พระอาจารย์อธิบายว่าความว่ายากสอนยากเกิดจากมลทินคืออวิชชาและมิจฉาทิฏฐิที่ปิดกั้นใจ แบ่งคนหัวดื้อเป็น 3 ประเภท และชี้ทางพัฒนาจากการเปิดใจยอมรับไปสู่ความนับถือ เคารพ เลื่อมใส และศรัทธา อันเป็นรากฐานของอินทรีย์ 5Pra Ajarn explains that being "hard to teach" comes from the defilements of ignorance and wrong view clouding the mind. He describes three types of stubbornness and traces the path from openly accepting guidance, through respect and admiration, to full faith — the very foundation of the Five Spiritual Faculties.
Someone asked Pra Ajarn to expand on Blessing 28: "Being easy to correct."
Being Hard to Teach Comes From Defilements That Cloud the Mind
Every being who is not yet an arahant is overshadowed by the three forces of nature, with as the base, which gives rise to wrong view. This ignorance and wrong view exists in everyone to different degrees, depending on how much defilement each person carries. Someone with little defilement is easy to correct; someone with more is hard to correct — sometimes so hard that teachers and parents lose heart trying. Pra Ajarn compared it to a paralyzed person surrounded by good things yet unable to reach out and use any of them: no matter how excellent the teacher, a stubborn person cannot receive what is being taught.
Three Types of Stubbornness
Stubborn people generally fall into three types: first, stubborn out of foolishness or laziness — the "deadlocked" type; second, stubborn out of pride and conceit, believing one already knows — the "clinging" type; and third, stubborn out of quick anger — the "reckless" type. Everyone carries all three tendencies to some degree, depending on which unwholesome force possesses the mind at a given moment. When you notice which kind of stubbornness has taken hold, don't defend it by insisting "that's not who I am" — that denial is itself force at work. You have to name it clearly before you can correct it.
Being Easy to Correct: Valuing Goodness, from Acceptance to Faith
A person who is genuinely easy to correct is one who holds the , and goodness, above all else. When someone points out a fault, they listen openly, regardless of whether the person correcting them is older or younger. This begins with openly accepting new information, then reflecting on it carefully until it develops into respect — holding that person's good qualities in mind. Respect then develops into reverence, which naturally makes us courteous and unwilling to argue back. Reverence develops further into admiration — a clarity and refinement of the heart — and finally into faith, the confidence that leads to a genuine way out and a place of safety. Pra Ajarn compared this to a child who truly respects their parents and would never dare argue with them.
Freedom Through Building the Five Faculties
Someone who is hard to teach is dominated by unwholesomeness and so lacks true freedom. Someone determined to build genuine self-mastery must rely on the Five Faculties: , faith, wisdom, concentration, and effort. These five qualities are what make a person easy to correct and easy to teach, growing steadily in what is right and good. By keeping as the central aim, one stays aligned with the system of wholesome , with the inner Triple Gem, and with nibbāna — and goodness naturally follows.