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　　Attending to Ajaan Mun was very good for me, but also very hard. I had to be willing to learn everything anew. To be able to stay with him for any length of time, you had to be very observant and very circumspect. You couldn”t make a sound when you walked on the floor, you couldn”t leave footprints on the floor, you couldn”t make noise when you swallowed water or opened the windows or doors. There had to be a science to everything you did — hanging out robes, taking them in, folding them up, setting out sitting mats, arranging bedding, everything. Otherwise he”d drive you out, even in the middle of the Rains Retreat. Even then, you”d just have to take it and try to use your powers of observation.

　　Every day, after our meal, I”d go to straighten up his room, putting away his bowl and robes, setting out his bedding, his sitting cloth, his spittoon, his tea kettle, pillow, etc. I had to have everything in order before he entered the room. When I had finished, I”d take note of where I had placed things, hurry out of the room and go to my own room, which was separated from his by a wall of banana leaves. I had made a small hole in the wall so that I could peek through and see both Ajaan Mun and his belongings. When he came into the room, he”d look up and down, inspecting his things. Some of them he”d pick up and move; others he”d leave where they were. I had to watch carefully and take note of where things were put.

　　The next morning I”d do it all over again, trying to place things where I had seen him put them himself. Finally one morning, when I had finished putting things in order and returned to my own room to peek through the hole, he entered his room, sat still for a minute, looked right and left, up and down, all around — and didn”t touch a thing. He didn”t even turn over his sleeping cloth. He simply said his chants and then took a nap. Seeing this, I felt really pleased that I had attended to my teacher to his satisfaction.

　　In other matters — such as sitting and walking meditation — Ajaan Mun trained me in every way, to my complete satisfaction. But I was able to keep up with him at best only about 60 percent of the time.

　　* * *

　　At the end of the Rains Retreat, Wat Boromnivasa arranged Chao Khun Upali”s funeral, and nearly all the senior monks in Wat Chedi Luang went down to Bangkok to help. The abbot had Ajaan Mun watch over the temple in his absence. After the funeral was over, a letter came to Ajaan Mun, giving him permission to become a preceptor. When Ajaan Mun opened the letter, he found there was more: The letter asked him, in addition to becoming preceptor, to accept the position of abbot at Wat Chedi Luang. Chao Kaew Nawarat (Prince NineJewels), the Prince of Chieng Mai, was to make all the necessary arrangements. Would Ajaan Mun please take over the duties of the previous abbot

　　 That, in short, was the gist of the letter. When Ajaan Mun finished reading it, he sent for me. "I have to leave Wat Chedi Luang," he said.

　　Two days after the end of the Rains Retreat he had sent me out on my own to a mountain in Lamphun province, a spot where he himself had once stayed. I camped a little more than ten days at the foot of the mountain, until one day at about three in the afternoon, while I was sitting in meditation, there was an incident. It was as if someone had come with a message. I heard a voice say, "Tomorrow you have to go stay up on top of the mountain."

　　The next day, before climbing to the top, I went to stay in an old abandoned temple, said to be very sacred. People had told me that whenever the lunar sabbath came around, a bright light would often appear there. It was deep in the forest, though — and the forest was full of elephants and tigers. I walked in alone, feeling both brave and scared,…

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