A sãvaka Arahant having delivered such a discourse and departed,
Ãcariya Mun humbly received that Dhamma teaching. He care-
fully contemplated every aspect of it, isolating each individual
point, and then thoroughly analyzed them all, one by one. As
more and more sãvaka Arahants came to teach him in this way,
he gained many new insights into the practice just by listening to
their expositions. Hearing their wonderful discourses increased
his enthusiasm for meditation, thus greatly enhancing his under-
standing of Dhamma.
Ãcariya Mun said that listening to a discourse delivered by
one of the Buddha’s Arahant disciples made him feel as if he was
in the presence of the Lord Buddha himself, though he had no
prior recollection of meeting the Buddha. Listening intently, his
heart completely full, he became so absorbed in Dhamma that the
entire physical world, including his own body, ceased to exist for
him then. The citta alone existed, its awareness shining brightly
with the radiance of Dhamma. It was only later, when he with-
drew from that state, that he realized the oppressive burden he
still carried with him: For he became conscious again of his phys-
ical body – the focal point where the other four khandhas come
together, each one a heavy mass of suffering on its own.
During his lengthy sojourn at Sarika Cave, Ãcariya Mun
entertained many sãvaka Arahants and heeded their words of
advice, making this cave unique among all the places where he
had ever stayed. While living there, the Dhamma of unimpeach-
able certainty arose in his heart; that is, he attained the fruition
of Anãgãmï.^28 According to Buddhist scripture, the Anãgãmï has
jacob rumans
(Jacob Rumans)
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