พระอาจารย์ขยายความโอวาทหลวงปู่เรื่องโพชฌงค์ 7 อธิบายว่าเป็นองค์แห่งสมาธิที่แบ่งเป็นสองส่วน คือส่วนที่ตั้งมั่น (สติ ธรรมวิจยะ วิริยะ) และส่วนที่นำเข้าสู่สภาวธรรมภายใน (ปีติ ปัสสัทธิ สมาธิ อุเบกขา) พร้อมอธิบายกลไกแต่ละขั้นตอนอย่างละเอียดPra Ajarn expands on the teacher's teaching about the seven factors of enlightenment (bojjhaṅga), explaining they are factors of concentration split into two groups: the grounding factors (mindfulness, investigation of states, effort) and the factors that lead into the inner state of Dhamma (rapture, tranquility, concentration, equanimity), walking through the mechanism of each step in detail.
Someone asked Pra Ajarn to expand on the teaching about the seven factors of enlightenment as the teacher explained them: () is settling awareness unwaveringly at the center of ; investigation of states (-vicaya) is watching for good and bad as they flicker in; effort (viriya) is the diligence to keep the mind still and unshaken; (pīti) is the fullness that arises when the mind stops; (passaddhi) is the repeated settling within that stillness; concentration () is steadiness with no more duality; and equanimity (upekkhā) is stillness carried to its furthest point.
Two Halves of the Seven Factors
Pra Ajarn explains that these seven factors are factors of concentration, split into two halves — like drilling into wood, where the bit must first be set firmly in place before it can bore in. The "grounding" half consists of mindfulness, investigation of states, and effort. The half that "enters the inner state of " consists of rapture, tranquility, concentration, and equanimity.
The Grounding Half: Mindfulness, Investigation, Effort
We must actively direct the mind to be aware — mindfulness arises only when we command it to; without that command, we're left waiting for system to seize the moment on its own. Once mindfulness is established, we feel balance, warmth, gentleness, and ease — a clear contrast to the absence of mindfulness. Investigation of states means watching over the mind so nothing that flickers in — good or bad — triggers delight or distress; simply recognizing it is enough. Effort is the persistent diligence not to give up; even when the early stages feel difficult, we must push through repetition until it becomes familiar, with the knowing power within working to gradually lighten the defilements along the way.
The Inward Half: Rapture, Tranquility, Concentration, Equanimity
As we keep settling stillness within stillness, the current of merit flows in continuously to cleanse the defilements, and the resulting sense of cleanliness is felt as rapture — much like the freshness after a bath. As the subtler defilements clear in stages, the underlying restlessness settles into tranquility. As the mass of grows denser and denser, it steadies into the factor of concentration. And as this develops further into complete stillness with no more sense of duality, it becomes the factor of equanimity — carrying us progressively into ever subtler dimensions.