พระอาจารย์สุรพงค์อธิบายสภาวะจิตดั้งเดิมก่อนถูกปรุงแต่ง เปรียบกับใจของทารกแรกเกิดที่ปลอดโปร่งเบาสบาย แล้วขยายความสภาวะอันมีนิพพานเป็นอารมณ์ผ่านองค์ประกอบสามส่วน คือ ปัญญา พระมหากรุณาธิคุณ และความบริสุทธิ์ พร้อมตอบคำถามลูกศิษย์ที่ฝึกกำหนดรู้ผ่านภาพนิมิตต่าง ๆPhra Ajarn Suraphong describes the original, unconditioned state of mind — likened to a newborn's untroubled awareness — then unpacks the state of "having Nibbāna as the object of meditation" through three components: wisdom, great compassion, and purity, weaving in a live exchange with a student practicing with visualized images.
When we set the goal of realizing Nibbāna, we gradually come to learn what the state of Nibbāna is actually like. Phra Ajarn invites us to look back at the original state of mind. We cannot know what the mind was like at its most ancient origin, but we can reasonably infer what the mind was like at birth. While still in the womb, or as a newborn infant, there was no discursive thought yet — only sleep, and a small capacity to perceive. When fed and full, hunger disappeared, and there was simply a feeling of ease: no duties, no pressures, completely open and light. There was no liking or disliking toward anything, because nothing yet appeared significant.
This state is free of — no restlessness (having just woken and just been fed), no drowsiness, no hunger or thirst — only an open, effortless ease born of having no burdens and no duties to perform. What remains is simply "knowing": whenever something is perceived, one can say what is known. Even with eyes closed, when some unfamiliar feeling arises that is hard to name, we simply know that we don't know it. Dark, we know it as dark; bright, we know it as bright; dim, we know it as dim. We simply keep knowing, on and on.
The Principle of Knowing Freely, Without Expectation
Phra Ajarn teaches that merely by acknowledging things as they truly are, the pure energy that flows in through the center of the knowing mind will cleanse the defilements that darken it, little by little. Distress gradually eases. Just by maintaining awareness, the state of the heart grows clearer and clearer, more luminous and more understood, on its own. There is no need to expect a particular experience — comfortable or uncomfortable, it doesn't matter; just ac things as they actually are. Even when restlessness or drowsiness arises, simply know that it has arisen. No forcing, no directing, no hoping for a particular result — whatever appears, we simply keep knowing it as it truly is.
When whatever carries defiling energy has spent its force (because it was allowed to show itself without being seized upon as an issue), everything settles on its own, until the gathering of a mass of gradually appears. We simply continue to acknowledge it, just the same.
The Three Components of "Having Nibbāna as the Object"
Phra Ajarn explains that the meditation just led consisted of three parts:
1. **Wisdom (paññā)** — understanding conditions as they truly are: that where defilement exists, phenomena arising from it will keep appearing in the mind at all times. When we know what appears, the defilement dissolves on its own — because defilement combined with energy is what produces the form that appears. Once we know, this knowing mind draws in pure energy to dissolve what has appeared; the system does the dissolving, not us — we are only the one who acknowledges.
2. **Great compassion (a state of freedom)** — knowing with freedom, ease, and lightness, without pressure or force, without dictating that it must be this way or that. There's no need to rigidly control the breath or strain in recitation; simply follow along, the way a nanny watches over a child — letting the child play, pick things up, and even fall asleep, simply knowing that the child is now doing this.
3. **Purity** — the result that arises when defilement is gradually cleansed through the pure energy drawn in by the knowing mind.
These three together form the foundation of the state of having Nibbāna as the object of meditation. This goal — to realize Nibbāna — can bring great benefit, encompassing the Wisdom, the Purity, and the Great Compassion of the perfectly self-enlightened Buddhas, the Silent Buddhas, and the countless Arahants — the utmost purity there is.
Q&A: Using a Sign as an Anchor for Mindfulness
A student described his own practice: he used to visualize a crystal ball as his meditation object, but wasn't sure what "knowing" really meant. That day he tried closing his eyes and simply observing whatever color appeared — a dull grey, and he simply knew it as grey — or gold, and he simply knew it as gold, without going further to analyze what it was. Phra Ajarn explained that whatever appears is merely a sign, a handhold for — a device for the knowing mind to take hold of. There's no need to force a perfect image of a crystal ball or a Buddha image; it is enough to know what we are knowing right now.
Phra Ajarn also addressed the inner voice that often interrupts with questions during sitting: simply know it is there, without doing more. What we actually perceive comes down to only two things — sound and feeling. As long as brightness has not yet arisen, images have little influence. Mindfulness always needs something to hold onto. When side manages to draw us back, we become aware again and simply resume acknowledging what is present.
Closing and Blessing
Phra Ajarn closes by leading remembrance of the Buddha's s, asking that the Triple Gem protect and care for all practitioners, free them from suffering, and grant , prosperity, and the Eye of — that the wonder of accumulated merit follow them through every lifetime, until the very end of the path.