Two Parts of Life: Our Self Across Eighteen Bodies, and the Inner Universal Monarch

Phra Ajarn Suraphong opens by explaining that practice is deeply necessary and important for every life, because our life has two parts. One is our own self — the various bodies, all eighteen of them. The other supports and cares for us from behind the scenes: the universal monarch, the caretaker within the center of our sphere of merit. This part's job is to look after and support every aspect of our well-being.

A Chain of Denial: Every Body Claims This Self as Its Own

Within our body-self, our identity spans the coarse human body, the refined human body, the celestial body, the Brahma body, and the formless-Brahma body — and each, in turn, claims this self as its own. The refined body says, "No — I am the true self." The celestial body says, "Neither of you is; I am the true self." And so it continues through the Brahma body, the formless-Brahma body, the lineage Dhamma body, and the Dhamma bodies of stream-enterer, once-returner, non-returner, and arahant. Whenever each body is performing its function, it claims this body, this self, as belonging to it.

But all of them, in fact, perform the very same function: mobilizing goodness. We are born human, born to cycle through birth and death in samsara, in order to draw pure energy to power the system, to refine our elemental nature until it is clean and pure — taking the pure energy called merit or perfections to drive the wholesome system in correcting and refining our elemental nature toward purity.

Mobilizing Goodness: The Cause of Pure Energy and Subtle Treasure

Achieving this requires standing firmly in the mobilization of goodness, because only the wholesome system, once established in the center of the heart, draws in the pure energy called merit or perfections, flowing continuously into us. This is why it's called mobilizing goodness — it is meant to draw in the pure energy called merit and perfections. The byproducts are happiness, subtle treasures, and blueprints for success.

These are kept within us — the various energies and subtle treasures stored within the center of our sphere of dhamma, administered by the Seven Treasures Universal Monarch, our caretaker, who manages all these valuable resources for us.

The Cost of Neglecting Goodness: The Universal Monarch Must Draw on Old Merit

If we fail to mobilize goodness — fail to strive for the wholesome system to arise — the stream of merit, subtle treasures, and blueprints for success cannot flow in to let the universal monarch work smoothly as usual. Nor can we drive the wholesome system, which affects both the refining of our elemental nature toward purity and the universal monarch's ability to care for us. He must then draw on whatever old merit remains to clear away our problems and obstacles, drawing on subtle treasures we accumulated well in the past to attract coarser treasures of the world to us, according to our existing blueprint for success. So our life ends up with limited resources.

Do Not Interfere With the Universal Monarch's Duty: Each Side Has a Different Role

Because we don't understand this, we perform the wrong duty. We are born to seek merit and build perfections, but instead we occupy ourselves with other concerns — administration is the universal monarch's job, and we lack his ability, yet we interfere with his duty even though we have neither the knowledge nor the ability, only wanting, because we are being directed by the unwholesome side. But if we dwell within the correct system — the wholesome system — it will direct us toward what is right, so the universal monarch can sustain us smoothly.

This is why practice is so essential — otherwise we remain under the control of the unwholesome side, performing the wrong duty, interfering with the universal monarch's role, wanting this and that endlessly, instead of letting merit clear away life's important problems and obstacles first, catering instead to our unwholesome-directed wants. Given this, we need to learn the truth of life so we can live correctly, without interfering with the roles of other parts. If each side performs its proper role, life flows smoothly and prospers. Our role is to dwell within the wholesome system, to draw in the pure energy called merit together with subtle treasures and blueprints for success.

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

In cultivating practice, we must also understand what its essential substance is, what its components are, how its mechanism works, and what its goal is. The Buddha taught: "Bhikkhus, you should clearly determine body, feeling, mind, and dhamma, in order to eliminate the world's covetousness and grief." We need to understand the substance of the Buddha's teaching here — he taught the monks to determine and know. This determining and knowing is deeply necessary and important, because it is the human body's role.

If we do not learn to determine and know correctly, some other nature will step in to direct, control, and pressure us into determining as it wishes — bringing us no benefit at all, worse, bringing suffering and harm if that system is unwholesome. Even the neutral system may lure us toward what feels pleasant, yet still brings no real benefit beyond fleeting amusement, day after day. Since our time in this life is limited and every day has value, we must determine correctly.

