phant’s rear end, without incident. But as they were walking away,
the hook on Ãcariya Mahã Thong Sak’s umbrella got tangled
by chance in some bamboo just a few yards past the elephant. It
defied all attempts to extricate it, so he was forced to struggle with
it for quite some time. Terrified of the elephant – which was now
looking right at him – he was soon drenched in sweat. Fighting
desperately to disentangle the hook, he glanced up at the eyes of
the elephant, which stood there like a huge stuffed animal. He
could see that its eyes were bright and clear. In truth, its counte-
nance inspired affection rather than fear, but at that moment his
fear remained strong. When he finally did get free, his fear sub-
sided, and he realized that this elephant was a very endearing
animal. Seeing that they were all safely past, Ãcariya Khao turned
to the elephant.
“Hey, big brother, we’ve all passed-by now. Please relax and
eat in peace.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of crunching,
breaking bamboo filled the air.
Later the monks praised this intelligent elephant, agreeing
it was an animal that inspired affection and sympathy. The only
faculty it lacked was the ability to speak. As they were discussing
this, Ãcariya Mahã Thong Sak was curious to hear Ãcariya Mun’s
reaction, so he asked:
“Were you able to read that elephant’s mind the whole time,
from the moment we spoke to it until we passed clear of it? Since
it was so endearing, I’d really like to know. When it first heard us
call out, suddenly turning around to face us in an agitated fash-
ion, I was sure it was about to charge and crush us to pieces right
then and there. But as soon as it understood the situation, it had a
jacob rumans
(Jacob Rumans)
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