พระอาจารย์อธิบายโอวาทเรื่อง "กลับเข้ามาในลู่" ว่าคือการทบทวนตัวเองเสมอว่าเรามาทำไม เพื่อไม่หลงออกนอกทาง ชี้ว่าธรรมชาติ 3 ฝ่ายชิงช่วงชิงตลอดเวลา และแนะวิธีจัดการความฟุ้งซ่านขณะนั่งสมาธิด้วยการหยุดคิดแล้วกำหนดรู้Pra Ajarn explains the teaching "come back into the lane" as constantly asking ourselves why we are here, so we don't stray off course. He describes how the three forces of nature compete for control at every moment, and offers guidance on handling a restless mind during meditation by stopping thought and simply resting in awareness.
Someone brought a teacher's teaching on "coming back into the lane" and asked Pra Ajarn to expand on it.
Reflecting on "Why Am I Here?"
This teaching reminds us to keep asking ourselves why we are here — even though we, too, had a path open to us like everyone else in the world. Everyone graduates, could go on to become wealthy, build a family, or pursue whatever they wanted, yet we chose this particular path. Without asking ourselves that question, we risk drifting off course. Asking and answering it consistently reminds us of the times we've stumbled off the lane before, and helps us come back and run within it, rather than straying off to the side.
The Three Forces of Nature Compete for Control at Every Moment
Every life is overseen and directed by nature, guided through constant, unceasing competition. When side wins control of the mind, it pressures us into breaking precepts and . The neutral force, while not causing harm, produces no benefit either — it spends our precious time on recreation that leads nowhere. Pra Ajarn pointed out that over 90 percent of our lives is often, unknowingly, controlled by this neutral force. Only bodhisattvas point the way to genuine truth, showing us that life is governed by these three forces of nature, and guiding us to abide in precepts and Dhamma, aimed toward the goal of nibbāna.
Our Community Is Fortunate to Know the Truth of Life
Pra Ajarn noted that our community is especially fortunate, because we know the truth that life is governed by three forces of nature; we know we were born to realize nibbāna clearly, to seek merit, and build spiritual perfection; we know that within us are the six spheres of Dhamma — morality, concentration, wisdom, liberation, and the vision of liberation — as essential tools, and that we can access eighteen increasingly refined levels of the body. We were not born to become wealthy or famous, but to seek together with and , which leads to the fulfillment of everything right and good.
What to Do When the Mind Is Restless During Meditation
Someone asked, on another's behalf, what to do when meditation brings on strong restlessness — thoughts that persist even after opening the eyes. Pra Ajarn explained that thought is simply the rearranging of information drawn from memory. If that information is limited, thinking about it further leads nowhere — it only produces more confusion and a headache. What should be done instead is to stop thinking altogether; there's no need to think, only to remain aware. When the sphere of awareness, the sphere of , is established, it draws in pure energy that purifies the clouding the mind, letting it grow lighter. If there's a question we want answered, simply pose the question and then stop thinking about it — let the inner knower provide the answer, because ordinary thought tends to connect only with the unwholesome or neutral forces, which can only offer information we already have, without resolving anything new.