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time immemorial no one has dared to challenge its might,
allowing avijjā to reign supreme and unopposed over the
“kingdom of birth and death” inside the hearts of all living
beings. But, at 3 a.m. that night, when the Most Venerable Mun
launched his final, allout
assault, the result was the total
destruction of the king’s mighty throne and the complete
overthrow of his reign in the kingdom of birth and death.
Suddenly impotent and deprived of room to maneuver, the king
could not maintain his sovereignty. At that moment, avijjā
perished victim to a lightning strike of magnificent brilliance. 56
Most Venerable Mun had many unusual experiences, more while
living in Chiang Mai than during any other period of his life. Some of

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the forms or sounds of people and animals, and much, much more
besides.
Most Venerable Mun was very skilled in the practice of
mindfully contemplating the body (kāyānupassanāsatipa hāna). He had
a wide and precise understanding of all aspects of the Dhamma, both
inwardly and outwardly, far beyond all others who were then practising
the way. He said that when he went beyond contemplation of body
(kāyagatā), sexual craving ceased to be a problem.
From then on, his citta was devoid of all material things,
including both the body and all other things, which existed externally.
Nor did he have any nimittas arising, which were symbols of beauty
(subha) and foulness (asubha), as he had used to experience prior to this

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showed no interest in any medicines whatsoever. He expressed his
annoyance about medicine in no uncertain terms:
This is the illness of an old man who has reached the end of the
line. No matter what kind of medicine I take, it will never be
cured. All that’s left is the breath in my body, biding its time,
awaiting the day it finally ceases. I’m like dead tree that’s still
standing: no matter how much you fertilise and water that tree, it
is impossible to make it sprout and flower again. This old dead
tree now stands anticipating the day it will topple over and go
crashing to the ground, felled by this very same illness. I
thoroughly investigated my condition long before the symptoms
appeared. That is why I’ve been warning you all: Don’t be
complacent. Hurry up, intensify your efforts now while I am still

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task within this body of mine. How can it possibly alter its
appointed task? 57
As the months passed, although his condition continued to
deteriorate, the Most Venerable Mun did not neglect his teaching
obligations. His compassionate concern for his disciples never
diminished, though he was no longer able to expound the Dhamma in
such detail as before. He condensed the essential meaning of virtue into
concise statements:
Refrain from all evil, develop goodness and wisdom in
abundance, and purify the mind until it is bright and clear. This
is the essence of the Buddha’s teaching. 58
Refraining from evil—what does it mean? Some people refrain
from acting in evil ways but still speak in evil ways. Others may
not act or speak in evil ways but still like to think in evil ways.

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for trouble is sure to find it. What else would they find? There is
no shortage of such things in the conventional world we live
in.” 59
Most Venerable Mun had a total fiftyseven
vassas. At the age of
eighty, he calmly passed away on Thursday, November 11th 2492 BE
(AD 1949), at Wat Suddhavas, in Sakol Nakhorn province. 60 Instead of
the usual pile of firewood or charcoal, the Most Venerable Mun’s funeral
pyre was made with fragrant sandalwood that had been specially ordered
from across the Mekong River in Laos. Having acquired a sufficient
amount, they mixed it with incense, using the combination as a pyre to
cremate the body.
At nine o’clock the following morning, the bone remains were

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Most Venerable Mun Bhūridatta Thera was a vipassanā
meditationmaster
of the highest calibre, and one who was truly worthy of
the eminent praise and admiration accorded to him by his close disciples.
The number of bhikkhus who followed him, and who still follow
the lineage of the Most Venerable Mun, are manifold. They stem from
the early period, the middle period, and the final years, of his teaching.
In the early years, when the Most Venerable Mun first began
wandering, he started in the Northeastern
province of Nakhon Phamom.
From there, he travelled across the provinces of Sakon Nakhon and Udon
Thani, finally reaching Burma, from which he returned to Thailand by
way of the northern province of Chiang Mai. He then travelled into Laos,
practising the ascetic way of life in Luang Prabang, and later Vientiane,

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the province of Ubon Ratc

hathani; all have since passed away. They were
influential disciples, whose teaching careers helped to perpetuate the
Most Venerable Mun’s legacy for the benefit of future generations from
all walks of life.
Before the Most Venerable Mun left the Northeast
to spend
twelve years in Chiang Mai, he charged the Venerable Singh with
propagation of the Dhamma. 62 Venerable Singh and the Venerable Mahā
Pin were brothers. Before taking up the way of practice, they had already
thoroughly studied the Buddhist canonical texts. They were two of the
senior teachers who gained faith in the Most Venerable Mun and
followed in his path to teach the practice as he taught it. Eventually,
through their teaching efforts they were able to assist many people.
Others included the Venerable Thet Thesarangsī, of Wat Hin Mak Peng,
Nong Khai province, the Venerable Fan Ajāro, of Wat Udomsomphon,
Sakhon Nakhon province and the Venerable Khao Anālyo, of Wat Tham
Klong Phen, Udon Thani province.

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