you’ll sink below the animals, and be much more wretched
as well. When you eventually fall into hell, your tortuous
existence there will be far more grievous than that of any
animal. So don’t do evil!”That said, he left his seat and returned to his hut, taking no fur-
ther interest in anyone.
He always spoke very sparingly. In an entire day he might say
only a few sentences. On the other hand, he could endure many
hours of sitting and walking in meditation. He had a remarkably
dignified, noble appearance that inspired respect and devotion.
Just a glimpse of his serene, peaceful countenance made a lasting
impression. He was greatly revered by monks and laity alike and,
like Ãcariya Mun, he had many devoted disciples.
It was well known that these two ãcariyas shared immense
love and respect for each other. In the early years, they enjoyed
traveling in each other’s company. They spent most of the year
living together, both during and after the annual rainy season
retreat. In the middle years, they normally spent these retreats in
separate locations but close enough to each other to make visiting
easy. Very seldom, then, did they spend a retreat together, for each
had an increasingly large following of disciples, making it diffi-
cult to find enough space to accommodate them all at one loca-
tion. Living separately eliminated the burden of having to arrange
living quarters for so many monks.
Even when living apart, they often thought of each other
with genuine concern. On occasions when Ãcariya Sao’s dis-
ciples visited Ãcariya Mun, the first question he asked concerned
the health and well-being of Ãcariya Sao, who in turn invariably