Ajahn Mun's Biography

[garro]

I have recently being reading Ajahn Mun's biography 'A Heart Released' by Ajahn Maha Bowa. I have a great respect for the Forest Tradition and believe that this tradition owes a lot to Ajahn Mun.

I have found reading this book that there is much talk about supernatural occurences and it claims that Ajahn Mun regulary communicated with Devas and ghosts. I was actually surprised by the amount of focus that the book devotes to this, as from my readings of students of Ajahn Mun (such as Ajahn Chah) they tend to downplay any supernatural aspects of meditation.

I do not know that much about Ajahn Maha Bowa,only that he was a student of Ajahn Mun, but from what I hear he is very well respected. I don't see any benefit there would be in him lying.

I always feel slightly uncomfortable around claims of supernatural attainments although I firmly believe that amazing things can happen while meditating.

I was wondering what other Western Buddhists think about these claims. I know they would be accepted easily by most Thais.

Edited February 23, 2007 by garro

[bankei]

hi

I have read the book too and also thought similar things. I actually asked a monk many years ago and he responded that arahats cannot liek so it must be true!

When you look at it, it just seems there are many things that the biographer could not have seen or heard about. Its not necessarily lying, Mahabua is telling a story and has simply added some bits to it!?.

Since then Mahabua has allegedly declared himself enlightened, cried in public and also organised a huge collection of gold donations for 'saving the nation'. Strange behaviour for a 'forest monk'.

[garro]

I have actually stopped reading after 300 pages which is very unusual for me. If I read past 100 pages then I nearly always finish a book. I am just not sure with this one. Maybe I will pick it up again at a later date.

[Brucenkhamen]

I have actually stopped reading after 300 pages which is very unusual for me. If I read past 100 pages then I nearly always finish a book. I am just not sure with this one. Maybe I will pick it up again at a later date.

I can't say I liked the book much either, I enjoyed learning about the history but there was a lot supernatural type stuff in there I found irrelavent that I sorta filtered out I guess.

I guess that sort of thing is expected by the Thai reader. A lot of Buddhist scriptures contain it as well and it doesn't gel with me as being a useful part of the teaching either. Again I think it was just something that indian people 2500 years ago expected to be present in religious scripture.

I have a lot of respect for Luangta Maha Boowa, he has a presence about him when you see him at his wat.

But I've always found his books and teachings come across like they're aimed at anyone from stream enterer and up. This is hugely different from Ajahn Chah who's teaching is relavent and accessable to everyone.

[paiinthai]

Since this is an old post not sure if there is still interest in it. But I find it intrigueing so I will respond any way.

I jus resently got interested in Ajahn Mun as part of my interest in Ajahn Chah. I read Wikipedia's biography of Ajahn Mun and noted that he spent many years with various Hill Tribes of North Thailand. Since I have been living with the Lisu people for five years and am a long term Vipassana meditator my interest in Ajahn Mun was sparked even further. It seems fair to propose that Ajahn Mun probably delved into the supernatural realms with his Hill Tribe friends since this is a major part of Hill Tribe Spirituality. This excites me because I have also lived with Native Americans and appreciate the similarities between native beliefs, Buddhism, and how supernatural shamanic practices are woven into this mix.

Now I am curious to know what tribes Ajahn Mun had lived with and what kind of mixed beliefs the Tribes may have adopted from him and vice versa.

If anyone has information About Ajahn Mun's time spent with the Tribes I would love to hear about it. Thanks.

I have recently being reading Ajahn Mun's biography 'A Heart Released' by Ajahn Maha Bowa. I have a great respect for the Forest Tradition and believe that this tradition owes a lot to Ajahn Mun.

I have found reading this book that there is much talk about supernatural occurences and it claims that Ajahn Mun regulary communicated with Devas and ghosts. I was actually surprised by the amount of focus that the book devotes to this, as from my readings of students of Ajahn Mun (such as Ajahn Chah) they tend to downplay any supernatural aspects of meditation.

I do not know that much about Ajahn Maha Bowa,only that he was a student of Ajahn Mun, but from what I hear he is very well respected. I don't see any benefit there would be in him lying.

I always feel slightly uncomfortable around claims of supernatural attainments although I firmly believe that amazing things can happen while meditating.

I was wondering what other Western Buddhists think about these claims. I know they would be accepted easily by most Thais.

