007 His Manner of Eating
Once he had put the food that he thought he could consume back into his alms-bowl, he would stop to contemplate [paccavekkhana][7] its repulsiveness. Contemplation of this sort is to prevent the fires of craving [greed and attachment for foods the taste of which one likes, and aversion to the food that one dislikes] from arising and permeating itself in the natural hunger for food and the weariness of the moment. After this contemplation of the repulsiveness of food, he would begin to partake of the food mixed in his alms-bowl. Throughout the whole process of eating, every mouthful, every movement, was to be safeguarded by continual mindfulness of its repulsiveness. Such a way of eating is righteous on the part of a bhikkhu.[8] After his meal was finished, he would wash, wipe and dry his bowl, exposing it to the rays of the sun for a few moments to insure its complete dryness, and then return it to its bowl-bag to be put in a proper place where it could not be damaged.His inner struggle would then actively begin once again, with more effort being progressively made towards hunting down defilements within. There is no need to describe in what ways a struggle such as this is beset with difficulties and defeats. It often happens that the fighter is the one being fought and the hunter is the one being hunted. Defilements, instead of being consumed, often turn out to be consumers themselves, all of the former good intentions and ideals of the aspirant going up in smoke. Defilements are crafty in wielding their powers of sabotage, even right before one's very eyes, lulling us into their power and keeping us all at bay. It was only the Buddha who was first able to eradicate them once and for all from his mind, and who, having achieved such a decisive victory himself, was overwhelmed with compassion for suffering people and took pains to blaze a trail for those with pioneering spirit. A number of people who cared and who dared to follow in his footsteps took up the struggle with courage and patience, backed by an unshakable faith, and who later became known as the Third Gem of the Triple Gem, the Sangha or the Noble Disciples in the best sense of the term. Phra Acharn Mun was also following this same Path with devotion and unwavering confidence.