Ven. Acariya Mun - Spiritual Biography + photos

lessly prey on and devour each other, believing all the while that
it is a clever way to satisfy their needs. Regardless of our position
in society, genuine intelligence is measured by our ability to use
the principles of reason to bring prosperity to ourselves and others,
and there is no need to earn a diploma to certify it. Thoughts and
actions bringing peace and happiness to ourselves and others are
considered the true fruits of genuine intelligence; and as such,
they constitute their own certificate of recognition. We need not
boast of our credentials to verify our intelligence. In fact, such
certification may secretly act as a cover for immoral behavior. In
that case, the means may be furtive, but the resultant disturbance
to others is no secret – the troublesome problems it creates are
obvious everywhere we look.
Such is the harm that arises when spiritual development is
overlooked. Who can seriously believe that material development
alone – driven by people whose hearts are corroded by kilesas and
corrupted by selfish motives – will ever bring true peace and pros-
perity to the world? Only someone who is completely insensitive
to moral issues could possibly accept this view. The difference
between the actions of those who have developed themselves spir-
itually and those who have not is the difference between day and
night. It was for this reason that the Lord Buddha did not recom-
mend that the samãdhi attainments be used for such psychic pur-
poses as levitating, diving through the earth, or walking on water.
He did not praise the intelligence of people acting like that. On
the contrary, he praised as intelligent those who made an effort
to thoroughly train themselves in the way of virtue, regardless
of whether they were using samãdhi attainments or some other
means to achieve this. Such people are a blessing to themselves