[SeerObserver]

Since then Mahabua has allegedly declared himself enlightened, cried in public and also organised a huge collection of gold donations for 'saving the nation'. Strange behaviour for a 'forest monk'.

bankei says allegedly, so I take it that all three of these statements are hearsay that cannot be confirmed by anyone. It's one of those, I know someone who heard/saw/etc., right?

I have a lot of respect for Luangta Maha Boowa, he has a presence about him when you see him at his wat.

But I've always found his books and teachings come across like they're aimed at anyone from stream enterer and up. This is hugely different from Ajahn Chah who's teaching is relavent and accessable to everyone.

This is an interesting statement. I'm not that familiar with Luangta Maha Boowa. Could someone explain how his teachings are seemingly for those who have attained sotapanna? I understand the concept that something could seem esoteric to one who has not attained a certain stage, but I would like some light shed on specific examples from this particular material as to how it is esoteric. What does it encompass that makes it so out of reach?

Since this is an old post not sure if there is still interest in it. But I find it intrigueing so I will respond any way.

I jus resently got interested in Ajahn Mun as part of my interest in Ajahn Chah. I read Wikipedia's biography of Ajahn Mun and noted that he spent many years with various Hill Tribes of North Thailand. Since I have been living with the Lisu people for five years and am a long term Vipassana meditator my interest in Ajahn Mun was sparked even further. It seems fair to propose that Ajahn Mun probably delved into the supernatural realms with his Hill Tribe friends since this is a major part of Hill Tribe Spirituality. This excites me because I have also lived with Native Americans and appreciate the similarities between native beliefs, Buddhism, and how supernatural shamanic practices are woven into this mix.

Now I am curious to know what tribes Ajahn Mun had lived with and what kind of mixed beliefs the Tribes may have adopted from him and vice versa.

If anyone has information About Ajahn Mun's time spent with the Tribes I would love to hear about it. Thanks.

As you said, tribespeople of the hills often have a belief system that highly involves spirits and the like. I have often heard accounts of Buddhist monks making their way into the hills to teach these people about Buddhism and how the people were able to do away with their old superstitions and practices after they were taught about the path. I have always heard that their old ways were done away with, never that they were incorporated with or even that any of them were compatible with Buddhist practice.

Have you then delved into any of these practices in your vast exposure to the tribespeople?

[Brucenkhamen]

This is an interesting statement. I'm not that familiar with Luangta Maha Boowa. Could someone explain how his teachings are seemingly for those who have attained sotapanna? I understand the concept that something could seem esoteric to one who has not attained a certain stage, but I would like some light shed on specific examples from this particular material as to how it is esoteric. What does it encompass that makes it so out of reach?

As I recall the main point of what I wrote 2 years ago was that found his writings difficult to understand and aimed at an advanced practitioner, in contrast to Ajahn Chah's teachings.

I used to think thais would relate to it better but I met a quite educated Thai fluent in english at the branch monastery of Luangta's where I ordained, he basically said the same thing he didn't really understand his teachings and preferred Ajahn Chah.

I suggest you read one of his books and see what you make of it.

I didn't suggest there was anything esoteric in his teaching.

[camerata]

Since then Mahabua has allegedly declared himself enlightened, cried in public and also organised a huge collection of gold donations for 'saving the nation'. Strange behaviour for a 'forest monk'.

bankei says allegedly, so I take it that all three of these statements are hearsay that cannot be confirmed by anyone. It's one of those, I know someone who heard/saw/etc., right?

It isn't hearsay. It's a matter of record that he collected 5.6 billion baht for Thaksin over 6 years and HM the Queen presided over the ceremony to end the campaign. He later fell out with Thaksin in a big way. As for the crying, see his sermon How can an Arahant shed tears? - with photo.

[SeerObserver]

It isn't hearsay. It's a matter of record that he collected 5.6 billion baht for Thaksin over 6 years and HM the Queen presided over the ceremony to end the campaign. He later fell out with Thaksin in a big way. As for the crying, see his sermon How can an Arahant shed tears? - with photo.

Thanks for the info on both instances. But is this a politically leaned statement? From you link, I read that he ran a campaign to help the nation. The money went towards funding a program to help the Thai economy. Now Khun Thaksin was PM at the time, and presumably headed the program. But that's not quite the same thing as Luangta Maha Boowa collecting all that money for the PM. It's not as if he collected money for his campaign or something.

