Occasionally, when the monks living with him were highly attained individuals, Ãcariya Mun conducted himself in a naturally easy-going and relaxed manner, as one would expect among people of equal status who are all well-acquainted. He was not so stern and strict at such times. But his whole demeanor could change dramatically according to the situation. He behaved quite differently in one set of circumstances than he did in another, treating each individual as a separate case. His disciples were constantly amazed at the quickness and novelty of his responses to the situations that emerged around him.

Ãcariya Mun used to tell the monks an amusing story about his youth that illustrates his dynamic character. I shall retell it here for it demonstrates the incredible changes that a person can go through.

Back in the days when Ãcariya Mun was still a young layman, he used to compete in local folk singing contests known as maw lam.15 One day he attended a large fair in a neighboring village where thousands of people had gathered. Suddenly, he felt emboldened to get up on stage and sing in competition with a talented young woman who was a renowned folk singer in those parts. Perhaps he thought it would be fun to have a go at her on stage, or perhaps he felt a little bit in love – who knows? At any rate, jumping up on stage, he found the young woman quite willing to accept his challenge. By the time they sang through several sets of verses, it became clear that young Mun was losing the contest. As it happened, a savior appeared just in time. Chao Khun Upãli,16 who was then a young man several years older than young Mun, had come to the same fair and was in the audience at the competition. Obviously his friend was losing badly, and things were getting worse with each new set of verses. Continued much longer, the girl would probably have driven him off the stage in disgrace, for she was a seasoned performer and young Mun was a mere novice. Acting on a bold impulse, Mun had leapt up on the stage only to meet a ferocious tigress, her mouth full of fangs, while he was just a pup sporting a few baby teeth. Jan, as Chao Khun Upãli was called then, anxiously thought that if his friend persisted, she would skin him alive, then sell his hide. He thought to himself: Mun doesn’t know a tiger when he sees one. He just sees a young lady – he doesn’t realize he’s about to be slaughtered. I’ll have to do something now to save his hide. If I don’t, it’ll be on sale in the market for sure. Having thought this, Jan jumped up on the stage and began shouting:

“Dammit Mun! I’ve been looking for you all over the place! Your mother fell from the top of the house – I’m not sure if she’s still alive or not. I saw her lying there in a heap on the ground and tried to help, but she insisted I go look for you. I’ve been running around all day trying to find you. I haven’t eaten a thing and I’m worn out.”

Both Mun and the young lady were stunned into silence by this ruse. Mun immediately asked about his mother’s condition.

“Jan, how is my mother?”

Jan pretended to be so exhausted he could hardly speak.

“I think she’s probably dead by now. I’m about to die myself now from hunger and exhaustion.”

With that he grabbed Mun’s arm, dragging him from the stage before a crowd of thousands of shocked onlookers, and ran with him as fast as possible. By the time they reached the village outskirts, Mun was desperate to find out more about his mother.

“What was my mother doing on the top of the house to make her fall?”

“I don’t really know what caused her to fall. Seeing her lying there on the ground, I rushed to help. But she sent me right off to look for you, so I came straight away. I didn’t have a chance to get the full story.”

“As far as you could tell, was my mother going to die?”

“We’re on our way now to find that out for ourselves.”

When they had walked sufficiently far from the village that Jan reckoned Mun wouldn’t dare go back alone at such a late hour17 his whole demeanor abruptly changed as he frankly told Mun that nothing had happened to his mother.

“I put on that act because I couldn’t bear to see your old lady mop the floor with you. I was afraid she’d skin your hide and sell it in the market. That would have been humiliating for me, and for our whole village. She was about to emasculate you there just for the fun of it. So I tricked you both into believing this story, at the same time convincing the crowd that you had to flee the scene because of a real emergency – not because you’d lost the will to fight. I rushed you away before anyone had a chance to catch on to my ruse. Even that feisty old lady of yours couldn’t help being overwhelmed by my ingenious scheme. Did you see how taken in she was? Alarmed by what I said, she watched us leave with heartfelt sympathy for you and your mother. I saved you from the hell she had in store for you. Now what do you think, wasn’t that an ingenious scheme?”

“Oh no! What a shame! Damn you Jan, look what you’ve done to me! I was having a great time chopping her to pieces! By dragging me away, you spoiled my fun. I never imagined you’d do this to me. I’d like to have another go at her right now. I’d be the one sending her hide to the market!”

“Ha! You were being slaughtered, and I saved your life! And now you’re bragging about how good you were. Maybe I should take you back right now so your old lady can put you on the chopping block again.”

“Look, seeing she was a woman, I figured I’d go easy on her at first, hoping she’d get overconfident. When I had her where I wanted her, I planned to tie her up, throw her in a sack, and sell her to the highest bidder. You failed to understand my strategy – I was baiting her, like a tiger luring a monkey.”

