Ven. Acariya Mun - Spiritual Biography + photos

the best of his ability. And thus he gains new insights in his med-
itation practice.
Those monks who are naturally inclined to perceive external
phenomena possess the necessary psychic ability to receive such
advice on their practice. This is known as ‘listening to Dhamma
by way of nimittas appearing in meditation’. That is, the teacher
presents his teaching in the form of a nimitta, while the disciple
understands that teaching as he perceives the nimitta. This may
seem rather mysterious to those who have never heard about it
or experienced it for themselves. Some people may reject such
psychic communication out of hand as being sheer nonsense;
but in truth, it does occur. Practicing monks having a natural
psychic inclination perceive various external phenomena in the
same manner. However, this talent is not shared by all practicing
monks. Rather, individuals possessing this capability are special
cases, meaning they have previously developed the specific vir-
tuous qualities suited to such psychic achievements. For instance,
the Buddha and the Arahants appeared in Ãcariya Mun’s med-
itation as nimittas, so he was able to hear their teachings in that
way. Similarly, disciples of Ãcariya Mun, who possessed similar
psychic tendencies, were able to perceive nimittas of him, or of
the Buddhas and the Arahants, and so hear their teachings. In
principle, it can be compared to the nimitta that the Lord Buddha
used to teach his mother when she resided in the Tãvatiÿsa heav-
enly realm. But the Lord Buddha constitutes a very exceptional
case, one which people consent to believe in far more readily than
that of someone less exalted, even though both share the same
causal basis – which makes it difficult to further elaborate on this
matter.