And in reading the part about HM the Queen presiding over the ceremony, it seems that she was doing her royal duties to formally end the campaign that was raising money for a national cause and rejoice in its success. At the time, the major political turmoil had not begun and in today's context that part might be read to sound like the queen was against the campaign and ended it. My, how times change.

[Brucenkhamen]

Thanks for the info on both instances. But is this a politically leaned statement? From you link, I read that he ran a campaign to help the nation. The money went towards funding a program to help the Thai economy. Now Khun Thaksin was PM at the time, and presumably headed the program. But that's not quite the same thing as Luangta Maha Boowa collecting all that money for the PM. It's not as if he collected money for his campaign or something.

My understanding was that it was to pay back money borrowed by the government from the IMF after the Asian economic crisis in the late 90's, the idea was that if every thai person donated 10 baht theyu'd be able to pay off the debt.

The campaign was in full swing when I first went to Udon in 2002. I don't think Thaksin was Prime Minister when the campaign started.

[SeerObserver]

My understanding was that it was to pay back money borrowed by the government from the IMF after the Asian economic crisis in the late 90's, the idea was that if every thai person donated 10 baht theyu'd be able to pay off the debt.

The campaign was in full swing when I first went to Udon in 2002. I don't think Thaksin was Prime Minister when the campaign started.

Ok I just looked at the date on the link that camerata provided. It's dated for 2004, and as a six year program it began in 1998. Thanks for the clarification on what the money may have been intended for. If that's the case, it's really not politically controversial then for Luangta Maha Boowa to have been involved.

[camerata]

Ok I just looked at the date on the link that camerata provided. It's dated for 2004, and as a six year program it began in 1998. Thanks for the clarification on what the money may have been intended for. If that's the case, it's really not politically controversial then for Luangta Maha Boowa to have been involved.

I should have said that Chuan was PM when the campaign started, followed by Thaksin. For Thais, the campaign is controversial because all monks are supposed to be above worldly affairs and collecting donations "for the nation" (no matter how good that is) is not how they expect an arahant to behave. The controversy was complicated by Thaksin initially being a devotee or look-sid of Ajahn Boowa, but later Ajahn Boowa publicly lambasted him, referring to him as "Devadatta" and a maan rai (evil demon), as I recall. The Manager Daily printed the comments and was sued by Thaksin for 500 million baht, but Thaksin didn't dare sue a monk. This became known as the Devadatta Incident.

[Brucenkhamen]

Ok I just looked at the date on the link that camerata provided. It's dated for 2004, and as a six year program it began in 1998. Thanks for the clarification on what the money may have been intended for. If that's the case, it's really not politically controversial then for Luangta Maha Boowa to have been involved.

Yes.

If a politician or a less respected monk were the figurehead it probably wouldn't have worked as people would have been less trustful.

[camerata]

If a politician or a less respected monk were the figurehead it probably wouldn't have worked as people would have been less trustful.

I wonder what happened to the 5 billion? Was any accounting ever given? Initially, a deputy PM had said the government would ask Ajahn Boowa for suggestions what they should do with the money. I wonder if they ever did.

[ff978472]

My thought is that we better ignore what we don't know/understand at our current state.

Forget about Ajarn Mun's biography and supernatural things we dont understand and try to understand his teaching better :-)

Below is translated from a poem called "Khandha Wimutti" composed by Ajarn Mun.

I am not sure whether it's correctly translated but if you can read Thai, you may see the original copy at:

http://www.luangpumun.org/kanta_r1.html

Hope you guys found it useful.

================

The Ballad of Liberation from the Khandhas

Namatthu sugatassa

Pañca dhamma-khandhani

I pay homage to the one Well-gone,

the Foremost Teacher, the Sakyan Sage,

the Rightly Self-Awakened One;

& to the nine transcendent Dhammas;

& to the Noble Sangha.

I will now give a brief exposition

of the Dhamma khandhas,

as far as I understand them.

Once there was a man who loved himself

and feared distress. He wanted happiness

beyond the reach of danger, so he wandered

endlessly. Wherever people said

that happiness was found, he longed to go,

but wandering took a long, long time.

He was the sort of man who loved himself

and really dreaded death. He truly wanted

release from aging & mortality.

Then one day he came to know the truth,

abandoning the cause of suffering &

compounded things. He found a cave of wonders,

of endless happiness, i.e., the body.

