A Spiritual Biography By: Ācariya Mahā Boowa

A Spiritual Biography 
By: Ācariya Mahā Boowa

One day a prominent elder of Wat Boromaniwat invited Ãcariya Mun for a private conversation with mahim.

He began with a question.

“When you are living alone in the mountains and forests, preferring not to be bothered by monks or lay people, whom do you consult for solutions when a problem arises in your practice? Even though I live in the capitol, which is full of learned scholars who can help me clear up my doubts, still there are times when I find myself so completely baffled that no one is able to help me resolve those dilemmas. I know that you usually live alone; so when questions arise, who do you consult or how do you deal with them? Please explain this to me.”

Boldly, Ãcariya Mun replied:

“Please allow me to answer you with complete self-assurance which I gained from studying fundamental natural principles: I consult Dhamma, listening to it both day and night in all my daily activities, except in sleep.

As soon as I wake up, my heart is immediately in contact with Dhamma.

As for problems, my heart carries on a constant debate with them. As old problems are resolved, new ones arise. In resolving one problem, some of the kilesas are destroyed, while another that emerges starts another battle with the kilesas that remain. 

Every conceivable type of problem, from the grossest to the subtlest, from the most circumscribed to the most comprehensive, all of them arise and are fought within the heart.

Consequently, the heart is the battleground where kilesas are confronted and then eliminated each time a problem is resolved.

“I am not so interested in thinking about whom I would consult if problems arise in the future. 

I’m much more interested in attacking the immediate ones that set the stage for the kilesas lurking in the background. 

By demolishing them at every turn, I gradually eliminate the kilesas from my heart. So, I do not concern myself with consulting other monks to help solve my problems and rid my kilesas, for it’s much quicker to rely on the mindfulness and wisdom that arise continuously in my heart. Each time I’m faced with a problem, I am clearly conscious of the maxim attãhi attano nãtho – oneself is one’s own refuge – so I use methods I devise from my own mindfulness and wisdom to immediately solve that problem. 

Instead of trying to glean answers from the scriptures, I depend on Dhamma, in the form of mindfulness and wisdom, that arise within me, to accept the challenge and find a solution that allows me to proceed, unimpeded. 

Although some problems are so profound and complex they require a sustained, meticulous investigative effort, they are no match for the proven effectiveness of mindfulness and wisdom in the end. So they too dissolve away.

“I have no desire to seek the companionship of my fellow monks just so they can help me solve my problems. I much prefer to live alone.

Living all alone, solitary in body and mind, means contentment for me.

When the time comes for me to die, I shall pass away unencumbered by concerns for the past or the future. At the moment my breath ceases, all other matters will cease with it. 

I apologize for answering your question so unintelligently. I’m afraid my reasoning wasn’t very eloquent.”

The elder, who had listened attentively, was so wholeheartedly convinced by what he heard that he complimented Ãcariya Mun.

“You are an exceptional person, as befits one who truly likes living alone in the mountains and forests. The Dhamma that you have presented here cannot be found in the scriptures because the Dhamma recorded in the texts and the natural principles of Dhamma arising in the heart are really quite different. To the extent that the Dhamma in the texts was recorded directly from the mouth of the Lord Buddha by those possessing a level of purity equal to his, to that extent, it is pure and unadulterated. But transcribers of the texts in later generations may not have been so genuinely pure as the original ones, so the overall excellence of the Dhamma as subsequently recorded may have been moderated by its transcribers. 

For this reason, it is understandable that Dhamma arising fresh from the heart would be different from what is recorded in the scriptures, even though they are both within the scope of what we consider “Dhamma”.

 “I have no more doubts concerning the question I rather stupidly asked you. Still, such stupidity does have its own benefits, for had I not made a stupid inquiry, I would not have heard your sagacious reply.

Not only have I sold my stupidity today, but I have also bought a lot of wisdom. 

You might also say that I’ve discharged a load of ignorance to acquire a wealth of wisdom.

Ācariya Mun Bhuridatta 

A Spiritual Biography p 291

By: Ācariya Mahā Boowa

https://zugangzureinsicht.org/html/lib/thai/mun/munbio_en.html