him against ghosts and other spirits, plus many other potent spells
as well. He was convinced no spirit could threaten him. Warning
him repeatedly about the dangers, the villagers tried to discourage
his intentions, but he reiterated that he had no fear and insisted
on being taken to the cave. The villagers were left with no other
choice, so they showed him the way. Once there, he came down
with a variety of afflictions, including high fevers, pounding head-
aches, and terrible stomach pains. Sleeping fitfully, he dreamt that
he was being taken away to his death.
Over the years, many different monks had tried to live there,
but their experiences were strikingly similar. Some died, others
quickly fled. The four most recent monks died within a relatively
short period. The villagers couldn’t guarantee that their deaths
were caused by a malevolent spirit; perhaps there was another
reason. But they had always noticed a powerful presence con-
nected with the cave. Local people weren’t so bold as to challenge
its power, for they were wary of it and envisioned themselves being
carried back down in critical condition – or as corpses.
Ãcariya Mun questioned them further to satisfy himself that
they were telling the truth. They assured him that such things
happened so often it frightened them to think about it. For this
reason, they warned any monk or lay person who came to search
the cave for magical objects or sacred amulets. Whether the cave
actually contained such things is another matter; but, the fact
that some people liked to claim their existence meant that those
with a penchant for sacred objects inevitably went there to search
for them. The villagers themselves had never seen such objects in
the cave; nor had they seen those seeking them encounter any-
thing but death, or narrow escapes from death. Thus, fearing for
jacob rumans
(Jacob Rumans)
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