..续本文上一页lier in the evening the thought had occurred to me, "My eyes are small. I”d like to have great big eyes, able to see for miles and miles. My ears are small. I”d like to have great big ears, able to hear all around the world. My mouth is small. I”d like to have it wide, able to give a sermon that would echo for five days and nights." With this in mind, I decided to adopt three practices: 1) For a wide mouth, don”t eat a lot or speak a lot on important days. 2) For big ears, don”t listen to matters that aren”t worth your while. "Cut off your mouth," i.e., go without food. "Cut off your ears," i.e., don”t pay attention to anything at all. 3) For big eyes, go without sleep.

　　So with this in mind, I decided to go without sleep on Visakha Puja. A little after 5 a.m. a lot of the Buddha”s relics came to me there in the ordination hall.

　　I spent the rains with the Somdet again. That year lay people came out for the meditation sessions in even larger numbers than the year before. A number of bad events, though, began to interfere because some of the monks had become envious and started looking for ways to spoil things. I”d rather not name names, though. Whoever wants to learn the details can go ask Thao Satyanurak or the Somdet.

　　One evening at about seven, a monk named Phra Khru Palat Thien came to my quarters and said in a low voice, "I hope you aren”t upset, Ajaan. I”m on your side all the way."

　　"Well, I”m glad to hear it, but I don”t know of anything that would make me upset. Tell me what”s up."

　　So he gave me the details and then added, "The rumor has already reached the Somdet. If he has any doubts about you, he”ll probably call you to his quarters for questioning. If and when he calls you, let me know. I”ll stand up for you." As it turned out, though, the Somdet never said a word about the matter, and never asked me even a single question. We simply kept on discussing the Dhamma as always.

　　An anonymous letter appeared and made the rounds:

　　Writing texts is Phra Khru Dhammasaan”s daily habit.

　　Ajaan Lee”s is instructing his young ladyfriend.

　　Old gray-haired MahaPrem would like to be abbot,

　　While Luang Ta Paan babbles on without end.

　　Phra Khru Dhammasaan was given a thorough grilling as a result of the letter — people believed he had written it as an attack on me. I had no idea of what was going on. There seemed to be a lot of things unworthy of monks going on, but I didn”t pay them any attention.

　　The day after the rainy season was over, MahaNarong came to see the Somdet and then came down and asked permission to copy down the information in my identification papers. When he had finished, he returned to the Somdet and told him that the Director”s Office at Mahamakut Buddhist University had sent for the information so that they could arrange for me to be given the title of Phra Khru. The Somdet sent for me. "This is what they have to say," he told me. "What do you have to say

　　"

　　"I”m the sort of monk who, if it”s not necessary, has never wanted to have anything to do with this sort of thing. Whatever good I”ve done has been for the sake of the group as a whole."

　　So he told me, "I”ll answer them myself." And then he added, "I”ll tell them, "Phra Ajaan Lee came to stay here because I asked him to, and he has stayed on out of respect for me. For you to arrange a title for him will, as I see it, drive him away from me."" That, he said, was how he would answer them.

　　"Good," was my reply. As a result, the whole idea was abandoned for the time being.

　　* * *

　　As time passed, the Somdet”s health improved, so I took my leave of him to go off and find some seclusion as was my custom.

　　That year was the 100th anniversary of the founding of Wat Supatwanaram, the first Dhammayut monastery in the Northeast. The Somdet told me, "I want you to g…

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