cate. Much the same applies to people of different nationalities,
each speaking their own national language. Just as most nations
around the world have their own specific language, so too each
species of animal has its own distinct means of communication.
Whether animals and humans can comprehend each others’ lan-
guage ceases to be an issue when we accept that each group has
the prerogative to decide on the parameters of its speech and the
manner in which it is conducted.
Finally overcoming their fears, the monkeys roamed freely
in the area around the cave, foraging for food as they pleased. No
longer were they on guard, wary of the threat of danger. From
that day on, they felt right at home there, showing no interest in
Ãcariya Mun; and he paid no special attention to them as he and
they both went about their daily lives.
Ãcariya Mun said that all the animals foraging for food in
the area where he lived did so contentedly, without fear. Ordi-
narily, animals of all kinds feel comfortable living in places where
monks have taken up residence, for animals are quite similar to
human beings in emotion. They simply lack the same predomi-
nant authority and intelligence that humans possess. Their level
of intelligence extends only to the tasks of searching for food and
finding a place to hide in order to survive from day to day.
ONE EVENING ÃCARIYA MUN felt so moved by a profound sense of
sadness that tears came to his eyes. Seated in meditation focusing
on body contemplation, his citta ‘converged’ into a state of such
total calm that it appeared completely empty. At that moment, he
felt as though the whole universe had ceased to exist. Only emp-