last long. When he not only felt chastened but also remained very
conscious of the fear of revisiting those thoughts, then the posi-
tive effects were long-lasting. His mind remained cool, calm, and
peaceful throughout. The next time he went to see Ãcariya Mun,
he needn’t be so fearful about being taken to task.
My own mind tended to react in a very similar fashion.
Being unable to rely on myself alone, I could not allow myself to
stray far from my teacher. Living with him I was always fearful and
on guard, which prevented my thoughts from deviating from the
path of practice. Becoming quickly aware when my mind did stray,
I was able to pull it back in time to avoid harmful consequences.
I am absolutely convinced that Ãcariya Mun could read my
thoughts. Whether or not he could read other people’s thoughts
doesn’t concern me so much. What does concerns me is how he
used that ability to mitigate my own stubborn tendencies and
teach me a good lesson. There was a time, when I first went to stay
with him, that I thought, rather bizarrely: They say that Ãcariya
Mun can read other people’s thoughts, that he knows everything we’re
thinking. Can this really be true? If it is true, then he needn’t take an
interest in everything I’m thinking – I just want to know if he’s aware
of what I’m thinking right now. That would be enough. If he does
know what I’m thinking at this moment, I will prostrate myself before
him. That’s all I ask of him.
Coming face to face with him that evening I could hardly
sit still. As his eyes glared directly at me without blinking, I felt
in my heart that he was about to shout and point straight at me.
When he began speaking to the assembled monks, I was so wor-
ried about being singled out and scolded for stubbornly testing
him, that I had a hard time paying attention. Before long his voice
jacob rumans
(Jacob Rumans)
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