During the middle phase of Luang Pu Mun's teaching career, Luang Pu Dteu Acaladhammo was his closest and most trusted disciple. A close spiritual friend of Luang Pu Waen, they would often travel together although they were of completely opposite temperaments – Luang Pu Waen hardly spoke a word and Luang Pu Dteu would never stop talking! He was so unorthodox that even after he was enlightened Luang Pu Mun had to caution his other disciples not to criticise him. His Dhamma talks were like nothing else - penetrating, brilliant, and completely unpredictable. He once gave a funeral sermon comparing the deceased unfavourably with a pig. Here is his well-known teaching on the blessings of dogs. It is a light-hearted teaching that reminds us that even those we have contempt for are better than us in many ways – appreciation is far better than contempt for the effect it has on our own minds.
dogs can run fast; people can’t keep up with them
dogs can walk in the middle of the night without a flashlight
dogs go into the forest and don’t get thorns in their feet
dogs have ‘celestial nose’ (‘clairsmellent’?!)
dogs eat without being choosy
when they urinate they raise their leg in salutation to Mother Earth
dogs do three circumambulations before they lie down
when they have sex, they aren’t self-conscious
dogs know their owner well
if a stranger comes, dogs bark
dogs delivering puppies don’t need a doctor or a midwife
dogs eat and never get a fishbone stuck in their throat
dogs never wear clothes
when they sleep, dogs don’t need a pillow
dogs don’t have to spread out a mattress to sleep
dogs can eat and don’t need a drink
dogs don’t worry about good and evil
dogs can lay out in the sun for up to 3 hours
if it isn’t mating season, dogs don’t have sex
a dog who falls in the water doesn’t die; they can swim faster than people