Knowing Is Mindfulness, Knowing Is Clear Comprehension: Ignorance Falls Away When Mindfulness Arises

What is correct in determining and knowing? He taught that mindfulness is the determining and knowing; knowing is mindfulness, knowing is clear comprehension. Mindfulness is a foundational wholesome state — when the wholesome state arises, mindfulness, a mental factor of the wholesome mind, arises simultaneously. Mindfulness, a round, clear, bright, wholesome sphere, once arisen in the heart, continuously draws in the pure energy called merit, flowing into the center of the brightness of this sphere of knowing, this sphere of mindfulness.

Once this pure energy flows in, it purifies the defiling stain called ignorance. Once the sphere of knowing — mindfulness — arises, ignorance falls away. Ignorance is the sphere of not-knowing, a dark, pitch-black sphere, with obscuring elements covering it, bringing darkness that prevents us from perceiving subtle dhamma states. So once we determine and know, the sphere of knowing draws in this pure energy to purify the defiling, obscuring stain, thinning it to the level where subtle nature can appear.

From Mindfulness to Clear Comprehension: Pulling the Mind Back Again and Again

Once this subtle nature appears, the sphere of knowing — mindfulness — shifts into a sphere of knowing that is clear comprehension, perceiving this subtle state. Clear comprehension's quality is to know thoroughly in fine detail, knowing broadly and knowing ever more deeply and finely, which leads us into a subtle inner dimension. One thing we notice: before, we were as if standing at the edge, outside the dimension; but once the subtle state appears as clear comprehension, it draws us into the inner dimension, and we come to know it thoroughly.

Clear comprehension, being a more refined sphere of knowing, draws in purer merit, purer energy, to fully purify the coarser stains, letting us dwell within the dimension of the heart. Before, the mind would get knocked out of the heart by defilement, and we had to keep striving to pull it back, again and again, back to its base. Defilement keeps pressuring and knocking the mind out into coarser dimensions; we pull it back repeatedly, until we can fully purify these coarse, obscuring stains, thinning them to the level where the inner state appears. Mindfulness then shifts into clear comprehension, leading us into the refined inner dimension.

Dwelling With Mindfulness, Knowing: To Let Go of Covetousness and Grief Toward the World

In dwelling with mindfulness, the Buddha taught that mindfulness recollects and knows the body and mind — bringing the mind together with the body as one. Bodily awareness then arises: knowing the breath, the posture, or feeling — pleasure, pain, or neutral — or the mind's thoughts and feelings as they arise moment to moment, such as knowing our meditation object. What matters most is that we must dwell with mindfulness — knowing, staying aware without lapsing — so that mindfulness draws the pure energy called merit into the center of the brightness of this sphere of knowing and mindfulness, purifying the defiling stains that create problems and obstacles in life or in practice.

The essential point is that this determining and knowing must serve to eliminate covetousness and grief — pleasure and displeasure. Covetousness is pleasure; grief is displeasure. Eliminating the world's covetousness and grief — "of the world" meaning form, taste, smell, sound, touch, and mental objects. When we view the world, we view it through eye, nose, tongue, body, and mind: the eye perceives form, the ear sound, the nose smell, the tongue taste, the body touch, the mind mental objects — these six together compose "the world." Perceiving these things brings pleasure and displeasure, and this is exactly where the unwholesome side uses pleasure and displeasure to control and direct us. So the essential point rests on pleasure or displeasure toward form, taste, smell, and sound. The essence of practice is determining to dwell in knowing, bringing body and mind together, in order to let go of pleasure and displeasure.

Reciting "Samma Arahang": Applied and Sustained Thought, Word by Word

Once we understand the essential components of practice, we can begin practicing through determining. Our teachers advise us to determine while holding to the recitation and the meditation image — these serve as an anchor for mindfulness to rest on. We determine and know while reciting "Samma Arahang," knowing it word by word, aware that right now we are knowing the recitation. Whenever we know it, mindfulness arises; we must determine to stay aware without lapsing, so that mindfulness, once arisen, continuously draws in pure energy.