“If you’re so smart then how come you fell for my little sham to pull you away from her devilish clutches. You were so shocked you almost started crying shamelessly right in front of your lady friend. Who’d have ever considered you capable of bagging the old girl? It was obvious – she was about to tie you up and throw you off the stage in full view of thousands of people. Stop bragging so much Mun! You should appreciate my brotherly efforts to save you from defeat at the hands of that woman.”

That night Mun and Jan both ended up missing the fair they had so looked forward to attending.

ALTHOUGH THEY WERE STILL in lay life at the time, such stories about these two sages matching wits were fascinating to hear. Despite the worldly nature of the conversation, it demonstrates how clever people converse – each new retort captures the imagination. When Ãcariya Mun related stories about the two of them, we became so absorbed listening that we could almost visualize them as they spoke. There are lots of stories about these two men matching wits, but a few examples should be enough to give the reader an idea of what I mean. The clever ploys they used as young men gave an early indication of their intelligence. Eventually entering the monkhood, both became great sages. Chao Khun Upãli Guõýpamãcariya and Ãcariya Mun Bhýridatta Thera are renowned throughout Thailand as present day sages of the highest caliber.

I have used the diminutives Jan and Mun because that’s how Ãcariya Mun himself told the story to his students during relaxed moments when there was a break in the usual tense, guarded atmosphere the monks felt when they were around him. I sincerely apologize to both of these esteemed venerables, and to the readers as well, if anything I’ve written is deemed inappropriate. Had I written the story in a more formal style, the meaning would not have come across so effectively. Such familiarity implies a mutual implies among peers and is commonly used between close friends of all ages. Moreover, I find it convenient to write the story the way I originally heard it. It allows us a glimpse of these two renowned elders as high-spirited youths having a good time, which we can then compare with our usual image of them as absolutely amazing monks who completely renounced the world.

Although Ãcariya Mun preferred to keep to the present, rarely speaking about the past, he liked to sing the praises of Chao Khun Upãli’s cleverness from time to time. On one occasion, when they were discussing the story of Lord Vessantara,18 he asked Chao Khun Upãli about the mother of Lady Madrï, a character in the story. He hadn’t seen her name mentioned in the scriptures, and thought perhaps he had missed it. Chao Khun Upãli’s response was immediate:

“What, you’ve never seen or heard of Madrï’s mother? Everyone in town knows about her. Where’ve you been looking that you haven’t come across her yet?”

Admitting that he hadn’t come across her name in the scriptures, Ãcariya Mun wondered where it was mentioned.

“Scriptures? What scriptures? What about that loudmouth Mrs. Op who lives in the big house at the crossroads on the way to the monastery?”

Ãcariya Mun was puzzled. He couldn’t recall any mention of a monastery in the story. Which crossroads and what monastery was he referring to.

“You know, Madrï’s mother whose house is right next to yours. How could you not know Madrï and her mother? How pitiful – Madrï and her mother live in your own home village and you don’t even recognize them. Instead, you go searching in the scriptures. I feel embarrassed for you.”

The moment Chao Khun Upãli said that Madrï and her mother lived in his home village, Ãcariya Mun caught on and was able to recollect them. Prior to that he was puzzled, for he kept thinking of the Vessantara Jãtaka story. He said that Chao Khun Upãli was very clever at skillfully matching wits, using wordplay and riposte in unexpected ways to keep his listeners off balance, thus making them use their intelligence. Ãcariya Mun used to laugh when he told us about falling victim to Chao Khun Upãli’s little artifice.

ÃCARIYA MUN SPENT one rains retreat near the village of Ban Nam Mao in the Mae Pang district of Chiang Mai province. Sakka, the heavenly devarãja, frequently came to visit, bringing a large retinue with him. Even in the dry season, when he went off into the mountains alone and stayed in Dok Kham Cave, Sakka brought his followers to visit him there. Usually numbering well over one hundred thousand on those occasions, they came more often and in larger numbers than other groups of devas. If some in his retinue had never come before, Sakka first explained to them the proper way to listen to Dhamma. Ãcariya Mun usually took mettã appamaññã brahmavihãra19 as the theme of his discourse because these devas were especially fond of that subject.

Being very isolated, tranquil places, Ban Nam Mao and Dok Khan Cave brought more groups of devas from many different realms to visit Ãcariya Mun than did any of his other locations. These beings showed great respect for Ãcariya Mun, and for the place where he lived. Upon entering the area, they were always careful to bypass his walking meditation path which the villagers had smoothed out with sand: it was sacrosanct. Nãgas, too, avoided passage across the path when arriving for a visit. On occasions when their leader had to pass through that area, he always circled around the head of the meditation path. Sometimes the nãgas sent a messenger to invite Ãcariya Mun to attend a function, much as humans do when they invite monks to local functions. The messengers always avoided crossing his meditation path. Occasionally, when they were unable to avoid crossing over some of the sand that the villagers had scattered around that area, they would first sweep the sand away with their hands, and then crawl across. Standing up again, they walked to Ãcariya Mun’s residence. Their behavior was always wonderfully composed.

