The Chiang Mai Years
Just as Ãcariya Mun foresaw, a village representative arrived that very afternoon to question him: “What are you searching for when you it still with your eyes closed, or pace back and forth?” Ãcariya Mun replied, “
I’ve lost my buddho. I’m searching for buddho while sitting and walking.” "
What is this buddho? Can we help you find it?”
“Buddho is the most precious gem in the three worlds of existence – a jewel of all-pervading knowledge. If you help me find it, that’ll be excellent. Then we will all see buddho quickly and easily.”
“Has your buddho been missing long?”
“Not long. With your help we’ll find it a lot faster than if I look for it alone.”
“Is buddho something large?”
“Neither large nor small, it’s just the right size for all of us. Whoever finds buddho will become a superior person, able to perceive anything he wishes.”
“Will we be able to see the heavens and the hells?” “Of course. Otherwise, how could we call it superior.”
“What about our dead children, and our dead spouses, can they be seen?”
“You can see anything you want once buddho is yours.”
“Is it very bright?”
“It’s much brighter than hundreds, even thousands, of suns. The sun is not able to illuminate heaven and hell, but buddho can penetrate everywhere, illuminating everything.”
“Can woman and children help search for it too?”
“Everyone can help – men, women, young and old, all can join in the search.”
“This superior buddho, can it protect us from ghosts?”
“Buddho is superior in countless ways. It is superior in the three worlds – kãma-loka, rýpa-loka, arýpa-loka. All three of them must pay homage to buddho. No being anywhere is greater than buddho. Ghosts are very afraid of buddho – they must bow down and worship it. Ghosts are frightened of people who search for buddho too, even though they haven’t found it yet.”
“This buddho jewel, what color is it?”
“It’s a bright, sparkling jewel with countless colors. Buddho is a special asset of the Lord Buddha – a gleaming aggregate of knowledge, not a material thing. The Lord Buddha bequeathed it to us many years ago, but since then it’s gone missing and we no longer know how to find it. But it’s location is not so important. If you’re trying to find it, what’s important is to sit and walk thinking “buddho, buddho, buddho” exclusively within your heart. Keep your attention focused within your body, not letting it wander outside. Fix your awareness firmly on the repetition of “buddho, buddho”. If you can manage to do this, you may even come across buddho before I do.” "How long must we to sit and walk searching for buddho before we find it?” “To begin with, sit or walk for about 15 to 20 minutes at a time. Buddho doesn’t want you to spend too much time searching for it yet. It’s afraid you’ll grow tired and so be unable to keep up with it. Losing interest, you will not want to search anymore. Then you’ll miss it altogether. This is enough to get you started. If I elaborate any further, you won’t remember it all, thus jeopardizing your chances of meeting buddho.”
With these instructions in mind, the villager returned home. He didn’t take leave of Ãcariya Mun in any special way, because that was not the hill tribe custom. Deciding that it was time to go, he simply got up and left. As soon as he arrived at the village, everyone gathered around to hear what had taken place. He explained why Ãcariya Mun sat still with his eyes closed and why he paced back and forth: he was searching for the precious gem buddho and not, as they had presumed, because he was a ‘tiger in disguise’. He then explained Ãcariya Mun’s brief instructions on how to find buddho. Once the villagers knew the method, everyone – from the headman on down to the women and older children – began to practice, mentally repeating “buddho”. Several days later, something truly amazing happened. The Dhamma of the Lord Buddha arose clearly in the heart of one of the villagers. While mentally repeating the word “buddho” over and over again as Ãcariya Mun had suggested, one man in the village found Dhamma: his heart attained a state of peace and calm. A few days earlier, the man had dreamed that Ãcariya Mun was placing a very large, bright-shining candle on top of his head. The moment Ãcariya Mun set the candle on his head, his whole body, from the head on down, was brightly illuminated.He felt overjoyed as the radiance, spreading out around him, illuminated the surrounding area as well. Soon after he attained this state of tranquility, he went to tell Ãcariya Mun about his achievement, and about the amazing dream he had prior to it. Ãcariya Mun then gave him additional instructions on how to proceed with his practice. As it turned out, his progress was very quick: he was soon able to psychically know other people’s thoughts. He informed Ãcariya Mun of this very matter-of-factly in the forthright manner typical of forest people.
Sometime later, this man declared to Ãcariya Mun that he had examined Ãcariya Mun’s citta and had clearly seen its characteristics. Playfully, Ãcariya Mun asked if he could see much evil in his citta.The man answered without hesitation, “Your citta has no focal point whatsoever – only an absolutely incredible radiance shining within.
Your preeminence is unrivaled anywhere in the world. I’ve never seen anything like it. You’ve been here about a year now, why didn’t you teach me about this right from the beginning?” "How could I teach you? You never came to ask me any questions.”
“I didn’t know you were a supreme master. Had I known, I’d have come for sure. Now we all know you’re an extremely clever person. When we came asking you why you sat still with your eyes closed and what you were looking for as you paced back and forth, you told us your buddho was lost and asked us to help you find it. When asked to describe it, you said buddho is a bright, sparkling jewel, but in truth the real buddho is your heart.
More of the story and the in the
Biography of âcariya Mun
However I'll be trying "Buddho" as I'm always looking for ways of improving mindfulness "off the cushion".