Let us recite with a mind attentive and focused on the recitation, reflecting on each word, one at a time. This focused, reflective attention word by word is called applied and sustained thought — vitakka is raising it up and holding it in mind, vicāra is reflecting on it. Do this with sustained, unwavering effort, with a relaxed mind, open, light, and at ease, sustained by a wholesome mind. This wholesome mental factor nourishes the wholesome mind, keeping it established and preventing the unwholesome mind from intruding — we need this wholesome mental factor to sustain the wholesome mind.

"Samma Arahang": The Designated Name of the Dhamma Body, Far From All Defilements

"Samma Arahang" is the designated name of the Dhamma body we recite. A designation is a name; its quality is what it signifies. If the physical form is like packaging or a shape — the body — then within that body lies its quality. For example, the human body sustains the quality of humanness: the sphere of dhamma of the human body. The refined celestial body, finer and more subtle, sustains the sphere of dhamma of the celestial body, with its own special, subtle, and beautiful qualities.

The Dhamma body is the noble one who practices well and rightly, practicing to be far from all defiling stains — this is the Dhamma body's quality: practicing to be far from all defilements. We utter his name according to his quality. When we utter his name, he appears in the center of our heart; he never appears in vain — he appears with both form and designation together. In form, he expands and overlays as one with our human body; in his quality, he nourishes us, helping us practice correctly, correcting and refining our elemental nature, making us clean and pure — turning darkness to light, dirt to cleanliness, defilement to purity.

The Fruits of Unwavering Recitation: Good Experiences in Every Area of Life

So whoever recites "Samma Arahang" without wavering will, no matter what, experience good things in life — work succeeds, trade and livelihood become easy, family life becomes peaceful and happy, the mind cools down; what was hot becomes cool, what was chaotic becomes calm, what was stifling becomes open. This happens because of his qualities that come with him, correcting and helping us, drawing in the pure energy called merit to assist us. All we need is to recite continuously, staying aware without lapsing, with a relaxed mind, open and at ease.

Merging Our Body With His: An Actor's Technique for a Whole Body Made of Crystal

Every time we utter his name, he appears in the center of our heart and overlays as one with our body. Let us merge our body with his as one unity. Even if we cannot see it, let us use the actor's principle: whenever they play a role, they think of that type of person, and that character's mental factors appear in the heart; once they appear, they display their qualities. The designation appears; both form and designation arise in the heart together. Once they appear, the heart perceives them, because the heart is its instrument of knowing — whatever the heart knows, that is what it knows. Once it knows, it can wear the feeling of being that thing.

We use the same principle: wearing the feeling of being the noble one who practices well and rightly, far from all defilements. Wearing this feeling, we are the noble image; the noble image is us. We merge with him as one unity, our body with his, from head to face, cheeks, shoulders, arms, torso, all the way to the feet — our whole body becoming the radiant, cool, clean, pure crystal Dhamma body. Our head becomes the crystal Dhamma body with its radiant bud-like crest. Our face becomes his gentle countenance, eyes softly closed, a faint, gentle smile. Our forehead, nose, mouth, cheeks — all gentle, soft, radiant, clean, pure. Our neck, shoulders, and arms are all the gentle, soft crystal Dhamma body. Our chest, abdomen, and back are all the radiant, beautiful, clean, pure crystal Dhamma body. Our hips, thighs, knees, shins, calves, and feet are all the gentle, soft, cool, clean, pure, radiant crystal Dhamma body.

The Heart Is an Element That Accomplishes: Determine the Highest, All the Way to the Buddha

The Great Master Father once said that reaching the Dhamma body can be said to be easy, or it can be said to be hard — easy because of knowing and understanding, hard because of not knowing and not understanding, since the heart is an element that accomplishes whatever is determined. Our own heart is such an element — however we determine, so it becomes. We can determine all the way up to the Buddha himself; the lowest need not even be mentioned. Whatever we determine appears at the heart. If we determine something good, good appears; if we determine something bad, bad appears — and once it appears, it has real effect, whether good or bad, giving its corresponding result. Determine something good, and pure energy in the heart becomes radiant, flowing in together with treasures and blueprints for success. Determine something bad, and defilement arises, pressuring the heart into suffering, arising together with misfortune.

So we must understand the importance of the heart as this element that accomplishes whatever is determined — we possess something precious, and we must use it wisely and well. When we determine the highest — the Dhamma body of the Buddha himself — he appears in the center of our body and heart, helping us; we appear bright within him, he appears bright within us, and he can help us with full effectiveness. He wishes deeply for us to merge with him as one unity.

