We Are Resting the Right Way — Not Sitting in Formal Meditation

Phra Ajarn Suraphong opens by leading a chant paying homage to the Triple Gem before entering the eyes-closed portion of practice. He invites us to learn how to rest correctly, without thinking of it as formal meditation — think of it instead as resting after a meal, resting body and mind, letting go of everything, expecting nothing, simply knowing. The sphere of knowing — mindfulness, clear comprehension — is what lets us connect to the stream of merit flowing through us, letting subtle treasure flow through us. Sit in a comfortable posture, and let the heart be at ease.

Diagnosing: Merely Flat, or in a State That Must Be Endured and Is Hard to Bear

He teaches that if we've made the heart comfortable but it still isn't comfortable, something must be off. Check whether this discomfort is simply flatness, or whether we are in a state that must be endured and is hard to bear. If it is the latter, the unwholesome is currently master of the house. Try determining whether we can make the heart comfortable — determine it again and again. If the unwholesome isn't too strong, this determining can help shift discomfort into comfort.

But if the unwholesome currently holding the house has real strength, no matter what we do, we may still remain in a state that must be endured and is hard to bear. In that case, we simply determine awareness of dukkha itself. The Buddha taught that dukkha is precisely this state — something that must be endured and is hard to bear. If it is present, its only purpose is for us to determine our awareness of it — that alone is enough.

Determining Awareness of Dukkha: The Sphere of Knowing Draws In Pure Energy to Purify

Determining awareness of dukkha requires the sphere of knowing — mindfulness — to arise; once it arises, it takes hold of that state of dukkha, and that itself is determining awareness — knowing that dukkha is present. In this very act of determining awareness of dukkha, pure energy flows into the center of the sphere of knowing, drawing merit in to dissolve the defilement that gives rise to dukkha. When dukkha is present, defilement is present, because only defilement can give rise to dukkha. We don't know what defilement looks like or where it is, but we know dukkha — so we simply keep determining awareness of the state that is present.

The sphere of knowing — mindfulness — while determining awareness of dukkha, draws pure energy in to purify the defilement that gives rise to it. Even without seeing the defilement itself, as we continue determining awareness of dukkha, we come to notice that the state we must endure gradually lightens, becoming bearable. We keep determining awareness, staying continuously aware without lapsing. This process may take many hours, or many days — even if it isn't finished today, we come back tomorrow and continue determining awareness, day after day, until that defilement is fully spent.

Defilement Is Finite, Effort Doesn't Stop: Dukkha Eventually Vanishes on Its Own

He teaches that defilement is finite, but as long as we keep up our effort, the drawing-in of pure energy never stops purifying it. Since defilement is finite and the drawing-in of pure energy never lets up, defilement must eventually be fully purified. Once it is, we're struck with surprise — the dukkha we had been determining awareness of simply vanishes, though a moment ago we were still determining awareness of it. We then feel a spacious emptiness, nothing there at all — the hindrances that once crowded in are gone, leaving only that spacious emptiness.

Light or Happiness Need Not Appear: Empty Spaciousness Alone Is Correct

He points to a common misunderstanding: we've heard that light must appear, or happiness must appear — so why is there no light, no happiness, only this spacious emptiness, lightness of body and mind? He teaches that this is fine — keep determining awareness the same way that has been working, because the coarse defilement that gave rise to dukkha has already been spent, and dukkha along with it. What remains is a subtler defilement that can no longer disturb us, but still conceals happiness and light, keeping them from appearing just yet. Keep determining awareness, staying continuously aware without lapsing.

From the Edge of the Dimension to Its Interior: A Simile of the Edge of a Room, a Tent, an Orb

Once the coarse state of dukkha is spent and spacious emptiness appears, mindfulness automatically shifts into clear comprehension, perceiving this subtle state fully. Let us know this spacious, empty subtlety within this dimension completely. He teaches that before this, we were still, as it were, at the edge of the dimension — the edge of a room, a house, a dimension, an orb. But now we feel we've moved inside the orb itself — inside the room, inside the tent, inside the orb, inside the dimension — and we now know fully the subtle states within this dimension, this orb, this room.

Before, there were still some disturbances — some drowsiness, some restlessness — but now there are none, because clear comprehension has carried us into ever subtler inner dimensions, level by level. Our determined awareness now fully perceives whatever state is present before us, continuously. This sphere of knowing — clear comprehension — knows with clarity in a way distinct from mindfulness: mindfulness merely knows, while clear comprehension knows each fine particle of a state clearly, to whatever depth each person can reach. The drawing-in of pure energy — merit — continues flowing into the center of the brightness of this sphere of clear comprehension, gradually purifying the subtler defilement. This process unfolds gradually, so there's no reason to be impatient — impatience itself arises from the unwholesome taking hold of the mind, which then produces an inner voice of dissatisfaction. Simply keep determining awareness of whatever nature is present in each moment.

Our Role Is Only to Determine Awareness — Not to Purify the Defilement Ourselves

He stresses again that our role is only to determine our awareness — nothing more. The sphere of knowing — mindfulness, clear comprehension — is a wholesome sphere. If we determine awareness, that sphere draws in pure energy so that the pure energy itself purifies the defilement — not us. We don't know what defilement looks like or where it is; we are only the ones who determine awareness, staying continuously aware without lapsing. This is our role, and it's an easy one — precisely because it's easy, we're given the part we can manage. The drawing-in of pure energy is handled by the sphere of knowing we establish, on its own.

Purity and Defilement Are Natural Enemies: Whichever Has More Wins

He explains that purity and defilement are natural enemies, like cleanliness and dirt. When the two meet, they clash automatically, and whichever has more wins. If our purity is less than the dirt, the dirt wins. But if our purity is greater — which comes from staying continuously aware without lapsing — purity keeps pouring through continuously. As long as the dirt hasn't been fully cleared, we don't stop determining awareness; if we keep going this way, we're bound to win eventually.

