พระอาจารย์แนะนำว่าอาการนอนไม่หลับมักเกิดจากมลทิน แก้ได้ด้วยการนั่งสมาธิในท่าขัดสมาธิ เพราะพระรัตนตรัยจะขยายเต็มครอบคลุมทุกส่วนของร่างกายได้เฉพาะท่านี้ ทำซ้ำๆจะยิ่งหลับง่ายขึ้นเรื่อยๆ และอธิบายว่าคนป่วยหรือผู้ล่วงลับจะรับบุญที่อุทิศให้ได้เมื่อกุศลธรรมเป็นเจ้าเรือนในตัวเขาขณะนั้นHe advises that difficulty sleeping often comes from impurity, and can be resolved by sitting in the meditation posture, since only in that posture can the Triple Gem expand to cover every part of the body fully — repeating this makes sleep progressively easier, and he explains that a sick or deceased person receives dedicated merit when the wholesome system is house-owner within them at that moment.
A member asked for advice: they have serious trouble falling asleep, especially during meditation retreats or when staying with a large group, where they wake easily.
Insomnia can be resolved through sitting meditation, since only that posture lets the Triple Gem expand fully
He explained that difficulty sleeping often comes from im — impurity itself makes it hard to sleep, so even lying down and holding awareness in meditation may not bring sleep. If we want to sleep, it's better to sit up in the meditation posture with eyes closed, because in that posture the Triple Gem within can expand fully, covering every part of the body, allowing Nibbana to overlay a complete, full-scale refinement. Impurity gets purified to a certain degree, and once we start feeling drowsy, we can lie down and sleep. If we wake in the middle of the night, the same principle applies — sit up, continue meditating until drowsiness returns, then lie back down.
If we simply lie down without sitting in meditation, with limbs stretched out and not in that posture, the dark element holds tension in whatever parts aren't positioned that way, creating problems. Sitting in meditation is therefore especially necessary during a crisis, such as chronic insomnia — using this cross-legged posture deliberately, to let the Triple Gem overlay us fully.
Repeating this makes sleep progressively easier, until sitting is no longer even needed
Doing this repeatedly gradually resolves the sleep difficulty until it's no longer a problem at all. The first time might take thirty or forty-five minutes, but each time after that takes less, until eventually no sitting is needed at all — the moment the head touches the pillow, sleep comes. The demerit side, in fact, fears this sitting posture greatly, because every time we sit, side gains energy — so the demerit side doesn't want us to keep sitting, and often lets us fall asleep more easily specifically to stop us from continuing to meditate.
Whether a sick or deceased person receives dedicated merit depends on whether the wholesome system is house-owner within them at that moment
A follow-up question came: if we dedicate merit to someone who is sick or has passed away, do they actually receive it? He explained that yes, they can, but it depends on whether the wholesome system is currently the house-owner within them. If it is, the pure energy has a stronger effect and can genuinely benefit them. Radiating toward a sick person also helps in the same way: when metta shines out, and the power of or the neutral within them isn't too strong, metta draws their own wholesome nature to establish itself easily. Once established, their own wholesome system can draw pure energy in to correct and refine them. This is why it's recommended to set metta and radiate it toward beings and people generally. Dedicating merit to someone with whom we share a close bond receives that pure energy better than dedicating it to a stranger with no such connection.
He added that for someone gravely ill, converon about merit and joining in rejoicing over merit made matters greatly, because it helps keep their mind abiding within the wholesome system. As long as a patient can still perceive what's happening, talking about the merit that's been made and rejoicing together helps sustain their mind continuously within merit. Even so, dedicating merit to someone has a different effect than that person creating the cause of merit directly themselves, which establishes the sphere of wholesomeness within them directly and draws in energy far more effectively. This is why we need to learn the in its many forms, so that some wholesome state can be established directly within ourselves. The sphere of wholesome Dhamma is itself a bright sphere; once established, it dispels all impurity and darkness completely. The unwholesome, by contrast, is an utterly dark quality — dark enough to absorb light itself. This is why we must continually accumulate wholesome Dhamma, letting it establish itself in the heart.