From 1% to 100%: The Great Master Father's Teaching to Take Whatever We Perceive

Every time we determine and recollect him, he appears in the center of our heart and overlays as one with us. The Great Master Father said that reaching the noble image ranges from 1% to 100%. So whenever we can recollect him and he appears, we merge with him as one unity — whatever we can perceive, take that for now, from 1%, 2%, or 5%, or 10%, gradually sustaining it, staying aware without lapsing, developing from 5%, 10%, to 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, until it becomes radiant, merged fully as one with us at 100%. We are the noble image; the noble image is us; our whole body becomes the radiant, cool, clean, pure crystal Dhamma body. We can begin from any part of the body — the head, the eyes, the face, the knees, the shoulders, the arms, the hands — any part where we perceive the clear brightness of the Dhamma body.

Merging Body and Mind: The Seventh Base

As we merge with him as one unity, he overlays as one with us in the seated, cross-legged posture. We are the noble image; the noble image is us. Once our body is merged with his as one, we merge our mind with his mind as one too, by making the mind stop and still, gathering, stopping, and stilling the mind within the noble image, within the body, at the position of the seventh base. This is the imperial center — the sphere of dhamma of every body converges and overlays at this one position; the universal-monarch aspect of each body overlays as one at the seventh base. The sphere of merit becomes radiant; the sphere of merit of each body overlays, sharing the same center.

Stop within stopping, still within stillness; gather, stop, and still the mind within the noble image, within the sphere of dhamma. Stop within stopping, still within stillness, into the center of the center, the noble image, the center of our heart. Stop within stopping, still within stillness, into the center of the center, the knowing center, the stopping center, the stilling center, ever deeper — not left, not right, not forward, not back, not up, not down, into the center of the center, the knowing center, the stopping center, the stilling center, ever onward, into the deepest refinement of the center — the sphere of nibbana, the utmost refinement within the center of the center, and it appears radiant within him, and he appears radiant within us. As we gather the mind, still it, within him, within the center, the knowing center, the stopping center, the stilling center, ever onward — this is heading straight for the path to nibbana.

Straight Toward Nibbana: The Position the Great Master Father Taught Us to Know

The Great Master Father said we must know where nibbana is, so we can go there correctly. Gather, stop, and still the mind into the deepest refinement, the center of the center, the knowing center, the stopping center, the stilling center, onward and onward — we appear radiant within nibbana, within the countless knowers of boundless power. When we appear bright within them, they appear bright within us. When they appear bright within us, they do not appear in vain — they take our sphere of dhamma, our sphere of precepts, concentration, wisdom, and liberation, our very way of seeing, along with our seeing, remembering, thinking, and knowing, and refine them clear, clean, and pure, both body and mind — purifying, clarifying, cleansing — clearing away karmic results, demonic obstruction, sacred sin, and calamity until they vanish entirely. Not only that — he also connects the lines of our merit and treasure for us. All we need do is dwell, staying aware without lapsing, and the stream of merit pours in continuously.

Dedicating Merit to Ancestors and Karmic Counterparties

As the stream of merit flows continuously through the center of our body and heart, we dedicate this merit to our ancestors — recalling our parents, siblings, grandparents, our benefactor teachers, 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 with all equally.

Radiating Loving-Kindness Across the World and the Cosmos: The Heart of a Mother Who Loves Her Child

Once this aspiration is complete, once we have dedicated this merit, we make the aspiration for goodness to arise for the world and all beings. The Great Teacher advised that in cultivating loving-kindness, we draw on a mother's heart of love and goodwill toward her beloved child, establishing it in our own heart — the heart is an element that accomplishes whatever is determined. We determine to bring to mind the heart of a mother with goodwill toward her beloved child, recollecting it, and that heart appears immediately within us, just as an actor, thinking of a type of character, has that character's mental factors appear in the heart the same way.

May all beings, our fellow travelers in birth, aging, sickness, and death, be free from suffering and find happiness — may those with much suffering have less, those with little suffering have none, those with little happiness have more, and those with much have ever more. Once this aspiration is complete, we expand this heart filled with loving-kindness to cover our home. Loving-kindness dwells in the heart as its birthplace; wherever the heart extends, loving-kindness shines through every particle of the surrounding air — people, beings, and things, the whole atmosphere becoming radiant with shining loving-kindness. Loving-kindness has the special quality of dispelling resentment and irritation within the hearts of people and beings, making the whole atmosphere radiant, clean, and pure.

