พระอาจารย์อธิบายโอวาทของคุณยายว่า ไม่ว่าเกิดมามีฐานะอย่างไรก็ตาม กายมนุษย์เท่านั้นที่สร้างบุญบารมีได้ ทุกคนมีเวลาเท่ากันวันละ 24 ชั่วโมง ความแตกต่างอยู่ที่ศรัทธา ศีล สมาธิ ปัญญา ไม่ใช่ทรัพย์สินมากน้อย และอธิบายเรื่องการอนุโมทนาบุญกับความหมายของคำว่า "หยุดเป็นตัวสำเร็จ"The teacher explains a teaching from Khun Yay: whatever status we are born with, only the human body can create merit. Everyone has the same 24 hours a day — the real difference lies in faith, precepts, concentration, and wisdom, not in wealth. He also explains rejoicing in others' merit and the meaning of "stopping is the accomplishment."
The teacher shares a teaching from Khun Yay: "However you were born, make the most of building merit," then expands on it.
Whatever We're Born Into, Why Make the Most of Building Merit
We were born and encountered Buddhism, so we must build perfections worthily so our merit becomes full enough to find the way out of suffering. Whatever we're born as, whatever our status, it is what our past karma made it — if we want better, we must do more good. Once born, everyone must die, and we don't know when, so we must diligently gather merit to carry with us, since no other possession can come along.
Within the cycle of rebirth, only the human body can create the causes of merit and perfection; other realms are only for experiencing the results of past good and bad deeds done on earth. So true equality cannot exist in other realms. But on the human plane, everyone is equal — everyone has a body and mind, and the same 24 hours a day. Rich or poor, everyone can equally keep the five or eight precepts, study the , and meditate. There's no limitation there at all.
There may be differences in the material objects given in charity, but faith matters more than the object itself. Doing little with great faith, , a pure mind, and wisdom yields greater results. Once born human, whatever needs fixing must be fixed within — in the mind — because that's where the causes lie. What matters most is understanding the truth of life, not just thinking positively or negatively, but seeing things exactly as they are: wrong is known as wrong, right as right — then abiding in equanimity, neither elated nor upset, keeping the mind balanced and at peace.
Everything arises in the mind. The three natures — wholesome, unwholesome, and neutral — all use the mind as their tool to draw in their own energy. When wholesome qualities arise in the mind, they draw in the pure energy called merit to drive system, creating and prosperity. But when unwholesome qualities take over, they draw in the energy of demerit that creates suffering and misfortune. Only merit can purify the stains of the mind; precepts help on the coarse level, concentration clears away , and wisdom leads to liberation. All of this is only found through Buddhism, because merit serves as the "cost of living" through the cycle of rebirth — so we must accumulate as much merit and perfection as we possibly can.
What Happens When We Rejoice in Everyone's Merit Without Knowing What They Did
Rejoicing in merit means the sphere of rejoicing — a bright, round sphere — arises in the mind. It has the quality of taking joy in whatever good is done, whether in the doing or in the result, without needing to know who did what or how. As long as this wholesome sphere arises, it draws in the pure energy called merit into the brightness at its center, along with subtle treasures.
As for rejoicing by giving wealth to the merit-maker of greater value than what they originally gave, the giver receives great merit, because they can now do even greater good when the merit bears fruit. Conversely, if we are the original merit-maker and someone joins in with wealth greater than ours, we don't receive less merit — we receive more, because we are the originator; they depend on us for the stream of merit to arise at all. We become the leader, even if our own means were smaller.
Is "Stopping Is the Accomplishment" the Same as "It Works Even Without Seeing It"
These are two different meanings. "Stopping" is a type of wholesome sphere with the quality of halting and neutral systems — usable from the very beginner all the way to an arahant. "It works even without seeing it" refers to the fact that the mind is the element of accomplishment: whatever it determines, that is what arises. Even before we can visualize anything, we can still set the intention and benefit from it. Determining repeatedly is called recitation (parikamma), which makes the quality more stable over time, until it becomes an acquired image, develops into a counterpart image, and finally becomes attainment. But when the mind truly stops, that is the ultimate of merit — the more it stops, the more sacred and pure it becomes.