Is that why you nearly died, and now feel you can no longer stay
here?
“He didn’t scold me at all, but his astute questions were far
worse than a tongue-lashing.”
“He asked you some questions, is that it? Can you tell me
what they were? Perhaps I can learn a lesson from them.”
“Please don’t ask me to tell you what he said, I’m embarrassed
to death as it is. Should anyone ever know, I’d sink into the ground.
Without getting specific, I can tell you this much: he knows every-
thing we’re thinking. No scolding could possibly be as bad as that.
It’s quite natural for people to think both good thoughts and bad
thoughts. Who can control them? But when I discover that Ãcariya
Mun knows all about my private thoughts – that’s too much. I know
I can’t stay on here. Better to go off and die somewhere else than
to stay here and disturb him with my wayward thinking. I mustn’t
stay here, further disgracing myself. Last night I couldn’t sleep at
all – I just can’t get this matter out of my mind.”
But the layman begged to differ: “Why should Ãcariya Mun
be disturbed by what you think? He’s not the one at fault. The
person at fault is the one who should be disturbed by what he’s
done, and then make a sincere effort to rectify it. That, Ãcariya
Mun would certainly appreciate. So please stay on here for awhile
- in that way, when those thoughts arise, you can benefit from
Ãcariya Mun’s advice. Then you can develop the mindfulness
needed to solve this problem, which is much better than running
away from it. What do you say to that?”
“I can’t stay. The prospect of my developing mindfulness to
improve myself can’t begin to rival my fear of Ãcariya Mun: it’s
like pitting a cat against an elephant! Just thinking that he knows