We then expand this heart filled with loving-kindness wider still, covering the whole village, spreading to the subdistrict, district, province, many provinces, covering the whole country, and extending to neighboring countries, until it covers the whole world, making this world a radiant, clean, pure crystal sphere — reaching earth-bound devas, tree devas, sky devas, every heaven, the Brahma and formless-Brahma realms, and even hell beings, hungry ghosts, and animals. May all beings, our fellow travelers in birth, aging, sickness, and death, be free from suffering and find happiness.

Once this aspiration is complete, we expand this heart filled with loving-kindness across the cosmos, covering the countless stars and galaxies of the boundless universe, letting our loving-kindness shine outward in every direction, radiant, benefiting all beings and every element, making them radiant, clean, and pure.

The Fruits of Loving-Kindness: The Bodhisatta Who Became a Universal Monarch

Our great teachers guide our merit and dhamma at all times; the Triple Gem and nibbana overlay and help us benefit the world and cosmos as much as possible. Whoever benefits the world and cosmos may make use of its treasures — as the Bodhisatta of old did. When he was born on earth, he cultivated loving-kindness, benefiting all people and beings without limit, doing so continuously until he attained jhanic absorption, benefiting the world and all beings until the end of his life. When his human life ended, he was born into the Brahma realm, enjoying the bliss born of jhanic attainment continuously for an immensely long time.

When his life in the Brahma realm ended, he was born again on earth, and this time attained the status of a universal monarch, able to use the treasures of the world and cosmos to benefit and sustain the people of the four continents, keeping them established in fine virtue and dhamma. People found happiness; there was no war and no violence at all — everyone was generous and supportive of one another, dwelling in dhamma, dwelling in fine virtue and dhamma. So let us diligently and continuously cultivate loving-kindness.

Closing Aspiration

We gather, stop, and still the mind within radiant loving-kindness, spreading boundlessly in every direction around us. As we gather, stop, and still within loving-kindness, we become the center of the world and cosmos, with our sphere of loving-kindness shining outward in every direction around us. The stream of merit pours continuously into the center of the brightness of loving-kindness — both the line of merit and the line of treasure flowing continuously. We gather, stop, and still within the stream of merit, within loving-kindness, within happiness, within radiant purity. We gather, stop, and still within the Triple Gem — the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha jewels — radiant, clean, and pure. We gather, stop, and still within our great teachers, within the most refined Dhamma body of the Great Master Grandfather, stopping and stilling within the most refined Dhamma body of the Great Master Father, and stopping and stilling within the most refined Dhamma body of Khun Yai Acharn. He will correct us — our seeing, remembering, thinking, and knowing, our earth, water, wind, fire, space, and consciousness elements — making them ever more radiant. The heart is an element that accomplishes whatever is determined.

We gather, stop, and still within nibbana, within the countless knowers of boundless power. As we stop and still within them, we appear radiant within nibbana; they appear bright within us. We then use this auspicious moment to pay respect and make an aspiration for success to be set within this radiant sphere of merit, throughout our path of building perfections — that only what is right and good arise, that our knowledge be complete with happiness and purity, and that everything right and good arise throughout our path of building perfections.

May the merit, radiance, power, and authority of nibbana throughout all elements and dhamma, together with the merit of our Great Master Grandfather, Great Master Father, and Khun Yai Acharn, combine with the merit we ourselves have diligently accumulated since the very first lifetime, the first aeon, up to the present, into sacred, potent merit. May we be freed from being sinful servants of Mara, 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.

May old wrongdoing be forgiven and new merit bear fruit successfully. May we be born into a family of right view, a crystal family, a Dhamma-body family, complete with the finest form, wealth, virtue, fortune, fame, praise, the path and fruit of nibbana, and the knowledge of the Dhamma body — studying the Dhamma-body knowledge correctly and faithfully alongside our teachers from youth until the end of life. May all these good aspirations be fulfilled for us from this moment forward, through every lifetime, until the very end of the Dhamma.