heart most fears. This is how a clever person forces himself to
submit to the training.”
Before ordaining, the monk he was addressing had been
a real tough guy with a bold, no-nonsense sort of character.
If he said he was going to do something, he did it. He was a
rather stubborn person, but stubborn in the way of a monk. As
soon as he heard Ãcariya Mun’s resolute advice, he immediately
decided to follow it, reasoning something like this to himself:
Surely a monk of Ãcariya Mun’s caliber would never send me to be
killed by a tiger. I must go and live in the cave he mentioned. If that
means death, I’ll just have to accept it. If I want to see for myself
the truth of what he said, then I must have no qualms about dying.
I’ve heard that he always has very sound reasons for what he says;
and he’s careful to thoroughly examine every situation before speak-
ing. Anyone who can understand his teaching and put it into prac-
tice is bound to get good results. I must take what he just said very
seriously – it came from an insight into my character, and a genuine
concern for my well-being. It is as though he plucked out my heart
and examined it, and has found out all about me. How can I doubt
his advice? If I fail to act on it now, how can I call myself a monk? I
might as well be a lay person. I’m going to live in that cave – what-
ever happens. If I die there – so be it. If I don’t, then all I ask is a
chance to realize some amazing Dhamma while I’m there. It’s obvi-
ous that he was talking about me when he referred to being stub-
born and recalcitrant. It’s a true measure of his genius: he knows
me better than I know myself. I know I’m that type of person, one
hundred percent. For my own good, I can’t afford to disregard his
advice about tigers. I must do what he said and subject myself to this
agonizing practice.
jacob rumans
(Jacob Rumans)
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