As he gazed throughout the cave of wonders,

his suffering was destroyed, his fears appeased.

He gazed and gazed around the mountain side,

Experiencing unbounded peace.

He feared if he were to go and tell his friends,

they'd say he'd gone insane. He'd better stay

alone, engaged in peace, abandoning

his thoughts of contact, than to roam around,

a sycophant, both criticized & flattered,

exasperated & annoyed.

But then there was another man afraid

of death, his heart all withered & discouraged.

He came to me and spoke frankly

in a pitiful way. He said,

"You've made an effort at your meditation

for a long time now.

Have you seen it yet,

the true Dhamma of your dreams?"

(Eh! How is it that he knows my mind?)

He asked to stay with me, so I agreed.

"I'll take you to a massive mountain

with a cave of wonders

free from suffering & stress:

mindfulness immersed in the body.

You can view it at your leisure to cool your heart

and end your troubles.

This is the path of the Noble lineage.

It's up to you to go or not.

I'm not deceiving or compelling you,

just telling you the truth for what it is."

And then I challenged him with riddles. First:

"What runs?"

"What runs quickly is viññana,

movements walking in a row,

one after another. Not doubting that saññas are right,

the heart gets caught up in the running back & forth.

Saññas grab hold of things outside

and pull them in to fool the mind,

Making it think in confusion & go out searching,

wandering astray.

They fool it with various dhammas,

like a mirage."

"What gains total release from the five khandhas?"

"The heart, of course, & the heart alone.

It doesn't grasp or get entangled.

No more poison of possessiveness,

no more delusion,

it stands alone.

No saññas can fool it into following along

behind them."

"When they say there's death, what dies?"

"Sankharas die, destroying their effects."

"What connects the mind into the cycle?"

"The tricks of sañña make it spin.

The mind goes wrong because it trusts its saññas,

attached to its likes,

leaving this plane of being,

going to that, wandering till it's dizzy,

forgetting itself,

completely obscure to itself.

No matter how hard it tries to find the Dhamma,

it can't catch a glimpse."

"What ferrets out the Dhamma?"

"The heart ferrets it out,

trying to find out how saññas say 'good'

and grasp at 'bad'

and force it to fasten on loving & hating."

"To eat once & never look for more?"

"The end of wanting to look, to know,

to hope for knowing more,

The end of entanglements.

The mind sits still on its dais,

discarding its attachments."

"A four-sided pool, brimming full?"

"The end of desire, abandoning doubt,

clean, without a mote, & danger-free.

Saññas settle out, sankharas don't disturb it.

The heart is thus brimming, with nothing lacking.

Quiet & still, the mind

has no lamenting thoughts:

something worth admiring day after day.

Even if one were to gain

heavenly treasures by the millions,

they'd be no match for the true knowing

that abandons all sankharas.

The crucial thing: the ending of desire.

Labels stay in their own sphere and don't intrude.

The mind, unenthralled with anything,

stops its struggling.

Like taking a mirror to look at your reflection:

Don't get attached to the saññas,

which are like the image.

Don't get intoxicated with the issues of sankharas.

"When the heart moves, you can catch sight

of the unadulterated heart.

You know for sure that the movement is in yourself

because it changes.

Inconstancy is a feature of the heart itself,

no need to criticize anyone else.

You know the different sorts of khandhas

in the moving of the mind.

"Before, I used to think that saññas were the heart,

labeling 'outer' & 'inner,'

which was why I was fooled.

Now the heart's in charge, with no concerns,

no hopes of relying on any one sañña at all.

Whatever arises or passes away

there's no need to be possessive of saññas

or to try to prevent them."

"Like climbing to the top of a truly tall mountain

and looking at the lowlands below,

seeing every living being."

"Way up high, looking back

you see all your affairs

from the very beginning,

forming a path, like stairs."

"Does the rise & fall of the river

accord with the Truth?"

"You can't remedy the changing of sankharas.

Fashioned by kamma,

they're out to spite no one.

If you grasp hold of them

to push them this way & that,

the mind has to become defiled & wrong.

Don't think of resisting

the natural way of all things.

Let good & evil follow their own affairs.

We simply free

ourselves.

Unentangled in sankharas:

That's what's peaceful & cool.

When you know the truth,

you have to let go of sankharas

as soon as you see their changing.

When you weary of them,

you let them go easily,

with no need to be forced.

