“You knew about last night? You’re incredible, Ãcariya Mun.”
Ãcariya Mun smiled in reply, and added: “I’m sure you know
yourself much better than I do, so why ask me? I’m convinced you
were thinking about those things quite deliberately, so preoccu-
pied with your thoughts you neglected to lie down and sleep all
night. Even now you continue to shamelessly enjoy thinking about
such matters and you don’t have the mindfulness to stop yourself.
You’re still determined to act upon those thoughts, aren’t you?”
As he finished speaking, Ãcariya Mun noticed the elderly
monk looking very pale, as though about to faint from shock, or
embarrassment. He mumbled something incoherent in a falter-
ing, ghostly sounding voice bordering on madness. Seeing his con-
dition, Ãcariya Mun instinctively knew that any further discus-
sion would have serious consequences. So he found an excuse
to change the subject, talking about other matters for a while to
calm him down, then he returned to the cave.
Three days later one of the old monk’s lay supporters came
to the cave, so Ãcariya Mun asked him about the monk. The
layman said that he had abruptly left the previous morning, with
no intention of returning. The layman had asked him why he
was in such a hurry to leave, and he replied: “How can I stay here
any longer? The other morning Ãcariya Mun stopped by and lec-
tured me so poignantly that I almost fainted right there in front
of him. Had he continued lecturing me like that much longer, I’d
surely have passed out and died there on the spot. As it was, he
stopped and changed the subject, so I managed to survive some-
how. How can you expect me to remain here now, after that? I’m
leaving today.”
The layman asked him: “Did Ãcariya Mun scold you harshly?
jacob rumans
(Jacob Rumans)
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