Someone asked: before ordaining, Luang Phor teaches us to let go of past mistakes entirely — but the practice of asking forgiveness beforehand forces us to recall past wrongs against others. Should we try to contact that person to announce the ordination and ask forgiveness, even though they might not grant it, or should we avoid this since it means dwelling on past mistakes and feeding the "sphere of unwholesome karma"?

Why Ask Forgiveness Before Ordaining

Whenever we've caused someone distress, at that moment they inevitably felt resentment. The inner being formed from that resentment holds a grudge in proportion to how dark the moment was. When we meet again in some future life, this inner being surfaces to settle the score according to the unwholesome force it has stored. Asking forgiveness is meant to get the other person's human form to consent to release the grudge; once they do, a wholesome mental state arises through their rejoicing — "this person is going to ordain" — and the merit-power from that rejoicing is stronger than the unwholesome inner being holding the grudge, so it can restrain it. But if what we once did was severe enough, the unwholesome inner being may refuse to forgive. In that case, we should do good toward that person first — offering something, or having a mediator speak on our behalf — to gradually ease their resentment until they consent. Formally asking forgiveness before ordination is necessary because we want the other person's wholesome mind to take over at the moment we announce the ordination, so that the merit generated is strong enough to hold back the grudge-bearing unwholesome being.

Which Merit Shapes the Body We're Reborn Into as a Human

Someone asked: when descending from the deva or brahma realm to be reborn human, which portion of merit forms the new body?

The merit accumulated through our human existence is distributed across each subtler body layered upon the human one. For example, if someone meditates regularly, their celestial and brahma bodies develop and stabilize; if they practice inconsistently, the resulting body is coarser. After death, merit determines which body one experiences next, according to that body's karma. It's like staying at a hotel abroad: with plenty of money you stay at a five-star hotel; as the money dwindles you move down to three-star, two-star, one-star. Merit works the same way, like money covering the "cost of living" in each realm. When merit runs too low to sustain a deva or brahma existence, one is reborn human; and if unwholesome karma isn't severe enough to warrant hell or an animal rebirth, one is also reborn human — to continue creating the causes of good and bad.

Why Aspirations Should Be a Clear Mental Image, Not Just Recitation

Someone asked: why did Luang Phor teach that we should visualize our aspiration as an image rather than simply reciting it?

To accomplish anything, the mental image must be clear — there are countless forms success can take. If the image isn't clear, the resulting pattern becomes muddled, forced together from mismatched pieces that may not reflect what we truly want. When the image is clear, the aspiration becomes a mental picture that attaches as a "pattern of accomplishment" (pang samret) at the center of our sphere of merit. The more often we repeat it, the denser that pattern becomes, and the faster it comes to fruition. Pra Ajarn recommends making the aspiration as often as possible — with every meal, before sleep, or whenever we see something undesirable, aspiring never to be that way, and when we see something good, aspiring to become that. Aspiration is one of the Ten Perfections, and it depends on the perfections of truthfulness, patience, effort, and wisdom as its foundation. The center of the body is where every one of our bodies — from the refined human body up through the Dhamma bodies to nibbana — converges as one, which is why making an aspiration there carries the greatest power.