Ven. Acariya Mun - Spiritual Biography + photos

the soldiers were viewing him as an enemy, Ãcariya Chob sat qui-
etly, extending forth thoughts of loving kindness and recollecting
the virtues of the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha.
When the soldiers had gone, the villagers took him deeper
into the mountains, telling him not to come down to the village
for almsround. Instead, each morning they secretly brought food
for him to eat. From that day on, patrols of English troops regu-
larly came to bother the villagers. Soon patrols were coming daily
to ask the whereabouts of the Thai monk, and it became increas-
ingly obvious that he would be killed if they found him. As the sit-
uation worsened, the villagers became more and more concerned
for his safety. Finally, they decided to send him back to Thailand
by way of a remote forest trail that passed through thick moun-
tainous terrain. This trail was known to be safe from incursions
by English patrols. They gave him detailed instructions on how
to proceed, warning him to stick to the trail no matter what hap-
pened. Even if he found the trail overgrown in places, he was not
to attempt a different route. It was an old footpath used for gen-
erations by the hill tribes that eventually led all the way to the
Thai border.
Once he had these instructions, he began walking. He
walked all day and all night without sleeping or eating, drinking
only water. With great difficulty he made his way through this
dense wilderness region teeming with all manner of wild animals.
Everywhere he looked he saw tiger and elephant tracks. He feared
he would never survive his flight from Burma; he was constantly
worried that he might make one wrong turn on the trail and end
up hopelessly lost in that vast wilderness.
On the morning of the fourth day of his trek to the Thai