he is perfectly content to live in solitude. It’s unnecessary for him
to seek students in order to alleviate the discomfort and stress
caused by an irrepressible urge to teach others the way – an urge
which merely adds to a person’s sense of discontent, anyway. Lack-
ing sincerity in the Dhamma that the Lord Buddha strove so ear-
nestly to realize, such a person, though he calls himself a teacher,
is one only in name.
Ãcariya Mun said he had complete confidence that he was
mentally and physically attuned to living alone because his heart
was supremely tranquil, possessing genuine Dhamma. Dhamma
means tranquillity. A heart filled with Dhamma is a heart whose
serenity transcends everything. Ãcariya Mun naturally preferred
living in forested mountain areas since these places were condu-
cive to dwelling sublimely with Dhamma.^8 He considered teach-
ing others to be a special situation. It was an obligation he per-
formed occasionally and not an actual necessity as was living by
Dhamma – an essential aspect of his life to the very end. Other-
wise, he would not have enjoyed a convenient daily existence.
When we posses Dhamma, understand Dhamma, and abide
in Dhamma, we are unperturbed by things in the world, and so do
not go searching for dukkha. Where Dhamma abides, there is hap-
piness and tranquility. According to natural principles, Dhamma
abides in the hearts of those who practice it; so happiness and
tranquility arise in the hearts of those practitioners. It cannot
arise in any other place.
Ãcariya Mun was always extremely circumspect when teach-
ing Dhamma. He never taught indiscriminately, for Dhamma itself
is never indiscriminate. He never practiced Dhamma in a random
fashion but always followed well-established principles, practicing
jacob rumans
(Jacob Rumans)
#1