The Dhamma is cooling.

The mind will stop

being subjected to things."

"The five duties complete?"

"Khandhas divide the issues of fashioning

into five realms,

each filled with its duties & affairs,

with no room for any other,

because their hands are full —

no room even for fortune, status, praise, pleasure,

loss of fortune, loss of status, criticism, pain.

They let each of these follow its own nature,

in line with its truth.

The mind's not entangled

with any of these eight,

because physical khandhas keep creating

aging & illness without pause.

The mental khandhas never rest.

They work like motors

because they must take on the kamma

of what they have done:

Good things make them enthralled & happy,

bad things agitate and darken the heart,

making it think without stop,

as if it were aflame.

The mind is defiled & dull.

Its loves & hates

are things it has thought up on its own,

so who else can it blame?

"Do you want to escape aging & death?

It's beyond the range of possibility,

as when we want the mind to stop

wandering around and thinking,

when we want it to stay at one

and hope to depend on its stillness.

The mind is something that changes,

totally uncertain.

Saññas stay in place only from time to time.

Once we grow wise to the nature

of all five khandhas,

the mind will be clear & clean,

free from stain, with no more issues.

If you can know in this way,

it's superlative,

because you see the truth,

withdraw,

and gain release.

That's the end of the path.

You don't resist the natural way

of the truth of things.

Poverty & wealth, good & bad,

in line with events both within & without,

all have to pass and vanish.

You can't grasp hold of anything

at which the mind takes aim.

"Now, when the mind's inconstant on its own

— aquiver, quick — and you catch sight of it,

that's when you find the ultimate in ease.

Small things obscure our knowledge of the large.

The khandhas totally obscure the Dhamma,

and that's where we go wrong. We waste our time

in watching khandhas so that we don't see

the Dhamma that, though greater than the khandhas,

seems like dust."

"There is, there isn't. There isn't, yet there is."

"Here I'm totally stymied

and can't figure it out.

Please explain what it means."

"There is birth of various causes & effects,

but they are not beings,

they all pass away.

This is clear,

the meaning of the first point:

There is, there isn't.

The second point, there isn't, yet there is:

This refers to the deep Dhamma,

the end of all three levels of existence,

where there are no sankharas,

and yet there is the stable Dhamma.

This is the Singular Dhamma, truly solitary.

The Dhamma is One & unchanging.

excelling all being, extremely still.

The object of the unmoving heart,

still & at respite,

quiet & clear.

No longer intoxicated,

no longer feverish,

its desires all uprooted,

its uncertainties shed,

its entanglement with the khandhas

all ended & appeased,

the gears of the three levels of the cosmos all broken,

overweening desire thrown away,

its loves brought to an end,

with no more possessiveness,

all troubles cured

as the heart had aspired."

"Please explain the mind's path

in yet another way,

& the cause of suffering in the mind

that obscures the Dhamma."

"The cause is enormous,

but to put it briefly,

it's the love

that puts a squeeze on the heart,

making it concerned for the khandhas.

If the Dhamma is with the heart

throughout time,

that's the end of attachment,

with no more cause for suffering:

Remember this, it's the path of the mind.

You won't have to wonder,

spinning around till you're dizzy.

The mind, when the Dhamma's not always with it,

gets attached to its likes,

concerned for the khandhas,

sunk in the cause of suffering.

"So in brief, there's suffering

& there's the Dhamma

always with the mind.

Contemplate this until you see the truth,

and the mind will be completely cool.

However great the pleasure or pain,

they'll cause you no fear.

No longer drunk with the cause of suffering,

the mind's well-gone.

Knowing just this much is enough

to soothe your fevers,

and to rest from your search for a path to release.

The mind knowing the Dhamma forgets

the mind attached to dust.

The heart knowing the Dhamma of ultimate ease

sees for sure that the khandhas are always stressful.

The Dhamma stays as the Dhamma,

the khandhas stay as khandhas, that's all.

"And as for the phrase,

'Cool, at ease, & freed from fever,'

this refers to the mind that's rescued itself

from the addictive error

[of correcting other things].

The sankhara aggregate offers no pleasure

and truly is painful,

for it has to age, grow ill, and die every day.

When the mind knows the unexcelled Dhamma,

it extracts itself from its defiling error

that aggravates disease.

This error is a fierce fault of the mind.

