We need to review the old before adding the new, or else it's wasted — the old gets forgotten entirely.

Review the Old Before Learning the New

The core of Buddhism is: give up evil, do good, purify the mind. This idea existed even before Buddhism arose — yet it cannot free the world and all beings from the cycle of samsara. One must keep being reborn again and again. Humans do good sometimes, evil other times; they know good from evil yet still can't help themselves, not understanding why they are the way they are — leading some to be reborn as hell-beings, hungry ghosts, asuras, or animals, while good deeds lead others to be born as devas or Brahma gods.

Avoiding Evil and Doing Good Alone Is Not Enough to Escape Samsara

When the reservoir of merit runs out, one begins drawing on the account of demerit. When that merit-account is exhausted, the demerit-account begins — until there's not even enough left to remain in the same realm, and one falls to a lower one. It's like traveling abroad: money in your pocket is enough for a 5-star hotel; when it runs low, you drop to 4-star, then 3-star, and so on, until the money runs out and you must return home. Returning "home" to the country of demerit built from past wrongdoing means being confined in the hell realms — as a hell-being, an asura, a hungry ghost. If the demerit is great, one serves it out in the great hells; if not enough for the great hells, in the lesser hells; once that's served, one becomes an asura; if not enough for that, a hungry ghost; and if still not enough, an animal — and only then does one return to birth as a human again.

A Teacher's Vision: The Endless Cycle of Rebirth as a Fish

One teacher in this lineage, sitting in meditation, saw a vision of himself in a past life killing fish — and as a result had to be reborn as a fish, killed again and again, for a very long time. He went and asked a senior figure in the tradition whether this was real or just an ordinary vision, and was told it was real: in that past life he had been a fish seller, and upon dying was reborn as a fish to be caught and killed, over and over. This is the cycle of birth and death from which there seems no way out.

The Bodhisatta Must Build Perfections Over 20 Incalculable Aeons Plus a Hundred Thousand Kalpas

A Bodhisatta must build the perfections for at least 20 incalculable aeons plus a hundred thousand kalpas in order to attain supreme perfect enlightenment and awaken to the truth of all beings and things. Only then does one see that a human simply knowing evil, abandoning evil, doing good, and purifying the mind cannot escape samsara — because a natural force controls all beings, directing them through an inner voice, using dhamma and adhamma (righteousness and unrighteousness) to dominate beings, shaping their thoughts and feelings to its own purpose, and directing them to act in ways that draw in the energy that drives its own system. It dominates by becoming the ruling presence in each person's heart, then expands its dominion outward — to family, to society, to the nation — until it covers everything.

Three Patterns of Life: Trouble, Drifting, and Being Anchored

When humans don't know this truth, they live out each day at the mercy of fate. We can observe that there are only three patterns. The worst pattern: a directing voice presses us to create trouble for ourselves and our counterparty. The unwholesome moves in and focuses our attention on images and sounds to manufacture a grievance, then directs us to find fault — because it needs to draw in the energy of demerit to power its own system. The second pattern is the neutral nature (*abyākata*): the mind drifts, uninterested in anything, floating from one thing to another with no anchor at all — whatever seems interesting, we turn to look, to listen; the mind just drifts and drifts, life has no substance, and nothing can develop at all. Most of our lives are like this. The third pattern is when the wholesome takes hold of the mind: it commands awareness at every moment — even while walking, one is instructed to note each step, lifting, moving, placing; if we don't know how, it forces us to learn until we do.

When Wholesomeness Takes Hold: Breath, Subtlety, and Liberation Dimension by Dimension

When the wholesome system takes over, it directs awareness to the breath — aware of the in-breath, aware of the out-breath — and a subtle, gentle energy arises. We become absorbed in that subtlety, delighting in it more and more; even when the bus pulls up and waits, we don't want to move, we want to stay with that light, easeful state. The drawing-in of energy, together with refined qualities, happens continuously, purifying each dimension further and further until we're liberated from one dimension into a subtler one. Each time we're freed into a subtler dimension, purer energy arises, capable of purifying even more defilement, and liberation accelerates — gaining access to the Knower, to the Empowered One, in ever greater measure. In that state, one is held steady, made bright at the center of the Triple Gem, bright at the center of Nibbana, protected, cared for, one's elements purified.

