พระอาจารย์อธิบายว่าในทุกๆ อนุวินาทีที่เล็กที่สุด มีการชิงช่วงชิงระหว่างฝ่ายกุศลและอกุศลอยู่ตลอดเวลาโดยที่เราควบคุมไม่ได้ อกุศลอาจแอบเซตผังบิดเบือนให้บุญที่เราทำไว้ให้ผลช้าหรือไม่ทันเวลา จึงจำเป็นต้องพึ่งพาครูบาอาจารย์ผู้มีวิชชาละเอียดคอยช่วยปกป้องคุ้มครองบุญนั้นให้The teacher explains that in every smallest fraction of a moment, the wholesome and unwholesome sides are constantly contesting for control beyond what we can consciously manage. The unwholesome side can quietly plant a distortion that delays or blunts the fruit of our merit — which is why we need teachers of deep, refined mastery to watch over and protect it for us.
A student asked: our late great teacher once said that during major merit-making events, he and the great masters would "manage the merit" for us. Why is that needed, when making merit already produces merit on its own? And what does "managing the merit" really mean — is it about keeping the mind from wavering, or preventing interference from obstructive forces?
Every Smallest Fraction of a Moment Is a Contest Between Forces
The teacher explained that our mind is in constant contest, moment to moment. Even when we sincerely meditate or make a vow, intending to hold onto every word our teacher says, in reality we can only manage this to a certain degree — because a single second can be divided into 60 sub-moments, and each of those sub-moments can be divided further still. Within each of these tiniest fractions of time, a contest for control is constantly underway. In the gap between one moment we're aware of and the next, that very gap is where or neutral nature can slip in, claim territory, and plant a distorted program.
Even With Good Intentions, Interference Slips in Where We Can't Control It
When the unwholesome or neutral side manages to claim one of these gaps, it can insert its own program. This means that even the refined qualities or merit we draw in through a genuinely good heart will always carry some trace of unwholesome or neutral interference. Even while we believe our intention is wholly good, the mind still flickers here and there, beyond our control; sometimes we simply lose ourselves in distraction, unable to sustain full at every moment. That is precisely the moment when the unwholesome or neutral nature has slipped in and taken us off course.
But taken as a whole, side still holds the greater share, and so it can still draw in the stream of merit and keep us engaged in wholesome activity continuously — even if we get irritated or distracted here and there along the way. The wholesome side holds things together well enough that we complete what we set out to do, and receive back a completed program — a continuous stream of merit — as our reward.
Why We Depend on Teachers of Deep, Refined Mastery
But at the level of precision measured in hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, even millions of moments per second — a level entirely beyond our awareness or control — the unwholesome side is still contesting for ground. This is exactly where we depend on teachers who possess the deep mastery (vijjā) to operate at that level of precision, to help redeem and undo whatever distortions the unwholesome side may have quietly programmed in — such as delaying the visible fruit of our merit, or causing it to ripen at an unsuitable, overly delayed time.
It is much like the mountain of accumulated unwholesome karma from our past — piled up precisely because the wholesome side has been holding it back, denying it the opportunity to bear fruit. In the same way, when we make merit, the unwholesome side tries to prevent that merit from bearing fruit too, making it harder or slower to ripen. We are fortunate, then, to stand within the circle of merit of teachers with such mastery, who are able to resolve these obstacles for us. Their kindness toward us is beyond measure.