Pure Inspiration

Ven. Ñāṇadīpa Thera – 73
beaten track. That was more convenient to his practice of satisampajañña
(mindfulness and comprehension). To me, he once said:
‘Why the forest?’ For him, of course, it was not needed. But he failed
to understand that it could be an important part in a monk’s practice.
(Note: in this respect he was unlike Mahākassapa who was a forest
monk who kept resorting to the forest, even in his old age. In the
Theragāthā his verses echo his delight for the forested hill far away
from human habitation.)
Some people say that outside vassa he would not stay any more than
three days in one place. This is not completely true. Occasionally, he
would stay longer if he found a suitable place. At Sinharāja Aranya
(Waturuwila branch), I was told by the chief monk that he had spent a
month in a kuṭi. He gave me the same kuṭi. That was in ‘70, my first
cārikā. When passing through Tamil areas, he would sometimes stay
with Christian priests. He said they treated him very well. He would
sometimes talk to them about mettā and dāna (loving-kindness and
generosity) and other things common to both religions. Beyond that he
did not go, ‘That is all I can say’, he would say. However, when there
was both a Christian and a Buddhist place, he would choose the
Buddhist place though he was less well treated there. For, as he said,
‘that is where I belong, dāyakas (supporters) have built it for Buddhist
monks’.’
When he was about sixty, he lost all his teeth. He simply stopped
caring for them. They became rotten and fell out, one by one.
Regarding this, he said to me, ‘All the trouble I had in caring for my
teeth, toothpaste, toothpowder and brushes, all that I am free from
now.’ He said he managed to chew an apple with his gums.