They felt as if their own lives were losing all meaning.
At the beginning, Ãcariya Mun was lying on his right side in
the ‘lion’s posture’. Fearing this might exhaust him, some monks
gently removed the pillow supporting him so that he came to rest
lying on his back. As soon as he became aware of this, he tried
to shift back to his right side, but he no longer had the strength
to move. As he struggled to turn on his side, some senior ãcari-
yas attempted to reposition the pillow so that it again supported
his back. But noticing how very weak he was, they decided to
stop, fearing that it might just make matters worse. Consequently,
when Ãcariya Mun finally passed away he was lying neither on
his back nor on his right side, but slightly propped up somewhere
in between. It was simply impossible to adjust his posture further
under the circumstances. His disciples, mostly monks and novices
with a few lay people, sat in total despair as life slowly ebbed from
his body. So apprehensive were they about his imminent death,
they had almost forgotten to breathe.
As the minutes passed, his breathing gradually became
softer and more refined. No one took their eyes off him for it was
obvious the end was fast approaching. His breathing continued to
grow weaker and weaker until it was barely discernible. A few sec-
onds later it appeared to cease; but it ended so delicately that no
one present could determine just when he passed away. His phys-
ical appearance revealed nothing abnormal – so different from
the death of the ordinary person. Despite the fact that all his dis-
ciples observed his final moments with unblinking attention, not
one of them was able to say with any conviction: “That was pre-
cisely the moment when Ãcariya Mun finally took leave of this
dismal world.”
jacob rumans
(Jacob Rumans)
#1