^{By Luang Pu Plien Panyapatipo, Wat Aranyawiwet -Ban Pong, Chiang Mai}

Luang Pu Plien divided disciples of the Thai forest tradition into six main types. For those who regard a forest monk as their teacher — let’s see which type of disciple you might be:

1. The Wealthy Donor (Rumsruay Amis Bucha)
   

This group enjoys making large donations primarily to show their wealth and status. When they visit monks, they wear elegant clothes and fine jewelry. Every offering must be in the hundreds of thousands or millions; any less, they fear the merit will be incomplete or insufficient.

1. The Fame-Follower (Saddha Kwam Dang)
   

These are those who take refuge not in the Dhamma but in the fame of the teacher. They are not deeply moved by the teachings themselves but seek well-known monks featured in the media or spoken of by others. Their motivation is to visit or make offerings so they can later boast: “I’ve paid respects to that famous master,” “I once invited this venerable to a meal,” “I’m very close to that teacher,” and so on.

1. The Profit-Seeker (Wang Phon Kamrai)
   

These disciples expect material gain from the religion. Some trade in sacred objects, amulets, and charms for profit; others work in banks and deposit temple donations where they are employed to boost their branch’s figures — and in turn, their career prospects.

1. The True Dhamma-Seeker (Fai Ha Kaen Tham Jing Thae)
   

This type sincerely practices according to the teacher’s guidance, strictly observing instructions and seeking advice whenever they encounter difficulties. They are diligent and devoted to meditation and study, aiming for liberation from suffering. They regard defilements as things to be abandoned and mindfulness, wisdom, and joy as the true objects of practice.

1. The Overzealous Caretaker (Dulae Mai Luem Hu Luem Ta)
   

Sadly, this group is most often composed of women — almost without exception. They fail to see the boundary of propriety, thinking only, “As long as I can serve, attend to, and care for the teacher as I wish, that’s enough.” They often do not realize when such behavior should be restrained or avoided.

1. The Overprotective Devotee (Ajan Kha Khrai Ya Tae)
   

These disciples are becoming more common. They act as if they alone own the teacher — behaving like a personal manager. No one else, they believe, can love or revere the teacher as much as they do. Thus, anyone wishing to invite or approach the teacher must go through them, the “exclusive gatekeeper.”

Reflection

Nowadays, the situation surrounding forest monks has become quite delicate in relation to the preservation of holy conduct (brahmacariya).

Each of these revered teachers has devoted years of hardship — training, enduring, and battling defilements in forests, mountains, and caves — until they realized the Dhamma and became purified, free from all taints. Out of compassion, they emerged from solitude to teach and guide us laypeople.

Some teachers must therefore conceal their virtues and spiritual powers from the public, revealing them only to close disciples who truly seek the essence of Dhamma. Even so, their compassion still extends to all of us — the ordinary worldlings still blinded by ignorance — teaching us the paths of generosity (dāna), morality (sīla), and meditation (bhāvanā), according to each person’s accumulated merit and capacity.

Hence, we should ask ourselves:

How should we properly conduct ourselves toward our venerable teachers?

Source: “Phra Pa Khong Chao Phut” (The Forest Monks of the Buddhists)*

by Luang Por Plien Panyapatipo

^{Wat Aranyawiwet - Ban Pong, Inthakhin Subdistrict, Mae Taeng District, Chiang Mai Province}

(source)

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Chinese version from the same link:

隆布蒲蓮 · 般雅帕提波（瓦阿然亞威蔚寺，清邁）

隆布蒲蓮將 森林傳承 的弟子，大致分為六種類型。身為以森林僧為師的人——不妨看看自己屬於哪一種弟子：

1.  以財富供養型（ร่ำรวยอามิสบูชา）

這類弟子喜好大筆布施，主要是為了展現自身的財富與地位。前往覲見僧人時，總是衣著華麗、佩戴珍貴首飾。每次供養動輒須數十萬、數百萬，若少於此數，便擔心功德不圓滿或不足夠。

2.  追隨名氣型（ศรัทธาความดัง）

這類弟子皈依的並非佛法，而是師父的「名氣」。他們並非因教法本身而感動，而是追求那些被媒體報導或他人談論的著名高僧。其動機是為了能在事後向人誇耀：「我已經拜見過那位大師了」、「我曾供養過這位長老」、「我跟那位師父很熟」等等。

3.  謀求利益型（หวังผลกำไร）

這類弟子期望從宗教中獲取物質利益。有些從事佛牌、聖物等買賣以牟利；有些則在銀行工作，將寺院的存款存到自己任職的分行，以提升業績——從而為自己的職業前景鋪路。

4.  真心求法型（ไฟห้าแค้นธรรมจริงแท้）

這類弟子真誠地依照師父的指導修行，嚴格遵循教導，並在遇到困難時尋求開示。他們精進於禪修與學習，目標是為了解脫痛苦。他們視煩惱為應斷除之物，而將正念、智慧與法喜視為真正的修行目標。

5.  過度熱心服務型（ดูแลไม่ลืมหูลืมตา）

遺憾的是，這類弟子幾乎清一色由女眾組成。她們未能看清合宜的界線，只想著：「只要我能如我所願地服務、照料、關心師父，這樣就夠了。」她們通常未能察覺這類行為何時應該節制或避免。

6.  過度保護師父型（อาจารย์ขาข้าคนเดียวเท่านั้น）

這類弟子日益常見。他們的行事作風，彷彿師父是他們獨有的——如同私人經理一般。他們深信，沒有人能像他們一樣愛戴與尊敬師父。因此，任何想邀請或親近師父的人，都必須通過他們這位「專屬守門人」的關卡。

反思

時至今日，圍繞 森林僧 的環境，對於 梵行（brahmacariya） 的住持而言，已變得相當微妙。

這些備受敬重的師父們，都曾歷經長年的艱苦——在森林、山野、岩洞中訓練、忍耐、與煩惱奮戰——直至證悟佛法，心得清淨，遠離一切染著。出於慈悲，他們才從隱居處走出，來教導、指引我們這些在家人。

因此，有些師父必須向大眾隱藏他們的 德行與神通力，只向那些 真心尋求佛法精髓 的親近弟子顯露。即便如此，他們的慈悲仍廣被我們所有人——這些仍被無明所蔽的平凡凡夫——依照每個人所累積的福德與根器，教導我們布施、持戒與禪修之道。

故而，我們應當反躬自省：

我們應當以何種正確的態度與行為來面對敬愛的師父？

出處：《พระป่าของชาวพุทธ》（佛教徒的森林僧）

隆布蒲蓮 · 般雅帕提波

清邁府湄登縣茵他欣鎮瓦阿然亞威蔚寺（班蓬寺）

^{English translation cred. to @kelvin suddato
images from Dhamma facebook groups}