ÃCARIYA MUN WANDERED far and wide throughout most of the
remote and mountainous districts of Chiang Mai province, traveling
more extensively there than in any other province. He remained in
Chiang Mai much longer than he did in other places, largely because
it was suitable for meditation. It was conducive to the many kinds of
insights that were a unique feature of his practice. He claimed there
were many reasons for his long sojourn there. First of all, the envi-
ronment was suitable to meditation. Secondly, he felt sorry for the
hill tribes people who needed his assistance, and was reluctant to
abandon them. Although it was sparsely populated, many extraor-
dinary individuals lived in that area. They needed proper training
and encouragement to insure their steady progress and to avert dis-
appointment and reversal to their old ways. And then there were
all the devas whom he was determined to assist.
Groups of devas and nãgas usually came to ask questions
and listen to his discourses at least twice a month. He said that, at
night, he was always busy receiving visitors from all over the celes-
tial and terrestrial realms. Before speaking with Ãcariya Mun, the
leader of each group would announce the approximate number
of devas present on that occasion: for instance, ten or a hundred
thousand celestial devas are here today, or one to ten thousand
terrestrial devas, or five hundred to a thousand nãgas.
Almost daily, when he walked meditation in the late after-
noon, Ãcariya Mun would be informed of the hour of arrival
of one group or another from these different realms. Occasion-
ally, he received the information later on during seated medita-
tion. There were nights when several different groups announced
their impending visit; and he had to arrange specific times for
each group so that their visits did not overlap. He did not have
jacob rumans
(Jacob Rumans)
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