107. One last recollection of the Dhamma

After 10:00 p.m., Luang Pu had us take him back into his room. He lay on his back, supported by a large pillow. He asked the eight or nine monks in the room to chant the Seven Blessing Chants for him to hear. Then he told them to chant the Sati-sambojjhaṅga Sutta three times, and Dependent Co-arising three times. Then he asked us to chant the Great Establishings of Mindfulness (Mahā Satipaṭṭhāna) Discourse, but none of us had memorized it. So he said, “Open your chanting books and chant from the book,” but there were no chanting books around. Fortunately, Ajaan Phuunsak, who had been looking after Luang Pu all along, had brought his copy of the Royal Chanting Book, so he picked it up and searched through the book to find the right page, leafing back and forth until Luang Pu said, “Hand it here.” He then opened the book to the right page without even looking at it and said, “Chant from right here.” This amazed every monk in the room, for Luang Pu had opened the book right to the Mahā Satipaṭṭhāna Discourse, on page 172. The discourse was long, and it took us more than two hours to finish it. He listened quietly throughout.