พระอาจารย์อธิบายคำสอนของหลวงปู่ว่ามนุษยธรรมคือดวงธรรมใสสว่างกลางกายที่ต้องหล่อเลี้ยงด้วยการนึกถึงอยู่เสมอ เปรียบเหมือนไฟที่ต้องมีเชื้อ พร้อมอธิบายว่าธรรมในแต่ละภพภูมิแตกต่างกันตามความละเอียดThe teacher explains Luang Pu's teaching that human dhamma is a bright sphere at the center of the body that must be continually renewed by recollection, like a fire that needs fuel — and how dhamma differs across every realm of existence, according to its refinement.
Someone brought a passage from the great teacher Luang Pu's teaching and asked the teacher to expand on it. It described how every human being carries a round, clear, white sphere of at their center, its size varying from person to person — without this sphere, one would certainly die, whether man, woman, monk, or novice. But even with it, this sphere must be constantly nourished, just as fire needs fuel — without fuel, the fire goes out.
Human Dhamma Must Be Nourished Like a Fire Needs Fuel
The teacher explained that this sphere is called "human dhamma" (manussa-dhamma). In a celestial body it is called "deva dhamma"; in a form-brahma body, "brahma dhamma"; in a formless-brahma body, "arūpa-brahma dhamma" — a hierarchy corresponding to each realm of being. This wholesome dhamma appears as a clear, round, bright sphere, made up of a "form" aspect and a "name" aspect: form is the vessel that contains it, while name is simply what we call it according to its quality — relaxed, at ease, light, joyful, and so on. This dhamma arises only at the heart, because the heart is the seat of knowing, containing the element of consciousness, the sphere of memory, and the sphere of thought. Once this dhamma is established at the heart, the heart perceives its quality directly — the same way sugar, once added to water, reveals its own quality of sweetness. A human being's task is simply to learn and understand the qualities of each type of underlying element and dhamma, so as to put them to good use. Simply thinking of or recalling that dhamma is enough to make it appear — though it lasts only briefly, some 15 to 40 seconds, before fading, and must be re-established again and again. How long each person can sustain it depends on their own level of concentration.
Once these wholesome states of dhamma are established, they can draw in the pure energy called merit, amid the brightness of that wholesome dhamma. The stream of merit that flows in arrives together with treasure, , and — form-treasures, wealth-treasures, -treasures, retinue-treasures, gain, honor, praise, happiness, and the fruits of the path. This element of merit dispels the impurity that causes life's problems and obstacles, lightening them, and lightening suffering and harm along with them — making life easier and more comfortable. But this element of merit can only arise once wholesome dhamma has first been established at the heart. We must therefore learn "human dhamma" in order to sustain our humanity, and learn about unwholesome dhamma only in order to let it go, without engaging with it. Without understanding, we end up engaging with it unknowingly, bringing suffering and harm upon ourselves.
Dhamma Differs by Realm, According to Its Refinement
A follow-up question was asked: does the dhamma differ across each level of existence? The teacher confirmed that it does, depending on the realm one inhabits. Living among bad company, for instance, one must adapt to survive; living at a temple requires morality and virtue in order to remain. Even within the human realm itself, there are many different supporting conditions. A formless brahma being relies on formless dhamma — determining the base of infinite space, for instance — in order to remain in that state; a form-brahma being relies on the attainments of jhāna; a deva does not need jhāna attainments at all, relying instead on moral shame and moral dread to remain in the celestial realm. It is the same for human beings — yet even among humans, the refinement of dhamma, such as mindfulness, clear comprehension, or concentration, differs from person to person. The more refined and deep that dhamma becomes, the more it opens access to dimensions that bring different degrees of standing, happiness, and fulfillment of one's aspirations.
We can develop ourselves without comparing ourselves to others — simply by refining the mind further and further into subtler dimensions. Doing so lets us draw in ever purer, more sacred energy, finer and more sacred treasures, and a more refined completed blueprint, giving rise to still greater joy and fulfillment. Developing the refinement of wholesome dhamma in this way draws in energy that purifies problems, obstacles, and hardship, lifting our standing — both physical and mental — to something ever more excellent and elevated.