Ven. Acariya Mun - Spiritual Biography + photos

and always doting on her. But she never suspected that anything
mysterious lurked in their relationship, waiting to sneak out and
cause her to be reborn as her niece’s child. If Ãcariya Mun had
not helped to solve this problem, she would have ended up in that
young woman’s womb for sure.
Ãcariya Mun stated that it is far beyond the average per-
son’s capabilities to fathom the citta’s extraordinary complexity,
making it very difficult for them to properly look after the citta
and avoid jeopardizing their own well-being. Had that woman
possessed no basis in samãdhi meditation, she would have had no
means of understanding the way the citta functions in relation to
living and dying. Consequently, samãdhi meditation is an effec-
tive means of dealing correctly with the citta. This is especially
true at critical junctures in life when mindfulness and wisdom
are extremely important aids to understanding and caring for the
citta. When these faculties are well developed, they are able to
effectively intervene and neutralize severe pain so that it does not
overwhelm the heart at the time of death.
Death is an absolutely crucial time when defeat means, at
the very least, a missed opportunity for the next life. For instance,
someone who misses out at death may be reborn as an animal and
be forced to waste time, stuck for the duration of that animal’s life
and suffering the agony of that lowly existence as well. If, however,
the citta is skillful, having enough mindfulness to properly support
it, then a human birth is the least one can expect. Over and above
that, one may be reborn in a heavenly realm and enjoy a variety
of celestial pleasures for a long time before being reborn eventu-
ally as a human being again. When reborn as a human being, the
virtuous tendencies, that were developed in previous lives, are not