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Gifts He Left Behind: The Dharma Legacy of Phra Ajaan Dune Atulo.
Luang Pu's Dhamma talks
- GenresBuddhism
120 pages, Paperback
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 2, 2023
A book of short stories and quotes from Ajahn Dune Atulo, a respected elder in Thai Theravada.
He's a direct man that doesn't waste words and there are some very interesting situations and stories in the book.
I'll quote a description of Ajahn Dune from the book, which also shows you the form and average length of the stories in the book:
Bodily: He was physically strong and nimble, well-proportioned in his features, clean-smelling, with few diseases. He liked to bathe with warm water only once a day.
Verbal: He had a deep voice, but spoke softly. He was a man of few words who spoke the truth, spoke directly, with no scheming to his speech. In other words, he never hinted, never cajoled, never spoke sarcastically, never gossiped, never begged, never asked anyone’s pardon, never talked about his dreams. He never told Jātaka stories or fabulous tales.
Mental: There was a truth to him—once he had set his mind on doing something, he would work at it until he succeeded. He was always kind and compassionate, quiet, calm, and enduring. He never flared up in anger or showed any signs of frustration or impatience. He was never upset about things that were lost, and was never heedless. Fully mindful, alert, he was cheerful at all times. He never seemed to suffer, and was always unshaken by events. No untoward states of mind overcame him.
He always taught us, “Try to clearly understand events as events: that they arise, change, and then dissolve away. Don’t suffer or be sad because of them.”
He's a direct man that doesn't waste words and there are some very interesting situations and stories in the book.
I'll quote a description of Ajahn Dune from the book, which also shows you the form and average length of the stories in the book:
Bodily: He was physically strong and nimble, well-proportioned in his features, clean-smelling, with few diseases. He liked to bathe with warm water only once a day.
Verbal: He had a deep voice, but spoke softly. He was a man of few words who spoke the truth, spoke directly, with no scheming to his speech. In other words, he never hinted, never cajoled, never spoke sarcastically, never gossiped, never begged, never asked anyone’s pardon, never talked about his dreams. He never told Jātaka stories or fabulous tales.
Mental: There was a truth to him—once he had set his mind on doing something, he would work at it until he succeeded. He was always kind and compassionate, quiet, calm, and enduring. He never flared up in anger or showed any signs of frustration or impatience. He was never upset about things that were lost, and was never heedless. Fully mindful, alert, he was cheerful at all times. He never seemed to suffer, and was always unshaken by events. No untoward states of mind overcame him.
He always taught us, “Try to clearly understand events as events: that they arise, change, and then dissolve away. Don’t suffer or be sad because of them.”
January 26, 2020
A series of anecdotes from throughout the life of Luang Pu, with what are to be poignant or pithy words of advice to his audience. It was a good read, but I had hoped for a deeper explanation of the concepts talked about in the anecdotes - not an issue with the author, but with my expectations, It is a collection aimed toward those with a deeper understanding and practice than I currently enjoy.
May 29, 2025
Some short and pithy insights from one of the great forest Ajaans. each page contains a small story and then quote. It's not going into details on practice steps or anything like that. I very much enjoyed it. It's the kind of thing you could read a page a day to give yourself something to reflect over.
February 16, 2015
Phra Ajaan Dune Atulo (who is referred to throughout the book as Luang Pu, a term meaning venerable grandfather) lived from 1888 to 1983. The book consists of short (less than a page long) stories about this clearly renowned Thai Buddhist monk, each one closing with a quote from him that illustrates some key point of dharma. I was impressed overall with his cool, precise presentation of the dharma. He did not get embroiled in lengthy difficulties or florid expressions of things. Luang Pu gently and persistently exhorted his followers to watch and understand their minds, and to use this as the basis for growth and realizations. This little book of big wisdom will definitely stay on my shelf of Buddhist titles.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews