Life Under Three Natures and the Value of the Wholesome System

Phra Ajarn Suraphong opens by teaching that practicing Dhamma is essential for every life, because we live under the control of three natural forces — wholesome, unwholesome, and neutral — each pursuing its own goal of shaping us according to its own aims. The unwholesome side harms and destroys people and beings; the neutral side offers no help at all, and instead squanders our lifetime, our freshness, and our resources, leaving us to drift through life aimlessly, like a crow with nothing to show for its days. Only the wholesome system leads toward happiness, growth, rightness and goodness, peace, seclusion, dispassion, liberation, and purity. Only wholesomeness can transform an ordinary person into a respectable practitioner, and a respectable practitioner into a noble one — purified, liberated, and arriving at a nobler, more wondrous life.

Determining Awareness: The Principle of Sammā-Sati per the Buddha's Words

In dwelling within the wholesome system, the Buddha taught: "Monks, you should clearly determine awareness in the body, feelings, mind, and mental phenomena, in order to eliminate covetousness and grief regarding the world." He taught the monks that determining means marking, specifying, pinpointing the body and mind, to give mindfulness a place to rest and cling to. Whatever position we mark in the body — the breath, the felt sense of the body, or the center of the body — wherever we mark it, we go in and know it there. Knowing with clarity is clear comprehension, knowing the matter, the topic, the detail at hand. Sati is the act of recollecting, of knowing — wherever we determine, we know there: knowing the breath, knowing the body, knowing the center of the body. Stay continuously aware without lapsing, without favoring or disfavoring — abandoning covetousness or grief. Covetousness means delight or pleasure; grief means sorrow or displeasure. Let go of delight and sorrow toward sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches, toward every matter — don't dwell on them. Rest the mind still, soft, and light, staying with our kammaṭṭhāna.

Choosing a Kammaṭṭhāna That "Works": The Signal Must Be Clear and Continuous

He teaches that whatever kammaṭṭhāna works, use that one. A kammaṭṭhāna we're familiar with but that doesn't work should not be used. What counts as "working"? A clear and continuous signal — one that gives mindfulness something real to cling to and rest upon.

The Life-Buoy in the Middle of the Ocean: The Kammaṭṭhāna Mindfulness Clings To

He offers this simile: like someone floating in the middle of the ocean who needs a life-ring, a buoy to hold onto, a kammaṭṭhāna is like the buoy we cling to — mindfulness uses it to hold on and rest. If the buoy disappears, mindfulness sinks and disappears along with it. This life is like floating in the middle of saṃsāra, a vast body of water with no shore in sight; human beings must endure exhaustion and suffering. But if we have mindfulness clinging to some kammaṭṭhāna, life can float lightly and at ease. Think of it this way: our life is like floating in the middle of the ocean of saṃsāra, a shoreless expanse. Without a kammaṭṭhāna for mindfulness to hold onto, we're left exhausted and suffering constantly. But with a kammaṭṭhāna to cling to, like having a buoy in the middle of the sea, once mindfulness is established, it draws pure energy to flow into the bright center of the sphere of knowing.

With Sati, Without Sati: The Difference That Determines the Mind's Balance

Sati is the sphere of knowing, the act of recollecting. We need to see clearly the difference between having sati and lacking it. Without sati, the mind drifts and floats with nothing to hold onto at all — it doesn't know where it's going, lost without a trace. When sati arises, ignorance falls away; but if sati is absent, ignorance arises instead, and every kind of not-knowing follows — even as the mind drifts, we don't notice, because ignorance conceals it from us. But when sati recollects — and it can only recollect once the wholesome system has taken residence — the drawing-in of pure energy happens automatically, driving the wholesome system, and the subtle treasure bound up within merit is retained, drawing in the coarser treasures of the world.

Hindrances and Defilement: What Blocks Goodness

Without sati, by contrast, the mind drifts with nothing to cling to, or becomes trapped within the dimension of unwholesomeness — shaped by greed, hatred, delusion, restlessness and worry, boredom and drowsiness, sensory craving, irritation and resentment, and doubt. All of these obstruct goodness, making good deeds difficult, because hindrances are present. Hindrances arise only where there is defilement — some people carry heavy defilement and correspondingly many hindrances; others carry little and few. But having sati brings the mind into balance, unwavering, not leaning toward either extreme, staying calm and still, neither delighted nor upset by anything. We train to hold the mind neutral — neither pleased nor displeased.

The Ten Foundations: Precepts, Concentration, Wisdom, and the Ten Perfections

He teaches that only the wholesome system gives life its essential substance: rightness and goodness, honesty, fairness, and courtesy — this is the foundation of right conduct, which is indispensable, along with gratitude. Precepts, concentration, wisdom, generosity, patience, effort, truthfulness, resolution, loving-kindness, and equanimity — the ten perfections — together with the ten bases of merit-making, form the foundation of life we must practice in cultivating sammā-sati, staying continuously aware without lapsing.

Reciting Sammā-Arahaṃ: Its Meaning and the Crystal Buddha Image

Staying with our kammaṭṭhāna, reciting Sammā-Arahaṃ, the mind becomes neutral, dwelling in equanimity, unwavering, calm, still, and firmly settled — simply by reciting Sammā-Arahaṃ while recalling the crystal Buddha image. The word "Sammā-Arahaṃ" is the visualized name of the arahant Dhamma body, a name that is itself His quality — the One far from every defilement, whose practice leads far from every defilement. When we recall Him, we reaffirm to ourselves that we too will become like Him, practicing to be far from every defilement. When we invoke His name in our heart, He appears — and He does not appear empty-handed: He connects the stream of merit and treasure to us, and the merit flowing through is multiplied many times over by His Dhammakaya knowledge; He brings a pure stream to cleanse our body and mind, refining our elements to be clean and pure — cleansing again and again, distilling again and again, until they are clear, clean, and pure.

When we invoke His name, the crystal image appears at our body's center, and we sit receiving the stream of merit. Once the image has arisen within us, it doesn't leave — it stays with us. Invoke His name and recall Him while reciting "Dhammā-Arahaṃ, Dhammā-Arahaṃ, Dhammā-Arahaṃ," continuing relaxed and at ease, with a clear, cool, relaxed heart, staying continuously aware, knowing what we know, resting with our kammaṭṭhāna.

Training Our Own Personal Kammaṭṭhāna, Making It Easy, Without Pressure

We need our own personal kammaṭṭhāna, made familiar through daily repetition — it becomes second nature on its own. But without training, we will have no kammaṭṭhāna of our own. When the sphere of knowing, mindfulness, arises, it draws the pure energy called merit into the bright center of this luminous sphere. This bright sphere can only arise in one place — wherever the mind determines. Wherever we determine, the mind settles there, and mindfulness rests at the center of the mind. Determine the breath, and it grows bright at the breath; determine the body's center, and it grows bright there. Wherever we recite, wherever we determine, the sound of the recitation appears there, and merit flows through that very spot. Sammā-Arahaṃ, one; Sammā-Arahaṃ, two; Sammā-Arahaṃ, three — count on pleasantly, together with the crystal image arising at our center. Whether it's clear or unclear doesn't matter; even a mere sense of its presence is enough.

He teaches: make it easy, don't make it hard. The unwholesome side wants us to struggle, to make everything difficult; the wholesome side wants ease, comfort, and enjoyment — no need to pressure ourselves. Just keep going. If defilement is heavy, we must endure a little; but as defilement is purified and lightened, the endurance shortens, and things grow steadily more comfortable. Stay continuously aware, knowing what we know, resting with our recitation and our kammaṭṭhāna. When we invoke His name, He appears at our center; we simply receive Him — clear or unclear doesn't matter, even a mere sense of His presence each time we recite is enough.

As we determine our awareness, the stream of merit pours continuously into the bright center of this sphere of knowing, this mindfulness. This pure energy called merit then drives the wholesome system, refining our elements to be clear, clean, and pure, clearing away the defilements that give rise to hindrances — the very things that make life and practice difficult. Merit purifies these defilements until they vanish, and we are liberated, purified, moving from one dimension into ever subtler, more refined ones. The heart grows still and soft, relaxed and at ease.

Radiating Loving-Kindness: From a Mother's Heart to Those Around Us and Our Home

Once our personal elements have been refined and purified more and more each day, we turn to benefiting people and beings, so that the world of beings and its environment may become clear and clean. We use the tool of the wholesome system called loving-kindness — simply by setting a wish of goodwill, establishing love and goodwill toward all beings: may all beings who share in the suffering of birth, aging, illness, and death be free from suffering and share happiness together. Luang Pu taught that if we still cannot feel the taste of loving-kindness, we should draw upon the heart of a mother's love and goodwill toward her own young child, and establish that as our own. We then expand this heart, filled with loving-kindness, to benefit the people of the world and all beings: may I be happy; may my loved ones — parents, siblings, close relatives and friends, all who have shown me kindness, the guardian devas who protect and help me, my neighbors, fellow practitioners, and coworkers, along with my household and all people and beings — be bright, clear, cool, clean, and pure.

We expand this heart, filled with loving-kindness, to cover the area of our own home and residence, letting love, kindness, and goodwill cover the whole house. Loving-kindness shines through every particle of the atmosphere, shining into the center of the hearts of the people and beings there, making them clear, clean, and pure, dissolving every trace of resentment and irritation completely.

Radiating Loving-Kindness Outward: Village, Country, World, and Cosmos

We then expand this heart, filled with loving-kindness, further out to cover the whole village, making it bright throughout — the plants, the soil, the water, the air, all bright; the people and all beings and things bright, clear, and pure. We continue expanding to the subdistrict, district, and province, several provinces, until it covers the whole country, and onward to neighboring countries, until it covers the entire world, making this world a radiant crystal sphere, clear, cool, clean, and pure. May the people, beings, and the whole world be bright, clear, cool, clean, and pure, filled with happiness and prosperity — earthbound devas, tree devas, sky devas, the heavenly beings of every level, Brahma and formless-Brahma realms, together with beings in hell, hungry ghosts, and animals — may all beings be free from suffering and share happiness together. Those with much suffering, may it lessen; those with little suffering, may it end; those with little happiness, may it grow; and those with much happiness already, may it grow further still.

Having made this wish, we then expand this heart, filled with loving-kindness, out to the atmosphere of the cosmos, covering the countless stars — tens, hundreds, thousands, millions, billions of them — and the ten thousand world-systems and the boundless cosmos, letting our loving-kindness shine and benefit every being, every thing, and every element without limit. This light of loving-kindness shines into the center of the hearts of people and beings, bright, clear, and pure. The wholesome nature takes up residence, drawing merit in to drive the wholesome system, refining and purifying the elements of people and beings, freeing them from one dimension into another, continuously. Every liberation holds abundant good things waiting: treasure, merit, and happiness that are purer still, elements more sacred and pure, subtle assets more refined and valuable, accomplished plans more exquisite, and wise, powerful guides ready to instruct, help, and clear away obstacles for us.

We gather the mind to stop, gather it to be still, within loving-kindness, while the stream of merit continues pouring through. We radiate this loving-kindness and this merit to our relatives, parents, siblings, our household, our benefactors and friends, and all people and beings — may they be free from suffering and share happiness together, and may they share in this merit we have sincerely made. We then gather the mind to stop and be still at the center of this stream of merit, at the center of happiness, at the center of purity. The heart is an accomplishing element: however we determine it, so it becomes. We gather the mind to stop and be still at the center of the Triple Gem — the center of the Buddha-jewel, the Dhamma-jewel, the Sangha-jewel — stopping still at the center of the Dhamma body of our great teachers, at the center of the finest Dhamma body of Luang Pu, of Luang Phor, and of our teachers. As we recall them, we appear bright within them; they appear bright within us; and both we and they appear bright at the center of Nibbana, the center of the knower of boundless power.

Dedicating Merit and Setting a Plan for Success

We use this auspicious moment to pay respects to Nibbana throughout all realms, setting a plan for success so that our future may be filled with knowledge, happiness, and purity, along with the fulfillment of every right and good aspiration. May the merit, radiance, strength, and decisive power of Nibbana throughout all realms, together with the merit of Luang Pu, Luang Phor, Khun Yai, and our teachers, combine with the merit we have sincerely accumulated across countless past lives up to the present, becoming sacred, potent merit that refines our body, speech, mind, and every element — seeing, remembering, thinking, knowing, earth, water, wind, fire, space, and consciousness — making them bright, clear, cool, clean, and pure.

Closing Aspiration

May we be freed from misfortune, karmic results, demonic obstruction, and every obstacle in life. May greed, hatred, delusion, lust, ignorance, wrong view, craving, and clinging end without remainder. May we gain the eye that sees the Dhamma, penetrating the knowledge of the Dhamma body completely — the three knowledges, the eight knowledges, the six higher powers, the four analytical insights, the eight liberations, and the fifteen conducts, in full. May we enjoy strong health and a long life, building merit and perfections throughout our lives, with unfailing spirit as we press on toward Nibbana, the ultimate end of the path.

He closes by asking that any wrongdoing committed knowingly or unknowingly across countless past lives be forgiven fully, that no new wrongdoing be committed in body, speech, or mind, and that all the merit we have sincerely accumulated combine into sacred, potent, and wondrous power, bearing fruit continuously from this moment until the very end of the path — with this good aspiration made complete for us all, by the boundless power of every Buddha.