The Principle of Meditation: Knowing, to Overcome Ignorance

Phra Ajarn opens with a foundational principle: in meditation, the single most important thing is "knowing." Because ignorance is what blinds us, leaving us unable to know anything, we must deliberately establish awareness. Through knowing, we can connect with the Knower. This is done through mindfulness — recollection. Ordinarily mindfulness lies outside the body; the moment we recollect, it returns within us, and we must then know what exactly we are aware of. If we cannot fix on anything in particular, we set the mantra "Samma Arahang" in its place.

Samma Arahang Is His Name

"Samma Arahang" is the name of the Dhamma body. The instant we speak his name, he appears as brightness at the center of our body. He is always there already, but when we call his name, he becomes present the way someone becomes present when called — and we can sense him directly. Every time we chant "Samma Arahang," he appears automatically, just as calling someone's name brings them to us. Whether the sensing is clear or faint doesn't matter; simply knowing that presence exists is enough.

The great teacher once said that mantra recitation and the visualized image are a pair — because the instant we speak his name, he appears automatically, and we sense his presence at the same time.

When He Appears, He Brings Purification with Him

He never appears empty-handed. He takes the elements of seeing, memory, thought, cognition, earth, water, fire, wind, space, and consciousness within us and purifies them, while connecting us to the stream of merit and treasure. We appear bright at his center; he appears bright at ours; and together we appear at the immeasurable center of Nirvana — all simply by connecting to him through the chant "Samma Arahang."

Happiness and Purity Always Accompany Him

Every time we recite, sense the happiness and purity that arise together with him, because he possesses immeasurable power and knowing. When we call his name and sense his arrival, happiness and purity always come with it. At first the sensation may be very slight, so we must gradually absorb it, like a slow soaking-in — some clarity, some fading, and that's fine. Keep recollecting, staying connected to him, letting happiness and purity flow from him into us. The mind gradually grows calm, at ease, and bright.

Fixed on Him, the Outside World Vanishes

Every time we focus on him, it is as though we've entered another dimension — distractions and dangers from outside vanish entirely, as if we were alone in the world with the crystal Dhamma body, our true self. Through this dimension of Dhamma, we merge into oneness with him without even realizing it. We forget the entire outside world — money, business, family members — all of it dissolves as if it never existed. If we accept and recognize this, we come to know that we are, in truth, already in concentration at all times; we merely need to learn how to enter it.

The revered teacher once said we may picture him in whatever form we like — a principal Buddha image, a stone one, a clear crystal one, or an image we've never seen before. Even if we can't see him at all, it's fine; simply feel that he is there, and he will gradually become clearer.

Knowing What the Mind Is Merging With

We must know clearly what we are merging our mind with — in this case, the chant "Samma Arahang." When the Buddha image appears, we sense him arising with every recitation, merging ourselves with him; the mind becomes fixed on him. Whether clear or unclear, whether he appears briefly and vanishes, all of it counts. What matters is that we keep knowing continuously; when he fades, he reappears — this is entirely normal, because the unwholesome side has its own role, to try to erase this state. Our role is simply to keep knowing without lapsing — each side performing its own function.

The Mind's Wavelength Sets the Realm — Without Waiting for Death

Phra Ajarn teaches a vital principle here: an ordinary person who lives alongside dogs, cats, or lake creatures carries a wavelength like theirs. A human being with an ordinary wavelength, causing no harm to others, meets the wavelength of ordinary humans. But whoever abides in honest conduct of body, speech, and mind carries the wavelength of celestial beings, and meets the realm of celestial beings — their inner elements, in that very moment, instantly become that heavenly state.

The realm we occupy changes constantly, according to whatever wavelength of mind we attach ourselves to at any given time — that frequency simply is what it is. Whatever the mind's state, it links to whatever carries that same frequency, and the body follows suit. This is the essential teaching: our mind, in each moment, instantly determines the realm it touches — there is no need to wait for death. Therefore we should keep the mind bound to what is good, through the chant "Samma Arahang, Samma Arahang" — our frequency then connects us to the realm that appears for us: a realm of seeing the Dhamma, beginning from a translucent Dhamma body onward. All that's needed is to keep reciting, sensing the happiness and purity present at all times.

The Simile of Bubbles from a Coffee Straw

Phra Ajarn offers a simile: the stream of merit flowing from the depths of Nirvana into the center of our body, without interruption, is like dipping a coffee straw into water and blowing through it — bubbles rise continuously, one after another. Each sphere of merit rising through the center of our body and mind works the same way, rising without a break, forming an unbroken stream of merit flowing in constantly, beyond counting, flowing through every one of our bodies — from the human body to the subtle bodies, the Dhamma bodies of the Stream-Enterer, Once-Returner, Non-Returner, all the way to the Dhamma body of the Arahant, both coarse and refined.

The Human Realm: The Only Realm Where Every Body Receives Merit at Once

Within this single human body, when we meditate and perform good deeds, the stream of merit flowing through lights up every one of our bodies at once, storing itself within the Dhamma sphere of each and every body simultaneously. The human realm alone is the realm where the fruits of merit and demerit are experienced in a way that lets every body receive the merit that arises together — this is the significance of being born human.

Radiating Loving-Kindness Outward

Set the wish for the wellbeing of all beings who share with us the suffering of birth, aging, sickness, and death — may they all be free from suffering and find happiness. Once this wish is set, loving-kindness appears according to the mind's direction. At first, its brightness purifies the resentment within our own heart, then expands to shine throughout the home, dissolving any discord in the atmosphere until it fades away, then continues expanding to cover the whole village, sub-district, district, province, every nation, the whole continent, and the entire world — turning this world into a crystal world, clear and pure. We need do nothing more than this; loving-kindness performs its own function. Our only task is to establish the intention in our own hearts, then let it expand continuously into the countless galaxies of the universe. As far as the heart expands, the Buddha image within us expands proportionately along with it.

Setting Resolve and Dedicating Merit

At the center of the stream of merit, the center of Nirvana, the center of the great teachers, Phra Ajarn leads the resolution: invoking the blessing, power, radiance, and authority of every Buddha, every Silent Buddha, every Arahant, together with the merit of the great teachers, to combine fully with the merit we have sincerely accumulated — becoming sacred, potent merit that frees us from misfortune, karmic obstruction, and every obstacle; granting the Dhamma Eye and penetration into the Dhamma body; good health and long life; unwavering resolve toward Nirvana; good fortune, safety, and the affection of humans and celestial beings; prosperity in our work; and, when we eventually pass from this world, birth in the Tusita heaven's special sphere of merit in the region of the great Bodhisattvas — and when we return to the human world, birth into a warm family of right view. May all past wrongdoing be forgiven forever, and may this good wish be fulfilled for all of us, until we reach the ultimate goal of the Dhamma.