Pure Inspiration

71
Glimpses of Ven. Ñāṇavimala
Ven. Ñāṇadīpa Thera
Ñāṇavimala stayed in a kuṭi (hut) on Island Hermitage that that
had originally been built for Ñāṇamoli. He kept strictly to his
kuṭi, and one could see him outside only when he was sweeping,
bathing or taking his single meal in the dānasāla (dining hall).
Rare were the times when he would allow a visitor. I did not
dare to approach him. But before I left in ’68, the Sinhalese
monk, Ñāṇasanta obtained permission for me to visit him. He
asked me why I was leaving. I said that I had not yet fully
decided to become a monk. He advised me not to go, for I might
not again get such good conditions for ordaining as I was having
now. However, he did not insist when I said that there always
would be some place where I could get ordained. The talk he
gave me I do not remember, but I felt deeply impressed.
During my stay with him as an upāsaka (layman) in ’68 and as a
sāmaṇera (novice monk) in ’69, he was the only inspiring model I had.
What inspired me, however, was the sight of him rather than the
Dhamma (teachings) he spoke. In those days he was very reserved and
when he talked, it was always to emphasize the importance of the
preliminary parts of the practice, which I found rather uninteresting.
On a few occasions, however, he became very friendly. For instance,
when I was getting ordained as a sāmaṇera (a simple ceremony done
in the dānasāla), he got up from his seat and gently helped me put the
robe on. Towards the end of the stay, he could more often be seen
outside the kuṭi, sometimes joining for breakfast and the evening