A student asked about the meaning of the word "jai" (heart/mind) as taught by their late great teacher, and later asked a further question about making merit dedicated to deceased relatives in the Pubbapetabali ceremony.

The Heart Is the Union of Seeing, Remembering, Thinking, and Knowing

The teacher explained that the word "jai" (heart) refers to the union of four things: seeing, remembering, thinking, and knowing. It is much like the word "form" (rūpa), a collective term for the earth, water, wind, and fire elements, or the word "nāma" (mentality), a collective term for feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness. Once we clearly understand this, we see that the heart is the single most important thing within us — nothing is more important. As the Pali verse says: "Manopubbaṅgamā dhammā" — all things are preceded by the heart, headed by the heart, accomplished through the heart. If the heart is corrupted, our actions, speech, and thoughts are corrupted too. If the heart is good, our actions, speech, and thoughts follow suit. Stilling the heart is difficult for the foolish, but for one who makes the effort, it is not difficult at all.

The heart is our most precious possession, alongside the body itself. Beyond body and heart, whatever wealth or possessions we may have, everything must begin at the heart first. Without a heart, we could not know anything at all — no sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, or mental objects. The entire world as we experience it arises through the heart. The heart is thus our primary instrument of knowing — but it is also a generator of energy, whether the energy of merit or the energy of unwholesome karma, depending on which nature manages to establish itself there. If the unwholesome side seizes control of the heart, it draws in tainted energy called unwholesome karma, forming an unwholesome program. If the wholesome side seizes control, wholesome qualities arise instead — mindfulness, faith, moral shame and fear of wrongdoing, non-greed, non-aversion, along with a lightness of body and mind. How refined the resulting merit or unwholesome karma becomes depends entirely on how refined the heart is at that moment. The heart is thus a vital instrument used by both ourselves and the three natures alike — and if we fail to learn and understand it, we become enslaved by it. We must therefore learn to train our heart to work for our own benefit.

The Story of the Novice Panditasamanera, Who Trained His Heart to Awakening

The teacher told the story of the novice Pandita, only seven years old, who walked on almsround with Venerable Sāriputta. Along the way, they discussed the nature of the heart, and the novice asked whether the heart could be trained. Sāriputta answered that it could — we must train the heart, guide it, instruct it.

As they walked, the novice saw villagers bending a wagon wheel into a round shape, and thought: even a piece of wood can be shaped into whatever form is wanted. Further along, he saw a hunter straightening a bow, and thought: no hand directly points the way, yet the hunter can direct his own gaze precisely to straighten what was once crooked. Passing a rice field, he saw a farmer channeling water into the paddy, and thought: water does not naturally flow uphill, yet people can build tools to carry it from low ground to high. The novice reasoned: if a piece of wood, a bow, and even water can be shaped and redirected, surely the human heart can also be trained to become better.

With this realization, the novice asked Sāriputta to continue the almsround alone, while he returned to train his heart, to bring it to stillness. The Buddha, perceiving through his knowledge that the novice would attain arahantship that very day, went to the novice's dwelling and engaged Sāriputta in Dhamma conversation so as not to disturb the young novice — until the novice attained full awakening, at which point the Buddha departed.

This story teaches that we must train the heart through the practice of virtue, concentration, and wisdom, so that the sphere of liberation can take the fruits of well-trained virtue, concentration, and wisdom and free us from defilement. From there, the sphere of the knowledge and vision of liberation takes over, purifying the heart further still. The heart cannot develop on its own — it develops only through virtue, concentration, and wisdom.

Dedicating Merit in the Pubbapetabali Ceremony — How Much Do Departed Relatives Receive?

The teacher explained that when we dedicate merit, only relatives residing in a realm capable of receiving it can actually receive it. If the relative we dedicate merit to is in a realm unable to receive it at that time — for instance, if they are in hell undergoing the results of unwholesome karma — the merit is not lost; it simply waits until the moment they are able to receive it. Once their term of atoning for unwholesome karma comes to an end, they are brought before the judgment hall, where the Lord of Death confirms that their debt has been fully repaid. At that point, the merit relatives have dedicated to them takes effect, and they are able to enjoy happiness in whatever realm is appropriate, at the proper time.

When the departed receive this merit, they become aware and rejoice, recognizing which relative dedicated it to them, and feel gratitude even from behind the veil, though their coarser awareness in that state may not register the details clearly. When they are later reborn and meet us again — perhaps even reborn together in the human world — they will treat us with great warmth, hold us dear, and look after us, as a direct result of the goodness we dedicated to them. For this reason, we should make a habit of dedicating whatever merit we accumulate each day to our relatives.