Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration: Practicable Eyes Open or Closed

Practice has two parts: right mindfulness and right concentration. Right mindfulness can be trained with eyes open or closed. Right concentration is entering the inner dimension. Right mindfulness is simply keeping awareness anchored to the body — bringing body and mind together and holding them there. That's all it takes; doing this draws in pure energy continuously. It's simple — just keep the mind with the body.

Like Sitting in Front of the House, Before Stepping Inside

Phra Ajarn compares right concentration to a journey along the inner middle path — entering the inner dimension layer by layer, **like stepping into a box nested inside another box**. Before, we were outside the house; when practicing right mindfulness, it's as if we're sitting in front of the house, on the property, but not yet inside. But once we rely on clear comprehension to perceive the inner state, we step inside the house — into a dark room, no lights yet, unfamiliar — but we're inside now.

Each Inner Dimension Shelters Us From Coarser Defilement, Like a House

When we're outside the house, the defilement disturbing us is coarse, and can cause real suffering — like mosquito bites, rain, harsh sun. But once inside, there are no mosquitoes, no rain or sun to disturb us, because the house shelters us. Entering the first layer of the inner dimension works the same way — suffering grows lighter. The disturbances from coarse defilement, which we have already passed through and purified, are behind us. Even though the defilement native to this dimension is still present, it can only cause annoyance now, not the real suffering it caused when we were still outside.

Only Purity Can Purify Defilement

Phra Ajarn emphasizes that only purity can purify defilement — nothing else can. We aren't personally skilled enough to purify it ourselves; we don't even know what shape defilement takes. Our only role is to sustain determined knowing, so that the sphere of knowing draws in the pure energy called merit. Only this pure energy can dissolve defilement — but that purity must be present in sufficient quantity to match the defilement native to each dimension. So we must keep knowing steadily, without lapsing, letting the sphere of knowing draw in pure energy continuously until the defilement of that dimension is exhausted.

Lapse Even Once, and We're Captive in the Opposing Dimension

Phra Ajarn warns: the moment we lapse, we are instantly captured within the opposing dimension. When knowing disappears, the sphere of ignorance takes its place. We cannot free ourselves by our own effort alone — freedom comes only when the wholesome side manages to seize the moment back. With repeated practice, we can sustain unbroken awareness for longer and longer stretches. What once lapsed in an instant gradually lapses less and less often, until eventually it doesn't lapse at all. As the Buddha said: "One overcomes suffering through diligence."

From Manual, to Semi-Automatic, to Fully Automatic

Phra Ajarn offers a fresh, modern simile: comparing the maturing of practice to a car gradually developing an automated driving system. At first we must labor to stay still and aware over and over — this is **Manual mode** — we must struggle, work hard, and consciously force ourselves to stop and settle every single time. But with sustained diligence, Manual develops into **Semi-automatic** — we just need to give it a little push to start, and it runs on its own; when the unwholesome side blocks the way and it stalls, we give it another push, settle the mind again, and it moves forward once more.

Once we develop into **full Automatic**, this system runs day and night. The moment we wake, the automatic system is already running, working continuously to keep us settled and still at all times. We simply maintain determined knowing — coarse tasks proceed on their own, and the system handles the fine, subtle work in the background. We become unified — ourselves and our minds fused into one entity with the wholesome nature and its automatic system, both coarse and subtle work proceeding together.

Entering a House Nested Within a House, a Room Within a Room

Phra Ajarn explains that every new dimension we enter still has its own defilement present. We must recognize this — if we don't, we'll be deceived, and once deceived, we become captive within that dimension. Meditation is the gradual process of learning to understand this at each level: **entering box within box, box within box, endlessly, each one subtler than the last.** Each box shelters, protects, and guards us from the coarser defilement outside it.

Phra Ajarn cautions against wanting good experiences for their own sake, wanting to reach the crystal Buddha-image or anything specific, wanting to rush into deep subtlety. Instead, just develop from wherever we actually are right now — that becomes the good foundation. What matters most is whether we're ready to face an increasingly subtle opponent. If we are not ready, we will suffer more than benefit.

The Sphere of Dhamma, the Seventh Base, and the Union of the Four Elements

As we purify defilement to a certain degree, a mass of purity begins to gather, growing denser and denser, becoming brightness, then a bright sphere, then a clear luminous sphere. As it grows denser, we can control it — moving it forward, backward, left, right, shrinking or expanding it as we wish. We then move this bright sphere to rest at the seventh base. Once settled there, for some practitioners the sphere of Dhamma rises and pulls the mind inward. For others, this doesn't yet happen because defilement is still present — so we continue purifying it until the four elements — earth, water, wind, fire — together with space and consciousness within the sphere of Dhamma unite as one, at which point the sphere of Dhamma rises and draws us inward.

Knowing Stillness, Knowing Movement — Like Riding in a Moving Car

Phra Ajarn compares the mind's movement along the inner middle path to riding in a car. When the car moves forward, we know it's moving; if it moves fast, we know it's fast; if slow, we know it's slow. It moves slowly because there's still a lot of defilement. We keep knowing, staying still, purifying defilement continuously — as defilement lightens, the movement speeds up, faster and faster, like a car going so fast it starts to shake. When it shakes, we simply settle into stillness again, and balance is restored — then it glides forward smoothly, like flying in an airplane. However fast the movement, we remain still within it.

Dedicating Merit to Our Ancestors and Karmic Counterparts

Phra Ajarn leads the dedication of merit to our ancestors — remembering our parents, siblings, grandparents, and the teachers who have helped us, along with the guardian devas who assist us, and all beings we may have wronged, our karmic counterparts (คู่กรรมคู่เวร) — asking for mutual forgiveness, that they too fully receive a share of this merit.

Radiating Loving-Kindness to All Beings and the Universe

He then leads the arising of loving-kindness, wishing that all beings sharing this same suffering of birth, aging, sickness, and death be free from suffering and find happiness together. This mind, filled with mettā, is extended outward to cover the home, then the village, the sub-district, the district, the province, the country, and finally the whole world and the entire universe, embracing countless stars without limit. This special quality of mettā dissolves resentment (paṭigha) both in our own hearts and in the hearts of all beings.

Resting in the Triple Gem and the Closing Aspiration

Phra Ajarn leads the mind to rest, still, in the center of the Triple Gem — the Buddha jewel, the Dhamma jewel, the Sangha jewel — and in the center of the great teachers who watch over our merit and Dhamma at all times, resting finally in the center of Nibbāna. The stream of merit from the deepest part of Nibbāna flows in to purify the sphere of Dhamma, precepts, concentration, wisdom, and liberation-knowledge-and-vision within every body. Using this auspicious moment, he leads an aspiration for a life of happiness, success, and fulfillment in all that is right and good, closing with a Pali chant of dedication.