But when it clearly sees the Dhamma,

it removes its error,

and there's no more poison in the heart.

When the mind sees the Dhamma,

abundantly good

& released from error,

meeting the Dhamma, it sheds all things

that would make it restless.

It's mindful, in & of itself,

& unentangled.

Its love for the khandhas comes to an end,

its likes are cured,

its worries cease,

all dust is gone.

Even if the mind thinks in line with its nature,

we don't try to stop it.

And when we don't stop it,

it stops running wild.

This frees us from turmoil.

"Know that evil comes

from resisting the truth.

"Evil comes from not knowing.

If we can close the door on stupidity,

there's ultimate ease.

All evil grows silent, perfectly still.

All the khandhas are suffering, with no pleasure at all.

"Before I was stupid & in the dark,

as if I were in a cave.

In my desire to see the Dhamma,

I tried to grab hold of the heart to still it.

I grabbed hold of mental labels,

thinking they were the heart

until it became a habit.

Doing this I was long enthralled

with watching them.

Wrong mental labels obscured the mind

and I was deluded into playing around

with the khandhas —

Poor me!

"Exalting myself endlessly,

I went around passing judgment on others

but accomplishing nothing.

Looking at the faults of others

embitters the heart,

as if we were to set ourselves on fire,

becoming sooty & burned.

Whoever's right or wrong, good or bad,

that's their business.

Ours is to make sure

the heart looks after itself.

Don't let unskillful attitudes buzz around it & land.

Make it consummate

in merit & skill —

the result will be peace.

Seeing others as bad and oneself as good

is a stain on the heart,

for one latches onto the khandha

that holds to that judgment.

If you latch onto the khandhas

they'll burn you for sure,

for aging, defilement, & death will join in the fray:

full of anger & love, obvious faults,

worries, sorrows, & fears,

while the five forms of sensuality

bring in their multifarious troops.

We gain no release from suffering & danger

because we hold to the five khandhas as ours.

Once you see your error, don't delay.

Keep constant watch on the inconstancy of sankharas.

When the mind gets used to this,

you're sure to see the Singular Dhamma,

solitary in the mind.

"'Inconstancy' refers to the heart

as it moves from its labels.

When you see this, watch it

again & again,

right at the moving.

When all external objects have faded away,

the Dhamma will appear.

When you see that Dhamma, you recover

from mental unrest.

The mind then won't be attached to dualities.

Just this much truth can end the game.

Knowing not-knowing:

That's the method for the heart.

Once we see through inconstancy,

the mind-source stops creating issues.

All that remains is the primal mind,

true & unchanging.

Knowing the mind-source

brings release from all worry & error.

If you go out to the mind-ends,

you're immediately wrong.

"'Darkness' comes from the mind

possessive of what's good.

This possessiveness is thought up

by the mind-ends.

The mind-source is already good

when the Dhamma appears, erasing doubt.

When you see the superlative Dhamma,

surpassing the world,

all your old confused searchings

are uprooted and let go.

The [only] suffering left

is the need to sleep and eat

in line with events.

The heart stays, tamed, near the mind-source,

Thinking, yet not dwelling on its thoughts.

The nature of the mind is that it has to think,

But when it senses the mind-source

it's released from its sorrows,

secluded from disturbances, & still.

The nature of sankharas

when they appear

is to vanish.

They all decay; none remain.

Beware of the mind

when you focus on making it refined,

for you'll tend to force it

to get stuck on the stillness.

Get the heart to look again & again

at its inconstancy, until it's a habit.

When you reach 'Oh!'

it will come on its own:

awareness of the heart's song,

like a mirage.

The Buddha says the corruptions of insight

disguise themselves as true

when actually they're not.

The awareness of mental phenomena

that comes on its own,

is direct vision,

not like hearing & understanding

on the level of questioning.

The analysis of phenomena,

mental & physical,

is also not vision that comes on its own:

so look.

The awareness that comes on its own

is not the thought-song.

Knowing the mind-source

& mind-moments,

the source-mind is released from sorrow.

The mind-source's certain

automatic knowledge of sankharas

— the affairs of change —

is not a matter of parading out

to see or know a thing.

It's also not a knowledge based

on labeling in pairs.

The mind knows itself

from the motion of the song.

The mind's knowledge of the motion

is simply adjacent mind-moments.

In fact, they can't be divided:

They're all one & the same.

When the mind is two, that's called

sañña entangling things.

