by the Buddha. He never tramples upon it in an unseemly, worldly
manner. His talks employ a full range of expression: sometimes
casual, sometimes serious, sometimes emphatic, stressing specific
points. He elaborates the profound complexities of Dhamma in a
way the rest of us are hard pressed to do so candidly. He is quite
capable of analyzing the disparate aspects of Dhamma and artic-
ulates them in a way that deeply affects our hearts. His commen-
tary is so brilliant that it’s hard to keep up with him. I myself have
needed to ask him questions about problems I couldn’t solve on my
own, and he quickly and adeptly solved those problems with his
wisdom. I have benefited in innumerable ways from his counsel.
“Since I was coming to Chiang Mai I wanted Ãcariya Mun
to accompany me, and he readily agreed. Although he did not
specifically mention this to me, he probably agreed to come here
because he knows Chiang Mai abounds in mountains and for-
ests suitable for the spiritual life. Monks like Ãcariya Mun are
extremely hard to find. Even though I am his senior, I wholly
revere the Dhamma within him – and yet, he is still so humble
and gracious towards me that I sometimes feel embarrassed. He
has intended to stay here for only a short while before going off in
search of seclusion. I must allow my friend to follow his inclina-
tions as I dare not contradict them, for it is rare indeed to find such
a monk. With his intentions being solely focused on Dhamma, we
should wish him the best as he strives to improve himself. He can
then be of greater benefit to us all in the near future.
“Those of you who have problems with your meditation prac-
tice, please go to him and seek his advice. You certainly won’t be
disappointed. But please don’t ask him for powerful amulets, magic
spells, or lucky charms to ward off danger, for they are all outside
jacob rumans
(Jacob Rumans)
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