Ãcariya Mun believed that if human beings, the custodians of the sãsana, have a true interest in Dhamma and a deeply rooted feeling of genuine self-respect, they should exhibit the same reverential behavior toward the sãsana as devas and nãgas do. Although we’re unable to see for ourselves how those beings show their respect, the teachings of Buddhism address all such matters in full. Unfortunately, we humans are not as interested in them as we should be. We seem more intent on creating a stifling, negligent attitude within ourselves, thus failing to experience the kind of happiness we could otherwise expect. In truth, the sãsana is the wellspring of all virtuous conduct, which assures happiness to those adhering to the venerable principles of Buddhism.

Ãcariya Mun continually emphasized that the heart is the most important thing in the world. A heart that is vulgar ends up vulgarizing everything with which it comes into contact. Much like a filthy body, it soils whatever it touches – no matter how nice and clean it may initially be – making it filthy too in the end. So Dhamma cannot escape being tainted by a vulgar heart. Even though Dhamma itself is perfectly pure, it becomes tarnished as soon as it’s embraced by someone with a corrupt heart – like a clean cloth being rubbed in the dirt. For example, when a wicked person tries to impress others with his knowledge of the Buddhist scriptures – nothing good ever comes of it. Vulgar people who are stubborn and unyielding about religious matters are just the same; and no matter how extraordinary Buddhism is, they are unable to derive any of its benefits. They merely proclaim themselves to be Buddhists but they never understand the real significance of Buddhism and how it applies to them personally. 

The actual truth about the sãsana is this: we ourselves are the sãsana. No matter how good or bad our actions are, whatever subsequent degree of happiness or suffering we experience – all directly affect the sãsana. The word “sãsana” means the correct way of living as practiced by each individual. If we think the sãsana exists outside of ourselves, then our understanding is wrong, and so our practice too is bound to be wrong. Anything which is wrong is more or less useless. It can be made useful only at the expense of the righteousness, dignity, and integrity of each individual. Put simply and clearly: if we are wrong in our hearts, then whatever we do turns out wrong. For instance, calculations don’t add up; clothes don’t fit properly; traffic regulations are ignored; married couples deviate from accepted norms, failing to honor their vows; parents and children are at logger-heads; wealth is ill-gotten, its distribution inequitable; the authorities flout the laws of the land which are designed to keep peace; rulers and their constituents cannot seem to work together for the common good according to the law, and so become distrustful, behaving like enemies.

Regardless of how we experience the harmful consequences, the disappointment and misfortune that result from wrong actions will inevitably arise right where they are committed – in the heart. The cause being wrong, the effect is bound to be harmful. When we wrong someone, the harmful consequences from that action are unavoidable, even in cases where we are unaware of having wronged that person. The wrongdoer must necessarily receive the full results of his actions. It’s no use thinking that we can somehow avoid the unpleasant consequences – whatever they are, they will definitely manifest themselves someday. By remaining indifferent or negligent about wrongdoing, we face the clear prospect of personal misfortune here and now in this lifetime. Looking any further ahead than this would merely amount to grasping at shadows and missing the real issue. The sãsana is not a shadowy specter, deluding people into ignorance. It’s a path that unerringly reveals the Truth in all its many aspects. Followers of the sãsana, who deviate from the path and then unfairly accuse it of having failed them, are inextricably compounding their own miserable predicament. The sãsana, as always, remains pure and unperturbed.

Ãcariya Mun always stressed that people who accept the Truth, embodied in Buddhist principles, receive the blessings of Dhamma. Being cool and calm themselves, all their relationships tend to be the same as well. The world they live in is a peaceful place where they are unlikely to suffer the kind of contentious bickering that causes acrimony and engulfs both parties in heated recriminations. The reason people never experience the happiness they long for is that they allow a fiery, inflamed mentality to dictate their attitude in everything from business dealings to workplace, from legal proceedings to marketplace. Wherever they go, whatever they do – they are as hot as fire, so they find it hard to maintain a balance in their lives. Such people never seem to consider dousing the bonfire they constantly carry in their hearts so as to gain enough breathing room to relax, balance themselves, and find some measure of happiness.

Ãcariya Mun said that during his whole life as a Buddhist monk he enjoyed investigating the Dhamma taught by the Lord Buddha, whose incomparable breadth and depth are infinitely greater than those of the vast oceans. In all truth, the sãsana is so inconceivably profound and subtle that it’s virtually impossible to investigate every aspect of it; and the results attained from each successive stage of the practice are so amazing that they defy description. He insisted that only his concern that others would think him crazy kept him from continuously prostrating himself to the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha. He would consider it his occupation otherwise, performing it easily and joyfully without ever experiencing fatigue or boredom. He was absolutely certain that, whatever happened, he would always be inseparable from the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha – akãliko. In stark contrast, the world of anicca, dukkha, and anattã constantly smothers the hearts of living beings, leaving them forever distressed and resentful.