Inconstancy is itself, so why focus on anyone else?

"When the heart sees its own decayings,

it's released from darkness.

It loses its taste for them,

and abandons its doubts.

It stops searching for things within & without.

Its attachments all fall away.

It leaves its loves & hates,

whatever weighs it down.

It can end its desires,

its sorrows all vanish —

together with the weighty cares

that made it moan —

as if a shower of rain were to refresh the heart.

The cool heart is realized by the heart itself.

The heart is cool for it has no need

to wander around, looking at people.

Knowing the mind-source in the present,

it's unshakeable & unconcerned

with any good or evil,

for they must pass away,

with all other impediments.

Perfectly still, the mind-source

neither thinks nor interprets.

It stays only with its own affairs:

no expectations,

no need to be entangled or troubled,

no need to keep up its guard.

Sitting or lying down, one thinks

at the source-mind: 'Released.'"

"Your explanation of the path

is penetrating,

so encompassing & clear.

Just one more thing:

Please explain in detail the mind

unreleased from the cause of suffering."

"The cause of suffering is attachment & love,

extremely enthralled,

creating new states of being

without wearying.

On the lower level, the stains

are the five strings of sensuality;

on the higher level,

attachment to jhana.

In terms of how these things

act in the mind:

It's all an affair of being enthralled with sankharas,

enthralled with all that have happened

for a long, long time —

seeing them as good,

nourishing the heart on error,

making it branch out

in restlessness distraction.

Smitten by error, with no sense of shame,

enthralled with admiring

whatever it fancies —

enthralled to the point where it forgets itself

and loses its sense of danger;

enthralled with viewing the faults of others,

upset by their evil,

not seeing its own faults as anything at all.

No matter how great the faults of others,

they can't make us fall into hel_l.

While our own faults can take us

to the severest hel_l straightaway,

even if they aren't very defiling at all.

So keep watch on your faults

until it comes naturally.

Avoid those faults

and you're sure to see

happiness free

from danger & fear.

When you see your faults clearly

cut them right away.

Don't dawdle or delay

or you'll never be rid of them.

"Wanting what's good, without stop:

That's the cause of suffering.

It's a great fault: the strong fear of bad.

'Good' & 'bad' are poisons to the mind,

like foods that enflame a high fever.

The Dhamma isn't clear

because of our basic desire for good.

Desire for good, when it's great,

drags the mind into turbulent thought

until the mind gets inflated with evil,

and all its defilements proliferate.

The greater the error, the more they flourish,

taking one further & further away

from the genuine Dhamma."

"This way of explaining

the cause of suffering

chastens my heart.

[At first] the meaning

was tattered & tangled,

but when you explained the path

my heart didn't move:

at respite, still, & at peace,

reaching an end at last."

"This is called the attainment

of liberation from the khandhas,

a Dhamma that remains in place,

with no coming or going,

a genuine nature — the only one —

with nothing to make it stray or spin."

With that, the tale is ended. Right or wrong,

please ponder with discernment till you know.

— Composed by Phra Bhuridatto (Mun)

Wat Srapathum [bangkok]

[SeerObserver]

Ok I just looked at the date on the link that camerata provided. It's dated for 2004, and as a six year program it began in 1998. Thanks for the clarification on what the money may have been intended for. If that's the case, it's really not politically controversial then for Luangta Maha Boowa to have been involved.

I should have said that Chuan was PM when the campaign started, followed by Thaksin. For Thais, the campaign is controversial because all monks are supposed to be above worldly affairs and collecting donations "for the nation" (no matter how good that is) is not how they expect an arahant to behave. The controversy was complicated by Thaksin initially being a devotee or look-sid of Ajahn Boowa, but later Ajahn Boowa publicly lambasted him, referring to him as "Devadatta" and a maan rai (evil demon), as I recall. The Manager Daily printed the comments and was sued by Thaksin for 500 million baht, but Thaksin didn't dare sue a monk. This became known as the Devadatta Incident.

I could see how some would think that. My previous post said that it isn't politically controversial. What I meant by that was that he was not involved in a partisan action per se. I'll most definitely agree with anyone (Thai or otherwise) that monks should not involve themselves in political and divisive affairs. Now this matter was not a purely worldly matter and can be seen as a spiritual endeavor.

