Is it true that Maha Boowa was a smoker? Ajahn Mun, smoke, smoking, cigarettes

 

Re: Is it true that Maha Boowa was a smoker ?

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Post by frank k » Sat Aug 12, 2023 2:48 am

dpcalder wrote: ↑Fri Aug 11, 2023 4:22 pm

Goofaholix wrote: ↑Wed Aug 09, 2023 2:57 pm

dpcalder wrote: ↑Wed Aug 09, 2023 12:54 pmReally! What is his rationale?

I don't recall. Looking at that book the only reference to smoking is of Ajahn Mun doing it.

Yeah, I just looked it up and found the same. Apparently Ajahn Mun smoked 4 cigarettes a day. That is certainly enough to be an addict, and nicotine addiction is physiological, so it's likely he was an addict. While the idea of a monk smoking is certainly not outrageous to me, being addicted to something doesn't sound like something we'd expect of an arahant, and if he was psychic to the extent that Maha Boowa claims, one would think he would have the intuition to know that something is unhealthy and addictive.

Smoking is highly addictive, but so are alcohol, food, sex, staring at a phone for hours endlessly looking for dopamine hits, etc.

When I was a kid, my friend's dad, not a meditator or religious as far as I know, was a long time addicted smoker, smoking like a pack a day or something.
One day he decided to give up, cold turkey, and succeeded.

So that's one data point, as addictive as tobacco is, even a non arahant can quit if they have strong enough desire.

Ajahn Mun did things in his daily practice that almost no one can match, as far as difficulty, such as eating only once a day in one session, sleeping 2-4 hours a night, eating very little in that single session,
having no fear of tigers, death, attachment to the body, etc., no other sign of craving for sensual pleasures.

Once someone is at the point where they're not afraid of anything, deathly pain or whatever, and aside from cigarettes have no sign of craving, then I'm likely to believe them if they say they're not addicted to cigarettes, because what they're doing is way more difficult and unusual.

I'm pretty sure Mun only used cigarettes as a stimulant for an energy boost.
Ajahn Chah told stories of sometimes their alms was so meager, just a few scoops of white rice to last a day walking through the jungle.
I hate cigarettes, but if I was a forest monk in those conditions struggling with energy level eating once a day, I'd consider smoking too if I thought it would help with drowsiness.

On the other hand, I'm extremely disappointed that those famous forest monks smoked, because it lessens people's confidence in them, and their practice.