Why We Practice: The System of Three Natures

Phra Ajarn Suraphong opens by stressing that Dhamma practice is essential and necessary for every life, because every life dwells under the control of three natures, each with its own goal. Where there is a goal, a system arises — a working process aimed at fulfilling that goal. The unwholesome system aims to utterly destroy beings, sparing them not even at death, dragging them down into lower realms. The neutral system, while not aiming to destroy, offers no help either — it lures beings into idle pleasure, spending time, wealth, bodily strength, and mental freshness, leaving only fatigue in return.

Only the wholesome system genuinely nurtures, guides, and instructs beings toward happiness and prosperity. Knowing this, we must act in ways that support the wholesome system taking the seat of our heart, caring for and guiding us out of suffering toward happiness and prosperity. Dhamma practice exists so we can learn and train ourselves to support the wholesome system, letting it abide, guide, and resolve our problems and obstacles, so we may reap wondrous results without distress — making life easy and comfortable.

The Buddha's Words: Knowing Body, Feeling, Mind, and Dhamma to Eliminate Covetousness and Grief

The Buddha taught, as recorded in the Tipitaka: "Bhikkhus, you should clearly know body, feeling, mind, and dhamma, in order to eliminate covetousness and grief regarding the world." Phra Ajarn stresses that this teaching must be repeated every time to reaffirm the Buddha's words. He explains that if we do not determine for ourselves, some other nature will determine for us instead, bringing us no benefit — and worse, bringing suffering if the unwholesome mind possesses us, pressuring us toward its own aims. The neutral nature, while not bringing suffering, still spends our precious time and wealth wastefully, contributing nothing of value.

We should determine — knowing is mindfulness, clear knowing is clear comprehension. This mindfulness and clear comprehension draw in the pure energy called merit, flowing continuously into the center of the sphere of knowing's brightness. This pure energy purifies the defiling stains that bring the manifold problems and obstacles of the hindrances, thinning them out. As the stains thin, suffering thins, hardship thins, life becomes easier, practice becomes easier, and suffering gradually transforms into ease.

Eliminating Covetousness and Grief: Gladness and Sorrow Over Form, Taste, Smell, Sound, and Touch

Practice should eliminate covetousness and grief — the world's gladness and sorrow tied to form, taste, smell, sound, and touch. The world consists of the dimension of form, the dimension of sound, the dimension of smell, the dimension of taste, and the dimension of touch. We must determine clearly so that gladness or sorrow does not rush into the heart, because these things use gladness and sorrow to hold us captive within their own dimension.

We need to clearly determine body, feeling, mind, and dhamma — body and mind — bringing the mind to the body, then determining the body, the breath, the posture, pleasure, pain, and the various feelings and thoughts tied to body and mind, in order to relinquish covetousness and grief, the world's gladness and sorrow, entirely. When we do this, we can dwell in balance, supported by the equanimity cetasika, keeping the mind neutral so we can progress toward ever subtler inner dimensions.

Cultivating the Buddha-Field Within: The Heart Must Be Fertile Ground First

In determining this, our teachers advise the recitation of "Samma Arahang," staying with the recitation continuously, aware without lapsing, attending and focusing carefully on the recitation. Do it gradually, without rushing. What we want is for the sphere of knowing to arise — once it arises in the heart, it will draw in the pure energy called merit, flowing continuously into the center of its brightness.

Phra Ajarn offers the central simile of this teaching: "Cultivating the Buddha-field within the heart requires a foundation that is right and good — just as planting a crop requires soil rich with the right fertilizer and minerals. For our heart to grow the Buddha-field, it must have a foundation that is good, right, and wholesome." Therefore, we should not rush, push, or pressure ourselves in any way — practice with a relaxed mind, open, spacious, light, comfortable, clear, cool, clean, and pure.

Freed From Imprisonment in the Past: Staying With the Latest Word

We determine word by word, without attending to the past that has already passed, even the recent past — staying with every present moment, the latest word being "Samma Arahang" alone. Doing this frees us from imprisonment in the past, dwelling in that freedom moment by present moment.

Phra Ajarn explains that "Samma Arahang" is the designated name of the subtle Arahant Dhamma body, named according to each sphere's qualities. The unwholesome is a dark, black sphere, radiating rays that bring the suffering that must be endured. The wholesome sphere is round, clear, and bright. Within each dhamma sphere is packaged a different quality — like packages of similar shape but different contents. All dhammas, wholesome or unwholesome, arise only at the heart, nowhere else. When a wholesome dhamma arises at the heart, it displays its wholesome quality — clarity and brightness — for the heart to perceive. The heart is our instrument of knowing; whatever the heart knows, that is what we know.

