only those aspects of his life and teaching that I felt would be of
greatest benefit to the average reader. At the same time, I have
omitted any aspect that I felt would serve no definite purpose.
Of the relevant material which was collected to write this book,
approximately seventy percent has been included in the text you’ve
just read. That much I felt was neither too deep nor too confus-
ing for the reader’s understanding. The remaining thirty percent
was excluded because I felt those aspects of Ãcariya Mun’s life and
teaching would be difficult to present in a way that’s easy to read
and understand. I was concerned they wouldn’t benefit the reader
enough to justify their inclusion. Thus they were omitted, though
often with some reluctance. Even then, I’m not wholly comforta-
ble with some of the things I have included in the book, though
they do faithfully represent the truth of what Ãcariya Mun said.
I managed to resist the urge to exclude them, however; yet, I could
not bring myself to write about certain other matters, and for this
reason they were left out.
Ãcariya Mun’s story, with all its many remarkable facets,
tells of a truly beautiful life that is full of subtlety and grace. It
would certainly be difficult finding someone to equal him nowa-
days. If his life were fully narrated in every detail, then it proba-
bly would not differ significantly from the lives of those Arahants
who attained such mastery in the time of the Buddha. Listening to
him explain various aspects of Dhamma, including the countless
variety of external phenomena he contacted, I was truly amazed
by his incredible mastery. When he proclaimed that impressive
Dhamma for us to hear, it seemed as though he was speaking on
behalf of the Lord Buddha and his gifted Arahant disciples. We
could almost picture the Buddha and his disciples sitting right
jacob rumans
(Jacob Rumans)
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