the mind and becomes a "defilement" (Pali: kilesa), which lead to craving and clinging (Pali: upadana). This in turn leads to becoming, which conditions birth. While birth is traditionally explained as rebirth in a new life, it is also explained in Thai Buddhism as the birth of self-view, which gives rise to renewed clinging and craving. Teachers Ajahn Mun When Ajahn Mun returned to the Northeast to start teaching, he brought a set of radical ideas, many of which clashed with what scholars in Bangkok were saying at the time: Like Mongkut, Ajahn Mun stressed the importance of scrupulous observance of the Buddhist monastic code (Pali: Vinaya). Ajahn Mun went further, and also stressed what are called the protocols: instructions for how a monk should go about daily activities such as keeping his hut, interacting with other people, etc.Ajahn Mun also taught that virtue was a matter of the mind, and that intention forms the essence of virtue. This ran counter to what people in Bangkok said at the time, that virtue was a matter of ritual, and by conducting the proper ritual one gets good results. Ajahn Mun asserted that the practice of jhana was still possible even in modern times, and that meditative concentration was necessary on the Buddhist path. Ajahn Mun stated that one's meditation topic must be keeping in line with one's temperament—everyone is different, so the meditation method used should be different for everybody. Ajahn Mun said the meditation topic one chooses should be congenial and enthralling, but also give one a sense of unease and dispassion for ordinary living and the sensual pleasures of the world. Ajahn Mun said that not only was the practice of jhana possible, but the experience of Nirvana was too. He stated that Nirvana was characterized by a state of activityless consciousness, distinct from the consciousness aggregate.To Ajahn Mun, reaching this mode of consciousness is the goal of the teaching—yet this consciousness transcends the teachings. Ajahn Mun asserted that the teachings are abandoned at the moment of Awakening, in opposition to the predominant scholarly position that Buddhist teachings are confirmed at the moment of Awakening. Along these lines, Ajahn Mun rejected the notion of an ultimate teaching, and argued that all teachings were conventional—no teaching carried a universal truth. Only the experience of Nirvana, as it is directly witnessed by the observer, is absolute. Ajahn Lee Ajahn Lee emphasized