Merging Into the Crystal Dhamma Body — Even Without Seeing, That's Fine

When we utter "Samma Arahang," this state arises at the center of our heart. Once it arises, it does not arise in vain — it expands, overlaying and abiding as one with us, making our whole body the radiant noble image. But if we don't see or recognize this, we cannot yet merge with him — though he continually strives to merge as one with us regardless, correcting and clearing away our defiling stains. So we merge ourselves with him into one unity, even without seeing — simply wearing the feeling of being the noble image, the noble image being us.

Phra Ajarn guides us to perceive part by part — the head, the crystal Dhamma body with a bud-like lotus finial radiant atop the crown, the crown, the radiant face, the forehead, the closed eyes with a gentle, compassionate smile of boundless loving-kindness, the neck, shoulders, both arms, chest, abdomen, back, hips, thighs, knees, shins, calves, and feet — all becoming the crystal Dhamma body, radiant, gentle, soft, and tender.

Merging the Mind, Stopping and Stilling at the Center of the Center: Heading Straight Toward Nibbana

Once we merge our body with his body into one unity, we also merge our mind with his mind into one. We gather, stop, and still the mind at the center of the center — the mind is an element that accomplishes whatever is determined; determine it, and so it becomes — sharing the same single center with the knowing, all-powerful ones countless beyond measure. At the deepest center of the center lies nibbana. Simply by fixing the mind still at the center of the body, whether resting in neutral stillness or staying aware continuously with the recitation, or merging our feeling with our true identity into one — the stream of merit bubbles continuously through the center of the sphere of knowing's brightness, the center of our heart.

Dedicating Merit to Ancestors and Karmic Counterparties

As the stream of merit bubbles continuously through the center of our body and heart, we dedicate this merit to our ancestors — recalling our relatives, parents, siblings, grandparents, our teachers and benefactors, the devas who help and support us, our caretakers and guardians, and all beings we may have wronged, our karmic counterparties, asking mutual forgiveness and sharing this merit equally with all.

Loving-Kindness for a Finger-Snap: Merit Greater Than Seven Days and Nights of Alms

Once merit is dedicated, we cultivate loving-kindness for the benefit of the world and all beings. Following the Great Teacher's guidance, we settle the heart of a mother, filled with goodwill, love, and care for her beloved child, then direct that heart toward the world and all beings, including ourselves. May the world and all beings be free from suffering and find happiness everywhere — may those with much suffering have less, those with little have none, those with little happiness have more, and those with much have ever more.

Phra Ajarn cites a passage recorded in the Tipitaka on the merit of cultivating loving-kindness: even loving-kindness practiced for the mere snap of a finger has greater merit than offering alms continuously for seven days and seven nights — alms whose offerings stretched sixteen kilometers in length. This is the wonder of the Dhamma: a small act yields great result; the more we do, the greater the result becomes.

Radiating Loving-Kindness Across the World and the Cosmos

We expand our heart, filled with this loving-kindness, spreading it widely to cover our home. Loving-kindness shines throughout every particle of the atmosphere, reaching all beings and all things. It continues expanding to our neighbors, our village, subdistrict, district, province, covering the whole country, extending to neighboring countries and nations, until it covers the entire world, making this world a radiant, clean, pure crystal sphere — reaching the earth-bound devas, tree devas, sky devas, all the heavens, the Brahma and form-Brahma realms, and even beings in hell, as hungry ghosts, and as animals. May all beings be free from suffering and find happiness. It then expands further into the atmosphere of the cosmos, covering the countless stars and galaxies across the boundless ten-thousand world-systems.

The light of loving-kindness, radiating widely through the area we determine, draws each person's and being's own wholesome system into taking the seat of their heart in that moment. Once their wholesome system is established, it draws in pure energy that flows to purify their own defiling stains, and goodness arises in their hearts — even for that brief moment, it is enough to generate abundant goodness.

Phra Ajarn teaches that whoever benefits the world and the cosmos may make use of its treasures — as the Bodhisatta of old did, practicing loving-kindness for the benefit of beings and the world without measure until the end of his life, attaining the jhāna absorptions, and upon death being reborn in the Brahma realm, enjoying long-lasting bliss. Upon returning to the human world, he attained the status of a universal monarch, able to use the treasures of the world and cosmos to govern the four continents in happiness and prosperity, with no violence, all people dwelling in virtue and goodness.

Closing Aspiration

Phra Ajarn leads an aspiration for success to be established in us, now and in the future. May the merit and blessings of our teachers and our own accumulated goodness since beginningless time combine into sacred, potent merit. May we be freed from misfortune, karmic results, demonic obstruction, and every obstacle; may greed, hatred, delusion, lust, ignorance, wrong view, craving, and clinging come to an end; may we gain the eye that sees the Dhamma and penetrate the knowledge of the Dhamma body; may we be strong in health and steadfast in spirit as we build perfections toward nibbana. He closes by asking that old wrongdoing be forgiven, and that new merit bear fruit successfully for us all.