จิตจะสงบได้ต้องอาศัยมลทินที่เบาบางลง ด้วยการกำหนดใจนิ่งๆ เฉยๆ อย่างสบายไว้ที่ศูนย์กลางกายอย่างเพลินๆ ไม่ต้องคิดอะไร กระแสธารแห่งบุญจะไหลผ่านชำระมลทิน นำไปสู่อารมณ์สบายอันเป็นศิลปะชั้นสูงของการดำเนินชีวิตA tranquil mind depends on defilement growing thin, achieved by keeping the mind still, quiet, and at ease at the center of the body — playfully, without forcing any thought. The stream of merit then flows through to cleanse the defilement, leading to the pleasant feeling that is the highest art of living.
Someone asked the teacher to expand on the Buddha's saying: "One of tranquil mind, guarded by wisdom, watchful through , unattached to sensuality, rightly sees the ."
How a tranquil mind arises
A tranquil mind arises from wholesome settled at the heart, drawing in pure energy that resolves the turbulence caused by defilement. The mind is untranquil precisely because of defilement, which exists in every dimension of being except that of the arahant. Defilement plays three roles: dragging us down through greed, hatred, delusion, and lust; holding us back from freedom into subtler dimensions; and stirring up turmoil that turns life into suffering. When side wins control as host of the heart, it draws in pure energy that gradually thins the defilement, until the mind becomes tranquil at whatever level that thinning allows.
Wisdom as the guardian, mindfulness as the watcher
When the mind is tranquil and free of turbulence, wisdom can function. Wisdom is a that must be deliberately cultivated — a store of information used to solve problems, continually upgraded through learning. Mindfulness is the faculty of awareness that watches and reflects, drawing in pure energy that thins the defilement further, allowing wholesome dhamma to remain established continuously until the mind settles into concentration, or calm (), which dispels sensual desire. As defilement thins sufficiently, subtler states of dhamma appear — beginning with a sense of lightness and ease, progressing to radiance and the inner sphere of Dhamma.
Pleasant feeling: the highest art of living
Modern society is full of haste and confusion, because presses us to rush. This is exactly why an art of living happily is so necessary. Pleasant feeling is a mental factor that arises together with a wholesome mind, but is extremely subtle, so it must be deliberately cultivated. Once cultivated, a sphere of ease is established and expresses its quality of comfort — just as sugar dissolved in water makes the water sweet. Every dhamma arises only at the heart. The technique the elder monk taught is: keep the mind still, quiet, and at ease at , doing so playfully and with (chanda), without thinking of anything. The center of the body — — is used because it is the meeting point of every body, from the coarse human body up to , and it is the connecting point to the Triple Gem and to Nibbana. Resting the mind there, at ease, lets the stream of merit flow continuously, bringing lasting .
A follow-up question on meditation practice
Someone asked why meditating with intense focus produces tension. The teacher explained that tension comes from exertion — one should instead do it with a relaxed mind, sitting playfully, as if resting, with awareness itself being the most important thing. Simply maintain awareness at the center of the body and the feeling of ease, which can be sustained in any posture, not only with eyes closed in seated meditation. As for the senon some feel of "falling" just before sleep, this comes from having practiced meditation in a heavenly realm in a past life, leaving a familiarity with stillness at the center of the body. One need not experience that falling sensation before subtle states of dhamma can appear — it depends entirely on how refined the mind is at that moment.