This book includes many things that may not be easy to understand for the reader who is not familiar with the theory and practice of Theravada Buddhism. For this reason the reader may find that for the first reading it is better to skip over many of the deeper explanations of the Dhamma teaching, and to go on to the methods and practices of the Acariyas which are related herein. However, it should be realised that one cannot get a full and proper understanding of the ways in which these Acariyas practised without also reading about the underlying reasons for what they did.