery. Shuffling slowly along, supported
by a cane, she had to stop for rest three or four times before she
finally arrived at the monastery, exhausted and out of breath. We
all truly felt sorry for her. Seeing her struggle so painfully, Ãcariya
Mun would feign disapproval: “Why come all the way out here?
Don’t you realize how exhausted you are? Even children know
when they’re tired. Here you are eighty, ninety years old, yet you
still don’t know when you’re worn out. Why do you take all the
trouble to come here?”
Her reply was always characteristically straightforward and
fearless. He then inquired about her meditation and explained var-
ious aspects of Dhamma relating to it. Not only had this woman
developed a solid foundation for her meditation, she also pos-
sessed paracittavijjã, the psychic ability to know the fundamental
moral bias of a person’s heart. On top of that, she had a knack
for perceiving unusual external phenomena. Addressing Ãcariya
Mun, she recounted these extraordinary perceptions with a daring
self-assurance that amused him, causing him to laugh about her
indomitable spirit.
“Your citta has long since gone beyond”, she boldly declared.
“I’ve been aware of your citta for a long time – it’s absolutely with-
out parallel. Since your citta is already so supreme, why do you
continue to meditate?”
Ãcariya Mun laughed. “I will resolutely continue meditat-
ing until the day I die. A disciple of the Buddha never allows his
resolve to weaken.”
To this she said: “If you still had more to accomplish, I could
jacob rumans
(Jacob Rumans)
#1