But if we are lazy, uncomprehending, practicing in fits and starts, indifferent to whether the dirt is there or not — doing it when we feel like it and not when we don't — the dirt gradually accumulates. As this defilement builds up, it creates problems and obstacles for us: a sense of oppression, confusion, hardship, and distress. This is defilement's very function — to create trouble, confusion, tedium, gloom, stress, irritation, exhaustion, discouragement, despair, depression, restlessness, and constriction of the heart. We therefore need to purify this defilement, lightening it. Simply sit and rest, resting body and mind, staying continuously aware without lapsing, knowing pleasantly, determining awareness with a relaxed, open, easeful heart, sitting comfortably, without rushing or hurrying.

A Quality Check: What Are We Aware Of Right Now?

He teaches a way to check ourselves mid-sit: are we staying continuously aware without lapsing? What exactly are we aware of — the breath, or self-awareness, or clear comprehension spreading across every posture and movement? One kind of knowing is through the body; another is through the heart — knowing pleasant, painful, or neutral feeling. This is knowing through feeling (vedanā). Knowing pleasant feeling means knowing whether we currently feel at ease in body and mind — check whether that's truly the case. If so, simply determine that awareness. But if that ease is no longer present, check whether we feel suffering or mental distress (domanassa) — mental distress is suffering of the heart, while physical suffering is a state we must endure, hard to bear. If present, we simply acknowledge the state that is there — no need to strain to manufacture or determine something that isn't present, because determining what is already present in each moment is easier; we need only perceive it.

Body, Feeling, Mind, Dharma: Determining Awareness of Whatever State Is Actually Present

Determining awareness of body, feeling, mind, and dharma relies on the investigation of states (dhamma-vicaya) — determining awareness of, and perceiving, whatever nature is actually present. Whatever nature is present, we know that nature. At times when the wholesome is master of the house, the wholesome shows its qualities, and no other nature can appear. At times when the unwholesome is master of the house, it shows its quality — dukkha, a state that must be endured and is hard to bear — and we know that the unwholesome is currently master of the house, and that this state is present. We then simply keep determining awareness of that state, purely so that the sphere of knowing — mindfulness — has something to hold onto. As the sphere of knowing holds onto it, pure energy — merit — flows continuously into the center of its brightness, and this pure energy purifies the defilement giving rise to dukkha on its own. Once the defilement causing our hindrance is spent, happiness, ease, and simplicity appear automatically.

The various meditation objects belong to the aspect of mind that must be determined. A wholesome mind that can arise should be aimed toward purity, correctness, and goodness. However the mind is, so the body-within-the-body becomes. Our wholesome mind, layering inward as mind-within-mind, becomes subtler — sometimes a celestial body, sometimes a subtler celestial body — and if we can develop it further, a form-Brahma body can arise too. Even without seeing these subtle states of mind, they can still arise, depending on our heart's continuous, unlapsing determination of awareness. The drawing-in of pure energy continues to purify defilement, lightening it, and we become free, dimension by dimension, even without seeing it directly.

Before and After the Sit: A Gauge for Whether We're Doing It Right

What we can know for certain is this: after sitting, do we feel more at ease? More open? How much lightness of body and mind is there? The clearer the difference between before and after, the more it shows we've practiced correctly, understanding the inner mechanism and applying it well. The principle is simply this: let the sphere of knowing — mindfulness and clear comprehension — arise; these are wholesome mental factors. Once mindfulness and clear comprehension arise, the wholesome system, overseen by the Triple Gem, settles continuously at the center of our heart, drawing in the pure energy called merit to refine our mind continuously.

But if after practice we feel heavier than before — headachy, feverish, restless, irritated in various ways, far worse than before we sat — that shows we were standing within the wrong system during the sit, letting the unwholesome take hold of the mind and steer us this way and that: now the Buddha image, now the crystal orb, now Samma Arahang, now the breath, all in confusion. This happens because we didn't realize that simply determining awareness, staying continuously aware without lapsing, is enough — so that the sphere of knowing draws pure energy in to purify defilement. In determining awareness, we may know self-awareness, or know the breath, or know the recitation and its mental image — whatever we're most familiar with is best; do whichever you're accustomed to. All that's needed is a firm, continuous, unlapsing awareness.

Reciting "Samma Arahang" to Sustain the Continuity of Knowing

He teaches that every state of dharma arises from determining, and arises in only one place — the heart — nowhere else. Whatever we determine appears in the heart and shows its quality there. For instance, when we determine relaxation, a bright, clear sphere of relaxation appears at the center of our heart, showing its quality of ease. The heart is our instrument of knowing — whatever it knows, we know.

He leads the recitation "Samma Arahang, Samma Arahang" with a relaxed, light, pleasant heart, without rushing, focusing and contemplating syllable by syllable, staying continuously aware without lapsing. He points to the difference from before: we used to know only in patches — knowing, then it would vanish; a moment of awareness, then it was gone; the sphere of knowing and the sphere of not-knowing alternating, sometimes briefly, sometimes longer. But now we are training ourselves to know continuously, without break, relying on the recitation "Samma Arahang," knowing syllable by syllable without interruption. As long as we don't stop, don't abandon it, don't drift away, staying continuously aware without lapsing, the continuity of the wholesome mind can sustain itself uninterrupted, letting the drawing-in of pure energy continue without break. The stream of merit pours continuously through the center of our body and heart, together with the subtle treasure carried within the brightness of that sphere of merit. Phra Ajarn continues the recitation of Samma Arahang, closing with a chant in praise of the Buddha's virtues.