Ven. Acariya Mun - Spiritual Biography + photos

for me. As soon as someone died in the village I was aware of it,
knowing straightaway that the next day I’d have to make another
long trek to the village cemetery. And sure enough, the villagers
came once again to bother me. Nothing I said could dissuade
them. They told me that monks were scarce in that area, so they
had no other choice but to disturb me. They believed that the
deceased would benefit if a monk performed the funeral. I sym-
pathized and felt sorry for them, so I had to go. During periods of
fasting, which I found conducive to intensive meditation, I didn’t
want anything to interfere with my practice; but something usu-
ally did come up.
“While living in that cave I always relied on my friend the
tiger to give my meditation practice a timely boost. Every other
night it ventured down in search of food, as all hungry animals
do. But it never showed any interest in me, even though it walked
right past me on its way out. There was only one way down so it
had to go that way.”
This monk had the rather unusual habit of leaving his cave
late at night to go sit in meditation on stone outcrops high up
in the mountains. He appeared wholly unfazed by the danger
from wild animals. By temperament, he preferred to wander
alone through the wilds. I have included his story here because
it teaches some valuable lessons. He practiced with unwavering
purpose until he managed to expose the truth of his unruly mind,
thus disciplining it and bringing it under his control. Things once
viewed as threats, like tigers, became friends instead, assisting his
practice. He managed to make use of a wild tiger – a most unpre-
dictable creature – to inspire him in his meditation practice, thus
achieving remarkable results.