The Knower Reports Everything: From Greeting a Friend to Negotiating Business

Whenever we're about to do something — say, walking over to greet a friend — the moment we anchor our attention, wholesome kamma overlays the Knower, who keeps the mind still and reports back: what the friend wants, what they might dislike — everything gets reported. We then find the right words to say. Even in a business negotiation: the moment we anchor our awareness, the wholesome system overlays the Knower, who resides within and guides us to say exactly what resonates with our counterparty. Little negotiating is needed, because every word is fed to us by the Knower — deals close easily, resting on the wholesome system. But if we're in the wrong system, under the unwholesome, we say and do the wrong things, and afterward wonder, bewildered, why we ever said such a thing — without knowing why.

Front Stage, Back Stage: When Mistakes Happen, the Very One Who Guided Us Turns and Blames Us

The unwholesome wants to direct us into mistakes. From childhood to adulthood we've made mistakes like this more times than we can count, yet never understood where they came from — why, in that moment, we couldn't control our own emotions. This happens because the mind drifts, unanchored; when it drifts, our words carry no weight. We don't realize we're in the wrong system, controlled by nature. In truth there are only these three patterns. The visible self is the front stage taking the blame; the directing nature behind it is the back stage, whispering instructions that feel like our own thoughts — and the front stage follows along, not knowing what else to choose. When the mistake happens, the very sinful nature that directed us doesn't take responsibility — instead it turns and criticizes us: why couldn't you get it right, and so on — grinding us down even further, though it was the one steering us all along. The mind sinks, and we go home crestfallen, in despair. This has happened to us more times than we can count throughout our lives, without our ever knowing what it was.

Anchoring the Mind: Wherever Awareness Is Set, Merit Flows Through

When we anchor our attention at the feet while standing, consciousness — the part of the mind that flows out through eye, ear, nose, and tongue to each sense faculty — the instant we anchor it, mindfulness arises right there at that spot. The mind's consciousness settles, the sensation at the feet is registered, and a sphere of knowing arises out of mindfulness; pure energy called merit flows continuously into that spot. Anchor at the hand, and merit flows through the hand. Anchor at the breath, and merit flows through the breath. Anchor at the center of the body, and brightness arises at the center of the body. Wherever we anchor, that spot brightens — because the sphere of knowing is a sphere of wholesome dhamma, clear and bright by nature. We must keep anchoring continuously, without drifting off, and the energy, together with refined qualities, will keep flowing in without interruption.

Building a Wholesome Network in the Family Through Loving-Kindness

Whether standing, walking, or talking with a friend, if we anchor at the hand holding a teacup, merit flows continuously through, along with refined qualities. Doing business, holding a pen, aware of the pen — merit flows through that spot too. Being with children, parents, siblings, or a spouse, we anchor loving-kindness (*mettā*), letting it shine at the center of our heart, radiating love and goodwill together with the pure element of merit toward our family members — and each person's own wholesome nature rises up in response. How could our family not be happy, when we ourselves have set up a wholesome system and built a network the household isn't even aware of? It's like broadcasting a good wave to tune into another person's wavelength — if their wave is weak, we can connect and activate the wholesome system already within them. If their unwholesome nature is deeply entrenched, continuously reinforced, we may not be able to topple it right away — but we can keep radiating the wave and wait for the right moment.

Why Review Matters: Without It, We Forget, and It's All Wasted

We must train ourselves to abide within the wholesome system; it will teach us, guide us. When we don't understand, it leads us to those who do. Once we've learned and understood, it nudges us to try things ourselves; when we succeed, the Empowered One overlays and lends a hand, empowering us to accomplish it. This is what we must learn: the wholesome system is essential, vitally important to life. We need never feel abandoned, because we have the Knower and the Empowered One watching over and helping us all along. This is exactly why Pra Ajarn must review the old material — because material learned before, if not reviewed before adding something new, will simply be forgotten. It's like a monk reciting the thick volume of the Pāṭimokkha: every time he's about to learn a new section, he must first recite the whole of what came before, then add just a little more — otherwise it's forgotten, and what use is that? It wastes time and effort for nothing, with no benefit at all. There was once a foreign student who came to listen to the teaching — what he remembered afterward was only what had been repeated every single day; what wasn't repeated, he simply couldn't recall.