พระอาจารย์สุรพงค์ชี้ให้เห็นว่าใจของเรารับรู้สิ่งใดสิ่งหนึ่งได้เพียงอย่างเดียวในแต่ละขณะ ที่ดูเหมือนรับรู้ได้หลายอย่างพร้อมกันนั้นเป็นเพราะใจกระโดดไปกระโดดมาอย่างรวดเร็ว เหมือนลิงกระโดด จากนั้นนำเข้าสู่การเห็นองค์พระใสสว่างในกลางตัวผ่านคำภาวนา ปิดท้ายด้วยการแผ่เมตตาและอธิษฐานจิตPhra Ajarn Suraphong points out that the mind can only register one thing at a time — what feels like awareness of many things at once is really the mind darting back and forth quickly, like a jumping monkey. He then guides practitioners into visualizing a crystal Buddha-image through the recitation, closing with mettā radiation and merit dedication.
When we sit and turn our attention inward, if a painful or hard-to-bear feeling arises, Phra Ajarn Suraphong teaches that this is nothing to worry about. By simply knowing that state clearly, we allow unwholesome states to dissolve. The advantage of a hard-to-bear state is that its signal is strong — which actually makes it easier to establish the meditation object; the mind is less likely to slip away.
All we need is the knowing itself. That is the most important thing. The moment the sphere of knowing arises, (avijjā) is pressed down and recedes.
The Mind Jumps Like a Monkey: Knowing Only One Thing at a Time
For knowing to arise at all, we must know clearly what we know. Once we fix our attention on one thing, everything else — the breath, or anything besides what we're focused on — becomes almost impossible to grasp at the same moment. Whatever we fix our attention on is what we will be bound to perceive; the state of knowing can only establish itself on one object at a time.
The reason it seems like we can perceive many things at once is that the mind darts back and forth very quickly — like a jumping monkey. In truth, at any given instant, the mind knows only the single state that is governing it in that moment; it simply switches so fast that it feels simultaneous.
When Knowing Arises, Merit Flows Through
When the sphere of knowing arises — a bright, virtuous sphere — pure energy flows in through its brightness. This energy purifies all defilements and quiets unwholesome states. At first there may be a little discomfort to bear, but once this energy has cleared things, the discomfort becomes bearable, and gradually improves — from real suffering to a sense of relief.
Reciting Word by Word, Knowing Each One
If there is neither clear pleasure nor clear pain, keep to the recitation, knowing every single word as it passes. This is the heart of the practice: we want the sphere of knowing to be anchored to something. As we recite, we stay latched onto each syllable, aware the moment it returns to us. Even if the image is faint at first, that's fine — just sensing that it's there is enough to work with.
Seeing a Bright Crystal Buddha-Image with Each Recitation
With each word of the recitation, picture one crystal-clear Buddha-image arising — one word, one image. Or better still, picture the Buddha-image you remember most vividly. As brightness appears within, it will show at the eyes first — our eyes become the eyes of the . The face, chest, abdomen, and back all become clear, radiant crystal; likewise the thighs, knees, shins, calves, and soles of the feet — all crystal-clear and gleaming, part of the kāya.
We are the Buddha-image; the Buddha-image is us. This is our true self. Every other body is only a temporary residence. Whatever difficulties arise, we rely on this true self as our refuge.
Radiating Loving-Kindness from the Heart to the Universe
When we genuinely cultivate in the heart, mettā reveals its own nature. Wherever the heart expands to, mettā shines there too. Rooted in the heart, mettā can dissolve paṭigha — the friction and conflict — arising in the hearts of the people and beings within its reach.
Let the heart expand from ourselves outward: to the village, to neighboring villages, to the district, covering the whole province, the whole country, extending to other nations, until it covers the entire world — may every being everywhere be free from suffering and find — and further still, covering the whole universe, every star, great and small.
Phra Ajarn also spoke of the teachers before him, saying they hold every student in their heart already; when we sincerely do good, the merit from their training supports us continuously.
Dedication of Merit
In closing, Phra Ajarn invoked the blessings of the Triple Gem and of the revered teachers. May all the merit we have sincerely accumulated come together as sacred, powerful merit, freeing us from past misfortune, bad karma, and obstacles, granting us the eye of Dhamma that progressively realizes the Dhammakāya. May body, speech, and mind be pure, and may every good intention we have sincerely built come to fruition for us all, from this moment forward.