Buddhism teaches dana-generosity. This campaign was a way for the Venerable to use his far-reaching voice to bring forth an opportunity for people to exercise this virtue. The cause of one's country is a high cause. When something is not politically aligned it would seem like a skillful use of one's renown. Use in this manner is to build more merit and encourage others to do so as well.

Your statement makes me ask if this campaign was controversial with Thais for the reason you stated. It is surprising to hear that in light of the fact that many Thais are not offset by other things that go on in Wats such as the Thaksin rite (mentioned in another thread and which was about as partisan political as you can get), and other superstitious folk-practices.

[SeerObserver]

Ok I just looked at the date on the link that camerata provided. It's dated for 2004, and as a six year program it began in 1998. Thanks for the clarification on what the money may have been intended for. If that's the case, it's really not politically controversial then for Luangta Maha Boowa to have been involved.

Yes.

If a politician or a less respected monk were the figurehead it probably wouldn't have worked as people would have been less trustful.

I didn't mean to imply that it was a matter of who the monk was that was involved in the campaign. I meant that it wasn't politically controversial because the matter was not a partisan cause per se. It was a national cause. The Wat Umong rite recently discussed in another thread is a partisan cause, for example.

[camerata]

The cause of one's country is a high cause.

I think that depends on the specific cause. It's hard to see how poor Thais should have to help pay back an IMF loan that was made necessary in large part by the greed and incompetence of businessmen and financiers. I wonder if any of the billions made it to the 2 million Thais who lost their jobs?

Your statement makes me ask if this campaign was controversial with Thais for the reason you stated. It is surprising to hear that in light of the fact that many Thais are not offset by other things that go on in Wats such as the Thaksin rite (mentioned in another thread and which was about as partisan political as you can get), and other superstitious folk-practices.

All I can tell you is that's what the Thais I asked told me. This was a first-of-its-kind national campaign over 6 years by a supposed arahant whereas the Wat Umong rite was just a brief item for one day in the newspapers. As such, it tended to generate a lot of comment. I'm sure the tears, the attacks on Thaksin and the lobbying against Somdej Kiaw's possible promotion to Supreme Patriarch were more controversial, though. Thai friends have told me they think Ajahn Boowa's supporters pressed him into some of these worldly activities.

[sabaijai]

If a politician or a less respected monk were the figurehead it probably wouldn't have worked as people would have been less trustful.

I wonder what happened to the 5 billion? Was any accounting ever given? Initially, a deputy PM had said the government would ask Ajahn Boowa for suggestions what they should do with the money. I wonder if they ever did.

Coincidentally, just today while editing a book on Thai history I came across a few news items on this controversial fund. At one point Luang Ta Maha Boowa himself asked for an accounting from the government. Here's a brief summary:

Ministry to show account to Maha Bua

2 April 2000

BANGKOK--Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai told the Finance Ministry to show a Buddhist monk in Udon Thani what it was doing with his donations. Phra Ratchavisudhisophon, also known as Luangta Maha Bua, was operating a Thai Chuay Thai (Thais Help Thais) Fund, but expressed unhappiness over allegations that the ministry was using the cash and gold inappropriately. The monk, from Wat Pa Ban Tad, wanted the estimated two million baht to be banked for Thailand's use as an emergency cash reserve. The prime minister indicated that the government gave some of the donations to schools and universities, which the donors agreed to.

--

And 2 years earlier, in 1998, Thaksin was indeed on the political scene:

Thaksin, Palang Thai form new party

Pledges a new choice

31 May 1998

BANGKOK—The Palang Thai non-profit organisation announced it would join forces with telecommunications tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra to form a new political party to contest the general election under the 1997 constitution. According to a press statement, the group was encouraged by Thaksin’s idea of an alternative party aimed at involving young blood politicians and public participation.

Thaksin insisted that his new party, Thai Rak Thai, would be more than a flash in the pan. Although many people told him not to make a political comeback, Thaksin said he hated the current one-dimensional approach to solving Thailand's problems, and could not remain idle. Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai said, 'I would like to inform all Thais not to be confused and forward cash donations to the wrong place,' a light-hearted reference to the similarities in names between Thai Rak Thai and Thai Chuay Thai (a coalition-run effort to manage donations raised to pay off foreign debts).

[pramaprow]

Greetings,

I'm looking for a Thai version of this...can someone please point me in the right direction?...

Thank you...

[camerata]

Have you tried http://www.luangta.com/ ?