held with his disciples enabled them to develop close personal
relationships with him. Due to the profound respect this tute-
lage inspired, they willingly entrusted their lives to his care. This
deep faith induced them to unreservedly accept as true whatever
he told them, for he always spoke about principles of truth, never
presenting mere opinions or guesswork based on information from
other sources.
I myself have always been someone with strong views, being
reluctant to submit to anyone’s judgment. So I liked to argue with
him. In this respect, I admit to being one of Ãcariya Mun’s more
annoying and contentious disciples. Sometimes I was so caught
up in disputing an issue with him that I forgot I was a student
seeking his guidance – not a teacher instructing him. I still pride
myself on my audacity to speak up, having no sense of misgiving.
Although he then slapped me down and chopped me to pieces, the
important thing was: I was able to learn for myself whether the
truth lay in my opinions, or in the wisdom of my teacher. When
I argued with him, it sounded like a shouting match. The more
I pressed my case, the more I realized that he had all the truth
on his side. I had only my inane fallacies, piled up all around me.
I always fought a losing battle. When the dust settled, I thought
long and hard about what he said, respectfully accepting its truth
with all my heart. At the same time, I made a mental note of my
misconceptions. On occasions when I refused to yield to his rea-
soning because I still couldn’t understand what he was getting at,
I would wait for another opportunity to debate with him. But I
always came away bruised and battered by the power of his rea-
soning, my opinions tied in knots. Still, I could not resist smiling
to myself, delighted by the mighty power of his Dhamma.
jacob rumans
(Jacob Rumans)
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