พระอาจารย์สุรพงค์สอนวิธีสังเกตว่าใครเป็นเจ้าเรือนแห่งใจผ่านสุขหรือทุกข์ อธิบายพัฒนาการของดวงสว่างจากหยาบสู่ใส และสอนเทคนิคเฉพาะคือการย่อ ขยาย และเลื่อนตำแหน่งดวงสว่างหรือดวงแก้วที่ปรากฏ ก่อนเลื่อนมาไว้ที่ศูนย์กลางกายฐานที่ 7Phra Ajarn Suraphong teaches how to notice which quality — wholesome or unwholesome — is "master of the house" of our heart through comfort or suffering, traces how the inner light develops from coarse to clear, and offers a concrete technique: shrinking, expanding, and shifting the light or crystal image that appears, before settling it at the seventh base at the center of the body.
Sitting to Rest Properly, and Noticing the Master of the House
Let us gather the mind still within. First, adjust the body to be comfortable; then adjust the mind. Don't think of this yet as sitting in meditation — think of it as practicing to rest properly. Whether eyes are open or closed, first turn the mind inward, then observe: how does the mind feel right now? Is it at ease? Is there , or is there suffering? If it isn't comfortable, is it suffering — a state that must be endured, or is hard to endure? If it is comfortable, side is master of the house; if it is suffering, side is master. Once we know who is master, we simply ac it — that's all.
The advantage of suffering is that its signal is clear and continuous, easy for the knowing mind to hold onto. When knowing stays anchored on the state of suffering continuously, the knowing mind draws in pure energy to cleanse the defilement that causes it. Our revered teacher once said that is a wholesome quality of light; among the 84,000 sections of , all are luminous. No Dhamma can arise anywhere but in the mind — that is the only place it can arise.
Suffering and Fortitude; Choosing the Right Object
When we hold awareness on the state of suffering, some initial is needed. As we endure while maintaining awareness of that suffering, whatever fortitude (tapa) we've built up in the past comes to our aid. A beginner has less fortitude and so needs more patience; patience itself builds fortitude, in proportion to the suffering endured. But if there is neither happiness nor suffering — only a flat, neutral feeling — quality () is master of the house. In that case, turn instead to the recitation "Samma-Arahang," or whatever object is familiar and gives a clear, continuous signal. What matters most is that the knowing mind becomes firmly established, knowing what it knows. The meditation object is merely a tool for the knowing mind to hold onto.
Reflective Application and the Arising of the First Jhāna
Raise the meditation object and dwell on it with a relaxed, easeful mind — this is called vitakka-vicāra: vitakka is directing thought toward the object, vicāra is sustained reflection upon it. Don't let other feelings intrude; stay continuously aware, never lapsing. As we sustain this reflective engagement, the first gradually forms. Rapture (pīti) arises on its own once defilement has thinned to a certain degree — and how quickly defilement thins depends on how continuous our awareness is. Do this with a gentle, soft, tender heart; never force or resist. Progress only as far as we naturally can, and accept that for now.
The Development of the Light: From Coarse to Clear
As sustained awareness continues, the mass of gradually thickens. Brightness will arise — or if not brightness, then happiness and ease will arise first, one or the other. The brightness that appears may excite us, and this very excitement is the opening the unwholesome side uses to make the brightness disappear. If it vanishes, don't be alarmed — simply stay still and keep acknowledging. The merit drawn in by the knowing mind will dissolve the defilement obscuring it, and the light will reappear. From simple brightness, it gradually develops into a clear light, delightful to behold, and the mind feels a fullness of ease from that clarity.
Technique: Shrinking, Expanding, and Shifting the Light
As continuous, unwavering awareness deepens further, the clear bright orb grows ever clearer and brighter, until we can **shrink it smaller, expand it larger, move it forward, move it backward, shift it left, or shift it right.** Try expanding it larger and larger, or shrinking it down to a small point of light, then gradually expanding it back into a clear bright orb — moving back and forth this way. As we maintain this awareness, pure energy continues to flow in, cleansing ever subtler defilement, and control over the bright orb becomes easier and easier.
Radiating Mettā and Making a Resolution
As the stream of merit flows through us, we draw on the merit sincerely accumulated today to benefit our relatives — remembering those who have long since passed away, our parents, grandparents, teachers and benefactors, the deities who help and protect us, and all our karmic counterparties (khu-kam khu-wen) — forgiving one another mutually. Then we set a wholesome intention and radiate to all beings, that they be free from suffering and share happiness, expanding this heart of outward until it covers the whole world and universe. We then let the mind rest still at the center of the Triple Gem and Nibbāna, and using this auspicious moment, set an intention: may the merit and blessings of our teachers combine with all we have accumulated, purifying our elements of Dhamma to be bright and pure, freeing us from all obstacles, granting the Eye of Dhamma, reaching the Dhamma-body, and guiding us straight along the path to Nibbāna, to the very end of the Dhamma.